Ferrari News

The Ferrari F458 is a sellout success before the first car is even built.  It's typical of the following for the Italian sports car brand, which typically runs two-year waiting lists on its popular models in Australia despite prices that currently start at $459,650 for the droptop California. Ferrari fans will have to pay a lot more for the upcoming replacement for the 612 Scaglietti, which has been scooped by Carparazzi.  The European computer illustrations give the best idea yet of how the V12-powered grand tourer will look when it is ready for showrooms in late 2010 or early 2011. The link to the current 612 is clear, but the next generation will be more elegant and tightly-drawn in the bodywork than today's Scaglietti.  It is expected to retain the same mechanical layout, with a front- mounted engine turning the rear wheels, which will make it a direct rival to the Mercedes-Benz SLS Gullwing just unveiled in the USA ahead of Australian deliveries next June. No-one at Ferrari is commenting on the Carparazzi picture of the new Scaglietti, which could also get a new name as Ferrari switches to Italian place names for its cars.But the company has plenty to concentrate on as it readies the 458i Italia for showrooms, starting with the first press drives this week at its Maranello headquarters in Italy. Carsguide will have a first driving impression of the 458 next week.

Through 2009 we've seen the relatively-affordable Nissan GT-R, followed by the Lexus LFA at more than $750,000 and the born-again Mercedes SLS Gullwing with a $500,000-ish bottom line.It all seems crazy at a time when the world is bumping through the global economic crisis, where Australians are downsizing in record numbers into sub-$20,000 compacts and green-power cars like the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight are growing in popularity with plug-in electrics just around the corner.But showrooms are being flooded with high-priced exotics which promise incredible speed, luxury and exclusivity.  And it's not going to stop.Ferrari is about to go into full production with its latest sellout, the 458, and Bentley has the Mulsanne limousine almost ready for the road with the first deliveries expected in the opening months of 2010. Then it's the Aston Martin rapide, promised as a four-door sports saloon, and the Rolls-Royce Ghost at around $750,000.These are dream machines for most of us, and poster cars for the kids, but what do they give us in 2009 and beyond?  It's a question that's impossible to answer, unless you have more than $500,000 to spend on an automotive trinket, with any certainty. Perhaps it's just because some people can, and because they can see the day when these sort of cars will be museum pieces in an era beyond oil.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

Warne, whose stable of luxury cars includes a head-turning black Lamborghini Superleggera, is set to front a new series with Jeremy Clarkson. He is believed to be hosting six episodes of the popular motoring show, the Herald Sun reports.In a TV coup Channel Nine is believed to have snared the rights to the motoring franchise from SBS.Nine and SBS were both believed to have been in discussions with BBC Worldwide, which owns the rights to the motoring show fronted by Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. First-run episodes of Top Gear regularly top one million viewers on SBS.Nine has confirmed that it has held discussions with Warne to host Top Gear Australia. No formal agreement has yet been signed, but he is their pick to host the series. A Nine source says an agreement is likely to be completed within days.Channel Nine would not confirm any plans for Top Gear. No deal has been signed, however a Nine source said an agreement was likely to be completed within days. Nine CEO David Gyngell has been chasing the rights to Top Gear for eight months and recently spent time in London to lock down a deal.The role would mark the first TV presenting gig for Warne - who has previously worked in cricket commentating roles. Warne would be well suited to the hosting gig with his passion for luxury cars well documented. Warne's collection of luxury cars started in 1996 when he bought a Ferrari 355 Spider. He has since bought another Ferrari - a 360 Spider in titanium - two Mercedes four-wheel-drives, two BMWs, and a Holden VK Commodore. and last year's Lamborghini purchase.But it hasn't all been smooth sailing for Warne, who made headlines last year when he crashed his Mercedes into a tram.The Aussie version has had two seasons on SBS, fronted by Steve Pizzati, Warren Brown and this year joined by James Morrison. 

Ferrari has created a one-off special-edition Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano that will be auctioned at a charity event in Beijing next month. What makes the car different is its paint scheme. This one-of-a-kind Ferrari has been given the once-over by celebrated Chinese artist Lu Hao. Instead of Ferrari's signature red or yellow, Lu Hao has used a "cracked glaze" paint pattern of the coveted Song Dynasty-era Ge Liln porcelain, signed by the artist himself. There is also a jade engine starter button, luggage featuring a map of the Silk Road trade route, Chinese script instruments and a name plaque. The glazed V12 sportscar is one of 12 special edition 599 China models that will be sold in China. Lu Hao was also responsible for the paint scheme on the other cars. However, they are less polarising. The artist opted for a body done in red - a Ferrari shade called Rosso Fuoco, or fire red - but the pillars and roof are painted a shade of medium grey. "The 599 China Limited Edition model is a true masterpiece, combining rich Chinese artistic heritage with Italian design in stunning approach," according to Ferrari Asia Pacific CEO Marco Mattiacci.

While starting from a higher base of CO2 emissions, companies such as Ferrari have made the biggest improvements, according to automotive data and intelligence provider, JATO Dynamics.Ferrari leads the CO2 volume reduction race, with a 40.4g/km improvement in CO2 output so far this year. This is the greatest volume reduction of any brand on sale in Europe and represents a 9.5 per cent improvement. Ferrari's net reduction puts it well on its way to achieving its stated aim to reduce CO2 emissions from 400g/km per vehicle to 280-300g/km, by 2012.While Ferrari can claim the greatest CO2 volume reduction, when expressed as percentage improvement, it is Alpina that is the outright best performer, although on a small sales base.The next best in percentage improvement is Porsche with 10.6 per cent reduction. Meanwhile, 96 per cent of the top 25 brands of European new cars sold so far this year have reduced CO2 output by an average of 6.2g/km.New car sales for Smart, Fiat and MINI are already under the 130g/km CO2 average required under EU legislation by 2015. The outright biggest improvement of all mainstream marques over the past year belongs to Alfa Romeo, whose average new car CO2 output fell by 19.9g/km.The top spot is taken by Chevrolet, whose diesel Cruze model and three-cylinder, 0.8-litre, 119g/km Matiz helped its new car sales to a 15.2g/km average CO2 improvement. Second is Audi, whose 2.0-litre TDi engine helped it to an average of 163g/km. Toyota, Suzuki, Hyundai and Mazda also recorded double-digit improvements. Ford was best of the biggest European volume sellers, improving average CO2 by 8g/km as its ECOnetic range.The cleanest of the range is the new 98 g/km Fiesta ECOnetic which is yet to be released here.However, Ford Australia is bringing the car out for next month's 3000km Global Green Challenge trial from Darwin to Adelaide. 

Multiple Ferrari owner Len Watson, 63, says low-mileage classic Ferraris have been left idle too long. "They are actually very reliable cars and don't give you any problems, so long as they are used on a regular basis," he says. "The problem is people store them in damp garages and the rubbers perish, the tyres get flat spots and they just become horrible. Very low mileage cars are not as good as some that have much higher mileage." "I did 70,000 miles in my 328 (1991 Ferrari 328 GTS) - very hard miles - and we only spent about 2000 (about $3875) on repairs in about 12 years." When he says hard miles, he means hard miles, having competed in track days, hillclimbs and classic races. He currently competes in various Queensland Racing Drivers Championship events in a 1980 Ferrari 308 GTB. Next year he intends to compete in the full season. The retired software company owner from the UK started his love affair with old cars with his first, a three-wheeled British Frisky with a bored-out 250cc Villiers two-stroke motorbike engine in the back. It cost him 18 (about $34) in 1966 and only about 100 were made. "It was quite unusual as it had a top speed of 70mph (112km/h) forwards and 70mph backwards as well," he says. "I got up to about 40mph (64km/h) in reverse. "The way it went backwards was you stopped it and started the engine in reverse. There were four speeds both ways." He swapped it for a Nash Metropolitan, "then had boring cars for a long time". The last new car he bought was a 1979 Triumph TR7, then he switched to a Porsche 924 Turbo and in 1983 he wanted to "upgrade" to a 911. "I hated them. Porsches didn't handle at all in the '80s," he said. "My wife said why don't you buy a Ferrari, so I bought a 2+2 Mondial 8 which was a couple of years old," Watson says. "I had it for a year and then bought a 3.2-litre Mondial QV (Quattrovalvole) as a company car. They were expensive but in those times you didn't lose any money on Ferraris." "However, the classic car bubble started in the late '80s and people were buying cars for silly money, so driving to customers in a classic Ferrari was a bit silly because they thought you were ripping them off. So I went to a Porsche 928 as a company car." However, the Ferrari bug returned in 1991 when he bought the Ferrari 328 GTS which he used and abused in track days, concours and hillclimbs. "After all, they are only a car," he says."Cars like that which were built conventionally on a chassis, you can replace bits. Today's cars crumple and cost a fortune to fix." About five years ago Watson migrated to Australia, sold the 328 and brought with him a left-hand-drive F40 which he drove in the Classic Adelaide rally. When he moved to Queensland he couldn't register the car without converting it to right-hand drive. "Being a carbon fibre car it is almost impossible to convert, so I got special permits for a couple of times," he says. "But if you can't drive a car I don't want it, so I sent it back to England and sold it." He was ‘Ferrari-less’ for about two years and then in 2007 returned to the UK to compete in the classic series and get his international race licence, so he bought a 1980 308 GTB "sight unseen. That was a mistake. The engine was knackered and needed a total rebuild," Watson says. "But I still have it. The reason I have an old Ferrari is that it is eligible for historics and there is more opportunity for historic racing here than conventional racing." His plan in obtaining an international licence was to race a friend's $15 million Ferrari 250 GTO at Le Mans. However, his friend decided the car was "just too expensive to risk in a race". That thought won't even enter Watson's head as he takes his 328 out on to Queensland Raceway in the inaugural Festival of Italian Motorsport on October 2-4.

...as Europe and Japan push ahead with some cutting edge designs. Apart from the Citroen GT, the Mercedes-Benz SLS, Ferrari 458 Italia, Audi R8 V10 supercars and affordable Honda CR-Z and Peugeot RCZ,

The newest road rocket to carry the Italian supercar brand's famous prancing horse badge, the 458 is unveiled today in production-ready form as the successor to the F430.Its performance promises to be very special, matching or bettering the lightweight Scuderia version of the 430 with a top speed beyond 330km/ h and a 0-100km/h sprint time below four seconds.But it will come at a price - more than $450,000 in Australia when deliveries begin in the second half of 2010.The mechanical package of the F458 - its name comes from the 4.5- litre, eight-cylinder engine - is familiar to anyone who has tracked Ferrari history since the 308. It is a mid-engined car with a V8 motor and rear-wheel drive.It sits alongside the California droptop and below the V12 models in the Ferrari family.The car will not be seen in public until the Frankfurt Motor Show in September but more than two dozen super-keen Australian enthusiasts have already put money down to reserve an early delivery.Full details are also being kept secret until Frankfurt but some things are obvious from the pictures.The height of the F458 is considerably lower than the 430 and it has lost the signature side vents for the cooling system. It is also stripped of any sort of wings or spoilers. This shows Formula One thinking, as there is a secondary wing in the frontal air inlet and the body has been shaped to divert air to essential openings under high pressure. Downforce is all down to the underbody shaping.Space has also been created in the tail for a large diffuser by siting the exhaust high in the back end. But the pictures show three pipes, pointing to an active exhaust which switches mode depending on speed and load.The F458 will take electronics to the next level, with more driver adjustment of the chassis and engine parameters, including stability control.The Australian importer, European Automotive Imports, says it has been flooded by potential buyers since news of the F458 - originally expected to be called the F450 - began leaking from Ferrari headquarters in Maranello. "We are into double figures on orders. As soon as there was even a hint there was a new car coming we were contacted by enthusiastic owner keens to move up to the latest model," says spokesman, Edward Rowe.He dismisses any suggestion that a new Ferrari is irrelevant in 2010 except as a dream machine. "For the car market as a whole they are very much testbeds for technology that spreads very quickly. The most obvious example is electronic stability control. This grew out of Formula One and Mercedes-Benz was the first to put it into production cars," Rowe says. "This car will take that to the next level. It will be extremely easy to drive, and safe.""And then there are robotised manual gearboxes. The Ferrari F355 was the first. Now they are the type of gearboxes that give the best fuel economy and emissions. "It's not stretching a point to say everyone benefits eventually from these cars. They advance the cutting edge of technology."

So, despite the daggy black disguise, this new Ferrari has already set hearts racing around the globe. It's the upcoming F450, successor to today's F430 benchmark and promised with a 4.5-litre V8 and the same double-clutch gearbox already used in the droptop California. The F450 was originally expected to preview this year but Ferrari insiders say its first public appearance is likely to be delayed until early in 2010. The Geneva Motor Show, in late March, is the best bet unless it is rushed out for a flag waving appearance at this year's Frankfurt show in September. In either case, first customer deliveries of the F450 will be in the second half of 2010. This test mule was pictured during handling tests in northern Italy, close to Ferrari's headquarters at Maranello outside Modena. The Carparazzi pictures show a predictable mismatch of bodywork and wheels, but the shape is clearly evolved from the existing mid-engined F430. European sources say the car is codenamed the F142 and it will be quicker than the F430 Scuderia, which makes extra pace thanks to light-weighting work and a tweaked V8. The new model is expected to have more than 390 kiloWatts and could even come with a Kinetic Energy Recovery System similar to the ones on this year's Ferrari Formula One racer.

Police have impounded the rare Ferrari California being driven by Financial Review motoring writer Rod Easdown.The car was brought into Australia by Ateco Automotive and was scheduled for test drives with WA media outlets this week. The car was allegedly caught speeding through the WA Wheatbelt at 231km/h.The red Ferrari California is one of just two of its kind in Australia.A police spokesman said the rare red sports car had been recorded travelling at more than twice the legal limit when spotted by police on Julimar Rd, near Toodyay, just before noon today.Police have charged the 57-year-old male driver, from Wembley, with reckless driving. The car has been impounded under hoon legislation for seven days.Read the full story at perthnow.com.au