a yellow ferrari enzo fires up

It’s young versus old in this latest clip, with two of the hottest cars to ever come out of Maranello decking it out in the Nevada desert. In one corner we have the stripped out F40 from the mid-1980s and in the other is this generation’s technologically advanced 599 GTB. Both will have its fans so we’ll leave it to you to decide which one should come out on top.

The idea for this car was simple, fast, aerodynamic and beautiful, while taking styling queues from Ferraris old and new. Being a mid-engine rear wheel drive, I had the freedom to give the car a really aggressive stance. Low, pointy front and Muscular rear makes it look like its ready to pounce.

I designed this car originally as a Dino concept. But the name didn’t compliment the design. So I went for something more Ferrari. Ferrari F250. I think it’s works well with the car. The number 250 which comes from the legendary 250 GTO.

Being a small car and very light I was thinking of a 2.5L V6 engine (250) that runs on bio-fuel.

2007 Formula One World Champion Kimi Raikkonen again showed the pace that helped to win his title, finishing with a dominating victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Ferraris of both Raikkonen and teammate Felipe Massa were well ahead for the first half of the race, when Massa inexplicably spun into the gravel on turn eight of lap thirty. Massa’s spin gave a big helping hand to BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica, who managed his first podium finish since Monza in 2006 by taking second place.

Points leader Lewis Hamilton made good early progress, moving from a ninth place start to fifth after the first corner of the race, only to spend a long period stymied by Red Bull’s Mark Webber. Hamilton’s best chance to jump ahead of the Australian driver was foiled when a sticky front wheel removal cost him more than ten seconds on his first pit stop.

PROVISIONAL RACE RESULTS

The Malaysian Grand Prix
Sepang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;
56 laps; 310.408km;
Weather: Sunny.

Classified:

Pos  Driver        Team                      Time
 1.  Raikkonen     Ferrari               (B)  1h31:18.555
 2.  Kubica        BMW Sauber            (B)  +    19.570
 3.  Kovalainen    McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +    38.450
 4.  Trulli        Toyota                (B)  +    45.832
 5.  Hamilton      McLaren-Mercedes      (B)  +    46.548
 6.  Heidfeld      BMW Sauber            (B)  +    49.833
 7.  Webber        Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +  1:08.130
 8.  Alonso        Renault               (B)  +  1:10.041
 9.  Coulthard     Red Bull-Renault      (B)  +  1:16.220
10.  Button        Honda                 (B)  +  1:26.214
11.  Piquet        Renault               (B)  +  1:32.202
12.  Fisichella    Force India-Ferrari   (B)  +     1 lap
13.  Barrichello   Honda                 (B)  +     1 lap
14.  Rosberg       Williams-Toyota       (B)  +     1 lap
15.  Davidson      Super Aguri-Honda     (B)  +     1 lap
16.  Sato          Super Aguri-Honda     (B)  +    2 laps
17.  Nakajima      Williams-Toyota       (B)  +    2 laps

Fastest lap: Heidfeld, 1:35.366

Not classified/retirements:

Driver        Team                      On lap
Vettel        Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)    41
Massa         Ferrari               (B)    31
Sutil         Force India-Ferrari   (B)     7
Glock         Toyota                (B)     2
Bourdais      Toro Rosso-Ferrari    (B)     1

World Championship standings, round 2:                

Drivers:                    Constructors:             
 1.  Hamilton      14        1.  McLaren-Mercedes       24
 2.  Raikkonen     11        2.  BMW Sauber             19
 3.  Heidfeld      11        3.  Ferrari                11
 4.  Kovalainen    10        4.  Williams-Toyota         9
 5.  Kubica         8        5.  Renault                 6
 6.  Rosberg        6        6.  Toyota                  5
 7.  Alonso         6        7.  Red Bull-Renault        2
 8.  Trulli         5        8.  Toro Rosso-Ferrari      2
 9.  Nakajima       3
10.  Webber         2
11.  Bourdais       2

All timing unofficial

Ferrari officially premieres today in North America the 2008 612 Scaglietti, the model used to inaugurate the new One-to-One Personalization Program of the Company.
Ferrari intends to allow every client to fully personalise this flagship model, courtesy of a wide array of new content as well as the options available through the Carrozzeria Scaglietti Programme. In fact, a special dedicated “atelier” area has been set up at the factory, where clients can put together their own bespoke 612 Scaglietti accessory by accessory, detail by detail. In exactly the same way as they would at an haute couture fashion house, owners can choose details and materials they want for their car in consultation with the Ferrari experts who will actually build it to their exact specifications and tastes.

Clients will be assisted in making their selections by dedicated Programme consultants who can help them at every stage of defining their car’s specification.

All of these unique new 612 Scagliettis will be built in a dedicated assembly area at the Maranello factory.

The 612 Scagliettis being used to launch the One-to-One Programme incorporate a series of technical evolutions that reflect the Ferrari philosophy of constantly introducing innovations in each model. Most notably, the V12 flagship now boasts an electrochromic panoramic roof which covers the entire top of the cabin. The electrochromic glass can be changed at the touch of a button to adjust the levels of sunlight allowed into the cabin. This solution was developed in close collaboration with Saint Gobain, a partner with whom Ferrari has most recently developed a similar highly innovative solution for the Superamerica.

In addition to its electrochromic roof, the 612 Scaglietti also sports the aptly named SuperFast gearbox which delivers an exceptional gear-shifting time of 100 milliseconds and a reduced inertia clutch to enhance the engine’s responsiveness still further. The iconic Ferrari manettino, now featured on the entire range, has also been added to the steering wheel.

Jean Todt has stepped down from his position as the CEO of Ferrari today, making the official announcement at the conclusion of the automaker’s shareholders’ meeting.

First hired by Ferrari in 1993 to head up the Formula One racing team, Todt was elevated to the position of general manager in 2003, followed by a promotion to company CEO in 2006. Amedeo Felisa, who followed of Todt as Ferrari’s general manager, will follow the same pattern by taking over the CEO role. Todt will stay on with the Italian automaker in limited duty, including representing the F1 team on the FIA World Council.

Shareholders at today’s meeting also reaffirmed Luca di Montezemolo as company president, and Piero Ferrari as vice president.

Ferrari’s legendary bullet-proof cars appear to have exited stage left along with former Maranello golden boy Michael Schumacher. How else do you explain the events of Melbourne 2008? Paddock chitty chat has a different spin on things that may have caused Kimi Raikonnen a place in the podium.

Word is that F1’s official ECU wasn’t speaking the same language as Ferrari’s software on race weekend, notwithstanding the fact that Ferrari set the pace at first practice on Friday. The 2008 ECU is manufactured by McLaren Electronic Systems, a division of the McLaren Group. Kimi’s car ran hopelessly out of breath after this pace, relegating him to a final 6th spot during second practice. In qualifying he got ruled out of the remaining qualifying sessions even though he set the second fastest time in the first session, after failing to return his car to the pit-lane post a fuel pump problem.

“The issue was caused because of two conflicting procedures,” a Ferrari spokesman said to GPWeek.
“This kind of thing can happen when you are working with one procedure that you do not know so well. Now we know that there is a conflict we can make sure it does not happen again. If you have a Macintosh and you use Windows software it can get stuck and you don’t know why. “When that happens you reset your computer.”

Had Ferrari not been running the same ECU with the very same software all along with no apparent issues?

Ferrari officials confirmed recently that a new sportscar will be shown at the Paris auto show this fall. And now, spies for The Car Connection have captured more photos of the prototypes of the new Ferrari during testing.

It can be taken for granted that the new model will be the long-rumored small Ferrari dubbed “Dino” by the automotive press. Our photos show two different prototypes of the upcoming car, caught just two days ago on Ferrari’s test track at Fiorino. While one of the prototypes is heavily disguised from front to rear end, the second one at least gives a glimpse of the new model’s front end. We’ve also sourced two illustrations to capture an artist’s interpretation of the vehicles shown in these photos.

The front-engined small sports car might not be called Dino, but possibly GT420 or GT470. Dino was the name applied to a smaller sportscar engineered by Ferrari in the 1960s, one named for a son of founder Enzo Ferrari.

The new “baby” Ferrari will be based on a shortened platform spun from the Maserati GranTurismo. Powered by the family V-8 also found in the Maserati, the Ferrari will sport a 4.7-liter version. The new Ferrari will be positioned between the F430 and the Maserati GT.

Ferrari’s futuristic outlook on its F1 championships is more evident after the team’s Sporting Director Stefano Domenicali confirmed the team is already testing its 2009 challenger in the wind tunnel. Domenicali was speaking to the ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’ newspaper of Italy.

“The regulations will allow for some sensational developments that will greatly differentiate the cars, while today the possibilities of changing are curbed by regulations we’ve had for many years.

It is expected that rules changes will be sweeping for the 2009 season in the name of safety above all, but also in the name of environmental conservation as well as cost-curbing. Among these changes are slick tyres, expected to make a return. Mix these with the current regulation banning driver aids like traction control and you have a potentially very interesting season for 2009. This is more so in changing weather and night races.

“For over a month now there’s been a scale model of the 2009 car in the wind tunnel. We are making experiments full-time, and once again we’ll need to get on track very early.

Further accentuating team Ferrari’s commitment to cost-cutting and super efficiency, Domenicali stressed that staff remains the same.

“We’ll have to work in parallel on the evolutions of the car that is about to go racing. But the team size is the same, we haven’t doubled it.”

Indian giant Tata is on the verge of finalizing its takeover of Jaguar and Land Rover and now its Chief Ratan Tata has hinted that his next acquisition could be a stake in Ferrari. Tata is already heavily involved with Ferrari’s parent company Fiat, joining the Italian carmaker’s board back in 2006 after he was recommended by the Agnelli family, and both firms are already tied up over an engine supply deal.

The same year that Tata joined Fiat’s board, the Italian carmaker increased its stake in Ferrari to 85% and it still retains an option on a further 5% sold to Arab Emirates’ Mubadala Development. Speaking with Italy’s L’Espresso, Tata described his passion for cars and aircraft, explaining that he’s always dreamt of being able to be a fighter pilot as well as participating in the shareholding of Ferrari.

As Ferrari expands into the rapidly growing Indian market a partnership with Tata could turn out to be extremely lucrative.