This is what you call “state of the art”. The car in question is the Ferrari 599XX Evolution, and it’s no exaggeration to say that, when it comes to the creation and manipulation of air flow and “downforce” on a conventionally shaped car, this is as good as it gets. As you let your eye run over the 599 XX Evo’s astonishing form, you get the feeling that this thing sits squarely in the nexus between science and art. It’s a rolling sculpture. It’s a good spot for a Ferrari to occupy, isn’t it?
The 599XX Evolution is the latest manifestation of the Company’s XX programme. Established in 2005 as perhaps the ultimate outpost of Ferrari ownership, the original Enzo-derived FXX was effectively a mobile laboratory. Twenty-nine very, very lucky Ferraristi became central components in an active development programme, evaluating new technical ideas on their cars at up to seven specially arranged annual events at tracks like Suzuka, Spa, Silverstone and Laguna Seca. ‘Such a programme simply didn’t exist before we came up with it,’ says Antonello Coletta, head of Ferrari’s Corse Clienti division, with understandable pride. ‘This is a very special club, we have a very special car, so they deserve the most special circuits.’ The 599XX arrived in 2009 with a slightly different remit, based as it was on the 599 GTB Fiorano. All cars, be they road or racing models, have to conform to a web of rules. However, engineers working on the 599XX could let their imaginations wander, knowing they didn’t have to worry about “homologating” any of their ideas for full production, or bother with the legalities of a race series. An amazing privilege.

‘We were exploring a new way of developing a car,’ says Matteo Lanzavecchia, Head of Vehicle Testing at Ferrari. ‘It has been an extremely liberating experience.’ To understand properly the Evolution, it’s worth remembering the thinking that underpinned the original car. Most modern high performance cars rely on an armoury of chassis electronics, and as a Grand Turismo Berlinetta, the Ferrari 599 has a number of jobs to do, primarily combining awesome V12 performance and handling in a package accessible to the widest possible range of drivers. Finessing the balance between knife-edge handling and safety is one of the main responsibilities of Ferrari’s engineers and test drivers.
The 599XX takes the integration of its various control systems to the ultimate conclusion, and the very fact that it uses a road car (with its higher than optimal centre of gravity and relatively high weight) makes its achievements all the more stunning. ‘We wanted to integrate the car’s control systems with its mechanical design,’ says Lanzavecchia. ‘With the 599XX we wanted to create a very extreme car, one that generated no understeer [when the nose of the car pushes wide in a corner] and offered maximum lateral and longitudinal acceleration. We wanted to optimise the centre of gravity, and increase vertical stiffness front-to-rear. We would introduce understeer using the electronic systems only when required, depending on speed, the nature of the corner and the manoeuvre the driver was attempting. We wanted to reduce what we call the “static margin”.’
In other words, this car pushes the boundaries of what’s possible, in terms of its electronic architecture (the way its VDA traction and stability systems work together), its suspension and damping (which uses magneto-rheological technology), and its tyres (at 305 section, much wider at the front than normal, and using a special compound). Frankly, it teases physics. With nine settings on the 599XX’s steering wheel manettino governing the VDC, and a further three for damping, the driver can tailor his car according to preference or ability. Be in no doubt, though: this thing is a devastating weapon whatever the configuration. Now for the Evolution.

Lanzavecchia and his team discovered that in their pursuit of a reduced “static margin”, there was an area of what he calls ‘wasted performance’. He became convinced they could reclaim this, which is where the Evolution’s major innovation comes into play: active erodynamics. Ferrari has been developing these principles since a fully flat under-floor and rear Venturi first appeared in 1994’s wonderful F355. Under load in high-speed corners or under hard braking, various kinetic energies are constantly conspiring to destabilise a car. Equalising these forces is the high performance Holy Grail. The 599XX Evolution gets achingly close. Its twodeck rear wing optimises aero distribution in relation to steering wheel angle and lateral acceleration, and adjusts the level of downforce between the front and rear axles. With the wings fully closed, there is maximum downforce acting on the rear end for astonishing straight-line stability; with the wings open, there is more downforce on the front, improving the car’s behaviour at lower speed. ‘Basically,’ says Lanzavecchia, aerodynamic balance remains consistent between 150km/h and 250km/h, and we can manage the car’s stability between these increments perfectly.’ A few other numbers to ponder: the original 599XX generates 145kg of downforce at the rear, which jumps to 245kg on the Evo. It will lap Fiorano a second faster than the FXX (one minute 16 seconds), an astounding result for a car that is based on a front-engined GT and weighs 1,400kg (down from the standard 599’s 1,700kg).
There are other advancements. The Evolution gets a power increase to 740bhp, thanks to sideexit exhausts, there’s more torque (700Nm, 400 of which is on tap from just 1,000rpm), a new front splitter and rear diffuser, new Pirelli tyres, a tweaked final drive ratio, and overall it’s 35kg lighter. There’s a new racing steering wheel (1.5kg lighter than the previous one), and a rear view reversing camera. Well, you wouldn’t want any harm coming to that rear wing…

Of course, Ferrari isn’t interested in technology for technology’s sake. Raffaele De Simone, one of Ferrari’s chief test drivers, charged with developing the 599XX Evolution, is unequivocal about this: ‘We have incredible technology, but the key is the correct application. For example, pure electronics applied without thinking about the soul of the car is not an advantage for Ferrari. We want to improve the “emotion” of driving, too. The 599XX helps drivers experience performance levels that were the preserve of F1 until a decade ago.’ De Simone piloted a 599XX to a mind blowing six minute-58 second lap of the Nürburgring in 2010, testament both to his talent and the fact that this is technology with a direct application. ‘Few words can describe the experience,’ he smiles, ‘but trying to find the last 10 seconds on a lap round there is like entering a different dimension. It was like Nirvana. You know what the Nordschleife is like, right? Now multiply that by a factor of four…’ A return is on the cards, too. According to Lanzavecchia’s simulations, the 599XX Evolution should lap the ’Ring in six minutes 45 seconds, a remarkable 13 seconds faster than its current time. Nine seconds of that is attributable to the Evo’s revised aero package alone, Lanzavecchia says. As the Evolution keeps evolving, it might be 10 seconds by the time De Simone returns to the scene of his triumph. We’ll be there to record it.

Published on The Official Ferrari Magazine issue 16, March 2012

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Next he took a stroll through factory and the Ferrari Classiche and Corse Clienti divisions to drink in the glory of the Prancing Horse’s history through its historic cars.
After this dip into the past, Clavier was brought right back to the present as he slid behind the wheel of the FF, our aggressive and quite extraordinary four-wheel Grand Tourer.
Clavier’s tour of the Maranello complex concluded with a look at the future in the form of a close encounter with the newly-minted F12berlinetta.

It was a very intense day after which the actor set off back to France with a whole trunk load of memories from his Italian cousins.

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Right now the Villeneuve name is everywhere and on everyone’s lips. There is Gilles, the Ferrari driver who died 30 years ago at Zolder in Belgium, and Jacques, his son who was world champion in 1997, won the Indy 500 and drove his father’s Ferrari at Fiorano. So we won’t go over old ground and repeat what’s already been said so many times.
It’s probably more interesting to dig a little deeper into the psychology of a child who, at the time of his father’s death, was just 11 but already hoping to become a driver. A child that had to deal with losing a father the public adored and who’d died so tragically.

I had dinner with Jacques yesterday evening at the Cavallino restaurant as part of an exclusive interview for The Ferrari Magazine. An interview in which he was both interviewer and interviewee. Jacques interviewed Piero Ferrari to ask him about what his own father was really like and was then himself interviewed about very personal, rarely broached issues.
I was struck by two things above all: the first was that it was his father’s death that pushed Jacques to really pursue a career as a driver. “I suddenly felt that I would have to take charge of my own life. That gave me huge determination that made me grow up and gave me the strength to overcome many obstacles in what was a difficult career.” When asked why he didn’t like talking about his father, Jacques answered very eloquently: “The journalists just wanted the answers they had in mind. They didn’t want to hear what I really wanted to say. So I just decided not to talk about him anymore.” And that’s how it stayed until this courageous man won the world title.

A world title that Ferrari still regrets losing today – ironically, Jacques Villeneuve snatched it from Schumacher with a brilliant pass worthy of his father. “Michael was convinced that no one else could pass him. He felt he was the strongest. I had to be very clever about it: after the pit stop, my tyres were fresher than his because I’d come in later. I knew that would be the only chance I’d get to pass him. So I sort of tricked Schumacher: I didn’t come up to near him because I didn’t want him to get suspicious. I knew where I could make my attack and I took the corner before it so fast I almost went off. I moved up behind him when he wasn’t expecting it. And I passed him.” Many will remember that Schumacher attempted a fruitless defensive manoeuvre, made contact with Villeneuve’s car and went off the track. “I was lucky to finish. I could hear strange noises from the car. I thought it was the suspension but actually the battery had come loose after the impact and was only being held on by its wires. It was a miracle I finished at all…”.
Interesting. Interesting to uncover secrets that are sometimes overlooked in the news.

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The event in question is one of the most exclusive and eagerly awaited by the British public. The Diamond Jubilee Pageant, which takes place between May 10th and 13th, celebrates 60 years of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s reign.
Another symbol of Italian excellence will also be performing at the Pageant, however.
We are all aware that the Queen is a passionate horse lover and for this reason around 550 thoroughbreds, some Italian, will be making their way to the event.

Ferrari was eager that the Carabinieri’s 4th Mounted Calvary Regiment also attend to perform its legendary Carosello Storico exhibition, thereby making Italy’s participation in this unique event even more special.
The Carosello Storico is a spectacular display of skill by both horses and riders who complete complex yet incredibly smooth, flowing quadrilles to music in the equivalent of equine ballet, culminating in an exciting final charge.
Both Ferrari and the Carabinieri are founded on a deep respect for tradition and history, determination, innovation and passion, resulting in the perfect partnership to represent Italy in this homage to one of the most important figures of our time.

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I did it! I asked Fernando Alonso a question at the drivers’ press conference during the Ferrari Passion Day at Mugello!
Take a look at the photos and you’ll see me there, poking my head out from under Antonio Ghini’s jacket. I asked Fernando what if any difference there is between the various F1 engines of today given that one dominates in every race. Initially, I was a bit disappointed by his answer: he told me that the engines are all now more or less on the same level and make no real difference. He said that different engines winning in different race conditions really depends on other factors. That was a bit of a harsh blow to a poor old Pistunzen, I can tell you.

But then he added what I was hoping to hear: he said that if there were no regulatory limits, they’d make the best engines here in Maranello! And he is so right! So many generations of my family have brought victories back to Maranello and I’m only too ready to continue that tradition!

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Ferrari’s Special Projects Division caps a significant noughties trend, albeit one that has its roots in the 1930s and ’40s. In those days, numerous carrozzerie catered for the whims of the wealthy car enthusiast, clothing chassis in often outrageously beautiful bespoke bodywork. Back then, the panels would be handcrafted by skilled artisans. Ironically, it’s the relentless march of technology that has breathed new life into these old techniques. Ferrari, naturally, is interested in exploring such endless possibilities, along with its most dedicated and passionate patrons. However, with all Special Projects one-offs, the engine, chassis and safety structure of the base car remains the same. In issue two of this magazine, we profiled Junichiro Hiramatsu’s SP1, an F430 re-bodied according to a design by former Ferrari luminary Leonardo Fioravanti in a manner that called to mind the ’70s BB model.
Issue seven featured Edward Walson’s re-imagining of the 599 GTB Fiorano as the P540 Superfast Aperta, with inspiration drawn from an obscure Fellini film. Now there’s this, the Superamerica 45, another 599-based car but one that takes the “openness” of the recent SA Aperta limited edition to a different level. There are only 80 SA Apertas, which automatically places it in a rarefied part of the Ferrari pantheon. But you don’t get more limited than an edition of one, which is why the man in the red socks is looking so pleased with himself. ‘I have a 575 Superamerica,’ Kalikow explains. ‘It’s a great car, I love it. But it’s six years old now, so it’s a generation behind in terms of its handling and so on. So I discussed this over lunch with Piero [Ferrari, Company Vice President] and Amedeo [Felisa, Ferrari’s CEO], and I said, “you know what I’d like? A Superamerica-style top on a 599 GTO…” And these guys don’t say no to you. They just nod and smile and say that they’ll go away and study the idea. It’s easy for me to say, difficult for them to do. But they did it. And the execution was flawless.’

You get the impression that the Special Projects Division is an amazing buzz for all concerned. Flavio Manzoni, Head of the Ferrari Design Centre, explains: ‘They’re a great opportunity for us to explore new forms and try new solutions. It’s a liberating process, in some ways like creating a concept car. We need to listen to the customer’s wishes but also guide them, where possible.’ CEO Felisa, the man, whose fingerprints as a great engineer are all over everything Ferrari does, agrees: ‘The stage of defining the product concept and the car’s styling for the customer is perhaps the most exciting part. With Special Projects, we enter a world that is normally a secret for anyone who doesn’t work inside a car manufacturer.’ It’s a fascinating process. Even in a car company where volumes are as intentionally low as Ferrari’s, this business is primarily still about creating models that will appeal to the maximum number of customers. The new FF, for example, has all-wheel drive in response to a desire for greater all-weather useability, and a roomy shooting brake body. Such concerns don’t apply in Special Projects, however; here the client’s imagination is the only limiting factor, and Ferrari will try to deliver wherever that imagination takes them. ‘The project engineer said, “tell me everything you want to have on the car and we’ll see how many of your requirements we can fulfil.” I don’t think there was anything they didn’t do,’ Kalikow says admiringly. ‘Mr Kalikow was very precise about what he wanted and he’s really satisfied with the result,’ adds Manzoni. ‘The finished car is very faithful to the original concept, which was actually quite difficult to realise: the 599’s roof has a peak above the passengers’ heads, so we needed to flatten and lower the roof, and alter the rake of the windscreen. The client also wanted the roof to be hidden, when it was open, which is why we introduced that integrated rear spoiler.’ Interestingly, although the sky is theoretically the limit, Kalikow elected to keep his feet on the ground. He wanted a car that he could use, rather than creating an art piece that would sit in his garage and merely look pretty.

In fact, he’d previously dipped a toe in the water when he asked Pininfarina to personalise his 612, the resulting car, the Kappa, having appeared in 2006. It’s more evidence that Ferrari’s most dedicated clients like to exercise the same intellectual rigour they use in their professional lives when indulging their passion. ‘I was always thinking about the feasibility issues,’ Kalikow says emphatically, perhaps betraying his experience in the construction industry. ‘For example, those buttresses on the 599 are there to direct air and to create downforce at the rear of the car. So my car has that spoiler on the trunk, to help do the same thing. This is a 300km/h-plus convertible that becomes a coupé in about eight seconds. But as the Ferrari engineers told me, just because you’ll probably never do 300km/h in this car doesn’t mean that we can build a car that won’t function properly at that speed… ‘There was six months of brain work, working on the car’s structural rigidity, using some of the things they learned on the Aperta, then making the roof work. Itwasn’t just a matter of taking the 575 top and sticking it on the 599 body, by the way. The mechanism is the same, but that’s about it. We had to find a way to drain water out of it effectively. And I wanted a spare tyre. The guys here said no at first to that one, because it adds weight and it’s hard to package it. But it was very important to me. So they did it.’ The Superamerica 45 marries a suggestive aggression with a seductively nuanced elegance. Following the GTO and the SA Aperta, it’s interesting to see a further evolution of the 599 GTB. At first glance or from a distance, that devastating Pininfarina silhouette looks to be largely intact. But get closer to the car and the level of detail alterations, both in terms of the aesthetics and the engineering, becomes more apparent. There are subtle aerodynamic modifications at the front based on the 599 GTO. There are new intakes in the bonnet, and an extra intake on each side behind the front wheel arches, GTO ground effects and rear bumper with a large vent to exhaust air. The A-pillars, door mirrors and door handles have a chromed aluminium finish, creating some welcome decoration on the car. But most of the changes obviously centre around the roof and the work done at the back of the car to accommodate it. As Kalikow says, the SA 45 takes its cue from 2005’s 575 Superamerica, but the end product is a more graceful looking car. The tapered roofline flows into the solid rear buttresses (on the regular 599, these are actually open to facilitate air-flow), and then seamlessly abuts the car’s boot-lid, which features a new rear spoiler and lends the car a vaguely nautical look. There are grooves in the rear deck, into which the carbon fibre roof folds back in one elegantly engineered movement. The GTO’s rear diffuser is as impressive as ever, framed on either side by four almighty exhausts.

It’s a truly magnificent looking car, this, set off perfectly by its bespoke Blu Antille paintwork, chosen from Ferrari’s back catalogue to match the colour scheme on Kalikow’s 1961 400 Superamerica convertible. Even the alloys are unique, blending the A pillars’ aluminium look with the blue that prevails elsewhere. ‘It would be great to be considered as part of that legacy of one-off Ferrari specials. I think a lot of what we’re seeing now is a result of the strides that have been taken in the computerisation of design. Now the whole car is on CAD and they can input the changes. With reference to the older cars, I never liked the outlandish one-offs in the ’50s. I like it a little more conservative, it has to look like a real car. That matters to me.’ As Kalikow walks us round the car, his evident pride in what the project team have achieved is tempered by something I didn’t expect but nevertheless find very refreshing: a complete lack of sentimentality. Like so many other top Ferrari owners of my acquaintance, this might be one of the world’s best automobiles, and it certainly represents a significant investment for the man behind it, but what distinguishes a Ferrari from, say, a painting, or a shrewd stock investment is that it exists to be driven. And that’s exactly what Kalikow intends to do with it. Whenever, wherever. ‘It’s a car, it has to get you somewhere, and you have to be in roughly the same shape when you arrive as you were when you left. The 612 Kappa and Superamerica do that for me, as do Ferrari’s regular production cars, by the way. This had to be a car I could use all the time, not just an artwork. That’s why there’s protective film on the front, because we’re going to get stone chips. But so what? That’s part of life. I didn’t buy the car to look at, I bought it to use!’

Indeed, as his son attests, Kalikow regularly gets up early, and heads on to the expressway out of Manhattan to nowhere in particular, just for the hell of it. ‘He called one time,’ Nicholas says, still sounding slightly bemused, ‘and I said, dad, where are you?’ And he replied, “no idea! About 100 miles away I think…”’But lest you think that Peter Kalikow is utterly immune to the romance a Ferrari can engender, let me put you straight. An owner since the age of 23 (‘I had great parents, I was very lucky’) and a man who describes his remarkable stable of Ferraris as more of an ‘accumulation than a collection… there are no rules, if I like it, that’s enough…’, allows himself a little nostalgic reverie. ‘Europe was always the logical market for these cars,’ he says, ‘yet America was always the biggest. Americans appreciated the craftsmanship, the fine detail, the designs… we had a V8 engine that was two-valve, single cam, we made fun of it. It was a great engine, of course, and it still is. But when they were making five million units a year, why would you get excited about it? Enzo Ferrari and Luigi Chinetti did a great job of making cars Americans would love. ’ He leans forward and smiles. There’s another glimpse of those fabulous red socks.‘You remember the film Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow? Well that had a Ferrari in it and it starred Sophia Loren. I was the only one who went to see the film because of the car…’

Published on The Official Ferrari Magazine issue 14, September 2011

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The 12-cylinder engine: those faithful to “made in Maranello” traditions will doubtless be well aware that the V12 was the engine size preferred by The Drake. Enzo Ferrari’s feeling was happily shared by his successor, chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo; together the two enjoyed some of the V12’s finest exploits in competition. This was the mid-ʼ70s, in a Europe still divided by the wound of the Berlin Wall, a period that tormented minds with its contradictions and exasperating uncertainties. As recompense, the 12-cylinders from Maranello sang, shouted and poured forth a deep desire for compensation, for revenge.Ferrari had not won an F1 World Title since 1964 and among the Company’s detractors suspicions were gaining ground; that the V12 was a leftover from the past, too bulky and even too noisy, compared to the eight-cylinder engines used by the competition. Fortunately, Ferrari and Montezemolo, despite being from different generations, stood their ground. They shared a vision. Working on a V12 that was a miracle of technological perfection, engineer Mauro Forghieri developed the transverse gearbox and, with Niki Lauda at the wheel, Ferrari began once again to collect titles. From that time on, the V12’s vitality was no longer questioned, until technical regulations eventually forced its retirement from Grand Prix competition. The engine, with its wonderful shrieks, was like a childgrown up too quickly, one always hungry and thirsty. But how much satisfaction it gave… And how it made itself unique when you listened to it: a true aficionado could always tell one from a distance, as if it were a sound arriving from beneath the earth. Maybe it was this kind of emotional pull that prompted Spielberg to think of making dinosaurs speak with a Ferrari roar. Moreover, even after its racing days, the appeal of the V12 (which Ferrari, the Company, has continued to use for production cars, testament to a lasting fascination) is coloured with emotion. It’s the autumn of 1995. From the following season there will be a young man climbing on the Prancing Horse, one already touched by glory. He’s called Michael Schumacher and he has just signed the contract that will tie him for 10 long years to Montezemolo’s Ferrari. In his trophy case, Schumi already has two world titles, both won with Benetton.

In the first, his car was propelled by a V8, in the second by a V10. Schumi arrives at Maranello and, conscientious professional he is, asks to test drive the car Ferrari is about to send off to the museums. It’s the last racing car powered by a V12, the one in which Jean Alesi was first past the post at the Canadian Grand Prix. It’s already almost a museum piece, but the German has no intention of depriving himself of such a piece of racing poetry. So, the farewell V12 goes on track at Fiorano. And the more Mr Schumacher drives, the more intoxicated he becomes, intoxicated by a noise that is love. As the test finishes, he’s wearing a smile worth more than a simple farewell gesture. And fixed in the memory of those around is the phrase that serves as suitable epitaph: ‘It would have been beautiful to become World Champion with an engine like that.’ That’s the truth, not fantasy; the news, not invention. Don’t take offence, but the Ferrari V12 sang like a choir of sirens.

It could never be confused with the rumbling of a Cosworth or with the whistling of a Honda, a Renault, a BMW. Everyone is free to choose a different soundtrack, but Maranello isn’t so very far away from the home of Giuseppe Verdi and, as a boy, the Drake nurtured the dream of becoming a professional tenor. From the music of opera to the concert of the multicylinder propulsion unit, with the same intensity and the passion, because an engine is the sum total of feelings born of work, devotion and painstaking creativity. Of course, the racing history of the Prancing Horse is an infinite story, certainly one that doesn’t begin and end with the V12. In the ‘80s there was exploration of the frontiers of the turbocharged engine. In more recent times, F1 has timidly introduced “eco-compatible” measures such as KERS, the device for recovering lost energy. In 2009, in a technical context completely devoted to the V8, it was Ferrari who were the most efficient in using KERS, as demonstrated by Kimi Räikkönen’s prestigious victory on the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit in Belgium. To clarify, behind and within the musical score of an engine, there is always the spirit of research, the onward rush of an evolution that does not give in to the boredom of repetition. Ferrari has always accepted the challenges of modernity, both on and off the track.
The proof is there in its ability to interpret ever more rigid regulations, introduced to stabilise construction costs. The “freezing” of propulsion units has not put a dampener on the imagination of Maranello’s engineers; on the contrary, they actually see it as a starting point for further invention.
There was an exemplary lesson in the V10 used in the cars with which Schumi won his five World Titles, between 2000 and 2004. Obviously, the sound of the V10 was softer compared to the very high notes of a V12. The engine’s harmony harked back to glorious symphonies of the past.
Even in the increasing standardisation of the category, the Ferrari sound remains recognisable. A trademark, an emotion for the eardrums, like an orchestra or rock band of incomparable stature. Because from Giuseppe Verdi one can get to Pink Floyd: it’s not for nothing that Nick Mason, drummer in the legendary British band, is a Ferrari collector, as well as being Contributing Editor of this magazine. There is a piece by the Red House Blues Band (Maranello’s in-house band of musicians) that miraculously sums up, in a single track, the high notes of the Ferrari V10, using the rhythmic sequences of Another Brick In The Wall, the mantra-like tune by Pink Floyd.
Next year, F1 will return to turbocharged engines. And so the sounds of Grand Prix will change too. But we can be certain of one thing: the melody of Ferrari will remain unique. And unforgettable.

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So just imagine howling along the Grande Corniche above Nice, the open cockpit gently marinated in warm aromatic breezes of mimosa and pine, the emerald sea glinting below, the sound of the engine bouncing back off the cliffs as you overtake the sparse but slow everyday traffic, while propelled by a Le Mans winning V12, cornering on road-race suspension and, on arrival, almost out-dazzling the sun with the car’s achingly gorgeous Pininfarina bodywork. Spiders, or Spyders to use the earlier spelling, and Cabriolets and Barchettas, are among the most impossibly desirable cars Ferrari has made over its long history of making impossibly desirable cars. And that re-created journey demonstrate the two reasons why. First, because many of Ferrari’s competition cars have been open-cockpit, and the experience of driving an open car hard on the road is even more intense than when a metal roof is overhead; the feeling of speed, the sound of the engine, and the tangible link with Maranello’s racing cars. And, secondly, because an open car, in the times when it’s not being driven fast, has the potential to be simply a more glamorous conveyance than a closed car. It puts the occupants more intimately in touch with the surroundings they’ve chosen to travel through and it also puts the occupants on show, almost demanding of them that they dress up to match the glamour of the car. Gradually, as competition cars became more specialised and less capable of being used on the road, Ferrari’s open cars have more-or-less split into two different lineages. On the one hand, are the competition-related extreme-performance road cars and, on the other, those that emphasise beauty, luxury, and glamour – bearing in mind that “luxurious” for Ferrari still amounts to “pretty darned purposeful” by any other standards. It’s worth reminding ourselves of these two lineages because right now, in the new 458 and the California, there’s a representative of each kind in the Ferrari line-up. The competition-type open cars are, of course, where it all began, with Enzo Ferrari making his own cars from 1947. To Enzo the engine was really all that mattered, but others in the Company, including ironically the engine designer Gioachino Colombo, wanted a distinctive body design for Ferraris.

They went to Carrozzeria Touring in Milan, which, helped by Colombo, who redesigned the engine manifolds to make them fit under the sweeping bonnet, produced a shockingly radical and beautiful car – the 166 MM. Its name refers to the fact it was to be raced at the Mille Miglia in 1949, but it soon got a nickname that stuck: Barchetta. The word (Italian for “little boat”) perfectly evokes the simplicity of these cars, but it fails to say anything about the ferocity of their performance. It won the Mille Miglia and Le Mans in the same year and for the next season was given Ferrari’s Formula One engine. But, as long-distance racing took place on normal roads at the time, the 166 MM and its immediate successors could also be used as road cars. In return for their awesome performance and handling, a certain kind of driver would live without a roof, and not even a folding one nor a windscreen was provided. And so Ferrari, the race-car company, realised there was a market for road cars, even if at that stage it used racing powertrains and chassis. The 212 Inter and 340 America, which had a bigger, more driver-friendly engine, could be made with coach-built bodies whose detail design was decided by the individual customer. And some of the customers chose to have folding roofs. Then came the 342 America, of which only six chassis were made, longer and wider than the contemporary race cars to give more space inside. One of the six was a special and magnificent cabriolet made in 1952 for King Leopold of Belgium. Enzo Ferrari’s convention was to use even chassis numbers for the racing cars and odd for road cars, but for the 342, because it was so rare and used Aurelio Lampredi’s long-block racing engine, he made an exception.
From the mid-’50s, the 250 GT series was the first model to be made not by the handful or the dozen, but by the hundred. It could be had with near-race-spec engines and bodies, or clothed by one of the Italian coachbuilders as a cabriolet to endow it with extra beauty and luxury, as well as full weather protection. The most famous and sought-after of those cars was the 250 GT SWB California Spider. “SWB” stands for short wheelbase: the 250 SWB coupé was a regular front-line race winner of the era, and the California put a gorgeously proportioned and lushly detailed Pininfarina-designed body on that chassis. Some Californias were even made using aluminium body panels to make them race-capable. They had looks, luxury and heritage, and the client list was what you’d expect. The one originally bought by Hollywood legend James Coburn was sold to UK broadcasting star Chris Evans for more than €7 million in 2008. It seems a cliché to say it, but this era of open Ferraris really are for film stars and royalty and, come to think of it, they’re often used as shorthand by film directors wishing to establish their characters as people both fast-living and quick-witted. Look at the Faye Dunaway character in the 1968 film The Thomas Crown Affair. She was clever and alluring enough to outsmart Steve McQueen as the handsome millionaire who’d pulled off “the perfect crime” – and she drove a 275 GTB4 NART Spider. But by then the 275 GTB4 was a car whose competition career had ended. The factory was by then racing mid-engined machinery. Besides, racing itself had changed: the quality of the tracks had improved, so a race suspension set-up was no longer comfortable enough for the road. Meanwhile, road traffic was getting more congested, and race-car engines grow stroppy when going slowly. And so, with machines like the ultra-luxury 365 California, the powerful 365 GTS and the awesome 1969 365 GTB4 Daytona Spider, the engine and chassis and bodywork were designed from the beginning for the road. They could cope with cities, and traffic, and they were ready for the world’s new motorway network. And yes, they were still a joyful drive on empty mountain passes.

But during the ’70s, fashion, technology and the law turned against fully open cars. With monocoque body construction, instead of the earlier separate chassis, it was hard to make a cabriolet as rigid and safe as the closed version. So, all Ferrari’s GTS versions of the era – most prominently the 246 Dino and 308 – came with just a relatively small removable overhead panel. When Ferrari was ready to do something revolutionary again, it brought out the Mondial Cabriolet in 1982. This was a four-seater mid-engined car, an extraordinarily difficult challenge in packaging the jigsaw of people and components. Sure enough, the car looked a little gawky, and the glamour necessary for an open Ferrari wasn’t really there. A pity, for it was a joy to drive, especially in its later T version. For a mid-engined car, a two-seater layout was the way to get good looks. And so the 348 Spider emerged in 1993 and, with a much more powerful engine, the F355 Spider in 1995. By this time Ferrari’s strategy was to make its midengined V8 two-seaters the most sporting models in the normal-production range. And with the aluminium structure introduced for the 360 Modena, the open version could be light and rigid and truly track-ready. When Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo married in 2000, the factory had a present for him: workers had secretly built a 360 Modena Spider, lightened by the use of a tiny lowered windscreen. With that it had no call for wipers, wind-up windows or a roof, and it became a true echo of the sports-racing Barchettas of Ferrari’s nascent years.

The Scuderia Spider 16M isn’t too far from that template. It uses the best of the race-team’s expertise adapted for the road and it provides an extraordinarily, starkly exhilarating experience on a track or twisting empty road. One that possibly eclipses even driving the amazing 1995 F50 in roof-off mode – and that had an engine derived from F1 and a carbon fibre “tub”. But Ferrari hadn’t forgotten the front-engined convertible. The 2000 550 Barchetta was another limited edition, but it did actually have a canvas roof, albeit one more reminiscent of a tent than a permanent part of an automobile. A more interesting solution was proposed for the last of the 575 variants, the 2005 Superamerica. It had a novel glass roof that pivoted about its trailing edge, providing perfect weather sealing when closed. The Superamerica was indeed a luxurious car, as well as a brutally fast one at 320km/h. More recently, the California, with its purposedesigned folding-hardtop, is a convertible Ferrari that is converting a whole new clientele. The California took its name from that historic car because, again, it’s as sporty as anything else in its class. But it also marked a new step forward in useability, thanks to the twinclutch transmission, smooth multi-link suspension and colour-screen telematics. It’s as suitable for the rush hour of Shanghai as for Los Angeles or Rome. The exclusive 599 SA Aperta and now the 458 Italia Spider bring this long-running part of Ferrari’s history right up to date. Alongside the California, there are now very different nuances to the idea of a convertible Ferrari. A different level of noise, too, and of interactivity, though all are just as involving as ever. There is unimpeachable glamour here. Yet, when the road opens up, and the roof goes down, the driver rushes not because he needs to, but because the car impels him to. This is at heart still a Ferrari.

Published on The Official Ferrari Magazine issue 14, September 2011

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It’s wonderful that Jacques Villeneuve has finally made peace with the memory father Gilles who was snatched from him at such a tender age. Being the son of an idol is tough. Being the son of a hero can be a real no-win situation.

On that infamous day in 1997, when Schumacher’s Ferrari was passed by Jacques Villeneuve in the Williams a few laps from the end at the European Grand Prix in Jerez, crushing our hopes of bringing the title back to Maranello, the young Canadian must have felt a sense of catharsis as he finally outdid his father’s achievements. This was little Jacques who witnessed tragic accident at Zolder. Jacques who, as a young driver, had always been known as Gilles’ son. Now, however, he’d finally broken that giant taboo bequeathed to him by his father, by winning the World title that had eluded the latter.

This rather Oedipal story will draw to a fitting close on May 8th next when Jacques takes the wheel of Gilles’ 312 T4 at Fiorano. He’ll quite literally step into his father’s shoes and bring him alive again in what will be an emotional day for all of us. But of one thing I am certain: Jacques, or should I simply say Villeneuve, will be the one feeling the most emotion that day.

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Those impressive figures have attracted the attention of the world press and media. culminating a very special get-together at Maranello on April 11th 2012.
A get-together that included a track test-drive of the new Ferrari California whose engine power has been boosted by 30 CV to 490, and whose chassis has been lighted by 30 kg. The motoring journalists that test-drove it pushed the new California to the very limit of its performance capabilities which now include blistering 0-100 km/h acceleration in just 3.8 seconds.

The California’s superior versatility lies in part in its personalisation: owners can now opt for a more dynamic yet still not overtly extreme driving experience thanks to the optional Handling Speciale package which includes modifications to the car’s running gear and set-up resulting in less body roll and prompter response to commands.

But that is far from the end of the story: its excellent performance aside, the Ferrari California 2012 can also now be clothed in a new array of livery colours. After lengthy research, the Ferrari Style Centre has created a series of new two-tone, three-layer and historic paintworks for the car.

The new Ferrari California 2012 offers public and experts alike advanced technologies that make it more exclusive than ever and can be personalised to a degree that makes each car absolutely unique.

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