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Ferrari extends Felipe Massa’s contract till 2012

June 10, 2010 at 10:50 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Ferrari, Formula 1, Motorsports

After Mark Webber committed himself to Red Bull for the 2011 season, the main protagonists of F1′s annual musical chairs game had less room to manoeuvre, and now there’s even fewer possible destinations with Ferrari announcing that it has extended Felipe Massa’s contract. Among those rumoured to be in line for Massa’s race seat were Webber and Robert Kubica.

The Brazilian will now drive for the Scuderia until the end of the 2012 season at the very least. This also means that Ferrari will have the same driver line-up for the next two seasons, with double world champ Fernando Alonso also contracted to the Maranello team.

“I am happy to be given the opportunity to drive for Ferrari for a further two seasons. Throughout my entire Formula 1 career, I have always raced with an engine made in Maranello and it is a matter of pride for me to be able to continue working with a team that I regard as a second family,” said Massa, whose original contract was expiring at the end of this year.

“Felipe has been part of Ferrari for almost a decade and together with us, he has grown as a driver and as a man, going through some very difficult times as well as giving us moments of great happiness. We wanted to show proof of stability for the future, believing in the worth of a driver pairing that is without equal in terms of talent, speed and its ability to work together for the good of the team,” said team boss Stefano Domenicali.

Massa joined Ferrari in 2001 and has competed in 69 grands prix, scoring 11 wins, 30 podiums and 15 pole positions.

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Injured Valentino Rossi keen to join Ferrari as third driver

June 7, 2010 at 2:47 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Ferrari, Formula 1, Motorsports

When speed is in your blood, it doesn’t matter what machinery you’re on, even if going fast on two wheels isn’t quite the same as doing it on four. Valentino Rossi, the undisputed king of MotoGP is one such person. He regularly tests Ferrari F1 cars, posting times that aren’t far away from what the guys who make a living from F1 do.

And because of that, he has always been linked with a possible switch of sport to F1, and more specifically, the Scuderia. However, the MotoGP man was recently quoted as saying that he would not want to be one of the two main drivers in Ferrari’s line up, which goes hand in hand with Ferrari’s push to have three car entries on the F1 grid.

“To have a strong team like Yamaha’s (in MotoGP), Ferrari should hire Sebastian Vettel alongside Alonso, I would like to explore the possibility of a third car for myself,” Rossi told Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Over the Italian GP weekend at Mugello, Rossi crashed during practice and suffered a fractured leg. The Doctor had four screws inserted into his leg in the first operation and he will undergo a second operation today. It will be some time before he gets on a bike again, or a Formula 1 car.

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Ferrari 458 Italia “stealth bomber edition” by Cam Shaft

June 4, 2010 at 9:43 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Ferrari, International News

We’ve always thought that the sharp lines from the Ferrari 458 Italia gives it a stealthy look. Now, German tuning company Cam Shaft have worked on that idea as one of its “theme cars”, calling this 458 a F-117 Nighthawk in honour of the famous stealth bomber. The whole exterior of the car is covered with a dark grey vinyl wrap to look like the plane.

Other additions include rivet graphics with “warnings” like “Heater Exhaust”, “Beware of Jetblast” above the three tailpipes, “Danger – Ejection Seat”, “Do not Paint” and “No Handhold” on the side mirror “wings”. A bit childish, but for some this might be the dream machine to fly down the road.

No engine tuning, so this 458 Italia will come with the standard 4.5-litre V8 that produces 570 bhp and 540 Nm of torque. You can expect a 0 to 100 km/h figure in 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 325km/h. The 458 is available for sale at Naza Italia, yours for a cool RM2 million.

More pictures after the jump.
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Novitec remembers the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, and tunes it!

May 27, 2010 at 12:54 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Ferrari, International News

The 612 Scaglietti is not a very popular member of the Ferrari family. More often than not, the big grand tourer is eclipsed by its prettier, sexier and nimbler sisters. Those shopping for a Ferrari are also likely to already have a “family car”. But famous Ferrari tuner hasn’t forgotten the 612, and has released a tuning package for the successor of the 456.

The 5.8-litre V12 engine gets a horsepower bump to 565 bhp from 530 bhp. Torque has increased to 609 Nm from 588 Nm. These new figures are achieved with the help of a “specially calibrated engine management system” along with Novitec’s high performance exhaust system. This means the Scaglietti’s 0 to 100 km/h time is down to just 3.9 seconds and top speed is 325 km/h.

Other additions include a new taillight design and a new tyre/wheel combination – 275/30 ZR 20 up front and 355/25 R 21 rears. Inside, one can customise the seats to their heart’s content. Leather seats can be custom tailored to body measurements and even the addition of lateral support and lowered seat positions for tall drivers can be done. Customers can go as far as choosing the thickness and material of their steering wheel. Like many supercars today, the steering will be flat-bottomed.

Novitec Rosso has an authorised dealer in Malaysia, Iktikad Raya Sdn Bhd, which brought in the Novitec tuned F430. We’re sure they’ll be happy to specially import one of these in for you.

Gallery after the jump.
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Sebastian Vettel could join Ferrari “in a few years”

May 17, 2010 at 10:05 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Ferrari, Formula 1, Motorsports

Young hotshot Sebastian Vettel, who is seen by many (including Bernie Ecclestone) as the brightest spark in F1, has expressed his desire to one day join Ferrari. The 22-year old stated to Spain’s El Pais newspaper, “I am very happy with Red Bull, I am not going anywhere else, but in the future, I don’t know.

“I want to fight for the world championship, and if you look at the past, Ferrari has always designed very competitive cars. Why not go there in a few years? Ferrari is unlike any other team, it’s a legend. There are other brands that achieve great success, but Ferrari is special,” he praised.

While the above quote is just Vettel not closing any future doors, his on-form team mate and new championship leader Mark Webber has already been linked to the Maranello based team for the 2011 season. It’s very early in the season but all sorts of transfer talk are already circulating in the paddock. While everyone successful will be inevitably linked to the Scuderia, Red Bull is not a bad team to drive for, as clearly displayed by the super quick RB6 that rivals have no answer for at the moment.

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Job cuts and plant shut down on the menu for Ferrari

May 13, 2010 at 2:16 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Ferrari, International News

Ferrari employees walked out in response to the proposed job cuts by the Italian supercar maker to pay for a 2009 bonus due last month. Ferrari plans to cut 120 office positions and 150 factory jobs to achieve this from the 3,000 people that they employ. This trimming is due to the fact that sister brand Maserati has reduced orders for engines, which Ferrari builds for the Trident marque. Maranello made engines for about 4,500 Maseratis last year, down from almost 9,000 units in 2008.

Besides the job cuts, Ferrari plans to shut down the its Maranello factory for a week this month, which will involve 600 staff. Ferrari plans to slash 2010 production targets to 11,000 from 20,000 and will cope with the reduction in staff by outsourcing non-core jobs to local companies. The restructuring will help Ferrari focus on product development, technological innovation and reaching new customers.

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Ferrari unveils world’s fastest roller coaster – 240 km/h!

May 11, 2010 at 10:00 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Ferrari, Formula 1, Motorsports

The car that will be used for the Formula Rossa ride at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, which opens on the 28th of October at the Yas Marina Island, was unveiled over the Spanish GP weekend. The car accommodates eight people in its F1 car style body and will be the world’s fastest roller coaster with a top speed of 240 km/h. The other coaster for Ferrari World, the F430 inspired GT Racing Coaster, reaches a top speed of “only” 200 km/h.

For all you speed buffs, here are some numbers for your brains to wrap around. The ride hurtles you 52 metres into the desert sky to the maximum speed and produces an incredible feeling of 1.7 Gs. You will then be ushered quickly through a series of chicanes. Terrified passengers will be powered on by a 20,800 horsepower winch that propels the roller coaster to maximum speed in only 5 seconds! 0-100 km/h? 2 seconds flat. Passengers will be handed out protective eyewear due to the windforce being so extreme.

“I can’t wait to have a go on it, It’s true that we drivers are used to speed, but this way I’ll get the chance to share the thrill of doing 240 an hour with my engineers, so they can get a feel for what it’s all about!” said Scuderia driver Fernando Alonso.

Look after the jump for a video of the hi-speed car.
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Ferrari removes disputed bar code from its cars

May 10, 2010 at 3:09 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Ferrari, Formula 1, Motorsports

Did you notice something different about the Ferraris at the Spanish GP? The Scuderia has removed the “bar code” design from Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa’s F10 race cars, after some noisy doctors claimed that the design is subliminal advertising from Marlboro (tobacco advertising in sports is not allowed in the EU). Philip Morris’ Marlboro is the only remaining tobacco brand in Formula 1 and is the title sponsor of the sport’s most famous team.

Ferrari denied the accusations and have grudgingly removed the offending design. The result is a white bordered empty box on the F10′s engine cover, which is rather ugly. Why didn’t they just remove the entire thing? Is it to prove a point? Your guess is as good as ours!

“Together with Philip Morris International we have decided to modify the livery of our cars starting with the Barcelona Grand Prix. This decision was taken in order to remove all speculation concerning the so-called “bar code” which was never intended to be a reference to a tobacco brand. By this we want to put an end to this ridiculous story and concentrate on more important things than on such groundless allegations,” an official Ferrari statement read.

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FIA gives Ferrari permission to modify problematic engine

May 5, 2010 at 4:13 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Ferrari, Formula 1, Motorsports

The FIA has given permission for Ferrari to make modifications to its engine on reliability grounds. Both Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso had engine issues in the first round of flyaway races, with the latter suffering two blow-ups to leave him rather short on engine supply for the rest of the season. Besides that, Sauber, one of two other teams using Ferrari engines (the other is Toro Rosso), also notched up some problems.

Ferrari looked into the matter after Shanghai and found an intrinsic problem with the design of the engine. It applied to the governing body and was given the green light. The modded engine will feature in this weekend’s Spanish GP. Maranello did not reveal the exact problem, but paddock talk says the problem is to do with air consumption, which could have been caused by leaking pneumatic valves.

“A lot of work was carried out on the test bench, completing several long runs and this work produced some solutions which it is felt will solve the reliability problems experienced in Bahrain and Malaysia. The team therefore requested and received authorisation from the FIA to make some changes within the framework of the current engine regulations and these modifications will be fitted to the engines to be used in Spain,” a Ferrari statement read.

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Ferrari website speaks a new language: Chinese

May 4, 2010 at 11:58 am By Danny Tan Filed Under China, Ferrari, International News

All who peddle premium goods are tripping over themselves in luring new Chinese money, from Louis Vuitton to Ferrari. While LV opened two stores in Shanghai in a day last week, Maranello announced that its official ferrari.com website now speaks Chinese. It was in conjunction with the World Expo opening in Shanghai.

Mandarin is only the fourth language available on the site, after Italian, English and Japanese. This opens up live news updates from Maranello, “Prancing Horse emotions”, activities and products to Chinese readers. They’ll discover interactive areas, car information, F1 news and the Ferrari Store. There’s also a virtual tour of the famous company via video clips and images.

This is further proof of the importance of China to Ferrari, coming straight after the world premiere of the 599 GTO at the Beijing Auto Show. The Prancing Horse brand will also show its Hybrid concept, the Hy-Kers, at the Expo.

Ferrari sold its first car in China in 1993 but only had a commercial presence there since 2004. Last year, they sold over 200 cars in China from 10 dealerships covering Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Chengdu, Chongqing, Nanjing, Dalian and Qingdao. The company also organises Corso Pilota Ferrari driving courses for its Chinese customers, a must I would say.

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