Ferraris chief executive confirmed mid-December that an electric vehicle will wear the brands Prancing Horse, but only after 2025, when itll slot into the GT lineup alongside the companys V12s.My sense is the electric will come out after 2025. The battery technology is not where it should be yet, said CEO Louis Camilleri during an embargoed lunch this week in the Centro Stile at Ferraris Maranello factory.The car would become part of the GT lineup of vehicles, rather than attempt to slot into the performance lineup populated by mid-engined supercars. Since a GT car must go long distances at high speed, electric vehicle technology still has some catching up to do in order to appease Maranello.There are still significant issues in terms of autonomy, in terms of speed of recharging. So eventually we will come out with one. But its post-2025. Not in the short term, said Camilleri. The fully electric vehicle will be a major departure for Ferrari, which has wn multiple awards for its internal-combustion engine designs. Founder Enzo Ferrari was from the start very proud of his companys powerplants, saying aerodynamics are for those who cant build engines.But it seems that times are changing, and so must the most stubborn brand in history. Luckily, we still have five-plus more years of solid Ferrari V12s before the EV trend threatens their security.LISTEN: What do you get when you combine a cross-country electric vehicle road trip with a poignant love story? Mary Ann’s Electric Drive, that’s what. In this week’s episode of Plugged In, we chat with Harvey Soicher, a Vancouver man who tragically lost his soul mate 18 months ago but found some semblance of healing by embracing what he calls a ‘pioneer spirit’ to drive his Audi e-tron from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean and back.
Origin: Ferrari confirms it’ll build an electric car, but not until after 2025
Ferrari
‘Ford v Ferrari’ depicts a generation of car guys best left behind
A still from Ford v. Ferrari (2019)Twentieth Century Fox Ford v Ferrari, which opened Friday, November 15 starring Christian Bale and Matt Damon, follows British racing driver Ken Miles (Bale), and hot-rodder Carroll Shelby (Damon) as they build a special race car to help the Ford Motor Company beat Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and 1967.The goal was to break Enzo Ferraris stronghold on international racing that had his Scuderia Ferrari winning everything throughout the 1960s.They strike an odd-couple pair: Miles is a wiry, eccentric Brit; Shelby is a square-jawed, cowboy-hat-wearing Texan. Neither much like the corporate pressure exerted by Ford chief Lee Iacocca and his marketing goons, who themselves were humiliated by Ferraris Old World gravitas after a bungled buyout attempt. And there you have the necessary tension for a movie.Its a beautifully shot film that will be enjoyable for modern car buyers and enthusiasts alike engines rev, tires squeal, stopwatches click. But what I saw is a devastating picture of the lack of diversity that permeated the industry in the 1960s.If automakers want any hope of relevance in the next decades, as they face the most radical changes and challenges theyve experienced in 150-odd years of automotive history, they would be wise to contemplate it closely. Because Ford v Ferrari shows a generation best left dead and gone. Matt Damon and Christian Bale on the set of Twentieth Century Fox’s ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Twentieth Century Fox It’s a Man’s WorldPicture this: During all 152 minutes of the film which, for those who love vintage racing cars, will feel as good as an ice cream sundae on a summer afternoon men dominate the screen for 98 per cent of the time, by my unofficial count. They are in the executive suites at Ford and Ferrari, in the workshops and garages in Venice, on the track out at Willow Springs Raceway. (And when I say men, I mean white, straight men.)No fraction of the storyline is devoted to parsing the thoughts and feelings of any female who appears, even peripherally, on screen. Instead, Caitriona Balfe, who plays Miless wife, Mollie, is presented as the doting mother: She smiles mildly and nods her head indulgently as her husband struggles to gain traction in the race world. She clucks and scolds like a schoolmarm when Miles and Shelby come to blows on her front lawn then brings them each a soda pop. Other women waft through the film like smoke: Secretaries in wood-paneled offices handing manila folders to men in navy suits; corporate wives smiling silently, always positioned one step behind their husbands shoulder; young racing fans that serve as pretty dcor on racing podiums. To the victor go the spoils.The critique I heard most often about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood could easily apply here: This is a film celebrating those nostalgic golden days when white men ruled. Its pretty to watch if you can suspend thinking for two hours about what that world must have been like for any ambitious or creative folks who didnt fit that demographic.Behind the Shiny ExteriorThe central message of Ford v Ferrari that the answer to the question Who are you? is what really matters in life is delivered in the beginning, middle and end of the film by Shelby. The biggest problem with that is Carroll Shelby. The man who was responsible for turning the Ford Mustang into the epitome of American muscle occupies a god-like status in car culture and embodied everything the red-blooded American male of the era was supposed to hold supreme.Some of it is admirable: A former chicken farmer from Texas who pulled himself up by his own proverbial bootstraps, Shelby wore overalls when he raced and built his own cars with Ford-tough V8 engines. He beat the Europeans at their own game at Le Mans. In his later years, he established a charity that helped provide organ transplants for children.Most of it was not: Shelby was a notorious womanizer who blew through six marriages and was heading toward divorce from his seventh when he died. He spoke to everyone with language so blue it was legendary; ask any car journalist or professional driver who knew him, and theyve got plenty of descriptive words to describe the way he treated anyone within earshot. Many of those words are unprintable here.During all 152 minutes of the film, men dominate the screen for 98 per cent of the timeFor fun, he shot lions, elephants and rhinoceroses on animal hunts in Africa. He filed so many lawsuits against Ford, against local car builders, against online forums and, ironically, against the company that later would supply all of the Cobras for the film that he become more known and reported on for that in his later years than for any feats of automotive genius.In fact, after his blast of success with the AC Cobras in the 1960s and his hot-rod take on the Ford Mustang, Shelby didnt have a single real hit. Instead, there were claims he falsely represented many of the cars he
Origin: ‘Ford v Ferrari’ depicts a generation of car guys best left behind
A Ford GT40 replica that starred in ‘Ford v Ferrari’ is heading to auction
Are you a gearhead with a few extra barrels of money taking up space in the basement? Well, the crew at Mecum Auctions has just the car for you.As one of two replica Ford GT40s finished in this livery for use in the James Mangolds new film Ford v Ferrari, this beautiful machine is the Ken Miles hero car driven by Christian Bale during filming.Built at Rich MacDonalds Superformance Facility in California, this isnt your typical movie car thats been hacked to pieces before being rode hard and put away wet.MacDonalds incredible attention to detail is truly astonishing, making it easy to explain why this car was the one that provided the movie magic GT40 close-ups in the film. In what is surely one of the most legendary examples of self-confidence, MacDonalds shop built the car before they had even been selected to provide the vehicles for the movie.Powered by a specially prepared Roush V8 built to 511 cubes, this movie monster cranks out 600 horsepower thanks in no small part to kit like a KN Inglese-style injection system and an jaw-droppingly gorgeous rear-exit bundle of snakes exhaust. All this sends power through a five-speed manual transaxle, meaning youll be saving the manuals while being a total baller.Slathered in that iconic Gulf Blue, it features a pressed steel roof and a unibody structure constructed of electro-galvanized steel. Independent suspenders are installed front and rear, with unequal-length A-arms up front, Bilstein shocks with HR springs at both ends, and trailing arms out back.The car is also signed by Ken Miles 1966 crew chief and Ken Miles son, Peter. This hero car has seen plenty of screen time beyond the movie and its trailers, appearing at various red carpet events alongside the stars of the film. Short of an original GT40 racecar, provenance doesnt get much better than that.Itll be on the block at Mecums event in Kissimmee next
Origin: A Ford GT40 replica that starred in ‘Ford v Ferrari’ is heading to auction
Updated: More details on new 612bhp V8-powered Ferrari Roma
Ferrari has revealed a new 612bhp V8 front-engined coupé called the Roma. While it shares some underpinnings with the Portofino drop-top, the new machine features bold new styling and is described by the Italian firm as an all-new model. The fifth new model Ferrari has launched in 2019, the Roma is termed a “2+” coupé, which Ferrari says features “refined proportions and timeless design”, while offering “unparalleled performance and handling.” The two-door Roma, which is set to rival the Aston Martin Vantage and Mercedes-AMG GT, features a bold grille at the end of its elongated front bonnet, with sharp lines over the bold wheel arches. The back features a sloping rear window, distinctive narrow lights and quad exhausts. An active rear spoiler integrated into the rear screen deploys automatically at high speeds for optimal downforce. The Roma is powered by a revamped version of the 3.9-litre turbocharged V8 engine used in the Portofino drop-top and elsewhere in Ferrari’s line-up, albeit using the eight-speed DCT gearbox that was introduced on the SF90 Stradale. In the Roma, the unit delivers 612bhp between 5750 and 7500rpm, with 591lb ft of torque between 3000 and 5750rpm, up from 592bhp and 561lb ft in the Portofino. The version of this powerplant used in the recently launched F8 Tributo produces 710bhp. Ferrari claims a 0-62mph time of 3.4secs, and a top speed of more than 199mph. Ferrari also says it has ‘completely redesigned’ the exhaust system to incorporate petrol particulate filter technology and enhance its sound. Notably, the Roma has a dry weight of just 1472kg with lightweight options fitted, around 80kg less than the Portofino’s dry weight. The eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox alone weighs six kilograms less than the seven-speed unit in the Portofino, and is claimed to offer reduced fuel consumption, faster shifts and enhanced comfort in urban driving situations. The new model measures 4656mm long and is 1974mm wide, making it marginally shorter and narrower than the Portofino, while both models feature a wheelbase of 2670mm. Inside, the driver is separated from the front-seat passenger by a central divider, in what Ferrari calls “an evolution of the dual cockpit concept that embraces the entire cabin rather than just the dashboard as was previously the case”. The steering wheel is an all-new design, and hosts all the main driver settings to ensure constant focus on the road ahead. The traditional analogue speed and rev counter dials have been replaced by a 16in screen mounted behind the steering wheel, while a centrally mounted, vertically oriented 8.4in unit displays infotainment functions. A boot capacity of 345 litres is roughly equal to that of the Roma’s AMG GT and Aston Martin Vantage rivals. According to Ferrari, the Roma was named after the Italian capital – where it was revealed at a launch event – because it “is a contemporary representation of the carefree, pleasurable way of life that characterised Rome in the 1950s and ’60s.” That implies that the machine will focus more on everyday usability and relaxed driving than being intended as a long-distance grand tourer. The decision to introduce a new nameplate, rather than just producing a hard-top version of the Portofino, has likely been taken to target the car at a new audience. By turning the car into a “2+” coupé, it can likely broaden its offering at the entry level of its range. Earlier this year, Ferrari’s marketing chief, Enrico Galliera, told Autocar that the firm would become “less predictable” and said that at least one car it would reveal this year would be “in a new segment”. Ferrari’s current focus is on increasing revenues rather than strictly increasing
Origin: Updated: More details on new 612bhp V8-powered Ferrari Roma
New Ferrari Roma is 200mph+ front-engined coupe
Ferrari has revealed a new 602bhp mid-front-engined coupé called the Roma; it’s effectively a fixed roof version of the Portofino with substantially reworked styling. The Italian firm described the machine as a “2+” coupé featuring “refined proportions and timeless design”, with the Italian firm also promising “unparalleled performance and handling.” The Roma gains a bold grille at the end of its elongated front, and sharp lines over the bold wheel arches. The Roma is powered by a revamped version of the 3.9-litre turbocharged V8 unit as in the Portofino drop-top, albeit using the eight-speed DCT gearbox that was introduced on the SF90 Stradale. In the Roma, the unit delivers 602bhp between 5750 and 7500rpm, with 591lb ft of torque between 3000 and 5750rpm. That output is up from 592bhp and 561lb ft in the Portofino. Ferrari claims a 0-62mph time of 3.4secs, and a top speed of more than 199mph. The version of this powerplant used in the recently launched F8 Tributo produces 710bhp. Notably, the Roma has a dry weight of just 1472kg with lightweight options fitted; that’s a little less than 200kg lighter than the Portofino. It measures 4656mm long and is 1974mm wide, with a wheelbase of 2670mm. So far, Ferrari has only released limited details of the Roma, along with a small number of images. The only interior shot so far shows a dramatically sculpted cockpit featuring a digital instrument display and a touchscreen mounted at the front of a large centre console. There is also no indication of what Ferrari means by a 2+ seater. The California, which preceded the Portofino, was orignially offered with the choice of two tiny rear seats or a bench, an option the Roma could re-introduce. According to Ferrari, the Roma was named after the Italian capital – where it was revealed at a launch event – because it “is a contemporary representation of the carefree, pleasurable way of life that characterised Rome in the 1950s and ’60s.” That implies that the machine will focus more on everyday usability and relaxed driving than being intended as a long-distance grand tourer. The decision to introduce a new nameplate, rather than just producing a hard-top version of the Portofino, has likely been taken to target the car at a new audience. By turning the car into a “2+” coupé, it can likely broaden its offering at the entry level of its range. Earlier this year, Ferrari’s marketing chief, Enrico Galliera, told Autocar that the firm would become “less predictable” and said that at least car it would reveal this year would be “in a new segment”. Ferrari’s current focus is on increasing revenues rather than strictly increasing sales. Ferrari is expected to reveal more information and details about the Roma tomorrow
Origin: New Ferrari Roma is 200mph+ front-engined coupe
Ferrari to reveal new model later today
Ferrari has confirmed that it will reveal a new model later today in a post on its official Instagram page. An accompanying image reveals little about the new car, but we can see a blurred grey silhouette travelling at speed, reflected in a pair of sunglasses. A video posted to the same account earlier this week features clips of famous Italian landmarks and traffic in urban areas, suggesting that it will be a less performance-focused model than the recently revealed F8 Tributo and SF90 Stradale. One possibility is that the firm will reveal a hardtop coupé variant of its entry-level Portofino sports car, following the unveiling last month of the 812 GTS and F8 Spider convertibles. In that case, we can expect it to retain the grand tourer’s turbocharged 3.9-litre V8, which produces 592bhp and 561lb ft. The new car is likely to offer a slight performance advantage over the drop-top, however, with the loss of a weighty roof mechanism. Full details of the new model will be available later today at
Origin: Ferrari to reveal new model later today
First Drive: 2020 Ferrari F8 Tributo
Maranello, Italy — I am absolutely thrilled. I built a Ferrari engine. A real, honest-to-God, no-it’s-not-a-plastic-1/8th-scale-model Ferrari engine or even a LEGO set. It was, in fact, an F154 V8, the same turbocharged monster that has powered the 488 these last four years and still powers the Tributo I will test in a few hours.Actually, the hardest thing I did was install a spark plug — a rare-as-hen’s-teeth NGK SILZKAR8HKS, by the way — but I did have to use a special tool. I also got to fit piston to cylinder liner — with the best ring compressing tool I‘ve ever sampled — and sintered caps to connecting rod. That may not sound like much and my specific engine may be just another abused class-demonstration block that will never internal combust in anger. But, I am completely taken by the moment nonetheless. I am in Maranello, I am in the Ferrari factory — in the very same classroom that all Ferrari techs learn their craft, no less — and I just torqued the rarest of rare double overhead camshaft head down. I am quite literally the kid in the candy shop, with minimal — after all, this is Italy — supervision. It might seem trivial. It is almost certainly pathetic. But I am tickled pink and I can’t wait to get back home to show off my “official” Ferrari meccanico overalls to my soon-to-be-jealous pals at Driving HQ. That is the magic of visiting Ferrari. No place in the automotive world is at once so thoroughly efficient and yet so steeped in history. Cloistered away inside a compound that holds the most modern of manufacturing plants is the little shop, well, let’s call it a hut in comparison to the new plant, where Mr. Ferrari and his small coterie of crazies assembled Testarossas. And what’s that over the there? Oh, that’s the barn he converted into an office to watch the F1 races he was too busy to attend. And, oh my Lord, is that… why, yes it is. A bust of Gilles Villeneuve — located on via Gilles Villeneuve, no less — that serves as a welcome to Ferrari’s famed Fiorano test track. Because, well, Gilles was reputedly Enzo’s favourite racer of all time. What I am trying to say is that, in a country that takes its legacy and heritage seriously, we are standing in its epicentre of hero worship. It’s impossible not to note that giants strode here.All of which makes the fact that the car we’re driving at Ferrari’s also-steeped-in-lore test facility — the F8 — is also called the Tributo. Quite literally, tribute. Officially, the new F8 is a tribute to Ferrari’s V8 — an engine that originated in the 308GTB — and the fact that it has now been the Engine Technology International magazine’s Engine of the Year four years running and, even more impressively, was voted the finest example of internal combustion of the last 20 years by the same organization. But — and I don’t know if it’s because I’ve just been elbows deep in a Ferrari engine block or because I like the new F8 so much — I can’t help but think that this new car is a tribute to Enzo and everything one man managed to create in the Middle of Nowhere, Italy.That’s because, after the sensibility of the 488 — a great car that made complete sense, but didn’t tug at the heartstrings quite as much as a Ferrari should — the F8 is a return to living large with eight Italian cylinders. It may be based on the same chassis and its engine a kissing cousin to the 488’s, but it’s louder, lighter and more than insouciant enough that it feels (almost) like the return of the 458.Steering, for instance, feels much sharper than the 488’s. Turn in is tight, no matter how tight the Italian switchback is, the front end, like the 458’s, sticking to a line like a 600-cc superbike. Try as I might — and, Lord knows, you know I tried — I just couldn’t get the front to understeer. That might have something to do with the tenaciousness of Italian tarmac or the tail-wagging nature of Fiorano’s turns, but the F8 stuck to the pavement like Donald Trump to inappropriate handshakes. Ferrari says the hardware isn’t changed — other than a smaller steering wheel that’s supposed to provide more feedback — and all the difference in feel is due to tuning changes in the suspension, steering and electronic differential. Torque vectoring at the rear, as we all know, has an enormous effect on steering precision at the front, which is why Ferrari engineers credit the e-diff with the greatest improvement. Whatever the case, if the upgrade — which, again, is substantial — is all tuning and finesse, where was this calibration engineer four years ago when the 488 was tamed into a benign McLaren.The engine behind is no less dramatic. What had been subdued is now overtly ferocious. Where the 488’s tone was an F flat, the F8 is an E major. Where other turbocharged V8s seem tamed — I’m looking at you, McLaren — and need, let’s call it aural augmentation, Ferrari’s V8 is all flat-crank, almost-as-vibrant-as-the-458 soul stirring. Sometime soon we will all be driving electric cars
Origin: First Drive: 2020 Ferrari F8 Tributo
Mesmerizing time-lapse shows the Ferrari F8 Tributo engine being built
Behind-the-scenes footage of an assembly line in action might not sound like the most compelling television ever, but when that assembly line is in the Ferrari factory in Maranello, Italy, it suddenly becomes a lot more watchable.The video above, sent to Driving by Ferrari, shows one of the most glorious engines ever designed coming together on the highly efficient and surprisingly photogenic line.The engine being lifted and flipped about in the clip is the F154 V8 from the Ferrari F8 Tributo, which debuted at Geneva earlier this year.Its mostly machines that bring the V8 together at first, with twists and turns from human hands here and there. But as the engine grows, Ferraris meccanici play a more involved role, adding the final pieces before the engine is taken away and fit into the F8.The twice-turbocharged V8 makes 710 horsepower for the Tributo, which means tribute in Italian. The supercar uses it to race up to 100 km/h in 2.9 seconds; and 200 km/h in 7.8 seconds, making it faster than Ferraris 488, and, in the opinion of David Booth, who got to take the first drive of the F8, superior in most
Origin: Mesmerizing time-lapse shows the Ferrari F8 Tributo engine being built
The Ferrari 812 GTS is the world’s most powerful convertible
Ferraris new 812 GTS has just taken its top off to win the title of most powerful production convertible and reopens a bloodline that hasnt been on the books since the 60s.Ferrari was pretty late to the game with this one, waiting for Aston Martin, Lamborghini and Bentley to release wind-in-your-hair versions of their cars before revealing this drop-top Superfast in early September.But none of that matters now, because Modena has reclaimed the crown for the most powerful convertible. It might sound hard to believe, but its been 50 years since Ferrari has offered a production front-engined V12 convertible. Yes, the 365 GTB Daytona was the last car to have the honour, but the V12 has come a long way since Colombo worked his magic.The honour now, of course, comes courtesy of its 6.5-litre V12, which makes 789 horsepower and 530 lb.-ft. of torque. The engine can nail 8,900 rpm in the blink of an eye, and hit 100 km/h in under 3.0 seconds; 200 km/h in just 8.3 seconds; and rush onward to a top speed of 340 km/h. As for the top itself, it can be raised or lowered in just 14 seconds at speeds up to 50 km/h. When lowered, flying buttresses fill the gap behind your head.Ferrari also recently debuted the drop-top version of its brand-new F8 Tributo, with a 710-horsepower V8 thats guaranteed to mess up your perm.The F8 Tributo is not a revival of the classic Ferrari layout but follows a long, unbroken lineage of rear-engined V8 supercars with drop-tops.All the excellence of looking like Sonny Crockett will cost you, however; the 812 GTS starts at 336,000 ($488,609) and goes up from
Origin: The Ferrari 812 GTS is the world’s most powerful convertible
Ferrari shelves plan for entry-level Dino model
Ferrari has no imminent plans for a modern-day Dino, although chief commercial officer Enrico Galliera has refused to rule it out entirely. When asked if the new Dino was dead, he said: “I would never use the word dead in the future strategy. (But) it’s certainly not something that we’re planning shortly.” A V6-powered, entry-level Dino was on the drawing board as recently as 2016. At the time, then-Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne said both a reintroduction of the famous Dino name and a V6 engine were possible. The plans have since been shelved; Ferrari’s fifth model line instead became the SF90 Stradale, revealed earlier this year as the brand’s first plug-in hybrid. That launch was part of new boss Louis Camilleri’s revised strategy, in which 15 models will arrive by 2022, including the four already revealed this year: the F8 Tributo, SF90 Stradale, F8 Spider and 812 GTS. Rather than developing a new Dino, which would be the cheapest model in the line-up, Ferrari is instead choosing to focus on growth through new segments, especially higher-priced models, such as the SF90 Stradale. That car costs 25% more than the rest of the Ferrari range. Galliera said: “Our product line-up is basically trying to redesign our positioning, but we don’t feel there is a need for an entry-price (model) in our product range, and we plan to remain consistent with what we already declared we want to
Origin: Ferrari shelves plan for entry-level Dino model
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