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Ferrari announced its financial results today, and the company has wasted no time in gloating that sales in the USA are up 10% while Chinese sales are up 20%, a number that is "likely to rise further still in the coming months."
Ferrari credits the California, 458 Italia and 599 GTO with some of their sucess, but surely the real credit goes to their Ferrari boutiques which sell branded merchandise, a license to print money venture that comprises the bulk of their profits. Merchandise sales are up 40% this year, proving that while the wealthy still have money for cars, there is always a demand for upper-middle class folks to associate themselves with upscale brands.
With the Ferrari 458 Challenge official revealed just last week, we have come to expect plenty more Ferrari 458 Italia race cars coming around. Now as realistic as this Ferrari 458 Italia may look, it's simply a render done by the uber-talented Jon Sibal. We all know that inevitably there will be a Ferrari 458 Italia GT race car to replace the current F430 GT, so why not indulge ourselves in what it could potentially look like?
Jon had the luxury of seeing one of the first (if not the first) 458 Italia's in Southern California in person. He was once again inspired to render up a 458 GT race car and we're thankful he took the liberty to. He claims that this is just a "quickie" and for us to "excuse the roughness." Huh? We couldn't spot any flaws in his work even if we wanted to nitpick.
We have to admit, the 458 Italia is starting to really grow on us. In race car form it's just looks straight sexy with its sleek and low profile. We can't wait to see these hit the track!
Perhaps its divine punishment for that awful, gaudy Polo shirt, but some poor shmuck's Ferrari 458 Italia went up in flames in Paris earlier this month.
Luckily, a passer-by happened to have a fire extinguisher on hand, but that didn't stop his left rear fender from getting a little charred. We're not sure how this transpired, or how someone just happened to have a camera, but we'll sit back and chuckle anyways.
After bringing you some of the first unofficial pics of Ferrari's F430 Challenge successor, we now have the one-and-only first official photo of the new 458 Challenge race car.
According to Ferrari, the new 458 Challenge weighs significantly less than the production model, although specific numbers have not been given. In addition, this race car gets aluminum bushings, stiffer springs that lower the car by 30mm, 19-inch racing wheels and wider Pirelli racing slicks. Ferrari claims it's capable of 1.6 Gs of lateral acceleration. Also included are a new generation of Brembo carbon ceramic brakes (called CCM2), that first debuted on the 599XX.
And for the first time on a Ferrari Challenge car, the Prancing Horse has decided to equip its gentleman racers with traction control. The F1-Trac system constantly monitors grip to deliver the most power possible, with a dry track and wet track setting. And because these are real Ferrari race cars, drivers can also opt for CT-OFF on the steering wheel-mounted manettino to completely shut off the traction control system.
Compared to the F430 Challenge car, Ferrari claims the 458 Challenge is two seconds a lap faster on its Fiorano test circuit, setting a new record time of 1:16.5.
The 458 Challenge will run alongside its 430 Challenge predecessor in the 2011 Series, while the latter is phased out. Ferrari also plans to expand its Ferrari Challenge series next year, adding a new series in the Asia-Pacific region.
The replacement for the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti may come with a newly-developed all-wheel drive system from the Italian automaker. The source for the story is the well connected admin (DJ) on TeamSpeed, who claims his source inside Maranello has confirmed the AWD setup. This same individual also just brought us the very first photos of the 458 Challenge race car.
Reports of a Ferrari AWD setup have been around for years, with the system touted to use an electric motor to power the front wheels for added grip and under certain conditions, while the car will remain primarily a rear-wheel drive model. To a certain extent, this will make the next 612 a type of hybrid.
In addition, the next 612 (which is certain to be called something else) will be more of a true GT car, with added space, including in the trunk.
According to Fiat's 5-year-plan, Ferrari will unveil the 612-successor next year.
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