I love Ferrari

Ferrari... Is there really any more to say? The word Ferrari is one of those universal brands. Almost everyone knows what it means and almost everyone can picture that flash of red roaring through twisty mountain roads. Ferrari is at the very pinnacle of the motoring world. Those that are fortunate enough to be rich enough to own a Ferrari of their own must certainly feel a sense of importance and success emanating from the car regardless of its worth. Not everyone can experience this feeling on a day-to-day basis of course and that’s life. There is however, a better feeling. A feeling that anyone who seeks it can experience if they so wish.

What many people really want to do is get behind the wheel of one of these iconic red masterpieces and blast it full throttle around a race track of their choice for a tiny fraction of the cost of owning a Ferrari for themselves. Look at it this way: upwards of £100,000 will give you the chance of driving a Ferrari around your neighbourhood to the shops to get some milk, but is that really what a Ferrari is for? Certainly not, a Ferrari needs to be unleashed into it’s natural habitat, the race track, with you at the wheel. Ferrari driving experiences are therefore amongst the most popular driving experiences available.

Should you decide to take the opportunity to floor a raging Ferrari around a race track, you will be spoilt for choice regarding the location for ...

In 1973 Ferrari introduced the first of a long line of V8 road cars. This initial model was called a Dino, after Ferrari’s late son. The Dino 308GT4 was the precursor of the newest Ferrari the 458 Italia.

Ferrari has a long history of naming car models for various features of the particular car. Sometimes it related to the cubic centimeter capacity of a single cylinder and other times to the seating capacity.

The 458 Italia derives its name both from its displacement of 4.499 liters rounded to 4.5 and its engine being a V8. The name differs a little from the last two models the 360 and 430 which both reflected a 3.6 liter and 4.3 liter engine.

This latest version is truly a masterpiece. Just examine some of its specifications. As mentioned, a 4.5 liter engine but this produces 570 horsepower at 9,000 rpm, a speed that would destroy the typical car engine. 398 lbs/ft torque at 6,000 rpm. Boasting a 12.5 compression ratio this is an awesome engine that will drive the 3,042 sports car to 202 miles per hour.

"The 458 Italia is designed for owners for whom the priority is uncompromising on-road performance with occasional track day capability, but who still demand a car that is useable in day-to-day driving like all Ferrari’s recent models." This is according to the September Pilota magazine produced by the Ferrari Owners Club.

This particular car benefits from the company’s Formula One racing experience. ...

Periodically Ferrari takes one of their road cars and comes out with a little more race car oriented version. In the past they have had "challenge" versions of the V8 like the 348 Challenge. This car was designed for a "gentlemen-drivers" series of track events. It was replaced by the 355 challenge and then the 360 Challenge Stradale model, which at its heart was a race car. Now the top of this particular line is the 430 Scuderia.

Scuderia is the Italian word used by Ferrari to describe a racing team. And that is the heritage of this particular model. Michael Schumacher, perhaps the greatest living Formula One driver living, played an active role in the design and development of the 430 Scuderia. Ferrari pays him $10 million per year, so you can believe they took his advice on this car.

So what did the factory do to one of the greatest sports cars around, the Ferrari 430, and turn it into a beast? Well you can start with the engine. A 4,308cc (430 liter) DOHC 32 valve V8, which produces 503 horsepower at 8500 RPM, and 347 lb/ft at 5200 RPM. Not your family car numbers, but those approaching race car territory. One of the ratio numbers that some people look at is the weight per brake horsepower figure. This combines the vehicle’s total weight divided by its horsepower. This gives you a number you can compare to other cars. Sometimes just a ...

What is considered the most beautiful Ferrari ever built? There would be a lot of different answers to this question, depending upon what you consider beautiful. However, for many Ferrari enthusiasts the answer is the Ferrari 250 GT Lusso.

The term Lusso usually means Luxury in Italian. This is a relatively strange term to be associated with a Ferrari. Enzo Ferrari started out building racing cars. He then went on to build sports racing and road cars. The road cars were known for their power and handling and not luxury features. Wealthy owners were looking for performance and status, not creature comforts.

However in 1962 in the Paris Salon the Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso was introduced. By 1964 around 350 cars had been produced. By no means the longest run of the 250 based cars, but a very good one for the factory.

What made the car use the term "Lusso?" There is no one feature that made this car the luxury two-seater coupe in the Ferrari stable. The engine was the familiar V12 with 2,953cc capacity. It produced 250bph at 7,000rpm which was typical. The chassis was the typical tubular steel, and disc brakes were becoming more common for Ferrari. However if you look at a parked car you get the feeling of motion. From its classic egg crate grill, to its new truncated Kamm tail section this car shouted I am a Ferrari.

Some interior features were a little unusual. For example ...

Have you seen the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? If you have, I’ll bet you remember the red Ferrari that went off a driveway and crashed at the base of a hill. Well that was a replica of a 1961 Ferrari 250GT California. Ferris and his friend Cameron looked rather stunned when they watched this car become airborne. As did all Ferrari lovers. Why was a replica used? It could have been because only 55 of these cars were made, and it is considered one of the most beautiful examples of the car maker’s art.

There are really two different 250GT California cars. The first one produced from 1957 to 1960 was based on the Ferrari 250GT Tour De France, which had its top removed, and a coupe became a convertible. Pinin Farina designed these spiders and they were built by Scaglietti built them. The initial request came from Ferrari’s North American importer. This run of 49 cars are now referred to as the LWB or long wheel base models.

The Ferrari 250GT SWB (Short Wheel Base) California was built from 1960 to 1963. It is considered one of the most desirable and beautiful cars ever made. How desirable? At the RM auction on May 18, 2008 a 1961 model sold for $10,894,900, setting a new record. The car had been owned by actor James Coburn, which may have helped a little in the final price.

From a mechanical standpoint the 250GT SWB was powered by ...

Do you know what a Ferrari 308 is? Have you ever seen one? I bet you have. If you remember the TV show Mannix which ran from 1967 to 1975 you will remember Mannix driving a two passenger sports car. And that was a Ferrari 308.

The Ferrari 308 was built by Ferrari from 1975 to 1985. The model number 308, in typically Ferrari fashion, does not make a lot of sense to non Ferrari fans. But if you understand some of the number methods that have been used over the years you can puzzle it out, sometimes.

The 30 stands for the engine size in liters. It was really 2926cc which is 2.926 liters, and was then rounded up to 3.0 liters. Since the numbers never had decimal points it was just 30. Now the last part or the 8 was for the number of cylinders or 8. So taken together, the 308 number means a V8 engine of about 3 liters in capacity. All Ferraris do not use this approach, so be careful and don’t assume a car like a Ferrari 330 is a 3.3 liter engine with zero cylinders.

The 308 series had several modifications during its 10 year span. It started out at a factory claimed 255 bph at 7,600 rpm, in 1975. Now there is horsepower and there is Italian horsepower. The Italian variety is usually higher than the American version even though they are supposed to be the same thing.
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The Ferrari 308GT4 was manufactured from 1973 to 1980 and approximately 2,826 car were produced. The car was considered a 2+2, which meant that two adults could ride in the front of the passenger compartment and there was some room behind them for additional passengers. Who or what the additional passengers were was up to debate. It could be two adults who had no legs or two small children, as the leg room was almost nonexistent.

This proved to be one of the most controversial body styles ever to come out from the Ferrari factory. The body was designed by the Bertone company rather than the Pinifarina design firm. The shape just did not look like a Ferrari to many aficionados. It was too boxy and did not look like the earlier 206/246 model line. In hindsight Bertone did a very good job in the space they had to work with, but many considered the car a second rate model rather than a true Ferrari sports car.

The engine was a 90 degree V8 of 2,926 cc or almost 3 liters. It produced 255 bph and was considered a very fast car for its time with a top speed of 154 mph in European trim. It was the first of the 308 series but is usually not considered a true 308 because of its design.

The interior was leather and vinyl with a strange driving position for the typical American driver. The steering wheel was tilted back ...

You may well ask what is a Ferrari model 166 Inter? Not too many people have ever heard of this car, and even Ferrari owners look a little confused. Why shouldn’t they? The 166 was the first Ferrari road car.

The Ferrari Company was primarily involved in building pure race cars. This was Enzo Ferrari’s passion. However you do have to pay the bills and this was the car that started the road car business. In 1948 the Ferrari 166 introduced at the Turin Motor Show.

Typical of the companies’ later cars, this was powered by a V12 engine in the front. The engine had two overhead cams, one of which was on each side of the V12 banks.

Total engine capacity was 1995 cc or about 2 liters. If you were to divide the total 1995 by 12 you would get 166.25.

The company dropped the .25 and the car was called the 166. Naming a Ferrari after the cubic centimeter of one cylinder is now common, and this was the first car to be named this way.

The word "inter" was the way the factory would designate cars that were not built with the idea of racing in mind. However, many owners felt that a Ferrari was a dual purpose car. That is, you could drive it in a race and then drive it home.

Ferrari owners were not alone in this belief, as many other sport ...