If Ferrari considers themselves an automaker with exclusive clientele, they do so knowing that despite catering to a relatively small market, the people who buy Ferraris are a loyal and well-spending bunch.
The problem isn’t so much as the supply of the cars as it is the demand it generates. And apparently, a lot of Ferrari enthusiasts are chirping about not getting their hands on some of the latest special edition models, especially after the small run of 80 Ferrari SA Apertas were sold out before many had the chance to get their hands on one. This became such an issue that it has prompted Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo to think about opening an exclusive club for these die-hard fellas.
"I do not want our faithful collectors to miss the opportunity to buy one of our special series," he said to Auto News.
The whole point of this ultra-exclusive club is to give its members the right of first refusal as far as limited edition Ferrari models are concerned. Not that we’re hoping for an invite, but if we can show our vast collection of Ferrari die-cast models, does that mean we’re in?
In all seriousness, this club is expected to be limited to a certain number of members where you can expect a very stringent screening process to determine who qualifies to get keys to this club and who gets left out. Potential members may need to own about five or more Ferrari models, which Ferrari says only totals about 300 collectors worldwide. This exclusive loyalty club will be much smaller than the existing Ferrari clubs, which total about 13,000 members in more than 30 countries.
Montezemolo is also putting together an annual sightseeing and driving event for collectors called the “Ferrari Cavalcade.” This event will occur once a year and will take 120 of the club members to different regions of Italy so they can understand the country and brand that make their precious cars. Event attendees will also be able to drive Ferrari’s Fiorano test track in Maranello and Florence’s historic race track il Mugello.
Apart from being one of the most awesome supercars on the planet, the Lexus LF-A taught us something important about Lexus. Toyota’s luxury division is trying to shed away its conservative persona in favor of being seen as a harbinger of high-performance cars.
Now it appears they’re targeting more than just the Ferraris and Lamborghinis of the world. They’ve also got an eye towards performance vehicles like the BMW M5, which only adds to Lexus’ growing reputation as a giant slayer.
According to Autocar, the Japanese automaker is planning on building a high-performance version of the GS-F, one that will carry a tuned version of the LF-A’s 4.8-liter V10 engine and will have at least 450 horsepower on tap. Those figures still fall short of the M5’s 550-horsepower output, but it’s still what people will consider as high-performance. Besides, you can expect Lexus to make up for the relative lack of output by packing all sorts of technology in the car.
Lexus’ intention of catering more to the world of high-performance cars was busted open with the release of the LF-A supercar. After seeing what they’re truly capable of, we’re not going to put anything past these guys.
If they want to go after cars like the BMW M5, then by all means, more power to them.
2013 Lexus GS 350 F-Sport pictured above
It has been confirmed that late last night, the world lost a true genius in the art of car design. Sergio Scaglietti, the man behind the designs of the 1957 250 California Spider, 1958 250 Testa Rossa, and 1962 250 GTO, among others, has passed away. He was 91 years old.
Sergio Scaglietti doesn’t need too much of an introduction in the eyes of Ferrari lovers. He started his work in 1951 when he opened Carrozzeria Scaglietti - an Italian automobile design and coachbuilding company. The coachbuilder was located just across the road from Ferrari in Maranello, where the great Enzo Ferrari took notice of the talented designer. Scaglietti was one of the few designers that gained Enzo Ferrari’s trust and respect both through his bodywork and design skills. Scaglietti of course started designing cars for Ferrari, and was even honored with a few cars named after him, such as the 612 Scaglietti and 456M GT Scaglietti.
"He was one of my father’s best friends," said Piero Ferrari. "He was next to me with Marco Piccinini also the day my father died and stayed with me the whole night until the funeral. I loved him and he was a very important part of my life. The world is emptier without Sergio."
After a lifetime of dedication to the designing of vehicles, Sergio Scaglietti passed away at his home in Modena. The world has undoubtedly lost an automotive icon. We have great respect for his work and send our condolences to his family.
TVR hasn’t brought anything new to the market since 2006, but rumors have flourished in the past couple of years stating that the company was preparing for a comeback with a Corvette-engined roadster. Until now those rumors were just the flapping of gums, but it looks like the British manufacturer is headed back to the market with models from their old line-up.
TVR has announced they will be starting to build Sagaris, Tuscan, Tuscan MK II, Cerbera, Chimaera, and Griffith models to individuals’ specifications. All of the cars will be powered by a new 6.2 liter V8 engine with an output of 426 HP and 420 lb/ft of torque. The engine will be mated to an enforced 5 gear gearbox at a fixed price.
TVR has also promised that the Tuscan MK II Convertible set to be reborn will be the fastest factory convertible. It will be capable of hitting a top speed of 187mph with an open top.
Ferrari is an automaker that’s known to march to the beat of its own drum and that has been proven time and time again.
The latest example of this "you-all-do-what-you-want-and-we’ll-do-what-we-want" attitude came to light in a recent interview with Popular Mechanics, when Ferrari engineer Patrizio Moruzzi made it clear that Ferrari will stick to using aluminum for the bodywork of their cars instead of the increasingly popular carbon fiber material.
According to Moruzzi, aluminum is a "multimaterial technology” that is ideally suited to serve a variety of uses, a versatile quality that carbon fiber just can’t match. Their long history using aluminum notwithstanding, Ferrari’s biggest sticking point as far as using carbon fiber was the length of time it takes to build a car using the material. Whereas aluminum, which is as potentially as light as carbon fiber, is a material that’s easy to wok on a mass-production level, carbon fiber is the exact opposite.
The Enzo, for example, used plenty of carbon fiber in its bodywork - and it took Ferrari about a day to build one model. Compare that to the aluminum-bodied 458 Italia, which the company could build at around 25-30 units a day, and the level of productivity, efficiency, and cost-savings is just not a question.
To their credit, Ferrari isn’t closing its doors on experimenting with new materials, particularly metal matrix components - material that’s made up of ceramic fiber-reinforced aluminum that could potentially shave off as much as 20 percent of a car’s overall weight.
So while other automakers are falling over with their carbon fiber-bodied supercars, Ferrari wants to have no part of the craze. They’ve used aluminum for the better part of 70 years, and they’re not about to stop using it in the near future.
