Ferrari has announced at the Bologna Motor Show 2007 that Brembo brakes featuring carbon ceramic material (CCM) discs will be provided as standard on the entire Prancing Horse range from 2008. Thanks to technological excellence unparalleled in sports car manufacturing, Ferrari is the world's first car manufacturer to offer CCM technology as standard across its entire range.
The Prancing Horse was also the first manufacturer to introduce CCM brakes five years ago on the Enzo Ferrari model and later began offering them to clients as a personalisation option on other models in the range.
The announcement of this latest development was made today by Ferrari's General Manager Amedeo Felisa and Brembo Chairman Alberto Bombassei, during the press day at the Bologna Show. Ferrari's decision comes as a result of the enhanced performance, durability and comfort offered by CCM brakes, their enormous popularity with clients (requests stand at over 85% for certain models), and a desire to underscore its technical leadership.
In a year in which Ferrari returned to winning form in F1, taking both the Constructor's and Driver's titles, the 430 Scuderia, a special series based on the F430, also makes its Italian debut at Bologna. The new car is an extremely high performance two-seater berlinetta brimming with Formula 1-derived content, and is flanked on the stand by a Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro single-seater to further highlight its close technological ties to the track.
In fact, the 430 Scuderia uses a traction control system (E-Diff + F1-Trac) similar to the F1's and a gearbox with gearshifting times equal to those of the single-seater of just two years ago. The F430 and the 599 GTB Fiorano, the most powerful production V12 car ever built at Maranello, also grace the Prancing Horse stand. On show too are the F430 Spider, which combines the blistering performance of a thoroughbred sports car with the delights of a drop-top, and the 612 Scaglietti, the current GT flagship which features recently updated cabin and accessories, including the innovative Bose Media System.
Braking system with Carbon Ceramic Material (CCM) discs
Braking systems that use carbon-ceramic material discs offer a host of advantages in terms of improved performance, durability and comfort, and are now considered an essential piece of kit for the kind of very high performance cars built by the Prancing Horse.
Brakes featuring CCM discs offer much more responsive braking as well as consistently excellent performance in intensive use. One of the most obvious advantages to adopting them is their exceptional fade resistance - fade in fact compromises the driver's feeling of control when it comes to the pressure required on the brake pedal and responsiveness.
The CCM discs have a longer life under normal conditions, a fact that has clear financial advantages. Furthermore, even with continual track use, CCM brakes offer greater resistance to wear for better durability on track. The CCM braking system also cuts around 15 kg off the car's total weight which not only improves overall performance but also reduces unsprung mass and thus improves vehicle dynamics and ride comfort.
On the 430 Scuderia in particular, the CCM braking system is specifically designed for the car and has unique brake dimensions which are aligned with the car's extreme performance characteristics. The diameter of the front discs has been increased (+18 mm vs the F430) which offers an improved effective radius and thus more efficient braking. Combined with specific 6-pot callipers, the front brake discs dissipate the extra heat created by the higher performance delivered by the 430 Scuderia .