Work has begun on the new Ferrari->ke252 Land theme park, set to open some time next year. Based in PortAventura, a Spanish theme park that currently stands outside the city of Barcelona, Ferrari Land is expected to consist of a 250-room, five-star luxury hotel, a variety of high-end restaurants, and several speedy Ferrari-themed thrill rides. Formula 1->ke190 driver Sebastian Vettel->ke3801 was in town for the Spanish Grand Prix, and paid a visit to the groundbreaking ceremony in a Ferrari California.->ke3183 The four-time champion brought with him a piston from his 2014 race car,->ke148 plus a brick from Enzo Ferrari’s Maranello home that will be used in the construction of a monument at the park.
Ferrari Land will cover roughly 807,300 square feet, and will include “Europe’s highest and fastest vertical accelerator” rollercoaster, not to mention the requisite driving simulator. It’s the Prancing Horse’s second theme park, the first being Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, which the Italian automaker claims is the largest indoor amusement park in the world.
PortAventura currently draws some four million visitors annually, half of which arrive from outside Spain. Ferrari has teamed up with Investindustrial, which acquired PortAventura in 2009, to build the new theme park. In total, 100 million euros ($111.57 million at current exchange rates, 2015) will be poured into its creation.
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Why it matters
Ferrari enjoys a solid fan base in Spain, supported most heavily when it employed former world champion Fernando Alonso between the 2010 and 2014 seasons. But the real question here is if the Italian marque can pull more than gearheads through Ferrari Land’s gates. So far, the company seems confident: “We carefully sifted through the various proposals and decided to accept Investindustrial’s because it is a very solid plan developed by competent people that will bring the magic of Ferrari to Spain, a nation where we have many supporters and enthusiasts, and to which large numbers of tourists flock each year, in part thanks to PortAventura. This new license further underscores our brand’s presence in this area. Ferrari Land will delight the whole family and not just Formula 1 fans.”
The fact this is Ferrari’s second theme park suggests the Spanish destination should have something going for it, but I can’t help but wonder what the rest of the family will do while the adrenaline lovers are out playing race car driver. I just hope Ferrari doesn’t tell you when and how you can use your hotel suite, a la the FXX K…->ke5022
2014 Ferrari LaFerrari
At roughly $1.42 million a pop, it would take the sale of about 79 LaFerraris->ke4626 to fund this new theme park. But Ferarri made 499 of them, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Offering the kind of experience normally associated with rollercoasters gone awry, the LaFerrari is the fastest road car the marque has ever developed, hitting 60 mph in less than three seconds and reaching a top speed over 217 mph. That kind of velocity is thanks to 963 horsepower and over 663 pound-feet of torque as produced by a 6.3-liter V-12 mated to two electric motors. Formula 1 tech abounds, from the button-laden interior to the dynamic suspension and aero. Hopefully Ferrari can offer something similar for the masses in Barcelona (pro tip: blast that sonorous V-12 the minute the safety bars descend).
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