Motoring
Waterfront’s CEO Philip Harris experiences a dream trip to Italy to drive the Ferrari FF
H
aving waited so long for this day I had never been so happy to hear my alarm go off at 3am. I showered, shaved and set off with
my packed bags for Manchester Airport to board a shuttle to London Heathrow. T e fi rst fl ight out of Manchester departed on time at 6.30am and following a change at Heathrow’s new BA Terminal 5 I was on my way to Bolo- gna, Italy for the experience of a lifetime.
T e Journey Begins
On arrival I was greeted by a chauff eur hold- ing a prancing horse sign. He had obviously been sent to meet me by Ferrari, immediately making me feel 10 feet tall. Our journey took just 40 minutes to get to the factory in Maranello, on the outskirts of Modena. At the factory reception area I was met by Joanne Marshall, Ferrari’s Head of International Media and PR. Pleasantries over with I was then introduced to Stefano Lai, Director of Communications and Senior Vice President of Ferrari, where we discussed what they had planned for me over the next two days. To my joy I was to be taken around the Ma-
ranello factory. We started at the beginning of the line where I was shown the V8 and awe- some V12 engine blocks. T e factory was so clean, it looked more like an operating theatre, with men going about their work in a relaxed but methodical manner. T ere were robots and unmanned machines everywhere. I was im- mersed in the futuristic world of Ferrari. Further into the factory there are two assem-
bly lines. T e ground level is home to the V8’s such as the Ferrari California and 458 Spider and Italia models. Level one houses the Fer- rari V12 Berlinetta and FF (Ferrari four wheel drive and four seats). T e V8 Ferrari’s are mainly red in colour but the V12’s such as the FF are produced in more varied colours such as Tour de France blue, silver and black. Once both lines of Ferraris have had their
wiring looms, pedals, vents and exhaust systems fi tted the bodies are then carefully placed on to the engines. Finally I was escorted in to the exclusive and
very private Ferrari tailor made area, where you can choose from a multitude of leather grains and colours. T ere are also many dif- ferent types of steering wheels in any colour combination. To be honest if you’ve got the budget I am sure Ferrari would give you whatever you wanted, turning your car into a
real one-off bespoke driving machine. For the next part of the tour I was taken to the Ferrari specialist restoration division. T ere must have been 10 engineers totally rebuilding famous prancing horses by nut and bolt. I saw, amongst others, a Ferrari Red 1957 250GT Cabriolet and 1984 GTO in Black. We ended our morning with one of the most amazing sights I have seen for a while. I was fortunate enough to see a fi rst delivery, a gleaming bright red LaFerrari, which is the replacement of the Enzo, at 1.6 million Euros plus taxes. You can keep your hands in your pockets though, because the total production of 499 models have already sold. Ferrari only produce 7,500 units per year and
there is a waiting list for every single one. So get your name down now if you want to see yours before 2015!
Road Trip: Day One T rough a window at the Ferrari Maranello
factory reception area I could see my red Fer- rari FF waiting for me. T e FF stands for four wheel drive and four passengers. T is is truly a Ferrari for all seasons. It’s as good on the road as on the snow. For the motor head techies amongst you here are some facts about the Ferrari FF: It boasts an uncompromising sporting layout, with 53% of the weight over the rear. T e vehicle has a transaxle layout, mid front engine and power transfer unit transmitting torque to the front axle. It is 50% lighter than a standard four wheel drive and features integrated hydraulic control system. T e FF has a seven speed dual-clutch gearbox with E diff , while the dual clutch provides zero gearshift times. My journey began with a tutorial on the interior of the Ferrari, including the all-im- portant Sat Nav, as I had a four hour 350km drive ahead of me. My destination was Tolon- tino, where the interiors of the Ferraris are manufactured. I was secretly praying that the Sat Nav was in English and I need not have worried. T e English language echoed around the cockpit in perfect clarity. In fact it was a bit of company for my journey. I was also told not to worry about the toll
roads as Ferrari had kindly fi tted an auto toll device to the car, so no stopping was required. Ferrari had also kindly fi lled the fuel tank. Joanne said that should be enough to get me down there, which was a little optimistic!
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