Ferrari F12 Berlinetta Drive Review

Replacement for the 599 is nearly flawlessby John Carey

Ferrari would probably prefer it to be described simply as the replacement for the 599. Either way, the F12 berlinetta is the most evolved, most powerful version of Ferrari's classic front-V12 and rear-drive sports-car format ever created.

The engine is a development of the 6.3-liter V12 introduced last year in the four-seat, all-wheel-drive FF, whipped harder to deliver more power. Maximum outputs are stunning: 731 hp at 8,250 rpm and 509 lb-ft of torque at 6,000 rpm. That's 60 hp more than the 6.0-liter V12 of the 599 GTO.

The F12 berlinetta has a rear-mounted seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, designed to deliver that power and torque without the hiccups of the 599's single-clutch six-speed transaxle. The seven-speed unit is an evolution of a component introduced in the FF. Ratios have been changed for F12 berlinetta duty.

With an all-aluminum chassis tightly wrapped in aluminum panels, the F12 berlinetta is 150 pounds lighter than the 599. It's also slightly more compact. Although more than two inches lower and almost an inch narrower than the 599, the F12 berlinetta still has ample room for two tall passengers and a practical amount of luggage. Careful aero tuning endows it with a drag coefficient a whisker below 0.30.

Active front-brake cooling flaps, which open only when the front discs are hot, boost aero efficiency. Curved channels carved into the hood lead to the distinctive fender "aero bridge" feature. With the rear "blown spoiler," which tailors air pressure around the car's tail by connecting the rear wheel wells to mesh-covered vents on either side of the luggage compartment liftback, the aero bridge creates stabilizing, high-speed downforce.

Although the F12 berlinetta laps the Fiorano circuit quicker than any other road-going Ferrari ever produced, the company's engineers aimed to make its elite athlete's ability accessible rather than intimidating. That's a seemingly impossible objective to reconcile, but with improved hardware--such as the latest generation of magnetically variable dampers--plus more processor power and better software for its multitude of electronically controlled systems, they believe they've done the near impossible.

What is it like to drive?

Simply brilliant. It says something profound that 731 hp feels about right in the F12 berlinetta. Throttle response is instantly gratifying all the way from idle to the wailing 8,700-rpm cutout. But the V12 begins to sound musical only from 3,000 rpm, and there's a marked increase in tempo and intensity at 6,000 rpm. Although it's one of the world's most awesome engines, it doesn't dominate the F12 as you might expect. It's just one superb part of an incredibly harmonious whole.

Except for some jerkiness at low speeds and small throttle openings, the dual-clutch transmission is near flawless. With race mode selected on the steering wheel manettino, shifts are instantaneous. It doesn't matter whether the driver chooses auto mode for the transmission or uses the elegant aluminum paddles to shift manually, there's no perceptible pause in acceleration as gears are changed.

With standard Brembo carbon-ceramic brake discs and massive calipers, the F12 has stopping power more than equal to its engine. And thanks partly to the car's rearward weight bias--the front/rear split is 46/54 percent-maximum-effort braking stability is excellent. Low-speed grabbiness makes the Ferrari's brakes difficult to modulate accurately in city driving, but this is their only shortcoming.

The F12 berlinetta's steering is direct, with just two turns lock-to-lock, and is beyond criticism. It creates an almost supernaturally intimate bond between the driver's fingers and the tire-contact patch. There's seemingly zero delay between wheel input and car reaction and a constant stream of informative feedback.

With front-end grip that's out of this world, superfast electronics taking care of rear-end traction and great inherent chassis balance, the F12 berlinetta's racetrack limits are quite approachable.

But it's also a car that doesn't grumble when dealing with the real world. Ride comfort for a car of such performance is marvelous. Sound levels are reasonable, the beautifully crafted cabin is spacious, and there's 11.3 cubic feet of space for luggage beneath the liftback.

Do I want it?

Of course you do. The F12 berlinetta practically defines "desirable." It updates Ferrari's most traditional road-car formula in so many ways and makes its predecessor appear a little slow and unsophisticated. The F12 berlinetta is due to launch in the United States next spring, five months or so after European deliveries begin. Based on the higher-than-599 price already announced for Europe, it is likely to cost $300,000.

2013 FERRARI F12

ON SALE: Spring 2013

BASE PRICE: $300,000 (est)

DRIVETRAIN: 6.3-liter, 731-hp, 509-lb-ft V12; RWD, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission

CURB WEIGHT: 3,594 lb

0-62 MPH: 3.1 sec (mfr)

FUEL ECONOMY (EPA): 16 mpg (est)

Read more: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20120730/carreviews/120729844#ixzz24CWqbK4w

GRAND-AM Rolex Series at Laguna Seca

Our Ferrari Challenge Series partner Extreme Speed Motorsport will try to capture its 4^th podium of the season at Laguna Seca in the Grand Touring Class during the Continental Tire Sports Car Festival. The race, starting at noon, will feature 7 Daytona Prototypes and 15 GT cars for 2 hours and 45 minutes of excitement.

The Rolex Series visits scenic Monterey, for the Sept. 9 Continental Tire Sports Car Festival powered by Mazda at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca, followed by the season-ending GRAND-AM Rolex Series Championship Finale at Lime Rock Park on Saturday, Sept. 29. Both September events also feature the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge in its final two races of 2012.
The two Rolex Series races will be broadcast live on SPEED and MRN Radio.






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This is Not Your Dad’s Ferrari

XOJET Test Drives the 2012 Ferrari FFby Timothy Ng

And there’s perhaps no better example of the execution of this philosophy than Ferrari's newest street offering, the FF. In fact, the Ferrari FF doesn’t just incorporate racing technology into a street car: It showcases it.

The FF (which stands for four-seat, four-wheel drive) is unlike any previous four-seater Ferrari family car. There have been three others since the 1980s: the 400i, the 456 and the 612 Scaglietti. But the FF was designed in many ways to be the flagship of Ferrari’s latest generation, not some tack-on car to round out the product line. It showcases and sets the tone for what to expect from the rest of Ferrari's product line-up. Its look is stunning—even to this driving purist.

Among the hallmark characteristics of a Ferrari has always been the music of its exhaust note under acceleration—or even more spectacularly, the experience of blipping the throttle while down-shifting at high speed, especially when blasting through a tunnel. Other classic, unique imperfections synonymous with the at-times-challenging-but-rarified experience of Ferrari ownership were the ubiquitous "gated" gear shift, coupled to a heavy and cumbersome clutch, and an awkward driving position.

As an avid driving enthusiast, I've owned a few Ferraris, and quite frankly, felt the company had lost its way over the past several years. After the shark-nosed F355 and F575 GT ended production in 1999 and 2006, the body styling got radical, the exhaust note got raspier and 90% of the cars produced and sold had semi-automatic “paddle” shifters.

Ferrari was the first company to introduce "Formula 1 paddle shifter" technology to street cars—and they’ve come a long way since 1999. We’re not talking about Porsche's Tiptronic transmission—a glorified automatic transmission with buttons around the steering wheel—but a street version of the semi-automatic gearbox used in F1 race cars that incorporates an automatic clutch (two in the case of the FF), but manual gear selection. Two paddles adorn either side of the steering wheel, the right to upshift, the left to downshift. As you shift, the car hits the clutch and blips the throttle for you. Nobody does this technology better than Ferrari.

Still, I found previous versions of this technology to be cumbersome and slow in execution. I particularly found the semi-automatic paddle shifters gimmicky; it seemed like a ploy to expand the audience for Ferraris cars to people who basically don’t know how to drive. So I shunned it when I went out of my way to purchase one of the only 16 (out of the last 100) manual transmission versions of the F355 about 12 years ago.

But the Ferrari FF’s F1 gearbox is all grown up. It’s no longer a “gimmick.” It’s a true taste of race car engineering in a street car.

The FF changes gears in just under 0.060 seconds, faster than the human brain can perceive, and the engine revs to 8,000 rpm. That’s seriously fast. (For comparison, a modern, 850-horsepower F1 race car shifts gears in 0.050 seconds, but it has to, because the engine revs to 19,000 rpm.)

I started out as a skeptic as I drove the car around XOJET headquarters and Highway 101 with Emmanuel Turin from Ferrari Maserati of San Francisco, lamenting to him that I find it ridiculous you can no longer order any Ferrari with a manual 6-speed transmission, something the “driving purist” would always want. He sympathized, but asked me to drive with an open mind.

I found the experience mind blowing. Ferrari has literally dropped an F1 car into a four-wheel-drive family car. At 660 horsepower, the dual clutch/dual transmission gearbox makes all that power usable—the shifts are lightning quick and barely perceptible except for the change in the engine exhaust note, the jump in RPMs, and the massive torque (503 lbs./ft.) available under the gas pedal.

Taking the Brisbane exit off Highway 101 North at high speed, I clicked the left paddle four times to grab second gear from sixth while under-braking, and the semi-auto gearbox blipped the engine four times ("whum-whum-whum-whummm") in rapid-fire succession. Oh, how I wished we were in a tunnel with the windows down! The car didn't jerk or shudder one iota. A mere tap of the massive, Brembo carbon ceramic disc brakes (also F1 technology) to prevent the FF from bottoming out on the big bump in the middle of the Brisbane exit sent my passenger lurching forward in the back seat.

Ferrari has made F1 racing technology practical, as oxymoronic as that sounds. Unlike several other marques that have marketed limited-production, barely-street-legal editions of their race car technology (like the Porsche GT3 and the AMG Mercedes CLK Black), you don't have to be a gymnast nor a contortionist to climb into the Ferrari FF. The ride isn't so low that you rip off the nose over every manhole cover, nor is it so harsh that the driving experience is compromised, as it would be in a street-legal race car.

The FF has four-wheel drive, and you can actually raise the car to the right height for driving in snow—which you are encouraged to do. (It has GPS navigation in case you get lost between Davos and Zurich.) There’s even a pass-through from the trunk for skis! During the summer months, a pair of golf clubs fits in the back without compromising comfort for the two rear-seat passengers. There are even video screens in the rear-facing headrests.

It also has a few things that typically only race cars have: carbon ceramic brake discs the size of your head for ridiculous stopping performance; a big red "START" button to fire up the car; and for those who really know how to drive, the ability to turn off traction control.

With the FF, Ferrari has gone back to its roots as an F1 racing team. In doing so, the company has done more than create a massively over-the-top, strangely usable four-seat supercar. It has created an opportunity for mere mortals who don’t have an FIA racing license to taste the experience of true F1 race technology. It’s more than fancy, flashy version of a family car: it’s a practical toy.

This is not your Dad's Ferrari, nor like any other Ferrari before it. As Ferris Bueller said of Cameron's Dad's California Spider: "It is so choice. If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

By Timothy Ng, XOJET Advisory Board Member and Managing Principal, Farallon Advisors

[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]

Ferrari F12 Berlinetta makes North American Debut at Pebble Beach

by Sami Haj-Assaad for AutoGuide.com

 

The F12 Berlinetta takes over the spot the 599 Fiorano had in the lineup, and while its still front-mid engined and rear-wheel drive, it’s also smaller and lighter than the old 599 thanks to an all-new lightweight alloy space frame chassis and suspension.

The Berlinetta’s V12 engine, is an upgrade of that first seen in the FF, but has been reworked to produce more power – a stunning 730 hp, which is also expected to help the F12 deliver up to 30 percent better fuel economy.

The Italian car’s impressive design is also functional. Air is directed from the hood down the sides of the car to increase downforce, and there’s even active brake cooling to help keep the mighty Ferrari’s big brakes from fading.

In terms of performance, this is arguably one of the fastest road-going Ferraris yet. It hits 62-mph in a mere 3.1 seconds and has lapped the Fiorano circuit in 1’23″, faster than any other Ferrari road car.

The whole Gallery is below, so take a look at how the Ferrari looks in the sun of Monterey.

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A Rare Peek Inside Ferrari’s Factory of Dreams

by Marco R. della Cava

On a recent afternoon, I presented myself at the factory gates in the hopes of taking a peek inside. I felt like Charlie Bucket waiting to slip inside Willy Wonka's candy factory; Ferrari offers no public tours, and the golden ticket is a Ferrari vehicle serial number and lots of advance notice. (No on both.) Or a press credential and decent standing with the keepers of the Prancing Horse keys. (Check.)

"A tour of Ferrari is a treat only for some, typically our customers or the sponsors of our Formula One team," says Stefano Lai, Ferrari's lanky bilingual communications director, handing me a visitor's pass. "What you'll see inside speaks to our attitude not just toward our cars but also our people."

Over the next two hours, I and six stoked California Ferraristi are given a leisurely look at the sprawling 36-acre complex, including prolonged stops at the 160,000-square-foot machine shop where Ferrari 8 and 12 cylinder engines start life, the cozy engine assembly area where workers patiently assemble each power plant by hand, the sprawling assembly line, and the Gestione Sportiva area, where, if you visit during the right time, you'll see Ferrari Formula One cars being cobbled together. Off limits are offices and test facilities where future cars are in development.

In the marque's darker days of the '70s and '80s, its antique manufacturing made Ferraris synonymous with both arresting beauty and mediocre quality. (In 1985, I sat in a months-old 512 BBi with a glowing light alerting the engine cover was open, when it wasn't. The owner simply shrugged, saying it was that way from new.)

Today, Ferrari looks like a manufacturing leader. The factory's gleaming glass and steel structures are the work of celebrated architects. Ferrari planted 25,000 trees and 200 species of plants around the factory to cut its carbon emissions. There's also an array of solar panels, a power station burning natural gas and a fleet of red bikes that some 2,500 red-suited employees use to get around. It's part of a modernization by Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo, who calls the ethos Formula Uomo, "uomo" meaning man in Italian.

No matter which facility we drop in, no one seems to be in a rush or yelling. Often the loudest thing heard is the dull squeak of rubber wheels against a painted floor. Carts containing parts for each car roll from station to station. An almost Teutonic sense of order reigns, and nowhere more so than in the assembly line facility.

Entering this cavernous area, Michael Yancey gasps. "So, this is where it all happens," he whispers as the body shell of a California loops over our heads on the way to becoming a quarter-million-dollar showroom queen.

Yancey is new to Ferrari after decades in Porsches, and impressing folks like him is savvy marketing, considering many Ferrari owners arrive through word of mouth. Yancey made the switch after years of hectoring from his Ferrari fanatic brother, David. The San Francisco-based commercial real estate investor recently took delivery of a black California.

"Being here, I get the sense that a lot of care goes into making these cars, that the notion of them being hand made really is true," says Yancey, who then laughs. "They're expensive machines, twice a Porsche. But maybe now I see I'm not over-paying as much as I thought I was."

In this facility, where a Ferrari becomes a Ferrari, you witness an impressive ballet between man and machine. Anything heavy or repetitive is outsourced to a robot of some kind, but any job requiring judgement and a deft touch are left to workers.

In the former camp are jobs such as ferrying the increasingly complete automobiles from station to station, some 50 in all, where craftsmen wait to rig wiring, install seats and mate gearboxes to transmissions. The most impressive mechanical assist comes from the jig each body is attached to: it swivels on command to place the shell at just the right height and angle depending on the worker's size.

Similarly, the most dazzling piece of hand assembly happens on the dashboards, where unblemished hides and flawless carbon fiber are fitted into the area that each Ferrari owner will come to know well. All told, some 30 cars leave the factory daily, around 7,000 per year. (A typical auto factory can build that many cars in two weeks.)

The tour concludes with a visit to Gestione Sportiva. While there are no 2012 F1 cars on display here today, there are a few dozen older F1 models all in Ferrari's trademark Rosso Corsa red. All are owned by customers, but kept by Ferrari and shipped to tracks for driving events. The Corse Clienti program leaves Yancey's head spinning.

"Just incredible, nearly $2 million to own one of these old F1 cars and about a million a year to fly it around to whatever tracks you want, complete with your own Ferrari pit crew," he says. He later asks the tour guide how much the insurance is on a building with some $40 million worth of cars. Her blunt answer: "High."

That's pretty much how the tour group feels when the tour bus drops us back at the reception area, next to the gift shop. For a moment, we're all a bit deflated - it's a bit like heading into the stands after visiting the locker room. But there is a consolation prize that will be handed out each time a Ferrari rips down a street near us. We may not know where that car will wind up, but it's extremely satisfying to know where it started.

By Marco R. della Cava | Motoramic – Wed, Aug 1, 2012 10:45 AM EDT

as featured

http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/rare-peek-inside-ferrari-factory-dreams-144538616.html

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RENAUD KUPPENS CROWNED EUROPEAN MASERATI TROFEO CHAMPION

by Paul Ricard Circuit - 22/07/2012

Kuppens’ second spot in Race 1 was enough to see him across the line, and, even though he was forced to retire from Race 2, he still tops the Overall standings in the Maserati Trofeo MC World Series. This round sees the European stages come to an end; the scene now shifts to the United States and China.

Sharing the limelight with Kuppens were Sernagiotto and Andrea Dromedari, winners of Race 1 and 2, respectively.

Sernagiatto’s morning win was only in doubt towards the end when Cedric Sbirrazzuoli (AF Corse) very nearly caught him. Sbirrazzuoli’s victory bid was put to bed on lap 12 after he tried to get round Sernagiotto, who was slowing down to ease past Nicolucci, a back marker. Sbirrazzuoli and Nicolucci ended up clashing with the AF Corse driver coming off worse. The way was now clear for Renaud Kuppens and Alan Simoni to make second and third their one. Sernagiotto’s win fuelled his partner’s (Giuseppe Fascicolo) thoughts of taking the European title in Race 2. When Kuppens pulled out early on, things seemed to be going the Italian’s way but, in the end, he could do no better than finish fifth.

The second race of the day was more exciting with the win eventually being taken by Andrea Dromedari (Swiss Team). Chasing the podium slots for much of the race were Riccardo Ragazzi, Fabio Venier, Riccardo Romagnoli and Ange Barde (four-time winner of the European Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli). When the curtain came down it was Ragazzi and Venier who took the runners-up spots behind the Swiss Team driver. Barde, who had crossed the line second, was hit with a 45-second penalty that saw him relegated to 11th. The decision to slap him with the penalty came after he failed to complete a drive through for clashing with Romagnoli.

Konvex Motorsport’s Kuppens and Daniel Waszczinski now hold the lead in the Team series from Dromedari and Pigoli (Swiss Team). In the Trofeo, Simoni and Ragazzi head Sernagiotto/Fascicolo and Venier/Gardelli.

The two guest drivers in the Bowers & Wilkins VIP car had a varied time of it: Christian Gebhardt, the German journalist from Auto Sport magazine, retired from Race 1 on lap 14 when in seventh while his Japanese team mate, Shinichi Katsura from Genroq magazine, finished Race 2 in tenth.

The Maserati GranTurismo MC Trofeo that will appear in the United States was unveiled during the weekend. The car’s special livery celebrates the next round in Maserati’s single-make series, one programmed for 23 September at Infineon, in Sonoma. The grand finale will be held on 4 November in Shanghai, China. These two final events round off the series in a truly global way.

Renaud Kuppens (Konvex Motorsport): “Obviously, I am very pleased at my success despite retiring from Race 2. I would have preferred to have celebrated by crossing the line after going at it with my rivals. Looking back over the season, I would have to say that things didn’t start out well: the wrong choice of tyres at Jarama saw me lose a few places; in round two, at Portimao, a win in the endurance event brought me back into the championship reckoning and at Imola a series of three solid results gave me the lead. Now I am looking to winning the world title. The competition will be tough but my objectives will not change. I would like to highlight how professional the set up is in the Maserati Trofeo. The level of organisation is like nothing else I have experienced in my career”.

Over the coming weeks Eurosport will transmit a 28-minute report of the weekend’s action. Images, results, interviews and all the standings can be found on the www.maseraticorse.com website.

RACE 1

1. Giorgio Sernagiotto/Giuseppe Fascicolo 41:21.279
2. Konvex Motorsport – Renaud Kuppens 41:26.781*
3. Alan Simoni/Riccardo Ragazzi 41:30.074

RACE 2

1. Swiss Team – Dromedari/Pigoli 41:38.958*
2. Ragazzi/Simoni 41:49.700
3. Venier/Gardelli 41:51.103

*in the Team series

OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
1. Kuppens (Konvex Motorsport) – 121 points*
3. Fascicolo/Sernagiotto – 114 points
4. Simoni/Ragazzi – 111 points

TROFEO CLASSIFICATION

1. Simoni/Ragazzi – 144 points
2. Fascicolo/Sernagiotto – 135 points
3. Venier/Gardelli – 97 points

TEAM CLASSIFICATION

1. Konvex Motorsport (Wasczinski/Kuppens) - 261 points
2. Swiss Team (Dromedari/Pigoli) – 148 points
3. AF Corse (Sbirrazzuoli/Chionna) – 122 points

Text and Photos courtesy of Maserati Media Center

[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]

Pre Owned Ferrari of the Month!

2012 FF in Rubino/ Crema

Alcantara headlining in sabbia, Alcantara boot Carpet in Bordeaux, Bordeaux safety belts, Bordeaux Dash, Parking Camera, Dual View Front Parking Camera, Front + Rear Parking Sensors, Passenger Display, Alcantara inserts in Bordeaux, Automatic Boot Lid System, Standard Style 20" Two Tone wheels, White Rev counter, Rear Seat Entertainment, High Power HIFI system, All stitchings in bordeaux, colored steering wheel in bordeaux.

Dimensions and Weight

Length

193.2 in

Width

76.9 in

Height

54.3 in

Wheelbase

117.7 in

Front track

66.0 in

Rear track

65.4 in

Kerb weight*

4145 lb

Dry weight*

3946 lb

Weight distribution

47% front - 53% rear

Boot capacity

15.9 cu ft

Fuel tank capacity

24 US gal

Tyres and rims

Front

245/35 ZR 20 8.5 J x 20"

Rear

295/35 ZR 20 10.5 J x 20"

Rear Winter

285/35 ZR20 10.5 J x 20"

Brakes

Front

15.7 x 1.5 in

Rear

14.2 x 1.26 in

Engine

Type

V12 - 65°

Total displacement

382.13 cu in

Bore and Stroke

3.70 x 2.96 in

Maximum Power**

486 kW - 660 CV at 8.000 rpm

Maximum Torque

683 Nm - 504 lbft at 6.000 rpm

Specific Output

77 kW/litre - 105 CV/litre

Maximum revs per minute

8000 rpm

Compression ratio

12.3:1

Performances

Maximum speed

208 mph

0-62 mph

3.7 sec

0-124 mph

11 sec

62-0 mph

114.8 ft

Dry weight/power ratio

2.7 kg/CV

Fuel consumption / CO2 emissions (ECE+EUDC)***

Fuel consumption (european market version)

15.4 l/100km

CO2 Emission (european market version)

360 g/km

Transmission and gearbox

4RM

7-speed F1 Dual-Clutch gearbox

Electronic controls

4RM control (integration of F1-Trac, Ediff and PTU controls)

ABS/EBD

ESC

Suspensions

SCM3 (third generation of magnetorheological suspension control)

Sergio Pininfarina's style legacy

A nondesigner who influenced the look of cars everywhere

He did almost everything else in the 50 years he ran Pininfarina S.p.A., the family business he took over from his father, Battista "Pinin" Farina. Sergio Pininfarina was an entrepreneur and engineer, as well as a politician who advocated a single Europe and worked to improve Italy's industrial competitiveness.

And, of course, he was a design director. But Sergio never took credit for designing any single car, though some associates say the 1973 Lancia Beta coupe came straight from his pencil.

He did, however, have the final word on everything that came out of the Pininfarina studio after 1966. And his influence on the evolution of car design around the world may be unmatched.

Among other achievements, the Pininfarina studio has designed almost every production Ferrari since the early 1950s.

"Ferrari would have not been Ferrari without Sergio Pininfarina," said Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler and Fiat, which owns Ferrari.

An important part of Sergio Pininfarina's legacy is the respect he brought to the design profession.

"When I came into this industry over half a century ago, designers counted for nothing," he said in October 2000. "They were just makeup artists whose job was to make the engineer's work look good."

Democratizing design

In those years, designers and coachbuilders such as Pininfarina had no influence at all on mass-produced vehicles, he said.

The young Sergio also sought to evolve the coachbuilding side of the family business. Under his guidance, it went from turning out a few handmade units for wealthy buyers to higher volume, industrial production.

His idea was to "democratize design" by making the vehicles styled and built by Pininfarina more affordable. With the 1955 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider he achieved that goal.

"This car was a cornerstone for Pininfarina," he once told Automotive News. "For the first time, all body panels were stamped -- like carmakers were doing -- and no longer handcrafted, as coachbuilders always did."

In 1955, Pininfarina built just 934 units, all handcrafted. But over the next 11 years the company would produce 27,437 units of the Giulietta Spider.

In the process, Sergio changed Pininfarina S.p.A. from a coachbuilder to an industrial company that would manufacture 198,107 Fiat 124 Spiders between 1966 and 1985; 110,128 Alfa Spiders between 1966 and 1993; and 107,633 Peugeot 406 coupes from 1996 to 2004.

Sergio's father, Battista, from left, dines with Enzo Ferrari and Sergio in the 1950s.
Photo credit: PHOTO COURTESY FERRARI

Sergio always recalled with emotion the first customer his father wanted him to work with personally. In 1951, when Sergio was just 25, Battista decided his son would deal personally with Ferrari.

"I was scared to death because Enzo Ferrari was already a legend in car racing and, notoriously, he was not an easy man to deal with," Sergio said. "At the same time, I was proud: My father gave me a great chance."

Last week, Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said: "First with Enzo and then with me, Sergio Pininfarina designed some of the most iconic [Ferrari] models, such as the Testarossa or the Enzo, just to name two. Also, there is the work we've done together for the Maserati Quattroporte, which remains one of the most beautiful cars ever built."

Sergio was especially proud of the 1965 Dino Berlinetta Speciale, a concept car that deeply influenced the design of rear-engine Ferraris for the next four decades. The concept was special to him because it was designed without the close supervision of Battista, who was seriously ill and had embarked on a long trip abroad.

Battista liked the Dino Berlinetta Speciale, calling it his first "daughter-in-law design." A year later he formally passed the company leadership to Sergio, who had been heading the day-to-day operations for many years.

Air-shipping Allantes

The 1987 Cadillac Allante convertible was an ambitious project undertaken by General Motors and Pininfarina that ended in disappointment.

Car bodies were constructed by Pininfarina in a greenfield factory near Turin, then air-shipped 3,300 miles to Cadillac's Hamtramck, Mich., plant for adding the powertrain and final assembly. Fifty-six Allantes at a time where delivered, using a purposely modified Boeing 747 jumbo jet.

But the mildly designed Allante was underpowered and was hampered by quality problems. It ended up a failure: Just 21,000 units were built in seven years; the initial plan had been to produce 6,000 a year.

The Allante was Pininfarina's second attempt to build a car for GM. In the early 1970s, the U.S. giant proposed that Sergio take over a plant in Kalamazoo, Mich., to build a convertible, but the project was never finalized.

Sergio was deeply disappointed at first, but after the 1973 oil crisis reckoned: "The Kalamazoo project could have killed Pininfarina."

Political life

Sergio was also a politician who fought for his dream of a strong united Europe long before the current European Union was formed in 1993.

Between 1979 and 1988, he was a member of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, where he championed Italy's industrial interests.

Pininfarina thought Europe should be more united politically -- and physically. Fifteen years ago, he became chairman of a committee to promote high-speed train service between Turin and Lyon, France. Construction of the train line finally began last summer.

In September 2005, Sergio was named a life senator of the Italian republic. Just five Italians at a time share the title, which is given to individuals for outstanding achievement in social, scientific and artistic fields.

Sergio's private life was blighted by the death of his son Andrea, Pininfarina's chairman and CEO, in a motorcycle accident in August 2008. Sergio's son Paolo succeeded Andrea.

At the end of the same year, Sergio was dealt another blow, when the Pininfarina family lost control of the business that Sergio's father had established in 1930. The banks that bailed out the ailing company became its controlling shareholders.

It was an unfortunate end for a man who had dedicated 50 years to the family company.

[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]

A week to remember

by Adolfo Orsi

There a collective noun for automobile collectors? Machinisti? Voituristes? Whatever it is, if you want to observe this unique breed in action there’s only one place to be in mid-August: the Monterey area of northern California. For lovers of fine automobiles, Monterey Car Week – which the Americans describe forcefully as the ‘Super Bowl of the car collector world’ – is an unmissable treat. But why here? The origins of the event lie in the Pebble Beach Road Race, a sports-car race held for the first time in 1950 by the Sports Car Club of America on roads through a pine forest on the Pebble Beach Peninsula near Del Monte Lodge. Present at the first race was Philip Hill Jr., a very young and totally unknown driver (at the time) from Santa Monica, who won the main race in a Jaguar XK120. At the same time, the first Concours d’Elegance was held – and was open, as was usual at that time, to both ‘old’ and contemporary cars. The Concours was won by a certain Sterling Edwards in a selfbuilt sports car, the Edwards R-26 Special Sports Roadster, which had also taken part in the race. Automotive history has since lost track of Edwards, but much was heard of Phil Hill in later years, particularly in connection with Ferrari, for whom he became Formula One World Champion in 1961.

The forest race was held until 1956, when tragedy struck and a driver called Ernie McAfee suffered a fatal accident while racing a Ferrari 121 LM. This prompted the construction of a permanent circuit not far away on the site of a disused military area between Monterey and Salinas, named Laguna Seca, which held its first race at the end of 1957. The combination of races (in modern cars) at Laguna Seca and of the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach continued until 1974. In that year, the collector Steve Earle organised the first races for historic cars on the Laguna Seca circuit, with its famously treacherous ‘corkscrew’ bend. This marriage between historic racing cars and classic cars exhibited in competition is what imbues the weekend with its unique character. In addition, the ‘honoured marque’ of the year is often the same for both the historic races and for the Concours, thus doubling the attraction for fans. Over the years an event that began simply as a weekend has transformed into a week-long programme of events, beginning the previous weekend with the Pre-Historic Races at Laguna Seca. What’s not to like? Of course the main focus is on two aspects: the historic races at Laguna Seca (which begin on the Friday with the trials, followed by the races on Saturday and Sunday), and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance (which is held on Sunday and is preceded by the Tour d’Elegance on the Thursday, in which approximately two-thirds of the Concours participants take part). Even at the risk of a messy divorce, these two experiences are not to be missed…

Over the years, however, a number of additional events – beginning on the Tuesday – have been added that are just as compelling. When organising a trip to Monterey Car Week you need to bear in mind that the week begins in a fairly calm manner, but that the diary fills as the week builds to a compelling crescendo. In the end it is physically impossible to attend all the events, so choose wisely.

In addition, the Monterey Peninsula alone is worth the trip – with Carmel and Monterey among the most visited tourist destinations on the California coast. Golflovers will be pleased to note the region is also home to some of the most famous fairways in the USA. So our advice is to arrive early and enjoy your stay: visit Carmel (with its art galleries, shops and restaurants) and Monterey (with its famous Cannery Row and the more touristy Fisherman’s Wharf), and then drive along the famous 17-Mile Drive and visit Monterey Aquarium, the biggest in the world. As for the car events themselves, I can give some solid advice on the event schedule having attended this splendid occasion for the past 20 years. Tuesday is the day for the Carmel-by-the-Sea-Concours, which allows you a view of interesting and rare European and American cars – like ‘muscle cars’ and ‘hot rods’ – which don’t qualify or are too modern for Pebble Beach. Entrance is free; the event is held in Carmel.

Alternatively, there is Automobilia, at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Seaside. This is a sale-exhibition, open on Wednesday, to which around 50 specialised traders and antique dealers – some of them from Europe – bring books, photographs, posters and memorabilia. Collectors can easily spend hours at the show. Wednesday and Thursday see the start of the display of around 800 cars offered for sale by auction; sales are held over two or three successive sessions from Thursday through to Sunday evening.

These are the biggest sales of the year and reveal trends in demand and prices for the following year. Towards the end of Thursday morning you need to go to Carmel, where the cars taking part in the Pebble Beach Concours Tour stop for a couple of hours along Ocean Avenue. As well as the opportunity to get an early look at them, you can hear their engines and see them moving. It’s guaranteed to be impressive. But the week really gets under way on the Friday, with two events running at the same time: ‘The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering’ and the Concorso Italian. The former is held at the prestigious Quail Lodge Resort & Golf Club on Carmel Valley Road and is the most exclusive event of the week. Tickets, which also include lunch with a wide range of different kinds of cuisine, cost $400. In 2009 the 3000 tickets available sold out two months before the event.

The Concorso Italiano has always been a ‘must’ yet in recent years its image has lost some lustre due to a series of unsuccessful changes of venue. Thanks to this year’s new location at the Laguna Seca Golf Ranch, it seems to have rediscovered its verve and to have found favour with the public once again. The fascination of the event lies in the fact that you can find every kind of Italian car and motorbike there – not only Ferrari and luxury models but extremely rare or even forgotten vehicles.

On Saturday you mustn’t miss Laguna Seca. The paddock is open and you can get up close and personal to the cars and drivers of the past. Lovers of photography can enjoy a wonderful time snapping the most important and diverse racing cars imaginable. Plus there are hundreds of memorabilia stalls providing serious temptation. Sunday is dedicated in its entirety to the Concours. The display takes place on the green of the 18th hole overlooking Stillwater Cove. Between 200 and 240 cars are chosen to participate in the world’s most prestigious Concours, divided into classes according to period, type and/or constructor or coachbuilder. There are always two or three classes devoted to Ferrari. In 2009 there was the 166 MM Barchetta Touring class, with 10 examples on show from throughout the US, Hong Kong and Italy. This was no smoke and mirrors trick; they were all real, each bearing tiny differences you wouldn’t notice without being up close. The second special class was devoted to the TR 59, one of Fantuzzi’s great masterpieces, and the first Ferrari fitted with disc brakes. Only five were ever manufactured, of which four survive. And all four of them were at the show – a clear demonstration of the event’s standing. Among the special classes in 2009 there were also those devoted to Bugatti, Audi and Morgan; to cars with bodywork by Zagato (for the 90th anniversary of the Milanese coachbuilder); to Bentley and, finally, to Porsche, the ‘honoured marque’ at Laguna Seca. For the first time, there was also a class devoted to motorcycles. The Concours alone probably merits an entire article. Suffice to say that the major collectors and restorers spend years trying to win their own class; and these winners then compete for the most prestigious prize, Best of Show, which is the Olympic gold medal of the car collectors’ world. When you read the list of judges and winners of Best of Show you’ll discover a ‘Who’s Who’ of this rarefied world. During the Concours there is also a noted event within an event. This is the raffle, with elegant cars, jewels and exotic holidays as prizes, and all proceeds going to charity. The MC is US television personality and committed car enthusiast, Jay Leno. On Sunday, still at Pebble Beach, you can have a look at RetroAuto (an exhibition of automobilia) at the AFAS tent (where works by the leading figures in automobile art are displayed). And at the end of this week, for whomever would like to buy a car and become part of the Pebble Beach phenomenon, there’s the Gooding & Company auction. There’s no shortage of choice, and every year Ferrari organise hospitality for their customers. If you decide to go, let us know.
Finally, after all the serious stuff, those in need of some light relief might like to check out the Concours d’LeMons (that’s right, lemons). The antithesis of Pebble Beach, this celebration of the worst in automotive culture is held at Toro Park, not far from Laguna Seca, where a prize is awarded to ‘Worst in Show – Fright Pig Supremo’! It’s not for the faint-hearted, so be warned if you are a little delicate…

A guide to Monterey car week
What to see and do, and where to stay and eat during the ‘super bowl of the car collector world’…
Monterey is about 120 miles (192km) south of San Francisco (approx. 2½ hours’ drive) and about 350 miles (560km) north of LA (approx. seven hours’ drive). Monterey Airport has connections with San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Phoenix, Denver and Las Vegas. If you’ve never been to California, we’d advise you to set off from LA, leaving yourself two days for the journey, and drive the old Highway One – the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH – along the coast instead of the busier 101 that runs inland. Stop at Hearst Castle at San Simeon to visit the house of newspaper tycoon William Hearst, or Pismo Beach, a national park where you can hire quad-bikes and scamper around on the dunes. After stopping in Monterey for the week, we advise travelling to San Francisco via Half Moon Bay.
Where to stay:In Monterey there are hotels, inns and motels for all budgets. Please bear in mind that rates for the car competition weekend are the highest in the year and rooms are only let for a minimum of four nights. It’s advisable to book some months in advance. If you’re taking children with you, the advice is to stay in Monterey as the town is at the heart of everything that happens. It’s also convenient as you can walk to various tourist attractions. Apart from the Aquarium, Cannery Row and Fisherman’s Wharf, you can go whalewatching and cycling. In Monterey the hotels we recommend are the Portola Plaza or the Marriott, near Fisherman’s Wharf. If you’re looking for something a little more romantic, book one of the delightful inns that overlook the ocean at Pacific Grove, such as the Green Gables Inn and the Seven Gables Inn. Romantics will find the village of Carmel delightful. It developed in the early 20th century thanks to the bohemians, artists and writers that abandoned San Francisco after the1906 earthquake and sought refuge in this quiet locality. If you decide to stay there, we suggest the Cypress Inn, the Pine Inn, or La Playa Hotel.
Where to eat:There are several restaurants on Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey, some with stalls outside for a light meal, and Tarpy’s Roadhouse on the road to Laguna Seca. In Carmel we recommend Cantinetta Luca, Il Fornaio, Terry’s Lounge at the Cypress Inn, Christopher’s Restaurant and L’Aubergine. Naturally, there are always restaurants and snack bars where the actual event is held.

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