The Ferrari 458 Italia, that debuted at the IAA Frankfurt Motor Show, is an 8-cylinder two-seater berlinetta with a mid-rear mounted engine, and represents a genuine break with the past in terms of Maranello’s previous high-performance sports cars. Designed to fulfil the expectations and ambitions of our most passionate clients, the 458 Italia continues the Ferrari tradition of putting the thrill into driving as a result of track-derived technological innovations.

Maranello’s racing experience can be felt not only in terms of pure technological transfer but also on a more emotional level, because of the strong emphasis on creating an almost symbiotic relationship between driver and car. This is one of the areas where Michael Schumacher’s contribution, right from the early stages of the project, was of fundamental importance.

Thanks to a new 4,499 cc V8 engine, which punches out 570 CV, the F1 dual-clutch gearbox and a 1,380 kg dry weight, the 458 Italia boasts an extraordinary weightpower ratio of 2.42 kg (a power-weight ratio of 413 CV per ton). This means it sprints from 0 to 100 km/h in under 3.4 seconds and hits a maximum speed of over 325 km/h.

The 458 Italia delivers superb vehicle dynamics with an ideal weight balance for a midrear engined sports car – 58 per cent rear, 42 per cent front. Evolved electronic control systems also help guarantee maximum performance in all driving conditions. Its new suspension set-up, featuring twin wishbones with L arms at the front and a multilink set-up the rear, is tuned for ultimate road-holding and superlative handling. This, together with a more direct steering ratio, ensures the car is extremely responsive whilst maintaining superior ride comfort.

As is the case with the Scuderia’s Formula 1 single-seaters, the engineers focused their efforts on achieving maximum efficiency right across the board with this car. The result is that the Ferrari 458 Italia produces only 307 g/km of CO2 and has a fuel consumption of just 13.3 l/100 km (combined cycle), a benchmark for the entire segment.

Aside from the work done to reduce both internal friction in the engine and overall weight, this result has been achieved thanks to aerodynamic research which focused on cutting drag and maximising downforce.

The 458 Italia is thus a synthesis of technological innovation, creative flair, style and passion, a combination of characteristics for which Italy as a nation is renowned. Ferrari’s Chairman, Luca di Montezemolo, chose to pay homage to this fact by adding the name of the car’s homeland to the traditional figure representing the displacement and number of cylinders.

Styling and aerodynamics

Every Ferrari is the result of an uncompromising design approach that integrates styling and aerodynamic requirements. The Pininfarina design features compact, aerodynamic lines, underscoring the concepts of performance-oriented efficiency that inspired the project.

The nose features a single opening for the front grille and side air intakes, with aerodynamic sections and profiles designed to direct air to the coolant radiators and the new flat underbody. The nose also sports small aeroelastic winglets which generate downforce and, as speed rises, deform to reduce the section of the radiator intake and cut drag.

The oil radiators for the F1 gearbox and the dual-clutch are situated in the tail and air is fed from two intakes on the top of the rear wings. This solution provides a base bleed effect, an aerodynamic function that was developed by Ferrari for the FXX and which reduces drag by feeding the hot air out of the radiators under the nolder and into the slip stream. Using experience gained in aerodynamic development on the Ferrari F430 GT2, the flat underbody now incorporates the air intakes for engine bay cooling. These are positioned ahead of the rear wheelarches where they use pressure differences to efficiently channel air flow to the engine bay, at the same time generating more rear downforce.

The car’s sills are characterised by two keel forms that act as fairings to the rear wheels, while the rear bodywork between the rear diffusers acts as the surround to the novel triple exhaust tail pipes, a styling cue that recalls the legendary F40 and gives the 458 Italia’s tail an aggressive sporty stance. The engine, in mid-rear V8 Ferrari tradition, is visible below the engine cover.

Technical development of the car’s shape started using CFD (Computational Fluid- Dynamic) techniques which helped optimise the management and interaction of the internal flows prior to wind tunnel testing. The latter was carried out on Ferrari’s rolling road facility using modular 1:3 scale models. The final solution chosen ensured adequate cooling to the running gear, while, at the same time, achieving a high level of aerodynamic efficiency (1.09) through excellent drag and downforce figures (Cd 0.33 and Cl 0.36 respectively) with 140 kg of downforce at 200 km/h and no less than 360 kg at top speed.

The front-mounted coolant radiators are trapezoidal in shape and positioned to minimise the impact of the internal cooling flows on drag and downforce. The oil radiators for the gearbox and clutch are are situated in the tail with air fed from two intakes on the top of the rear wings. The hot air from the radiators creates a base bleed effect, venting into the car’s low-pressure trail below the nolder and reducing drag.

The air intakes for engine bay cooling are situated on the aerodynamic underbody, where differences in pressure channel the air in the most efficient manner, and are positioned to increase rear downforce. Similarly air is channelled from the front air dam to the rear diffuser where the position and number of the fences has been developed to optimise the distribution of the vortex to improve rear downforce.

Engine

The engine is a dry-sump 90 degree V8 with a displacement of 4499 cc and is mid-rear mounted. It is an entirely new design engineered to reach a maximum of 9,000 rpm – a first on a road car – with a high 12.5:1 compression ratio and maximum power output of 570 CV. This equates to an outstanding power output of 127 CV/litre, a new benchmark for a naturally-aspirated production engine.

The generous torque available – 540 Nm at 6000 rpm, with over 80 per cent available from 3250 rpm – ensures rapid pick-up from all revs. The specific torque output of 120 Nm/l is another record.

The design of the engine components has been influenced by the carry-over of racing technology – F1 in particular – for maximum fluid-dynamic efficiency in order to achieve both performance and fuel consumption objectives, and meet the most stringent international emissions restrictions. The piston compression height was reduced as per racing engine practice. Similarly, thinner compression rings have been adopted to minimise friction between piston and liner. A graphite coating was applied to the piston skirt for the same reason.

To help further reduce internal friction, the cylinder block has four scavenge pumps. Two pick up oil from the cylinder heads and front and rear of the engine via dedicated oil recovery ducts outside the crankcase area, and two pick up oil from below the crank throws. The recovery ducts of the latter are interconnected in two groups of four cylinders to optimise the scavenge function and create a strong vacuum (800 mbar) around the crankshaft. This solution prevents excess oil splashing out of the sump and onto the rotating crankshaft and thus reduces power loss caused by friction. It also reduces losses due to windage caused by the pumping action of the pistons.

The engine oil pressure pump features variable displacement geometry which reduces the amount of power absorbed at high revs. Lowering the pump’s displacement actually increases the power available at the crankshaft for the same amount of fuel used.

As is traditional for Ferrari engines, the new V8 is equipped with continuously variable timing on both inlet and exhaust cams. The aluminium intake manifold has been lightened by reducing the wall thickness. It has short, almost straight inlet tracts to reduce losses and a system that varies the geometry of the manifold, optimising the volumetric efficiency throughout the rev range. This is achieved by incorporating three pneumatic throttle valves in the central section between the two plenums. The engine mapping provides four different configurations of the valves for optimum torque values at all revs.

The use of GDI with Split Injection improves engine performance by modulating the injection in two phases, increasing combustion efficiency and the torque at low revs (by up to 5 per cent). A high injection pressure (200 bar) guarantees adequate pulverisation of the petrol and an optimal air/fuel mix right up to 9000 rpm. This feature again results in better performance and lower fuel consumption.

The exhaust system was designed to provide the kind of thrilling soundtrack owners of Ferrari’s V8s are used to whilst also guaranteeing high levels of acoustic comfort. One of the main objectives with the exhaust was to reduce weight. The catalytic converter is attached to the central section of the exhaust by a flexible element to reduce the amount of vibration transmitted and to thus allow thinner metal to be used. Similarly the pre-catalytic converter has been eliminated, lowering overall weight and reducing back pressure whilst still respecting strict Euro 5 and LEV2 emissions.

Dual-clutch F1 gearbox

One of the important novelties on the 458 Italia is the introduction of the 7-speed F1 dual-clutch gearbox which guarantees faster yet smoother changes. The technology is based on the independent management of even and odd gears which are pre-selected using two separate input shafts. The gear shifting time (the overlap between the opening and closing phases of the two clutches) is zero and thus there is no interruption of engine torque to the driven wheels. Compared to the California gearbox, response times have been reduced and the 458 Italia has specific, sportier gear ratios to match the power and torque curves of the new V8, guaranteeing high torque even at lower revs. The E-Diff 3 electronic differential has also been integrated into the gearbox, resulting in a more compact and lighter unit.

Chassis

The modular chassis is an all-new design. New alloys join the traditional aluminium, along with high-resistance aluminium extrusions, developed by the aviation industry, and innovative manufacturing processes, such as heat-forming. The aim was to keep weight down to the benefit of performance and handling. The result is a chassis with improved structural rigidity, with torsional rigidity up 15 per cent compared to the F430, and beam stiffness up 5 per cent.

Suspension

The 458 Italia’s front suspension employs a novel new double wishbone set-up which features an L-shape design for the lower wishbone, with the rearward facing arm longer than the one in line with the wheel axis to provide greater longitudinal flexibility. This in turn improves the car’s ability to absorb bumps and it also reduces suspension noise. Another benefit is in terms of greater transverse rigidity which improves handling. The same characteristics are shared by the new rear multi-link suspension and, combined with specific tyre development, overall vertical rigidity has thus been improved (+35 per cent with respect to the F430) for less body roll, and the engineers were able to introduce a more direct steering ratio (11.9° compared to the F430’s 16.9°, a reduction of 30 per cent) which makes for quicker and more responsive steering on both road and track.

The 458 Italia also features the latest, second-generation Magnetorheological Suspension Control shock absorber system. Compared to the system first introduced on the 599 GTB Fiorano, SCM2 boasts an evolved ECU (-50 per cent input time) and a damper force generation time of 8 ms compared to the 599’s 15 ms. There is also a new piston rod bushing in the damper which reduces internal friction (-35 per cent) for more precise small-bump control and improved ride comfort.

Vehicle dynamics and electronics

On the 458 Italia the E-Diff and F1-Trac control software are integrated in the same ECU. This minimises communication times between the two systems and, at the same time, the individual logics were evolved to improve vehicle performance.

A new Power On strategy has been developed for the E-DIff governing traction out of corners and is integrated with the F1-Trac logic, an evolution in the combined action of both systems which is also connected with the high-performance ABS control logic, which is specially set up for high-grip surfaces.

The electronic differential continuously distributes torque to the rear wheels, both in Power Off (turning in for the corner) and Power On (accelerating out of the corner), guaranteeing excellent vehicle stability and control in all driving conditions and on all surfaces. The E-Diff 3 now works in a more integrated manner with the F1-Trac, using a series of F1-Trac parameters and evaluations (such as estimates of grip) both in manettino positions in which the F1-Trac is inserted (Sport – Race) and those in which it is deactivated (CT Off and CST Off). Compared to previous versions, E-Diff 3 delivers improved torque distribution coming out of corners (in Sport, Race, CT Off and CST Off), which translates into improved grip, better roadholding and more progressive handling on the limit. The result is an improvement of 32 percent in longitudinal acceleration out of corners compared to previous models and a lap time at Fiorano of just 1′ 25” seconds.

High-performance ABS

Since the beginning of 2008 Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes have been standard on all Ferraris. The 458 Italia is no different and is equipped with 6-pot aluminium callipers with 398 x 223 x 36 mm discs at the front, and 4-pot aluminium callipers with 360 x 233 x 32 mm discs at the rear.

The 458 Italia boasts outstanding braking distances (100-0 km/h in 32.5 metres; 200-0 km/h in 128 metres) thanks to the development and optimisation of the Bosch control logic and the evolution of Ferrari’s Pre-Fill logic, which reduces response times by activating the pistons in the callipers, thus minimising the gap between the brake pad and the disc as soon as the driver lifts off the accelerator. Similarly, these excellent results were achieved thanks to a specific calibration of the ABS for medium/high grip surfaces, and by integrating the ABS control logic with that of the E-Diff 3 to ensure a more accurate estimate of the vehicle speed and hence better braking torque control, as well as enhanced vehicle stability.

Interior design

The Ferrari Styling Centre set out to re-interpret Ferrari’s traditional sports car interior themes in an innovative and functional way. The interior reflects the design rigour of the exterior of the car, with clean, uncluttered forms that highlight the new driver-oriented cockpit inspired by the racing world.

Radically new and intuitive ergonomics see the driver set in the centre of a simple, streamlined lay-out. The upper and lower surfaces of the dashboard are trimmed in leather while the instrument binnacle sits atop an aluminium insert that forms a single, structural element housing the satellite pods and secondary commands. The original shape of the air vents was inspired by the design of Formula 1 exhaust chimneys in use up until a few years ago.

The slim and minimalist centre console features a sculpted aluminium casting which houses the F1 panel. This panel includes the Launch Control along with the secondary gearbox controls for reverse and auto settings. There is also a leather-trimmed ergonomic wrist support for actioning the F1 panel buttons and the electric window lifts. The console also includes two Alcantara-trimmed storage trays for small oddments.

The door panel is fitted with side airbags and its simple sleek lines are enhanced by the fact that the demisting vents for the side windows are now positioned on the corners of the dash. There is additional oddments storage space in the soft leather pocket at the bottom of the door.

Driver-car interface

Working closely with the Ferrari Styling Centre, the engineers have reinterpreted the positioning of the major commands to provide a truly driver-oriented cockpit. All main controls are now located directly on the steering wheel, while secondary functions are set in two satellite pods either side of the dash and the panel ahead of the driver includes comprehensive instrument displays. These solutions represent an important safety aspect, enabling the driver to concentrate fully on driving. Similarly this layout ensures maximum control of the car in high-performance driving, an uncompromising approach that derives directly from Ferrari’s F1 experience.

Steering wheel and dash

In a radical move that emphasises the vicinity of Ferrari’s road cars to its F1 cars, the steering-column mounted stalks have been eliminated and all the major commands are now on the steering wheel for maximum vehicle control at all times.

The 458 Italia is equipped with a Racing manettino switch which is biased towards more sporting set-ups, giving the driver a wider selection of track-oriented electronic control parameters. In fact the F430’s ICE setting has been dropped in favour of CT Off which de-activates the traction control while maintaining the stability control.

The right-hand satellite pod on the dash incorporates controls for the infotainment, while the one on the left controls the Vehicle Dynamic Assistance display on the lefthand TFT screen. The Vehicle Dynamic Assistance monitors the operating parameters of the most important areas of the car – engine/gearbox, tyres and brakes. The VDA is enabled in the following manettino settings – Race, CT Off and CST Off – and provides visual confirmation of the status of each component based on an algorithm from parameters reading lateral and longitudinal acceleration, revs and speed. This enables the driver to assess the ideal operating conditions for the car. There are three status settings: WARM-UP (operating temperature too low), GO (ideal operating conditions) and OVER (one or more components are no longer at their optimum level and need cooling).

Carrozzeria Scaglietti Personalisation Programme

The Carrozzeria Scaglietti Programme allows Ferrari clients to personalise their car to suit their own tastes and requirements. As with the rest of the range, there are four main personalisation areas dedicated the 458 Italia: Racing and Track, Exterior and Colours, Interior and Materials, Equipment and Travel.

The car’s sporting character can be further underlined by fitting the optional diamond finish forged alloy wheels or the Racing Superleggero (super lightweight) seats in carbon-fibre. Naturally, there is a virtually infinite number of trim combinations available for the interior, with a choice between leather, carbon-fibre and Alcantara.

Samples of colours and materials as well as virtual configuration tools are available to clients at every Ferrari showroom to help them choose their specifications. They may also request out-of-range colours and content to ensure their 458 Italia is truly unique.

We hope you enjoy Ferrari’s newest track supercar.

After year with the Italian manufacturer and motorsports division, Jean Todt finally hung up his shoes and stepped down from the Ferrari Board of Directors during a meeting on Tuesday. Company CEO Luca di Montezemolo said that Jean Todt’s involvement was nothing short of a  “huge contribution to the success of Ferrari over the last few years.”
Todt used to hold positions as sporting director, team principal and eventually even CEO across the years, making him one of Ferrari’s most storied men. Todt is said to completely retire from motorsport but Tuned would like to wish him the best of luck on his future endeavors.

Tuned would like to extend to our readers an interview with one of Ferrari’s main executives, Stefano Domenicali.

“We are satisfied of the level of our machine from the performance point of view while it is clear that we must still work with greater attention on the aspect of reliability. We have seen this past year how fundamental it is to be reliable, how determining the details are: we must multiply the efforts in this direction”.

What are your expectations?

“Never like this year have I awaited the most difficult championship to date. Many rule changes have been introduced: in order to plan the vehicle, we practically started from scratch. In these cases, the time factor assumes a role that is still more determining: those, like ourselves and our main adversaries in last the two years, have pushed until the end in the development of the 2008 car are at a disadvantage compared to those who chose to dedicate every resource to the development of the new vehicle”.

Where would you place your team compared to the competition?

“I don’t want you to think that I am eluding the question, but never like today has it been so difficult to see how the competition stacks up. Until the other day, there was a huge balance between different teams and with the revival of the Honda team through Brawn GP, we see that performance sometimes over passes expectations. We believe we are part of the group of more competitive teams but there a lot of unturned rocks to explore: we will have to wait for Melbourne to have some more answers”.

In the last few days, word has said that the new rules have been interpreted differently by teams: what is Ferrari’s position on the situation?

“On our side of things, we retain to have applied the rules to the letter and thanks to the OWG (Overtaking Working Group) we are on course. Its possible that other teams have taken other routes, but it remains to the FIA to react quickly and effectively for interpret these decisions”.

Source: Corriere dello Sport

A major crash was reported late wednesday night by Newport Beach Police as they found the wreckage of a 2004 Ferrari Modena driven by Tapout clothing founder Charles “Mask” Lewis. According to early reports, a white 1977 Porsche 911 was racing the Ferrari down the boulevard at an elevated rate of speed (over 130 mph) and the vehicles struck, sending the Ferrari into the curb, flipping it over and crashing into a light pole. The vehicle subsequently split in half and ejected both passengers, Charles Lewis and a female that remains in critical condition. Lewis was reported dead at the scene with the car visibly split in half and its passengers laying on the road next to the wreckage. The driver of the Porsche (whose name will not be disclosed by Newport Beach Police) was charged with multiple accounts of driving violations and gross vehicular manslaughter.
“He apparently lost control of the vehicle, hit the curb and a light pole,” said Lt. Steve Shulman. “It broke up in several pieces.”
Tuned will be in touch with NB Police for further comment.

With the many years Ferrari has had to research and develop their racing program, we expect nothing but the best and prettiest. Now, Kessel Racing has built an even more over the top F430 Scuderia, a one off Scuderia GT3 spec. The vehicle is pending GT3 approval by the FIA, but the Swiss racing team is not worried about anything going negative.

They will race against teams like Lamborghini, Corvette, Aston Martin, Porsche and many others once everything is okayed and the vehicle can be launched May 3rd for the Silverstone calendar event.

With racing technology mimicking that of high powered fighter jets in the 21st century, many automakers have undertaken projects to better the efficiency of vehicles and incorporate as much new technology in road going vehicles. A lot of racing derived technology makes it into our cars every year, items such as disc brakes and independent suspension are all developments derived straight from the race track.

For Italian manufacturer Ferrari, this means they utilize their F1 program to research and develop upcoming technologies to be retrofitted onto some of their newest products.
Take the 599XX for example. Many have documented that the new super coupe will be utilizing a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) to transfer brake energy into a battery to later be used for a 20 second power boost. This kind of technology can and will be implemented in Ferrari’s next decade lineup with the introduction of the Enzo replacement. Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo was quoted saying “it’s in the works right now, we’re evaluating the efficiency for a road application” , thus meaning that the KERS system could be incorporated into Ferrari’s higher level models like the new Mille Chili or the FXX evo.
Stay tuned for more information…

Oftentimes, Champions on four wheels try to find alternatives for adrenaline rushes after their careers are over. Enter Michael Schumacher. The German sensation retired after the 2007 Formula One season and became Sporting Director for Ferrari F1 until having taken up a new hobby, German Superbike. Schumacher even has entered the German SBK championship and can be found testing regularly and competing with the best Europe has to offer, all while being 40 years of age.
These dreams are fantastic, and real fun for the press to follow, but sometimes dreams DO go wrong…
In an event last week in Cartagena, Schumacher was taking a sharp left turn at 122 mp/h and lost the bike mid corner, flipping over and crashing down in the escape beach to his right.
He was transported to the local hospital where doctors made a 6 hour check on him to make sure nothing was out of the ordinary and was subsequently released with bruised ribs, a lucky compromise for a 120 mp/h fall.
Schumacher is now resting in his Swiss home, recovering and resting and has said that he is “eager to return to the track and continue racing, whether it be the F60 (he frequently tests Ferrari’s new F1s) or the bike”.
We wish him the best of luck.

Remember 2003 when Jason Priestley made headlines for crashing his Infinity Pro Series car at 190 mph and being stuck in the hospital? Well we hope that wont happen again but what we DO hope for is that one of the Hollywood stars with racing aspirations comes through on top for once!
Of course Hollywood is often synonymous with names like the late Paul Newman, who owns his racing team Newman-Haas in the IRL, but this time around may be our lucky charm. Gray’s Anatomy star Patrick Dempsey is having a go at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Team Seattle and last year’s Grand-Am Koni Challenge champion, Joe Foster.

Advanced Engineering will be preparing a Ferrari F430 GT and will be entered in GT2, a class in FIA GT that they have already won in year’s past.
Tuned wishes best of luck to Mr. Dempsey!

PRESS RELEASE

Another record year for Ferrari

• ROS rises to 17.6%
• Investments at 18% of revenues
• Growth continues in Emerging Markets
• Complete energy self-sufficiency within 12 months

The Ferrari S.p.A Board of Directors met today under the chairmanship of Luca di Montezemolo to examine the Company’s end-of-year figures for 2008.

Once again in 2008 Ferrari delivered results that beat all previous Company records. The strong Return on Sales (ROS) growth seen in recent years continued, reaching 17.6% compared to 15.9% in 2007. This was an outstanding result in the car sector in general and is especially impressive given the very tough economic backdrop against which it was achieved, particularly in the second half of the year.

This important result comes courtesy of Ferrari’s diverse range of products and strict cost-cutting measures. That said, investments in research and development increased, reaching 18% of revenues in 2008. Improvements and efficiencies also helped compensate for unfavourable dollar and sterling exchange rates.

In addition to the above-mentioned structural improvements, Ferrari also launched a range of major commercial initiatives in 2008, including the new One to One Personalisation Programme for its 12-cylinder models and a new client assistance programme. Ferrari also enjoyed strong growth in the Brand related activities (licensing, retail and e-commerce) with +28% overall, the e-commerce segment performing particularly well, as revenues there boomed by over 65%.

Commenting on the figures, Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo declared: “Ending 2008 with results unprecedented in the entire history of the Company is the best endorsement we could have of our strategy of exclusivity, innovation and focus on people. These results beautifully cap a truly exceptional year that saw us once again at the top in Formula 1, winning our 16th Constructors’ title, our eighth in the last 10 years.”

“The economic climate in 2009,” continued the Ferrari Chairman, “still remains very uncertain as the crisis takes its toll across the globe and it is hard to say how the situation will develop from here. That means, of course, that Ferrari will have to lavish even more attention on every single detail and continue to innovate whilst preserving the exclusivity of our products with respect to market demands.”

Ferrari ended the 2008 financial year with revenues of 1,921 million euro, an increase of 15.2% on the 1,668 million euro recorded in 2007. This rise comes mainly as a result of sales of the 430 Scuderia and the excellent performance of both the 612 Scaglietti and 599 GTB Fiorano 12-cylinder models which benefited from the launch of the One to One Personalisation Programme. The Ferrari California, however, made no contribution to the 2008 figures as the first examples are only being delivered to their owners in the next few days.

A total of 6,587 cars were delivered to end clients in 2008, an increase of 2% with respect to the 6,465 cars delivered in 2007. North America remains the Prancing Horse’s largest market with 1,700 cars (26% of the world total) sold there in line with the 2007 figure, a particularly significant result given the economic downturn there. Sales to Eastern Europe continue to grow (+23%) while deliveries to the rest of Europe were in line with the results achieved last year.

Sales to the Middle East and South Africa continue to grow, with 366 cars delivered, an increase of 12% on the previous year’s figure.

In the Asia-Pacific region, Ferrari delivered 1,089 cars to end clients. Japan remains the primary market in terms of sales volumes with 433 cars delivered to end clients in 2008, an increase of 15%, while we exceeded 200 cars delivered in China for the first time, an increase of 20% on 2007 to 212.

On a further positive note, Ferrari returned a trading profit of 339 million euro in 2008, an increase of 27% on previous year’s figure.

The Prancing Horse’s licensing activities also enjoyed strong growth with revenues up by 35% in 2008 and the figures from the 25 Ferrari Stores worldwide were very positive with overall revenues increasing by 16%. Ferrari also boosted its internet and www.ferrari.com activities in 2008. E-commerce grew by over 65% while a series of special events, including the launch of the Ferrari California and the unveiling of the new F60 single-seater, drew millions of hits from all over the world.

During 2008, Ferrari continued its investment into new car development, setting aside the equivalent of 18% of the Company’s revenues for R&D. Ferrari also continued with its investments in safety in the workplace in 2008. It spent in excess of 4 million euro on structural work and specialist training, achieving major improvements in all areas of the company. Particularly significant in this process was the new “near-misses” alert system which actively involved company’s employees. Defibrillators were also installed throughout the Ferrari complex.

2008 also saw the launch of an in-house energy production plan. A newly unveiled photovoltaic plant and a trigeneration plant due to be completed within the next few months, will mean that Ferrari will meet all of its own energy requirements within the
next year.

In terms of its workforce, as of December 31st 2008, Ferrari employed around 3,000 people, a little under half of whom are office staff.

Continuing its emphasis on people-focused activities, Ferrari also launched its Scuola dei Mestieri in 2008. This new programme is designed to provide training inside the plant which is not normally available outside Ferrari in specialist skills to allow our employees to enhance both their career prospects and professional development and improve their mobility within the company.

Ferrari also broadened the range of employee services in 2008. These now include special mortgage deals of up to 100% for first and second homes and renovations, banking facilities with very attractive conditions and discounts on school books for trainees and school children. There is also a preventative health plan featuring specialist visits, physicals for all employees and their children and free gym usage.