Many of the biggest teams in Formula One extract enormous budgets from the automakers that own them: BMW, Renault, Toyota, Honda, even Mercedes-Benz, which is part owner of McLaren. Not Ferrari, though. The team, part of the Maranello-based sportscar maker, is owned by the Fiat auto group. However, Fiat does not contribute even one centesimo (er... euro-cent) to the team's budget.
This according to Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. And he should know, being both president of Ferrari and chairman of Fiat (in the mid-'70s, Montezemolo directly headed up the Scuderia before being promoted up the Fiat ladder). The marquis insists that the entirety of the Ferrari F1 team's budget is generated from within Ferrari, through the sales of its road cars (all of which go for six digits) and the team's sponsors, to say nothing of the company's considerable merchandising efforts.
We've said it before, but it warrants repeating: it takes a special kind of crazy to take an epic supercar like a Ferrari or a Lamborghini and tune it like you would a Mustang or even a Porsche. Fortunately, Novitec and EDO are just such a breed of crazy. We've brought you news of the former's modified Ferrari 430 Scuderias and 599 GTBs and the latter's Lamborghini Superleggera, Maserati MC12 and Audi R8 (to name just a few), but never side by side. For that, you may follow the jump and thank those zany Germans for pitting a Novitec Rosso-modified Ferrari 575M Maranello against an EDO Competition-tuned Lamborghini Gallardo. You'll need four and a half minutes to spare, but not fluency in German... "vroom" is international.
Click for hi-res gallery of the Alfa 8C Competizione
When Alfa Romeo announced it was actually building the 8C Competizione, we had but to applaud. The automaker slashed its own marketing budget to finance the car's manufacturing, justifying that the halo supercar would do more for the brand's image than any television ad ever could. (Then they did it again with the Spider version.) Right they were, and we wish more automakers would think that way. The latest reports indicate that Alfa Romeo is following its own example, so while CEO Luca de Meo campaigns within the Fiat hierarchy for an even more hard-core version to wear the vaunted GTA badge, some of his subordinates are thinking a step ahead towards the 8C's successor.
The current 8C is based on an aging Maserati platform – not unlike the resuscitating Aston Martin DB7 that was based on old Jaguar underpinnings. However, strategists within Alfa Romeo want to see its successor based on the new Ferrari California, trading in the input of one sister company for another. While they realize it will be an uphill battle – one which could come down to Fiat chairman and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo's decision – to get Ferrari to agree to the proposal, Alfa Romeo is reportedly keen to get the project off the ground and get the second-generation sportscar ready within the next two years to celebrate Alfa's centennial in 2010.
Click above to view the latest batch of Ferrari California images in our gallery
We hate to ruin your summer, but in the automotive world the sunny season is little more than a few months with no car shows. What kind of fun is that? Well, after the summer's over we'll be headed to Paris to bring you your fix of new car extravaganza. Among the new models being unveiled there will be the Ferrari California, which we've so far only been able to see in bits and pieces as Maranello sees fit to release it. So while the California's launch site (not to mention the Ferrari media site) continue to offer only the initial batch of computer-enhanced studio shots, major publications like Auto Bildand now Road & Track get exclusive new shots of the hardtop convertible from every angle. We'll continue to do our best to bring you what's available, but unfortunately the latest crop is decidedly low-res. Check 'em out in the constantly-updated gallery by clicking the new thumbnails below, or follow the jump to watch them in a YouTube video slideshow (though we'd recommend turning off the sound).
Several months ahead of its scheduled debut at this fall's Paris auto salon, production of the new Ferrari California has already begun at the Ferrari factory in Maranello. The news comes after previous speculation suggested that the California might have to be assembled off-site – potentially at sister-company Maserati's nearby facility in Modena – because the existing Ferrari assembly lines were already at full capacity. However, having now unveiled its newly-retooled manufacturing facility under the Formula Uomo program, the company has apparently increased production capacity to accommodate the assembly of the California, thus securing its legitimacy in the eyes of enthusiasts and potential customers alike.
Is it wrong to mess with perfection? We don't know if we would dare to change even a single nut or bolt on the F430 Scuderia if we happened to have one in the garage, but Novitec Rosso seems to have no problem with it. Granted, they have plenty of experience laying their hands on the F430; in addition to their standard version, they've also built RACE, TuNero, and Evoluzione variations. For the Scuderia they've added their twin-supercharger package good for 717 horsepower and a top speed of just over 215 mph. Considering the standard F430 Scuderia can lap Ferrari's Fiorano test track faster than the Enzo, we'd imagine this car would be insanely quick.
If you're on Ferrari's mailing list for the new California, you might have seen a new email in your inbox today with a link to another chapter (literally) opening up on the vehicle's dedicated website. Today's installment leads to a video of the California's trick folding hard-top – another first for Ferrari (if you don't count the innovative one-piece mechanism designed by Fioravanti for the limited-production 575-based Superamerica). Thanks to a mechanism that moves multiple segments in unison, the hard-top can be deployed or retracted in only 15 seconds – faster than the soft-top on any convertible ever to roar out of the gates at Maranello.
There are revivals, and then there are revivals. Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera got it right by making a big splash at Villa d'Este when it showed up with not one, but two custom coachbuilt Maseratis: the sumptuous A8GCS Berlinetta and the innovative Quattroporte Bellagio Fastback. Talk about hitting the ground running.
Evidently not content to rest on its show-stopping, beautifully-shaped aerodynamic laurels, the Carrozzeria is now tipped to be readying a coachbuilt Ferrari. The rumors are fueled by a trip down memory lane (at full throttle, no less): Some of the first Ferraris featured Touring coachwork, including the 166 MM in which Ferrari claimed its very first victory back in 1959, along with the vehicles in which Ferrari won both Le Mans and the Francorchamps 24 the very same year. Quick math, carry the one...what's the square root of 1959? Oh wait! Next year will mark the 60th anniversary of that victorious partnership, and you can bet the revived coachbuilder will want to mark it in style. Insiders tip 612 Scaglietti underpinnings, and we certainly hope that, following the beautiful A8GCS, Touring can cook up something even prettier.
Ferrari Company Restaurant designed by architect Marco Visconti
Ferraris have long been known as striking and powerful machines, typically at the front of the pack in any competition. It should come as no surprise, then, that Ferrari the company is also a leader, extending that same philosophy to how it designs its manufacturing facilities. Late last millennium, the company launched its "Formula Uomo" plan to modernize production in a way that would be good for profitability, good for the environment, and good for the workers. With the opening of their latest new car assembly lines facility and company restaurant, they have reached that goal. The restaurant is a thing of beauty that allows workers a peaceful retreat from the factory. The new assembly lines reduce worker movements so they can work more efficiently, all while catching glimpses of the original plant's red walls through their huge windows. Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo and CEO Amedeo Felisa presented these most recent and final pieces in the "Formula Uomo" program, just over ten years after the launch in 1997. It cost the company something like 200 million euro to hire award-winning architects to design and build the new facilities.
The other bold move the company is making is the launch of a new magazine. Produced in conjunction with Condè Nast, this new Ferrari Magazine is a large-format mag that features "a lively and interesting mix of cars, racing culture, fashion and design seen from the point of view of the Ferrari world and the passionate individuals who buy these superb cars." What they said. This quarterly publication will be sent to 30,000 owners worldwide and will only be offered in English. A limited number of subscriptions will be offered to the public as well, at 250 Euro per year. Our CPAs tell us we can write this off. Expect Montezemolo and Schumacher to make regular appearances, as well as other company executives, designers, and even celebrity owners like Nick Mason. The magazine will capture everything Ferrari, with the December issue each year acting as a replacement for the annual yearbook. So you can be sure that F1 will get a thorough rundown as well. For more info, read the press releases after the jump.
Click above for hi-res gallery of the Ferrari California
For the unveiling of its first front-engined V8 sportscar, Ferrari rolled out a dedicated launch site. But up until now, the site (as well as the company's media portal) only gave us a glimpse at a handful of studio shots. Germany's AutoBild, meanwhile, managed to obtain a handful of new shots of the California out in the open, inside and out and front to back. Natural sunlight seems to soften the sportscar's lines a fair deal... but don't take our word for it: Check out the images in the gallery below to see for yourself.
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Leaked: 2009 BMW 7 Series photos hit the web
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Track Test: 2008 Roush 427R Trak Pak Mustang
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Porsche Cayman S
First Drive: 2009 Chevrolet Traverse
In the Autoblog Garage: 2008 Mazda MX-5 Miata Retractable Hard Top
In The Autoblog Garage: BMW 128i Convertible
