[source: Ferrari]

Ferrari has chosen Detroit as the venue for the presentation at a biofuel-powered F430 Spider in recognition of growing interest in North America in alternative sources of energy. The development of an engine powered by the biofuel E85 comes as part of a research and development program announced during the Technological Innovation Conference held at Maranello last June as part of our 60th Anniversary Celebrations. On that particular occasion, Ferrari also unveiled projects focused on improving the energy of the whole car which would in turn lower fuel consumption and emissions levels. The ultimate aim being, of course, to cut the latter by 40% by 2012.

The Ferrari F430 Spider Biofuel uses an 85% ethanol mix and was developed with using experience gleaned in competition. In fact, Formula 1’s technical regulations demand that petrol (gasoline) with 5.75% biomass-derived content must be used, while the FIA GT and American Le Mans Series (ALMS), both of which were dominated by the F430 GT2 in 2007, use fuels with 10% ethanol. Furthermore, E10 biofuels will be employed in the next A1GP Championship which Ferrari will be supplying with V8 engines.

Once again, in fact, the track has proved an excellent testing ground for innovative solutions which, if successful, can then be passed on to production cars. Such is the efficiency of the transfer of track technology to road cars at Maranello that all of the Prancing Horse’s cars can already use up to 10% ethanol without any modification whatsoever.

By developing this technological demonstration prototype however, Ferrari has proved category that it can offer the technological solutions demanded by the market demands without impinging on the distinctly sporty, high performance character and supreme driving pleasure of the unique cars it builds at Maranello.

In the case of the F430 Spider Biofuel, certain modifications were made to the fuel feed system and most importantly to the engine CPU to allow the engine use E85. Developing the CPU, two fuels (Flex Fuel) can be used by the engine with the same compression ratio. All of the other technical characteristics have remained unchanged with respect to a standard production engine, however. The use of this type of biofuel and the modifications made have resulted in a significant increase in maximum power output (+ 10 hp at the same rpm) and torque (+ 4%) yet overall weight was unchanged. The advantages to the environment translate too into a 5% drop in CO2 emissions.

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Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley owner Giacomo Mattiolli describes his dealer sponsored 2007 racing teams. Giacomo Mattiolli owns Ferrari Maserati of Beverly Hills, Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley and Maserati of Pasadena. His partner at the Silicon Valley store in Redwood City is Art Zafiropoulo, owner of Ultra Tech Technology. The Redwood City showroom is 10,000-square-foot with a 12,000 -square-foot service area in the back.

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Ferrari’s heritage baton arrives at Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley. Owner Giacomo Mattiolli describes historic race years and Ferrari cars celebrated on the baton.

The relay baton was designed and created with 60 enamel symbols, to symbolize Ferrari’s most significant events in their 60 year history. The relay baton was created by designers Marco Morosini and Matteo Mezzanotti of the Morosini studio and manufactured by VeCa using Formula 1 technologies with assistance from Editalia Gruppo Istituto Poligrafico and Zecca dello Stato on the symbols. The top of baton is plated with an ornate platinum and diamond Prancing Horse made by Damiani. A strictly limited edition of just 500 numbered batons will be made in all and according to www.ferraristore.com, they are being sold at a very small sum of around 2673.33 Euro a piece, or around $3,600.

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It’s great to see someone loving their job and loving life. Giacomo Mattiolli, owner of Ferrari Silicon Valley talks about Ferrari’s heritage and the 612 Scaglietti 60th anniversary edition being brought out to celebrate that heritage.

Ferrari is celebrating their 60th anniversary by creating the 2007 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti 60th Anniversary Edition, of which only 60 will be produced. The GT 2+2, 2-door, 4-seater will be personalized to meet the specifications of the owner. Each car will have a different name, symbloizing a significant event in Ferrari’s life. The car will cost around $450,000 but if the Enzo is any sign of supply and demand expect a tremendous appreciation. The Enzo listed for $650,000 and garners around $1.2 million if you want to buy it now.

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Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley is having a 60th anniversary party and you’re invited!

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Giacomo, owner of Ferrari Silicon Valley, gave a very brief speech to the crowd, explaning how Ferrari was celebrating their 60th anniversary with an around the world relay. Then, the highlight of the evening, Giacomo showed the last lap of the 55th annual twelve-hour Sebring race that was held March 17th. The last lap was won by Jaime Melo, the driver for the Risi Competizione No. 62 Ferrari 430GT, overtaking the No. 45 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR driven by Joerg Bergmeister and winning the race by .202 seconds.

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Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley owner Giacomo Mattiolli describes a 1995 Ferrari F50 at Ferrari’s 60th anniversary celebration at his Silicon Valley dealership in Redwood City, CA. Watch till the end and hear the sound of the engine as they ready it for the party.

Courtesy of Ferrari;

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The F50 was introduced in 1995 to celebrate the company’s upcoming 50th anniversary. It is a two door, two seat convertible sports car with a removable hardtop. It has a 4.7 L naturally-aspirated 60-valve V12 engine that was developed from the 3.5L V12 used in the 1992 Ferrari F92 Formula One car.

The chassis is made out of a central carbon fiber tub and uses high-tech F1-derived materials that allow the car to weigh in at under 3,000 pounds allowing for a 0-60 sprint of 3.7 seconds and a top speed well in excess of 200mph. It cost $569,690 new and was only allowed to be leased at the beginning through Ferrari to temper excessive speculation in the model.

Only 349 cars were made, one less than Ferrari estimated they could sell. This was, in the words of Ferrari spokesman Antonio Ghini, because “Ferraris are something cultural, a monument. They must be hard to find, so we will produce one less car than the market.” The last F50 was produced in Maranello, Italy in July 1997.

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Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley owner Giacomo Mattiolli describes monarch King Leopold of Belgium’s 1953 Ferrari 342 America at Ferrari’s 60th anniversary celebration at his Silicon Valley dealership in Redwood City, CA

Courtesy of Ferrari;

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342 America (1950s)

The 342 America was Ferrari’s most exclusive model of the period and represents the first series of Speciales designed by Pininfarina. In the two years it was produced, only six were built. Each example was unique and a significant part of Ferrari’s history. The first 342 America was bodied by Vignale and the remaining five by Pininfarina with the entire series producing three cabriolets and three coupes. The 342 America employed a long 2,650 mm wheelbase because of the ‘long block’ Lampredi engine’s length. It also served to fulfill the model’s intended purpose as a comfortable, powerful, grand touring automobile with room for occupants and reasonable luggage capacity. With the 342 Americas and, simultaneously, the 250 MM Berlinettas, Ferrari and Pininfarina began a solid working relationship that has continued unabated to this day.

In addition to the longer wheelbase Ferrari widened the 342 America’s track dimensions by 47 mm (1.85′) at the front and by 7 mm (2.75′) at the rear. A reinforced live rear axle with a 4-speed, now synchronized, gearbox was used. Standard power was modest, rated by Ferrari at some 200 brake horsepower with a pump-fuel friendly 8:1 compression ratio. 342 Americas could be ordered with special factory tuning, producing up to 300 brake horsepower. King Leopold’s 342 America was one such example.

In a departure from Ferrari’s exclusive practice of reserving even chassis numbers for its competition cars, Ferrari acknowledged the competition heritage of the Lampredi V-12 powered 342 America by conferring even numbers of all six of them, a convention that was not followed by the succeeding 240 Europa and 375 America models. The ‘AL’ (America Lungo) suffix attached to these few cars signified the long wheelbase chassis and all were built with left-hand drive. Interestingly, the model designation, 342, is the individual cylinder capacity of the America’s 4,101 cc engine. The Ferrari 340, with exactly the same dimensions as the 342, is an aberration from conventional Ferrari model numbers at the time and added further significance to Ferrari’s first series of Speciales.

The model here on display is in fact the one owned by King Leopold and as such is outfitted with a number of very special and exclusive options requested by the King. It is also significant in being the first Left-Hand Drive Ferrari convertible ever produced.

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Tom Price, owner-racer, describes his 1962 250 GTO at Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley, Redwood city, CA. There is nothing as sweet as listening to a proud owner talk about their car. Listen as Mr. Price graciously talks about his car and at the end, the sound of the engine as the Ferrari group readies the Creme de la Creme for the party.

Courtesy of Ferrari

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250 GTO (1960s)

The Ferrari 250 GTO built in the early 1960s is widely considered to be the quintessential Ferrari model, and one of the most famous sports cars of all time. The numerical part of its name denotes the displacement in cubic centimeters of each cylinder of the engine, whilst GTO stands for “Gran Turismo Omologata”, Italian for “Grand Touring Homologated.”

The 250 GTO was designed to compete in GT racing and was an orthodox evolution of the 250 GT SWB. Chief engineer Giotto Bizzarrini took the chassis from the 250 GT SWB and mated it with the 3.0 L V12 engine from the 250 Testa Rossa. The widely-admired body was developed from work done by Bizzarini and Sergio Scaglietti but unlike most Ferraris, it was not designed by a specific individual or design house.

The car debuted at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1962, driven by the team of American Phil Hill (the standing World Driving Champion) and Belgian Olivier Gendebien. At the time of its introduction it was (depending on choice of gears and final-drive ratio) most likely the straight-line fastest car on any race track with no bad habits or nasty tricks in its wide performance envelope. In the best Ferrari tradition, it made normal drivers look excellent and gave great drivers an unsurpassable advantage. Years of development for its significant components, and traditional Ferrari robustness, also guaranteed that the car would last until the end of the race. In the end, the GTO won the World Manufacturer’s Championship three years in a row: 1962, 1963, and 1964.

The 250 GTO arrived in the early 1960’s as perhaps the last car that could compete on such a level and still act as something of a normal road car; more visibly, it was one of the last front-engined cars to be truly competitive at such a level. Today its iconic status is assured and with only 39 produced it remains one of the most desirable collector cars in the world. Its auction valuation probably would stand at the $15-20 million dollar mark.

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Ferrari Maserati of Silicon Valley owner Giacomo Mattiolli describes this 1973 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 at Ferrari’s 60th anniversary celebration at his Silicon Valley dealership in Redwood City, CA. Stay for the end where you get to hear the engine and watch the car move as the Ferrari guys get ready for the party.

Courtesy of Ferrari
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365 GTB/4 (1970s)

The Ferrari Daytona (correctly named the 365 GTB/4) was first introduced to the public at the Paris Auto Salon in 1968 and replaced the 275GTB/4. The Daytona name commemorates Ferrari’s triple success in the February 1967 24 Hours of Daytona with the 330P4. While it was initially used as a pre-production internal denomination, Ferrari never used this as the model’s true public name. 1,284 were produced over the life of the model including 122 Spyders of which 7 were converted from the Coupe to the Spyder for the factory by Scaglietti, and 15 competition cars in three series with modified lightweight aluminum bodies in various degrees of engine tune.

The Daytona Spyder was introduced to the world at the Frankfurt Auto Show as the 365 GTS/4. This car on display is of particular significance being a 100 point car that was also the last red Daytona Spyder to leave the factory.

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