2007 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti

The latest car from the Prancing Horse, the 612 Scaglietti, is the product an avant-garde design that continues Ferrari's long and honorable tradition in the 2+2 sector.

Although designed by Pininfarina, the new model is named after the great Sergio Scaglietti, the Modenese coachbuilder and stylist who penned some of the most beautiful Ferraris ever, during the 1950 and 1960's.

The 612 Scaglietti epitomizes Ferrari's talent for innovation and design, perfectly melding a cabin capable of accommodating four occupants in comfort with the beautifully balanced body of nimble, sporty front-engined rear wheel drive Berlinetta, to offer unprecedented onboard comfort. But make no mistake about it: the 612 Scaglietti isn't just another 2+2. Its more a two-door four-seater that never feels anything less than sumptuously comfortable and roomy no matter what the driving conditions.

Styling
The 612 Scaglietti's bodywork was styled in close collaboration with Pininfarina and beautifully dovetails functional and aesthetic requirements.

The curve of the wheel-arches, the bonnet, cabin and tail, in fact, lend it a beautifully aerodynamic thoroughbred grace. But what give the 612 Scaglietti a real touch of character are its scalloped sides, a styling cue borrowed from the legendary 375 MM bought by director Roberto Rossellini for actress Ingrid Bergman.

The traditional Ferrari air intake is given an original twist with the wheel-arches protruding slightly further than the bonnet, while its projector headlights have transparent covers that display their inner workings. The rear section is big and solid looking with the classic high round tail lights too.

Chassis
The 612 Scaglietti is very first ever Ferrari 12-cylinder to boast both an all-aluminum space frame chassis and body. The fruit of cutting-edge production and assembly techniques, the new cars the all-aluminum construction cuts its weight by 40% and gives it excellent torsion rigidity.

In addition to this, the 612 Scaliettis near-perfect weight distribution (46% front and 54% rear) means that it offers both the high performance driving of a rear-engined car and the roomy versatility of a front engined layout.

The 612 Scaglietti has a space frame chassis. In fact, its structure consists of a straight aluminum extrusions (38%) connected by casts (34%) which act as joints. Sheet aluminum (28%) reinforces the structure. Unprecedented levels of robustness have been achieved with the new Ferrari's chassis and bodywork too.

In fact, they actually significantly exceed current international standards and cover many collision configurations which have yet to be applied.

Interior
The 612 Scaglietti boasts a wonderfully sophisticated sporty interior that reflects its all-aluminum structure and advanced technologies.

The pressed or solid aluminum used to trim the interior has been cleverly turned into a decorative element too. The handcrafted leather, used to upholster the seats and in the interior trim, gives the cabin a sporty, exclusive ambience as well as making life aboard extremely pleasant indeed.

The interior accessories include a dual-zone climate control system, sound system (radio with CD player and six-channel digital unit developed especially by Bose for the 612 Scaglietti), a dusk sensor that automatically switches on the lights, a rain sensor that activates the windshield wipers, and an antitheft system with volumetric features.

The 612 Scaglietti boot is bigger too: 240 liters as opposed to the 456M's 190 and the spare tire cubby hole can even be used for extra luggage if necessary.

Engine
The 612 Scaglietti is powered by a 65i V-12 engine that displaces 5,748cc. It punches out 540 bhp at 7,250 rpm, a full 98 bhp more than the 5,474 cc mounted in the 456M. Various modifications have been made to optimize the engine's performance and fluid-dynamics and make it perform even more stunningly than it first did in the 575M Maranello.

The 612 Scaglietti offers new more direct air intake tracts with separate ducts per cylinder bank from the radiator grille opening on the front bumper, new exhaust system geometries and volumes to cut back pressure, a higher compression ratio (11.2:1), and inlet tracts and exhaust porting with improved fluid dynamic characteristics.

The 612 Scaglietti also boasts a Bosch Motronic ME7 CPU and careful work on its dynamic handling means that it response exceptionally quickly and smoothly, making it easier to control in all kinds of conditions.

Gearbox and Transmission
The 612 Scaglietti has a transaxle layout which sees the rear-mounted gearbox in unit with the differential. This is a six-gear set-up with multi-cone synchronizers.

In addition to the manual gearbox version, the 612 Scaglietti is also available with the F1A gearbox (the A stands for Automatic), one of the sophisticated new generation Formula-1 derived electro-hydraulic systems designed to deliver sportier yet still incredibly comfortable driving.

The CST electronic stability and traction control system enhances the 612 Scaglietti's dynamic handling even further. This is the first time the system has been used in a Ferrari and it guarantees optimal performance in tandem with complete safety.

Source - Ferrari S.p.A

The marathon relay celebrating Ferrari's 60th anniversary started this morning from the Italian Embassy in Abu Dhabi at 10 a.m. local time. The relay will involve over 10,000 Ferrari owners and their cars of all ages. These will act as symbolic 'bearers' of a specially commissioned relay baton adorned with 60 badges symbolising the most extraordinary events in the Marque's 60-year history.

Abu Dhabi was chosen as the start point for the relay – which after the Middle East makes its way across China, Japan, Australia, South Africa, America and the whole of Europe – as a result of plans to build a major Ferrari theme park plus a motor racing circuit on the island of Yas in the most rapidly developing area of the Emirates' capital.

Having left Abu Dhabi, the protagonists of the first leg of the relay headed for Dubai from where they will drive on to Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait. The marathon relay will end at Maranello on June 23rd. The participants in the tour will be received at the various Italian embassies in the countries they pass through en route to Maranello. Also on June 16th, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs will host a special ceremony at the Palazzo della Farnesina in Rome during which there will be a charity auction by Ferrari, the proceeds of which will be donated to needy children.

The relay was officially started by Piero Ferrari, Vice President of Ferrari and son of founder Enzo Ferrari. In his speech, Ferrari spoke about his father and his brilliant intuition in creating a Marque that has become a symbol of Italian talent and exclusivity across the world. He also praised Luca di Montezemolo who has, over the last 15 years, returned Ferrari to the very pinnacle of the sporting and commercial worlds.

The launch of a special celebratory anniversary series of cars was also announced at the start of the relay. The series will consist of just 60 unique cars, each one linked to one of the 60 most important events in the Prancing Horse's history, from the World titles won by Ascari and Schumacher to the launch of epoch-making models such as the GTO, the F40 and the Enzo, and also the people who have headed the company to the present day.

Ferrari embarks upon this 12 months of celebrations having just ended an exceptionally brilliant financial year that saw the Company post revenues of €1,447 million (+12.3% on 2005's takings) resulting in a trading profit of €183 million (+17%) and 5,650 deliveries to its worldwide dealership network, a new record.

The Relay Baton

The relay baton was designed and created to symbolise Ferrari's history and is topped by a dazzling platinum and diamond Prancing Horse made by Damiani. It also features 60 enamel symbols designed by the Intesta e D'Adda, Lorenzini, Vigorelli and BBDO advertising agencies, and by creative talents Alessandro Migliorini of Area Creativa, Marco Morosini, Enzo Naso of the eponymous studio and Wolfgang Seidl of Seidldesign.

60 unique Ferraris

As part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, Ferrari will build a series of 60 truly unique cars. These will be based on the 612 Scaglietti, the Prancing Horse's range-topping Granturismo which combines blistering performance and superb handling with superior comfort, sumptuous handcrafted trim, state-of-the-art accessories and meticulous attention to detail.

The cars will be offered with a two-tone livery in a combination of classic Ferrari colours as used on some of the Prancing Horse's most memorable models. The interior appointments will feature sophisticated colour combinations and a stunning new-generation electrochromic glass roof, itself a major innovation. The degree of opacity of the roof, in fact, can be adjusted to suit the occupants' requirements.

To underline the exclusivity of this series of one-offs, each example will also boast an enamelled symbol set on the central tunnel representing one of the 60 historic events chosen to celebrate the Marque's anniversary.

Source - Ferrari