I won’t lie… writing any story on Ferrari is intimidating. Ferrari drivers don’t own a car, they find a passion. Their blood is not Springbok green – it is pure Maranello red.
They feel the spirit of Enzo Ferrari, the famed driver who founded the automaker and the Scuderia racing team, every time they slide behind the steering wheel.
Although red was the color originally assigned to all Italian Formula One (F1) cars by the International Automobile Federation, nearly half of all Ferrari’s sold today are that distinctive color.
What I admire most about the people of the Prancing Horse – an emblem which was handed down by the aristocratic family of a First World War flying ace – is that they hold their heads high despite dark times on the F1 circuits.
Just pass your eyes over these names… Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, South Africa’s Jody Scheckter, Michael Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen. They have won a record 15 drivers’ championships for the team.
Now, unless their luck has changed since writing this story, the fans are surviving on memories of the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix.
Ferrari chairman and newly appointed CEO Sergio Marchioness expected the Scuderia to start winning races some time back.
The Ferrari boss said: “I’m very satisfied with both [Sebastian] Vettel and Raikkonen. The only thing that hasn’t worked well is luck.”
So, if the Scuderia aren’t exactly scorching the circuits, how is this reflecting on sales and profits?
Well, ironically, 2015 was their best year ever. Total sales are up 6% to 7,664 and profits up 9% to €290 million ($324 million). This year they’re gunning for 7,900 units, including supercars. Modest growth yes, but there just aren’t that many new Ferrari customers each year.
Sure, Lamborghini figures have spiraled but that’s mainly due to the modestly priced Ghibli. And remember Ferrari don’t see themselves as a car company. They are positioned as a luxury goods company. About half of Ferrari’s current assets consist of its brand value.
Hard to argue against when a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO is bought by American communications magnate Craig McCaw for $35 million! A 1957 Spider Scaglietti, which won the 1958 Cuba Grand Prix, was also snapped up at a Paris auction for $35 million.
Ferrari rings up approximately $1.5 billion in worldwide retail sales every year. The specialist shops stock clothing, watches, sunglasses, shoes, mobile phone covers… you name it. And the fans will pay top dollar for the Ferrari logo. Even a scale model of the Ferrari F14T fetches $5,400!
The brand is even more independent now after a complicated series of transactions, including an IPO and listing on the New York Stock Exchange, has established Ferrari N.V. separately to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Closer to home, South African new vehicle sales have sunk to a seven-year low with an analyst calling the figures “horrible”.
So how is the supercar segment, Ferrari in particular, weathering the storm? Well, new models always provide a solid lifeboat and the replacements for the highly successful 458 Italia have been nicely timed.
There is nothing cosmetic about the new 488 lineup. Apart from breathtaking design inside and out, we are into the new generation of engines. It’s a blueprint for all the industry leaders… smaller turbocharged engines developing more power, using less fuel and coughing out less noxious gasses.
First out of the blocks was the 488 GTB coupé. As you might know, the GTB stands for Gran Turismo Berlinetta and the sales have certainly been grand.
Today, the pride of the showroom is the turbo-fitted open-top version, the Ferrari 488 Spider. The lightweight Retractable Hard Top (or RHT) hardly dents the heart-stopping performance. You will hit the 100 km/h mark in three seconds flat and clock 325 km/h on a good day.
We didn’t quite hit those figures on the test drive, but whistling topless along the N1 “concrete highway” with the back window lowered to hear the purring 3,902cc V8 turbo is not a bad way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
This is when you take your hat off to technology. The smaller engine develops around 20% more power than the previous 4.5-liter naturally aspirated V8. As Scuderia South Africa CEO Mervyn Eagles says, the 488 Spider has been designed to set new technological benchmarks for the sector.
“Following the success of the 488 GTB both locally and internationally, the 488 Spider promises to surpass the expectations of any open-top V8 sport car.”
The technophobes will tell you about the Variable Torque Management system guaranteeing progressive delivery in the higher gears. It is, very simply, smoother than silk – the very antithesis of the exhilarating but neck wrenching Alfa Romeo 4C. It is all translated through the remarkable 7-speed F1 dual-clutch transmission.
The interior is a perfect blend of functionality and understated style from the Blu Corsa livery, apparently to meld with the overhead sky, to the concise instrument panel and multi-media positioned on two wings straddling the main display. I can’t verify the improvements, but a former 458 owner tells me the controls and multi-media options have been incredibly simplified.
Then we come to that crucial element of supercars that will always be hotly debated – sound. And I’m not talking about the 12-speaker JBL professional sound system. This is where Ferrari get rather esoteric.
“In line with Ferrari tradition and drawing on the harmonics typical of Prancing Horse cars with this kind of architecture, this eight-cylinder has its own absolutely distinctive soundtrack, thanks to exhaust headers with longer, equal-length piping and the flat-plane crankshaft.”
“The sound was crafted to be seductive but never invasive when the top is dropped,” the brochure oozes.
Distinctive it may be, but possibly missing the rumbling roar of the normally aspirated engine.
Which raises the question – is the 488 Spider too perfect? It is ultra fluid and easier to drive with special dampers for comfort and a “Side Slip Angle Control system” to help non-professional drivers to reach the limit.
But will petrolheads find that it has lost some of the raw appeal of the Ferrari marque, despite the blistering performance?
Possibly. Yet Ferrari is not alone. The trend is to offer a machine that is as content to poodle to the corner café as it is to take on all comers on the racetrack. Although some of the throbbing adrenalin may have faded, the era of gearsticks and oil spills is over.
The Ferrari 488 Spider is the supercar you want to make it. All you need is a spare $407,000… and a good contact to get on the waiting list.