Ferrari Boss Dismisses McLaren’s Carbonfiber Chassis, Says Maranello will focus on Hybrid Tech

In an interview with CAR magazine, Amedeo Felisa, Ferrari’s CEO who is pictured above with F1 driver Felipe Massa, talked about many things – from rivals to the press, and of course, Maranello’s future plans.

When asked about recent tests conducted between Ferrari’s own 458 Italia and its new rival, the McLaren MP4-12C, Felisa said that he was more than pleased, since the 458 came out on top.

What made him happier is the fact that the test were performed by British car journalists who tend to favor their home products as, in his own words, “only you British can find a certain level of performance at Aston Martin!”.

The Ferrari boss also said that McLaren's decision to use a carbonfiber chassis is not practical for models that are produced in relatively big numbers as it increases the cost and reduces production rate. Felisa added that Ferrari could produce an aluminum chassis that is as light as a carbonfiber, but will only use the latter in top-of-the-line exotics like the Enzo’s replacement.

Felisa revealed that the “family look” adopted by most carmakers is a no-no for Ferrari: “All the other brands have a way in which they use in a different shape, stretching or enlarging. Our rule is not to use that. You can have some iconic touches from previews models, but we don’t like to have a family feel.”

Having already presented a hybrid project in the form of the 599 HY-KERS concept, Ferrari’s CEO admits that strict emissions regulations force the carmaker to invest heavily in hybrid technology, drawing from its F1 experience but not relying solely on it.

Moreover, hybrid technology will allow Ferrari to continue developing V12 engines as, according to Felisa, even a V12’s CO2 emissions can drop to 200 g/km: “The California emits 299 g/km. If you do the hybrid 12m you can go lower than the V8”, he concluded.

Story reference: CAR Magazine

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Formula 1: 2011 Singapore Grand Prix Results Are In

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Ferrari 458 Italia Re-imagined by French Designer

Almost everyone who has laid eyes on the Ferrari 458 Italia's bodywork will agree that it is a work of art. Even though Ferrari’s people claim that it was function, and especially aerodynamics, that dictated many elements of the 458 Italia's shape, it is perhaps one of the most striking supercars currently on sale along with the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4.
Surely, no one would dare suggest otherwise, right? Well, not so fast. Olivier Demangel is a French designer and 3D artist who lives in London has cooked up three proposals for a redesigned 458 Italia.
The designer retained most of the Italian supercar’s sculpted lines, but added some new elements of his own.
Demangel says that version 0.5 (the silver car) is a lightly tuned version with subtle add-ons such as side skirts and a lower diffuser. The 458 Italia Version 1.0 takes the aftermarket approach one step further adding more side air vents, while Version 2.0 is, according to Demangel, a tribute to the legendary F40.
Just pass the jump to look at the pictures and watch the videos so you can judge for yourself if Messier Demangel’s proposals improve on the original.
All photos and video courtesy of Olivier Demangel

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Formula 1: Italian GP Qualifying Results

McLaren may have tried to secure some publicity by opening its only Italian showroom in Milan just before the local GP, but on the track, it was Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel who captured the spotlight with his 10th pole position of the year in Monza.

Vettel was almost half a second faster than Lewis Hamilton who beat his teammate, Jenson Button, by a mere 0.052 seconds. The Tifosi had to be content with Fernando Alonso’s fourth place –not a bad result, if you consider that he is one place ahead of the second Red Bull of Mark Webber.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa will start from sixth position, ahead of Renault’s Vitaly Petrov and the two Mercedes’ of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton, completes the top ten of the starting grid with the second Renault.

The race, which is the last Grand Prix in Europe for 2011 since Formula 1 moves to Asia for the next five races before the season finale at Brazil, starts on Sunday at 12:00 GMT.

Via Espn

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Formula 1: Belgian GP Race Results

Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso summed up perfectly the outcome of the Belgian GP that took place yesterday at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit in the Ardennes forest: “Red Bull had a pace advantage of one second of something like that today. And in the final part of the race maybe more, maybe 1.5 seconds. So when you have a car that is 1.5 seconds faster than the rest it’s easy for you to stop one lap earlier or one lap later.”

And this despite the fact that RBR’s cars faced a problem with tire blistering and asked for permission to change the car’s suspension settings. The stewards denied their petition and the team even considered changing the settings anyway and taking the penalty, starting from the pit lane.

In the end, they decided to race, and it proved to be the right choice. Sebastian Vettel was once again the winner, extending his lead to 92 points over his closest rival, team mate Mark Webber who finished second.

The final place on the podium went to McLaren’s Jenson Button who put in an excellent performance despite starting from 13th place on the grid. Alonso admitted that fourth place was the best he could do, and is currently third in the driver’s standings. But the championship, with just seven races remaining, seems a done deal for Vettel and Red Bull Racing for the second year in a row.

However, the man who stole some of Vettel’s glory at Spa was none other than Michael Schumacher, who celebrated his 20th anniversary of racing in Formula 1. And not only did he put on a show for the cameras, with both his former (Ferrari) and current team (Mercedes), awarding him presents, but he showed that no matter what his detractors say, he still has what it takes to compete despite being 42 years old.

On the same track that 20 years ago he made his maiden appearance in Formula 1, finishing an impressive seventh with a second-tier car and despite never ever having driven there, on Sunday he fought closely with his team mate Nico Rosberg and beat him fair and square, crossing the finishing line in fifth place.

Via ESPN

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Kahn Reaches to the Ferrari California

Those looking to give a more personal touch to their Ferrari California without…killing it, UK-based tuner Kahn has announced a new program for the Italian roadster.

On the styling front, Kahn's California wears a set of forged Monza wheels in matt black measuring 21-inches up front and 22-inches at the back. Inside, new accessories and equipment include seats, steering wheel, instrument panel and infotainment system.

Performance modifications are limited to a Khan sports suspension system and according to the tuner, an enhanced version of Ferrari's F1-Trac traction control system.

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heers! First Photos of Ferrari 458 Italia Spider

The first set of pictures of the Frankfurt Motor Show-bound Ferrari 458 Italia Spider have dripped out on the open thanks to the folks over at the Cheers & Gears fan site.

Information remains scarce for now, but sources suggest that there's a retractable hardtop hiding under the dual pod behind the passenger area, and not a traditional cloth top as previously thought.

Unsurprisingly, we expect the Spider to feature the same marvelous 4.5-liter V8 engine with direct injection technology that powers the 458 Italia coupe model.

The V8 is rated at 570 horsepower at 9,000 rpm and 540Nm or 398.2 lb-ft of peak torque at 6,000 rpm. Power will be sent to the rear wheels through Ferrari's 7-speed F1 dual-clutch gearbox.

Source: Cheers and Gears via Jalopnik

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