In the pit lane, Jean Todt is known for saying little and saying it curtly when he does. It seems nearly every time Speed TV attempts to interview him before a race, he waves the camera off and returns to his charges. In his role as CEO of Ferrari, however, he appears to be quite a bit more loquacious. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he practically said more in one sitting than he has in 14 years as manager of the Scuderia.
Chief among his revelations was that "Ferrari has never considered a four-door car." Many Ferrari fans will find this heartening news in an age of once-restrained brands oozing into every segment possible. In the same interview, nevertheless, Todt says that "we must pay attention to everything that is happening in our business." With the 4-door-super-sedan-slash-GT trend having climbed the social ladder all the way to Aston Martin's rung, it could be wondered whether Ferrari will continue to keep the doors closed on any sedan considerations.
[Source: Wall Street Journal]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
HotRodzNKustoms @ Jul 12th 2007 7:02PM
Ferrari has sold more cars since they introduced the 360 Modena then they have sold in their entire 60 year history. Not a concrete fact but it sounds about right since they built 19,000 360's!!!!
HotRodzNKustoms @ Jul 12th 2007 7:04PM
forgot to add so I doubt they'd expand their model lineup since sales are so good. Only major move I can see in the future is a move downmarket to brace for a possible recession in the world's economy.
Johnny Rocket @ Jul 13th 2007 12:36AM
That doesn't say anything good about Ferrari. The 360 lacked the racing pedigree of the GTO, 330, and 365 from the past. Those cars were built for true grant touring on the track or on the road. The 360 was just for the LA poseur.
Bart @ Jul 12th 2007 7:25PM
FIAT hierarchy pretty much dictates the 4door-coupé-slash-GT is in Maserati's class. Hence the Quattroporte. I dont see how Ferrari would want to top that. Ever.
rob @ Jul 12th 2007 9:09PM
For the record, in Italian, "non" translates to "not", and i believe the correct usage here would be simply "no"...
DreamTheater @ Jul 13th 2007 9:16AM
Maybe it's relating to Jean Todt who is French, so "Non" would be right... just for the record... :)
Derek @ Jul 12th 2007 9:26PM
Please, Ferrari, do NOT make a four door, or a SUV or anything like that. Porsche has lost so much appeal in my eyes since they made a SUV, it is just sick.
rob @ Jul 12th 2007 9:27PM
Maybe, but the Cayenne is Porsche's best and fastest selling model. It's a huge cash cow for them.
Derek @ Jul 12th 2007 10:29PM
but they had to sell their soul, is it worth it? The fact that they make a SUV (regardless of its impressive performance) still makes a 911 less desirable in my eyes
rob @ Jul 13th 2007 11:16AM
Well I definitely agree that Ferrari should NOT make a SUV.
naggs @ Jul 12th 2007 9:50PM
"we must pay attention to everything that is happening in our business."
i would imagine that he is talking about the co2 cap, CAFE changes and the whole global warming situation in general. rember that that paper 'mini enzo' concept thing a few weeks ago? that was all about a smaller enviromental footprint. ferrari knows the car business is about to experience more change in the next 10 years than in the 30 that came before. and noone, not even ferrari, is going to be able to go about business as usual.
Rolf B @ Jul 12th 2007 11:26PM
Isn't that what the Maserati is for?
Hikaru @ Jul 13th 2007 12:15AM
It's comforting to see that atleast Ferrari is not jumping on the bandwagon of producing four-dour luxury cars since they have been selling out the prancing house and sticking it on virtually every non car related products.
Surprising as well since they have a platform right there waiting to be rebadged (ala quattroporte). Maybe they are leaving that niche market for Meserati and probably they don't like taking the sister company's product and rebadging them.
Eric @ Jul 13th 2007 1:18AM
Ferrari did show a prototype sedan in the 80's. For whatever reason they never put it into production.
http://www.supercars.net/cars/652.html
boofighter @ Jul 13th 2007 1:49AM
four door ferrari's
[url]http://www.qv500.com/ferrari456p3.php[/url]
[img]http://www.leblogauto.com/images/ferrari_gta_venice_break_2.jpg[/img]
Chris G. @ Jul 13th 2007 7:10AM
That's ok, the Sultan of Brunei will have one built anyway.
jeffinToronto @ Jul 13th 2007 8:42AM
Uh-oh... When CEO's come out and say they are not doing something, that's usually a good sign they are considering it, at least with many car companies. Hopefully this is not the case with the Italians.