Filed under: Gadgets, Etc., Marketing/Advertising, Tech, Ferrari
Segway PT i2 Ferrari Limited Edition... this has got to stop
We've covered all manner of Ferrari products that have little to nothing to do with the firm's actual road cars or even its championship-winning formula racing program. These include laptop computers, PDAs, stereo systems, cell phones... you name it. Those are just the electronics, and just a few of them at that. But this... this is just too much. Ferrari, in its unquenchable thirst for more licensing opportunities, has teamed up with Segway to offer this special-edition scarlet scooter.
Okay, we'll concede that Ferrari employees actually use Segways to get around the ever-growing factory in Maranello, and heaven forbid they should use anything that isn't emblazoned with the Prancing Horse emblem. So while they were at it, the two companies at polar opposite ends of the wheeled transportation spectrum evidently decided to offer these Italian hybrids to the public.
And so the Segway PT i2 Ferrari Limited Edition was born, complete with Rosso paintwork and leather handlebars. Otherwise it's completely stock, so don't expect to be out-running anything with, you know... an actual engine, or other Segways for that matter. Like the standard Segway, it's designed to fit into the trunk of a car (maybe of a Scaglietti) and turns as instinctively as Kimi Raikkonen on the apex at this past weekend's Brazilian Grand Prix.
Don't think this makes the geek's alternative to walking actually cool or anything, and it's no faster in any way than an ordinary Segway. But if you're filthy rich and you've wisely invested your wealth in a massive collection of Ferraris old and new, it may (and we'll stress may) make for a nice way to get around the garage. (We'll walk, thanks.)
Thanks to James for the tip.
[Source: Sybarites]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
bill 5:11PM (10/22/2007)
One can only hope a disgruntled Segway employee does not try to copy and then smuggle 780 pieces of technical Segway information to McLaren. Should that happen the Fia will surely get involved and determine McLaren gained an unfair advantage for the scooters being used by McLaren personnel to get from here to there and back again.
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Vivek 5:15PM (10/22/2007)
Euro fanboys want to come on here and bash everything that is NASCAR themed as trailer trash. May i ask what this crap is?
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Justin 8:36AM (10/23/2007)
Euro-trash...naturally :-)
bert 5:20PM (10/22/2007)
Brilliant on both Ferrari and Porsche's part for product branding.
Laugh all you want - someone in ferrari/porsche is making a lot of $$$ from sticking their name on random items
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Eric Liberatore 5:24PM (10/22/2007)
AND it comes with more personality than Kimi!
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Sam 5:35PM (10/22/2007)
all this does is lessen the value of the ferrari name. Take, for example, Pierre Cardin, once an exclusive fashion designer, now has his name on things from ball point pens to hotel entrances. Congratulations Ferrari, for yet another company tries to brand name itself and ultimately loses.
Yeah its cool for the enthusiast, but looking at yourself in the mirror with Testarossa Boxers begins to think, "Is Ferrari really that exclusive?"
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Xcountryflyer 6:37PM (10/22/2007)
Too much brand extension can lead to disaster, especially if it is done without a lot of thought. Ferrari is putting its name on too many products that don't really have any fit with its core products.
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Rotor 11:57AM (10/27/2007)
Nice Avatar! Mine runs!
[img] http://hometown.aol.com/rotorranch/images/rotaryanimation.gif[/img]
Rotor
Rotor Ranch Racing
Rotor 12:02PM (10/27/2007)
That didn't work!
http://hometown.aol.com/rotorranch/images/rotaryanimation.gif
Rotor
jt 6:39PM (10/22/2007)
segways are cool. don't hate until you've tried one.
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Richard 6:50PM (10/22/2007)
'this has got to stop."
Yeah.
That little "i" on everything is really beginning to bug the heck out of me...and Stevie J too, I'll wager.
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Will 7:58PM (10/22/2007)
Despite appearances, that is actually not a scooter at all. It is a giant flashing LED billboard above the rider's head that says "I'M A TOOL."
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Hank 9:49PM (10/22/2007)
a $5000 Ferrari? where do i sign up for layaway lol.
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John B 10:29PM (10/22/2007)
A Segway does everything a bicycle does - at ten times the price.
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1337 10:34PM (10/22/2007)
Segways are already overpriced, so I can't imagine what the Ferrari version will cost. I could probably get two bloody Focuses for the money. (Excuse the pun...)
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Level 11:29PM (10/22/2007)
security at the mall go up and down in them.....they are becoming popular here in NY
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Paul 11:51PM (10/22/2007)
It is impossible to look cool riding a Segway. James Bond himself couldn't ride one of those things and not look like a dork.
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Yggdrasilly 10:10AM (10/23/2007)
It looks like a lawnmower! Those old-fashioned unpowered reel-type lawnmowers that were always painted red, for some reason (as if to prevent you from losing them in the tall grass)
Anybody else remember those things?...
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John B 3:10PM (10/24/2007)
I bought one of them two years ago. Love it, besides, it's green and not red.
Llarry 5:55PM (10/23/2007)
Well, actually our push mower when I was growing up was orange, not red, but...
Anyway, I like my magic lawnmower. I understand that it doesn't look cool (and don't care much -- Ahead Nerd Factor 4, Mr. Sulu!), but I find it useful for nearby errands that are too far to walk (in available time rather than distance), but driving is silly. Also better for avoiding heatstroke when the temperature is well over 100...
There are some cargo configurations that are safer on a Segway than a bicycle (avoiding getting things caught in the handlebars), but bottom line, it's just fun.
As for the Ferrari branding, well... There are plenty of commercial applications of the Segway, including police/security, but also for transportation around a site at a speed enough faster than walking. I'm glad the Ferrari employees like them, but I'm just not sure the average Ferrari owner (is there such a thing?) needs one.
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