Autoblog

It's been photographed for months and referred to alternately as Dino and F149, but for now at least, the newest stallion from Maranello goes by the generic moniker, Ferrari GT. Today, the automaker launched www.ferrarigtcountdown.com where the car will be gradually revealed during the runup to the Paris Motor Show this September. Ferrari promises to feed us technical details, sound files and photos of the car between now and Paris. Right now you can see a few teaser images and hear the engine sing its sweet, sweet song as it starts up, runs up and down through the gears, and screams by at full tilt. The countdown timer on the site currently shows 10 days and 22 hours until something else is revealed. Looks like we can put those Dino-branded rumors to rest for good; whatever this car is officially named, it is most definitely a Ferrari. See you in ten days, when the next puzzle piece hits the web.

[Source: Ferrari]

At last month's Geneva Motor Show, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo surprised the industry by revealing that his company would be coming to the Paris Motor Show in October with a new model. Widely anticipated to be the oft-refuted new "entry-level" Ferrari, dubbed tentatively as the Dino or 430 GT California, the test mule has been spotted repeatedly making its way around any of the three circuits that the company owns in Italy.

These new spy shots reveal a nose as long as the 599 GTB Fiorano's or the 612 Scaglietti's, but while those models have to accommodate a long V12 under the hood, the new model is expected to carry a front-mounted V8 based on the architecture shared by the Ferrari F430, Maserati GranTurismo and Quattroporte and Alfa 8C Competizione. While the former is built by Ferrari at its factory in Maranello, the fact that the plant is already at capacity while demand continues to grow and the company continues to expand into new markets leads to speculation that the new model could be built alongside the others at Maserati's factory in nearby Modena. We're also interested to see whether the headlights reminiscent of the classic Daytona (like the one Ferrari also showed in Geneva) are just part of the camouflage, or if they will make it to production. One way or another, we'll see after the summer in the French capital.


[Source: CarAdvice.com.au]

Ferrari officials have supposedly confirmed that their new mini-model is coming to the Paris Motor Show this fall and in keeping with the company line, it won't be sporting a "Dino" badge when it's unveiled.

We've seen more camo-clad spy shots of the new model undergoing testing in recent months and it's assumed that the small Ferrari will be built atop the Maserati GranTurismo's platform, powered by a 4.7-liter V8. The new model's name is still open to speculation, but The Car Connection is reporting that a "GT" moniker will likely be used, something along the lines of GT420 or GT470. Pricing is expected to be set so that the Ferrari will slot in between the Maserati Gran Turismo and the Ferrari F430.

[Source: The Car Connection]

As Ferraris have achieved progressively higher performance, the automotive world has been rife with speculation about a new, smaller model from Maranello. All the while, Ferrari has continuously thrown cold water on the idea, saying that such a new model would push production volumes beyond where the company wants to go. Never content to let official denials ruin the party, auto writers continue to press ahead.

Autoweek is reporting that the new sub-F430 model is code-named F149 internally at Ferarri and that it may break out into the open as early as the Paris Motor Show in September. The speculation is that the F149 will be the first Ferrari (if it even carries that badge) to feature a direct-injected engine -- a 4.3L V-8 based on the F430 block -- and a folding hardtop. The new model is expected to be based on the Maserati GranTurismo platform. If the F149 joins the party as a new model, it could push Ferrari volumes up from the current 6,000 to 10,000 annually.

[Source: AutoWeek]

Like a family of cockroaches living behind your kitchen cabinets, some rumors just won't die. No matter how ridiculous, they just won't go away. And so we waste our cyber-space reassuring our loyal readership of that they're nothing more than smoke and mirrors.

Here we're talking about the prospect of a sport-utility vehicle from Ferrari. We've seen different renderings and projections, and although we're not sold, apparently some people still think it could happen. Leave it to the Dutch, then, to get it right from the source. Holland's automotive magazine AutoWeek spoke with Ferrari's general manager Amadeo Felisa, who firmly denied that the company is developing – or even considering – an SUV. And we'll take him at his word, even if we have our doubts when they continue to refute the development of an entry-level model.

On that front, in lieu of the usual mantra that the company is not building a successor to the Dino, Felisa specified that Ferrari was not developing a six-cylinder model, which doesn't rule out the possibility of a new model to slot in below the F430 with any other type of powertrain configuration... say, a V8 for example.

[Source: AutoWeek.nl via Motor Authority]

It is official, at least from the pages of Car magazine: Ferrari's we-aren't-building-a-Dino Dino will appear at the Geneva Auto Show in March of '08. It arose from a stillborn Maserati that was to be a companion to the Granturismo. Maserati couldn't afford to make it, so the project became the Dino.

Internally known as the F149, the Dino will be a comfy, front-engined GT with a retractable hardtop. Car doesn't know what the Dino will look like, and oddly, they wonder if the Freitas exercise is an actual styling buck (don't they read Autoblog?). We just hope it doesn't look like Car's rendering, which is the 'shroomed-out offspring of a 612 and 599 wearing cheesy aftermarket rims. Production is slated for next summer.

The next F430 will be all new, not a continuing evolution of the current body style that began with the 360. It will be smaller, faster, lighter, harder, and come as a hardtop only. Instead of more bore, it will get the small displacement, direct injection, turbocharged V8 that's been rumored. Add to that some active aero, brake energy capture, pushrod suspension, and a ballistic valvetrain. It will bow in 2009 or 2010, for a hefty premium over the F430.

[Source: Car magazine]

During Ferrari's press conference in Detroit this January, the Italian stallions will be pulling the wraps of a new 2+2 coupe-cabriolet, complete with a folding hardtop.

Built off a stretched version of the next generation F430's aluminum architecture, the "F149" 430 GT California will have a 450 HP direct-injected 4.3-liter V8 mounted up front, sending power to the rear wheels via Fezza's F1 "Superfast" sequential gearbox. A six-speed manual will also be an option when sales begin in late 2008.

The setup is designed to take aim at Aston Martin's V8 Vantage, making it the least expensive Ferrari in the exotic automaker's stable – around €130,000.

This is not, however, the rumored "Dino" model, as that particular coupe will have a 3.5-liter V6 mounted amidships and will be priced around €100,000 when it goes on sale in 2009.

[Source: 4Car]

Ferrari's getting in on the environmental game. Well, relatively speaking. The next supercar from the home of the prancing horse will be lighter and use a lower-displacement engine, but still have at least 500 HP. Thoughts are that such a car would derive its powerplant from the one mooted for the Millechili concept shown earlier this year. Though the car shown was nothing more than cardboard, the powerplant spoken of was a twin-turbocharged, direct-injection, 550-hp, 3.0-liter V-8.

The other big news is more information on Ferrari's No-It's-Not-A-Dino. Instead, what will be revealed early next year is a 2+2 V8 with a 4.3L V8 mounted up front. Other changes to the rest of Ferrari's line have taken a back seat due to the marque's growing popularity. The 599 hardtop convertible has been put on hold in light of the coupe's 18-month waiting list. The 612 will remain unchanged until its replaced in 2010.

[Source: Auto News, sub req'd]

We're no closer to figuring out what this car will actually be, but thanks to some cameramen lurking in bushes, we know more about how it sounds. The Ferrari "Dino"/possible Maserati Ghibli has been caught on tape during what appears to be a field trip from the Alfa Romeo factory to the 'Ring and back again. The video speaks for itself, and from the way the car does its work, we think it will, too. And no matter what it's called, Dino, Ghibli, or anything else, it certainly sounds vicious. Check out the video after the jump.

Thanks for the tip, Bryan!

[Source: Sport-Auto]

Following yesterday's reveal of this new Ferrari prototype, more information about the car has surfaced. The guys at Winding Road are claiming it'll be available as a either a 2+2 or a strict two-seater and its chassis will be constructed with aluminum by Alcoa. Apparently you'll be able to option the car with two seats in the back or a storage shelf, which could also potentially reduce weight.

The car won't feature the latest in Ferrari go-fast gear, but it'll still get a V8 powerplant with around 400hp on offer. Though many have suggested the new model will be called the Dino, one of Winding Road's sources has revealed the car won't in fact be named after the son of Enzo Ferrari.

The test-mule seen here may look like a regular 599 GTB with some camo gear but from certain angles the panels seem to be out of shape, suggesting the car's internals are different in size to the current Ferrari flagship. We can also gather that the car's engine will likely sit up front and its wheelbase will be significantly shorter than the 599's.

[Source: Winding Road]