Continue reading Ferrari GT heading to Paris, teaser site launched

Ferrari GT heading to Paris, teaser site launched originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 May 2008 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The internet, as usual, is rife with speculation. Today's source is the FerrariChat message forum, where members claim to have inside information on two new Ferrari models that are anticipated for launch within the next couple of years.

The news concerns a convertible version of the current 599 GTB Fiorano, an illustration of which you see above (courtesy of AutoGespot). FChat member "supraman55" says his local dealer confirmed the upcoming model for a debut at either Detroit or Geneva in 2009. Speculation surrounding the 599 Spider is backed up by an interview with Ferrari's General Director, Amadeo Felisa, which appeared recently in the German magazine Auto Motor und Sport. When asked about a convertible 599, Felisa confirmed that Ferrari is developing such a model for possible production in a limited series like its predecessor, the 575-based SuperAmerica. We'll add our own fuel to the fire by speculating that, based on traditional Ferrari nomenclature revived for the 599 GTB, the roadster will likely carry the 599 GTS designation, perhaps married to another name to replace Fiorano for the open-air version.

[Sources: FerrariChat, Auto Motor und Sport, AutoGespot]

Continue reading Enter the Rumormill: Ferrari 599 roadster and F149

Enter the Rumormill: Ferrari 599 roadster and F149 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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]

Spy shots: Ferrari Dino and F430 successor originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.