Autoblog

If the recent onslaught of spy shots is any indication, development is well under way for the successor to the Pagani Zonda. AMG is once again developing the engine especially for the supercar – tentatively known as the C9 – which means that the new Zonda has to undergo the same exhaustive battery of tests as any new Mercedes. Just as well, because the new C9 is expected to be produced in far greater numbers than its extremely exclusive predecessor.

To gear up for that kind of production, which, aside from the engine, is built entirely in-house, Pagani is preparing to open a brand new factory. The new facility in Modena, Italy, the heartland of supercar country, will be three times larger than the existing factory and is slated to begin operation in 2010 when the new C9 will hit the streets.

[Source: evo magazine]

You may remember a post we did a year ago about some yuk that chopped a gorgeous 360 Modena to turn the once-beautiful supercar into a 166 mph limo. Ferrari hasn't forgotten what Dan Cawley, of Cheadle, Manchester did to its black beauty, and the Italian supercar maker is suing the Brit for infringing on its trademark. According to lawyers, Ferrari feels cutting the 360 Modena in half and turning it into a limo no longer makes it a Ferrari. Under the terms of the lawsuit, Cawley has 14 days to remove the Ferrari badging or he'll have to go toe to toe with the prancing horse's legal department.

While it ticks us off that a company would have the cajones to sue someone for modifying a vehicle that the person paid a lot of money to own, Mr. Cawley almost deserves the legal headache. Ferrari may be confident that it'll win the suit, but anybody with the funding to buy a supercar, cut it in half, and add 9.5 feet of carbon fiber body panels probably has the resources to put up a pretty good fight. We reposted the video of the half-finished stretch 360 Modena after the jump.

[Source: The Times]

Ferrari engines have found there way into a variety of different cars - Lancias, Maserati, even the forthcoming A1GP racecar - but this has to be a first. Someone is shoehorning the V8 from the late, great Ferrari 360 Modena into a 1960 Nash Rambler wagon, of all things.

Dropping V8 powerhouses into classic family-haulers may be nothing new, but this is another matter altogether. To be fair, it's only the bodyshell of the original Rambler. Because the Maranello screamer was made for mid-mounting, Divers Street Rods turned to Art Morrison to craft a custom frame, over which the restored bodywork was fitted. The set-up should be somewhat familiar to fans of the previous-generation Renaultsport Clio V6 and the Volkswagen GTI-W12 showcar, but this wagon is decidedly different from one off-Ferrari "shooting-brakes" like the 250 GTO "Breadvan" and the Sultan of Brunei's 456GT Venice wagon.

Along with the engine, the rodders took from the Ferrari its suspension and, from the looks of it, its wheels, brakes and probably a number of other components for the custom Rambler. Because Ferrari isn't exactly Mopar and doesn't offer crate engines, the parts were taken from a wrecked Modena - unfortunately there are all too many donor cars lying around thanks to drivers with deep pockets but shallow driving talent pools.

We're promised a showing at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show, and we'll be there, cameras at the ready to check out the finished product.

[Source: Carscoop]

The motorsport press thought it was a big deal when Ferrari made their F1 car longer than last season's by a couple of inches. Well, some nutjobs in a chop-shop somewhere have taken things a step further by hacking a perfectly good Ferrari in two and adding a few seats, turning out a gran turismo even longer than the 612 Scaglietti.

To make matters worse, this wasn't some 80's-era $30k Ferrari, either: they've chopped up a previous-generation 360 Modena, arguably among the most beautiful of modern road-going Ferraris.

Although we hate to admit it, logistically speaking, stretching out a mid-engine car with rear-wheel-drive technically makes more sense than running a long driveshaft from a front-engined limo all the way to the rear axle (as Top Gear's Richard Hammond reckoned with his stretched MGF). But that's where our sense of charity ends and our sense of outrage kicks back in. This is the automotive equivalent of painting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.

If you can bear it, there's a video after the jump.

[Source: Bilfeber]

Not unlike other exotic Italian marques, Maserati has a tendency to dramatize the offering of any slight variation of its cars just a bit. It's somewhat excusable when you consider that, aside from the MC12 supercar, their line-up consists essentially of two models. But while it'd be all too easy to overlook and dismiss the launch of the Quattroporte Automatic, for Maserati this is more than just a new transmission – the newest offering from the Trident marque represents Maserati's venture into the mainstream. It's a bit sad in a way, that even under the wing of the all-conquering Fiat conglomerate, a brand like Maserati can't remain a niche marque. But in the "real world" even the fabled Trident brand needs to turn a profit to stay afloat, so they saddle that screaming Italian V8 with a torque converter for smoother shifting in the hope of attracting customers who'd otherwise buy a Jaguar or a BMW.

Maserati delivered the first seventy Quattroporte sedans equipped with the ZF-sourced transmission to European dealers just two short weeks after its official unveiling at the Detroit auto show. The ceremony took place in the picturesque courtyard at the military academy in Modena, near the Maserati factory. While we can't quite get our heads around the idea of Cadillac, for example, presenting their latest sedan at West Point, the Italians (with good reason) take real pride in their automobiles – plus it made for a beautiful photo-op, and we've got the shots for you in the gallery (and the release after the jump).

Related posts:

• Detroit Auto Show: Maserati Quattroporte Automatic
• Masermatic: Quattroporte now available with six-speed auto

[Source: Maserati]

Why do bad things happen to good cars? It seems to us that Ferraris are getting crashed left, right and center, and we're here to say they don't deserve this. We're speaking up for the little red-headed sportscars that can't speak for themselves (except in indiscernible revs and exhaust notes... and in Pixar movies).

The latest, at least, was not an Enzo. The world supply of those rare supercars is being rapidly and dangerously depleted by ostensibly careless drivers who seem to be routinely writing them off. No, this one was "just" a Modena, a 360 Spider to be precise, crashed into a lamp post at an intersection in Perth, Australia. By the looks of things, it was just the front end that was wrapped around the pole, while the rest of the car looks fine. But there's bound to be some structural damage to the 360's aluminum frame, and you can try to fix that, but she'll never be the same.

In response to this latest assault on the Ferrari community, we're marching to the UN to drum up support for a new bill to be passed that mandates the death sentence for anyone who acts so carelessly as to kill an innocent Ferrari. Exceptions will be legislated for official factory drivers, but everyone else is hereby put on notice.

[Source: Le Blog Auto – French]

Is it just us, or is Ferrari slowly taking its place as the Disney of the automotive world? With an ever-expanding merchandise empire, a theme park, and even placement in an animated film, the Wonderful World of Enzo just keeps on growing. Now Ferrari personnel, for their part, will never have to leave the Ferrari magic, even when they go home, as the Prancing Horse unveils Maranello Village, a new residential compound exclusively for Ferrari staff.

The complex is situated in the town of Maranello (near Modena, Italy) only four kilometers from the factory; the two connected, as odd as it may seem for a supercar manufacturer, by a bicycle path. Naturally the buildings feature Ferrari-red livery, surrounded by billboards portraying historic such Ferrari victories as Le Mans '66, Daytona '67, Monza '75 and Suzuka '04. As befits the legendary name, the buildings are, of course, built to the highest standards. Each apartment (including 22 studios, 42 two-bedroom and 58 three-bedroom flats) come fully furnished. The compound also features a fitness center outfitted with the best equipment, restaurant and bar, outdoor lounging areas and of course plenty of indoor and outdoor parking.

All in all, Maranello Village gives Ferrari personnel a harmonious living space to compliment (and never let them forget) their prestigious and pristine working environment.

[Source: Ferrari via Italiaspeed]

Aluminum giant Alcoa has opened a new facility in Modena specifically to provide aluminum space frames and components to Ferrari.

The two companies began collaborating in 1994, when Ferrari determined that the lightweight metal was the way to go to reduce weight and improve the dynamics of its road cars, and began producing the space frames for the 360 Modena in 1998. Today Alcoa is Ferrari's development and construction partner, with the aluminum conglomerate providing the frames for the F430, 612 Scaglietti and the new 599 GTB Fiorano.

Until now, Alcoa produced the components at their own plants in Hungary, Germany and the Netherlands and sent them to the Ferrari factory in Italy where Alcoa personnel assembled them into full space frames at Scaglietti Works, Ferrari's body panel facility. With the new state-of-the-art 5,000-square-meter, million-euro facility, Alcoa will produce the space frames on site. The factory includes two high-speed robotic machining centers, two robotic joining centers and 12 space-frame assembly cells.

Alcoa's overall investment in Italy totals nearly $300 million, having taken over Alumix in 1996 and incorporating six facilities: three extrusion plants, two smelters and one rolling mill, employing 1,900 workers directly and 4,000 indirectly. While we're not likely to see any direct results from the new facility, it should help Ferrari produce its cars more efficiently, which is good all around.

[Source: FerrariWorld via Motorpasion]