ROME: Ferrari chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo said he is “very sorry” about Honda’s decision to pull out of Forumula One amid the global economic slowdown.
“I am personally very close to the team’s men who are facing difficult times,” Montezemolo said Friday in comments published on Ferrari’s Web site. “Unfortunately these things can happen under such conditions.”
Montezemolo was positive about the sport’s future, saying the Formula One Teams Association had taken important steps to cut costs at a meeting this week in London.
“We unanimously agreed to important short and long term measures, for 2009 and 2010,” he said. “We gave a new push toward a reduction in costs especially to help the smaller teams already from the next season.”
Montezemolo said the teams would meet FIA president Max Mosley to discuss their proposals. He said they were also looking to meet with F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone
Buyers cautious as prestigious Italian cars struggle to sell at auction.
By Paul Hudson
Desirable Ferraris have usually been considered less vulnerable to the vicissitudes of the world’s financial markets than most other marques, but car collectors kept their hands firmly in their pockets at last weekend’s Bonhams sale of Ferraris and associated memorabilia in Gstaad.
Many of the star lots failed to reach their estimates and were consequently not sold, although most of the more affordable lots found buyers. Even then, they struggled to achieve the lower end of their estimated prices.
The annual ‘Ferrari et les Prestigieuses Italiennes’ auction at Gstaad featured a host of not only desirable but seminal Ferraris for sale, most notably a 1955 121LM Spyder Corsa that competed in the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hours and that year’s Mille Miglia road race in the hands of Phil Hill, Eugenio Castellotti, Umberto Maglioli and Carroll Shelby. It was estimated at £2,808,450 to £3,945,000 but the price for one of the most collectible competition Ferraris to emerge on the open market for many years was apparently too steep as buyers responded to current financial woes with extreme caution.
An immaculate, 192 F40 also failed to sell, as did the 1951 212 Export Spider that came third overall in the 1951 Mille Miglia.
A 1967 275GTB/4, estimated at £717,000 to £836,000, had reached only £595,000 before the hammer fell.
The Ferrari ‘Daytona’ (proper name the 365GTB/4) coupe has been fetching high prices but one of the examples at Gstaad, one of only 530 Series 1 cars and estimated at £232,800 to £268,600, failed to sell.
Even the most desirable of all modern Ferraris, the limited edition Enzo that was a showcase for the company’s Formula One technology, failed to meet its 805,000 to £990,000.
However, a Dino 246GT coupe formerly owned by renowned Porsche racer Hans Herrman did find a buyer, although it only realised £92,350 against an estimate of £105,000 to £136,000.
A notable exception to the trend was Lot 234, a 1990 Maserati Quattroporte Royale saloon that has covered only 7,500km from new, which fetched 24,000 Swiss Francs (£14,755) against an estimate of 12,000-16,000ChF (£7,377-£9,842).
MUMBAI (AFP) — Indian technology giant Tata Consultancy announced on Thursday a sponsorship deal with Formula One team Ferrari, bucking predictions that the sport could collapse in the global economic crisis.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will display its logo on Ferrari cars during the 2009 season, a company statement released in Mumbai said.
“TCS has entered into a historic agreement with Ferrari for an enhanced technology and marketing partnership,” it said, without giving financial details of the deal.
Last week Formula One agreed cost-cutting measures following a meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council in Monaco.
The sport’s governing body is clamping down on costs as it struggles to survive the global credit crisis.
Honda’s recent shock withdrawal from the Formula One raised fresh fears over the future of the multi-million dollar sport.
TCS has been a technology partner of the Ferrari team since 2005.
The top has come off the Ferrari 430 Scuderia in honor of the brand’s victory in the 2008 Formula 1 Constructor’s World Championship. Ferrari has announced that it will offer only 499 examples of this lightweight high-performance drop-top.
The Scuderia Spider 16M will be available in two new color schemes. The standard will be black and grey, but true racers at heart will opt for a tricolor livery available as part of the Carrozzeria Scaglietti Personalisation Programme. In commemoration of Ferrari’s 16th Constructor’s World title the rear grille will sport a special badge.
Inside, a plaque reading “limited series” is mounted just above the air vents at the center of the dashboard. Other features specific to the limited edition include a carbon-fiber roll bar and the implementation of a next generation audio system that can be paired with a customized Ferrari 16GB iPod Touch that can be docked right in front of the dash.
Having Scuderia in the name implies that this car isn’t all show and no go. It tips the scales at just 2,954 lbs which is 132 lbs lighter than a F430 Spider. Behind the cockpit resides the sweet-sounding 4.3-liter V-8 cranking out 510 horsepower and linked to the quick-shifting six-speed F1-style gearbox. That 5.7 lb/hp ratio is good for a 0-62 time of only 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 195 mph.
Ferrari says the Scuderia Spider 16M is the fastest open-top road car around the Fiorano circuit yet, and with those numbers posted above, we’d believe it. Pricing for this piece of history is yet to be announced. Also missing from the press release is the number of examples that will be making across the pond.
