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New Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Lands, With A Little Something More

The stylish man’s Fezza—the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti—is now available in Australia and New Zulund (typo intended), with a few small but significant updates.  Along with that, comes Ferrari’s “One-to-One” program, which has been devised to allow Fe


The stylish man's Fezza—the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti—is now available in Australia and New Zulund (typo intended), with a few small but significant updates.  Along with that, comes Ferrari's "One-to-One" program, which has been devised to allow Ferrari buyers to customise their car to a previously unattainable level without seeking aftermarket assistance.  More information, images, and press release below the cut.

Rolling on newly-equipped 20 inch alloys, the latest release of the 612—powered by a 403kW/540bhp 6-litre V12—will screech to a halt that much faster courtesy of the now standard carbon-ceramic rotors.

Other changes include a glass panel roof, which has the ability to either automatically or via controls darken to reduce incoming light from 5% to 95% and any point in between.  The next time you're at the lights and you've had a bar of the trucky next to you staring down at Claudia Schiffer's legs, the power is in your hands.

The suspension and transmission have received tweaks as well, with the standard suspension now being the previously optional GTS system.

Now appearing on the steering wheel of 612 Scaglietti is the "Manettino" switch made famous on Top Gear, which allows you to quickly and easily switch between the various driving modes available from the car's computer thingy.

PRESS RELEASE

NEW FERRARI 612 PROVIDES THE ULTIMATE IN PERSONAL CHOICE

The new Ferrari 612 Scaglietti is now available in Australia and New Zealand and, as well as mechanical and specification updates, the range-topping Ferrari now offers the ultimate in personalization with the launch of the Ferrari One-to-One Programme.

Visually, the largest change to the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti are the 'Challenge' 20 inch ball polished alloy wheels, while closer inspection reveals the adoption as standard of the carbon-ceramic brake discs that endow the 612 with stopping power every bit as epic as the performance provided by its 540 bhp 6.0 litre V12 engine.

The roof of the Ferrari 612 has been replaced by a remarkable glass panel which whether automatically or at the touch of a button in the cabin darkens to reduce light transmission from 5 per cent to 95 per cent and any point in between.

Mechanically the biggest changes have been made to the transmission and the suspension, in addition to the adoption of the carbon ceramic brake system. The 612 has adopted the GTS suspension that previously was available as an option, providing greater control, sharper steering prowess and a more dynamic response to driver input. Allied to this is the appearance on the steering wheel of the unique Ferrari Manettino switch that enables the driver to change the response of the engine, gearbox, brakes and suspension to suit road conditions or driving requirements, making the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti a remarkable car in all conditions.

Making the Manettino system even more capable is the adoption of the new F1 SuperFast gearbox that debuted in the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. This cuts gearshift time down to a remarkable 100 milliseconds, while also offering a smoother, more refined shift quality when the preference is for Grand Touring rather than Grand Prix performance.

"These mechanical and drivetrain changes make the 612 a more nimble, dynamic car to drive, which enables 612 owners to use their Ferrari in a wider range of road conditions and they ensure that the 612 retains and enhances its position as the ultimate grand tourer," says Kevin Wall, General Manager for Ferrari in Australia and New Zealand. "How, significant though they are, these changes are but the beginning when it comes to the changes made to the 612 for 2008."

Atelier is derived from the Latin for an artist's work room or studio particularly, a studio of a high quality designer or artisan. Clearly, this is why Ferrari have chosen this name to describe the special studio at its Maranello headquarters where prospective owners may choose how to equip their own Ferrari 612 Scaglietti to a level of detail and personalization the like of which has never been seen before.

The many choices open to a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti owner are too various to list in detail, but, for example, in most cars the selection of a leather interior means that this leather colour and type is used throughout the car. Within the 612 on the door alone, it is possible to choose up to four different types of leather and to combine this with a choice of carbon fibre or brush and burnished aluminium finishes. The dashboard facia is split into four zones, which may have different leathers, the seats come in six different stitching pattens and there is a choice of stitching and piping. It is even possible to select different types of leather finishes for the boot and for a six piece leather suitcase set to be produced in matching – or contrasting – leather and stitching pattens.

And, if Ferrari's own selection of colours and finishes do not meet a particular requirement, then Ferrari will match any colour provided to them by a customer to produce both a body colour or an interior finish.

"The changes to the Ferrari 612 and the launch of the One-to-One programme enable it to stand head and shoulders above its rivals for performance, style, technology and a level of exclusive personalization that is nothing short of unique," says Kevin Wall. "The 612 remains what it has always been, the ultimate grand tourer, a car that seamlessly blends ultimate performance with luxury and ease of use to produce a car of extraordinary all round capability."

Prices will be announced the 2008 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti will be announced on 1 July 2008

The Ferrari 612 in detail

Styling

The 612 Scaglietti's bodywork was styled in close collaboration with Pininfarina and beautifully dovetails functional and aesthetic requirements. The curve of the wheel arches, the bonnet, cabin and tail, in fact, lend it a beautifully aerodynamic thoroughbred grace.

But what gives the 612 Scaglietti a real touch of character are its scalloped sides, a styling cue borrowed from the legendary 375 MM bought by director Rossellini for actress Ingrid Bergman.

The traditional Ferrari air intake is given an original twist with the wheelarches protruding slightly further than the bonnet, while its projector headlights have transparent covers that display their inner workings. The rear section is big and solid-looking with the classic high round tail lights too.

Chassis

The 612 Scaglietti is the first ever Ferrari 12-cylinder car to boast both an all aluminium space frame chassis and body.

The fruit of cutting-edge production and assembly techniques, the all-aluminium construction cuts the car weight by 40% and gives it excellent torsional rigidity. In addition to this, the 612 Scaglietti's near-perfect weight distribution (46% front and 54% rear) means that it offers both the high performance driving of a mid-engined car and the roomy versatility of a front-engine layout.

The 612 Scaglietti has a space frame chassis. In fact, its structure consists of straight aluminium extrusions (38%) connected by casts (34%) which acts as joints. Sheet aluminium (28%) reinforces the structure. Unprecedented levels of robustness have been achieved with the new Ferrari's chassis and bodywork too. In fact, they actually significantly exceed current international standards and cover many collision configurations which have yet to be applied.

Interior

The 612 Scaglietti boasts a wonderfully sophisticated sporty interior that reflects its all aluminium structure and advanced technologies. The pressed or solid aluminium used to trim the interior has been cleverly turned into a decorative element too.

The handcrafted leather, used to upholster the seats and in the interior trim, gives the cabin a sporty, exclusive ambience as well as making life aboard extremely pleasant indeed. The interior accessories include dualzone climate control system, sound system (radio with CD player and sixchannel digital unit developed especially by Bose for the 612 Scaglietti), a dusk sensor that automatically switches on the lights, a rain sensor that activates the windshield wipers, and an antitheft system with volumetric features.

The 612 Scaglietti's boot is bigger too: 240 litres as opposed to the 465M's 190 and the spare tyre cubby hole can even be used for extra luggage if necessary.

Engine

The 612 Scaglietti is powered by a 65 degree V12 engine that displaces 5,748 cc. it punches out 540 hp at 7250 rpm, a full 98 hp more than the 5,474 cc engine mounted in the 456M.

Various modifications have been made to optimise the engine's performance and fluid-dynamics and make it perform even more stunningly than it first did in the 575M Maranello.

The 612 Scaglietti offers new more direct air intake tracts with separate ducts peer cylinder bank from the radiator grille opening on the front bumper, new exhaust system geometries and volumes to cut backpressure, a higher compression ratio (11.2: 1), and inlet tracks and exhaust porting with improved fluid dynamic characteristics.

The 612 Scaglietti also boasts a Bosch Motronic ME7 CPU and careful work on its dynamic handling means that it responds exceptionally quickly and smoothly, making it easier to control in all kinds of conditions.

Gearbox and Transmission

One of the unique strengths of the current Ferrari range is the F1 type gearbox.

This was taken a step further in the design of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano resulting in the astonishing F1-Superfast, which is now fitted to the 612. The new gearbox's name encompasses the two key concepts behind its design: the fact that it is derived from the ultra-competitive world of Formula One and the faster-than-ever gear shifting times it delivers.

In fact, it was one of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano's most innovative features, yet another world first on a road-going car and now it is available for the first time in a Ferrari with four seats. In traditional automatic gearboxes, the various operations involved in gear shifting are performed sequentially as follows: lifting off and declutching; disengaging; selecting and engaging; letting the clutch out as power is fed back in.

It follows therefore that the gear changing time should be calculated according to the necessary time to complete three gear changing operations in sequence – the so-called acceleration gap – rather than just as the time it takes to engage the gear. However, in a significant leap forward, the F1- Superfast's absolutely innovative integrated engine and gearbox management programme allows the combined disengaging/ engaging of the gears partly in parallel with letting the clutch in and out.

The result is that overall gear-shift times are cut to 100 ms in high performance and super-high performance situations. This important achievement (a first for a production car) comes courtesy of the fact that the elastic energy within the transmission components is used to speed up gear change times. What happens in practice is that engaging and disengaging of the gears occurs slightly ahead of the clutch being let out or in when the speed of rotation of the input shaft approaches that of the output shaft.

Because of the F1- SuperFast's structure, actually engaging the gear is completed in a breathtaking 40 ms. The F1 SuperFast intervenes as a function of engine rev speed and the position of the accelerator pedal. The sportier the driving conditions, the faster the gear changing. The result is absolutely exceptional driving pleasure at all times.  In fact, even day-to-day driving is smooth and comfortable as the gear changing strategy is controlled by the new generation SoFast3.

The "acceleration gap" delivered by the 575M Maranello's F1 gearbox was 250 ms, a figure that was slashed to just 150 ms courtesy of the SoFast3. Now, however, the Ferrari 612 boasts an acceleration gap that approaches that delivered by the Prancing Horse's Formula One single-seaters. Nonetheless, the F1-SuperFast also allows the driver to select the Automatic Mode Button for even more comfortable driving.

The F1 gearbox is controlled by the driver using the now traditional steering wheel-mounted Ferrari paddles (UP on the right to go up through the gears and DOWN on the left to go down).

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions and Weight

Overall length                                     193.0 in          4902 mm

Overall width                                      77.0 in            1957 mm

Height                                                 52.9 in            1344 mm

Wheelbase                                          116.1 in          2950 mm

Front track                                          66.5 in            1688 mm

Rear track                                            64.6 in            1641 mm

Dry weight                                          3803 lb           1725 kg

Kerb weight                                        4056 lb           1849 kg

Fuel capacity                                      24 UK gal       108 l

Engine

Type                                                    65 degree V12

Stroke                                                  3.50 x 3.03 in             89 x 77 mm

Unit displacement                              29.2 cu in                   479 cc

Total displacement                            350.8 cu in                 5748 cc

Compression ratio                              11.2:1

Maximum power                                397 kW (540 CV) @ 7250 rpm

Maximum torque                               588 Nm (434 lb ft) @ 5250 rpm

Performance

Maximum speed                                 199 mph                     320 kmh

0/100 km/h (0-62 mph)                               4.20 s

Gearbox Man/ F1

0-400 m                                                          12.30s/ 12.25s

0-1000 m                                                       22.00s/ 21.95s

Fuel consumption

Combined                                           20.7 l/100km

Carbon Dioxide Emission

Combined                                           475 g/km

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