Ferrari 612 Scaglietti 60th Anniversary: A Celebration Like No Other

Motoring Channel Staff - 31/Jan/2007

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates — Italy's most famous sports car brand, whose success in the exotic car making arena is matched only by its myriad achievements at the pinnacle of the motor sports world, recently celebrated its 60th anniversary at the Italian Embassy in Abu Dhabi in the Middle East. 

Where many car makers would just hold a convention or a media gathering to celebrate a milestone, Ferrari plans on involving over 10,000 owners of the famous Prancing Horse sports car, living on every continent on the planet, to take part in a special relay.

Ferrari explains these 10,000 odd sports car owners will act as symbolic 'bearers' of a specially commissioned relay baton adorned with 60 badges symbolising the most extraordinary events in the marque’s 60-year history. The relay baton is also a very expensive wand, featuring a diamond encrusted platinum 'Prancing Horse' emblem.  

Abu Dhabi was chosen as the start point for the relay (which after the Middle East makes its way across China, Japan, Australia, South Africa, America and the whole of Europe) as a result of plans to build a major Ferrari theme park plus a motor racing circuit on the island of Yas in the most rapidly developing area of the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) capital.

The relay was officially started by Piero Ferrari, Vice President of Ferrari and son of founder Enzo Ferrari. In his speech, Ferrari spoke about his father and his brilliant intuition in creating a marque that has become a symbol of Italian talent and exclusivity across the world. He also praised Luca di Montezemolo who has, over the last 15 years, returned Ferrari to the very pinnacle of the sporting and commercial worlds.

2007 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti 60th Anniversary

Piero also announced that as part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, Ferrari will build a series of 60 truly unique cars. These will be based on the 612 Scaglietti says Ferrari. This range-topping Granturismo has blistering performance and superb handling all with the added bonus of superior comfort, sumptuous handcrafted trim, state-of-the-art accessories and meticulous attention to detail.

It is said the cars will be offered with a two-tone livery in a combination of classic Ferrari colours as used on some of the Prancing Horse's most memorable models. 

The interior appointments will feature sophisticated colour combinations and a stunning new-generation electrochromic glass roof, itself a major innovation. The degree of opacity of the roof, in fact, can be adjusted to suit the occupants' requirements.

The car is capable of dispatching the zero to 100km/h dash in 4.2 seconds - very quick - and develops 397kW @ 7250rpm from its 5.7-litre 12-cylinder engine. It also bangs out 588Nm @ 5250rpm, giving the car huge reserves of pulling power. In essence, this car is one of quickest in the world: you get what you pay for.

To underline the exclusivity of this series of one-offs, each example will also boast an enamelled symbol set on the central tunnel representing one of the 60 historic events chosen to celebrate the Marque’s anniversary. In another 40 years time, these special edition V12-powered Ferrari Scaglietti's with almost 400kW of power will be even more sought-after, especially the ones with Schumacher's F1 achievements inscribed.

The 60 most important events in the Prancing Horse's history include the following:

• Ascari World Titles

• GTO Launch

• Schumacher World Titles

• F40 Launch

• Senior Decision Makers

Even Ferrari is calling the new vehicle a true collector's car, and one that is aimed at Ferrari's most dedicated clients. Ferrari is confident of selling all models, and in the last 12 months, it sold some 5,650 Ferrari cars across its worldwide dealership network, which is a new record for the European exotic car maker.

Ferrari Theme Park

With a bumper year of profits, Ferrari will build a new theme park on island of Yas in the UAE set for a 2009 opening date. The new Ferrari Theme Park will cover a massive 250,000 square metres and will feature 24 themed attractions for all the family, including a 70-metre-high G-Force Tower and a twin rollercoaster ride that for the first time allows races against each other. Moreover, there are go-karting, rally driving and dune buggy tracks, and a vast array of food and beverage outlets. Yes, this is the ultimate theme park for rev heads!

In addition to the Ferrari Park, however, the 2,500-hectare Yas Island will also host a motor racing circuit, signature hotels, apartments, villas, a wide selection of restaurants, a retail area of about 300,000 square metres, golf courses, a water park, a tourist marina, a hotel overlooking the lagoon and numerous food and beverage outlets that will create a unique international tourist destination. The idea being that if you can afford a Ferrari, you can afford to stay at the high tech Ferrari resort.

The Ferrari Theme Park project and construction, as well as the whole Yas Island development is by Aldar Properties, and the total investment for the Park is of around US$600 million.

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