Ferrari Museum - Maranello

“The best Ferrari ever made is the one which is yet to be built” – Enzo Ferrari

“Live the dream!” is certainly an apt tagline when visiting the Ferrari Museum in Maranello. As the world’s most powerful brand, Ferrari represents innovation, glamour, excitement, speed and technical excellence, and a tour of the space is an intoxicating experience. Visitors see the most famous and victorious Ferrari Formula 1 cars, Sports Prototypes, GT models and road cars. Each represents a particular stage of technological innovation. But its not just about the cars; all the racing drivers who have won at least one race behind the wheel of a Ferrari, are celebrated, too.

But first, the cars…! And what a showstopper to begin the exhibition: LaFerrari, is a very special series, made in 2013, with an unprecedented level of innovation. It is the first time that a Ferrari road car has been equipped with a hybrid propulsion system derived from Formula 1. LaFerrari is officially the fastest road car in the history of the Prancing Horse. Even the driving position is directly derived from F1: the seat remains fixed, while the steering column are pedals are adjustable, allowing a perfect set up for each driver, and an extreme lowering of the car’s centre of gravity:

The LaFerrari engine:

Another one that caught our eye: the F60 America. Just ten examples were built for American clients to celebrate Ferrari’s 60th year. A real beauty, clothed in a traditional NART (North American Racing Team) racing livery. This is a two-seater roadster with the classic Ferrari shield modified to celebrate the occasion:

The F12tdf is a limited special series which was produced in the autumn of 2015 and is named after the Tour de France.  Even inexperienced drivers can enjoy this car’s high performance; the rear wheels steer automatically in conjunction with the angle and steering speed, and overall speed of the car, ensuring greater agility on winding roads and perfect stability at high speed:

This beautiful 340MM, made its mark in the Mille Miglia of 1953. The car’s remarkable power made it tricky to handle, and indeed, only a very few of the greatest drivers proved themselves capable of exploiting its full potential:

Enzo Ferrari was an Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, before he became the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team. On display is his original desk and personal artefacts:

The history of Scuderia Ferrari is divided into two eras: before Michael Schumacher, and after.  The German driver was among the key players for the revival of the F1 team. Michael won three races for Ferrari in 1996 alone, and afterwards was vying for the tile almost every year. His time with Ferrari yielded five consecutive titles between 2000 and 2004. Schumacher holds many of Formula One’s driver records, including most championships, race victories, fastest laps, pole positions and races won in a single season.

The F2008 was Ferrri’s response to the technical regulations introduced in the 2008 season, which stipulated that the same electronic system should be used across all teams, introducing a single control unit with custom software. As part of this, a whole series of driving aids were eliminated, from traction control and engine braking to the electronically-assisted starting system, as well as engine and gear change management. A number of technical changes were also imposed, with new regulations regarding gearbox (the lifespan of which was increased to four consecutive events), and safety measures (higher side protection around the driver’s helmet).

There are also some nice interactive elements at the museum; ever fancied getting to grips with an F1 steering wheel? On a modern single-seater racing car, the steering wheel is actually more like a small computer. The greatest stresses on the car are exerted at the fastest corners, where powerful lateral G-forces render steering particularly heavy so definitely not as easy as it looks!:

As well as visiting the museum, you can also book a factory tour of the Ferrari factory and see cars being assembled. In addition, just down the road in Modena, is the Enzo Ferrari Museum dedicated to his life, and housed in a spectacular futuristic structure.

For further information, please visit: www. museomaranello.ferrari.com.it

For further information, please visit: www.museomodena.ferrari.com

CELLOPHANELAND* were guests of Ferrari.