Ferrari Service and Repair Bay Area - How to build a vintage rally car out of a Ferrari in eleven easy steps - Angelo Zucchi Motorsports Sonoma - 707-334-3700

Since retiring from competition, Finnish ex-rally driver Kari Mäkelä has been busy building badass Michelotto rally-car replicas out of classic Ferrari 308s. Let's take a look at what goes into a typical build. Strap in; you may be here a while.P

He's taking a standard 1976 Ferrari 308 GTB and turning it into a replica of one of the most awesome, if not storied, racing machines of the Me Decade. The Michelotto Group B rally cars circa 1983.P

It's not an easy job. Mäkelä and staff have to strip the 308 to the carcass, prep the frame, and then re-assemble a full cage; a new, racing-minimalist's driver's compartment, and all-new suspension gear. Naturally, a stock Ferrari can't do dirt stages any more than Carla Bruni can compete in an Olympic deadlift competition, and so a new suspension — an elaborate puzzle of coils and dampers — is a must. But, you know, these guys do it all the time, so they kind of get it.P

Also, since this car will see action in historic rallying, it has to comply with most original FIA homologation rules (some updates are allowed for historic racing), and do everything the original racecars once did for real. It's probably cost effective too, considering one of the original Michelotto cars sold earlier this year at a Bonhams auction for 460,000 Euros.P

And so it is: 20 months and 7,000 man-hours later, we've got a Ferrari that's nearly identical to the cars that ran in the '83 Group B season. Thankfully for build-thread nerds, MAT documented the build with 2344 photos and a video. That should be enough to get the gist.P

One nerdy note. As you can see from the photos, MAT's replicas have carbs, not the Bosch K-Jetronic fuel-injection of the true Michelotto race cars (not that we're complaining). But from the looks of that sticker from the race tech inspector, it's apparently just fine with him. And listen to that engine note, and believe me. All will be forgiven.P

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source: http://jalopnik.com/5847391/how-to-build-a-vintage-rally-car-out-of-a-ferrari-in-eleventy-easy-steps/
by Mark Spinelli

Ferrari Service and Repair Bay Area - Ferrari LaFerrari Spied On Nürburgring - Angelo Zucchi Motorsports Sonoma - 707-334-3700

The most extreme, most powerful Ferrari road car ever has taken to lapping the Nürburgring, and these spy photos show the LaFerrari attacking the Nordschleife. As the Italian company hasn’t yet revealed a Nürburgring lap time for its hybrid hypercar, this Ferrari LaFerrari could be tasked with recording a quick lap on the track.

 

The Ferrari LaFerrari made its official debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, and instantly took the crown as the fastest-ever Ferrari road car. Its mid-mounted 6.3-liter V-12 engine, which makes 789 hp alone, is augmented by a pair of electric motors that bring total output to 951 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque. A seven-speed dual-clutch transmission helps direct that power to the rear wheels, and enables a claimed 0-to-62-mph run of less than three seconds.

 

While Ferrari has not said how quickly the LaFerrari laps the ‘Ring, it did reveal that the hybrid turned a 1:20 minute lap around its Fiorano, Italy, test track. That’s three seconds quicker than today’s Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and five seconds quicker than the old Ferrari Enzo. Based on that, we expect a strong Nürburgring performance from the Ferrari LaFerrari.The car will have some stiff competition, however, as the Porsche 918 Spyder plug-in hybrid managed to lap the so-called Green Hell in 6:57 minutes, which Ferrari will no doubt endeavor to beat.

 

The Ferrari LaFerrari prototype spotted by our spy photographers looks nearly identical to the one on the Geneva show stage, and it is covered with only the lightest coat of camouflage tape. Out front, the car’s pointed nose and enormous lower air intakes are visible; front behind, the Ferrari’s quartet of exhaust tips peeks out from the prominent aerodynamic diffuser and cooling mesh vents.

Stay tuned for the official word on how quickly the Ferrari LaFerrari lapped the Nürburgring.

source: http://rumors.automobilemag.com/ferrari-laferrari-spied-on-nurburgring-247483.html#axzz2fv7ekkPe
by Jake Holmes

 

Ferrari Service and Repair Bay Area - FERRARI 458 SPECIALE UNVEILED - Angelo Zucchi Motorsports Sonoma - 707-334-3700

 

The 458 Speciale is the latest product of Ferrari’s core philosophy of extreme technological innovation and research which, in this instance, has yielded powertrain, aerodynamics and vehicle dynamics advances that transform the already exceptional 458 Italia into a car genuinely worthy of the ‘Speciale’ moniker. 

The result is a completely new, uncompromising, streamlined sports car concept.

Many of the sophisticated solutions being applied for the very first time to an in-range car in the 458 Speciale, including its advanced active aerodynamics, will become a standard feature of all new Ferraris in the future.

Flanked in the Maranello marque’s range by the multiaward- winning 458 Italia and 458 Spider, the new mid-rearengined V8 berlinetta was designed to boost both performance and driving emotion to unprecedented levels, yet simultaneously guarantee smooth, effortless control in all kinds of situations.

Having lavished meticulous attention on the power unit that was named ‘Best Performance Engine’ at the International Engine of the Year Awards for two consecutive years, Ferrari has now built its most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever (605 cv) with an extraordinary specific power output of 135 cv/l , the highest ever achieved by a road going naturally aspirated engine.

Thanks to an equally exceptional weight/power ratio of just 2.13 kg/cv, the 458 Speciale can sprint from 0 to 100km/h in a mere 3.0” (0-200 km/h in 9.1”) and also clocked a lap time of just 1’23”5 at the Fiorano Circuit. Aerodynamic requirements guided the work of the Ferrari Styling Centre, which led the project in cooperation with Pininfarina, to sculpt the car’s forms to ensure they were more performance-oriented than ever.

The most notable features in this sense are the front and rear movable aerodynamics which balance downforce and cut drag, thus helping make the 458 Speciale the most aerodynamically efficient range production car in Ferrari history (E Index of 1.5)

The technology used in the vehicle dynamics subsystems which gives the driver instant confidence and control at high speeds, natural power oversteer management and precise response to commands are further advances in an area in which Ferrari is already a leader.

One of the most innovative content of the 458 Speciale is the Side Slip angle Control system (SSC) which makes it easier to achieve car control on the limit, thereby greatly improving driving emotions.

Due to the development of an accurate new algorithm SSC performs instant-to-instant analysis of the car’s side slip, comparing it with the target value and then optimising both torque management (via integration with F1- Trac traction control) and torque distribution between the two wheels (via integration with the E-Diff electronic differential).

 

source: http://www.muscatdaily.com/Archive/Oman/Ferrari-458-Speciale-unveiled-at-Frankfurt-2l0n

 

Ferrari Service and Repair Bay Area - Ferrari F40 And F50 Driven Hard On The Track: Not To Be Missed - Angelo Zucchi Motorsports Sonoma - 707-334-3700

The week of the Pebble Beach Concours is a little crazy. Walking around downtown Monterey, you might see two street-parked 300 SLs. You might see a Rothmans liveried Porsche 911 rally car just tooling around. And you might have a guy hand you the keys to his vintage Ferrari and tell you to “drive it like it's yours” before adding, “don't hit anything.”

The guy with the keys is David Mohlman. He's made a business of buying and selling old cars like the 1966 275 GTS pictured above. He seems to be about as friendly as they come and he's more trusting with his cars than most.

One of his garages is tucked in an industrial park near Monterey's little airport. The park has a number of restoration shops, detailing shops and mechanics shops, most of which were teeming with expensive and or rare cars when we arrived there to meet him.

So, when we're given the keys after about 30 seconds of orientation -- “It's a little cold-blooded. Don't run up the tach until it's warm. If the fuel cuts out, flip this [fuel pump] switch.” After we forget to release the parking brake we finally get underway. We are not only hyper-aware of the fact that we're driving a tremendously valuable borrowed car, but that we're surrounded by tremendously valuable cars. The possibility of a multi-million dollar fender-bender is right there in our faces, with only our meager wits and 47-year-old brakes to prevent it. At least they're all discs.

Nerves or no, if someone hands you the keys to an Enzo-era Ferrari, you damn well better drive it. And so we did. For about 20 minutes, we bombed around the Monterey hillside extremely carefully.

 David Mohlman 
You don't push the Ferrari V12 to its redline, but you nudge it a couple of times, once everything's warmed up -- you kind of have to. 

Having driven a couple of modern Lamborghinis that morning (life is hard) the 275 GTS definitely didn't feel like it was attached to an aircraft catapult -- it felt so much better than that. Applying the throttle gets the three Webers breathing, and then there's that heart-wrenching V12 noise, and then there's extra-legal speed. Do you let it run all the way up to 7,000 rpm? No, you don't. But you nudge it a couple of times, once everything's warmed up -- you kind of have to.

Even if it isn't modern-car fast, it's got around 260 hp to motivate just under 2,500 lbs. It definitely isn't slow. The action of the gated, five-speed shifter is precise and smooth and so deeply emotionally satisfying that you'll curse the name of Adolphe Kégresse in your sleep for weeks. You'll do it in French so that the bastard understands. By the way, that shifter is connected to a rear-mounted transaxle.

When you read that a modern car's pedals are set up well for heel-toe downshifting you are reading lies. The 275 GTS has pedals that make a very good heel-toe easier than pulling a dainty paddle and about a thousand times less emasculating. Of course the trade-off there is that all three pedals are close enough to each other that they practically touch -- be careful with those brakes, buddy. The steering is fantastic by old car standards in that it causes the car to change direction in such a way that the driver can predict.

It would be a lie to say that we pushed the car hard enough to get good a feel for its fully independent suspension. It was compliant and the car never tried to kill us.

 David Mohlman 
The 1966 Ferrari 275 GTS is so damned perfect that you immediately understand why a guy would shell out whatever is necessary to have one. 

In short, the Ferrari 275 GTS is gorgeous in every respect. It's so damned perfect that you immediately understand why a guy would shell out whatever is necessary to have one. It's been nearly a month since we've seen it in person and we still remember the way it sounds and smells.

When the subject of extremely pricey old cars comes up, we usually relish conversations that go like this: “Oh, yeah (car) is pretty cool, but why spend (small fortune) on one when you can get 9/10ths the ownership experience with a (cool, cheap car) at (some far-smaller amount of money).” Then everyone looks around like, “we're so smart, we should be rich.”

The thing is, with the Enzo-era Ferraris, there really isn't anything that fits in those parentheses except for other, totally unattainable cars.

source: http://www.autoweek.com/article/20130906/CARREVIEWS/130909897
by Rory Carroll

Ferrari Service and Repair Bay Area - Ferrari F40 And F50 Driven Hard On The Track: Not To Be Missed - Angelo Zucchi Motorsports Sonoma - 707-334-3700

The only Ferrari video you need to see today.

Few things ever wrought by man have ever been quite as exciting as a Ferrari supercar being driven the way it’s supposed to be: fast. In fact, about the only thing better is two Ferrari supercars being driven fast, and that is indeed what we bring you here. Chris Harris of Drive takes the Ferrari F40 and the F50 out for some serious driving on the Anglesey Circuit. These rare cars have become serious collectors cars, and seeing them being driven like this awe inspiring.

The video is a bit long, we know, but it’s worth sticking it out to the end. Comparisons like this rarely, if ever, happen.

-source: http://www.carbuzz.com/news/2013/9/6/Ferrari-F40-And-F50-Driven-Hard-On-The-Track-Not-To-Be-Missed-7716101/

by Jacob Joseph