Andyk
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Was lucky enough to have a factory tour arranged whilst I was in Italy last week......It was just brilliant and really made the holiday even more of an event.
Sorry but no pictures aloud so you will have to just use your imagination...........
We started off the Museo Ferrari...There was myself and another couple from the UK who had a 575..So only 3 of us...Liz couldn't join me as she had to stay with Dan and Alex as you had to be 17 to go into the factory.
We were greeted by two very lovely and petit 20 years old girls dress in Ferrari outfits..These were our guides. They took us around the Museo and talked around some of the cars on show..road and F1..............
Now I always thought Ferraris were red because this is what Enzo decided but no...The first Ferrari was yellow along with the back ground of the badge as this is the colour of his home town Modena....................It was the International Automoblie Federation that assigned the colour red to all Italian cars that wanted to enter motor racing..(Alfa/Maserati/Ferrari), all British cars green, all Dutch cars yellow, all German cars silver and French cars blue.....Never new that...
Then had a sort coach ride to the factory where we went through the famous old part of the factory and headed down to the new part of the factory.
Our first stop was the engine parts assembly which arranges parts for V8 and V12 engines for Ferrari and Maserati.......This new part of the factory is part of the Formula Uomo project which is a concept of placing its employees needs at the very centre of the companies activities.......This was a huge activity and in the middle of the factory was meeting rooms, canteen areas and a forest.......Plants/trees, etc.......Just looked really odd with all the mechnical stuff going on around......
Also around the building were static displays of Ferrari cars, racing cars old and new...The reason for this was that Luca di Montezemolo realised that the employees in this part the operation never saw the finnal product so wanted them to see the end product whilst they worked to give them inspiration.
Along the one wall were pictures of the cars the V8's went into....so Ferraris and Maserati......This operartion had robots and manual work...
We then went onto the engine assembly unit....The first thing I noticed was a bank of Maserati V8 engines..what a sight....blue and red cam covers.......The V8's are assembled by man and robots....The V12's by hand and by one person who signs the engine once he had finished because Ferrari believe the V12 is a work of art...
Next stop the California, 458 Coupe and Spider production line....
This was amazing....there were 3 lines where the car went down..each one at a different stage of build......The whole place had a magnetic floor which had this carts/robots driving around with no one in them..it was like something from Star Wars and you had to have eyes in the back of your head as they stopped for no one.....
Each car moved down the line to a diffent operator who had a certain amount of time to do his/her bit....There was a clock that told them if they were on time or not....Running along side each car was a trolley that had all the options that the customer had ordered in it.If.......Some many cars in so many colours.....
Right at the end there was a robot that fitted all the glass and then the car was left in a area at the front ready for a test driver to give it a 50k test drive around Modena....Every car goes through this.....At the time there was arounf 10 cars waiting..458's and 458 Spider....The Spider looks so good....
We did ask if we would see the new Berlinetta but tis was not on the tour but she would try and see if she could get us in to see the car...Then just as she said this a grey on drove past up and down the main drag....What a car, what a noise.....Stunning...I need a lottery win....
A short coach journey to the Fiorano track and the F1 and Ferrai racing quarters..........Couldn't go in the F1 quarters which was a shame but we did see a 458 with all sorts of wings going around the track and Luci di Montezemolo taking off in his helecopter...
One of the best bits for me was a visit to the FXX special customer area....Here was a warehouse full of Enzo FXX and 599 FXX customer cars.......These are the cars that Ferrari keep at the factory and take to a number of races for the owners.....Whilst there two 599FXX started up and drove out....Thought my ears were goung to bleed..The noise....
We then went through to a warehouse with 40 customer F1 cars..... Some thing..These are cars Ferrari have sold to the more well healed customers which they keep at the factory....
So back on the coach and a trip to the Ferrari store where we all were given a La Ferrari 2011 year book and off on our way.
All in all a great experience and probably once in a life time for me...If you are going to Italy get your local Ferrari dealer to arrange a factory tour for you..Its well worth it....
Sorry but no pictures aloud so you will have to just use your imagination...........
We started off the Museo Ferrari...There was myself and another couple from the UK who had a 575..So only 3 of us...Liz couldn't join me as she had to stay with Dan and Alex as you had to be 17 to go into the factory.
We were greeted by two very lovely and petit 20 years old girls dress in Ferrari outfits..These were our guides. They took us around the Museo and talked around some of the cars on show..road and F1..............
Now I always thought Ferraris were red because this is what Enzo decided but no...The first Ferrari was yellow along with the back ground of the badge as this is the colour of his home town Modena....................It was the International Automoblie Federation that assigned the colour red to all Italian cars that wanted to enter motor racing..(Alfa/Maserati/Ferrari), all British cars green, all Dutch cars yellow, all German cars silver and French cars blue.....Never new that...
Then had a sort coach ride to the factory where we went through the famous old part of the factory and headed down to the new part of the factory.
Our first stop was the engine parts assembly which arranges parts for V8 and V12 engines for Ferrari and Maserati.......This new part of the factory is part of the Formula Uomo project which is a concept of placing its employees needs at the very centre of the companies activities.......This was a huge activity and in the middle of the factory was meeting rooms, canteen areas and a forest.......Plants/trees, etc.......Just looked really odd with all the mechnical stuff going on around......
Also around the building were static displays of Ferrari cars, racing cars old and new...The reason for this was that Luca di Montezemolo realised that the employees in this part the operation never saw the finnal product so wanted them to see the end product whilst they worked to give them inspiration.
Along the one wall were pictures of the cars the V8's went into....so Ferraris and Maserati......This operartion had robots and manual work...
We then went onto the engine assembly unit....The first thing I noticed was a bank of Maserati V8 engines..what a sight....blue and red cam covers.......The V8's are assembled by man and robots....The V12's by hand and by one person who signs the engine once he had finished because Ferrari believe the V12 is a work of art...
Next stop the California, 458 Coupe and Spider production line....
This was amazing....there were 3 lines where the car went down..each one at a different stage of build......The whole place had a magnetic floor which had this carts/robots driving around with no one in them..it was like something from Star Wars and you had to have eyes in the back of your head as they stopped for no one.....
Each car moved down the line to a diffent operator who had a certain amount of time to do his/her bit....There was a clock that told them if they were on time or not....Running along side each car was a trolley that had all the options that the customer had ordered in it.If.......Some many cars in so many colours.....
Right at the end there was a robot that fitted all the glass and then the car was left in a area at the front ready for a test driver to give it a 50k test drive around Modena....Every car goes through this.....At the time there was arounf 10 cars waiting..458's and 458 Spider....The Spider looks so good....
We did ask if we would see the new Berlinetta but tis was not on the tour but she would try and see if she could get us in to see the car...Then just as she said this a grey on drove past up and down the main drag....What a car, what a noise.....Stunning...I need a lottery win....
A short coach journey to the Fiorano track and the F1 and Ferrai racing quarters..........Couldn't go in the F1 quarters which was a shame but we did see a 458 with all sorts of wings going around the track and Luci di Montezemolo taking off in his helecopter...
One of the best bits for me was a visit to the FXX special customer area....Here was a warehouse full of Enzo FXX and 599 FXX customer cars.......These are the cars that Ferrari keep at the factory and take to a number of races for the owners.....Whilst there two 599FXX started up and drove out....Thought my ears were goung to bleed..The noise....
We then went through to a warehouse with 40 customer F1 cars..... Some thing..These are cars Ferrari have sold to the more well healed customers which they keep at the factory....
So back on the coach and a trip to the Ferrari store where we all were given a La Ferrari 2011 year book and off on our way.
All in all a great experience and probably once in a life time for me...If you are going to Italy get your local Ferrari dealer to arrange a factory tour for you..Its well worth it....
