1982 Ferrari 400i Spider Conversion on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ferrari set to hit new sales goal early to boost profits

As much as some of us would like to believe otherwise, building cars is a business. Most automakers are out to sell as many cars as they can build, chasing ever growing sales and profits. Ferrari is playing a different sort of game. For years, the Italian automaker has artificially limited the number of cars it produces. But the company does have plans to ramp up production to 9,000 units a year. According to Automotive News, Ferrari will hit that goal in 2018, a full year earlier than expected. A report says that in 2018, Ferrari will double the number of shifts at its plants. Sometime next year, Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne is expected to announce the automaker's first SUV, a vehicle that's sure to push that 9,000-unit limit to the max. SUV sales are up across the board. The number-one selling models at companies like Porsche, Jaguar and Lexus are all SUVs. The goal is to double profits to $2.35 billion by 2022. Limiting total output has a two-fold benefit. First, it maintains a level of exclusivity and prestige, making the cars more desirable. Secondly, it allows Ferrari to operate under different fuel economy and emissions standards than larger, mainstream automakers. It's difficult to hit some goals like that when your "entry-level" model is powered by a 591-horsepower twin-turbocharged V8. Related Video:

Marchionne: FCA, but not Ferrari, interested in Formula E

It seems like automakers have been clamoring to get on board with Formula E lately. In just the last few weeks a number of manufacturers have either become more directly involved, or otherwise announced entry into the series in coming years. That includes Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, with the latter two abandoning other series to join the electric one. Now, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne says his company might join Formula E as well, according to Motorsport. Previously, Marchionne had toyed with the idea of bringing Ferrari into the Formula E field, but now says that would be unlikely. Instead, he thinks an FCA brand would be a better fit, perhaps Alfa Romeo or Maserati. At the moment, Maserati seems like the best fit, as Marchionne just announced that the brand would electrify its entire lineup after 2019, with each car it sells having either a hybrid or electric powertrain. Fans would probably be excited to see Maserati return to racing, and Formula E would be a good test laboratory for the development of electric propulsion technology. Still, another brand could represent FCA in Formula E, and apply the knowledge learned there to its vehicles, as Marchionne says half of the FCA fleet will be electrified by the end of the company's five-year plan ending in 2022. Marchionne said that while Ferrari won't be directly involved, he doesn't know which FCA brand – Alfa Romeo, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat, or Maserati – would enter. As interesting as an electric Dodge race car would be, it seems unlikely, especially because of, well, Maserati. We're hoping it's Jeep, though. Related Video: News Source: MotorsportImage Credit: ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images Green Alfa Romeo Ferrari Maserati Green Culture Electric Racing Vehicles Sergio Marchionne FCA Formula E

Ferrari Driver Academy heads to Florida for the winter

Retirees and Girls Gone Wild camera crews aren't the only ones who go to Florida for the winter. So is a contingent of aspiring formula racing drivers taking part in the new Florida Winter Series being set up by the Ferrari Driver Academy.
The program is being set up in response to a lack of suitable weather at circuits in Europe, which would otherwise keep rising stars in formula racing from honing their skills during the off-season. Toyota runs an off-season series in New Zealand, but Ferrari is heading to the most southern of these United States to give its prodigies some much-needed track time.
Set up as more of a training program than a competitive championship, the FDA Florida Winter Series is based around a field of 15 aspiring drivers piloting the Formula Abarth-spec Tatuus FA010B, with a 195-horsepower engine furnished by Fiat Powertrain Technologies and an engineer for every three cars in the series.