Daytona Style Seats Carbon Fiber Yellow Brake Calipers Satellite Radio Ipod on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ferrari hybrids, SUV are in the plan to double earnings by 2022

Italian carmaker aims for core earnings of 2 bln euros by 2022 CEO Marchionne does not rule out smaller engines in the future If true electric supercar is ever made, it will be a Ferrari - CEO Shares rise more than 8 percent after mid-term targets released MILAN — Ferrari is looking to double core earnings to 2 billion euros ($2.5 billion) by no later than 2022 and become debt free a year earlier, betting on firm demand for supercars and new launches, including hybrids and an SUV. CEO Sergio Marchionne does not expect to double deliveries, but aims to keep pushing technological boundaries, launch new special editions and expand a customisation program to drive profit margins, which stood at 30 percent last year. Ferrari is also expanding its product range to vehicles that appeal to a larger demographic. Hybrids will be part of the portfolio from 2019, and an SUV is expected to be launched by late 2020. Downsizing engines was a possibility in future as long as Ferrari's uniqueness is preserved, Marchionne said. "We are absolutely convinced that these numbers are doable," Marchionne told analysts on a conference call, adding that profit margins could rise to at least 36 percent by 2022. "The house is firing on all cylinders, we are in a good place." The Italian group's medium-term outlook helped push its shares up more than 8 percent at one point on Thursday. They closed 7.5 percent higher at 103.2 euros. Ferrari's forecast suggests an average annual core earnings growth of 14.1 percent, or 17.9 percent, if it achieves the target a year early, said George Galliers, an analyst at Evercore ISI. "This type of earnings growth is unlikely to be seen by any other automotive OEM over the coming five years," Galliers said. However, he said the stock was not cheap and it remained to be seen if projected growth would be enough to attract investors over the coming months. After being spun off from Fiat Chrysler two years ago, Ferrari has sought to show it can increase profits without the backing of its parent. The group has clocked up several years of record earnings, helped by a number of special edition models. Ferrari reported on Thursday an 18 percent rise in 2017 adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to 1.04 billion euros, in line with analysts' expectations and helped by sales of its 12-cylinder models. They include the GTC4Lusso and the 812 Superfast, the company's most powerful model to date.

Race Recap: 2014 Spanish Grand Prix is boom and bust [spoilers]

The Spanish Grand Prix's 2.892-mile Circuit de Catalunya is considered a preview for the rest of the season, since it's a combination of long front straight and twisting middle sectors mimic sections from every other Formula One track to follow. After the long break following the flyaway races to open the season, teams and fans have also been looking forward to this race to see if anyone had a realistic hope of catching Mercedes AMG Petronas; Infiniti Red Bull Racing honcho Christian Horner boiled his team's outlook for the season down to the line, "We've got to [beat them in Spain] if we're going to make a championship of it."
If we take that as our starting point then the weekend began as a bust. Lewis Hamilton only just beat Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg for pole, the Brit's final effort getting him 0.178 seconds clear of the German. Daniel Ricciardo, proving Red Bull is at least the best of the rest, took third but did so more than a second behind Hamilton. Valtteri Bottas of Williams lined up fourth, almost 1.5 second behind and Romain Grosjean delivered overdue good news for Lotus by taking fifth on the grid, more than 1.7 seconds behind pole. Kimi Räikkönen in sixth outqualified his Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso in seventh, but he couldn't be happy about it because the Ferraris were nearly two seconds behind, and Jenson Button in eighth in the McLaren was more than two second behind. Felipe Massa put the second Williams in ninth, and Sebastian Vettel overcame a terrible start to the weekend to make it into Q3, then didn't set a time when his gearbox failed, then got dropped five places to 15th on the grid when the gearbox had to be changed.
When the lights went out, then came the boom...

2016 Ferrari 488 Spider First Drive | Pure, uncut spectacle

The majority of the cars that have rolled out of the gates at Maranello can be described as varying degrees of spectacular. Still, until you settle in behind the wheel, you wonder if a real Ferrari can live up to the hype. The first thing I took note of in the Ferrari 488 Spider was the immense and nearly instantaneous acceleration into questionable speeds. It should have been obvious from the start, but the rate that this car builds speeds still managed to surprise me, like the cold wind on a January morning. You've checked the weather on your phone and you know it's going to be cold, but you still wince with that first sharp breeze on your cheek. It's a totally different sensation than something like the Dodge Viper. The Viper requires deliberate effort for everything. Getting in and out is a pain in the ass. The clutch is long and heavy and the pedal box is tiny. The hefty steering requires some strength, especially at low speeds. The shifter wholly mechanical thing that requires a little more motivation than you would expect. It's not easy and it's not trying to be, just so you're not tempted to underestimate it. By comparison, the Ferrari is cake. The doors open wide allowing easy access, made even easier with the retractable hardtop stowed away. The cabin, while completely covered in black leather, is open enough to not feel claustrophobic. The steering is light but doesn't feel loose and the 7-speed dual-clutch transmission can be left in automatic to make things easier. In sport mode, the exhaust is relatively subdued, allowing you to actually enjoy the stereo should you choose to. But goose the gas and a wave of panic and exhilaration momentarily wash away any other thoughts. The 488 Spider packs a mid-mounted 3.9-liter twin-turbocharged V8 making 661 horsepower and 561 lb-ft of torque. It's not quite the screamer of past Ferrari V8s, but what it lacks in aural excitement it makes up for in brute force. The old 4.5-liter V8 in the Ferrari 458 was powerful, but most of that power was at the top of the rev range. On the other hand, the 488 feels strong in any gear at any RPM. Boost is limited in lower gears, changing the power band in an effort to dull the turbo lag somer. While there isn't a big kick when boost comes on, it doesn't feel quite like a naturally-aspirated engine either. Once you're in boost, complaints seem to fall by the wayside.