| Author | Message | ||
| Steve Magnusson (91tr)
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Martin -- why the surprise? Just as brakes only last a day or 2 under extreme conditions -- 30 extreme "launches" sounds about right to use up a clutch disk (Frank said "clutch warranty" not "warranty"). | ||
| Martin (Miami348ts)
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hmmmmm, that launch system sounds more like a LUNCH system to me. 30 times and your warranty is kaputt? why put it in there then? Ja ja ich verstehen the German nicht! | ||
| Mark (Mnmark)
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Back to Ferrari in F1. Yes, maybe more tickets are sold to DTM, and to NASCAR but what is the worldwide audience? F1 is beamed around the world, every 2 weeks, for half the year. My understanding is that there is a good return on the dollar for companies who advertise on the cars -- tobacco, auto (MB, BMW, Fiat, Ford, and now Toyota), banks (HSBC), software/business (SAP, orange) and others wouldn't pay huge amounts if there was no return. Enough of you guys are businessmen to realize that if the cost is $50 million and the return is $37.62, you would shortly pull the plug. My opinion is that current sports are all about $$$. Right? Quiz: Name any 2 DTM or 7 NASCAR teams, no less make and sponsor. Now name all 12 F1 teams, sponsor, powerplant, and one of the drivers for each team. In this audience, if you can answer the first, I bet you can answer the second. $75 million in NASCAR? For one country. Now get Europe, Asia, Australia, and North and South America as well as bits of Africa for 2 to 4 times the price and to me sounds like a good deal. | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
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Ben, the lastest issue on Bimmer magazine has a test on the M3 SMG system. It is available in the U.S.A. now as a 2002 model per that article. The launch control system works as follows: From a dead stop you press a lever on the console that activates the system. You then press the gas pedal to the floor. The engine revs up to 3500rpm and holds there. You then press the console lever again and the car takes off. You are then responsible to shift the gears yourself by way of the steering wheel mounted paddle shifter. According to the Bimmer article the clutch warranty is limited to 30 such launches and is then voided. The car's computer keeps up with the number of launchs. | ||
| Ben Lobenstein 90 TR (Benjet)
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Just to chime in here IIRC the SMG gearbox is set for 2002 (or was it 2003?) release in the USA, almost none here yet. Be on the lookout also for a 550F1 coming soon, anyone who has recently taken the Ferrari factory tour should have seen it. automatic launch system? -Ben | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
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LOL so who wants a BMW with a SMeG transmission ? sounds sort fo smelly, nasty  | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
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Rumors are now that Ferrari will finally get it's foot back in the sports racing door after winning two F1 championships. The past decade they've had a short-term memory of what made them. What would Ferrari be without the 166, 212, 250 GTO, 250 TR, 250 LM, Daytona, and 333 in sports racing. | ||
| BretM (Bretm)
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Oh man William, those Rafanelli and Prodrive 550s are amazing. I'm about equal between F1 and sports car racing, but if Ferrari started getting really involved in sports cars I think I would pay more attention to it than F1 because it's less commercialized and more like F1 used to be. I still love F1 though, I think they're gonna have some big changes in the near future. | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
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Robert, by the way, the F1 type transmission was first sold on a production car in 1993 by BMW not Ferrari although in Europe not the U.S.A.. It is now offered by BMW in the U.S.A. in the M3 as an option. I believe it is called "SMG" for sequential manual gearbox. It also offers an automatic launch system which Ferrari does not offer. | ||
| Frank Parker (Parkerfe)
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R | ||
| William H (Countachxx)
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Ferrari actually made its reputation as a race winner at LeMans & other sports car tracks. Enzo didnt start racing F1 until well after he established sports car racing dominance. Ferrari won LeMans 9 x I believe. I understand F1 is important but I really like sports car racing better & would love too see Ferrari back into serious sports car racing in a big way. The new 550 race cars r a step in the right direction. So is my 512TR race car | ||
| BretM (Bretm)
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McLaren also spends in the ball park of $300 million (Ferrari spent like 286 and McLaren like 292 in 2000), the other companies quite a bit less, all the way down to Minardi which spends about $45 million a year (and they aren't even competitive). Just to put this in perspective, the most competitive NASCAR teams spend about $75 million, granted it's a whole different ball game, but they make a lot more off of that 75 than F1 makes off of that 300 if you look at it in a purely business perspective. Also, DTM racing (the European version of NASCAR basically with MBs, BMWs, Opels, Audis, etc.) has surpassed F1 in ticket sales. Approximately 30% of Ferrari's F1 funding comes from the sale of road cars. The rest comes from sponsorship and Fiat. When Enzo Ferrari sold part of the stock to Fiat he made it clear that Fiat would only be involved in the financial aspects of the company and not of either the race or road cars, which still stands today even though they reportedly own 90% of Ferrari now (Piero Ferrari, the V.P. and only surviving son, be it illigitemately, owns the other 10%). | ||
| Paul Sloan (Sloan83qv)
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Enzo Ferrari only built road cars to fund his racing (Scuderia Ferrari)business. In fact when he sold the intitial 50% of ferrari to Fiat in early 70's it was made clear that he would be completely in charge of the racing division and Fiat would oversee the road car division. Ferrari is a F1 race company 1st and a road car company second and will hopefully continue this way forever. | ||
| Kendall Kim (Kenny)
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Yes, it is a ball park figure that the Ferrari F1 team spends approx. $300million a year, but most of that is subsidized through big advertising contracts with companies like Marlboro who is reputed to spend about $175 million alone to be the lead advertiser for the team.. The type of business that Ferrari brings in to F1 exceeds the amount of money spent each year for upkeep. In other words, F1 wouldn't be what it is today without Ferrari.. Ferrari IS all about racing, and that's the heart and soul of the entire company.. I'm afraid you have it the other way around, the street cars that Ferrari sells to customers is really an after thought in comparison to their concentration in racing particularly Formula One.. | ||
| Robert R. (Multisync23)
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The ABC commentators said during Sunday's broadcast that Ferrari spends $300 million annually on F1. That floored me. Why does a tiny car company like Ferrari spend $300 million on a single racing series? It can't be justified for the typical reasons a make would have to participate: 1. Reputation - Ferrari would still be a recognized name with or without a strong presence in F1. They sold their cars well over sticker during the long drought before M. Schumacher won his championship. 2. Money - They're lucky to get a fraction of the $300m they put out in income from F1. 3. Technology - Yeah, the F1 transmission is a trickle-down, but otherwise the F1 cars and our cars are apples and oranges. None of this bothered me much until my mechanic quoted me $2000 for catalytic converter replacements for my 355. A piece! I feel a little taken that Ferrari has taken my money to fund their hobby, instead of using it to improve their cars. Don't get me wrong. F1 wouldn't be F1 without Ferrari. But $300 million? |