My pilgrimage to holy Italian factories :) | FerrariChat

My pilgrimage to holy Italian factories :)

Discussion in 'Asia' started by SFchallenge, May 29, 2007.

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  1. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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    Well, I think it's any carnut's dream to visit a factory of their dream. I've been thinking about driving a car in Europe for ages so here I am in the mid-spring of 2007 & I pulled the trigger!

    I was to visit Lamborghini & Ferrari then do a factory tour. A pity I couldn't find time to visit Pagani, Maserati & Ducati which are nearby. I didn't get to tour Ferrari's factory as that needs a 1 month's advance booking arranged by your local dealer.

    It was an improptu trip, absolutely no planning & the itnerary was planned on the flight. I was lucky I could find hotels within walking distances as some places were in peak season & Bologna had a trader's only motorshow during the week so hotels were mostly full.

    The funny thing was I was suffering from blisters on my new pair of shoes & it was painful but when I reached Maranello, I was so elated I walked the town & museum on foot & forgot about the pain!

    Anyway, my flight took me straight to Amsterdam before changing another flight to Bologna since no major international airlines operated out of it other than Milan or Rome.

    I took a train to Venice where I spent 2 nights then another train to Florence for another 2 nights & finally rented a diesel Fiat Punto & drove to Bologna. Covered San-Giovanni, St Agata, Modena, Maranello & back to Bologna. Covered some part of the original Mille Miglia (in florence) as well :) Most of the locals in small towns are very helpful & provided you know a little Italian :(

    Oh the trains are fine especially the EuroStars & quite punctual like Swiss though not as clean but the staffs are a b*tch, racist I would say especially those that work in the customs :(

    Otherwise driving on the highways (autostrada) is quite a breeze though it gets a little uneasy with a lefthander.
     
    SFchallenge, May 29, 2007
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  2. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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    Here's the pics of the Lamborghini factory & the musuem. It's still located in the original ground from 1965 except it's enlarged after Audi took over. St Agata is a small town. A village if you say & not exactly in any Italian's knowledge, you'll only find the road signs near a bigger town & the factory is located on a flat plains with buildings no taller than 2 storeys.

    Upon entry, you'll see the reception & musuem to your right while the gift shop is on the left. 2 staffs from Singapore's agent was there so we had a good tour of the musuem by the local staff & a factory tour after that which ended with a lunch in their cafeteria.

    Gallardos are pre-painted & manufactured in Ingolstad? Germany before being assembled here while the Murcielagos are built ground up here. This includes the casting of the block, machining etc. Body panels are painted @ a nearby factory before being assembled here. They used to have a paintshop but was sacrificed due to space constrain.

    All interior leather are handmade here as well & cut to fit by hand.
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    SFchallenge, May 29, 2007
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  3. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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    The LP640 Versace. One has been sold to Malaysia & I doubt anyone from Singapore would buy it. It's S$1.6million, a good S$400K more than a standard car if to be registered here.
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    SFchallenge, May 29, 2007
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  4. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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    The Countach & it's chassis!

    This was my childhood dreamcar until I see it. Well, let's just say it's a little ancient in today's standard & not quite a classic (pre-70s) yet.

    This is the last production car from '89. It's the 25th anniversary model styled by H. Pagani who was then an engineer? with Lamborghini. It has more air-scoopes than the earlier model.

    Actually the 90's revived Bugatti that made the EB110 had several ex-staffs from Lamborghini as well, located near Modena as well but a little ill fated as the investor went bust then.
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    SFchallenge, May 29, 2007
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  5. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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    BTW, I used a Nikon D80 with built-in TTL & a VR 3.5 18-200mm lens. I took 500+ pics so I'm not going to do much editing.

    This is the LM002. The grandfather of modern SUVs. It had a V12 & was then offered to military & had pretty good capabilities except it was a fuel guzzler & orders never quite came in.

    Saddam had at least one & the occupying US troops blasted it......

    Don't you guys think the Hummer looks a little similar?
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  6. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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    The marine division did fairly well. Yes, other than tractors, Lamborghini did produce marine motors. They won an Arab race sometime back while this was their accolades....
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    SFchallenge, May 29, 2007
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  7. Mr. M

    Mr. M Karting

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    Keep it coming dude... Great pictures.
     
    Mr. M, May 29, 2007
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  8. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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  9. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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  10. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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  11. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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  12. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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  13. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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    The Islero. 4.0L V12 with 325Bhp, all disc brakes, 5speed & 4 independent suspension. Ferrucio himself drove an S version with 350Bhp.
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  14. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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  15. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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  16. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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    SFchallenge, May 29, 2007
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  17. lung7707

    lung7707 F1 World Champ

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    nice photos!!!
     
    lung7707, May 29, 2007
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  18. ghost

    ghost F1 World Champ Lifetime Rossa

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    Awesome pics Jon. Did you see any cars being road / track tested as we often see with the Ferrari factory?

    Are the Ferrari factory pics to be posted soon?
     
    ghost, May 30, 2007
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  19. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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  20. SFchallenge

    SFchallenge F1 World Champ

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    Thanks Vik. I only saw a couple of cars being tested outside & apparently they do it early in the morning. All cars are road tested (with protective stickers on) for 15miles or so before delivery according to my tour guide.

    I have dozens more pics to come in. Need to downsize them first & many more on Lambo alone. More exciting ones I promise.
     
    SFchallenge, May 30, 2007
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  21. of2worlds

    of2worlds F1 World Champ Silver Subscribed

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    Hello Jon: great to see all these pictures from the museum! More of the green Countach and the blue Jarama when you are sorting thorough your pictures? A real pleasure to see crisp shots and the close-ups to...
    CH
     
    of2worlds, May 30, 2007
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  22. Zegna

    Zegna Formula Junior

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    Yes, I'm looking forward for close ups of the green LP400 "Periscopa" as well if theres any. :)
     
    Zegna, May 30, 2007
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  23. of2worlds

    of2worlds F1 World Champ Silver Subscribed

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    That LP400 was sold and led a hard life. There was some serious arm twisting to get the factory to buy the car back and restore it. The colors; especially the interior is not identical to when new. Still a very interesting piece of history there! Jon...?
    CH
     
    of2worlds, May 30, 2007
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  24. Zegna

    Zegna Formula Junior

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    It's always a good thing when they got 1120001 back. :)
     
    Zegna, May 30, 2007
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  25. Remy Zero

    Remy Zero Two Time F1 World Champ

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    beautiful pics! thanx for sharing!
     
    Remy Zero, May 31, 2007
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