Ferrari factory closed for tours

someone posted previously about a side road setup you can get down to get a view of the track from a fence.

check the archives - wasn't that long ago.

doody.

 

Don't feel too bad. Just being in Maranello is the best part of it anyway.

Check out Forza 25 and 40, both had detailed articles about what to do and where to go in Maranello.

The whole town is plastered with F1/Ferrari shops and restaurants. Say hello to the Villeneuve memorial and the church that rings the bells when the red cars win.

The Fiorano track (misnomer, it is in Maranello) is clearly visible from several places. One good one is just past the Villeneuve statue. Another one is just after coming into town going over the bridge. Can't miss it.

Personally I had to say the tour itself was even a bit anticlimatic. It is fun, no question, but I got a greater kick out of being in Maranello itself and what it had to offer.

Also check out Modena and its many factories. You will have plenty of things to look at, don't worry.

 

I wonder why they are closing down the factory tours for such a long time - 4 months!! Could it be that the new Modena is in its final stages of development/ start of production??

It is very likely that a new model may be coming out in the fall of 2004!!

 

call myrna at FNA and explain your situation. maybe it's possible that she might be able to put you in touch with somebody at the factory who might be able to help you. you should even call marco brunelli (regional sales manager at the ferrari factory in maranello) and explain your dilema. again, it's possible that he might be able to help you in some way.

myrna
[email protected]
201-816-2671

Marco Brunelli
Regional Sales Manager
Maranello
011 39 0536 949577 (direct line)
[email protected]

 

Sorry for your not so good news! But hey you are getting alot of great suggestions so far. This Ferrari Chat is sweet. Remember that your trip is in Italy, HELLO, but it's not just about the ferraris, what about the FOOD! Really Really Great Food. hmmm...wish I could come along. Milano is 2 hours North as you may know so maybe you can go up to Monza's?

 

Just in case people did not know.....

I believe that Italy, and maybe most of Europe, takes the entire month of August off. That is why it is cheapest to travel to Europe during this time because there is hardly anything going on during that month.

 

Some very good points. Just stay away from the Modena saucage (a local specialty). Monza is somewhat nearby, but even closer is Imola, where the track lies in the public park. Features a Ferrari and a Senna memorial. And of course a bit south in San Marino is the Maranello Rosso museum, dedicated to the 250 series. Simply stunning.

If your path takes you West, you could go to Turin and visit the Pininfarina museum. So many choices...

 

i would highly recommend the Maranello Rosso in San Marino, they have 25 beautiful cars there including a 250GTO. that place was awsome!!

 

Martin & I were there June 2 2002, and you can easily see the F1 car (if it is running) from the fence around the track on the same road as the factory is on. If you come from Modena, you will pass right by it, this area will be on your right, just before the factory (the factory is on the left and the Ferrari gift shop (be prepared for HIGH prices) is across from the factory on the right. The museum is down a side road to the right. I can't remember the names of any of these roads w/o looking at a map, sorry. I found Modena to be very industrial and boring, compared to many other areas of Italy.

 

It kinda makes you wonder what they are doing during that time.

theyre probably working on somthing secret

 

I made a similar announcement on the Ferrarilist last week, since I too have been planning to do the tour for a long time now (since early last year)!

Since my local dealer is out-of-business, I've been dealing with Myrna personnally at FNA about this and she is the one who told me tours are cancelled till Sept. I could be mistaken, but I think she said Maserati is open for tours, so your trip may not be wasted then if you book that...

 

April 25th is the GP of Italy at Imola. It can't be that far, right?

 

not sure I agree with the above - everyone is on holiday - the hotels are booked solid and just try to get on an airplane from Ny to Rome the week of the 15th - not cheap

 

I think the pagani factory is nearby.

Have a look @ this thread
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/t49691.html

 

Nope, about a two hours drive away.

The Maser factory is in Modena. I drove by, but didn't even stop...

 

Factory Tours Should be Stopped! It is pure insanity to have a tour. The product sells itself, no customers can be gained by a tour. Only loss of knowledge, techniques and styles

What is to be gained by Ferrari for having the tour? Nothing.

They already make the best product in the world, all they are doing is teaching the competion. If you care about the company stop the tours.

I am a huge fan of F cars, thats why I don't want to see the same people from L-Cars and P-cars going thru the factory over and over.

 

Adrenln328,

I was in Italy for 3 weeks in November and made the tour then. I posted pics and video of a car testing at Fiorano.

Here is the link:

http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2422&highlight=factory+tour

 

Too much crack hurts the brain...

 

Dude, only Ferrari owners are allowed to tour.

If you love Ferraris so much and would have one, aren't you the least-bit curious to see how they are made? Especially if you bought one and could see it being built in front of your eyes?

 

I really don't think so. Listening to the remarks of the people visiting with me, I felt like I was the only owner in that bunch. Really looks like a tourist attraction.
I don't think either that there is any risk of know-how leak. What you get to see if plain standard leather stitching, engine final assy and car final assy, and rather disorganized at that. I think there is more to learn in visiting a Toyota or Renault plant.

 

If you love Ferraris so much and would have one, aren't you the least-bit curious to see how they are made? Especially if you bought one and could see it being built in front of your eyes?[/QUOTE]

Sure, I have had a '02 spider and now have an '03 coupe after owning 11 911's. I stopped with the P-cars when they went water cooled and softened the car up so bad my sofa is more fun to drive. Ferrari is the only car company that get's it so I have a true Ferrari fanatic's desire to see the company succeed.

The tour is cool, no doubt, but it serves as much purpose as a Ferrari super bowl ad.

The basic equation is MA x IP x PA. This is (MA)market awareness times (IP) intent to purchase times (PA) product availability. Or in plain english, MA is big, IP is big, and PA is near zero, so why build on awareness or try to increase intent to purchase.

The fact is the factory tour can only hurt the company not help it. Close the tours permanently and work on making more cars, that makes sense. Having group after group visit the plant can have no positive impact the on the company eventhough it is as cool as it is and fun as it is. (even people on this board seem hell bent to sneak in cameras and post the photos, why? is it good for Ferrari and ultimately the very customer that visited the factory?)

I am not against fellow F-car fanatics and people who want to see the factory and how things are built, but I am against letting the competition in to see what is going on. Its reality, the Ford GT people admit to dissassembling a 360, etc. do you think there was not one "owner" amoung them that went in to the see the plant and ratted Ferrari out. Sorry but the tours should stop and Ferrari should go black out silent and keep the hot cars coming.

I am sure some can dismiss the suggestion that there is nothing to learn from a Ferrari but why take the risk?

I would love to tour Lockheed skunk works as well, but guess what, they don't do tours.

 

The factory can't be closed to tours for so long. I'll check with my dealer on that. Some of my friends are planning to go for the Advanced Course and of course the factory visit in June. They should be aware of that before they confirm their places.

 

Saretireless, disagree with your reasoning...there is no way you can stop the information from leaking, even if you have a completely automated plant built in phases by different teams so that no one person has a good overall picture. And even then it would be hard to keep everything secret.

Competitors can always pose as owners, or even become authentic owners if this is how they want to get inside the Ferrari factory. They can also existing bribe vendors to get inside information. Or they can hire investigators to gather the information and pass it on. Further, they can just make good contacts amongst factory workers, and find out all they need to know over a good lunch. Finally, they can just hire the key people away.

To be honest, there's not a whole lot you can learn by taking some covert pictures of a production facility...it's not like they use some top secret production techniques. The keys to the kingdom are in the engineering data and meeting memos that outline strategy, plans, etc.

So, stopping factory tours will not safeguard Ferrari's secrets. On the other hand, continuing them will engender fond memories and build brand loyalty. It is simply a nice way to stoke the flames of enthusiasm--this definitely results in additional sales. Why do you think the "personal touch" is such a strong selling point in premium goods? Because it helps to sell the product! They can take reasonable precautions (they do), and they can be strict (they are), but it makes sense to keep the factory tours.