Any Prototype talk at Ferrari?

I have been patiently awaiting Ferrari's return to prototype's also, man I hope they do something! I would love to see them battling the Porsche RS Spyder.

 

It would be awesome but I really doubt it. I would think that the majority of resources (money, time, etc) in terms of race car design would go to F1 which has much more importance than sportscar racing. I would love to see something though.

 

As I understand the story, Ferrari will focus on F1 only AS A FACTORY. Alfa Romeo is to go to LeMans and then the US LeMans series in 2009 to compete in G2. Maserati is to be the luxary car division of Fiat, no racing.

Any prototype from Ferrari is unlikely. :{

 

Maserati runs several MC-12's in FIA-GT - in fact, very successfully.

Carol

 

It would be nice to see the MC12 returned to the ALMS series, atleast it has a Ferrari engine.

 

It would be nice and I would love Ferrari get back in it but with the way the budgets are now days I don't see it happening. The only way is maybe a Dallara chassis with a Ferrari engine again. The years of running F1 and Proto. at the same time I'm afraid are over!! Of course I was a Porsche fan before I bought my Ferrari so Porsche for me satisfies the Prototype part.

 

The prototype rules favour Diesel cars. Petrol powered cars aren't very likely to win, I doubt Ferrari will join Audi and Peugeot

 

Yes that would be blasphemy and a Dallara with a Ferrari engine would be nice to see but it would not be a true Ferrari imo. A true Ferrari is a whole, engine and chassis.

 

Yes, but a Dallara/Ferrari prototype would be better than none !

 

Who wouldn't want to see a Ferrari prototype battling Roger Penske's Porsches in ALMS LMP2?

 

This MC-12 ran the last 3 races of ALMS and was on the pole at Petite LeMans. This is Road Atlanta pits.
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Nobody seemed to mind the Lancia-Ferraris in the 80s.

 

I saw this car on track is IMSA in the late 80's. This pic is from vintage this past summer. IMSA Lites Spice car. What else does anyone know of it.
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At the Mid-Ohio Vintage races, that car barely lapped faster than our built-from-scratch prototype car (that hadn't been driven hard since 1982) with 3 year-old used bias-ply tires on it...that much I do know. Too bad he only ran the enduro on Saturday night (with a stand-in driver), and not the sprint race on Sunday.

Seriously though, that car is a work of art. I loved the way the doors hinged and it sounded incredible...I just couldn't believe he put it at risk with all the yahoos driving modern cars at the so-called vintage races.

 

My ol' buddy Dave Tennyson drove that car.

 

This is July 2007, lap 2 or 3, going out of the Carousel. Obviously the F-Car will be leading at start-finish.
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No longer after this car has beome non-competitive. Different attitude at Fiat now. And an MC-12 is in reality an FXX.

 

I suppose I can understand Ferrari's willingness to stay in F1 from a purely historical perspective, but when I look back over my lifetime, Ferrari's road and track cars made much more of an impression. The 166MM, the Pontoon fendered 250 TR, the 250 GTO, 312 PB, Various 250SWB versions, the LM cars, 288 GTO, and F-40, all those cars today are worth more than most of the F1 counterparts. Its what most people really believe a Ferrari is, or was, IMHO.

I pray that Ferrari will tell the FIA to stick it, and return to the worlds major road courses and go racing again. A full works team with the FXX on the world tour would be stunning. Anything short of NASCRAP is more fun today than F1, IMO. In fact, with all the technological freezes either currently in effect, or slated downline, its not even a formula anymore.

 

No, a MC-12 is a detuned Enzo.

CG

 

This is true of the MC12 road car, however there have been rumors about the MC12 Corsa being the root - very cleverly disguised no less - of the FXX program, right before it was launched. I'm not so convinced, but its up for interpretation...



Best,
Jon

 

The fact that the MC12 is based on an FXX is open knowledge. They are both Fiats.

 

Back to the prototype question. This weeks Autoweek poll was, What race would you most like to attend?

Indy 500 - 12%
Daytona 500 - 19.3%
Any F1 Race - 33.1%
24 Hrs of LeMans - 35.6%

Surprising?

 

However, the MC12 is a racing car.

 

For myself I dont find the poll result's that very surprisisng. The 24hr of Le Mans is basically the epicenter of motorsport's racing where all nationality's are usually represented thus satisfying everyone. The 24hr's of Daytona, 12hr of Sebring and Le Man's are the race's I most want to attend. I consider the Monza GP the epicenter of GP racing for me personaly because I'm Tifosi and 2nd would be Spa.