Limited edition aluminum models from Ferrari

If this was offered by anyone else i would have put it in Collectibles...

Got this sent to me from the Ferrari Owners site and was quite impressed... i like the bare aluminum look... shows off the sculptural quality of the car without the "colour game"... dont know the prices but the process pics are quite something... they are made using sand-casting techniques - same as the engine parts. Very nice.

 

Heres the full text and a few more pics of the process:

The Ferrari technicians are creating the exclusive “Autentica” series of limited edition aluminium model cars just for you.
17/2/2004 Maranello
For the very first time, Ferrari’s highly skilled technicians will be working for the Prancing Horse’s clients on a very small series of limited edition aluminium model cars which can also be personalised to order.
The “Autentica” models of the 360 Modena and 360 Spider, first made as a gift to Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo, will take shape in the Light Alloy Technological Area at Maranello. Ferrari’s Specialist Casting Team will melt the metal and heat it to a temperature of 730°, using the same highly skilled, labour-intensive methods employed to make the cylinder heads for the F1 cars and other GT prototype components, including those for the Enzo Ferrari.
The models, which weigh 1.8 kg and are individually crafted, epitomise the very best of the Ferrari philosophy: they are handcrafted, each one taking long hours of work to produce, and inspire dedication and passion both on the part of the people that make them and those that buy them. A unique symbiosis.
To purchase a model, please click on the link under Exclusive products to the right of the Home page, or directly in the Limited Edition section.
The model cars are personalised with the buyer’s initials (a maximum of four characters, that you must specify when you are placing your order) on the rear licence plate and with the serial number of the model. The 1:18 scale “Autentica” models are supplied with an exclusive “Certificate of Origin”, proving that they come directly from the Maranello factory.
MANUFACTURING PHASES:
The manufacture of the models is long, delicate and highly labour-intensive process. The special casting technicians use the same aluminium alloy and the same methods adopted for the F1 cylinder heads, in fact.
There are four phases in the manufacture of every single model:

1. making the outer moulds and cores (casts)
2. melting and pouring the aluminium
3. extraction and cooling of the rough model
4. sandingblasting and trimming (finishing)

The first phase needs the most care and attention. The moulds are quite complex. In fact, the technical term for the two large outer parts is “the moulds” while the smaller inner parts are known as “cores” (there are four Modena and five for the Spider). Making various components of moulds as a whole is a delicate process: a flaw in even one of these elements will irreparably compromise the cast. The moulds, just like those that will be used to make the mechanical elements of the cars, are made up of a mixture of sand, resin and a catalyst, vital to accelerating the hardening process of the form. Once they have been cast, all of the components are assembled as required, then flamed (cauterised) and cold-glued together.
In the meantime, the aluminium has been slowly melted in the smelting furnace. It is then transferred into a pre-heated carbon and ceramic ladle and allowed to cool to a temperature of 730°.
Once this has happened, the aluminium is poured into the assembled mould until it is completely filled.
The next phase involves waiting approximately half an hour for the aluminium to cool. Then the mould is opened by tapping it with a special hammer and the as-yet-unfinished model is removed. The pictures accompanying this report (just click on Photo link on the right of this page) show the cast once opened, with the aluminium that has hardened around the model.
The fourth and last phase, the cleaning and finishing of the model, also takes place inside the Light Alloy facility. This applies particularly to the “sandblasting process” which is used to clean the outside of the model, lending it that special polish that makes it so stylish.

quite something...

GT