Retrospective: Benuzzi drives the mid-engine V8s... anyone speak italian?

My Italian assistant is returning Monday. It's pretty slow at work so I'll have her translate this lol

 

I can do it but I am lacking time at the moment.

 

I can almost understand them. I catch phrases and words, but my Italian is really lacking. Most of what Sr. Manzoni is saying is marketing speak for design elements and performance targets. Benuzzi, I can't hear well enough to make out his comments. Benuzzi is/was the chief test driver at Ferrari for development, both for F1 and production cars. His title starts out "Storico" which translated above means Historic, but I think it equates to what we would call an icon in his field.

 

Didn't get a chance tmrw but I'll see if she can do it this week!

 

Sorry for the delay but I should have this tomorrow.

 

Madre Mia, senore, I could have learned the language by now!

P

 

He said dont order the canolli's they are stale

 

It's not exactly easy revealing to your employee that you have a Ferrari lol...and don't expect anything exciting, most of it is just marketing as you mentioned previously.

 

You don't have to say WHY you want it.

 

She knows me pretty well since we were friends before, that would have never worked. I wasn't going to tell her until later anyways but a friend of her's saw me driving last weekend and told her. Guess what she asked me first thing Monday morning?

 

If you're friends you shouldn't have anything to worry about anyway.

 

That's a whole different discussion, I'm pretty low key about who I tell about the car, so far have only told 2-3 friends.

Now, the translation. I had her write it in Italian and then translate it to me in English after which I went through it and cleaned it up a bit. I didn't bother making it perfect because for the most part they're just spouting general information and bull****. The ability to gather so many Ferraris and only touch upon them so superficially is pretty disappointing to me.

I believe there is a French show which did a similar comparison and it was a lot longer and in-depth. Maybe also a Japanese one?

TRANSLATION

The Ferrari 308 was presented in 1975 at the Paris Auto Show. It represents the first of the new family of Ferrari Berlinettas with 2 seats and mid engined V8.

Driver: not understandable

The design of the car is really particular, really original and can anticipate what the stylistic/design of Ferrari will be for the next 10 years because it could get some inspiration from that era, especially the industrial design. It’s really notable and beautiful between shapes that you could say are almost Cartesian.

Driver: you can hear the sound of the carbs and exhaust, the suspension is….

The 328 arrived 10 years after the 308. You can see it maintains the shapes of the original car but in some ways it represents the upgrade from an aerodynamic point of view. The front not only gets some styling elements from the Testarossa that was designed a year prior but it evolves in an aerodynamic way thanks to studies made in the wind tunnel.

Driver: the feelings I get is the driving is better in general…

The Ferrari 348 was presented in Frankfurt in 1989 and represents an esthetic that you can see is pretty much derived from the Testarossa. It looks like a mini Testarossa, a miniatuare Testarossa where the elements that really stand out are side grills.

Driver: Even here the car changed the drive…

The Ferrari 355 was presented in 1994, it represents another evolution of the series of the Ferrari 8 cylinder mid engined cars. Between the 348 and 355, the big step forward was the power steering and damping of the suspension. This evolution is strongly driven from the aerodynamic studies and you can see it from the flat bottom. This was the first time this was used from Formula 1 and from the influence that these studies got from the front and back of the car.

Driver: not understandable

The Ferrari 360 Modena was born in 99 and is surely representative of the new way of style/shapes that Pininfarina created for Ferrari for the 2000s.

Driver: This is a really different car between the production of the 8 cylinder and new aluminum chassis and (something she couldn’t understand). Long story short, the drive of this car is totally new.

(This one is a bit iffy) It’s surely an esthetic that leave the…..that we saw in the previous models. So we don’t see this concept of 2 different tastes that are put together opposing line of escape. From now on the language of the design becomes a lot more flowing and sometimes organic. This style will influence the next generation of Ferrari cars.

The Ferrari 430 came around 5 years after the 360 Modena and it represents an evolution of the shape in a really strong way.

Driver: Can you hear the sound of the engine, it’s really good, I really like it and we worked a lot on this, more than the 360.

Its shape maintains the essential shape off the 360 shell/body also because it gets part of the body without giving up some inspiration from the past like is evident from the front. This recalls the famous shark nose from the Formula 1 F156 that won the World Championship in 1961.

Driver: It’s evident how the drivability of the engine is a step forward from the 360 but it’s not as evident as the step from the 458 and 488.

(also a bit iffy) The Ferrari 458 Italia presented in 2009 represents a big step in the generation in the series of 8 cylinder Ferraris. Even if it maintains the proportions of the 430, the cabin in central position and the overhangs are longer? This presents new stylistic designs which are more modern and a more sophisticated esthetic. More fresh and mature.

Driver: something about the drive being stronger/better

The Ferrari 488 presented at the recent Geneva motor show represents the last iteration/incarnation of the series of Ferrari Berlinettas with mid engined V8s. It maintains the proportions of the 458 and represents a really big evolution in the shape in a more sculptural way, more architectural way and it moves in a sequence of successions?

Driver: The thing that really strikes more than anything is the drivability of the car in general, 360 degrees. The steering is another important thing you feel. This car is more stable because….

 

Thanks, Eddie. And thanks to the translator as well.