National Geographic: Ultimate Factories - Ferrari

OneJoeZee

OneJoeZee

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I watched this documentary last night on the national geographic channel. They show the entire build process of the Fiorina 599. Everything from the foundry to the upholstery building. Pretty amazing stuff. The entire complex consists of 8 buildings IIRC and their private race track. They have their own foundry where all the metals used for the engines are melted down and put through a purification process. They show the process where they mix nitrogen with melted metal to bind with any impurities in the liquified metal and, scoop it off the top, and run it through yet another purification process. Every single engine has its parts cast from a new mold made from packed sand and resin. Something like 1 in 50 pieces pass QC. Those that don't pass are melted back down and recast again until it's perfect. The engine itself is about 1/5 of the entire weight. They show the body being dipped into a bath that makes it corrosion resistant. Almost no steel is used in the car in the name of weight savings(obviously). IIRC, the only steel part is the driveshaft. That's just the beginning of all the work that goes into it. The majority of the build is done by humans. The only machines they show are used for casting, primering, painting, valve seats, corrosion dipping, and a few other things. The body is put together by hand but a machine checks it by touching the body in 800 different locations to compare against a computer model. Any imperfections are fixed by hand until it's perfect. If the paint is perfect, that too is also done again until it passes QC.

What was also interesting is that other than the default colors for the car, a customer can order the paint in any color they want and choose what colors they want for the leather interior. Each car is literally tailor made to the customer like a fine suit.

Check the link for other showings, if you're interested. If you think the assembly line that mass produced cars go through is amazing, take a look at Ferrari's process.

Nothing about recalls was mentioned but the build process seems so exact and perfect that failure of any body or engine part simply is not an option.

http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/ET/weekly/200705271500.html

ferrari-599-gtb-792814.jpg
 
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Keros

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Apparently, from what I understand, you don't so much walk in and buy most ferraris either. I've heard that you apply to purchase one, and if your application is successful (and depending on the car), you may be required to drive the test track to see if you're "worthy" of owning a ferrari.

A few models of Ferrari were also never "sold", customers bought a permenent lease on the vehicle (which means ferrari still owns the car), and like most (if not all?) ferrari's, to sell a used car, the potential buyer must apply and be approved as an owner by Ferrari.

I have no actual written documentation to back this up, it's just what I've heard from my gear head friends. I'd be curious to see if it's true.
 
OneJoeZee

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Keros said:
Apparently, from what I understand, you don't so much walk in and buy most ferraris either. I've heard that you apply to purchase one, and if your application is successful (and depending on the car), you may be required to drive the test track to see if you're "worthy" of owning a ferrari.

A few models of Ferrari were also never "sold", customers bought a permenent lease on the vehicle (which means ferrari still owns the car), and like most (if not all?) ferrari's, to sell a used car, the potential buyer must apply and be approved as an owner by Ferrari.

I have no actual written documentation to back this up, it's just what I've heard from my gear head friends. I'd be curious to see if it's true.
Click to expand...

I don't know about any of that. I do believe certain models aren't sold to first time Ferrari owners though.

I don't believe they're going to make someone fly out to Maranello, Italy to test drive a car.
 
speed

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Keros said:
Apparently, from what I understand, you don't so much walk in and buy most ferraris either. I've heard that you apply to purchase one, and if your application is successful (and depending on the car), you may be required to drive the test track to see if you're "worthy" of owning a ferrari.

A few models of Ferrari were also never "sold", customers bought a permenent lease on the vehicle (which means ferrari still owns the car), and like most (if not all?) ferrari's, to sell a used car, the potential buyer must apply and be approved as an owner by Ferrari.

I have no actual written documentation to back this up, it's just what I've heard from my gear head friends. I'd be curious to see if it's true.
Click to expand...

I used to work for a ferrari dealership, and then their challenge race team, so I can answer some of these questions for you.

This didn't used to be true- in the late 90s you could walk into a dealership, and put an order down for a F355 no problem. Since about the time the 575 was released, Ferrari started getting more and more picky with who bought their cars. The release of the Enzo was when Ferrari really started getting picky. As many know, buyers of the enzo were contacted by ferrari first, there was an extensive process to be on the list to get one new from the factory. They weren't quite so picky with the 612, but word went out to dealers to put preference on customers who currently own Ferraris. Now with the F430 and the 599GTB, things are down right ridiculous. The demand is so high that Ferrari can, and is, picking who gets their cars first. First time owners are generally told to start off with a used vehicle (seriously, we had one guy come in wanting a 575 SuperAmerica and we told him no, but we will sell you a 550). Last time I checked, current wait on any new Ferrari is 36mo.

Its similar, but a little different for rarer / race cars. We had the last 333SP ever produced at the dealership for quite some time, with only a few potential buyers- Price was $990,000. I don't know who ended up getting it, but at the time I was there we took the man to Moroso Motorsports park, and sent him through JustinBell GT racing school (at his cost). When it comes to 2nd hand cars, it depends on the dealership. If they're factory authorized, like we were, even for used cars we had to get factory permission. we had 3 2nd hand enzos that we had to ask the factory before we could give permission for the sale. Cars that pop up on ebay or don't require factory approval are sold by non authorized parties, and that is EXTREMELY frowned upon by the factory. Serious reprocussions if we had sold an exclusive car to someone the factory didn't approve of.

the "permanent lease" you speak of only applies to certain cars. The FXX's are like this, as are some of the old F1 cars. However with this program, you get full factory backing, your private mechanics get the same training that the team gets, the whole schebang. Its quite impressive.


edit for onejoezee: They do make you fly out if you buy an F1 car. For the FXX you had to go to a private facility in either the US or Europe (depending where you were) for familarization and testing.

If theres anymore questions, feel free to ask.
 
OneJoeZee

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speed dodici said:
edit for onejoezee: They do make you fly out if you buy an F1 car. For the FXX you had to go to a private facility in either the US or Europe (depending where you were) for familarization and testing.

If theres anymore questions, feel free to ask.
Click to expand...

I meant the street cars but I should have said that I guess.

Thanks for the info. Quite interesting. The show did say the wait was about 2 years on the 599. I'm not in the least bit surprised in the buying process, waiting list, and selective selling after watching exactly what goes into the creation of the car.

Funny thing, I saw one on the street last year and didn't think anything of it. I think it was the paint. It was a plain jane beige and didn't stand out much.
 
Keros

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speed dodici said:
I used to work for a ferrari dealership, and then their challenge race team, so I can answer some of these questions for you.

This didn't used to be true- in the late 90s you could walk into a dealership, and put an order down for a F355 no problem. Since about the time the 575 was released, Ferrari started getting more and more picky with who bought their cars. The release of the Enzo was when Ferrari really started getting picky. As many know, buyers of the enzo were contacted by ferrari first, there was an extensive process to be on the list to get one new from the factory. They weren't quite so picky with the 612, but word went out to dealers to put preference on customers who currently own Ferraris. Now with the F430 and the 599GTB, things are down right ridiculous. The demand is so high that Ferrari can, and is, picking who gets their cars first. First time owners are generally told to start off with a used vehicle (seriously, we had one guy come in wanting a 575 SuperAmerica and we told him no, but we will sell you a 550). Last time I checked, current wait on any new Ferrari is 36mo.

Its similar, but a little different for rarer / race cars. We had the last 333SP ever produced at the dealership for quite some time, with only a few potential buyers- Price was $990,000. I don't know who ended up getting it, but at the time I was there we took the man to Moroso Motorsports park, and sent him through JustinBell GT racing school (at his cost). When it comes to 2nd hand cars, it depends on the dealership. If they're factory authorized, like we were, even for used cars we had to get factory permission. we had 3 2nd hand enzos that we had to ask the factory before we could give permission for the sale. Cars that pop up on ebay or don't require factory approval are sold by non authorized parties, and that is EXTREMELY frowned upon by the factory. Serious reprocussions if we had sold an exclusive car to someone the factory didn't approve of.

the "permanent lease" you speak of only applies to certain cars. The FXX's are like this, as are some of the old F1 cars. However with this program, you get full factory backing, your private mechanics get the same training that the team gets, the whole schebang. Its quite impressive.


edit for onejoezee: They do make you fly out if you buy an F1 car. For the FXX you had to go to a private facility in either the US or Europe (depending where you were) for familarization and testing.

If theres anymore questions, feel free to ask.
Click to expand...

Oh man, that's awesome. Thanks for the info speed dodici.

I had heard that when applying to purchase an Enzo, you'd have to fly out to the ferrari test track and do some racing. I don't know if it's a test or a course, but it's also extra fees, and at that point you don't necessairly get the car either (when they were originally being sold). So, dispite the price tag of the car, when all is said and done it was upwards of 2 million USD.

The ferrari story I enjoy the most is when Ford stole 4 years of Le Mans racing championships with the GT40. Makes me laugh.
 
speed

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Keros said:
Oh man, that's awesome. Thanks for the info speed dodici.

I had heard that when applying to purchase an Enzo, you'd have to fly out to the ferrari test track and do some racing. I don't know if it's a test or a course, but it's also extra fees, and at that point you don't necessairly get the car either (when they were originally being sold). So, dispite the price tag of the car, when all is said and done it was upwards of 2 million USD.

The ferrari story I enjoy the most is when Ford stole 4 years of Le Mans racing championships with the GT40. Makes me laugh.
Click to expand...


This isn't totally true. There's two different levels here - Buying it BRAND NEW from the factory, and then buying it second hand. If you were chosen by the factory, you had to be a current owner of 2 F cars, and have a perfect driving record, as well as meeting a whole long list of other criteria. No, you did not have to fly to a test track. And no, You paid the 652,000 + taxes for the car.

Now a lot of people who are in the position to afford the car are there for a reason, they know when to buy, and when to sell. When the first second hand enzo popped up, it was around 900k. Then they started going for 1.3mil, and now hover around 1.5m. Thats a pretty good investment!

I forget the guy's name right now, but he's the owner of Swap Shop in south florida... a HUGE car nut, he's easily got 10 ferraris, a few old lemans porsches, a mclaren... the guy is one of the most awesome dudes I've ever met. BUT - Ferrari wouldn't sell him an enzo. So, he had to wait until we had a 2nd hand one for sale. I can't tell you how much he paid, but it was BIG chunk of change.

I'm really tired right now, so hopefully that made sense.

And here's some pictures from the dealership: http://tim.thedugans.net/gallery/v/auto/shelton/

And the race shop:
http://tim.thedugans.net/gallery/v/auto/asf/
 
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OneJoeZee said:
Nothing about recalls was mentioned but the build process seems so exact and perfect that failure of any body or engine part simply is not an option.
Click to expand...

Much like Toyota....any imperfections is NOT acceptable. Our trucks goes thru 20-25 inspections before it's bought off(sent to customers).
 
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