Birthday celebrations are always a joyous occasion. Whether it’d be the too-cool-for-school sweet 16th, grinding down a legal shot of vodka at your 18th party or having so much fun at the clubs when you turned 21 that memories of the night are nothing but a blur. However, somewhere down the line, the number of years you’ve been alive are celebrated somewhat less. Sure there’s the 30th and 50th milestones but birthday celebrations just seem to stagnate from there. But if you’re the world’s most powerful brand and just hit the big seven-o, a quiet dinner at the local pub isn’t going to cut it. You’ll be celebrating with a year long festival of events; which is precisely what Ferrari did when they turned 70 this year.
Numerous events have taken place in all corners of the world to commemorate the occasion. Locally in South Australia, celebrations were realised in the form of a gathering and show at the Birdwood Motor Museum – which Skibeemo reported on here. If that wasn’t enough – because turning 70 is a big deal – Ferrari Australia hosted a Passion Day across all of their dealerships in Australia and New Zealand. Clients, family, friends and fans were all invited to pull some party poppers.
In addition to the floor stock, Ferrari Adelaide also had some of their client vehicles on display. When you’re celebrating such a momentous milestone, the type of presents received are generally dazzling. Some of Ferrari’s most rarest models were parked around the dealership – a humbling gift to fans who would otherwise not get an opportunity to see such unicorns in the flesh. Adelaide isn’t the first destination one would think of when it comes to the permanent residency of such vehicles , but I’m not complaining. It’s fantastic knowing gems like the 599XX Evoluzione – Ferrari’s 740 horsepower track-only weapon – call the City of Churches home.
When you have a lot of bananas and already own most of Ferrari’s desired road cars – how else can you show your allegiance to the shield? The answer is simple; join Ferrari’s XX program. Established as an opportunity for VIP clients to contribute to the future development of Ferrari automobiles, the XX program invovles clients purchasing a pure-bred race car (based on a Ferrari road-going model) that is completely maintained by the renowned Maranello-based company. Owners are only allowed to drive their XX weapons when Ferrari grants them permission – typically at sanctioned XX program track days. To date, only three models have undergone the XX makeover. These include the 599 i.e. 599XX, Enzo i.e. FXX and LaFerrari i.e. FXX K. The first two models were also offered an optional Evoluzione upgrade package after their initial programs expired. With such limited units built for each model, it’s fascinating to know that Adelaide is home to not only a 599XX Evoluzione but also the car pictured below. Ferrari Adelaide purposely left the covers on – teasing all in attendance – and reminding them to attend the Adelaide Motorsport Festival next month, where they’ll be able to see and hear this FXX Evoluzione in all its glory when it attacks the former Adelaide GP circuit.
As the showroom was deliberately opened, attendees were provided a rare opportunity to freely wander around.
Limited edition road models also made an appearance. Aside from their staggering performance and refined beauty, Ferrari’s limited run models also make great investments. While the Giallo Modena 458 Speciale Aperta might be worth shy of a million Australian dollars, the Rosso Mugello F12 Tour de France’s current market value breaks the prestigious 7-digit figure without a sweat. Who said all cars depreciate?
Ferrari enthusiasts who own supercars from other marque also brought them along to Passion Day. Although red hues are more commonly associated with Ferrari, the Rosso Mars paintwork – which covered the Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo Stradale – looked very established.
Ferrari Adelaide’s service bay area was transformed into a display spotlight. Uncommon models such as the 360 Challenge Stradale and 550 Maranello were joined alongside current and previous-generation Ferrari vehicles.
The F355 and its older siblings were from an era of Ferrari where maintenance procedures were tedious to perform. It was common practice to uninstall the engine and rear cradle to replace components such as the cam belt. This 348 was probably undergoing a similar procedure.
When I mentioned that Adelaide is home to some of Ferrari’s most extraordinary examples, I wasn’t kidding. With only 1311 units made, it’s always special to see a Ferrari F40 in the wild. However, getting up close and personal with this particular example was truly something magical.
The 471 horsepower F40 was never intended for circuit racing as when it was visioned, its sole purposes was to be Ferrari’s most emotional, fastest and greatest ever road car. But somewhere down the line after much hesitation, Ferrari were convinced to turn their twin-turbocharged V8 road car into a weapon fit for battles at race circuits around the globe. This duty would be outsourced to the brains at Michelotto Automobili. The 720 horsepower F40 LM was Michelotto’s first take on a race-variant F40, with strictly 19 units produced in 1989.
Four years later, as a result of demand from clients wanting to compete in the Italian GT Championship, Michelotto were back at it again. This time with the race-series-capped 560 horsepower F40 GT; only 7 examples were made. The F40 GT saw success, winning the Italian GT Championship in 1994 with driver Vittorio Colombo behind the wheel.
Because of this success, more demand grew for race-ready F40s resulting in Michelotto producing a final race-bred version, catered specifically to teams wanting to race in the international BPR Global GT series. Similar to the F40 GT, production was limited to only seven units – with Michelotto calling their final 620 (which could be increased to 800 when the air-restrictors were uninstalled) horsepower variant – the F40 GT Evolution; commonly abbreviated to F40 GTE. It’s important to note that the F40 LM, F40 GT and F40 GTE all started life as a regular F40 road car. So it is fascinating to learn that of these seven F40 GTEs, one started out life as a F40 GT and another as a F40 LM.
Michelotto performed the required surgery on F40 patients between 1993 and 1998; despite the F40’s production ending in 1992. Aside from the performance upgrades, early F40s which underwent the GTE knife also received LM body work and minor external modifications such as 18-inch Enkei forged rims and a newly designed front splitter; these models were dubbed the GTE Evo 1. Later F40 GTE models – referred to as GTE Evo 2 – featured a revised aero package in the form of a larger rear wing, new rear diffuser, updated bonnet vents and an additional NACA duct in front of the rear wheels. An X-Trac sequential (the GTE Evo 1 had a traditional gated) transmission was also another upgrade the GTE Evo 2 received; but this didn’t stop some GTE Evo 1 owners from getting these updated components retrofitted later on. The local Adelaide vehicle pictured here is a 1995 Ferrari F40 GTE Evo 1 – which I believe was originally a US-delivered car – before being converted to 94/95-GTE spec by Michelotto in 1995. Moreover, this particular example was never actively raced – further amplifying its eccentricity.
Vintage Ferraris found in Australia commonly have amazing tales to tell. Combined with originality being an obsessive factor for Ferrari collectors – I would love for someone to further educate me on the Adelaide F40 GTE’s curriculum vitae.
Passion Day was a brilliant initiative from Ferrari Australia to continue the celebrations of the iconic company reaching 70 years old. Ferrari Adelaide even catered the entire event with wood oven pizza, barista-made coffee, merchandise freebies, and of course – Ferrari balloons for the younger ones. A huge thank you goes out to Ferrari Adelaide for putting the entire day together and inviting fans to assist in celebrating. Ferrari’s 70th birthday continues with more celebrations next month, as most of the vehicles featured above are scheduled to scream and race their way around the former Adelaide GP circuit as part of the Adelaide Motorsport Festival. Now that’s something not to be missed.
