If you checked out the images we posted of Felipe Massa's return to Maranello, you may have spotted the returning Brazilian driver chatting with one Jean Alesi and wondered what he was doing there.
The French driver raced for the Scuderia from 1991 through 1995, scoring a handful of podiums and a solitary grand prix victory in Montreal. Along with longtime team-mate Gerhard Berger, Alesi switched places with Michael Schumacher to Benetton-Renault in 1996, then bounced between a few other teams before retiring from Formula One at the end of 2001. Since then he's been competing in DTM and then headlined the new Speedcar Series.
With the ill-fated Asian stock car series now deceased, however, the racing world has been wondering what the retired F1 driver would try his hand at next, and on Tuesday they got their hint when Alesi showed up at Fiorano to test the Ferrari F430 GT2. Alesi's slated to race for AF Corse, the team run by Amato Ferrari, who shares strong ties with both Maranello and Maserati but no direct familial relation despite the common name.
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![Fine China: One-off porcelain-finish Ferrari 599 special to be auctioned for charity [w/VIDEO]](http://www.niot.net/blog-images/fine-china-one-off-porcelain-finish-ferrari-599-special-to-be-a.jpg)
In a communist country, all Ferraris are equal, but some are more equal than others. Take the special-edition 599 that the Italian automaker debuted exclusively for the Chinese market. Only twelve of them will be made. And now, an even more exclusive version – as exclusive as they get, really – has been presented.
This one-of-a-kind special Ferrari has been further differentiated by Lu Hao, a Chinese artist who applied the special touches that make the China special edition, well...special. It's been decked out in the cracked glaze pattern of the coveted Song Dynasty-era Ge Liln porcelain, and signed by the artist. The unique supercar will be auctioned off for charity in Beijing on November 3, but you can see it for yourself in the gallery below and the video after the jump.
It wasn't so long ago that the idea of seeing an exotic Italian sportscar in mainland China was as much an anathema as a Chinese car in America. But the times, as one Mr. Dylan sang, they are a-changin.' Today, China is one of Ferrari's most important markets, where the red Prancing Horse shares the streets with the Red Dragon. To mark that relationship, Ferrari has announced a special edition exclusively for the Chinese market.
Based on the 599 GTB Fiorano with the company's new Handling GTE package, the China Limited Edition has been updated with special touches designed by Chinese artist Lu Hao: the starter button glows jade green, the tachometer features ancient Chinese characters instead of the usual numerals, and the luggage is emblazoned with a map of the Silk Road taken by the famous Italian explorer Marco Polo. The Rosso Fuoco paintjob with the gray roof mimics the 599XX, and only a dozen examples will be made – with over a billion people in the market, we're betting they'll be snapped up fast.
Everything in moderation. Not exactly the kind of message you'd expect from a firm like Novitec Rosso. The Dutch tuning house made its reputation taking some of the most powerful road rockets known to man and tuning them even further. In the case of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano – widely acclaimed as one of the best driver's cars on the road – Novitec released a modified version packing twin superchargers for an astounding 808 horsepower last November. But in light of that being perhaps a bit too much machine for even Novitec's speed-crazed clientele, the tuner has now released a somewhat more reserved package for the V12 super-GT.
By tuning the engine management and fitting a new exhaust system, Novitec has squeezed an extra forty horses out of the Prancing Stallion for a total output of 660 horsepower. The exhaust has quad 90mm tips protruding from the rear diffuser and their pitch is controllable from the steering wheel-mounted Manettino switch. The adjustable suspension can be raised from inside the cockpit to clear curbs, and Novitec has fitted three-piece modular wheels – 20 inches up front and 21 in the rear. There's a full custom lighting kit, plus plenty of bespoke options for the interior.
As you can see, Novitec also offers a full range of aerodynamic enhancements, including a new lip spoiler up front, new wing around back and custom rocker panels along the sides, all available either color-keyed or in varnished carbon fiber.
While the 599XX took the lion's share of the attention in Ferrari's stand at the Geneva Motor Show today, it shared some space with another new version of the Fiorano. The new Handling Gran Turismo Evoluzione (HGTE) package takes one of the most superb chassis in the industry and turns things up a notch thanks to stiffer springs and roll bars, recalibrated magnetic viscosity shocks, a lower ride height and new compound tires. Ferrari's also toyed with the transmission electronics and exhaust system, and updated the interior with a sublime mix of leather, alcantara and carbon fiber. The new 20-inch split-five-spoke rims also do a nice job of filling the wheel wells to give the 599 an even more aggressive stance.
Ferrari stormed Geneva with a pair of new versions of the 599 GTB Fiorano. We'll have more for you soon on the new Handling GT Evoluzione package being offered on the V12 supercar, but what you really want to see is this: the 599XX. Following up on the FXX development program, the 599XX is a rolling test bed for new technologies making their way from the F1 circuit over to Ferrari's road car division. Only 20 or 30 examples off the 599XX will be offered to a very select clientele, and participation in the program (which includes the car) will cost upwards of one million euros. The vehicles itself is technically based on the existing Fiorano road car, but is treated to an extensive array of track-spec modifications including a retuned V12 corralling some 700 prancing ponies at 9,000 rpm, revised electronics, an "Actiflow" aero package that produces some 280 kilos of downforce at 200 km/h and 19-inch competition rims with F1-derived covers.
Ageing can be a tedious affair, especially for Italian beauty queens. So when Ferrari GTs begin to show their age, Maranello typically treats them to a spa vacation, re-emerging more youthful and exuberant than before. The 575M got a GTC handling package as it approached retirement, the 612 Scaglietti got the HGT-S package a couple of years ago, and the next guest booked for treatment, according to sources, is the 599 GTB Fiorano. However, the Fiorano's nowhere near the end. It was only introduced three years ago; both the 612 and the F430 are due for replacement before the 599 is sent off to play mahjong and shuffle-board. But reports suggest that the 599 is to gain from a new HGTE package – the H standing for "handling", GT for "gran turismo" and E for "evoluzione", telling us that this package, tipped to debut at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, promises more than those installed on its sisters. Sources suggest that $25k over the $300k sticker price will get you 20-inch modular wheels wrapped in fresh rubber, a retuned exhaust, new front grille, upgraded spring rates, revised anti-roll bars, and some more carbon fiber bits in the cabin. Strictly necessary? Hardly. But if Maranello wants to make the 599 GTB even sharper, who's going to complain?
Photos of topless super-models parading around sun-drenched southern Europe -- the paparazzi never tire of snapping them, we never tire of seeing them, and like so many celebrity gossip magazines, here at Autoblog we never tire of running them. Take, for example, this particular Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano spotted now for the second time sashaying around Italy with its top half off. Not only is the regular car a rare treat to behold, but this one lets slip the promise of something more.
Although it hasn't appeared completely topless, this test vehicle is wearing an ill-fitting roof that suggests it may show the way for an upcoming convertible 599. That could mean a soft-top like the F430 Spider, a folding hard-top like the California or a rotating flip-top like that featured on the 575M-based Superamerica. Meanwhile, it could also mean a "regular production" model or a rare special edition for the Italian automaker. With the California just making its debut, the 16M Scuderia Spider just around the corner and the initial batch of spy shots just hitting the web, we asked the people at Ferrari what they were working on. Their response was that they're testing a lot of different ideas and that nothing had been given the green light (yet), so we'll just have to hold on and hope the higher-ups get out their stamps of approval.
Prior to Ferrari's successful customization plan for the 612 Scaglietti, your best bet at having Maranello build you a one-off would be to throw your wealth around like a Sultan. The One To One Personalisation Programme has been met with enthusiasm, so Ferrari is going to offer the factory custom treatment on the 599 GTB Fiorano, as well. The official announcement will take place at the Paris Motor Show tomorrow, where everyone will be packed like sardines to get a glimpse of the new Ferrari California up-close. An Atelier has also been set up in Italy to aid buyers in looking through all of the various permutations in order to come up with just the right car. The only option we're interested in is the one entitled "park a Ferrari in your driveway."
Ferrari seem to content with cutting the roof off of everything these days. The F430 Spider remains the company's hottest-selling model, with the new California on the way. A roadster version of the 430 Scuderia is anticipated to make its debut at Mugello in November, and now spy shots have surfaced showing what sources suggest is a convertible version of the 599 GTB Fiorano.
Although the test mule in the spy shots has a fixed roof in place, reports note that the roof appears ill-fitting and mismatched in color to the rest of the body. If that's anything to go by, Ferrari could be planning a successor to the Superamerica version of the Fiorano's 575 predecessor and the 550 Barchetta that came before that. The former featured an intriguing Fioravanti-designed glass roof mechanism, however the 599 Spider would, in all likelihood, employ a similar folding hard-top to the clever mechanism found on the new California, to the possible inclusion of the Fiorano's aerodynamic buttresses. Following the revival of the GTB (grand touring berlinetta) designation on the existing 599, the convertible would likely take on the GTS (grand touring spider) nameplate, while installment of Ferrari's new quick-shifting SuperFast3 dual-clutch transmission could help mitigate the extra weight. Of course this is all pure speculation, so stay tuned.
