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By EWAN
KENNEDY
16 November 2009
Next time you are looking at the planet Mars you might be
surprised to know that a little bit of Ferrari is in orbit around
it. Because in 2003 someone at Ferrari came up with a glorious
idea for one-upmanship in the marketing game. When the European
Space Agency (ESA) launched a satellite to explore the red planet
it attached a small ampoule of Ferrari Rossa Corsa paint to the
side of the spacecraft. To show the red planet what a real red
from planet Earth looks like, according to Ferrari.
Rossa Corsa was the shade of red that Ferrari used on its Formula
One racing cars at that time.
However, if you think all Ferraris are red you are very much
mistaken. We had the privilege of doing a behind the scenes tour
of the Ferrari factory earlier this year. Including quite a while
in the restoration section where we were struck by the number of
older Ferraris that were painted in all sorts of interesting
colours. Many looked gorgeous in finishes such as two-tone pastels
in blue-and-white and green-and-white, burgundy and many more
non-red hues.
Indeed, the people working in the restoration area turn up their
noses at Ferraris that had been redone in what they call
despairingly, ‘resale-red’. All the more so if the latest
owner’s idea of red really didn’t suit the lines of the car.
So it didn’t surprise us to learn the title of the latest
exhibition at the famed Galleria Ferrari that's part of the
company's facility in Maranello is ‘Non
Solo Rosse’, which translates into English as ‘It's not Just
Red’.
Which brings us back to the planet Mars. Because a replica of the
Mars Explorer satellite with, of course, the ampoule of Rosso
Corsa paint is on display as part of the Non
Solo Rosse exhibition.
Should you happen to be in Italy between now and the end of April
2010 you are welcome to view the latest exhibition at Galleria
Ferrari, which is included in the entry price for the public tour
of the Ferrari facilities.
And if you are really into your Ferraris, why not stop at Abu
Dhabi on your way to/from Australia? There you can visit the first
ever Ferrari theme park – that's right a Ferrari theme park!
It's located adjacent to the Yas Marina circuit, the site of the
Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix.
The world’s first theme park from the iconic Italian marque
features the world’s fastest roller coaster emulating the
feeling of being in an F1 car. A G-force experience taking
passengers on an adrenalin-pumping ride up over 62 metres, through
the roof and back down again. There are state-of-the-art racing
simulators using a similar system as those used by the Ferrari
racing team. A flume ride journey through the heart of a Ferrari
599 engine. A driving and racing school for junior drivers. And
the ability to take an aerial voyage over Italy following a
Ferrari. And much more.
All of this will be contained in a huge building that encloses 10
hectares. It's covered by a gigantic roof in a double-curve shape
based on the lines of a Ferrari GT.
Note that the Ferrari theme park hasn't been completed at this
stage and its opening may not overlap the aforementioned Galleria
Ferrari exhibition.
© Copyright
Marque Publishing Company
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