Supercar Traffic Jam Hits Melbourne!

Supercar Traffic Jam Hits Melbourne!

Until this morning (3 March 2007) there'd been no such thing as a popular traffic jam in Melbourne but when more than 80 Ferraris took to the streets and motorways of Melbourne, the sights and sounds of Australia's biggest ever Ferrari get together changed everything!

"Our original plan was to have 60 cars in the Cavalcade, one for each year of Ferrari's history," explains Kevin Wall, General Manager for EAI, the Australian Ferrari importer. "However, such was the enthusiasm for the event from Ferrari owners not just in Victoria, but from across Australia that we have ended up with 88 cars taking part, making this an even more glorious celebration of everything Ferrari in Australia."

Ferrari fans crowed the 15 km route of the Ferrari 60th Anniversary Cavalcade, cheering on their favourite models and savouring the sound of so many high performance V8 and V12 engines.

Some the rare Ferrari's taking part in the Cavalcade included a rare 750 Monza and a 212 similar to the first Ferrari to ever come to Australia, the Ferrari F40 and F50 that marked previous significant points in Ferrari's history, Ferraris road going racing cars, the F355 and F360 Challenge, the evocative Dino and the latest Ferrari super car, the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano.

The Ferrari 60th Anniversary Cavalcade started at the Crown Entertainment Complex and left the city centre via City Link, before heading north over the Bolte Bridge. Looping around the north of the city through Royal Park, the Ferrari's arrived in Lygon Street for the '2007 Grand Prix Festival Celebrating Ferrari's 60th Anniversary', a massive street party to celebrate everything Ferrari in the heart of Melbourne's Italian community.

"No one normally likes a traffic jam," says Mr Wall, "but when it's made of more than a $100 million of Ferraris, that's a whole different matter and it's another sign of the pleasure and passion that Ferrari has produced during its unique 60 year history!"

The 60th Anniversary Relay
Ferrari is celebrating this remarkable history world wide with a relay event of which the events in Sydney and Melbourne are the Australian legs. The relay started in Abu Dhabi, site of future Ferrari Theme Park, on 29 January. After Middle East, the journey goes across China, Japan, Australia, South Africa, America and the whole of Europe, and will end at Maranello on 23 June.

The relay will involve over 10,000 Ferrari owners and their cars of all ages. These will act as symbolic "bearers" of a specially commissioned relay baton adorned with 60 badges symbolising the most extraordinary events in the Marque's 60-year history.

Ferrari embarked upon this 12 months of celebrations having just ended an exceptionally brilliant financial year that saw the Company post revenues of ‚¬1,447 million (+12.3% on 2005's takings) resulting in a trading profit of ‚¬183 million (+17%) and 5,650 deliveries to its worldwide dealership network, a new record.

The Relay Baton
The relay baton was designed and created to symbolise Ferrari's history and is topped by a dazzling platinum and diamond Prancing Horse made by Damiani. It also features 60 enamel symbols designed by the Intesta e D'Adda, Lorenzini, Vigorelli and BBDO advertising agencies, and by creative talents Alessandro Migliorini of Area Creativa, Marco Morosini, Enzo Naso of the eponymous studio and Wolfgang Seidl of Seidldesign.

Ferrari Theme Park
Scheduled to open in 2009, the new Ferrari Theme Park in Abu Dhabi will cover a massive 250,000 sqm and will feature 24 themed attractions for all the family, including a 70-metre-high G-Force Tower and a twin rollercoaster ride that for the first time allows to race against each other. Moreover, go-karting, rally driving and dune buggy tracks, and a vast array of food and beverage outlets.

In addition to the Ferrari Park, however, the 2,500-hectare Yas Island will also host a motor racing circuit, signature hotels, apartments, villas, a wide selection of restaurants, a retail area of about 300,000 sqm, golf courses, a water park, a tourist marina, a hotel overlooking the lagoon and numerous food and beverage outlets that will create a unique international tourist destination.

The Ferrari Theme Park project and construction, as well as the whole Yas Island development is by Aldar Properties, and the total investment for the Park is of around US$600 million.

60 unique Ferraris
As part of its 60th anniversary celebrations, Ferrari will build a series of 60 truly unique cars. These will be based on the 612 Scaglietti, the Prancing Horse's range-topping Granturismo which combines blistering performance and superb handling with superior comfort, sumptuous handcrafted trim, state-of-the-art accessories and meticulous attention to detail.

The cars will be offered with a two-tone livery in a combination of classic Ferrari colours as used on some of the Prancing Horse's most memorable models. The interior appointments will feature sophisticated colour combinations and a stunning new-generation electrochromic glass roof, itself a major innovation. The degree of opacity of the roof, in fact, can be adjusted to suit the occupants' requirements.

To underline the exclusivity of this series of one-offs, each example will also boast an enamelled symbol set on the central tunnel representing one of the 60 historic events chosen to celebrate the Marque's anniversary. The result is a true collector's car aimed at Ferrari's most dedicated clients.

Ferrari Asia-Pacific Region
In order to take care of some developing markets, the creation of a new sales unit, The Asia-Pacific Division, was announced in 2005 October. The Asia-Pacific sales unit covers 12 markets which are managed by importers: Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei.

In the next few years, the expectations of sales in Asia-Pacific Region are to have a considerable percentage growth as Ferrari expands its operation in these markets. Ferrari APAC is now fully operative. The working team, a well-balanced mix, counts personnel coming from Maranello, who have an understanding of Ferrari's products and brand values, and local personnel who have valuable knowledge of the local markets.

Ferrari in Australia.
European Automotive Imports took over the distribution of Ferrari in Australia and New Zealand in 2005, promising to significantly lift the quality of customer service and provide local Ferrari fans with greater access to Ferrari's remarkable products. This, it has comprehensively done, with new dealerships in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane matched by new quality Ferrari customer events. At the same time the number of new Ferraris finding homes in Australia has almost doubled.

The global sponsors of Ferrari's 60th Anniversary
Ferrari is being supported in this important endeavour by some of its historic sponsors, partners, and suppliers. In particular:

Shell. Shell was with Ferrari from the company's founding as an important technical partner. And Shell is still a partner today, providing critical technical support for both of Ferrari's key development activities - Scuderia Ferrari in Formula One and the company's exclusive GT road car business. Shell events will support the Ferrari 60 celebrations in key global markets. It is an opportunity for Shell to communicate that key Shell products, like Shell V-Power fuel and Shell Helix lubricants, are "developed with Ferrari". Today, 60 years after Enzo Ferrari created his famous line of sporting cars, the name Ferrari is famous for its uncompromising approach to performance engineering. Ferrari has chosen Shell products to go into every new Ferrari, for the road and for the track, and Shell recommends that its owners use Shell products in their cars.

Alcoa. Ferrari's strategic partner for the creation of advanced aluminum spaceframe technology. The companies began working together in the 1990's and have collaborated on four successful generations of spaceframes for Ferrari's Gran Turismo vehicles, beginning with the 360 Modena. Alcoa currently builds aluminum spaceframes for the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, F430 and 599 GTB Fiorano in Modena. Alcoa is the world's leading producer of primary aluminum, fabricated aluminum and aluminum products. The company supplies all key sectors of the aluminum industry, including aerospace, automobile, packaging, building and construction and commercial transportation. Alcoa is present in 44 countries and employs a workforce of more than 130,000 people.

Damiani. Master craftsman since 1924, the Damiani family has a long tradition in the jewellery business. Third generation Damiani has developed the family owned business into an international company, winning 18 International Diamond awards, an unbeatable record. They continued the development process and interpreted the tradition with the same spirit of innovation that Damiani has at its core. Every jewel Damiani produces continues to be hand-made respecting the highest artesian traditions and elegance of the Made-in-Italy style making it one of the most recognized and sought after brands in the world.

Puma. A global athletic brand that successfully fuses influences from sport, lifestyle and fashion. Puma's unique industry perspective delivers the unexpected in sport lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories, through technical innovation and revolutionary design. Established in Herzogenaurach, Germany in 1948, Puma distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories in over 80 countries worldwide. It is also Official Supplier for the Scuderia Ferrari.

System 3. A publisher of video games for 25 years and one of the oldest players in the UK, System 3 produced a number of classic nr 1 hits over the years, most notably Putty, International Karate (IK+), Constructor and the unforgettable Last Ninja series. The first European publisher to get a Billboard nr 1 in the US and the only independent UK publisher. System 3 has an enviable back catalogue of Intellectual Property rights. System 3 is a brand recognised as producing innovative entertainment software and this year will release the remake of the Epyx classics Impossible Mission and California Games as well as The Last Ninja.

Post-it®. An international brand from 3M, leader in several market segments. Post-it® supplies Ferrari with special and innovative products. 3M technologies, based on stickers, advanced materials and those related to light and microreplication systems, create a constant flow of innovative products aiming to satisfy the ever changing needs of a global market.

Australian Supporters
The Crown Entertainment Complex is one of the world's largest entertainment complexes of its kind, housing two hotel properties - the five-star Crown Towers and the four-star-plus Crown Promenade Hotel. Both are within easy access to in excess of 40 restaurants and bars, emporium of over 30 retail boutiques, several night clubs, cinema complex, interactive entertainment arcade, a live cabaret-style venue, plus the 24-hour Crown Casino, the biggest gaming facility in the Southern Hemisphere featuring 2500 gaming machines and 350 gaming tables including 50 poker tables.

(ends)

© Scoop Media