2006 Ferrari 599 Panamerican 20,000 - 7

(from Ferrari Press Release)  Savannah, 5th November 2006 - The highway that leads from Miami northbound runs along the long beaches of Florida, visible between the houses and apartment blocks built close to the beach. From time to time the cars cross a bridge where they can spot numerous yachts on the rivers or channels. When the road leaves the beach, the two 599 GTB Fiorano drive through woods with pine trees like in Southern Europe. The first stop is in Cape Canaveral. Because of the high security around the site the team can see the base only in the distance. The second stop is at the Daytona race track, the famous oval of the Indy car series. After Jacksonville the tour leaves Florida and drives to Georgia.

The landscape is still more or less the same and the tour proceeds along the coast, while the two Berlinettes from Maranello can show off their performance. The historical buildings of Savannah, named after the river running through it, and the harbour, which was of a strategic importance during the Civil War, are still perfectly intact. It starts to get cold and the warm days and nights of California, the desert and Miami are already only a memory for the team while arriving in Savannah in the evening.

Fayetteville, 6th November 2006 - A sunny yet chilly day bids farewell to the team of the Panamerican 20.000 as they leave Savannah. The road leads through the woods and runs alongside wide meadows and fields. The landscape is still green but some spots of autumn beckon already. The two Ferrari cars leave Lake Marion behind and the road leads them away from the beaches. Next stop is Darlington where the team meets the Case CNH and the local Ferrari Club on the famous high-speed track. All the local Ferrari owners are present to greet cars and members of the Panamerican 20,000 Tour.

This section will also be shown on Chinese television because a Chinese TV journalist is now part of the team: Zheng Meng Hui accompanied by his cameraman Gao Jian Hua. The cars let Darlington behind and the state of South Carolina and drive into North Carolina. The two 599 GTB Fiorano stop in Fayetteville, close to the airbase of the USAF in Fort Bragg

Washington, 8th November 2006 - A worldly day for the team of the Ferrari Panamerican 20,000 in Washington with a morning press conference at the local Ferrari dealer and the presentation of the new 599 GTB Fiorano: this model is presented and launched on the US-American market during the Panamerican 20,000 Tour. Many journalists from international and local news outlets gather at the conference.

Later, the team goes for a ride around the city and stops the cars in front of the most important monuments of the US-American capital. In the evening the team members are welcomed in the new Italian embassy, designed by the architect Piero Sartogo - a genuine expression of Italian taste and style.

And as usual the guests admire the two Berlinettes - standing next to a 212 from 1953 in perfect conditions. Ambassador Giovanni Castellaneta and the president of Ferrari North America Maurizio Parlato underlined how the product Ferrari, admired all over the world, represents the high standard of Italian manufacturing and Italian taste.


Chicago, 10th November 2006 - There's a long road ahead for the team of the Panamerican 20,000. They must drive many kilometres to arrive in Chicago; fortunately they can use the highway.

After bidding farewell to the ALCOA employees, the tour sets of for Detroit. First, the highway runs on twisty roads around the Pittsburgh hills, the city of steel. Finally, the road becomes flat and straight again and the roads become like the days before, characterized by leafless woods, farms, fields, houses, silos and chimneys. There are lots of prefabricated houses and trailer parks where many Americans have to live.

On the way out of Pennsylvania the tour reaches Ohio in the direction of Indiana. Many police patrols  ensure the speed limit is not violated.  The team spots Lake Michigan in the distance long before they arrive in Chicago, Illinois, beset by heavy rain.

Once in Chicago, the two Berlinettes experience the first traffic jam on the American continent.
Tomorrow they will leave for Detroit. Mo'town gets ready to welcome the two 599 GTB Fiorano.

Toronto, 14th November 2006 - The two Ferrari Berlinettes stop for the day in Toronto. In the morning the team assists the press at the local Ferrari dealer where the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano is launched on the Canadian market. Press and TV-journalists - even from an Italian network is among the guests who gather around the car.

The Italian community of Toronto is around 600.000, consisting of immigrants and their children. The local Ferrari dealer in Toronto, Remo Ferri, is Italian, he emigrated to Canada as a young boy. After the press conference the cars drive through the city while the journalists shoot their photos and the cameramen film the cars with the most characteristic backdrops of Toronto. Tomorrow the two Berlinettes from Maranello will drive through Little Italy to greet the Italian community.

In the evening the cars and the team members are welcomed for a cocktail party at the local dealer's biggest garage in the city where also Ferrari North America president Maurizio Parlato comes to greet the team.

As usual the cars of the Panamerican 20,000 are admired by numerous existing and new customers who also have a look at the other cars exposed: amongst them also a Formula 1 single-seater from 1999. Ferri and Parato outline Ferrari's image in the United States, while Davide Kluzer, from the press office, speaks about the Tour and its importance for the brand.

Tomorrow the cars will leave in the direction of Buffalo and the famous Niagara Falls.

Buffalo, 15th November 2006 - This section for the two Ferrari Berlinettes is short. From Toronto the Tour drives to one of America 's tourism hot spots: the Niagara Falls.
Before the team leaves Toronto they ride through Little Italy. This part is full of billboards in Italian and English and celebrates the two Berlinettes from Ferrari. Of course, the team members stop at a bar to have some real Italian Espresso. Then they leave in the direction of the Niagara Falls. The Niagara river is short and carries water from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. The Falls themselves are spectacular. While one part is on the American side the other one is on Canadian soil.

The river Niagara also forms the border between the two countries and the shores belong to the USA and Canada respectively.
Those who wish to enjoy the falls should be prepared to get wet, as the falling waters create a steady dew - even the two Berlinettes 599 GTB Fiorano and the team members get wet.

Tomorrow the Tour covers another very short section before the Panamerican 20,000 finally reaches New York, and on Friday a big welcoming party will await the Tour and its members.

New York, 16th November 2006 - The Ferrari Panamerican 20,000 Tour has reached its final stage. As the cars leave for their last section it starts to rain and it won't stop until the Berlinettes arrive in New York. To pass the border from Canada into the US the team has to wait for four hours but then they can drive on and pass the huge bridges on both sides of the Niagara River to reach the highway, which leads them to New York. Fog and rain do not consent to admire the landscape but from time to time the team members can spot the hills surrounding the lakes.

Now the Tour arrives in the State of New York, the 23rd the Panamerican 20,000 is crossing. But the cars immediately re-enter Pennsylvania - the first State of the US, which declared its independence. Finally they arrive in New Jersey, the 24th State. Through Lincoln Tunnel the Tour returns to New York and reaches the island of Manhattan. It's already evening when the engines are turned off in front of the hotel next to Central Park and the team members are slightly sad that this splendid experience, this unrepeatable adventure is terminated.

All eyes are peeled on the two 599 GTB Fiorano, which drove for 20,000 miles without the slightest problem, arriving in New York in perfect conditions. Tomorrow a final ceremony will be held, with a press conference, a cocktail party and a big celebration in honour of the end of this grand undertaking.

New York, November 17th 2006 - A 20,000 mile race from Brazil to New York came to a glorious conclusion this morning when two Ferrari 599's crossed the finish line at the New York Stock Exchange.

The Panamerican 20,000 was the latest and most persuasive test of Ferrari's newest model, the 599 GTB Fiorano. On an often grueling 15-leg journey, a team of forty-eight journalists took turns driving from Belo Horizonte in Brazil to the Argentinian pampa; over Andean plateaus and through mountain passes some 13,000 feet above sea level; through the Central American tropics and across Mexico and the United States, with a final stop in Canada before reaching the final destination in New York.

This is not the first time Ferrari has embarked on this type of journey. In 1997 it sent the F355 model on a tour around the world. Just last year two Scaglietti 612's made a tour of all China, the first time any automobile maker has accomplished this feat.

Sports fans are used to seeing the Ferrari on Formula 1 tracks, and of appreciating its special talent for racing. But these long road-tests are important in two significant ways. First, they show that today's Ferrari can be driven in every type of road condition. A case in point: in the past ten years the average mileage accumulated by Ferrari drivers has doubled. Second, they bring the Ferrari closer to an adoring public that goes beyond the ranks of racing fans. The Ferrari is instantly recognizable in the farthest corners of the earth, from the silk road to the shores of Lake Titicaca. This discovery confirms the iconic status of the Ferrari as the embodiment of a dream.

On Wall Street today, the façade of the Stock Exchange was decorated with the Ferrari trademark: the prancing horse. A special grandstand was built for the ceremony, and Maurizio Parlato, President and CEO of Ferrari North America, was on hand for a celebratory speech. The finish line was set up in place of great symbolic importance: for over 50 years, the United States has been Ferrari's number one market, and many of its customers are members of the American business communities.

In his remarks, Mr. Parlato emphasized that the cars had proven their extraordinary reliability, having made it though the rugged Andean roads with minimal damage to the tires and rims. The only thing they needed were regular oil changes provided by Shell, which provided roadside assistance for the whole tour.

The 599 GTB Fiorano is a two-seater berlinetta with a V-12 engine, the top performer ever developed at the Ferrari factory in Maranello. This new model boasts the most cutting-edge features that Ferrari has ever applied to a two-seater with a front center engine, making it the new benchmark in sportiness, driving feel, and design.

The two 599 GTB Fioranos reached the end of their journey in New York with only minor modifications to allow them to travel the toughest roads: for underbody protection a 4 mm.-thick aluminum plate was used rather than standard plastic, and the shock absorbers were slightly raised to handle the roughest roads. In all other regards, they were identical to the other cars in the series, with a 611 bhp Enzo-derived 5,999cc V12 motor, and maximum torque of 448 lb/ft produced at 5,600 rpm. The 599 GTB Fiorano sprints from 0 to 62 mph in an astonishing 3.7 seconds and boasts a top speed in excess of 205 mph. Both cars had a six-speed F1 gearbox, and a transaxle transmission.

On this occasion, Ferrari thanks the sponsors that made this adventure possible: especially Shell, a long-time partner of Ferrari also in Formula 1 racing, which provided roadside assistance and a range of high-performance fuels and lubrication; Alcoa, a strategic partner for the production of aluminum chassis that is the standard for the whole Ferrari line today; the FIAT group, which provided transportation using the Iveco support system and escort vehicles of FIAT and Alfa Romeo, a brand that has attracted great interest in the United States; and Case IH - the global agriculture equipment leader - and finally, Pirelli for the tires, Puma for the Panamerican team uniforms, Saima Avandero for the logistics, and BuonItalia.

Ferrari in North and South America

North America is Ferrari's biggest market-accounting for a 30% share-with sales of approximately 1,550 vehicles a year. The top North American market is California (27% of sales), followed by the North East (16%), Florida (11%), Texas (7%), and Chicago (6%). In 1995 the number of North American Ferrari dealers grew to 36 (32 in the United States and 4 in Canada), when two new locations were opened in Silicon Valley and Las Vegas. Existing dealers also made significant investments to expand their facilities and improve operations. In 2004 Ferrari North America inaugurated a showroom at 410 Park Avenue in New York to exhibit its extraordinary products at one of America's premium locations.

To build up and consolidate Ferrari's presence in Central and South America, starting in January 2006 Ferrari North America became the lead office for the countries of the area. The main markets are Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and Venezuela, for a total of 12 sales points. This consolidation will expand the number of dealerships, and increase customer satisfaction.