Now under the control of Ateco Automotive, Ferrari’s plans for growth in Australia will be spurred by the F430 Spider and Superamerica, launched in Sydney yesterday. Though Australian deliveries of the F430 Spider are already underway, the Superamerica (already acclaimed by media and public alike in Europe) made its official Australian debut following a sneak preview on the Darling Harbour foreshore last week. 

The launch provided an interesting insight into the strategy of new importer European Automotive Imports, a subsidiary of current Alfa Romeo distributor Ateco Automotive. From next year, Ateco will also assume responsibility for the relaunch of Fiat passenger cars into the Australian market, giving it (with the exception of Lamborghini) a virtual monopoly on the Italian car market in Australia.

Ferrari’s plans for brand development were affirmed by Kevin Wall, General Manager of Ferrari Australia & New Zealand. He outlined three goals for the medium-term. The first is to improve awareness and marketing of the Ferrari brand, as Formula 1 (Ferrari’s main marketing tool worldwide) simply does not have the resonance amongst the general public in Australia as it does in Europe. To this effect, a number of new initiatives were identified, including the launch of Ferrari’s sponsorship of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, as well as the support of the factory of the Classic Adelaide Rally in a month’s time. This, said Wall, would see no fewer than thirty classic Ferraris competing on some of the best driving roads Australia has to offer, in the hills surrounding Adelaide, on an event which has already attained a status worldwide as one of the finest of its type.

The second goal noted by Wall is to increase Ferrari sales by up to 30%. Although Ferrari supply is strictly limited, this is to be achieved through the launch of the Superamerica as well as the recent arrival of the F430 Spider, along with an increase in sales of the 612 Scaglietti.
 

Finally, there remains the need to continue to improve the ownership experience of one of the motoring world’s icons.  When it came to purchasing, owning and selling a new Ferrari, Wall said, European Automotive Imports were to make efforts to improve in this area. Moves toward this end are already being made with a new service and parts department in Artarmon, plus longer-term plans to establish a new sales outlet on Sydney’s North Shore, and the recent establishment of headquarters for Ferrari and Maserati in Australia at the all-new Homebush base of Ateco Automotive.

And so to the cars themselves. Both the Superamerica and F430 Spider on display are painted in traditional Rosso Corsa. The Spider represents the convertible version of what has been described as the finest car in the world, the F430 Coupe; certainly, its technical specification of 490bhp 4.3 V8, electronic differential, F1 paddle transmission, formidably rigid chassis and fully automatic hood justify such a claim.

Meanwhile, the Superamerica boasts 540bhp from its slightly enlarged 5.8 V12, along with the car’s main feature, the Fioravanti-patented rotating Revocromico roof. Demonstrated to the press at the car’s launch, the entire operation is accomplished in under 10 seconds. The roof also features a further trick in that the panel is manufactured from electrochromatic glass, enabling the occupants to have as much sunlight coming through as is desired. The Australian allocation is for six cars out of the 559 to be built – all of which are, needless to say, pre-sold well in advance.

by Shant Fabricatorian in Sydney