Alcoa is a sponsor of Ferrari's Panamerican 20,000, an 84-day test drive featuring their new, 12-cylinder 599 GTB Fiorano that got underway from Belo Horizonte in Brazil yesterday. The Panamerican 20,000 will cover 16 countries in South, Central and North America. It is designed to show the toughness and reliability, as well as the performance of the 620 horsepower, two-seat Fiorano, which features an aluminium space frame manufactured by Alcoa. Alcoa will host the Panamerican 20,000 team at three stops along their 15-stage tour, which begun on August 24, 2006. The first stop was in Sao Paulo, Brazil, headquarters for Alcoa of Brazil. The second will be at the company's largest U.S. smelter located in Rockdale, Texas. And the third will be at Alcoa's plant in Cleveland, Ohio, which makes forged and cast products for the automotive and aerospace industries.

"The Panamerican 20,000 offers us a chance to demonstrate the shared passion for performance that characterizes the partnership between Ferrari and Alcoa in the most meaningful way possible ... on the road in one of the most challenging test drives ever devised," according to Misha Riveros-Jacobson, President of Alcoa Auto and Truck Structures, the Alcoa business who makes space frames for all Ferrari Granturismo vehicles from its plant in Modena, Italy. "The fact that we also get to show these scintillating vehicles to our employees and plant communities along the way is also a great way to link Alcoa's aluminium products, employees and stakeholders to one of the world's highest-performance automobiles," Ms. Riveros-Jacobson added.
 

Alcoa is Ferrari's strategic partner for the creation of advanced aluminium space frame technology. The companies began working together in the 1990's and have collaborated on four successful generations of space frames, beginning with the Ferrari 360 Modena and including the 612 Scaglietti, F430 and the 599 GTB Fiorano.

Alcoa is the world's leading producer and manager of primary aluminium, fabricated aluminium and alumina facilities, and is active in all major aspects of the industry. Alcoa serves the aerospace, automotive, packaging, building and construction, commercial transportation and industrial markets, bringing design, engineering, production and other capabilities of Alcoa's businesses to customers.

In addition to aluminium products and components, Alcoa also markets consumer brands including Reynolds Wrap(R) foils and plastic wraps, Alcoa(R) wheels, and Baco(R) household wraps. Among its other businesses are closures, fastening systems, precision castings, and electrical distribution systems for cars and trucks. The company has 129,000 employees in 44 countries and has been named one of the top most sustainable corporations in the world at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.