Ferrari's president Luca di Montezemolo presented the new 599 GTB Fiorano last Saturday evening in Shanghai. In attendance was a select group of clients and celebrities from all over Asia.

In the evocative setting of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Montezemolo unveiled the new Maranello 12 cylinder that will be officially launched to the public at the upcoming Peking motorshow in November. "I am particularly happy to be here in Shanghai as it is a city that I love", began Montezemolo. "I remember it with pride as the place where we topped the podium at the first Grand Prix of China. This is an event that we will relive in 15 days time! I am especially pleased to be here to present our 599 GTB Fiorano. It is an exceptional car, the fastest 12 cylinder in the world".

The vehicle was created using the most advanced solutions, technology developed on our Formula 1 single seaters. It is a work of art that has found an apt setting in this amazing museum". Then came a press conference at which Montezemolo responded to the numerous questions posed by Chinese journalists. He confirmed that the Asian region was of prime interest for the Prancing Horse: "In particular in China, a country in which speaking of the great market opportunities is no longer news and where Ferrari, at the end of its second year in loco, has doubled its sales. It is a market where the average age of our clients in much lower than in Europe and North America. China has also demonstrated that it is ready to comprehend the uniqueness and exclusivity of our cars. It is where the exponential growth in interest in Ferraris has led to the creation of a structure dedicated to the Asian region."
 

The Ferrari president emphasised the importance of the new Ferrari Asia-Pacific department announced at the Tokyo motorshow last October. It now looks after twelve markets as well as the joint ventures with which Ferrari has operated in China since 2004. "It is an area that I do not hesitate it saying is crucial for Ferrari; where growth expectations are very high and in which we have focused our finest resources. These include competent staff handpicked at Maranello and our most important markets, like North America. The Asia Pacific area, with around eight hundred vehicles, represent 13% of Ferrari sales.

Aside from China, this comprises 12 markets supervised by importers: from Japan to Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei. Montezemolo, flanked by the Fiat Group's chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, then highlighted the importance of the agreement related to the entrepreneurial policy in the Asia Group signed in the past few days. He then unmasked the 599 GTB Fiorano together with Mario Micheli, President of Asia Pacific. Micheli previously occupied the role of Ferrari S.p.a.'s Commercial Director. Mirko Bordiga, General Manager of Joint Venture Ferrari China, was also in attendance.