Iveco has supplied the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB with two new Iveco Stralis Active Space Super³ tractor units, which will be used throughout the winter testing season and to transport its ‘luxury lifestyle centre’ to all rounds of the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli European Championship in 2008.

The delivery of these two high specification Stralis tractors confirms Iveco’s prestigious role as the official supplier of commercial vehicles to Ferrari GB.  Each truck benefits from Iveco’s premium ‘big cab’, designed to provide the ideal working and living accommodation for drivers en route to races on the Continent. Like all new Stralis Super³ tractor units, the specification includes a heated and air-suspended driver’s seat with four separate comfort level settings, air-conditioning, slide-out fridge, Eberspacher night heater, electrically operated roof-vent and windscreen blind, door roller blinds and smart black curtains to enclose the entire cab area.

It also features a vertically stowed upper bunk, with its own control panels for operating the lighting and roof vent, together with a three-piece lower comfort bunk incorporating a fold-away table. This new Stralis cab offers 20 per cent more internal space than the previous Stralis AS models used by the team, together with a 15 per cent increase in storage space and revised new external styling to further improve aerodynamic efficiency.

Both new flagship vehicles have been supplied in black and white to match the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB’s trailers which are predominantly black and branded Team Vertu Racing. One trailer is being utilised to transport the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB hospitality unit which extends out sideways to encompass a large indoor space that is used for dining and hospitality throughout the race weekend, it is driven by professional drivers under the Team Vertu Racing banner, whilst the second trailer is designed as a luxurious office setting, with three individual offices for the team and their key sponsors. Additionally it is equipped to carry a Ferrari F430 Challenge race car.

The 2008 season begins in April and will see the Stralis’ travel to some of Europe’s most famous motor racing circuits, including tracks in France, Germany, Italy and Hungary. One of the rounds is also held at Silverstone, the home of British Motor Racing and headquarters of the Ferrari Challenge Dealer Team GB.

Each of the F430 Challenge race cars has the same profile and the same 4.3 V8 490hp engine as the standard F430 road car. However, they also incorporate a large number of significant track-oriented modifications and a host of features which demonstrate the transfer of technology from Ferrari’s unrivalled success in F1 to Ferrari’s road and race GT cars. Amongst these changes include the fitment of carbon ceramic brakes – a first for a Ferrari sports competition car – and an F1-style electronic gearbox with paddles mounted by the steering wheel to shift gears in an impressive 150 milliseconds.

In comparison, the two Stralis AS440S45TX/P tractors are each powered by a 450 hp example of Iveco’s proven 10.3 litre Cursor 10 engine (Euro 5), driven through a twelve speed EuroTronic gearbox, which offers either fully or semi-automated shifts. These latest models see the gear change controls incorporated into the dashboard and right-hand steering column stalk, offering good cab ergonomics and making gear changes easier for the driver.