Drive time

The Fiorano Ferrari Experience - a life-affirming few days you'll never forget.

An invitation to the Fiorano Ferrari Driving Experience couldn’t be missed. The MARQ team was compelled to jet over to Maranello to celebrate the best of the Italian uberbrand

No marque conjures greater excitement than the famous prancing horse. Ferrari is, and seems likely to remain, every motoring enthusiast’s ultimate driving fantasy. Yet the reality of actually owning a Ferrari remains a privilege of the oh-so fortunate few.

After all, less than 5000 new Ferraris are sold worldwide each year.

Of course Ferrari’s reputation is not simply a marketing confection, but has been repeatedly earned on both road and track. We’re talking no less than 14 F1 world championship victories and a relentless succession of hot road cars consistently wiping the floor with any competition.

Yet few privileged enough to own these dream machines have either the time or opportunity to indulge in the true Ferrari experience. Like the rest of us, most Ferrari owners are resigned to a world of speed humps and speed cameras, occas-ionally enlivened by a covert canter to the local pub.

The Fiorano Ferrari Driving Experience aims to set this grim scenario to rights. It offers a unique opportunity for new owners to get an insight into what it really means to be part of the Ferrari world. According to the publicity, this means ‘living the dream’ by experiencing a range of activities – in the car, on some of the world’s finest race circuits, and away from the car in some of the world’s most luxurious rest-aurants and hotels.

MARQ decided to put the Experience to the test in Ferrari’s historic home town of Maranello in Italy.

To the ferrarista Fiorano needs little introduction. This hallowed ground is the famous development circuit where the likes of Michael Schumacher and Reubens Barrichello test-drive and help develop Ferrari’s Formula One world-beaters. Fiorano is also the test bed for all new Ferrari road cars and one of a select handful of renowned circuits employed by the Ferrari Experience team.

On arrival in Maranello, we were escorted to a chauffeur-driven Lancia Thesis – a model not available in the UK – and whisked to lunch at the exclusive-yet-affable Montana restaurant situated right next to the Fiorano circuit. Unsurprisingly, the Montana is famous for hosting Ferrari’s F1 team when it is in town, an association celebrated by the impressive display of memorabilia adorning the walls.

The Montana’s buzzy atmosphere complements first-rate Italian home cooking and in the course of the meal we are joined by no less than Mr Davide Kluze, Ferrari’s global PR guru. This man lives, eats and breathes Ferrari, and we found him typical of the many devoted Ferrari executives and production line workers we were to meet in the course of this two-day trip. Criticise Ferrari and you hurt this man.

After lunch we were taken on a tour of the famous Ferrari factory. Visitors are immediately struck by the almost sterile cleanliness of the plant, while the cars, in various stages of development, delight both in terms of the attention to detail and raw power dormant in the slick Italian lines.

Although state-of-the-art technology is much in evidence, automation is kept strictly to a minimum, deployed mainly in the paint shop and the assembly of a few highly technical components. The remainder of production is a very human thing – from panel refinement to the stitching of leather – people rather than machines make Ferraris.

Our appetite for the cars was growing, but Ferrari had other ideas for the next stage of our journey. It was now time for us to experience Fiorano Ferrari style. This was all about getting to grips with the cosseting and privilege intrinsically linked to the prancing horse brand. The destination? Villa San Carlo Borromeo. Our mode of transport? Helicopter, of course.

Our chopper landed on the manicured lawns of the Villa San Carlo, whose half-cloistered courtyard seemed the perfect backdrop for a 612 Scaglietti. Odd that.

The Villa San Carlo - an elegant pre-Monza stopover.

Surrounded by ancient parkland and 12km from the centre of Milan, Villa San Carlo Borromeo lies on a man-made hill, the site of an early Celtic settlement. The Romans later built a stronghold used by Julius Caesar on the same ground.

In the 14th century the powerful Visconti family erected the present day palace on its ruins of the early settlements. Later work was carried out by Gilberto Borromeo in the 17th century, completing most of its interior decoration and assembling the many beautiful works of art. In his will Gilberto bound his heirs to respect the restoration and integrity of buildings and furnishings. Today, this historic villa is a luxury retreat for the super rich and we were cordially invited to take full advantage of its rather fine facilities.

Villa San Carlo proved the perfect venue for our overnight stay on this journey through the Ferrari experience. Tomorrow we would be heading up to Monza to drive the new F430 and 360 Challenge cars. But tonight we must eat. Ferarri’s very own classically grown Spumante, fresh from the Trentino vineyard, was served prior to dinner in the villa’s courtyard, a refreshing prelude to the culinary delights of the evening. Riso pilaf con scampi e pesto. Filetto di orata alla mediterranea. While itching for the Ferrari track drive the next day, with a menu like this certainly it wasn’t a bad way to spend the evening.

Day two. Monza. Weather forecast – rain and more rain. But right now it’s 8.30 in the morning and the track is dry. Time to drive Ferraris.

After a learned audience with Ferrari’s chief instructor Enrico Bertaggio, it was finally time to experience the essence of the Ferrari legend – performance, speed, power and prowess, accompanied by the sweetest mechanical symphony ever composed. A line of 360 Challenge race cars and the new F430 – replacing the 360 Modena road car – await us.

The Fiorano driving experience begins in the passenger seat. An instructor leads you through a crash course in the best use of throttle steering and gears. You’re coached on turn-in points, exit-points, braking points and ‘working with the car’. But once you get behind the wheel yourself, the sheer pace and technical strengths of both the Challenge cars and the F430s transport you into an almost virtigious experience that’s a world away from day-to-day driving.

Getting a grip in Monza.

This said, impressive as they are, driving these cars on track is by no means the daunting experi-ence many expect. Ferraris – and indeed the Ferrari instructors – are just too good for that. No, this indisputable highlight of the two-day experience is more about sensuality than anxiety. The thrilling road holding, acceleration and pace of these cars is second to none. So even if you are familiar with this level of performance, the new generation of Ferraris on offer has plenty to surprise and delight.

Although eventually rain stopped play for a while, once the track had dried up the buzz of really pushing a Ferrari in optimum conditions – with the added bonus of being able to brush up our driving skills under expert instruction – was more than enough to make up for time lost.

Our trip to Fiorano with Ferrari was one of those life-affirming experiences you never forget. Before we left, Ferrari gave us a useful souvenir to help us reflect on our time behind the wheel – an in-car video recording and printed telemetry download of our individual track performance.

Hmmm… a little too much data to ponder and certainly room for improvement. Maybe we need to go back for more?

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