Options Program

Options Program

You Too Can Have The Schumacher Touch!

FERRARI INTRODUCES a new options program that allows an already exclusive car to be completely tailored to the buyer's individual taste. JOANNE MARSHALL takes a look at how Schumacher optioned his own 550 Maranello.

Ferrari has always stood for exclusivity. In 50 years of activity, the manufacturer has built just 78,000 cars, and 1997's combined production of F355s, 550 Maranellos, and 456 GTs will hit a self imposed maximum of about 3,500 units. Compare that with figures from major rival Porsche, whose annual production will reach 38,000 cars by mid-1998-of which 18,000 are entry-level Boxsters alone-and you start to get the idea.
If buying a bright-red sports car has always signified entering the rarefied atmosphere of virtually hand-made supercar ownership, Ferrari has upped the ante: You can now choose from a series of options that effectively puts the cars into the custom-built, one-off category. Ferrari calls it the Carrozzeria Scaglietti Program, after the Modena coachworks that has traditionally built bodies for Ferrari's production models since the late Fifties.
The wide range of options has been developed in-house, with the collaboration of Pininfarina for details such as interior trim. Cars can thus be tailored to individual taste with a selection of goodies that go from a road-legal roll bar (regrettably not for the US, Canada or Australia) right down to a silver plaque with your name on it. The only thing Ferrari won't touch is the running gear -for obvious certification purposes, engine and ancillaries can't be played with, so if it's a hike in power you're after you'll have to look to tuners like Idling Power or Koenig.
Options in the interior Not wanting to upset the mechanicals left Ferrari with the idea of offering further fine-tuning for their already wellhoned chassis. One example is the Fiorano handling package which, in the particular case of Michael Schumacher's personal 550 Maranello (pictured on the opening page), consists of lowered (10 mm at the front, 15 mm at the back) and stiffened suspension using 25% stiffer springs and a bigger 21 mm rear anti-sway bar. That's fairly straightforward-where the Ferrari handling package differs from a normal tuner's repertoire is in the shock absorber settings. In a classical handling set-up, you'd jack the existing dampers for new ones. But as the 550 employs trick electronically-governed hydraulics to achieve its marvelously serene ride and sure-footed handling, Ferrari has turned to Bilstein to "chip" the dampers. That way you retain the switchable sport and comfort settings which adjust the damping logic on the basis of the type of compression being exerted as well as vehicle speed, steering angle, throttle opening, and brake pressure, but the response time of the new dampers is even faster, which gives it an even flatter ride.
The same goes for the ZF Servotronic speed-sensitive steering, which has been modified to give a meatier feel in the speed range up to 55 mph.
And who was the perpetrator of all these improvements? Michael Schumacher himself, who signed off the handling package after a series of tests around the Fiorano track.
While he was at it, he also opted for racing brake pads. Like he says in the brochure for the new option program, "I wanted my 550 Maranello to be as similar as possible to my Formula One car."
Short of lopping off the wings to expose the new twopiecel 8-inch alloys, Ferrari could have done little more to enhance drive feedback of this phenomenally capable performance car. So Ferrari worked hard on the interior detailing to enhance the sportiness of the driving experience. For his own car Schumacher specified carbon-fiber racing seats, upholstered in pleated Connolly leather, complete with 4-point harnesses. Carbon-fiber abounds elsewhere, too, from the instrument surrounds to the sill kick panels and gear shift knob.
Schumacher finished off his choice with a couple of extra safety items: a floor-mounted fire extinguisher and a roll bar, both trimmed in the same leather as the rest of the cabin. Complete, Schumacher's 550 would set you back some 12% over sticker.
Most of the items seen on Schumacher's list can also be specified for the F355 (with the addition of optional crossdrilled brake discs), while the more comfort-oriented 456 GT/GTA makes do without the handling package.
Options - Yellow machine! The options list starts with special paint jobs-from either a range of non-standard colors or your own personal choice.
All you have to do is provide a sample, and Ferrari will concoct the rest for an admittedly princely sum (around $5,000).
The F355 can be fitted with an F355 Challenge-style mesh l ear grille for better cooling, while the GTS version can be ordered with a body-colored or carbon-fiber targa roof.
Other personalizing options include painted brake calipers, fitted luggage done in the same leather as the interior, a spacesaver spare wheel, a neat 250 GT-style rear luggage shelf for the Maranello, and a wealth of leather trim possibilities with matching seat piping. You can even specify a CD changer for the F355, although it's hard to believe anyone could completely forego the scream of that scintillating V8. 456 and 550 drivers instead get the manager option, with a Prancing Horselyadged, hands-free mobile phone on the central console.
The extraordinary thing about this options list is that it s possible at all. That's where Ferrari's comparatively small size and great flexibility comes in handy. Having a production line staffed exclusively with human beings means that even little extras like the colored brake calipers can be mounted without upsetting production times-parts and trim all arrive directly on the assembly lines, giving a new twist to the ideal of just-in-time production. Ferrari's new-found care for customer satisfaction does carry a big tag-but what price individuality?

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