Universo Ferrari: See What It’s Like to Be One of Maranello’s Most Important Customers
Want to see the world through red-colored glasses? We did, and you can too until Sept. 29.
In order to celebrate its 90th anniversary and the launch of two brand-new models, the Cavallino Rampante is opening an immersive experience called Universo Ferrari. Open until the end of September and located next to the automaker's test track in Fiorano, the sprawling facility features indoor and outdoor exhibits that aim to accomplish two things. One: welcome VIP customers from across the globe to brief them on the latest and greatest Maranello has to offer. Two: give the general public an idea of what it's like to be a member of one of the fastest and most exclusive fraternities in the world—or in other words—be one of Ferrari's dearest customers.
The Drive had the opportunity to tour the facility ahead of its opening to the general public, as well as hear in Ferrari's own words what each section of the high-tech and luxurious structure offers. Of course, we made sure to snap lots of photos and video, so make sure to check out our Instagram feed and stories for more content.
Welcome to Universo Ferrari
Nothing says welcome to Ferrari Universe more than a scarlet Formula 1 car sitting in a dark room surrounded by massive screens. And to its side, Charles Leclerc's winning trophy from this year's Italian F1 Grand Prix at Monza. An intense three-minute-long video plays as a sort of welcome, depicting some of Ferrari's accomplishments throughout its 90-year history, including founder Enzo Ferrari's dearest creation: the Scuderia Ferrari (the F1 team).
Throughout the clip, special moments of the Scuderia's 69 years in F1 are shown with the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio, Alberto Ascari, Gilles Villeneuve, Niki Lauda, and of course, Michael Schumacher. The video concludes with current F1 drivers Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc putting on a smoke show at the wheel of the new Ferrari SF90 Stradale.
Ferrari Classiche
The Ferrari Classiche department plays an enormous role in keeping the automaker's history and reputation intact. How so? Not only does it work on, maintain, and restore the factory's own heritage cars, but it can also be commissioned by Ferrari owners to restore vintage Ferraris to their former glory, or perhaps even track down a car's original engine, chassis, etc. In addition, Classiche maintains the original drawings and records to all Ferraris ever produced and makes sure they're all recorded, backed-up, and stored appropriately.
During our tour of the Classiche section, we were able to see a fully restored Ferrari 250 GTO that's worth somewhere between $50,000,000 and $60,000,000, alongside a body shell and various engines undergoing restoration.
Professional Racing
Ferrari exists for one thing, and that's to go racing. In fact, Enzo Ferrari famously said that Ferrari road cars existed for the mere purpose of financing the Scuderia's racing efforts—nothing more and nothing less. To this day, racing remains at the core of Ferrari, which is why the largest section of Universo Ferrari is dedicated to Formula 1 and sports car racing.
In this exhibit, another modern-day Ferrari F1 car was on display, but most eye-catching of all was a pristine example from 1997—a race-driven unit belonging to seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher. Next to it, two winning 488 GT3 cars from two little-known races: the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Various trophies were on display in this area, including the winning hardware from this year's Le Mans race and previous F1 races.
Corse Clienti
It's one thing to own a Ferrari, and another to be a member of Ferrari's Corse Clienti. If you've got the bucks (and the status) to join the Cavallino Rampante's own racing series, then you'll be exposed to a world where uniform-wearing mechanics and engineers tend to you and your car's every need at a variety of race tracks around the globe. Heck, you'll even get driving advice from former Scuderia Ferrari drivers like Marc Gene.
In this section of Universo Ferrari, the ultimate evolution of the LaFerrari, the FXXK Evo, sits alongside a LaFerrari Aperta—both in yellow. The FXXK Evo is a 1,050-horsepower track-only car that although owned by an individual, it always remains at the care of Ferrari, and therefore transported to multiple tracks worldwide over the course of the year. Basically, all the owner must do is arrive, suit up, go for a spin, enjoy a five-star dinner at a five-star hotel after a long day at the track, and fly back home.
The pinnacle of Corse Clienti involves individuals owning actual F1 cars previously raced by the Scuderia's own drivers. Of course, seats, pedals, and steering wheel adjustments are performed to make sure drivers who aren't as physically fit as professional F1 drivers can drive them comfortably.
Other vehicles like the 488 Ferrari Challenge race cars were also on display, as well as former members of the "XX" program like the FXX and 599XX.
The Lineup
What's better than owning a Ferrari? Owning two or more Ferraris. In this area of Universo Ferrari, we had the rare opportunity to see the entire Ferrari lineup of vehicles under one roof. That may sound funny to most, given that people are used to seeing one of every model produced at a Honda dealership, per se, but that's not the case with Ferrari.
Here, however, there was a Portofino, GTC4 Lusso, F8 Tributo, F8 Tributo Spider, 812 Superfast, 812 GTS, SF90 Stradale, and the ultra-limited Monza SP1 and SP2 on display under one roof.
Want to experience Universo Ferrari for yourself but can't afford a Ferrari? Don't worry, this amazing experience will be open to the general public for two remaining weekends this month: Sept. 21-22 and 28-29. After that, it's gone.
