1988 Ferrari Episode | Retro Review

motorways is made possible by fire wreck common and State Farm this time on motor week 89 we search for the meaning of Ferrari we visit Maranello Italy home of the Ferrari factory and Fiorano test track we try the fabulous F working at Fiorano and show why we say fabulous but bad gas lease a barrow and Craig Singh Haas Explorer the Ferrari experience in America so come drive with us next [Music] [Applause] [Music] motorWeek 89 televisions automotive magazine with your host john davis hello and welcome again to motor week 89 we're glad to have you with us enzo ferrari father of italy's most celebrated sports cars died on august 14 1988 he was 90 but his legacy lives on just mentioning the name ferrari makes the palm sweat in the pulse race our entire show this time is dedicated to the feeling that is ferrari and to the man responsible for it in the next half hour we're going to search for the source of that feeling and the only natural place to begin our quest is in Italy Italia the sights the sounds the cars the red car Italy is the land of passion and nowhere is that passion more evident than in the cars of Ferrari the north of Italy is where many a sports car fan will tell you lies heaven marinella is the home of ill Cavallino the Prancing Horse this quiet town of 20,000 far from the urban madness of Rome or Milan is the breeding ground for Italy's most famous thoroughbreds at first glance it is a factory like any other except for that special name emblazoned on the walls contrary to legend not everything here is done by hand American computers Drive sophisticated Italian machine tools for engine milling from grinding to drilling engine components move on a state-of-the-art conveyance system and micro processors control rust protection chemicals that are too dangerous to be applied by man but automation makes Ferraris better cars not better Ferraris any Ferrari car I think that they you can find they dispirited over the factory that is a sporting spirit what is this spirit how does it set this car factory apart from others look behind the modern trappings and you'll begin to see nowhere in all the hive vol mega profit factories of Japan will you find men doing this Ferrari cast engine blocks in the same way that it did 40 years ago even the alloys are mixed in small batches on the foundry floor the composition of a Ferrari engine block is too important to be left to outsiders or computers handwork is everywhere and it's part of what makes a Ferrari a Ferrari if you want every part every piece every element of the interior of the car can be hand fitted all in the finest Connolly leather and virtually any color in the auto industry this level of handwork indicates either poverty or pride poverty has not been a problem since corporate giant fiat bought half a Ferrari in 1969 while money has only been plentiful for about half the company's life pride has always been in abundance after all what a machine care that there is the tiniest imperfection in a door panel and have the skill to tap it out without disturbing nine coats of carefully applied paint we think not pride is the key to the Ferrari magic pride born out of one of the most illustrious histories in the automotive world that history is well illustrated by the lobby of the Maranello Factory here reside the cars that Ferrari considers major stepping stones in the marks legend there is the 12 cylinder 125 C the first true Ferrari the first to wear the Prancing Horse it was also the first true Ferrari to race making its competition debut on May 11th 1947 from then on the name Ferrari became synonymous with motorsports few who saw the 125 C's debut realized the greatness that was to follow next to the 125 C sits one of the first Ferrari Formula two race cars designated the 166 f2 this is the type of car that most exemplifies the spirit of Ferrari throughout his life Enzo Ferrari made no secret of the fact that his road cars were courseö low racing derived he built them solely to pay for the Ferrari racing program racing was Ferraris all-consuming passion and it is a tribute to Ferrari the man that he could recognize his own limitations others drove the precious cars that he could well have driven himself while road cars may not have been Ferraris number-one priority they did not lack for his inspiration this is driven home by the final car in the Maranello Lobby the f40 the final car to receive mr. Ferraris approval built by his engineers as a tribute to mark his 90th birthday and the company's 40th anniversary the f40 is pure Ferrari as modern as the Space Shuttle yet rigidly traditional much like Enzo Ferrari himself it is the end of an era but hardly the last of its line as the workers of Ferrari assemble the ultra-modern f40 they continue the tradition older teaches younger as it was done 40 years ago for 400 only now the materials are Kevlar and carbon-fiber where once there was only steel it meticulous handwork and attention to detail remains when the workday ends Ferrari workers may leave the factory but they do not leave Ferrari at the factory gate across the street from the Maranello plant stands the Ristorante ill Cavallino this four-star establishment was a favorite dining spot for Enzo Ferrari he even had his own dining room the trophies of Ferrari wins in the famed Mille Miglia Rally are kept at ilk Avellino the restaurant has become a place of pilgrimage for the automotive community each group contributing its logo to a special door as a memento of its visit this devotion is not restricted to Maranello a short drive away in Modena is another restaurant that doubles as a shrine on the street where Enzo Ferrari lived is the trattoria Lauro though not as fancy as ilk Avellino it's Dec horse shows just as much pride in Italy's most famous automobiles the walls are covered with pictures of all the great Ferrari drivers and the machines that carry them to victory much space is also devoted to the great road cars that are the envy of drivers the world over no matter where you look Ferrari is on everything everything it's not surprising that mr. Ferrari ranks close to the Pope in the hearts of the Italian people to the people on the factory floor at Maranello however he is even more for they are all part of a greater whole of which Enzo Ferrari is still the most important aspect they are the hands that shape Ilkka mandatories dreams as integral to the process of creating a Ferrari as the first flash of inspiration and a great man's mind from those who own and love these rare cars even for foetidus t the cars demands special qualities more than any other things you must be firm there you must have been lava with the speed with the success with the competition with the sporting field that Ferrari so well as I represented in this letting the last 40 years of Estonia my Delta movie and as we have found out it takes a rarer an even more special person to build a Ferrari [Music] and our search so far we found that part of what makes a Ferrari is the way it's built and the people who built it this craftsmanship and pride can be traced back to the spirit of the Italian Renaissance you could say the Renaissance lives on in Ferrari cars mr. Ferraris passion for racing also lives on as well as the Italian national passion for speed these things are Ferrari and what better way to experience them than by driving the newest Ferrari the last Ferrari to debut under mr. Ferraris direction the f40 forget the Testarossa forget the GTO leave the 328 to the streets of Southern California this is the Ferrari of the hour this is the f40 the color Ferraris fastest production model is an injustice this car makes Ferrari red that much redder this cars pinup poster will decorate boys bedrooms for years to come this car produces sensations that our video tape can't begin to reproduce this f40 is a race car for the street a true car sayo low the chassis is made of steel tubing and plastic the body is Kevlar and carbon-fiber hardly what we'd call production car construction and the f40 s interior is not the sort of place where you'd want to be during a traffic jam there's not a radio to be found let alone a trip computer or the soft frilly trappings we've come to expect in Gran Turismo GT cars the f40 is for one thing only hard driving beat on the street or on the track and everything including these carbon-fiber seats is up to that task the typical Ferrari gated shifter is the only interior brightwork on the prototype we saw there wasn't even a trim panel for the door just a cable handle and enough carbon fiber for structural integrity the dash has the simple job of holding the instruments where the driver can see them immediately ahead the driver is burdened by as few instruments as possible secondary gauges are out of direct view as are the vents for the less than state-of-the-art ventilation system yet nothing is here that shouldn't be even the clutch brake and accelerator pedals are finely machined works of weight savings and in that spirit this lightweight plastic racing window is optional this f40 is a European version the 180 or so examples that make it to the States will be slightly different in detail there may be a few more comforts but not many that would spoil the car for those who drive the minimalist f40 for a long distance on the highway they're special f40 luggage that's designed to fit in the few spots where there's unused space the f40 is most at home on the racetrack or at least an open very open road and what better place to try it than Ferraris own Fiorano test track this is where the new super Ferrari surprised us most as in most race bred cars the controls are heavy to the touch we'll need a good strong left leg for pushing the clutch pedal aside from that the f40 has few other vices it can be driven close to the edge of its capabilities without superhuman capabilities from its driver but going fast around corners isn't the only thing the f40 does well power comes from a three liter v8 it's a further development of the engine used in Ferraris GTO it has all the things you'd expect in today's high-performance engines four valves per cylinder four cams and twin turbos with intercoolers output is 471 horsepower enough said 0 to 100 kilometers per hour that's about 62 miles per hour takes a short 4.1 seconds getting to the end of one kilometer that's just over six tenths of a mile takes 20.9 seconds and by then the f40 is running at 166 miles per hour top speed according to the factory is 201 miles per hour as for stopping we didn't have the opportunity for our usual break test but rest assured the f4 T's is pretty adept of using friction to turn speed into harmless heat for that there are brake rotors as large as some cars wheels thirteen inches one behind each of the f40 s 17 inch wheels and there's no power-assist the f40 doesn't need it getting the brakes to work doesn't take nearly as much leg muscle as the clutch pedal good thing the brakes in this car worked so well stops at high speed could be delayed for much longer than we thought after the theater on O Drive Ferrari let us take the f40 out to see how it looked among the fa9 mountains above Maranello it looked well at home the f40 is just hospitable enough to be a road-going car much to the surprise of some Maranello cyclists the f40 on the street is an experience not many will forget [Music] if you want him f40 for your own country motoring the privilege will cost you about $260,000 and unlike the super exotics from some other makers this one will be sold in the u.s. problem is everyone has been spoken for in fact Ferrari of North America has had more orders than the factory can begin to fill in the end the f40 is something we will only drive in our dreams but what sweet dreams they will be [Applause] [Music] origins of the Ferrari legend is a history of the early years of Ferrari it is superbly told by Joe Aquino Colombo the designer of the first Ferrari v12 engine mr. Colombo provides a surprisingly unbiased history of the post-war origins of Ferrari much credit is given to the early now almost forgotten Ferrari drivers as well as ill commendatory himself Colombo illustrates his history with many never before seen photos of those early years an eye-opening look at one of the world's truly great marks Ferrari ownership makes you a member of a fairly exclusive club after all not everyone can afford one still the price of entry doesn't have to be $260,000 you may find a used Ferrari for much less that's with buying any used car there are pitfalls lissa Barrow is here with some advice on how to avoid them so you think you might like to buy a used Ferrari but you're not sure how to go about it a good place to start is a Ferrari dealership take a walk around the car and look at its condition watch for chips in the paint or tears in the upholstery and keep in mind that aftermarket wheels and steering wheels could destroy the value of the car so once you've decided you like the car take it for a test drive do you want to make sure that the steering is nice and tight and the car's not moving from side to side I want to make sure that the gears are shifting cleanly and crisply a grinding noise could indicate a problem with the gearbox and gearboxes are very expensive to fix the whole engine has to come out and repairs could cost up to five thousand dollars then you might want to take a look at the service record on the Ferrari you're interested in Ferraris are maintenance sensitive automobiles and for the protection you'd want to know that the cars had the regular services as provided in the Ferrari maintenance book to give you a better idea of how the previous owner treated the car put it up on a lift and check underneath so we want to check mainly for the engine oil drain and the transmission oil sump any leaks in this area any links in the clutch housing or the input shaft area and any leaks in the oil cooler area under here we'll see that the pan is not damaged any damage in this area could cause gear transfer linkage problems also when you're looking to buy a used Ferrari check to see if it's a gray market car a placard on the driver's post will indicate if the car was made to comply with u.s. standards at the Ferrari factory if the car was converted ask for its Department of Transportation papers the EPA can verify its authenticity used Ferraris can range anywhere from the low 20s on up so if you're one of the lucky ones who can afford to buy a Ferrari make sure you look with your head and not just with your heart suppose you've become a member of that exclusive club of ferrari owners and already know firsthand what makes a ferrari special and now you have to care for the car well Pat Goss is here to talk about a problem that many ferrari owners face pat most ferrari owners end up storing their cars for long periods John trouble with that is a few months in a warm garage can do more damage to a Ferrari than 24 hours of endurance racing well what can you do if you own a Ferrari and you have to store it for a period of time well it's really pretty simple the first thing that you want to do is have the coolant in the cooling system changed but this is definitely not a do-it-yourself operation you want to take it to a qualified Ferrari technician and have it done now the reason for that is there's about a mile of plumbing underneath a Ferrari and there are several points where the cooling system has to be bled to get all of the air out of it so you want somebody to do it that knows what they're doing okay first thing now you got the car into the garage where you're going to store it the thing that you want to do there is you want to change the engine oil and the oil filter you want clean fresh oil in it and the reason for that is very simple even relatively new oil will have some acid in it if the car has been run this is a natural byproduct of combustion well if you store the car in a state of disuse this acid can attack some of the metal parts inside the engine like bearings and so on and it can do long-term damage so you want fresh oil and a fresh filter on it next thing you want to change the gear oil in the transmission in the gearbox you want to have fresh oil in there before you store it and next this one is pretty simple want to make sure that the fuel system is full you want to tank full and then you want to add a fuel stabilizer to it now what this does is it keeps the fuel from deteriorating it keeps it from building gum and varnish in the system now this can help prevent problems in the fuel injection or the carburetor whichever system you happen to have now why this is really important suppose you have a carbureted car and the float valve in the carburetor sticks as a result of varnish buildup or something from not stabilizing the fuel okay you go to start the car raw fuel runs into the engine into one of the cylinders well this can cause what is known as a hydrostatic lock and this hydrostatic lock can do serious damage to the inside of the engine when you try to start it so use a fuel stabilizer now I have to tell you one thing though both Ferrari and Bosh Bosh makes the fuel injection systems for these cars neither one of them have tested these fuel stabilizers so they have reservations about using them so you have to be the judge on that but I would recommend that you do all right next back to the engine itself what are we going to do well we're going to pull all of the spark plugs out of the engine and then we're going to put about one tablespoon of oil in each one of the cylinders now what we're doing here is we're getting the the cylinders lubricated in the upper portions after we've put the oil in we want to crank the engine over several times to get any excess oil out of the cylinders and to spread this oil around inside the cylinders now again we don't want any excess in there because of the hydrostatic lock we get too much in there and we put the spark plug back in and we try to crank it again serious engine damage next one real simple take the battery out of the car put it in a secure spot by an automatic trickle charger an automatic one so it'll cut back as the battery becomes fully charged okay you put it on the trickle charger you can just let it sit there indefinitely now what this does is it keeps the battery from going dead keeps it from destroying itself while it's being stored it also protects the electrical system of the car okay next and this one is really simple you need for good quality jack stands you need to Jack the car up and position it on the jack stand so the car is actually sitting on these stands you want the tires off of the off of the floor there are two reasons for this number one if the tires sit on the floor for an extended period of time they can actually develop flat spots that will destroy them we certainly don't want that to happen the second thing is no matter how secure your garage is there are rodents that can get into it and they would dearly love to make a nest in your gorgeous Ferrari leather seats and we certainly don't want that to happen now these are the steps that you can take to well store your Ferrari or any other car for that matter and minimize the possibility of any damage during that storage now if you happen to have a question about your Ferrari or maybe even something that is a little less than a Ferrari I'd love to hear from you and if I select your letter to be answered well I'll send you a motorWeek t-shirt now the address is motorWeek Owings Mills Maryland two one one one seven that's motorWeek Owings Mills Maryland two one one one seven with the passing of Enzo Ferrari come questions about the future of the company and its products so here's Lisa Barrow with all the latest Ferrari motor news Lisa thanks John Enzo Ferraris death has left a great void at Ferrari but it looks as though as passing will cause no great change in company direction Fiat has purchased an additional 40% of Ferrari stock so it now holds 90% but Fiat already had day-to-day control of ferrari passenger car production all that's changed is the amount of stock that Fiat owns even though the giant automaker runs the smaller company there's still a Ferrari in a key company position piero lardy ferrari enzo ferrari son will continue as vice president in charge of passenger car production he also holds the remaining 10% of company stock as far as new products are concerned ferrari is about to introduce this new model it's the replacement for the current 328 called the 348 it will have a four liter v8 engine with four valves per cylinder while the 348 is loose based on its predecessor it will be much lighter and faster performance will be much closer to that of the current Ferrari Testarossa the 348 is scheduled for a 1989 debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show John thanks Lisa from a Ferrari of the future we turn to Ferraris of the past for many Federici the older cars hold the greatest fascination and the highest prices Kraig Singh Haas has gone out in search of three of the most coveted Ferraris to find out what makes them so special whenever you come to a gathering of Ferrari aficionados you're bound to see some of the most significant automobiles of all time [Music] automobiles of undeniable grace and beauty but even among such lofty peers there are a few that stand apart even in this prestigious crowd [Music] milestone designs such as Lee Ryan's berlinetta Luso 250 GTL a classic v12 Ferrari the cars designed by Ben Ephrata the body was actually built by sky Eddie and Henley on a ferrari chassis the automobile has influenced many major manufacturers designs [Music] for Kirk white owning his Ferrari is doubly significant the automobile is a 1971 Ferrari 365 gtb/4 Daytona v12 four cams six twin choke Weber's 4.4 litres hundred a 72 mile an hour top speed last of the great front-engine Ferraris this particular car is significant in that it won the Cannonball Baker across the country race the very first one with Dan Gurney and Brock Yates in a time of 35 hours and 54 minutes which is pretty phenomenal [Music] the flagship of Ron Spangler's collection is no less phenomenal this is a 1967 275 gtb there were some less than 500 cars made about 475 to be exact there were a few of them made in solid alloy but most of the cars were steel with alloy hoods decks and doors it is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the Ferrari construction during the time that Enzo Ferrari was directly involved in in helping design and construct his cars in the pre Fiat days of 1969 the cars have doubled and tripled in value in the past 12 months and a good example of this car now would sell somewhere in the range of 350 to $400,000 but it isn't really the investment potential that attracts most owners to the mark of the Prancing Horse the faithful will admit that it's simply the sheer erotic thrill that goes with owning we all can't own Ferraris but we can't appreciate them that's half the fun we hope you've enjoyed our excursion into the legend and reality of Ferrari I'm John Davis for Pat gasps Craig Singh Haas and Lisa Barrow we'll see you next time if you'd like a transcript of this program send four dollars to motorWeek transcripts Owings Mills Maryland to one one one seven residents of Maryland add 20 cents sales tax ask for show number 809 motor week is a production of Maryland public television [Music]

Channel: MotorWeek

Views: 109,131

Keywords: MotorWeek, MW, car, truck, suv, cuv, crossover, auto, automobile, vehicle, motor trend, review, drive, first drive, video, Ferrari, Ford Vs Ferrari, Shelby, 80's, Retro, Italy

Id: bfPwFtCRfW0

Length: 29min 7sec (1747 seconds)

Published: Thu Dec 05 2019