RE: Ferrari goes four-wheel drive
Wednesday 19th October 2005
612 Scaglietti to get 4WD?Ferrari is working on a four-wheel-drive system -- probably the first time it has ever sent motive power to the front wheels.
Ferrari goes four-wheel drive
Red cars get powered front wheels for first time?
612 Scaglietti to get 4WD?
The part-time FWD system with a transaxle layout is likely to be used on front-engined cars such as the 612 Scaglietti and the upcoming V12-powered 600, as featured in PistonHeads' spy shot story (see link below), plus the Maserati Quattroporte and Coupé. It's the first time Ferrari has combined all-wheel drive and a transaxle configuration.
It uses a constant velocity joint and an oil bath clutch, making it compact, and will operate under conditions of poor traction, especially in third gear. In higher gears, it'll work only in short bursts to avoid overheating.
See the Autocar story below for more.
Discussion
The death of Ferrari?
Part of Ferrari's appeal is in the long motor racing history, and rear wheel drive is to Ferrari what safety is to Volvo. Instead of packing cars with more and more, why not strip them down to the bare essentials of a sports car and be the best in the world at building RWD cars with similar traction to 4WD? I'm getting tired of manufacturers following each other, this was how Porsche started the Cayenne (Following BMW's X5) and soon there could be a similar Lamborghini! How long before Ferrari have to follow suit just to bump up their US sales because Lamborghini and Porsche are in that niche? And why is this? Because the Americans seem to like big 4x4's for the school run, Britain is going the same way too. If Ferrari build this 4x4 612, how long before the big, tough, school run 'Off Road F4x4' makes an appearence and has Mr.Ferrari turning in his grave...
Rant over.
Part of Ferrari's appeal is in the long motor racing history, and rear wheel drive is to Ferrari what safety is to Volvo. Instead of packing cars with more and more, why not strip them down to the bare essentials of a sports car and be the best in the world at building RWD cars with similar traction to 4WD? I'm getting tired of manufacturers following each other, this was how Porsche started the Cayenne (Following BMW's X5) and soon there could be a similar Lamborghini! How long before Ferrari have to follow suit just to bump up their US sales because Lamborghini and Porsche are in that niche? And why is this? Because the Americans seem to like big 4x4's for the school run, Britain is going the same way too. If Ferrari build this 4x4 612, how long before the big, tough, school run 'Off Road F4x4' makes an appearence and has Mr.Ferrari turning in his grave...
Rant over.
paulothegangsta said:
The death of Ferrari?
Part of Ferrari's appeal is in the long motor racing history, and rear wheel drive is to Ferrari what safety is to Volvo. Instead of packing cars with more and more, why not strip them down to the bare essentials of a sports car and be the best in the world at building RWD cars with similar traction to 4WD? I'm getting tired of manufacturers following each other, this was how Porsche started the Cayenne (Following BMW's X5) and soon there could be a similar Lamborghini! How long before Ferrari have to follow suit just to bump up their US sales because Lamborghini and Porsche are in that niche? And why is this? Because the Americans seem to like big 4x4's for the school run, Britain is going the same way too. If Ferrari build this 4x4 612, how long before the big, tough, school run 'Off Road F4x4' makes an appearence and has Mr.Ferrari turning in his grave...
Rant over.
I see where you're coming from, and although I can't see Ferrari going down the Cayenne route it's certainly a point for concern.
I don't think 4WD would concern Enzo Ferrari though - look at the 408 concept, and also remember that it was the Scuderia Alfa Romeo Ferrari behind the Bimotore of the 1930s - 4WD and twin-engined!
Still, I feel that, when compared with the supercar heyday of the late '60s to the early '90s, there is 'too much' in modern supercars.
All the greatest sports and supercars have been about balance - that is, a perfect balance of power output, power-to-weight ratio, control weighting, chassis balance, cornering balance and so on. For years if you asked anyone what the greatest supercar ever made was they'd say 'Ferrari F40', which is a perfect example of a careful balance of all the factors in its construction. In retrospect, it was like an XL-sized Lotus Exige, which is another example of perfect balance. The new wave of hypercars haven't managed this, but the likes of the Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale and the Porsche 911 GT3 RS have.
But modern fast cars seem to me to be rather imbalanced. The new wave of supercars have as many stability aids as a rep-wagon, and they're all heavy, lardy and have power-assisted everything, built to be driven safely by everyone.
But that isn't the problem. I never thought I'd say this, but modern supercars are too powerful for their own good. Seriously, they are - they're chucking out too much power for a driver to have Elise-like interactions with the handling.
And it's not just supercars - the new Astra VXR has as much power as a Ferrari 308GTB, but suffers from rampant torque-steer and dodgy handling. I'd rather have the Ferrari because it's balanced, designed with all that power in mind.
That's why I have always rated Lotus - completely unconcerned with power outputs and maximum speed, it's the balance of factors that makes them the best cars to drive.
I seem to remember a story a while back, that Ferrari & Audi were sharing technology. Ferrari was keen on Audi's 4WD system, and Audi was keen on Ferrari's/Maserati's front mid-engined layouts to make their cars more sportier/driver orientated. This could just be a development of that story.
wab172uk said:
...and Audi was keen on Ferrari's/Maserati's front mid-engined layouts to make their cars more sportier/driver orientated....
i find that a very odd tech swap. 4wd technology is seriously valuable cos its difficult to get right, especially quatro (sp?) (think bmw/range rover). but mid engine layout is simple physics. besides they own lambo. whats more if you want to make an audi 'more driver oriented' drop the ride height and add some neg camber job done.
zaktoo said:
I can see where Honda got their ideas for the NSX...
There is a vague similarity of line around the haunches, but in all honesty I can't see too much resemblance myself.
Ciao
Zak
I thought the same as klassiekerrally as soon as I saw the picture. The 408 looks slightly shorter (or wider), but lots of the NSX features are there (IMO of course).
maxf said:
klassiekerrally said:
I can see where Honda got their ideas for the NSX...
There is a vague similarity of line around the haunches, but in all honesty I can't see too much resemblance myself.
Ciao
Zak
I thought the same as klassiekerrally as soon as I saw the picture. The 408 looks slightly shorter (or wider), but lots of the NSX features are there (IMO of course).
dinkel said:
Subaru XT too me
Ah yes - the XT! That had a weird 4WD system didn't it - came on with the windscreen wipers. I guess it was supposed to provide better stability in rain. Thankfully they didn't pursue it further - can you imagine the likes of Solberg powering round sun-soaked Monte Carlo flicking the wipers on to get more traction in the corners
The XT's styling was Giugiaro's. It was originally intended for the Lotus Etna. When that didn't make production he tried to get it built as a Ford - the Maya. When that came to no avail Subaru used it.
Bit of an oddball, but still intriguing. If I had one I'd find some way of giving it full-time 4WD.
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