Maranello, 27th March 2009 - Ferrari has chosen Sunday March 29th to go live with its new www.ferrari.com website in celebration of the first Grand Prix of the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship season. This stunning new portal is a genuine gateway to the world of the Prancing Horse. It not only offers users a completely new look but also an enormous array of unprecedented content, resulting in the ultimate behind-the-scenes Ferrari experience.
Having been one of the first companies to ensure itself a presence on the web at the start of the 1990s, Ferrari's goal now is to ensure that the millions of tifosi and enthusiasts who log on to the Ferrari website each day really will live the Ferrari experience online. That experience will, of course, have different emotional overtones depending on whether the individual concerned is a client, a modern or classic car enthusiast or a motor racing fan.
Through its new www.ferrari.com portal, Ferrari now offers users of all profiles a thrilling virtual gateway to the world of the Prancing Horse. Visitors to the site now enjoy more content than ever before with the result that Ferrari enthusiasts of all kinds and ages will be able to feel closer to Maranello and its values simply by logging on. www.ferrari.com boasts a fantastically wide range of content that nonetheless shares that same inimitable Prancing Horse style. In addition to a completely revised and freshened graphic design, the site also now contains a high level of unique content to allow visitors to immerse themselves - albeit virtually - in the genuine Ferrari experience. This is true right across the board from the company's many activities to its products. Naturally, the Prancing Horse has retained its signature exclusivity even on the internet as a section of the site is reserved for clients to assure our owners have a dedicated channel of communication with the company in addition to the more traditional ones.
Apart from its numerous interactive sections brimming with exclusive images and dedicated to GT & Sport cars, Scuderia F1, News, Community and Ferrari Store, www.ferrari.com also now boasts a major new feature: the Maranello Experience.
The Maranello Experience allows visitors to the website to enjoy a virtual tour of the company complex. They enter through the historic gate on Via Abetone, as they would in reality, and then move on to the various new production areas designed by leading international architects of the likes of Renzo Piano, Massimiliano Fuksas and Jean Nouvel. There are 360 images and video clips of each building as well as dedicated explanatory text, providing a sense of the privilege of seeing where the world's most fascinating cars are built. A privilege normally granted to the lucky few.
But the virtual experience doesn't stop there. If they enter the GT & Sport cars section, visitors are quickly transported to a typical Italian piazza - a homage to the famous Campidoglio in Rome. There they can view all of the cars in the current range which they can then explore, zooming in on details of the exteriors and interiors of each one. They can even personalise their favourite model by choosing from a range of optional extras and colours. After that, all that remains to be done is to turn the key and enjoy the thrilling rumble of the Ferrari 8 and 12-cylinder engines.
Once a particular car has been selected, personalised and turned on, the visitor can take off on a virtual test drive at the Mugello Circuit. That's not all, however. Visitors can then compare their driving skills with those of former World Champion Michael Schumacher who has personally driven all the cars in the range at Mugello. This means he's able to advise the virtual drivers on the best ways of coming out of the various corners and on picking the most efficient racing lines. A unique experience indeed.
Another original feature of the site is the way in which fans can now keep abreast of the activities of the Formula 1 team, how the drivers are feeling and what they are doing through their personal blogs. A section that really will open up the doors of the GES racing division to our enthusiasts and allow them to explore the most secret areas of the Scuderia Ferrari's headquarters.
The site will provide even more thrills around GP time too. Visitors can watch the racing now from the comfort of a "virtual" pit-wall and consult the telemetry readings coming in from each car. They can even then compare the race results with those of previous years from the same GP and will also benefit from the advice of official Ferrari test-driver Ferrari Marc Gen.
The new Ferrari.com also gives the online Ferrari Store shopping experience a complete makeover. With a top quality catalogue of over 2,000 products to peruse, shoppers can now give full vent to their passion for the Prancing Horse with no less than three ranges to choose from: Scuderia Ferrari, Kids and Prancing Horse.