Ferrari has wholly-owned local subsidiaries in the United States, Great Britain, Germany, France and China. Yet despite being its second-largest market in the world for years now, Ferrari’s interests in Japan have until now been represented by an independent importer. That’s about to change, as Ferrari is taking matters into its own hands and opening a Japanese office on July 1. The erstwhile exclusive importer, Cornes & Co., will continue to sell and service Ferraris alongside Maseratis, Rolls-Royce and Bentleys.

Maranello considers Japan to be the world’s largest luxury market, with a high concentration of wealth. Despite slowing automotive sales in the country, sales of Ferraris rose 38.7% last year, a trend which Ferrari evidently hopes to help along by directly controlling its sales in Japan.

[Source: AutoBlog]

Ferrari has been doing a booming business of late, particularly across the pond where the UK is now the third largest consumer of the Italian thoroughbreds behind the United States and Germany. More impressive is the fact that last year Ferrari GB sold 699 cars, compared to 15 years ago when it only sold 128.

While that’s all well and good for the folks from Maranello, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to actually get one of Ferrari’s offerings in the UK. The longest stretch is for the 599, which demands its well-to-do potential purchasers wait 36 months for the sleek V12 coupe. If you’re willing to “downgrade” to the 612 Scaglietti, the wait is still two years and buyers opting for the “entry-level” F430 have to hold on to their promissory notes for up to 30 months.

[Source: AutoBlog]

One enthusiast from the Netherlands described the E93 thusly: “Super vette bak!” We’re pretty sure that translates to “super fat barge,” though the overly-literal “super oily bake” has its own charm. If you’re into cabrios, maybe mutating the phrase to “super phat barge” is more palatable. Our friend from NL was referring to the 200-plus extra pounds the M3 cabrio will be hauling around versus its sedan counterparts. The folding-roof M3 doesn’t officially debut until the Geneva Auto Salon in March, but a German magazine jumped the gun and posted images on their website. Embargo apparently broken, the pictures continue to propagate about the internet.

The biggest news with the pending debut of the convertible M3 is the gearbox. The new seven-speed dual-clutch replacement for the SMG transmission, dubbed M-DKG, is reported to debut with the M3 cab and will be available across all bodystyles of the M3 simultaneously. Wheel-mounted paddles will let you blip your heart out, and the new cog swapper will likely outrun cabrios fitted with traditional manuals, reportedly making the sprint in about 5.3 seconds.

[Source: AutoBlog]

Ferrari’s press conference here in Detroit was rather short and to the point. They reminded us that Kimi is World Champion and that the team is busy readying his defense. They also pointed out that the F430 GT is doing a bang-up job in GT2. And then they talked about the street cars. Besides telling us that Ferrari had a record year, with sales up 8% to 6,400 units worldwide, they also showed the E85 ethanol-powered version of the F430 Spider we talked about yesterday. The F430 Spider Bio Fuel runs on the familiar mix of 85% natural ethanol and 15% gasoline, which results in a modest 10HP power bump and fuel economy that improves by 5% over the standard gas-only V8. So that means that the sweet-sounding 4.3-liter plant is now good for a true 500 HP.

The bio fuel car on display in Detroit is still labeled a concept, but the company says that it’d like to put it into production as part of its efforts to reduce fuel consumption and cut emissions 40% by 2012. As we mentioned yesterday, the regions where ethanol is readily available – like the Midwest states, Brazil and Sweden – are not major markets for the sportscar maker. But ethanol is already being used in the ALMS and elsewhere, so Ferrari already has some experience with it. We already put in our request to have one in the AB Garage. We’ll let you know how that goes.

[Source: AutoBlog]

As the 2009 Corvette ZR1 was unveiled on the very same day that President Bush signed into law a new energy bill, the obvious question is where do we go from here? The most prominent part of the bill was the first increase in corporate average fuel economy requirements in over two decades. By 2020, most manufacturers will have to achieve a sales weighted average fuel economy of 35 mpg for their fleets. Note that was “most” and not “all” manufacturers, a subject we’ll return to in a moment.

At the press preview of the new LS9 engine, GM Powertrain VP Tom Stephens was asked about gas guzzler taxes and how the energy bill would affect the future of cars like the ZR1. Stephens acknowledged that the ZR1 would have a gas guzzler tax, although the final mileage numbers weren’t done yet. As for the future, it’s too early to tell. In the past, the death of performance cars has been predicted repeatedly and here we are at a new high water mark. Corvette VLE Tom Wallace said at the car’s debut that the ZR1 would last at least through the C6 model cycle. No decisions have been made about the C7 and beyond. Keep reading after the jump.

Por[AutoBlog]

Supercar giant Ferrari has never built models quite like these! The Italian legend has teamed up with Lego to produce two stunning replicas.

One of Ferrari’s most prestigious sports machines, the Enzo, is the subject of the kits, which come in two versions. The first, for children aged eight and over, is a 1:17 limited-edition 10-inch car made up of 399 pieces. The bonnet opens to reveal the Ferrari engine inside, and the £25 model can also be taken apart and rebuilt as the F333 SP Racer.

There is also a more advanced Technic version of the Enzo. This 1:10 car has 1,300 pieces, is 18 inches long and comes with a V12 motor, opening doors and workable steering. It costs from £125.

Want to win a Lego Ferrari? We’ve a 1:17 kit to give away to the first name out of the hat in our draw. Answer the simple question below and fill in and submit your online coupon. Closing date 24 April 2007.