Car Moon

We've already had our first look at the all-new Ferrari FF, or as one Carscoop commenter put it, the... hunchback of Notre Maranello, but the Italian firm released additional photography of its flagship GT model today. Basically, we get one revealing studio shot of an FF finished in a grey color and three images of a prototype development mule clad in camouflage while testing out the four-wheel-drive system over the snow-covered roads of Sweden and Finland.

Ferrari's replacement for the 612 Scaglietti has finally come out of the closet ushering a radical new concept for the famed company from Maranello. The FF, which is an acronym for Ferrari Four, is probably the company's most versatile series production model ever featuring seating and luggage space for four, an all-wheel drive system and a shooting brake body style. It will be revealed at the forthcoming Geneva Motor Show with sales to follow later in the year.

Designed by Pininfarina, the FF is a large sports car measuring 4,907 mm in length, 1,953 in width and 1,379 mm in height. The elongated roofline, the styling of the rear quarter and the car's proportions bring to mind a variety of older models, one of which is the BMW Z3 Coupe.

The Prancing Horse company has not published any photos of the interior yet, but notes that the FF "can comfortably accommodate four people and their luggage". Talking about boot capacity, there's 450 liters of space with all four passengers about, or 800 liter with the rear seats folded.

A Carscoop reader who wishes to remain anonymous, sent us an email with details on Ferrari's long-rumored 612 Scaglietti replacement, which is due to be revealed to a select few on Friday, January 21, before making its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in March. While one can never be 100 per cent sure in these cases, for a variety of reasons, we're almost convinced that the information provided in the email is real. So, without further ado, here's what our tipster told us:

The car will be a pre-production study called the FF, which stands for Ferrari Four, as the GT model will seat four passengers and come with a new four-wheel drive system. Designed by Pininfarina, the FF gets a shooting brake-like body style with a large rear hatch, and a face that brings to mind a chubbier version of the 458 Italia. Inside, Maranello's latest creation will be able to seat four passengers with an impressive -for a supercar- load volume of 450 liters, which can be increased to as much as 800 liters if the rear seats aren't in use.

What is believed to be a test mule of the next Ferrari 612 Scaglietti using the current model's sheet metal as camouflage, was spied doing the rounds at the Italian firm's Fiorano race track near Maranello. From what we know up until now, the 612 Scaglietti's replacement is due in showrooms by early 2012 and will benefit from a lighter chassis and a revised V12 engine with direct-injection.

We acknowledge that a fair number of independent design concepts found on the web are of mediocre quality, but every once in a while we stumble upon an study that has us really sitting up and taking notice. The Ferrari 612 GTO concept by Sasha Selipanov of Berlin, Germany is one of them.

German tuning company Novitec Rosso has no problem whatsoever about putting its own mark on Ferrari's supercars. Its most recent offering is a new customization package with performance and cosmetic upgrades for Maranello's 612 Scaglietti.

The cornerstone of Novitec Rosso's program for the 2+2 seat grand tourer are a power increase and an even sportier exhaust note. The Ferrari's 5.7-liter V12 engine gets revamped electronics and a custom stainless-steel high-performance exhaust system with four 90mm tail pipes resulting in a boost in output to 565HP at 7,290 rpm and 609Nm or 449.2 lb-ft of peak torque.

Aside from the F430's successor, Ferrari is also working on other projects including this prototype model of the 612 Scaglietti that was spied on the Fiorano test track near Maranello. There's no way to be certain if it's a test mule hiding new mechanical hardware or if it's a facelift version of the four-seater Prancing Horse model, but a closer look at the spy photos, courtesy of 'CzechFerrari', does reveal a modified bonnet with something that resembles a hood scoop as well as new set of vertically stacked exhaust tips, just like the ones found on Ferrari's latest model, the California hardtop convertible. Take a look at the video after the jump and tell us what you think.

The unrecognizable mass of metal you see pictured above used to be a new Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. If we are to believe the reports coming in from Russia, the owner of the Prancing Horse model was driving somewhere in Moscow when he noticed smoke coming out from the engine bay. The driver is said to have stopped on the side of the road in an attempt to extinguish the fire himself - obviously his efforts went down the drain. The corpse of the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti was towed away in a rather unfashionably (some may say ironic) way by a local dump truck. Click through to watch the scorching videos.

What is das? Das is a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti finished in a desert camouflage theme -most likely a 3M plastic wrap- that was snapped 'hiding' somewhere in Germany. It was a difficult task, but the photographer managed to distinguish it from the background clutter using a special military camera borrowed from Collin Powell's toy box. Rumor has it that the owner of the Prancing Horse model chose the particular chocolate-chip camouflage, to evade detection from the parking authorities.

It's simply amazing what you can discover around the streets of Monaco. But then again, where else would you imagine that a one-of-a-kind model such as the Ferrari GG50 would be parked on the road like any other plebian vehicle other than Monaco? For those with a week memory, the Ferrari GG50 that was spotted by the folks over at Autogespot was created by Italdesign's Giorgetto Giugiaro as a present for himself in celebration of his fifty years in the automobile design industry. From what we know, the vehicles still belongs to the Giugiaro family.

The GG50, which is based on the platform and mechanicals of the 612 Scaglietti, made its world premiere at the 2005 Tokyo Auto Show. While retaining the Scaglietti's wheelbase at 2,950mm, the Ferrari GG50 spans 4,810mm in length, meaning its 90mm or about four inches shorter than the model it is based upon. It can accommodate four passengers in a 2+2 seating layout in which case it offers a loading capacity of 270 liters. With the rear seatbacks folded down, it's loading capacity increases to 500 liters.

Power comes from the same V12 engine as the Scaglietti that produces an output of 540HP at 7,200 rpm from a displacement of 5,748cc (5.7-liters) and is mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

As for the design? Let's just say that we've seen better from Giugaro in his 50-year long career as a designer.

Via: Autogespot