By MUMLOLOUK payday loans

15 May 2012

Ferrari FF now in Manila; Four-wheel drive Four-seater Ferrari is F’ing quick

Words by Niky Tamayo
 
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For those lonely few who can realistically dream about buying a Ferrari FF, forget it. The Ferrari FF, launched just last week here at the Autostrada Motore Inc., the official Ferrari importer-distributor in the Philippines, has been sold. Yup. Just one of these Ferociously Fast beasts will be brought in by Ferrari this year, and it’s accounted for already, for an undisclosed, but presumably very tidy, sum.
 
It’s not surprising. This is a very unusual car. It’s Ferrari’s first four-wheel drive, and it’s a four-seater, to boot. It’s Fast, Furious, and Fantastic. Amusingly, since FF means “Ferrari Four”, its official name is “Ferrari Ferrari...”, which is twice as many as most owners get. And if you think I’ve run out of “F” words to throw at the car.
 
You’re probably right.
 
On a more serious note, the FF represents an ingenious set of technical innovations for Ferrari. Powered by Ferrari’s familiar 650 horsepower V12 engine, and possessing an electronic rear differential and a seven speed dual-clutch transmission, the FF diverges from other Ferrari products in offering four-wheel drive via the new 4RM system. Unlike other four-wheel drive systems which take drive from the main gearbox, the 4RM utilizes a second, front-mounted gearbox, attached to a second driveshaft coming out of the front of the engine.
 
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This allows Ferrari to package the engine lower in the body, making the FF low and sleek. This also makes the FF lighter, despite the second gearbox. To keep that weight down, there are only two gears for the front wheels, fast and faster. Above fourth gear, ironically, the FF becomes a two wheel drive car. Who needs four-wheel drive at 250 km/h, anyway?
 
Like all Ferraris, the FF is dripping in luxury, swathed in sumptuous leather and with seat space and legroom for four. Unlike most Ferraris, it’s a shooting brake... or more precisely, a cross between a wagon and a hatchback. While this gives it rather... unusual... looks, this makes it unlike anything else on the road. Except another FF, of course.
 
But since there’s only one here, that probably won’t be a problem.
 
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