Paris ‘08 Preview: New small Ferrari F149 to debut?
As Ferraris have achieved progressively higher performance, the automotive world has been rife with speculation about a new, smaller model from Maranello. All the while, Ferrari has continuously thrown cold water on the idea, saying that such a new model would push production volumes beyond where the company wants to go. Never content to let official denials ruin the party, auto writers continue to press ahead.
Autoweek is reporting that the new sub-F430 model is code-named F149 internally at Ferarri and that it may break out into the open as early as the Paris Motor Show in September. The speculation is that the F149 will be the first Ferrari (if it even carries that badge) to feature a direct-injected engine — a 4.3L V-8 based on the F430 block — and a folding hardtop. The new model is expected to be based on the Maserati GranTurismo platform. If the F149 joins the party as a new model, it could push Ferrari volumes up from the current 6,000 to 10,000 annually.
[Source: AutoWeek]
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Tags: 3l, auto writers, autoweek, california, cold water, denials, Dino, ferarri, ferrari, ferrari f149, maserati, maserati granturismo, new model, paris motor show, production volumes, speculation