I got a call from Ferrari Kuwait (Al-Zayyani) to test drive the new Ferrari FF in Dubai for a day, but they were generous enough to arrange for a second car to drive, the 458 which will follow in another post later on.
As for now, I arrived to Dubai, got into a nice Audi A8 all the way to the hotel! this has nothing to do with Ferrari :P and got to spend the rest of the day relaxing and bumming around.
I got a call from Ghita Mejdi PR Manager at Ferrari.. and took care of everything regarding hotel reservation and made sure I am ok.
Next Morning, I was meeting Ghita for breakfast to get to know the car better, and get some more information on the roads and the car that I am going to drive for the day..
Breakfast was so quick as she was telling me about the car and I was eager to meet the FF.
Signed some papers without reading anything at all.. and here we go..
I edited all the pictures not to show you guys the true color of the car, as I only wanna show you in this post the details about this car..
Take a look at the profile of the car from the front.. to the side.. to the far end..
Every curve and vent is functional.. since Ferrari are the masters of wind tunnels and tried to use the experience in road cars.
I was happy to see cars like the Rolls Royce Phantom and Bentley Continental GT parked outside along with another FF. Why???
Since these are all 4 seaters and were made for the elite customers and can be great to drive for a movie premier opening and red carpets.
But non can drive you as fast and as cool..
The side profile can be one of the most amazing lines ever for me, The door is so long for a reason, you need to open the front seat far enough to the front to fit another adult.. YES ADULT! in the back.
And since you paid a good amount of money for the car, the seat will slide automatically.
The other part, the high roof line in the back ensures a great headroom for someone who's tall enough. plus the rear seats can be folded to give some greater space to fit 800 Litre of luggage including two golf bags.. You gotta be a golfer!!
Time to open the door! Ready??
Oh God! Red intrior goes well with the exterior which you'll meet later..
But carbon fiber goes along with anything!! including Jay Leno's chin!
The concept of having a sports car, is to drive fast. and to drive fast, you need less distraction.. For that, you will meet the most exquisite and simple interior ever, mixed with the finest materials like carbon fiber, and hand stitched red dead cows.
One of the new key features in the Ferrari FF is the Passenger Display.
Which gives more details to the passenger on what the driver is doing, like Trip information, speed, RPM and what gear you're using.. If you have a wife that screams a lot or you don't wanna be a bad influence to your kids, just don't tick that option. and save some money for something else.
Naaah! Kidding.. If you can afford this car, you won't care much about saving money..
The FF I got was fully loaded with almost every option you can tick..
Full Carbon Fiber interior, red leather, white stitching, four cameras and the works..
This reverse camera only functional when you're in Reverse Gear. Shows you the car behind or the dwarf people you're about to run over. with nice metering lines and parking assist noisy peep. but all of that is necessary so you don't ruin your 100,000 car.
On the 1st gear mode, you get a small camera mounted in the front to show you the path you're about to eat so fast..
And..
Since the car is so long..
And you sit waaay back, behind the engine that already sits entirely behind the front axle.. You need to know what comes your way from both left and right side when going out of a T-Junction.
So they did mounted two other cameras on the side.
This feature is not new to the car industry, but maybe important to this particular car.
The RPM or the big yellow dial..
One of the most important features in a Ferrari in general.. Because they value "The Pleasure of Driving" so you should always know what gear you're using, and what RPM you're reaching.
After spending sometime with the car, you become part of it and you'll change up based on the noise that 660 Bhp V12 6.3L makes.. LOVE THAT Roaring V12!
Manttino, is the Italian name for (Little Lever) and was featured first in 2004 with the launch of the F430.
Changing the set up of the car depending on the condition of driving and your mood or driving style.
And this is the only Ferrari now that uses "Snow" As one of the option because it is the only and first Ferrari ever to have four wheel drive.
Will come to the Manettino setting in depth in the next post when i take the car for a drive around Duabi.
Signals, Windshield wipers, suspension, high beam lights and stereo and radio controls all mounted on the steering wheel.
Ok, I always say "Less is more" meaning : less controls and technology gives less weight and more fun, more engagement with the car.
But I was not expecting to like the new Ferrari steering wheel, and I stayed in the car for at least 8 hours, with both my hands mounted on the wheel all the time.. cuz you can do almost everything without removing your hands.
Horn in style!
And the big red button..
There's this problem with all modern Ferraris with "The Red Big Button"
Is that you would love to spend more time starting your engine, then turn it off again.. and do that for few hours like 1000 time.. cuz IT IS FUN!
When that V12 comes alive.. its like a whole Jurassic Park just came back to existence ROoaRR
This screen on the left side of the RPM shows you different readings on the status of the car.
Below the center consol, You can see the main gear buttons, Launch control, Auto and reverse..
Will talk about them during the test drive too
The Navigation system is the same used in some Chrysler and Jeep cars.
For me, It was ok, why would I worry who made the navigations system and media center if it works properly and functions as I want?
The leather smell! Ahhh! such a seduction and would love to spend time in the car.
I had so much fun in the car I forgot to take proper shots of the back seats.. So here you some of the media I got from Ferrari in a fancy metal USB flash with the prancing horse..
I would love to do a road trip in Europe in the FF and not worry about the luggage!
All in All.. It is hard to find anything wrong with a Ferrari interior!
The stitching is perfect and aligned, but you find some places where you think Hmmm..!! That was not made by a machine!! There was an Italian guy called Roberto maybe who did this by hand!
I love the attention to details.. they've been making ONLY sports cars for the past almost 85 years..
Stay tuned for the new post about the test drive of the car..
