The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Ferraris vroom into city

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Thursday, Mar 20, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Ferraris vroom into city

Staff Reporter

They are on an all-India tour covering 13,000 km in more than 74 days

The campaign taken up to show that Ferraris can adapt to Indian road conditions
The cars have been modified and the ground clearance level has been increased

Photos: Mohd. Yousuf

Luxury on wheels: The two Ferrari Scagliettis which arrived at the Taj Krishna Hotel in the city on Wednesday as part of The Ferrari Magic India Discovery Drive. -

Hyderabad: For a car enthusiast, it was a feast for the soul. The silent hot afternoon at Taj Krishna was suddenly disrupted as two 612 Scaglietti Ferrari’s roared their way into the parking lot where media men and others were anxiously waiting for them since noon. The cars are on a 13,000 km tour of India, called Magic India Discovery Drive, touching more than 57 cities in over 74 days.

Flanked by eight other support vehicles, the Ferraris cruised in gracefully, living up to their visual identity, the prancing stallion. As shutterbugs went crazy over the elegant-yet-powerful cars, people in the vicinity were dumbstruck to see these machines that boast of magnificent power, six-speed F1 gearbox and a transaxle transmission.

The venue was lit up with strobe lights, as the 16-member crew stepped out of the support vehicles that included a modified Iveco truck, two Fiats, five Tata Cars and of course, the 612 Scaglietti Ferraris.

“The journey has been very good so far”, says Mariella Mengozzi, spokesperson for Ferrari.”

“The purpose of the journey is to tell people that cars like these can be used for long drives and not just racing,” she adds.

Ask her about the Indian traffic, “Traffic here is challenging and it is tough. But the scenario keeps changing from State to State”, informs Mariella.

“The cars have been modified for Indian road conditions and the vehicle suspension has been increased by about three inches to increase the ground clearance level”, she adds.

As the team has another 5,000 kms left to go, they look forward to cruising on Indian highways and wade through dense traffic in the cities, most of all, as they put it, experiencing Indian culture. But these prancing stallions are surely hogging the limelight and drawing attention just like the celebrities do.

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