rogerramjet_2003 Report This Comment Date: September 17, 2006 02:07AM
2006 Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina
Finally, the world has real pictures of the newest Ferrari supercar. Up until
five minutes ago, there was only a myriad of concept sketches, photoshops and
images of wooden bucks to go by, so we held this feature back until the
definitive articles arrived.
What these images reveal are a seriously dedicated project by James Glickenhaus
and Pininfarina to come up with a one-off Ferrari that is both exotic and
usable. Included are behind the scenes shots and one in particular that makes
the impressive Pininfarina wind tunnel look better than it ever has.
For anyone wanting to catch a glimpse of the Ferrari P4/5 in person, it will
make a debut at the Pebble Beach Concours in a few weeks and also be revealed to
the international press at the Paris Motor Show.
rogerramjet_2003 Report This Comment Date: September 17, 2006 03:45AM
2006 Pebble Beach Concours
Pininfarina Ferrari P4/5
The Ferrari P4/5, designed and built by Pininfarina’s Special Projects
Division, pays homage to Ferrari’s great sports racing prototypes while
simultaneously glancing ahead toward the marque’s boundless future.
Commissioned by New York Ferrari collector James Glickenhaus and built on the
mechanicals of the exclusive Ferrari Enzo supercar, the P4/5 is a unique one-off
automobile that rekindles Pininfarina’s storied tradition as the premier
creator of bespoke carrozzeria.
While the car’s main influence is the immortal championship-winning Ferrari
P3/4 Le Mans racer of 1967, the thoroughly futuristic design draws equal
inspiration from modern aerospace technology and Ferrari Formula 1 racing cars.
The P4/5’s sensual yet technical design is tightly shrunk to its race-bred
mechanicals. Regardless of the viewing angle, the car’s muscular converging
fenders seem to leap forward, tightly hugging the unique 20-inch wheel-and-tire
package and giving the car a planted and solid stance. Staying true to its
racing roots, the meter-tall P4/5 has been finely tuned in Pininfarina’s full
scale moving belt wind tunnel, assuring superior aerodynamic performance.
[
www.pebblebeachconcours.net]
Anonymous Report This Comment Date: September 17, 2006 01:03PM
It's about time Ferraris actually looked this futuristic.
Anonymous Report This Comment Date: September 17, 2006 02:24PM
Nice car, but I never understood the fascination with ultra-expensive exotics
that only the mega-rich can even dream of owning. Most people will likely never
even see one of these in person.
90130_ Report This Comment Date: September 17, 2006 09:47PM
I once installed a new set of timing belt drive gear bearings and pulleys in
customer's Ferarri 328GTS Quatrovalve, and figured at that point even if I had
the money, I'd never own one of these things.
Nigel_Knowitall Report This Comment Date: September 18, 2006 09:23AM
Hey 90130_, did you ever have to adjust the valves?
Different sized washers that had to be removed and installed until correct?
(instead of just adjusting with a couple of box spanners and a screwdriver like
for most cars) But I must admit, I do not know how it is done today...for me, my
1966 Mustang is a NEW car!
fossil_digger Report This Comment Date: September 18, 2006 11:56PM
post that pic nige
Anonymous Report This Comment Date: September 19, 2006 12:14PM
It's not so uncommon to use that system for adjusting valve clearances. It's
also relatively maintenance free once set correctly.
In practice you measure the clearances first to determine the size of shim
required before fitting.
90130_ Report This Comment Date: September 21, 2006 06:26AM
Yes indeed, Nigel. I have a rather large assortment of valve shims for a
multitude of differnt cars and motorcycles that use them, being in the business
as a mechanic and shop owner. The ones used in the Ferarri were reasonably easy
to access once the cam covers were removed, and using a set of cam follower or
bucket depressors, feeler or clearance gauges, a sharp pick, magnetic pick-up
tool, and digital micrometer is all that is required to adjust the valves. In
the case of the aforementioned Ferarri, the moniker "Quattrovalvole"
meant that there are 32 valves in the V8 engine. If you are lucky, only half of
them will need attention.
90130_ Report This Comment Date: September 21, 2006 06:36AM
As for the 1966 Mustang Nigel, I'd say you have exceptional taste in
automobiles. I never really went through the American muscle car phase that my
friends and schoolmates did, and being a sort of anglophile, I drove an Austin
Healy 3000 and MGB/GT and a Jaguar XKE series II which I spent many tens of
thosands of dollars restoring and maintaining. I still have a full set of
Whitworth spanners that I use to this day!
90130_ Report This Comment Date: September 21, 2006 06:38AM
Thosands> = Thousands = spelling correction.