Mille Miglia 2015 #1
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Mille Miglia 2015 #1
Mille Miglia 2015 #1
Mille Miglia 2015 #1
Mille Miglia 2015 #1
Mille Miglia 2015 #1
Mille Miglia 2015 #1
Mille Miglia 2015 #1
Mille Miglia 2015 #1
Mille Miglia 2015 #1
Mille Miglia 2015 #1
Mille Miglia 2015 #1


... the Mille Miglia has always inspired such enthusiasm, attracting and appealing to millions of people around the world because it has preserved the romantic yet adventurous spirit of the very first motor races; ... because people take part, or rather most of the competitors take part, for the sheer satisfaction of crossing the finishing line. So they can say: «I finished the Mille Miglia»…

Giovanni Canestrini, one of the "four musketeers" who founded the Mille Miglia, wrote these words in 1956 but they still have resonance today because they capture the passion that enthrals anyone who enters the world of the Red Arrow, whatever their role.


... MediaCenter Gallery Mille Miglia 2014 >>>


It therefore follows that the Mille Miglia will always enjoy its own special "strength", irrespective of the protagonists and organisers. Testimony of the interest generated by the Red Arrow, almost eighty-eight years after its first edition, was evident on the morning of Friday 21 November: just a couple of minutes after online registration opened on the
www.1000miglia.it website, the server went down as so many people were trying to access the site at the same time, forcing the technicians to upgrade it so the aspiring competitors could complete the registration process or simply read about the terms and conditions and the programme.

Today is the official presentation of the thirty-third revival of the Mille Miglia, the reenactment of the original speed race held between 1927 and 1957: yet another stage in a long journey which still appeals to so many and which every year undergoes changes, although remaining faithful to tradition.
In 2015, following the positive experience of the previous year, the Mille Miglia will be raced over four legs in four days.

This decision has significant repercussions on the whole programme and route, meeting with the enthusiastic approval of the public in 2014. The extra leg, giving more time for the public to watch the race, allowed more people to witness the 435 competing cars as they passed: in particular, the people of Brescia showed their appreciation as the arrival had been moved from Saturday evening to Sunday lunchtime, allowing entire families and children to cheer the cars over the finish line.

In the 2014 edition, changes had been made to the route so the Mille Miglia could once again pass through towns which had not seen it for years. This year, in keeping with the same philosophy, a number of changes have been introduced.

The departure of the first leg has been brought forward to the early afternoon of Thursday 14 May and will end in Rimini. The following day, the second leg will see the competitors drive to Rome to arrive, as is tradition, on Friday evening.

On Saturday 16 May, the route from the capital will remain more or less the same as far as Tuscany. After Pisa and Lucca, following the route taken by the Mille Miglia in 1949, the cars will cross the Cisa Pass, reliving the legendary climb of Clemente Biondetti and Ettore Salani in their Ferrari 166 MM, who later arrived victorious in Brescia.

The third leg will end in Parma: the competitors will then leave from here on Sunday morning for Brescia, where they will arrive around lunchtime, a decision which met with unanimous approval last year. The route of this last leg has yet to be defined: the Organising Committee and the 2015 Mille Miglia Team are currently considering the possibility of taking the race through Milan. This decision is subject to the route respecting technical and sporting criteria, times and compatibility with the Red Arrow convoy, as well as meeting the safety and transit requirements of Expo Milano 2015, the extraordinary event scheduled for the same period. Mille Miglia is currently in talks with the towns in question and the Exposition organisers to assess the impact the cars - including the competitors, organisers, support and media vehicles and various other members of the convoy - would have on local visitor traffic at the exhibition site in Rho, presumably heavy on the Sunday morning.

Whatever the outcome, a "twinning" between Brescia-City of the Mille Miglia and Milan-Capital of Expo 2015 is already in the pipeline, as 1000 Miglia S.r.l., in agreement with Sistema Brescia per Expo and the Lombardy Region, is arranging for the Red Arrow to make an "appearance" at the Italian Pavilion on 7 May 2015, one week before the event.
The Red Arrow will contribute to the "branding" of the Pavilion as that evening the auditorium will be the venue of the premiere of the film "Rosso Mille Miglia", which will convey the emotions and magic experienced by the protagonists of "the most beautiful race in the world" to cinemagoers in Italy and around the world.

As far as the technical aspects are concerned, there are a couple of changes: the number of time trials, which determine the final ranking, goes up to 84, of which 76 are traditional trials and 8 average speed trials. There is no change to the coefficients allocated to the cars but the extra "bonus" will no longer be assigned to cars that took part in a race between 1927 and 1957. However, if these cars submit the relevant documentation certifying participation in one of the original races, they will be given priority over the other registrations.


POWERTRAIN

The engine is the F12berlinetta’s 6262cc 65° V12 on which Ferrari engineers worked to boost maximum power output from 740 cv to 780 cv at 8,500 rpm, yielding a specific power output of 125 cv/l. The engine’s sporty response is assured by a maximum torque figure of 705 Nm (up from 690 Nm) at 6,750 rpm with 80% already available at 2,500 rpm, resulting in unparalleled, progressive pick-up all the way to the red-line at 8,900 rpm.

Numerous modifications have been developed for this engine, starting with the use of race-inspired mechanical tappets and variable-geometry intake trumpets used on Formula 1 cars which help boost volumetric efficiency at high revs.

The F12tdf is equipped with a specific version of the F1 DCT with 6% shorter gear ratios that delivers 30% faster upshifts and 40% faster downshifts.

VEHICLE DYNAMICS

Ferrari’s engineers sought to create an extremely agile and powerful car which could also be driven by less expert drivers. They drew on the wealth of experience built up in the XX programmes which are dedicated to developing extremely high performance cars driven by non-professional drivers.

Extraordinary chassis dynamics, in terms of maximum lateral acceleration and responsiveness, are in part achieved by the increase in the front tyre dimensions, which jump from 255 to 275, along with the front channel size – up from 9.5” to 10”. This modification guarantees higher lateral acceleration generated by the front axle but, alone, this would have caused oversteer on the limit, making the car more challenging for less expert drivers.

To enable even gentlemen drivers to make full use of the performance, Ferrari developed its new Virtual Short Wheelbase system. Debuting on the F12tdf, the rear axle is active, allowing the rear wheels to pivot around a vertical axis.

Using model-based control logic developed entirely in-house by Ferrari, the rear axle steering automatically adjusts the rear wheels, working out the optimal steering angle as a function of the steering wheel angle, speed of steering inputs and vehicle speed.

The Virtual Short Wheelbase improves the car’s responsiveness to make it feel more agile, with instantaneous turn-in that can be best appreciated on twisty roads and on more technically challenging tracks while, at the same time, improving stability at high speeds.

AERODYNAMICS

The F12tdf’s aerodynamic performance is nothing short of record-breaking – its aerodynamic efficiency figure is 1.6, almost double that of the F12berlinetta. Downforce is 230 kg at 200 km/h, which is an impressive 107 kg more.

Development affected every area of the car’s surface, producing striking elements that lend its forms a unique sleek power. At the front, a highly complex bumper contributes to downforce generation. It features a radically scooped lower section and incorporates a competition car-inspired splitter, dive planes, floor wings and louvres to boost the efficiency of both the sides and the underbody.

The Aerobridge on the car’s front flank has been redesigned to increase the energising effect of the air flow along the top of the sides, while at the rear, louvres on the wheelarch create a depression that extracts air from the inner wheelarch, thereby increasing the efficiency of a section of the underbody that is usually little used in generating downforce.

The rear spoiler is now 60mm longer and 30mm higher, while the rake of the rear screen has been made more vertical to extend the surface area over which the spoiler can generate downforce and to capitalise on its advantages more effectively. The concave curvature of the rear luggage hatch either side of the rear screen further enhances the solution.

Three pairs of GT-racing-derived strakes have been adopted on the aerodynamic underbody and are responsible for 30% of the increase in downforce compared to the F12berlinetta. The rear diffuser has been completely redesigned and now sports a system of three active flaps. It has been split into three channels and features curved fences and vertical splitters to boost the power of the vortexes and enhance the expansion of the flow in the horizontal plane. This radical aerodynamic design work essentially created a whole new car that also marks a major stylistic departure from the  F12berlinetta.

STYLING

Designed by the Ferrari Styling Centre, the new F12tdf has particularly imposing yet sensual forms, the product of Ferrari’s continuous commitment to melding sculptural beauty with functional demands.

All of the bodywork panels, from the chiselled nose to the tail, have been revised. Wider front and rear tracks also give the car an even more aggressive stance.

In terms of the formal design language, the objective was to create a sophisticated interaction between the sculptural surfaces of the F12berlinetta and a more graphic treatment of the various new aerodynamic features. The best testament to this intent is the evolution of the Aerobridge, the design of which is further enhanced by the use of bare carbon-fibre. Developed in such a technical manner, this component combines with the other details in creating a coherent aesthetic approach to the whole car.

The car’s uncompromising sportiness is expressed with the same degree of purity in the deliberately Spartan cockpit. The wrap-around effect that embraces the driving position is intensified by the use of carbon-fibre housings for the instruments and satellite pods. The door panels have been pared back to a single carbon-fibre shell, while the glove compartment has disappeared to be replaced by simple knee padding. Alcantara rather the traditional leather was chosen for the cabin trim, technical fabric for the seats and patterned aluminium instead of mats for the floor, once again with the aim of saving every last ounce of weight.

The F12tdf’s specification is completed by lightweight alloys with five twinned spokes that are designed to have the narrowest section possible to reduce unsprung weight.



F12tdf Technical Specifications



Engine

Type

65-degree V12

Overall displacement

6,262 cc

Max. power output

574 kW (780 cv) at 8,500 rpm

Max. torque

705 Nm at 6,750 rpm

Max. engine speed

8,900 rpm (limiter)


Dimensions and weight

Length

4,656 mm

Width

1,961 mm

Height

1,273 mm

Dry weight

1,415 kg

Weight distribution

46% front – 54% rear


Tyres and wheel rims

Front

275/35 ZR 20” 10” J

Rear

315/35 ZR 20” 11.5” J


Performance

Max. speed

in excess of 340 km/h

0-100 km/h

2.9 sec

0-200 km/h

7.9 sec

Fiorano lap time

1’21”
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