Ferrari F149 confirmed

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo surprised both the audience and the Ferrari PR department at the Geneva press conference by announcing Ferrari will reveal their new front-engined V8 GT car (known internally as the F149) at this year’s Paris motor show in October.

Those expecting an entry level Ferrari will be disappointed to hear the new F149 GT car will be priced above the basic F430 (priced at £138,500 here in the UK) when it goes on sale in 2009. Previous reports that this car was to be a new Dino type Ferrari, priced sub £100,000, have proved to be very wide of the mark.

Ferrari are still being cagey with the details but we do know the car will be a brand new design and will feature versatile architecture, which is taken to mean a choice of either 2+2 or 2 seat plus a luggage bench inside the cabin. Expect to see a conventional steel roof as standard, with either a glass or folding roof as an option.

Engine is expected to be a revised version of the F430’s 4.3litre V8 with slightly more power thanks to new direct injection technology and new throttle bodies which should deliver lower CO2 emissions as well. This will be linked to the new gearbox that could be the DCT gearbox we know Ferrari have been working on.

It’s exciting times for Ferrari, with this new model Ferrari are hoping to gain a new set of customers who have always been put off by the mid-engined layout of it’s V8 models up to now.