Ferrari had been planning to take the wraps off of its newest Formula 1 car this week in Maranello; however, the northern Italian town got walloped by snow that makes the famed Fiorano circuit unsuitable for an F1 car. Lucky for them that earlier this week Ferrari’s F1 drivers took delivery of two very special Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s.
The car that was going to be unveiled is the new F2012 single-seat F1 racecar. But due to temperatures in the low-teens and a heavy coating of snow that closed schools all around the Maranello/Modena area, the initial showing, testing, and photographing had to be delayed.
However, the snow may not have put a damper on Ferrari F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa’s day thanks to custom-built Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s given to them earlier this week by Beth Paretta, SRT’s director of marketing and operations. The two identical Jeeps are dressed inRosso Corso (Ferrari red) with an offset black racing stripe. White accents, a matte black grille with red inserts, carbon fiber mirror caps, a matte-black painted dual-pane sunroof, and gloss-black rear light bar with a red Jeep logo further differentiate the Ferrari Grand Cherokees from your run-of-the-mill SRT8s. Finishing off the exterior upgrades is an Italian flag painted to the underside of the rear spoiler, mimicking the Ferrari F150th Italia F1 car from last year.
Inside, the cabin has been covered in exclusive Ferrari red leather, which is applied to the seats, doors, armrest, and dashboard. The leather-wrapped SRT8-specific steering wheel gains red contrast stitching, while unique, yellow-faced gauges tie the Jeep – visually, anyways – to Ferrari’s own products.
Powering Alonso and Massa’s Jeeps is the same 6.4-liter Hemi V-8 engine found in the basic Grand Cherokee SRT8. The Hemi is good for 470 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque, which is sent through a six-speed automatic to all four wheels. Top speed is 160 mph and 0 to 60 is accomplished in just 4.8 seconds. That certainly sounds like a fun way to weather Maranello’s winter weather, but then again, so too would the all-wheel-drive Ferrari FF.
Thanks to: Motor Trend
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