12 Oct 2011 Ferrari red in China

Peugeot and Audi have both sporting and commercial interests for the 6 hours Zhuhai, Ferrari is a few strokes ahead of those duelists of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in the conquest of China as we approch the final round of ILMC in 2011.

Like volume manufacturers such as Peugeot, Ferrari also quickly realized that China would also be a new market. For the Prancing Horse, the offensive began in 2004, when they won the first Formula 1 Chinese Grand Prix, with Rubens Barrichello at the wheel. Then in 2006, Michael Schumacher won what remains to this day his 91st and final victory, and the following year, Kimi Raikkonen gave Scuderia Ferrari their 200th Grand Prix victory.

In 2009, to celebrate growing sales in China Ferrari launched a limited edition of the 599 GTB Fiorano, silver-roofed in two-tone red, called China Limited Edition. That same year, another special 599 GTB was sold to 1.2 million euros at an auction held in Beijing. This car was decorated by Chinese artist Lu Hao inspired by the ancient art of Chinese porcelain of Ge Liln, whose speciality was decoratively cracked glaze. Then in 2010, Ferrari chose the Beijing Auto Show to present the 599 GTO, heir to the fabled GTO, who finished second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1962-1963) and won three consecutive World Championships; 1962 to 1964.

After winning LM GT2 in 2010 (this year LM GTE Pro) with the F430 GT at the end of the first season of the ILMC, Ferrari is in a strong position to clinch a second consecutive title for the first season of the 458 Italia. A success that Ferrari hopes to celebrate at the end of the 6 Hours of Zhuhai, which would consolidate a place on the Chinese market.

Jean-Philippe Doret