When Ferrari first released the 575M Maranello it hailed a new level of engineering achievement and their extremely successful V12 front-engined Berlinetta Sports concept.

This car was considered to be one of the most popular supercars ever produced. Like all Ferrari cars, and this is no exception it is based round its engine, a '575' this is an abbreviation of the cars displacement, increased to 5,750 cc. The 'M' Maranello is not only a direct predecessor of the 550 , the 'M' also stands for 'modificata', thus symbolising the car has been tweaked throughout, this truly demonstrated with the addition of the Ferrari F1 gearchange in a road-going V12 as a first.

 

The styling for the 575M was given to Ferrari's partner Pininfarina. As you would expect Pininfarina's balanced lines and classic design made the Maranello well renown from its first appearance making it somewhat of a Classic from the outset.

 

The car when being designed had to satisfy certain requirements e.g. The shape & size of the front air intakes, had to be optimized to dramatically increase the cool air flow to successfully cool the 575's engine. This Ferrari even features a new, full-width front spoiler to increase downforce, the lights have also been redesigned with body-colour surrounds and grey. The 575 is now even equipped with Xenon headlamp technology for its dipped beam, as standard.

 

The car was given new sportier wheels to compliment its classic styling, these gave the Maranello a far racier temperament. As for the dynamics the Italain Supercar boasts a perfect weight distribution of 50 % over both axles with a driver on board, this is achieved by the Transaxle layout, incoporating the gearbox with a limited-slip differential located in the same gearbox case as the bevel-type final drive.

Transmission

 

The Maranello features a six-speed gearbox and a new advanced new multi-cone synchronising system. the new system promises quicker gearshifts during more aggressive driving. The ferrari has manual shifting,as well as a new transmission F1 gearchange, directly developed from Ferrari's Formula 1 experience. The gear selector is an electro-hydraulic system operated by a two paddle system situated on the steering wheel. This system offers improvements including : Shift up and down through is faster plus the accelerator can also be fully depressed during a gearshift, also the main advantage the driver can keep both hands on the wheel when shifting gears. It is also supposed to be more comfortable, it even prevents driver error by protecting against over-revving the engine when shifiting gears.

 

The F1 gearchange is an addition to aid the drivers control & strategy on its supercars. The box works directly in conjunction with adaptive damping management and the cars traction control, This collaboration of technologies gives the driver the opportunity to choose a range of different performance parameters, sport or comfort all at the touch of a button. The addition of an F1-gear setup adds to the car meaning it can achieve faster shift times when driven more aggressively, the F1 box also gives improved acceleration than a manual Ferrari box. The Maranello to optimise its' standing starts has been given a "launch control" mode.

 

In addition to manual the gearchange has two extra push-button modes: Auto (full auto gear shifting), and Low Grip (to maintain traction while accelerating through the gears on low grip surfaces).

Like all other Ferrari's the Maranello 575M can be personalised to the drivers taste. Thanks to the Carrozzeria Scaglietti programme, it is possible to extensively modify the style, kit and functionality of their car to suit their own preferences even the addition of real racing extras such as track-oriented options, carbon racing bucket seats, Fiorano handling package and lots of carbon fibre detailing for the interior.

 

This range of Ferrari supercars even come with optional extras including an new eight-speaker stereo with four-channel 200 watt amp and GPS.