It’s official: Luca di Montezemelo stepped down as CEO of Ferrari. After years fighting with Fiat owner Sergio Marchionne over Ferrari’s production direction coupled with a disastrous appearance at Monza (one retirement and a ninth), di Montezemelo apparently had enough. While not confirmed at all, numerous outlets have made mention of a transition to air carrier Alitalia, though di Montezemelo has denied this.
According to his statement: “This is an end of an era and so I have decided to leave my position as Chairman after almost 23 marvellous and unforgettable years, in addition to those spent at Enzo Ferrari’s side in the 1970’s. Ferrari is the most wonderful company in the world. It has been a great privilege and honour to have been its leader. I devoted all of my enthusiasm and commitment to it over the years. Together with my family, it was, and continues to be, the most important thing in my life.”
There are signs that the separation isn’t that amicable, however. It’s well known that Marchionne has been watching Lamborghini’s success at Audi and wants to position Ferrari in a similar slot in FCA’s ranks. di Montezemelo wanted to keep Ferrari’s cap of 7,000 cars per year to retain exclusivity. So maybe that’s why he quipped, “Ferrari is now American, which represents the end of an era.”
Marchionne’s statement on the whole thing? “Discussions over Ferrari’s future and its racing potential led to misunderstandings which became clearly visible over the last weekend. I want tothank Luca for all he has done for Fiat, for Ferrari and for me personally.”
It will be interesting to see the process of this divorce and how the kids (racers and Scuderia Ferrari, the racing branch) hold up. di Montezemelo learned from Enzo Ferrari himself, who was one of, if not the most dictator-like CEO’s to ever run a car company.
seems sometimes the TV talking heads get things right. coloradokid,eh GS?
In response to the article ( Not bad by the way .Not complete mind you .But not bad ) ;
1) Enzo was beyond a Dictator . He held absolute control over every single aspect of Ferrari : from racing – to road cars – right on down to who he’d sell his cars to and who he would not .
2) Montezemolo was anything but a dictator . Despite being head of Ferrari SpA he still answered to all things Ferrari to the FIAT SpA board
3) Montezemolo’s leaving was due to several factors ; A) He was tiring of the travesty F1 is becoming ( as are most of F1’s fans ) B) Marchionne is under the delusion that despite his being ejected from Ferrari leadership years ago that he is capable of running a storied brand such as Ferrari in spite of the fact that he’s rapidly destroying FIAT , Alfa and Maserati and has been pushing the Elkann’s ( a couple of seriously spoiled and delusional little ___s ) to eject Montezemolo C) Montezemolo’s got enough in the bank to say Basta and Ciao to the mess FCA is about to become D) Not to mention having the business acumen and foresight to see the writing on the wall for the future of FCA SpA ( oh the hidden little financial nightmares lurking in the closets and shadows of FCA about to be revealed in the not too distant future )
My favorite exit comment from Montezemolo ? ( not to mention a subtle yet clear dig )
” Ferrari is now American ”
Which is about the worse thing anyone could ever imagine Ferrari becoming .
Weird, I could swear that someone told me that was all made up by TV newscasters for drama. Huh. *sarcasm*
Yeah .. weird For once I was wrong . Once ! Golly gee . Guess that makes me human just like the rest of you . Only a little bit more so seeing as how nine times out of ten the rest of you are always wrong
So what’ll be the future of Ferrari under Stronzetto Marchionne’s rule ? ( sticking to the question at hand rather than indulging in petty personal insults from the peanut gallery )
Can you say – Rebadged FIAT’s – Alfa Romeo’s ( which are rebadged FIAT’s as well as one KTM ) and – JEEP’s ( Oh yes ! The much rumored Ferrari SUV based on the JEEP GC previewed and despised by those of us with insider status a couple of years ago is real .. and will no doubt now see the light of a production day under the reign of Stronzetto ) – Even more SheikMaranelloLand theme parks – More $500 Ferrari branded Hair Dryers / $1200 books and $125 T-shirts than ever before – Not to mention an overall cheapening of the mark by Mr Badge Engineering himself … Stronzetto Marchionne
Which is to say ;
Ferrari ( as we know it ) Is Dead
Long Live the Memories ( as thats all we’ll have left )
I can hear the Old Man spinning in his crypt faster than the RPM’s of the V10 F1 engines of old at full throttle all the way here from Italy .
Which by the way is what the Elkann’s should do to Marchionne . Throttle the little ___ that is 😉
Now , in closing to the peanut gallery ( with anticipation of more to come ) go play with your pretentious little asthmatic kitty … I mean Hellcat .. and leave the real business of the automotive industry as well as real cars to those of us that actually in the know
So what brings you back to Bangshift GuitarSlinger?
Don’t try to bullshit us Bangshifters with your new screen name, we know who you are.
On August 19,2014 you called JohnT a “Lowlife beer addled individual”
Also on August 19,2014 you called the rest of us Bangshifters:
“Clueless little xenophobes” “Pretentious little minds”
“Envious idiots on this site”
Myself and others were waiting for you to come crawling back from whatever rock you came out of.
We won’t stand for a pompous asshole like you who thinks that you are better than the rest of us.
I suggest you explain yourself and your bullshit to us or just leave this site as you are not welcome here. Got that GuitarSlinger aka ColoradoKid!
Let me add one more thing GuitarSlinger aka ColoradoKId,
“Nine times out of ten the rest of you are always wrong.”
You are not like the rest of us Bangshifters, the rest of us don’t have a bullshit elitist attitude like you.
Since you would paraphrase songs, well here is one for you :
“Girl don’t go away mad, girl just go away.” courtesy of Motley Crue.
Why bother to post under a different name, if it is your intent to write the same sort of crap that made you so popular in the first place? I was wondering when you would post something after the beatdowns you got from some of the other writers, but I thought you would at least have the stones to not try to hide behind a new name.
Damn, this popcorn is awesome! Wonder if they use bacon grease?
ColoraoKid AKA GuitarSlinger, Instead of jumping in and beating whoever happens to create a blog and tell him (us) how wrong we are why dont you submit a blog item yourself on an automotive subject past or present ?
Create something thats all yours,lets see what you got.
Funny. ‘Real cars’ are only European and have tiny little pistons with short-throw cranks that require the revs of a 2-stroke to produce acceleration while producing uninspiring torque numbers. I suppose I will stick with unreal cars that tend to produce equal or greater torque numbers than the horsepower ratings and don’t need to scream and stress in order to provide acceleration. You can keep your $1,600.00/qt oil and highly-temperamental machines. Or if the prancing horse is now American perhaps we can see a twin-turbo 392 Hemi behind the headrests and hear some thunder bellowing out of 5-inch exhausts. Maybe 900ft/lbs at 5,000rpm and 900hp at 6,500….!!! It would have a torque curve as flat as Kansas (and that friends, is pretty stinking flat). I’m all for it. For years the European and Japanese manufacturers have influenced American builds to become more like them so that now there is very little individuality. Who walks into a showroom anymore and says ‘I have to have that car…..!!!!’. Greenie-weenie bed-wetters and snooty-types need to keep their butts out of the car business.
the short stroke scream is formula 1 entertainment, they simply wrap it in fancy shapes and become famous. I will remember any long running leader stepping down, for the colorful past they helped create. Retirement should not have evil comments. The flat 12 is in Montezemelos mix.
But your Pro Mod street machine will never get you even half the tail a Ferrari 458 Italia will. 😉
B3M current F1 is tiny V6 turbo hybrids limited to 14,000 rpm, I believe, but most teams turn much less than that due to a 100 l per hour maximum fuel flow rule.
The current season has had some very good racing.
End of an era. Too bad the muscle heads here don’t get we are all gearheads, just like Gurney, Hill, and Shelby understood. After owning numerous “Mercican” cars like my Cutlass and Mustang GT is always marvel at how my Porsche and, gasp, Vw , perform just as well. Love my F150 but take the Porsche out for fun.
I’ve had the opportunity to drive one Ferrari in my life and it was a 10-12 year old 348tb. (not near as sexy as some Ferrari product today)
While for my own personal taste I would choose a current Hemi Challenger over it, due to my love of Detroit muscle and torque. (I build/drive these every day)
There is absolutely no comparison the the “feel” and the sound of a Ferrari, nor the attention it brings.
It was an experience I will never forget ever. (and I have felt the 707 ponies of the Hellcat)
No import hater here, just a lover of all things motorized.
“What’s behind me is not important”