We join the new Ferrari 599 hgte test-drive, to test drive the car in the hills behind Maranello and stop off at Ferrari test drivers’ favourite gastronomic hot spots
Few people know about Ferrari’s extraordinary network of roads and lanes in the hills behind Maranello, where the work of Ferrari’s engineers is put to the test in a great variety of conditions. And today there are very few people left at the company who remember how Enzo Ferrari chose to dine at little restaurants on the roads used by the test drivers. While eating a plate of tagliatelle he would listen to the engines and monitor their power delivery as they came out of particularly demanding bends. Del Taglio, on the road leading to Serramazzoni, is one such bend; Enzo Ferrari insisted on its inclusion in the road-test regimen. The suspicion remains, however, that this bend was also considered to be special because it was near a restaurant, La Noce, that served very good food and where we too stop today, on this special journey of discovery.
To truly understand the awesome performance of the new 599 HGTE, the latest and most sporting iteration of the 12-cylinder in the best Maranello tradition, we’ve decided to explore this secret network around Maranello. These roads present an assortment of difficulties rarely encountered in everyday driving. Instead of a test driver, the man at the wheel is Martino Cavanna, the engineer who oversaw the entire development of the car. ‘We spend more time at the computer and in meetings than on the road,’ says Cavanna, ‘but data analysis and the opinions of the people who drive the cars require knowledge of the roads. This makes it easier to interpret the telemetry and information that’s gathered. Obviously we do an enormous number of trials both on track and in ‘protected’ places, but for road tests we can’t work with the scientific precision that a closed and dedicated route gives us. And so it’s best to add a more considered opinion, based on direct experience, to the sensitivity of the test driver.’
It’s an early start. We stop at the barrier to hand in the rigorously checked exit pass, then away towards Castelvetro. There’s traffic and it doesn’t look good for a test drive, but Cavanna slips into a narrow clear lane that spears up towards Levizzano Rangone. With its HGTE modifications, the 599 feels sharper than ever. ‘We use the track to sort out handling: weight distribution, springs, roll bars, tyres and their control systems – damping, traction control, stability control. But the car must be able to give its best in all conditions – for example, what we call movements of the chassis, when the car makes long rocking motions, with low-frequency rocking, or, on the contrary, high-frequency rocking when the road surface is violently uneven. Conditions like these are not found on the track, but you may very well come across them on our roads.’ As we look around us, among the first signs of spring we see a stretch of tarmac that frequently looks misshapen. Such is the unique geology and configuration of the Emilian hills, full of gullies and liable to frequent landslips and irregularities. ‘These conditions have always been precious for the development of the manettino rotary switches on the wheel,’ explains Cavanna. ‘The wet and sport positions are the best ways to deal with stretches of road like this, while Race and CST-off are a perfect match for the characteristics of a racing track.’ The engineer keeps his mind on his driving, not going so fast as to take risks but with the confidence of a person that has a perfect knowledge of the weapon in his hands. Near Vignola we take the road along the bottom of the valley along the Panaro river, a wider and faster section.
To make this journey even more memorable, however, we don’t just want to know about the jobs of Ferrari’s road experts. We also want to find out where they go to eat and where they buy typical local products. So after we pass Garò di Levizzano restaurant, we head to Castelvetro to La Barbera agrotourism farm which shows us that top olive oil can be produced even in these chilly places. We haven’t time but we would’ve liked to have stopped at the Villa Bianca eatery, which has great views over the valley.
‘Decisions regarding components are taken, analysing them one at a time,’ continues Cavanna seriously: he doesn’t seem too interested in what we are eating; this is also evident judging by his figure. ‘The others are retained and what has to be tried out is changed or modified. It’s work that demands a lot of patience, and it gave us a lot of satisfaction for a car with such high performance as the HGTE. In fact we managed to make it handle excellently, not only on track but also on the road.’ Cavanna shows us Mulino delle Palette where people stop to buy flour for tigelle, the typical warm bread of this area, and the Di Verica dairy farm, which produces an excellent Parmigiano Reggiano and succulent little ricotta and caciotta cheeses. The most popular restaurants among the Ferrari test drivers is on the bottom road of the valley: Da Toni, near Casona, and Al Fiume, 10km before, right on the pebbly bank of the Panaro.
When everything seems to be going smoothly – and fast – Cavanna turns the wheel firmly to the right and takes the HGTE up the wide, fast and difficult bends leading to Pavullo through Villa Bibone. ‘This is where you really enjoy this car: the work we have done is designed to improve handling, optimise weight distribution and tyres, reduce roll and make the car respond quicker to the steering wheel. The result is a car that, overall, feels more compact and obeys the controls better. Also, thanks to the fact that the gear system and the engine are more sporting, the car handles really excitingly.’
We get to Pavullo in a flash; the engine never seems to reach the limit of its power. ‘The improvement also comes from the new pedal map that makes the accelerator respond more quickly and from an even better distribution of engine power,’ says Cavanna. We’re nearly at erramazzoni and make a quick diversion to the left in order to indulge in gnocco e tigelle at the La Vita è Bella restaurant. We are happy to report that this too is a good place to eat.
We are on the last stretch downhill towards Maranello, but not the fast road. Cavanna turns right towards San Dalmazio and Puianello. On a strip of tarmac that runs along the crest of the hills, we are able to admire two other features of the HGTE. ‘The sound is more robust and pleasing with the new silencers,’ notes Cavanna, ‘while the gearbox adapts performance to the position of the manettino.’ He does not hesitate to show us how the car’s behaviour changes, and changes significantly. Just before getting to Maranello, we make a wonderful discovery: at Torre Maina is Piccolo Mugnaio agrotourism farm where they grind wheat and produce flour for the finest Modenese foods. Maria Assunta is delighted to show us the process that goes from grain to finished dish. We find that they have something in common with the Ferrari technicians: they start from a blank sheet of paper and end up with cars that are the most desirable in the world. Can it be the DNA of this land?
We arrive at the Largo Enzo Ferrari entrance. No pass is needed to get back in, it’s enough to go straight to the workshop. But this time the job is done. Cavanna is driving the first 599 HGTE to come off the production line. Everything is perfect. The work – tough work without ceremony – has already been done, by the test drivers.
Published on The Official Ferrari Magazine issue 5, May 2009
PUBLISHED IN CARS, HOME BY DAVIDE KLUZER ON 07.20.2011
Credit: Ferrari S.p.A. (www.ferrari.com)
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