Car Porn : Watch as a Ferrari FF goes rallying in the snow

Ferrari has had its share of drivers who knew their way around a snowy rally course. Gilles Villeneuve, for example, was famous for the drifting techniques he picked up racing snowmobiles in his native Quebec. And Kimi Raikkonen, for another, left the Scuderia for the World Rally Championship where he exercised his Finnish roots. Thing is, both of these top drivers were gone from the Ferrari roster long before the company introduced the FF as its first all-wheel-drive car.

That's where Markku Alen comes in. The former World Rally Champion took the FF up to the Arjeplog track in the north of his native Sweden, just an hour's drive south of the Arctic Circle, to stretch it out in the snow. Fortunately, he also brought a film crew along. While Ferrari's shot footage of the FF playing in the snow before, none of it came out quite as majestic as this clip.

 

 

Press Release

Markku Alen tests the FF on a snow-covered forest stage

Maranello, 2 February 2012 – What happens when a former World Rally Champion gets behind the wheel of an FF for a challenge on a forest track completely covered in snow? This exceptional event was captured on camera of Ferrari.com, who followed this very special day for Markku Alen on the Arjeplog track, in Northern Sweden, about 100 km South of the Artic Circle. The track is probably the most challenging surface for Ferrari's latest 12-cylinder which features an innovative 4RM four-wheel drive system that has fascinated the international press and clients, and was highly praised by Markku, the Finnish ice track specialist and winner of the World Rally Championship in 1978.

At temperatures between -15° and -30° Celsius on the steep inclines and challenging corners of the 14km "Forest" track, Markku Alen was able to test the FF to extremes, particularly the car's traction on surfaces with extremely low grip. Thanks to the perfect weight distribution and the car's mechanical set up, the FF again demonstrated its safety, stability and performance, with Markku commenting that the FF is especially enjoyable to drive, even for a former World Champion.

Car Porn : Check Out The These 2 Ferrari FF Coupes On The Slopes

Ferrari factory drivers are used to racing in all sorts of conditions: under the baking sun, in the pouring rain, at night and at sunset. Competing in the snow has historically been beyond their usual purview, but then again, Ferrari never made an all-wheel-drive vehicle before. That's where the FF comes in.

The Ferrari Four, as you may recall, channels its 660 horsepower to all four wheels through an innovative new all-wheel drive system that ups the traction but ditches much of the weight penalty usually associated with these types of systems systems. Ferrari has taken the occasion of its annual Wrooom event – a pre-season retreat at Italy's Madonna di Campiglio ski resort – to demonstrate the FF's abilities by putting its star Formula One drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa behind the wheel for a downhill slalom.

So who won? Ferrari says it was a dead tie. But while we don't believe that bit any further than we could throw one of their sportscars (light as they may be), there ought to be plenty of time to see which driver is quicker when the F1 season kicks off in a few months.

 

Press Release

A very special slalom for Fernando and Felipe

Madonna di Campiglio, 11 January - The snow-capped mountains of Madonna di Campiglio are more used to hosting alpine skiing champions on their slopes for World Cup downhill races, but today they provided the backdrop to a most unusual parallel slalom race. The two Scuderia Ferrari drivers, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa went head to head through the gates at the wheel of two FFs, the revolutionary four seater, four wheel drive Prancing Horse car. In their hands, the latest Ferrari proved to be very entertaining on demanding hills both up and down, as well as in endless changes of direction laid out on the downhill slalom course.

Fernando and Felipe were helped out in handling the 660 horsepower V12 in this very low grip environment in total safety thanks to the integral 4WD traction system, that deals with the constantly changing and variable amount of torque on each wheel independently, with fully integrated electronic control systems. The FF upholds the marque's tradition, providing a sporty and dynamic driving experience, aided by its transaxle layout – front-mid mounted engine, rear mounted gearbox – and its weight distribution, with 53% to the rear. One should not forget the skill of the two drivers who enjoyed themselves testing the FF in a scenario far removed from its more usual home on the streets.

The race ended in a perfect dead heat and Alonso could not hide his enthusiasm: "It's incredible how easy it is to drive the FF even on a such a demanding surface and at the same time, how high a performance level you can reach in it." Massa was of a similar opinion: "the most incredible thing about the car is the fact there is no need to compromise maximum performance and useability, whatever the driving environment," reckoned the Brazilian. "And on top of that, it's perfect for everyday use with the whole family in the car."

When the race ended, Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo, with Scuderia Team Principal, Stefano Domenicali and Maurizio Arrivabene of Philip Morris International had lunch with the drivers at the Chalet Fiat.

Rides - Ferrari FF: Four Wheel Drive, Four Seats, One Fantastic Rear End

This is it. This is Ferrari's first four-wheel-drive model, called — the FF (Ferrari Four). The new Prancing Stallion with the super-sized rear end will replace Ferrari's 612 Scaglietti flagship. See, told ya it'd be a shooting brake.

Powering all four wheels is a naturally-aspirated 6.3-liter V12 direct injection engine, with 651bhp (at 8000 rpm) and 504 lb-ft of torque. That's enough to motivate the 3,946 lb. FF from 0-to-62 MPH in 3.7 seconds, with a top speed of 208 MPH.

Somehow we think it probably won't hit that speed with four in the seats and a boot full of luggage.

The FF features the company's first ever four-wheel drive system. Ferrari claims its 4RM (four-wheel drive) weighs 50% less than a conventional four-wheel drive system, maintaining a rear-biased weight distribution (53 per cent over the rear axle).

Completely integrated with the car's electronic dynamic control systems, the four-wheel drive technology delivers performance on all terrains and in all conditions via continuous predictive torque distribution to all four wheels.

The FF is also equipped with the latest magnetorheological damping system (SCM3), as well as the most recent development in carbon-ceramic brakes from Brembo. More to come shortly.

For the moment, here's some video Ferrari put together from the car's various development drives. It features more soaring crescendos than a Michael Bay-directed robot movie. Watching it is like mainlining coffee and awesome. Which is sorta how I expect Ferrari wants us to feel about the FF.

I wasn't sure initially how I felt about this Ferrari for families, but now I really dig it. It kinda makes me feel all funny inside — like I want to lick this breadvan, take it home to snuggle with it — and then give it a pet nickname. Maybe "Z3M." But that's just me. What say you?