I'm still not sure what to make of Ferrari World down in Abu Dhabi. Sure, it's a huge investment from all those involved and the exoskeleton structure never fails to impress whenever I'm down at Yas, but is it a stretch too far for the Prancing Horse..?
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Agreed, Ferrari has never been one to shy away from a little bit of merchandising to bolster the books. You've only got to take a look at the price tags on all the caps, bags and teddy bears in the Ferrari Store in Dubai Festival City to see what a money spinner the iconic brand is. It's something that Lotus - with many ex-Ferrari men at the top - is looking to mimic when it relaunches its brand in Paris at the end of the week.
Anyway, back to Ferrari World. The latest news is that the theme park is due to open a day earlier than originally announced - I won't go as far to say planned, as no-one plans to do things early, especially in this part of the world. At 7pm on Wednesday October 27th, the gates to the biggest indoor theme park in the world open for the first time.
Of course, this being the Middle East, October 27th isn't actually the official opening - that takes place at some point in December - so expect the Ferrari big guns and loads of fireworks to be in town then.
So what can we expect from Ferrari World? Well apart from a massive merchandise shop, and likely some overpriced 'Italian' food that won't be a patch on the stuff you can get from the restaurants down the road from the factory in Maranello, there'll be lots of rides to keep everyone amused. And considering the ticket prices start at 225Dhs for regular entry and rise to 375Dhs for VIP access, we hope they'll be pretty good.
To be fair, a rollercoaster capable of hitting 100kph in 2secs, pulling 1.7g and a top speed of 240kph does sound rather enticing, though we can only imagine how long queues will be. We're less interested in the 4D experience where lucky punters well get to travel through the inner workings of one of Ferrari's finest engines. We'd be more inclined to experience one of Ferrari's finest first hand out on the track, yet that part of Ferrari World seems to be missing on the press material we've seen so far.
We're hoping it's an oversight at this stage and that there is actually a chance to drive a Ferrari somewhere beneath that massive logo. Building brand awareness, following and loyalty is one thing, but how about some proper seat time to go along with it?
Mercedes has a similar - but much smaller - 'Mercedes-Benz World' based within the historic Brooklands track in the UK. Along with all the interactive displays, museum pieces and what not, there's a purpose-built track and huge skid pan out the front where - for a fee - you can get behind the wheel of all manner of AMG machinery and experience the brand for yourself.
Let's see what happens with Ferrari once the show opens in a month's time. Surely Ferrari can't have dropped the ball on this one? Say it ain't so.
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