Ferrari Celebrates 50 Years of U.S. Sales by Painting Manhattan Red

Manhattans Tallest Building Bathed in Ferrari Red

If Thursday evening, April 9th was your first time in the New York area, you might not have noticed anything different about the Manhattan skyline. But the citys tallest structure, normally bathed in blue lights, was emblazoned in red.

The occasion was Ferrari North Americas 50th birthday party, and the Empire State Building was chosen to honor the worlds most exotic brand.

Commenting on the landmark event, Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo told Italian news agency ANSA, "There has always been a great feeling between the United States and Ferrari. In 1949, in fact, an American of Italian origin, Luigi Chinetti, was the first man to win the Le Mans 24 hour race in a Prancing Horse car. We have a very strong presence here now. There are over 20,000 Ferraris on US roads and Americas passion for the marque is growing all the time. Well soon be opening a large new showroom on Park Avenue in the heart of Manhattan, too: a further demonstration of how important our cars are to our American clients. The fact that Ferraris 50 years in the US are being celebrated by illuminating the Empire State Building with red light would have thrilled Enzo Ferrari as much as it does me and anyone else who is proud to be Italian."

Plenty examples of the most important Prancing Horse cars joined a variety of Maserati GTs as part of display in the concourse of Manhattans Jacob Javits conference center, as part of the celebration.

On the auto show floor Ferrari had its stunning Scaglietti on display, while Maserati showed off its fabulous new MC12 supercar and elegant Quattroporte.

New York is one of Ferraris most important markets within the U.S., which is its largest country specific market with respect to sales. And the brand continues to grow each year, up thirteen percent from the previous year in 2003 to 1,350 units signed, sold and delivered. This result flies in the face of competitor Porsche that has faced soft car sales in the U.S. during 2003.

For the 2004 model year, each Ferrari sold in the U.S. market will receive a special inscription to commemorate the 50th anniversary.