Ferrari's Finest

A selection of the Italian marque's racing machinery provided a compelling centrepiece to Autosport International 2018.

- Alex Kalinauckas

Few motorsports marques pull at the emotions quite like Ferrari. Over the course of the four days of the 2018Autosport International show, fans flocked to see a remarkable display of five of Maranello’s racing machines.

Pairing the F2004 and SF70H enabled visitors to appreciate the rapid pace of development in Formula 1 over the past 14 years. The latest Ferrari challenger is more squat and aggressive-looking, and more aerodynamically detailed than its illustrious predecessor, which also looked small.

A trio of cars represented Ferrari’s diverse GT racing exploits, including a world championship winner – the 488 GTE, which carried AF Corse’s James Calado and Alessandro Pier Guidi to the 2017World Endurance GT crown and secured the manufacturers’ title.

Alongside the magnificent maroonWEC machine were the Ferrari 488 Challenge car and the Ferrari FXX-K Evo, both presented in dazzling white liveries. It was the first time that an XX-programme car has been displayed outside Italy ahead of its track debut. The 488 races in the Ferrari Challenge series that run in Europe, North America and Asia as part of Ferrari’s Corse Clienti programme. On the opening day of Autosport International, Corse Clienti announced it was evaluating the possibility of a dedicated Ferrari Challenge series for the UK in 2019.

1 SF70H

Rather naturally, Ferrari opted to make its latest Formula 1 challenger – which won five races in Sebastian Vettel’s hands last season – the signature exhibit.