Ferrari 70th Anniversary Celebrations in Australia & Japan – Video
Ferrari coloured Melbourne red as it officially celebrated its 70th Anniversary in the city from 9-15th October.
An incredible line up of classic and modern Ferrari models from every era was showcased to the Australian public at a series of events across the week, supporting the global calendar of official Ferrari 70th Anniversary events around the world.
The UNESCO World Heritage listed Royal Exhibition Building was washed in red light to mark the start of the week-long celebration. More than 100 Ferraris – old and new – from all around Australia descended on Melbourne for the Ferrari Car Club of Australia 45th National Rally. A stunning parade of these cars departed from the home of the Australian Grand Prix, Albert Park, before heading to the world-famous Phillip Island circuit for on-track activity. Other celebrations included an exclusive 70th Anniversary cocktail party to unveil the LaFerrari Aperta to Ferrari clients and special guests in the Docklands.
Ferrari was also be the featured marque at Motorclassica, the largest event of its type in the southern hemisphere featuring rare and exotic, historic, vintage and collectible cars. This exceptional collection of cars went down in history as the most important collection of Ferrari cars ever gathered in Australia. The week culminated with a festive Ferrari street party along Lygon Street’s Italian precinct in Carlton on Sunday 15th October.
The 70th Anniversary Celebrations finally took place in the land of the rising sun from October 12 to 14. Although the weather was bad, the emotions by the Ferraristi were high and 70 Cavallino Rampante shared dream and passion for three days.
The 70th anniversary celebrations was kicked off at Ryogoku Kokugikan (Ryogoku Sumo Hall), the sacred venue for national sport of Japan, Sumo, that shares the same values with Ferrari – tradition, history, power, prestige, performance and exclusivity. Hyoshigi, or clappers, were struck to announce there would be a calling and a sumo referee, the 34th Shonosuke Kimura, called out the name of the event. Then, placed on the stage in the design of a sumo ring, the LaFerrari Aperta which is the symbol of our 70th anniversary was unveiled. With the fusion of Japanese culture and the latest supercar of Italian Maranello, where outstanding technology is employed, the venue reached climactic excitement.
Also held in Ryogoku Kokugikan was the Ferrari exhibition where successive Ferrari vehicles were displayed. Ferrari fans rushed to the exhibition from the morning and intently looked at Ferrari cars that converged from around the country for this day, such as 70th Anniversary Tailor Made models, special limited models like the SP 1, Sergio, and J50, as well as past precious models including the 288 GTO, F40 and Testarossa.
On 13 and 14 October an exclusive rally was held and the 70 years of history was celebrated with Ferrari owners and fans. 70 Ferrari vehicles including LaFerrari Aperta, LaFerrari, Enzo Ferrari, F12tdf, 70th Anniversary Tailor Made models traveled a total of 568 km from Ryogoku Kokugikan to Central Nagoya and continue the next day to Ise Jingu Shrine. On the final day, the event, rich in the beauty of the many colorful vehicles, brought the curtain down with a gala dinner at Hinjitsukan, a former guesthouse which is registered as a national important cultural property.