Along with the newest F1 car, Ferrari introduced the latest GT to come out of the small northern Italian car factory. The 575M Maranello is the 550 Maranello after a face-lift and some extra hours at the gym each week. Rather than point out the greatness of the car versus everything else on the road like other car magazines are bound to do, here's what's different with the new versus the old:

Engine
This is where most of the redesign effort was spent. The bore and stroke were both increased slightly and the compression ratio was increased from 10.8 to 1 to 11 to 1. These increases added an extra 30 hp to the right pedal. Torque was also increased, but it comes higher in the rev band. The old unit displacement was 456 cc per cylinder. With the new configuration, 5000 lira says that the replacement for the 456M GT will be designated the 480-something.

Transmission
The 575M is the first production V12 Ferrari to be offered with an F1 style manual transmission. Now the big boys can have Schumie style gear changes, too. Expect this to be an option on all of the cars now. Yes, same as the 360 F1, it can be operated in Sport, Normal, and oh-my-god-traffic-sucks-today-automatic.

Chassis
The chassis uses a new adaptive dampening system that controls each wheel on the car. This will be expensive to fix later in the car's life when the enthusiast of moderate means can afford one. Start saving now. Weight reductions in some of the components have made, but the car is almost 100 pounds heavier than the old one. And 19" rims are an option, but I'm sure it will only be 6 weeks before after market 20" rims are available.

Exterior
The most noticeable changes made are the revised air intakes and new headlights. While the former may have improved the airflow on the front of the car, they have taken some of the aggressiveness of the 550 away from the design. There have also been some changes to the underside of the car to make it more efficient and better direct airflow around the rear wheels.

Interior
The 575M cleaned up the design of the 550 by putting all of the gauges in front of the driver (what a novel concept). Idiot-proof climate control knobs (tastefully done) and retro toggle switches add to the character. The radio still has buttons smaller than most cell-phones; so trying to comprehend it at triple digit speeds detracts from the design. As for the layout, anyone that has owned a V12 Ferrari should feel right at home.

Overall
As is always the case, Ferraris keep getting better and the 575M is no exception to the rule. With the factory putting out a record 4200 or so cars in 2001, production Ferraris won't stand a chance at being collectable as some of the earlier cars. Is this car a good investment? Only if you get your hands on an early one and can flip it (note: the boys from Enron aren't buying this year). Otherwise, it will depreciate along with everything else new in the driveway, maybe not quite so fast for a couple of years, but give it time.

For the kids still in school out there, yes they'll be rare enough where people will probably take good care of them, and they'll make enough of them where with reasonable means, you'll be able to afford one when you go through the car disease.