David Khoo joins Ferrari’s 70th Anniversary festivities with virtually every Ferrari in Singapore to form a roving parade of 157 stampeding horses
SINGAPORE – Ferrari figured the best way for someone to experience the full spicy shebang and spectacle of its 70th Anniversary parade in Singapore was to be firmly embedded in the thick of it, complete with owners, exotic car spotters and gawking tourists.
Thankfully, the rain you hear clears by the time we get to the staging area...
And so we were inserted into the record-making 157-strong Ferrari parade in one of our modern favourites, the FF – the brand’s 2+2 with the evocative silhouette.
GTC4Lusso on left, our FF steed-for-the-day on the right
Some of you are probably making a face now, because the styling of the FF and its GTC4Lusso successor tends to polarise opinions, but we’d rather have Shooting Brake than SUV any day of the week, and because well, nat-asp V12...
Classic or modern, every Ferrari tells a tale...
For an occasion like an anniversary – especially one as momentous as a 70th – there’s nothing too old, big, new or small, although the FF is definitely neither of the last two.
This is because an anniversary celebrates the brand and in particular, its illustrious history, so there’s even greater veneration of the older cars that built-up the brand’s towering, larger-than-life reputation.
2 other sexy V12s: LaFerrari Aperta (L) & 812 Superfast (R)
Besides, there’s always something magical about V12-engined Fezzas, regardless of age, colour or shape, but it is arguably the FF’s Shooting Brake design that is most controversial… and appealing! There’s certainly no accounting for taste, considering we were also offered a 488 GTB – don’t forget though, that the author counts the one-off 250 GT SWB ‘Breadvan’ as one of his favourite Ferraris-that-wasn’t, so the choice of the FF shouldn’t come as a huge surprise.
The stage was set for all 157 cars to convene at the F1 Pit Building, before starting on a 70km route (for 70th Anniversary, geddit?) around our sunny island.
A little over 15 convoys would tackle Singapore’s most iconic sights and stretches, including Changi Airport, Orchard Road, the Padang and naturally, part of the F1 street circuit before finishing-off at the JW Marriott Hotel Singapore South Beach, where the faithful tifosi were on hand to welcome them in fine Ferrari fashion.
You may have seen a gathering of other sportscars and thought that was impressive, but nothing prepares you for the sight, sound and smell of swarming Ferraris, especially when a mighty horde of Maranello’s finest dominates a major stretch of tarmac like Orchard Road.
You can’t help but see ‘red’ with the passing of the convoy, but not because it’s holding up traffic; instead, the near-mythical, exotic allure of the brand stops traffic and drops jaws, as bystanders and motorists are only too happy to make way for the procession, if only to revel in the wake of its passage.
And what’s a party without the special guests? Apart from the recently-launched 812 Superfast, the other VIP was the LaFerrari Aperta, which is a properly special model to commemorate the Company’s 70th.
A celebration of such an epic scale was extra-special because we were in the thick of the action, and we’re still savouring that piquant ‘hit’ to our senses...
Some of the (pit)crew involved in organising the big shebang
PHOTOS Ferrari VIDEOS David Khoo using a Samsung Note 4 & Sony RX100 V
We arrive in the cheeky baby blue 2+2 to pick up the FF 2+2...
