Ferrari World Abu Dhabi Announces Pay-By-Height Pricing and Merry-Go-Around with Never Before Seen Prototypes

Ferrari World Abu Dhabi has announced that it will be opening to the public for a short Inaugural Period, beginning at 7pm on October 27th, 2010. This period, which will no doubt be used to sort out any kinks, will continue up to the park's official, Grand Opening in November.

Unlike most parks, which sell tickets based on age, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi's tickets will be sold according to height. Guests under 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) will pay AED 165 (US$45), while guests over 1.5 metres will pay AED 225 (US$61).

Visitors to the park can also upgrade to an AED 375 (US$102) premium ticket that gives them priority access to all rides and attractions, access to an exclusive lounge area and other benefits.

Claus Frimand, General Manager of Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, is feeling confident:

"We are on schedule to open the park with a wide selection of rides and attractions. We have managed to turn one of the world's most exclusive brands into an extraordinary experience which families and fans will come back for time and time again."

The park has also announced a new attraction: a Ferrari-fied merry-go-round called Carousel. The attraction will feature four design studies never before seen outside of Maranello, created by design students under the banner of, "Ferrari: new concepts for the myth". These cars will feature moving brake pedals / accelerators and working horns.

This "Disneyland for Ferrari Fans" is the world's largest indoor theme park, with a surface area of 200,000m² (2.15 million sq. ft.) and many rides including what is claimed to be the world's fastest roller-coaster, the 240km/h [149mph] Formula Rossa.

By Tristan Hankins

FAIL No2: Volvo V60 Safety System Flub Ends with a Dead Dummy Named Bob

This is officially the second safety system demonstration in as many "Look at this!" announcements that has gone horribly wrong for Volvo. That's right, two. The first one was back in May and led to a new S60 estate crushing itself into the back of a truck - see the video here. This latest mishap occurred during a media demonstration to Australian journalists in Europe.

Now that the known-as-safe Volvo brand is officially owned by the Chinese, is this a sign of things to come?

The mechanism in question is part of Volvo's pedestrian avoidance technology, which makes use of cameras and radar in the nose of the vehicle to control the brakes and stability control system in order to reduce driver/pedestrian injuries. The object that the system was meant to detect was Bob the Dummy; as you can see in the vids below, it didn't detect a damn thing.

That's not to say the system is terrible; after all is said and done, it worked 75% of the time. Of the twelve runs, only one ended with Bob getting the full force of the Volvo unleashed on him, with the other two still being less than perfect. Some of the blame has been placed on a camera that doesn't work well in low-light conditions (infrared / night vision, guys?).

Volvo's Jonas Tisell, Active Safety Systems manager, told journalists, "The failure of the test was due to the dummy not being set up properly, therefore it did not give an echo enough for the system. So the dummy was not relevant in this situation." So...blame it on the dummy? And "not relevant"? How does being to blame (according to Volvo) translate as irrelevant?

More like Volvo just got caught with its pants down...again.

By Phil Alex

Via: Drive and Autoblog.com

Citroën Releases Dating 2.0 to Help People Find a Date for The Paris Motor Show (and Market the DS3)

Ooohweee, does Citroën know how to get this pale, pajama-wearing, cries-himself-to-sleep-every-night hippie blogger interested. Screw match-dot-com, we've got a car dating service now. The French brand know for its wild and out of this world concepts (see GTbyCitroën, Survolt, Revolte, etc.) has created a new form of match-up for the car enthusiast called Dating 2.0, and it's one nifty little time-waster.

Just be aware that the first step is asking your preference, not what you are. Don't make the same mistake I did and wind up looking at a dude in boxer briefs. Well, unless that's your thing, in which case go for it.

I, on the other hand, went with classy, busty, and shapely for my little lady and ended up with a "beautiful, alluring, and enigmatic" fish supper-enjoying mermaid and a red DS3. Yeah, I thought it was weird, too, so I tried it again...and it got even weirder.

Next, I chose funny, toned, and sporty (or something thereabouts) and ended up with a dominatrix-looking chick in leather with "a dominant personality and a unique dress sense". And...and...she's wearing a studded collar with a friggin' leash.

Try out this Dating 2.0 (link below) for yourself and leave your kinky results in the comments below. As for me, I'm off to the store to snag some furry handcuffs.

By Phil Alex

Link: Citroën Dating 2.0

Hasselblad H4D Ferrari is Another Cynical Marketing Excercise

Why can't carmakers stick to building cars? You don't see Dyson and Prada making a limited edition vacuum cleaner or Apple and Westinghouse producing an iPad integrated refrigerator (so far).

And yet, here we are. Swedish camera company Hasselblad (famous for its camera's use on the Apollo moon missions) and Italian supercar maker Ferrari have collaborated on a limited edition model of the Hasselblad H4D camera.

The Ferrari limited edition is nothing more than a standard Hasselblad H4D camera painted "rosso fuoco" red and with the Ferrari shield applied.

More thought seems to have been put into the box which features a glass top and separate compartments for the camera and lens / accessories.

Hasselblad will build just 499 units of its H4D Ferrari, possibly as a nod to the Ferrari 430 16M Scuderia Spider which was built in the same numbers. Hasselblad has promised to release more details in October, which we await with baited breath.

By Tristan Hankins

Sigh... Viral Marketing Tricksters Knock on our Door with a Kia Called Mediocrity

We not sure how Kia's marketing people are going to feel about this one (unless they're part of it...), but photos of an older generation Optima covered in beige cladding and featuring a badge with the word "MEDIOCRITY" have just landed in our mail box. Tony B, the tipster-reader-scooper who sent in the photos, claims he snagged the car in LA.

Of course, it didn't take long to figure out that this is a viral campaign of some sort. However, since we're gearing up for this week's Paris Motor Show, we're not going to waste our time looking for answers about a covered up Kia...

Nonetheless, this is what we know: the photos we're shot on September 10; a similar set of images along with an almost identical text were also sent to Motorauthority (even though they mistook it for a "seven year old" Mitsubishi). See both texts below:

From Tony to Carscoop:

"I was in LA last week and saw 3 or maybe 4 identical test cars. The other spy cars had more testing gear taped on and computers and other screens visible, but by the time I was able to find my camera , I was only able to catch up with one of the cars.

I don't know what kind of test car this is, but they sure didn't want us to take any pictures. There was a M on the grille and a nameplate on back reading MEDIOCRITY. Are they serious? MEDIOCRITY?"

From Tina to MA:

"I was in L.A. last week with my husband and we saw several (5 or 6) identical test cars. The other spy cars had more testing gear taped on and computers and other screens visible, but by the time I was able to dig my camera out of my purse, I was only able to catch up with one of the cars.

I don't know what kind of test car this is, but they sure didn't want us to take any pictures. There was a M on the grille and a nameplate on back reading MEDIOCRITY. Are they serious? MEDIOCRITY?"

And well, that's about it. Feel free to have some fun in the comments section below.

"Scoop" Pictures:

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2004 Kia Optima:

Dutch Superbus Limousine Hits the Track in New Video

Remember the 15-meter long Superbus from Holland's Delft University of Technology? Sure you do; it's the big, electric, beetle-icious bus that's going to be the efficient transportation for the future's well-off city dwellers.

Way back in March we brought you some photos of the first prototype being built, and now it looks as if the Superbus is starting to take shape. For some new video of a more show-ready bus making its way around the track, scroll on down.

Here's a brief refresher: the Superbus should be able to carry 23 passengers in personal or group cabins, will feature obstacle detection systems, and hopes to make a go at 155 mph. For some more information, check out our previous post here.

By Phil Alex

Samir Sadihkov’s 2020 Inceptor Supercar Study

What you see pictured here is a futuristic proposal for a hybrid supercar crafted by Samir Sadikhov, a talented 19-year old designer from Azerbaijan. Even though the concept study has an exterior with a few styling cues here and there from cars such as the Pininfarina / Ferrari P45, Bugatti Veyron and Jaguar XJ220, plus a little bit of Lexus LFA in the interior, there is a lot to like about the design.

The elongated A-pillars, for instance, are set far forward, almost directly in the driver's line of vision. This is to make allowances for the cab-forward scissor doors that seem to take their shape from the doors on the GT40 Le Mans winner.

The cat-like haunches at the front and outrigger-style rear wheel covers give the Inceptor a strong, menacing stance. So too do the oversized, jet fighter-style exhausts.

Inside, the Inceptor is pretty standard; the one notable feature is the air condition vents that are literally sculpted into the dash.

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: Samir Sadikhov