Australian deliveries of the astonishing Ferrari Superamerica may now be underway, but with just six destined to find a home in Australia the Melbourne International Motor Show (9-19 February 2006) will probably be most people's one and only opportunity to see this 320 km/h supercar.

Amazing though the top speed and the 0-100 km/h time of 4.2 seconds may be, they are not the only super-fast things about this new Ferrari. At the flick of a switch, the entire glass roof not only opens in just ten seconds, a feat it can also perform while on the move, but also at the flick of another switch it is also possible to turn down the sun by as much as 99 per cent. The Revocromico roof can change its light transmission properties, either letting through 99 per cent of the sun, or cutting it back to just one per cent. Powered by a 5.7 litre 375 kW V12 engine, the performance is as seamless as it is remarkable, with the hand built, race-bred V12 providing acceleration that redraws any previous perception of performance.

Also on the Ferrari stand at the Melbourne International Motor Show will be the Ferrari F430 and F430 Spider, alongside the ultimate four seat car, the V12-powered Ferrari F612.

The Ferrari F430 is the benchmark mid-engined sports car, blending blinding performance with impeccable road manners with a level of style that could only come from Ferrari. A host of features and technology in the F430 could have only come from Ferrari's Formula One programme, from chassis design and development, to the state-of-the-art aerodynamics to the electronics that make the F430 a unique combination: A true supercar that can be easily used as everyday transport. The F430 Spider is no less remarkable. Ferrari has totally side-stepped the traditional problems of soft-top cars, extra weight sapping performance and a loss of rigidity causing detrimental affects to the handling and road holding.
 

The bodyshell strengthening to maintain the rigidity of the F430 Coupe is as light as it is strong and this means that the Spider is every bit the super car that the F430 Coupe is with the added attraction of roof-off motoring.

No less remarkable is the Ferrari F612 Scaglietti. This is a true four seater, with a generous boot that is capable of effortless swallowing enormous distances, as true grand tourer, but at the same time it has a chassis that enables it to be a true sports car. It is a car that is as happy and at ease cruising at 250 kmh - well short of its top speed of 320
kmh - on an autobahn, as it is being hurled up and down a tight and twisting Alpine pass. Powered by the same 5.7 litre V12 engine as the Superamerica, the performance is totally seamless, with an effortless rush towards the horizon available in any and every gear at any road speed.

As would be expected in the rarefied world of the Ferrari end of the market, all models may be tailored specific desires. Take colours, for example. There is the standard Ferrari colour range, but it is also possible to have a colour from any period of Ferrari's rich history or, if the customer provides a colour sample, a Ferrari may be produced in any colour. There are a host of technical options, too. These include carbon-ceramic brakes. These combine the epic stopping ability of a car equipped with racing brakes and pads without the drawback of racing brakes of having to be warmed up before they become operational. They are effectively fade-free and make race track stopping performance fully available for road use.