Celebrating the 20th anniversary of its presence in the Chinese market, Ferrari announced launch of a limited and special edition 458 Italia at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show. The special 458 is only one of the treatment the Chinese will get. Ferrari will also inaugurate its first ever permanent brand exhibition outside of Maranello at the Italia Center of Shanghai World Expo Park.
Ferrari entered China 20 years ago with a 348 TS.
The Ferrari exhibition in China which will last for three years, covers an area of 900 square metres and brings some of the best features of the Maranello museum to the old Asian country. It is divided into five topics, including Ferrari in China, Green Technology, Product, Design and Racing. There will also lots of multimedia material made specially for this exhibition.
As for the Special Edition Ferrari 458, the car is finished in a brand new colour called Marco Polo Red and comes with a special livery featuring Chinese elements. As with most Chinese things, Dragon is heavily featured in the livery, reflecting on its role in Chinese culture standing for courage, passion and success.
Technically the car is the same as normal 458s, but inside it gets more longma spirit-inspired detailing with gold embroidery on the car’s head rest. It also has red carbon fiber trimming and the engine start button on each of the 20 cars is inscribed with the simplified Chinese characters for ‘start’.
Each of the 20 cars also sport a ‘20th Anniversary Special Edition’ plaque is set into the dash. No word on the pricing yet.
