After Bahar joined Lotus in 2009, he set to work on replicating the Ferrari experience for the Norfolk sportscar maker. Lotus Originals opened its first retail store at the Hethel factory last December, and is due to launch its prestigious flagship store on London’s Regent Street during the next few months.

However, Ferrari and Lotus are not the only car maker to embrace the brand retail concept – L’Atelier Renault situated on the legendary Champs-Elysees in Paris, welcomes over two million visitors each year and there are numerous ‘brand experience’ centres off the high street including Mercedes-Benz World at the site of the famous Brooklands racing circuit in England.

Automotive brand retailing is now transforming from its humble origins as a catalogue business (tucked away in an official dealer’s parts and service department), to an independent service provided by car makers in ever-more prominent locations.

Now it’s BMW’s turn to show what it can do.

Earlier today Ian Robertson, Head of Sales and Marketing at BMW AG, opened the car maker’s first ‘BMW Brand Store’ on Avenue George V, one of the most luxurious areas in metropolitan Paris.

The store was designed by the well-known, luxury retail architect, Eric Carlson and his team from Carbondale Architects and Version Architects.

Ian Robertson said at the launch, “The world of retail has changed significantly – customer behaviour, needs and expectations have changed, as well as communication technology. As part of our corporate Strategy Number ONE, we critically reviewed our processes and customer feedback. We will now build upon our strengths and implement a comprehensive programme named Future Retail. This will entail a whole range of initiatives and tools designed to enhance the customer experience and to set new standards for retail in the automotive industry and beyond.”

With Future Retail, the BMW Group has three objectives – first, to increase the number of possible contact points with customers and prospects, second, to increase the services and benefits offered in its retail channels, and third, to enhance the retail experience at all touch points.

* * *

For those of you unfamiliar with the ingredients of multi-channel marketing, the phrase ‘touch point’ is management-speak for any physical or virtual contact between the customer and a brand. During the past decade consumer product retailers have been grappling with the issues created by the diversity of these contact opportunities (telephone, internet, retail stores, temporary exhibition centres) where a customer either acquires information about the brand or provides information about themselves to the brand.

Either way, the challenge for the brand is to ensure the information they provide (or collect) is the same (across all touch points) and that contact with the customer builds a memory that informs future contact (through whichever contact point the customer then chooses to use) so that the contact can be personalised and the experience enhanced to make customers more likely to buy and remain loyal.

It’s tricky, but quite fun to crack and often a brand’s retail presence is the best point to use when bringing all these elements together. It’s also usually the only point where the entire customer experience can be delivered in a consistent and controlled manner.

* * *

In the future you will see a number of BMW and MINI retail centres, together with other initiatives to help deliver BMW’s Future Retail goals.

According to BMW’s statement today, Stage One seems to be these branded retail centres, but Robertson still sees its dealer network as being a critical part of the customer experience offered by the brand.

To this end, they have created a new dealer-based role, dubiously called ‘Product Genius’, which will be mobile rather than office-based. These product management gurus will be equipped with a state of the art Information Management System on a tablet device, allowing, for example, product configuration and in-depth explanation of features supported by visuals and films.

Robertson’s ambitions are considerable, “We aim to be the benchmark in automotive retail”, but they’ll start their move towards world-domination initially in just four countries – France, UK, China and the Netherlands.

Presumably America’s ‘Have a Nice Day’ culture was a bit too much to swallow in the first stage, but then Rome wasn’t built in a day and there’s a lot of work to do before Robertson’s vision of a single customer experience can become a reality.

Kevin Mc Glone – Red Square Images

When you view these atmospheric images from the latest Britcar event, spare a thought for the man behind the lens.

As a motorsport photographer, Kevin braves the elements to bring you great images such as these which put you at the heart of the action. You can support Kevin by visiting his personal site – redsquareimages.com – and choosing a few images for yourself.

The BEC – Britain’s top endurance racing series, and the championship behind Britain’s only 24 Hour race – is unique on the UK’s national racing scene, offering fans the chance to watch multi-class endurance racing with grids of unrivalled variety. The cars on view range from open-cockpit prototype a-likes such as the flat-six.co.uk run Rapier SR2, through to more conventional GT cars like the Mosler MT900R, Ferrari 458, Lotus Evora and race prepared BMW M3s sporting splitters and wings.

In the three hour race, teams featuring two or three drivers make a number of mandatory pitstops, making strategy all important as the battle for the lead swings back and forth between teams and drivers

On the longer ‘300’ layout of the Norfolk track expect Andy Schulz (Ferrari 430), Javier Morcillo (Mosler MT900R) and Mike Millard (Rapier SR2) to fight for the lead once more, continuing their battles from the earlier races at Silverstone and Donington Park.

Reliability issues for their rivals at Silverstone allowed Spanish driver Morcillo, compatriot Manuel Cintrano and Paul White to score an overall victory in their first race together.

The trio were amongst the leaders at Donington Park in a thrilling race, in changing conditions, when a rain shower caught out Morcillo allowing the Ginetta G55 pairing driven by Mike Simpson and Lawrence Tomlinson to take victory in a one-off appearance in a GT3-spec Ginetta G55.

Tomlinson, the Chairman of Ginetta, will race once more at Snetterton, and again in a potentially race winning Ginetta G55 as he joins Ian Stinton and the Stark Racing team.

As well as for the overall lead, championship points are on offer in all four classes.

Topcats Racing bring their two instantly recognisable Marcos Mantis in Class 2 against Motionsport’s new-for-2012 Ferrari 458.

Class 3 features another new car – Bullrun’s Lotus Evora. The class winners at Donington Park with a three-strong driver line-up, featuring ex-BTCC driver Martin Byford, will be hoping to maintain their early season form with another winning performance this weekend.

With all the BEC racing action packed into Saturday and the race as the finale, spectators will get a full view of the championship as drivers run against the clock for qualifying honours, then against each other in race with the welcoming relaxed Britcar paddock presenting an opportunity to get more familiar with one of British racing’s best kept secrets.

Words: James Broomhead
Images: Kevin Mc Glone (Red Square Images)

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The Diamond Jubilee Pageant celebrates 60 years of Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II’s reign, and is one of a huge range of events scheduled across the UK during this jubilee year.

Joining Ferrari’s latest models will be a selection of the most beautiful historic and contemporary Ferraris ever built, owned by the marque’s clients and collectors, which will be driven through the grounds of Windsor Castle and then displayed for the duration of the event.

Ferrari, however, wanted to involve another icon of Italian style, and thanks to its financial contribution made to the organisation, will be accompanied to this very special celebration by the 4th Mounted Carabinieri Regiment performing the famous Historic Carosello.

The Carosello will stage a stunning display of horsemanship during which they will perform the intricate yet fluid quadrilles and equestrian rides choreographed to music, to showcase the skill and agility of both horses and riders. The programme culminates in the Regiment’s now legendary final charge.

Ferrari will be represented at the event by Chairman Luca di Montezemolo on the final evening (13th May), which will also be attended by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

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According to correspondent Raymond Blancafort, Webber has already signed a pre-contractual agreement to drive for Ferrari in a one-year deal, providing the opportunity for Sergio ‘Checo’ Pérez to join the team in 2014.

Webber’s contract with Red Bull runs out at the end of 2012 and he’s already said “he’d need something (else) competitive (to drive)” if Red Bull didn’t re-sign him for 2013.

The 35-year-old Aussie driver was overshadowed by his teammate Sebastian Vettel last year, but has begun the 2012 season in much stronger form.

Despite rumours that ‘Checo’ Pérez might step in at Ferrari as early as the Spanish GP this May, it’s thought that Ferrari would like him to gain more experience before being placed under the spotlight with Italy’s national racing team.

Whilst Checo’s courage and speed are in little doubt, Massa has not been far behind his teammate during 2012 in terms of pure lap times. With Webber, Ferrari would gain advantage of his experience, consistent results and that fact the he and Alonso already get on well.

The move by the sport’s second most successful team, follows on from the news last month that Ferrari and Red Bull had already agreed to join the board of Formula One, in exchange for greater controls and share of the sport’s $500 million annual earnings.

At the time we suggested that it wouldn’t be long before McLaren and Mercedes joined Ferrari and Red Bull, but Mercedes has been holding out for more favourable terms in the new Concorde Agreement – the sport’s commercial contract between the rights holder and teams, which will run from 2013 until 2020.

“I don’t see much (racing) history in this team which would justify a bigger bonus” Ecclestone told German magazine auto, motor und sport, after his meeting with Daimler AG CEO Dieter Zetsche last week.

The article in thisismoney.co.uk, written by Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid of Formula Money, said that F1’s board had not yet voted to approve an initial public offering of the company’s stock, but that the sport’s majority owner, private equity firm CVC Capital, is working towards a flotation in June.

This could be delayed until later in the year or postponed even further, depending on market conditions and whether there are problems in gaining approval from the board of F1’s Jersey-based parent, Delta Topco.

A decision to go ahead will be sought at an extraordinary board meeting next month.

Just 20 cars will be made, to a uniquely Chinese design, featuring the longma theme – an old Chinese idiom which means “the vigor and spirit of the legendary dragon-horse”.

Dragon is a symbol of Chinese culture, standing for courage, passion and success, whilst Ferrari’s prancing horse logo is one of the most recognised symbols in the world representing Italian cultural identity and its achievements in design and engineering.

The car’s livery is characterised by these unique Chinese elements and is finished in a brand new colour called Marco Polo Red, specially developed for this exclusive model.

The most eye-catching element of the car’s exterior is the golden dragon on the front bonnet, which is offset by gold and black livery stripes symbolising a racing track. The image of the soaring dragon and the prancing horse on the front bonnet complement each other perfectly, and reflect both Chinese culture as well as Ferrari’s pursuit of innovation.

The 458 Italia “Dragon Horse Edition” is further enhanced by a gold finish to the rims and the aeroelastic winglets, whilst the interior also reflects the unique longma spirit and the celebration of Chinese culture with gold embroidery on the car’s head rests.

The engine start button on each of the 20 cars is inscribed with the simplified Chinese characters for ‘start’, and a ‘20th Anniversary Special Edition’ plaque is set into the dash.

The car will be on show in a few weeks time at Ferrari’s first ever permanent brand exhibition outside of Maranello, at the Italia Center of Shanghai World Expo Park.

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But it looks completely out of place sandwiched between a Ford Edge and Toyota Minivan in this car park underneath the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Amelia Island, Florida.

Car & Driver magazine tweeted a picture from the New York Auto Show this morning, showing the same car in a more appropriate setting.

As one of the grandees of motor racing history, it looks so small and ‘insignificant’ as it waits to be displayed at the 2012 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

Borrowed from the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany, this particular car was entered in Le Mans by the Salzburg team driven by Vic Elford and Kurt Ahrens Jr. and set pole with an average speed of 242 kph.

What makes the photo so intriguing is the juxtaposition of race car, which screams pure unadulterated speed, adjacent to the very antithesis of performance – the Crossover and People Carrier.

* * *

As is true of the next picture.

Seeing a Ferrari parked next to such ordinary vehicles in Maranello is not particularly noteworthy, but when it’s a Scuderia Ferrari Formula One car, the contrast could not be greater.

The images were tweeted on the team’s official @InsideFerrari account following Fernando Alonso’s win in Malaysia, catching the team in a particularly ‘playful’ mood..

Photo credits: Porsche, Car & Driver, Ferrari

Earlier today, Alonso paid a visit to Maranello to meet with di Montezemolo and thank the team’s technicians and mechanics, but Luca had a surprise in mind.

“Once again, Fernando drove an exceptional race, confirming his status as an extraordinary driver, from every point of view,” said the Ferrari President.

“I am also very pleased for Stefano Domenicali and all his people who got a nice reward for doing a perfect job on track, from the strategy to the pit stops to the car preparation. There is still a lot of work to do, but this win is a further shot in the arm that was much needed at a time like this.”

But what do you do to thank a two-times world champion who delivers “a welcome shot in the arm” for a team under pressure? How about a brand new £230,000 Ferrari FF?

No wonder Fernando never gives up in a race.

Among the more outlandish claims I’ve seen during the day, are that it’s a V12-engined 458 Italia built in homage to the 1970′s Berlinetta Boxer (BB 512) and perhaps my favourite, that if you won the lottery then you could buy one too.

We hear that it’s registered as a Ferrari SP12 EPC, where ‘SP’ stands for Special Projects and ‘EPC’ refers to the singer-songwriter’s initials (Eric Patrick Clapton). Other than that, I can confirm that it retains the 4499cc V8 engine from the standard 458 Italia and all the mechanical underpinnings that have made it one of Ferrari’s most accomplished models.

The car, which was spotted at the HR Owen Ferrari dealership in central London last night, was on show at the launch party for the new 458 Spyder.

But despite its select public appearance, the owner, presumably the aforementioned rock tifosi, has requested that Ferrari do not issue any official images or information about the car.

If you’re out and about in London, then you may see it driving around during the next few months, but Ferrari’s official word on the matter is, “we respect the privacy of our clients”, which is quite right, given how much its clients pay for the privilege.

So what is it?

The one (and only) time I purchased a Ferrari (an F430 way back in ’06), the options list was foreboding enough without considering anything ‘bespoke’, and even then it was enough of a challenge getting the Ferrari salesman to agree to my choice of specification.

“I’d like it in blue”, “Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer it in red sir”, said the salesman. “No, I like my cars in blue”, “But our customers normally choose red, which retains its value far better than other colours”, insisted the salesman. To which I retorted, “Have you ever heard the saying, the customer is always right?”.

Thankfully, it’s a lot easier these days since Ferrari launched ‘Tailor-Made’, a personalisation programme designed for customers who can’t find what they want on the extensive options list.

There are three schemes available, Classica – which adds a personalised twist to the standard car, Scuderia – which takes its inspiration from Ferrari’s sporting history and Inedita – for those customers who like to experiment and use unconventional colour combinations and materials.

If you’re spending £170k on a California, then by the time you’ve added a few options its price will be nearing the better part of £220k, and given the amount of time it takes to personalise it further, Ferrari ask its customers to spend at least Euro50,000 more, when opting for their Tailor-Made service.

If that sounds a bit excessive, then bear in mind that whatever materials are chosen for your tailor-made steed, Ferrari will need to set aside a sufficient quantity for repair or replacement, should your pride-and-joy ever be damaged.

The ‘Tailor-Made’ programme has been running for less than a year, but Ferrari expect to sell around 30 cars annually to customers who’d like their Ferrari to be just a little more special than normal.

The “One Off” programme

You have probably gathered by now that SP12 EPC is a little more personalised than even Ferrari’s Tailor-Made programme can offer, in fact it belongs in a private programme, where even those with huge amounts of money are not eligible.

If you’re a lottery winner with a taste for excess, then you can put away that Black American Express card, because Ferrari will ever so politely guide you to their public entrance.

Coach-built cars such as this SP12 EPC are only for Ferrari’s closest friends – those customers who already have an extensive collection of Maranello’s finest, but are looking for something special to capture their loyalty to the brand.

The “One Off” programme is the key to working with Ferrari’s Special Projects team, where the very best comes as standard.

Some of these cars have made headlines in recent years, such as the P540 Superfast Aperta and Superamerica 45, but many are hidden away in private collections, for the eyes of just a privileged few.

You won’t find any price lists or details of what constitutes a ‘One Off’ Ferrari, but after a conversation with Ferrari this afternoon, here’s what we can tell you.

• Which Ferrari’s can be transformed? – any of the current range of models. If you’d like a re-bodied F430, sorry all the tooling and production facilities have been dismantled and are no longer available.
• What can be customised? – anything outside those parts which are homologated. So you cannot change parts such as the engine, gearbox, suspension, dashboard, seat belts or any of the mechanical configuration and design. You could however change ‘most’ of the bodywork, although Ferrari will advise which parts are best kept standard (such as the windscreen, for ease of finding spare parts). If the windscreen was changed, for example, Ferrari would produce 5 spare ones which would be stored by the owner then recalled by Ferrari when fitting a replacement.

• Is it expensive? – most owners are unconcerned by the price, but it’s likely to cost them millions rather than thousands of Euros.
• What do owners receive for such a sum? – well apart from a unique hand-built car from their favourite brand, they receive all the tooling to ensure Ferrari can never make the same car for another customer. But the real value comes from being intimately involved in the build of their own car – it’s a car enthusiast’s dream which includes signing-off a clay model of their car, regular visits to the Special Projects basement at Maranello for design and materials sign-offs, plus customers can even choose which famous Ferrari designer they’d like to be involved in their car (subject to agreement with the designer). It’s a time-consuming and highly-indulgent process, although apparently not a particularly profitable one for Ferrari.
• How many of these ‘One-Off’ projects do Ferrari accept each year – that’s a closely guarded secret and certainly more than most people realise. Ferrari can tackle up to 2 or 3 projects within a 12-month period.
• Are there any special conditions? – well, apart from the fact that Ferrari choose which customers they accept into the programme, each signs a contract which binds them to ‘owning’ the car, rather than trading it on, in fact if after an agreed period of time a customer decides to sell their coach-built car, they must first offer it to Ferrari who guarantee to buy it back at the same price the customer paid for it. Not bad eh?

Ultimately there are only ever a few people in the world with the ownership pedigree and money to spend on such a car, so we’re unlikely to see the market flooded with outlandish Ferraris bought by newly-moneyed Chinese billionaires.

So if you’re inspired by SP12 EPC but haven’t yet built up a track record of Ferrari ownership, you know what to do. You’ll find a list of Ferrari dealers near you on the Ferrari.com website, who retail a range of suitable cars priced from £170,000 to £250,000.

Photo credits: L.Gilbertson, Michael P Sannwald

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Private equity group CVC Capital Partners, has held the majority stake (63.4%) in Formula One since November 2005, when they acquired the shareholdings of Bambino, Bayerische Landesbank and JP Morgan Chase, and was approached last May from a consortium formed by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp and Exor, the Agnelli family investment company that controls Fiat (and Ferrari).

At the time, CVC politely declined further discussions, saying that their stake in Formula One was not for sale and whilst James Murdoch informed CVC that the approach was friendly, that’s usually how most hostile takeovers begin..

Meanwhile, two of Formula One’s most high-profile teams – Ferrari and Red Bull quit the Formula One Teams Association (Fota) last December (followed by Sauber), instigating a ‘divide and rule’ tactic intended to secure greater influence and share of income for those teams who contribute most to the sport’s value.

All the pieces have been lining up for a fundamental change in the ownership and governance of Formula One, which has just received a major push by news this evening, provided by Mark Kleinman of Sky News*, that CVC Capital Partners has retained Goldman Sachs to begin preparations to sell part (or all) of its stake in F1 during the next few months.

If CVC do elect to sell only ‘part’ of their 63.4% share, it is likely they will retain a controlling interest. It is also likely that CVC’s stock would be combined in a listing with the 15.3% held by LBI Group (the holding company used to contain the assets from the bankrupt US bank Lehman Brothers).

Lehman’s estate, which emerged from bankruptcy protection earlier this month, is expected to yield $1.5bn from its 15.3% stake in Formula One’s Jersey-based holding company, Delta Topco, hence the mention a few weeks ago of an estimated $10bn valuation of the business as a whole.

When Lehman Brothers originally went bankrupt in September 2008, CVC attempted to seize its Formula One shares, since Delta Topco’s articles of association give it the power to force any shareholder which becomes insolvent to sell to the remaining shareholders at a fair price. But with a $639bn debt to service, Lehman put its business into bankruptcy protection believing it would be worth more if sold as part of a controlling interest in the sport. Lehman Brothers is the 2nd largest shareholder in Formula One, after CVC Capital Partners.

CVC have power of veto over the sale of any shareholding in the Delta Topco, however when it requested the transfer of the Formula One shares from LBI, Lehman argued that US bankruptcy law would overrule its obligation to CVC. This was never tested in court, so ultimately CVC retain the right to seize the LBI shares.

The restructuring deal would likely bring in a number of prospective new investors and earn some significant payments to Ferrari (and possibly other teams). In addition to News Corporation/Exor, this could include Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala and the world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, whose telecommunications company, Telmex, already provides financial support to Sauber driver Sergio Perez..

According to the report on Sky News, such a deal would depend on creating a formal process for appointing and removing a chief executive – which would be an essential precursor to any form of stock market listing or IPO (Initial Public Offering). The deal also includes a provision to formalise Ferrari’s role in Formula One – as the sport’s longest standing team – with a shareholding in the sport’s holding company and enable both Ferrari and Red Bull to nominate a director to sit on the company’s audit and nominations committees.

It is believed that Luca di Montezemolo would represent Ferrari, whilst either Red Bull founder, Dieter Mateschitz, or team principal, Christian Horner, would represent Red Bull Racing,

This is a significant step, not only because it paves the way to recognise key stakeholders in the sport in a more conventional and secure manner than currently provided by the Concorde Agreement, but it could also put in place a defensive layer to prevent an unwelcome takeover in the future.

The process, sometimes called a ‘scorched earth’ strategy (in its most extreme forms), is designed to make the business less attractive to a takeover by either placing key assets outside the company’s holding, or adding onerous conditions to the holding company’s articles of association. Either way, Formula One becomes a stronger business (and investment) proposition if the key teams are disincentivised to leave. Something that would be good for the sport, as well as for those financing its growth.

The proposals being explored include the introduction of single car customer teams, enabling new teams to use cars deployed by other constructors during the previous season. New teams would then be able to use these ‘customer cars’ for up to 3 seasons, before having to introduce their own designs, which would go some way to avoiding the situation illustrated by HRT this weekend, who have been excluded from tomorrow’s Australian GP after falling outside the 107% rule.

Apparently team managers are due to meet during the next few hours (in Melbourne) to discuss these proposals, plus other issues relating to the 2013 Concorde Agreement, but it remains to be seen if other big teams such as McLaren and Mercedes, will join Ferrari and Red Bull in gaining a share of the sport they’ve helped create.

* The original article by Mark Kleinman on Sky News was taken down shortly after being published, however any F1 scribes who would like to take a look at its contents should get in touch with me using the feedback form on this page or by sending an email to press[at]fitchmedia[dot]com.