Since 1929, the small town of Maranello, Italy, has been the home of Ferrari, the iconic manufacturer of luxury sports cars. The Italian company has announced its intentions to build near Barcelona, Spain, its second theme park: Ferrari Land Spain. The first opened in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in 2010, and its enormous success and the large number of visitors have encouraged the distinguished Italian brand to also open one in Europe.
The construction of Ferrari Land Spain will begin shortly, and it will be part of the Port Aventura resort, one of the most successful amusement parks of the Old Continent with around 4 million visitors annually. Ferrari Land will require an investment of more than $140 million and will have a total area exceeding 75,000 square feet. “After the success of the Ferrari World Park in Abu Dhabi, we received several requests to develop new theme parks around the world, and we thought Barcelona was the right place to do it,” says Andrea Perrone, Executive Marketing Director of Ferrari.
“We are also evaluating other proposals for theme parks outside of Europe, based on our criteria because the Ferrari brand is our most important asset, and we need to improve its value without diluting it.” According to plans, Ferrari Land Spain will have the highest and fastest vertical roller coaster ride in Europe, as well as a first rate restaurant, a center for driving simulation, a museum with legendary models from the Italian brand, a go-kart circuit and exclusive boutiques.
The park also will feature an exceptional five-star hotel, the first built by Ferrari. It will be a unique space: 250 rooms where the label will display all the splendor, good taste and expressive elegance of the best Italian design. Its rooms and suites will have plenty of references and details that characterize the legendary car brand.
Aware of its excellent reputation and the enormous interest generated by its projects, Ferrari has decided to enter the booming business of theme parks because— beyond selling cars, its franchise stores and the Formula 1 competition— the firm is a symbol of distinction and an allegory of the Italian lifestyle, and, of course, of the luxury and exclusivity the brand represents. ■
