Auto’s en snelheid zijn entertainment. Zo opent er in 2007 in Duitsland een pretpark dat in het thema staat van snelheid. Bezoekers kunnen zich naar hartelust uitleven met raceauto’s, dragsters, crosswagens en motoren en jetski’s. Ferrari doet ook mee met deze trend en heeft een overeenkomst getekend met een Arabische projectontwikkelaar voor een themapark dat geheel in het teken zal staan van de Italiaanse autofabrikant, waarvan we tegenwoordig naast auto’s ook kleding, zonnebrillen, laptops zien…
Op het park vinden straks in ieder geval een circuit, een soort Ferrari museum en kun je er rij-instructies volgen. Daarnaast kun je er overnachten, uit eten en winkelen. Voor de locatie is Abu Dhabi, de hoofdstad van de Verenigde Arabische Emiraten, gekozen. Volgens plan moet het park ergens in 2008 gereed zijn.
ABU DHABI, U.A.E. — Ferrari has elected not to invest in a new theme park that’s planned for the United Arab Emirates but will license its brand to the local development company that is building it.
The Gulf News quoted Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo as saying: “Everything is going according to plans and the theme park will have its inauguration in 2008 and it will be completely open in 2009…Ferrari gives the license and that’s it. We will not be an investor in the park.”
Plans for the world’s first theme park built around the Ferrari concept were announced last fall. The park will be built on land near the Al Raha Beach here. It will include a full-size racetrack as well as Ferrari-themed rides, motoring activities and other attractions, including the first Ferrari store in the region, according to Italiaspeed.com.
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company acquired a 5 percent stake in Ferrari in 2005. Montezemolo was quoted as saying, “There are no plans for Mubadala to increase its equity in Ferrari in the short term at least.”
Via http://www.edmunds.com/insideline/do/News/articleId=115336
Abu Dhabi, a Persian Gulf emirate with 8 percent of global oil reserves, plans to build the world’s first Ferrari theme park to lure tourists and lessen its dependence on energy.
Ferrari World will headline the emirate’s $40 billion transformation of Yas Island, a 2,500 hectare plot in the Gulf opposite Iran, into a luxury tourist destination, Aldar Properties PJSC, a developer owned by Abu Dhabi’s ruling al-Nahyan family, said in a statement today. The family owns 5 percent of Ferrari SpA, maker of the eponymous Italian sports car.
Abu Dhabi and other sheikhdoms in the United Arab Emirates, which has 8 percent of the world’s oil and a population of less than 4 million, are spending their rising wealth on development projects to wean their economies from energy. Dubai, the U.A.E.’s second-largest sheikhdom after Abu Dhabi, plans to spend $33 billion to build the world’s largest airport.
“Yas Island will be a global destination that will take Abu Dhabi to the world,” Aldar Chief Executive Officer Ronald Barrott, said in a telephone interview from Abu Dhabi today.
Ferrari World, to be completed by 2009, will be a “hi-tech theme park,” including simulator rides, roller coasters, an interactive museum, a theater with an Italian-themed play and a race track, Barrott said.
Via http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601093&sid=alOwOks5fYsY&refer=home