Ferrari completed a second track adjacent to its historic Fiorano circuit in only four months
You only have to spend a few minutes in Ferrari’s home town of Maranello to see one of the automaker’s prototypes in the wild. But they might be a rarer spot going forward now that the Italian automaker has finished work on a brand new test track across the road from its famous HQ.
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Called the E-Vortex, the new track was built in just four months on a narrow 44,670 sq yard (37,350 sq m) patch of land over the fence from the existing Pista di Fiorano circuit Ferrari carved out of farm land  in the early 1970s.
While Fiorano is great for high-speed dynamic testing, it hasn’t got the same range of surfaces as other brands’ test tracks, plus it gets very busy. The new track gives the company’s test drivers more days to get behind the wheel on a closed course and the ability to experience varying situations.
More Than Just Corners and Straights
The E-Vortex is 1.17 miles (1.89 km) long, versus Fiorano’s 1.89 miles (3 km), and is divided into distinct areas. It has banked curves at either end, plus a longitudinal slope, a central straight and a couple of infield corners to test dynamic behavior and also features “special road surfaces” to test things like NVH, durability and ride comfort.
In addition, a 1,200 sq yard (1,000 sq m) workshop means some checks and work can be carried out on site rather than requiring a short, but still time-sapping, trip back to the main factory.
Ferrari says it plans to gradually transfer testing activities from the road to the track, allowing engineers to be more objective in their assessments of a car’s behavior and do it more quickly.
It’s an hour’s round trip to reach some of the roads engineers use for putting new cars through their paces, so it could speed up development of the brand’s new sports cars and future EVs.
A Quieter Maranello
The company also notes that the new setup will also help reduce traffic in the town, which might be good for locals, but is a major downside for the thousands of fans who make their way to Maranello every year in the hope of seeing a Ferrari prototype in action.
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Chris is a seasoned automotive journalist with over two decades of experience. He has worked… Read full bio

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