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Piaggio Makes Plans for a New Ferrari Jet

Piaggio’s Chief Executive Alberto Galassi announced the planning of a new Ferrari jet at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva.

Piaggio, which is partly owned by Ferrari and is licensed to use the prancing horse logo, is currently involved in a learning process, collecting information from the automotive industry and from the mistakes of others, as Galassi said. The company also stated that its shareholders, Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala and the Tata Group (India), are committed to the project.

"We have our shareholders in place and we have our shareholders' commitment," Galassi says. "Both the chairman of Mubadala and Mr Tata have had input and made us think again about the size, the range and the type of aircraft we need for a global market. Their involvement is about a lot more than cash. They both bring a passion for aviation and that shows in what we are doing.”

According to luxist.com, they are not taking orders yet. "We are waiting because we want to wait. Who wants to hear about a new airplane, take orders and then wait 10 years for delivery. You don't see Ferrari announcing a new model and then spending years developing it. Ferrari designs the car, builds it and then launches it. I want us to be close to first flight and with the latest technology before we tell people about it," Gallasi continued.

The new Ferrari jet will be based on the Avanti turboprop plane. Avanti's fuel savings are as much as 40% over a jet aircraft of similar size. Former world champion Michael Schumacher was a great fan of the Avanti, but Felipe Massa has even become a customer of the manufacturer.

Only 32 units of the Avanti I aircraft had been sold in the 14 years before Ferrari became involved in the Piaggio business. Production of the upgraded Avanti II stepped up to 30 units a year, despite its $7.19 million price tag.
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