Boasting is nothing new in the car world. Global manufacturers seem to like nothing more than building monuments to their own success, and Ferrari is no different.
Enclosing an area of 86,000 square metres – the size of seven football pitches – Ferrari World rises like a red monolith from the Abu Dhabi desert.
It sits on the edge of the Yas Marina racing circuit and has become a major tourist attraction for racing fans since it opened in 2010.
Featuring on its roof the largest Ferrari logo ever created, the megastructure is home to multiple rides and attractions, plus, of course, a large Ferrari store.
Rides at Ferrari World include Formula Rossa, which is billed as the world’s fastest roller coaster and can reach 150mph in 4.9sec. It is designed to let visitors experience the kind of G-forces F1 drivers feel during a race.
Slower attractions include the Bell'Italia children’s ride in model Ferraris through a miniature village, along with electric go-kart racing and a motorised tour of the Ferrari factory.
Perhaps most notable about Ferrari World is how much it feels like a theme park. Children rush from ride to ride clutching merchandise, while others stare at the cars dotted around.
Ferrari most likely knows that only a small percentage of the world can afford to own one of its models, so Ferrari World is its way of introducing others to the brand.
And that’s what sticks with you. As fun and as engaging as the theme park is, it is undoubtedly a marketing exercise – albeit on a massive scale.
There’s no arguing with success, though, and Ferrari World is a successful venture. So much so, in fact, that the firm is planning a second site – dubbed Ferrari Land – in Spain, which will open in 2016.
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