I blinked back the sun glinting off the Mediterranean. My wife Rona and I had just landed in Italy and been ushered quickly and seamlessly from Rome to the harbor at Civitavecchia. Though I was fatigued from the flight, expectations were forcing alertness. I couldn’t take my eyes off the subject of our trip: three new Ferraris poised aggressively on the dock, one of them an F430. Though it’s always exciting to have the opportunity to evaluate a luxury automobile, this particular experience was different from any other.

Red Travel, a newcomer to the travel industry, has captured the imagination of a select demographic with its Red Style Tour, a compelling escape developed through an exclusive agreement with Ferrari. For eight days you and a companion will combine the finest Italian ingredients: dining in Italy’s best restaurants, sleeping in Italy’s grandest hotels, and traveling in Italy’s most prestigious automobile.

This is not a trip for one to push the Ferrari to its edge; other groups specialize in that aspect of training and road courses. Rather, this tour was designed for couples to experience the car at a touring speed along some of the most beautiful Tuscan countryside and historic Italian destinations. The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences (AAHS) gave its 2005 Five Star Diamond Award to Red Travel as the worldwide winner for most innovative and glamorous travel experience. AAHS International General Manager Vittorio Gai eloquently charged Red Travel with upholding the standard of excellence and said that a watchful travel industry is keenly interested in its success. AAHS was so impressed with the strength and glamorous details of the tour concept, it gave an unprecedented award in advance of the official launch of the tour.

BACK TO THE PORT
The waves from the Mediterra-nean sparkled, and the marina seabirds clamored for attention, but everything around the Ferraris seemed muted. Someone on the Red Travel staff whisked away our luggage and stowed it in the chase car, and then handed us the keys to our Ferrari F430. Our assignment was to follow the Alfa Romeo GTV along the winding roads and narrow town streets to a gourmet Tuscan dinner at a villa originally owned by the Medicis. It has since been converted to the lavish, five-star Fonteverde Terme & Hotel in San Casciano dei Bagni.

After sliding into the elegant interior of the F430, I noticed first the F1-inspired steering wheel. My hands were drawn to the 10 and 2 positions as I envisioned Schumacher gripping, paddleshifting and orchestrating all aspects of electronic gadgetry with a flick of his fingers. There are a select few who are credited with the styling and genetic makeup of the F430. Frank Stephenson serves as Ferrari/Maserati’s chief stylist. Also credited with the styling of BMW’s reborn MINI Cooper, his sketches were able to connect the lineage with the heritage styling cues that would have evolved over time had the MINI continued production. Stephenson feels like a “kid in a candy store” in his new position as he carries Ferrari’s design DNA forward. He seeks an “athletic tension” that combines a fresh approach and the appreciation for racing heritage and aggressive styling. Another must is the ability to blend state-of-the-art manufacturing and performance.

Pressing the Engine Start button with my left thumb unleashed the athletic tension Stephenson was striving for in the styling center. The refined brutishness echoing behind my head gave me significant clues that the F1 inspiration wasn’t a cosmetic embellishment of the steering wheel. There are 490 horsepower in a 4300cc, 90-degree V8 engine with a gearbox that cuts shifting times down to 150 milliseconds. This symphony of systems and race-inspired performance can propel the F430 from 0-62 mph in 4.0 seconds.

The F430 celebrates world firsts for production cars with an electronic differential (E-diff) and the steering wheel-mounted switch (known by F1 Scuderia’s drivers as “manettino”) that coordinate system and performance controls. I really appreciated this technological brilliance on Tuscany’s twisting roads, with short sections where one can quickly exceed 100 mph and then stabilize into a winding portion of oddly angled curves. It’s this level of dynamic integration of systems that makes one a better driver and offers an exhilaration few experiences can match. Ferrari has allowed Stephenson to further indulge his race-inspired genetic styling of the F430 by building on the astonishing achievements with aluminum technology resulting from the Ferrari F1 racers.

However, I wasn’t racing. Touring speed was appropriate for the road course and extremely enjoyable in the F430. At that speed, I was able to take pleasure in the character and quiet history of the area that gave its name to the earthy color of sienna. The F430’s rare combination of speed, power, incredible refinement, and elegance otherwise fully engaged my attention. Turns along the route were incredible, and while E-diff was managing loose material and sharp bends with superb stability, the straight sections in race mode were a thrilling experience with lightning shifts. Thanks to the E-diff, the F430 never showed signs of being edgy when pushed, and at the same time it didn’t chide me for cruising at 70 mph. I knew the power was there; the exhaust note told me when I dropped down to accelerate past a hay cart on the historic section that once formed a portion of the Mille Miglia on the route from Viterbo to Siena. And the styling was there; the young shepherd on the bluff with 40 sheep watched in rapt attention as we powered around his flock. The looks we received in the towns were not ones of slack-jawed awe, but of appreciation and pride. The F430 is no stranger to this place. It was bred from Italian races and the passion of the people.

The charm of tile-roofed farmhouses with freshly pruned vineyards and rolling countryside that inspired grand cinematic vistas in Gladiator and The English Patient was an excellent start for a getaway in a fabulous automobile with my favorite person. Red Travel’s goals are to capture your imagination and your heart, and in fewer than 24 hours it had accomplished both. And this was just Day One. There would be more.