It is amazing how many times as a writer you get mail that says, “Hi, I’m a long time reader but first time writer...” Ok, fine, I do not get that kind of mail, but some column writers more gifted surely get them. It is ironic how the same can be said for me the day I buy my first Ferrari. I could say, “Long time admirer, but first time consumer”. I do hope that day comes along, but even someone like me who has been drooling over the Scuderia Ferrari logo for such a long time never actually knew this. The Italian car giants have actually made tanks for warfare!
That is really interesting to note, since maybe it was only natural that at some point in their history they might have been ordered by someone like Mussolini to make stuff that is actually useful to go in to a war. While many of us might be startled by it, the tank designed by Ferrari was not filled with the usual flair and style attributed to the Italian makers. But it still was like no other taker striding in to war. It was smaller and just a lot less bulky. Being ungainly, I suppose, is never a trademark of the scarlet band.
The Ferrari F333E Lizard was designed by the company to make sure that it also gets in to the military sector, which without a surprise was hot at certain point in history. But mind you, Ferrari was neither the first nor the most successful in this sector the business. The Mercedes G-Wagen has been a staple of European and Asian militaries for two decades. Land Rover has been supplying military trucks for over 50 years. BMW sold motorcycles to the Nazis. Porsche designed the Tiger tank and the Wiesel AWC. The Lamorghini LM-002 was adopted by Saudi security forces. All of them had reaped a lot more success than the Lizard.
What seems most surprising though is the name of the tank. Why in this world would the Italian outfit name it ‘Lizard’? Still beats me. Now just imagine Michael Schumacher driving one of these instead of the F2207. Anyway the tankers were a lot cheaper than modern Ferrari sports cars and offered sports car performance with armored protection and special operations capabilities. Cool indeed! Wonder if Adolf Hitler ever paraded in one of these, after all, they were allies.
While the image here might not be a Ferrari F333E Lizard, it is better than the old version of Ferrari’s military tank. It offers the style of modern Ferrari Sports car with the crushing force of a tanker allowing you to bulldoze your way over traffic. Now if only Ferrari and the US military could jointly work together on it!
