Magic India Discovery: How Ferrari revealed an immense and mysterious country to the world

The success of the epic journey across China by two Ferraris driven by journalists from around the world paved the way for other adventures undertaken with courage on difficult roads in unknown countries. Three authentic raids were carried out in Maranello in the early years of the new millennium: after China, India, a huge country with an extraordinary culture, and the Americas, with an endless journey that started in Brazil and Argentina and continued along the Andes to Central America, then on to Mexico, the United States and Canada. These three experiences were unique due to the credibility they earned from the difficulties of often seriously adventurous and challenging routes and the results achieved by the cars used, which arrived at their destinations in perfect condition and without any problems: 612 Scaglietti and 550 Maranello production models with slightly increased ground clearance due to the unpaved roads.

Magic India Discovery began on 2 February 2008 in Mumbai with John Elkann, President of the Fiat Group, of which Ferrari was then part, as the starter, and ended on 26 April, exactly 85 days later. The two cars, flanked by two elephants, as in the photo that appears in the book published by Ferrari at the time, well represent the spirit of the journey, which, with the sacred animal, seeks luck as well as power. The formula devised by Ferrari is the same as in China: each of the 12 stages begins and ends at an airport where the four journalists who will drive in the next stage arrive and from where those who drove in the previous stage depart.