ION BAZAC, FORZA ROSSA: "We can't rely on Romanian banks"

Forza Rossa, the official representative of Ferrari in Romania, yesterday launched, for the first time in Romania, the latest model of the Maranello carmaker, 488 GTB, an event which was held at the Parliament's palace.

Ion Bazac, the president of Foza Rossa Holding, has revealed the investment return that can be achieved by buying a Ferrari model.

"Some studies have shown that classic Ferrari models have represented the investments that have gained the most over the last few years, namely over 400%", said Mr. Bazac, and he added: "I can not tell you exactly how many of these cars we have sold so far, but I've found out (ed. note: yesterday morning) that the number of cars sold was bigger then what Ferrari can allocate to Romania".

Still, the official expressed his disappointment when it comes to the financing means available when it comes to the acquisition of such luxury models.

"Nowadays, unfortunately, access to funding is increasingly difficult and we cannot rely on Romanian banks, so this group has decided to create its own financial institution, called Forza Rossa Financial Services", Ion Bazac further said.

The head of the financing division of Forza Holding is Mr. Marinel Burduja, former CEO of the Romanian Loan and Investment Bank and former vice-president of Raiffeisen Bank.

He said: "The new non-bank lender will grant loans for various lines of business, except for consumer loans. For instance, I like startups very much and I see that Romanian entrepreneurs have many ideas and they deserve more attention and more financial support because you can't do anything without money.

It seems to me that there exists a lot of potential in a market area where the restrictions of the ECB are extremely rigid and then you can do something different without taking risks.

I think that the message of governor Isărescu that financing has to be done through other financial vehicles as well, not necessarily through commercial banks. It seems to me that Mr. Isărescu is absolutely right. In the beginning of our activity we cannot afford to take on a very high exposure, but I don't rule out financing the acquisition of Ferrari cars in the near future. Ferrari cars are an investment and they never lose their value".

According to Mr. Burduja, Ferrari is a technical masterpiece, a way of life: "We have wanted to create this joining of financial services to some exceptional cars because we want Ferrari to become a model for our services as well, which involves robustness, speed, prompt delivery of the orders and customer satisfaction".

Forza Rossa Financial Services will have a strategic partnership with Hanseatic Bank of Germany and will work with Hanseatic Brokerhouse on currency exchange, facilitating the repatriation of money earned by the Romanians who left to work abroad, according to the officials of the company.

Ferrari 488 GTB, a that costs 250,000 Euros (excluding taxes), is the successor of the 308 GTB model, created 40 years ago and which had the first Ferrari V8 engine placed on the amplasat pe puntea spate.

According to Forza Rossa officials, the new V8 3,902 cubic centimeters engine, equipped with two turbocompresoare, generates a 41% higher torque and has a 13% lower fuel consumption compared to its predecessor, Ferrari Italia 458.

The engine of the new 488 GTB develops 670 HP de cai putere, with a top speed of more than 330 km/h. Officials of Forza Rossa claim that the new model has a fuel consumption of 11. liters per 100 km. Also 488 GTB accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3 seconds and from 0 to 200 km/h in just 8.3 seconds.

Forza Rossa Holding is a Romanian group, leader of the luxury and sports cars market in the region, official and exclusive representative of the Ferrari and Lotus brands. The group also owns Ferrari Store Bucureşti, one of the largest official stores of the Ferrari brand in Europe, as well as non-bank lender Forza Rossa Financial Services IFN.