At the same time, Alcoa announced that it will open a new, larger space frame manufacturing facility in Modena, Italy, later this year.

“What began as a collaboration in the 1990s to develop an aluminum space frame for the 360 Modena has now blossomed into a strategic partnership between Ferrari and Alcoa,” said Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of Ferrari. “Three successful generations of space frames for the Modena, the 612 Scaglietti and the F430 have proven that the Ferrari-Alcoa partnership is not only capable of innovation, but also the implementation of new technologies on production lines in Modena.

“The relationship with Alcoa is already a case history and it will be the model for future relationships with other Ferrari suppliers,” he added.

According to Alain Belda, chairman of Alcoa, the Ferrari-Alcoa partnership has been especially productive because of Ferrari’s willingness to involve Alcoa at the outset of the vehicle development process.

“Without this early involvement, the switch from steel to aluminum would not have taken place without such excellent results,” Belda pointed out.

The creation of a new and larger manufacturing facility in Modena is a result of the productive Ferrari-Alcoa collaboration.

“The decision not only reflects Alcoa’s desire to support and sustain Ferrari’s increased use of aluminum space frame technology in the near term, but our intention to position ourselves to grow with Ferrari both in business and technically as their future success dictates,” said Misha Riveros-Jacobson, president of Alcoa Advanced Transportation Systems.

The new facility, located about 3 miles from the current facility, will cover 6,000 square yards.

The new plant will almost double the size of Alcoa’s current manufacturing space. When fully operational, the new facility will double Alcoa’s space frame production capacity. It will also be in line with Ferrari’s philosophy of creating excellence in work environment and product quality.

Alcoa’s investment in the plant relocation will be about 400,000 euros.

According to Alcoa, there will also be a small increase in the number of production employees, about 12 percent, associated with the relocation. Additional work force expansion will be linked to future business.

“This plant expansion gives us the design flexibility and manufacturing scale to bring new and innovative concepts, such as modularity, to our space frame structures,” said William F. Christopher, executive vice president for transportation products for Alcoa. “It also gives us a chance to re-design our production lines to incorporate cutting-edge technologies and expand the automation of our current processes. These innovations will help us meet customers’ performance as well as cost targets.”