Ferrari earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in last quarter of 2016 was $271 million (251 million €) which is 38% rise in period from October up to December, comparing whit the previous months of the year. Ferrari is part of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles from the beginning of the last year.

Sales were up 12 percent to 836 million euros, above expectations of 815 million euros, helped by sales of its 12-cylinder models such as the GTC4Lusso and the newly launched La Ferrari Aperta. For 2017, Ferrari forecast an adjusted EBITDA of more than 950 million euros, sales above 3.3 billion euros and net debt falling to around 500 million euros from 653 million euros at the end of last year. Analysts had forecast a 2017 adjusted EBITDA of 921 million euros and sales of 3.29 billion euros.

Ferrari planning 3D printing technology to innovate design in 2017 Formula 1 engine.

Unlike last year when Ferrari made declarations about winning the first race of the season 2016, this year Ferrari’s much more mystified. Public debut of the project 668 is scheduled for a filming day on February 24 – with the car set to be unveiled on the internet as has been the case in recent years.

The talk is that the main focus of change will be in combustion, with the chamber set for a considerable increase in pressure thanks to the latest work on the Turbulent Jet Ignition System that has been used in recent years.

The changes will put the engine under tremendous forces – with 400 bar pressure possible – plus a big increase in temperature that can be a threat to reliability. To meet its targets, Ferrari is having to revolutionize its approach to engine design, and has decided to focus on innovation. Tests are now ongoing about a novel piston design concept that use a new steel alloy.

Ferrari is looking to move away from aluminums that is commonly used. The reason is it wants to find something that is more resilient to the higher stresses (and thermal expansion) so does not compromise reliability. To help its quest in finding the right alloy, engineers are evaluating the latest 3D printing technologies.  This technique allows engineers to build up thin layers on material one at a time, so it is possible to create complex shapes that have not been possible before using traditional casting and machining methods.

The degree of freedom that comes from 3D Printing, allied to the speed of production, has opened up a new frontier of design development for something that was once limited to prototyping plastic parts for wind tunnel models.