Published on : Feb 21, 2008

The Magic India Discovery Tour involves 50 journalists taking turns to drive two Ferrari 612 Scagliettis on what amounts to an anticlockwise lap of the subcontinent. The cars - accompanied by a support team using two Fiats, five Tatas and an Iveco truck - will visit Trivandrum in the south, Calcutta in the east and India's capital New Delhi before arriving back in Mumbai on May 8, having covered around 7000 miles.

Ferrari will be keeping the cars very close to standard specification. The only changes are a 4mm duraluminium underbody shield and slightly higher suspension settings (in anticipation of some rough roads) and unique red and white paintwork (for marketing purposes).

It's going to be quite an adventure, but Ferrari marathons are nothing new. In 1997, to celebrate the company's 50th anniversary, an F355 completed a round-the-world tour, and for the 60th anniversary last year a fleet of Ferraris took part in a relay which started in Abu Dhabi and ended at Ferrari headquarters in Maranello, having visited Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, China, Japan, Australia, South Africa, America and most European countries.

In 2005, two 612 Scagliettis were taken on a 15,000-mile tour through China, and more recently a pair of 599 GTB Fioranos went from the beaches of Brazil to the east coast of the US.