Ferrari's Racing Heritage: New Cadillac Engine Deal
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Ferrari Chief Executive Benedetto Vigna said the luxury sportscar maker was "very proud" of a deal to supply engines and gearboxes to a new Cadillac Formula One team in a multi-year agreement from 2026 the company announced earlier on Tuesday.
"We are very glad of this selection, and this makes us proud. Also, we have a sense of responsibility because the success of these other teams, it also depends on our engine," Vigna said at the Reuters NEXT conference in New York.
"In our DNA is racing. We have been present in this sport, which is now becoming entertainment, since the beginning".
Vigna, a former tech executive who took over as Ferrari CEO in 2021, reiterated on Tuesday the company would present its first fully-electric car in the fourth quarter of next year.
Ferrari last year started accepting payments for its luxury cars in crypto-currencies, but Vigna said the company was not investing in them.
"We wanted to provide the opportunity for clients ... In any case, we get cash - dollar or euro depending on the country. We love cash," Vigna said.
"We don't invest in crypto. We don't want to get crypto and speculate - it's a way to make purchase seamless".
Payments in crypto-currencies started in the U.S. last year and are currently also accepted at some European dealerships, Vigna said.
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(Reporting by Vanessa O'Connell and Shashwat Awasthi; writing by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
