The 12-cylinder Berlinetta was first presented to a few selected clients at a symbolic place of the city of Modena: the Military Academy's Ducal Palace. A choice, as Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo underlined, to "confirm the deep relationship between Ferrari with the terroir and especially with Modena. The Academy is a proper centre of excellence, a historical place, with culture and passion. The Academy and Ferrari are an expression of Italian excellence of this region."