Back in December, a bunch of supercars in Japan decided to play demolition derby on a public highway. Well, not exactly, but that would have been a more fun explanation. In reality, the leader of the supercar convoy lost it and caused a chain-reaction crash that claimed 8 Ferraris, a Lamborghini and a few other less important cars.
We don't have a new cost estimate (reports said $4 mil, our math said $2) but we do have some footage of the cars off of the road and in a lot waiting to be repaired or scrapped or lovingly buried in a field or whatever it is you do with a totaled Ferrari.
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Categories: Ferrari,Miscellaneous,Videos
Ferrari went all sorts of crazy in 2011 releasing an all-wheel-drive hatchback bearing the Pracing Horse. They called it the FF and love it or hate it, a Ferrari capable of driving in the dirt and snow has given us some pretty slick images and videos. Here's the latest.
It stars the 6.3-liter, 651 Horsepower hatchback and Finnish rally driver Markku Alen on the Arjeplog ice track in the North of Sweden.
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Categories: Ferrari,Hatchbacks
Ferrari F1 drivers Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso are the latest victims benefactors of the unholy profitable union of the Fiat and Chrysler empires. The Ferrari ambassadors were gifted the first two 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8s in Europe and they aren't just off-the-line ones, no, these have been tweaked by SRT.
The normal 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 comes with 470 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque 00 so do these. Instead of giving these two obviously unqualified characters (Seriously, race suits fully zipped in a garage? Amateurs...) more power, they gave them more style. First comes a coat of Rosso Corsa paint, a matte black grille, an offset driver's side stripe with white accent, carbon-fiber mirror caps and the Italian flag painted on the bottom of the rear spoiler. The special edition SRT8s are dropped 1.5 inches to give them a better stance on the standard 20-inch wheels. Inside we've got -- shocker -- red leather with yellow dials on the IP.
European delivers start for real in the summer.
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Categories: Celebrities,Ferrari,Jeep,SUVs,Tuners and Modifications
Today's a holiday, so why not pretend that this day off is just another in your life of leisure and go configure yourself a new 562-horsepower Ferrari 458 Spyder.
What? Boss man didn't give you the day off? Play with this configurator instead of doing any work.
Like all Ferrari configurators, no price is given. If you have to ask blah blah blah.
Categories: Convertibles,Ferrari,Sports Cars
Ferrari used to be a highly exclusive, rare manufacturer of some of the world's most exquisite sports cars. These are just the sort of cars we love here at IL.
But in the past few years, the company has had record sales and introduced more, um, compromised models (I'm looking at you, California) and a theme park, and even gift shops in airports that aren't in Milan.
The business continues, and the company has just introduced a program called Tailor Made, where individuals can order their car in any color/paint scheme/ interior fabric they desire.
This (as shown above and after the jump) is not always a good thing.
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Categories: Ferrari
A car crash on the Chugoku Expressway near Shimonoseki, Japan is being touted as the most expensive car crash ever. The wreck took the lives off 8 Ferraris -- A couple of 355s, an F430, an F430 Scuderia, a couple of 360s -- a Lamborghini, a Prius, three Mercs, an unidentified Toyota and then some other cars that were apparently not expensive enough to mention. There were no human deaths, but 10 people sustained minor injuries.
The lead driver of the supercar convoy "crashed into the left embankment and bounced off toward me" a man said to NHK. Another unidentified eye witness said "a group of cars was doing 140 - 160 kilometres (85-100 miles) per hour. One off them spun and they all ended up in this great mess."
Shockingly, the Police, too say that the drivers here were speeding.
Total damage is listed at $4 million but our math is having a hard time getting this anywhere above $2 million with current market values (in the US).
Videos of the aftermath after the jump.
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Categories: Ferrari,Miscellaneous,Videos
Many great artists have shaped Ferrari's history, and Sergio Scaglietti was one of the greatest.
He started Carrozzeria Scaglietti, an Italian design firm and coachbuilder, and crafted the bodywork for the 250 Testa Rossa, 250 GTO, the California (the original) and the 750 Monza. He died yesterday in Modena, Italy, at age 91.
The modern-day 612 Scaglietti (2005-'10) was named in his honor, though it lacks the stunning beauty of Scaglietti's own work. Perhaps a more fitting tribute is forthcoming.
Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo released this statement yesterday: "Today is a sad day for Ferrari. We lost a friend, a travel companion, a man who had his name forever connected to the Prancing Horse. Sergio Scaglietti leaves behind the legacy of an artist who with his talent created some of the most beautiful cars of our history. Who had the luck to know him like I did will also remember him as a straightforward and honest man, completely dedicated to his work. We will miss him."
IL Feature: Flat Out in the Ferrari 250 GTO
IL Feature: The Ferrari 250 GTO Makeover
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Categories: Classic Cars,Ferrari
Another young American driver has earned a Formula One test. Meet Michael Lewis, a 20-year old California native from Laguna Beach, California.
Michael is someone I've know since he was born -- his dad and mine are longtime friends. He has been racing carts since he was in grade school, and for the last few years he's been racing carts and Formula BMW cars in Italy. When he's home he dabbles in Ford Focus midgets and Late Models.
This past year he stepped up to the Italian Formula Three series where wins at Spa and Mugello put him within striking distance of the series championship. Things were looking really good after he won the first race of the two-race season finale at Monza, but he took a bit too much curb in the chicane during race two and damaged his suspension.
In the end Michael earned the Italian F3 rookie championship by finishing second in the year end series points tally.
That result earned him an F1 test -- a Ferrari F1 test. Whoa.
His test is scheduled for this coming Tuesday. Go Michael.
You can hear him talk about it and what he's got planned for next year on this weekend's edition of Wind Tunnel with Dave Despain on the Speed Channel. You can also follow Michael on Twitter at @MicahelLewis949 and on Facebook at Michael Lewis Fans.
With two US Grands Prix looming on the horizon, the time has never been more right for US drivers to go big time. Michael Lewis may well have timed it perfectly.
More pictures after the jump.
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Categories: Ferrari,Motorsports
Hey, remember that $395,000 Ferrari FF painted in limited "Grigio Caldo" paint and offered only through the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book? Of course you do. With a stunning photo like that ^ how could you forget?
Right, well, anyway, it sold out. It took the department store just under an hour -- 50 minutes -- to sell all 10 cars. This is about 17 times as long as it took them to sell all 100 copies of the $75,000 Camaro they offered last year.
Purchasing decisions are easier for the 1%.
Categories: Ferrari,Hatchbacks,Luxury Cars
Just ask this guy, he knows what I'm talking about.
Also, can we take a moment to recognize the resolve of these photographers who keep shooting until the last second? I've seen pro photogs hold still while professionals nearly drive over their foot, but this is different. Being in front of the wall is fun.
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Categories: Ferrari,Miscellaneous,Videos
Every year the Neiman Marcus department store puts a special edition car in its catalog. Last year it was the 2011 Chevy Camaro SS Convertible. It was painted Deep Bordeaux red, there were only 100 built and Neiman Marcus sold the entire run of $75,000 Camaros in three minutes.
With the global recession still in full swing and the Occupy Wall Street kids putting the spotlight on conspicuous consumption, Neiman Marcus has gone a different direction this Christmas...
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Categories: Ferrari,Hatchbacks,Miscellaneous,Sports Cars
Jamiroquai front man and Top Gear reasonably priced car driver Jay Kay recently scored himself a trip to Maranello to check out Ferrari's HQ. While there, Ferrari didn't let the opportunity slip to promote the brand via the superstar musician / Ferrari Collector.
Ferrari chucked him into a 458 Italia Spider, let him meet with Ferrari execs and the F1 team. Oh, and he got some hot laps around Fiorano with Massa at the wheel. It must be tough to be a famous Ferrari collector.
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Categories: Celebrities,Convertibles,Ferrari
Marketing types know the power of a great logo. The best ones present an evocative invitation, one that perfectly reflects the brand's image.
Logos can be especially compelling in the automotive industry.
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Categories: BMW,Ferrari,Fiat,Lamborghini,MINI,Maserati,Mercedes-Benz,Porsche
It's mid-morning on the press launch of the Ferrari 458 Spider and a member of the local Polizia is grasping my driving license like he's discovered the Holy Grail. This is not good. He has a cool looking handgun and I am a useless Brit in possession of a Ferrari that isn't mine.
It's not even clear why I’m being arrested. He speaks no English and my Italian amounts to 'ciao' and 'bella, bella'. Maybe it's the dodgy number plates. Ferrari hasn't bothered fitting our 458 with normal Italian 'plates because they upset the front-end styling. But his wild gesticulations don't point in that direction. Nor does he have a speed gun.
The most likely explanation concerns the Ferrari's acoustics. I've just climbed a hill in second and third gear, letting the V8 scream to 9000rpm. At full chat the 458 is cartoonishly loud. Parked at the top of the hill, our officer must have reached a simple conclusion: a Ferrari barking so loudly must have been travelling stratospherically fast.
Now, out of nowhere, a Lancia appears, two twenty somethings jump out wearing Ferrari t-shirts and say, "it is no problem, this is Ferrari." A cell phone is summoned and a call is made to a higher authority; there's a bit of banter in Italian and then the officer meekly hands back my license. "It is no problem, this is Ferrari."
Proof that in Italy, Ferrari is not just a car company.
-Alistair Weaver, European Correspondent
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Categories: Convertibles,Ferrari,Sports Cars
Just the other day, a fellow East Coast ex-pat and I were sentimentalizing the homeland -- fall tends to do that -- when a lifelong resident of the sunbelt chimed in, "You say that now, but as soon as the leaves are gone and you have two straight days of snow you'll be begging for California and its mountain roads."
We both disagreed, the first two-to-forty days of snow is playtime! And Ferrari agrees. That's why they've sent the Ferrari Celica California out into the cold for our enjoyment.
(Also, did anyone else forget that the California existed? It's quite a thing when a $192,000, 460 horsepower convertible is the ugly little sister in your fleet. Maybe it's the guppy face or the near-4,000-lb curb weight.)
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Categories: Convertibles,Ferrari
Our man Alistair Weaver is in Italy right now (more on him tomorrow) playing with some Ferraris and chatting with the Ferrari execs. (Tough week, right?)
In between the expected bits of current-vehicle talk, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa decided to confirm the rumored-since-2004 Enzo replacement.
Read more: Ferrari Enzo Replacement Will Have Carbon Chassis and Mid-Mounted V12
Spoiler: Potential awesomeness. Spoiler II: Potential blasphemy.
Categories: Ferrari,Future Vehicles,Hybrids
There are a few ways to ruin a race between a 478-horsepower Ferrari F40 and a 611-horsepower Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. Most of those ways end with a gigantic insurance report and a lot of red faces.
This one, however, is ruined by a simple disclaimer at the front of the video: "This is a fictional race with professional drivers on closed roads." Fictional? Lame.
Whatever, it's not every day we get a new video with the Ferrari F40 so we'll take it. Plus, who are we to complain about free supercar videos?
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Categories: Ferrari,Sports Cars
"In '23, I met Count Enrico Bracca, the hero's father and then his mother, Countess Paolina, who said to me one day, 'Ferrari, put my son's prancing horse on your cars; it will bring you good luck."
The hero in question is Francesco Baracca, WWI fighter ace and it was his logo, the Cavalino Rampante (how much cooler is that than 'prancing horse'?) which ultimately became the logo for one of the biggest names in sports car.
Enzo Ferrari reportedly only told this story once and now, thanks to YouTube, you can hear it retold.
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Categories: Ferrari,Miscellaneous
Breaking news: Ferraris are expensive. Convertible versions more so.
Coming in at some 15% more expensive than the Ferrari 458 coupe, the 2012 Ferrari 458 Spider will cost $257,000 here in the U.S. when it goes on sale in January.
Ferrari notes that buyers usually spend 15-20% above the car's list price on personalization itams. Carbon fiber seats go for 5,760 euro (and won't be available here most likely...airbags) and 2,640 euro for the rear-view camera.
Video of the cool top we can't even remotely afford after the jump.
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Categories: Convertibles,Ferrari
Earlier this year, we sent one of our more accomplished drivers, Dan Edmunds, to drive a 651-horsepower V12 Ferrari. It was the new Ferrari FF, the all-wheel-drive shooting-brake, though, and a good deal of the driving was on ice and snow. Dan of course had heard of snow, and has seen it a few times over the years, but as a California native this winter-wonderland was a rare treat for him to explore the ins-and-outs of Ferrari's various forms of computer wizardry.
Now, Dan is not alone in his Southern Californianess; literally hundreds of potential FF owners live here and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. For these owners who want some fun and to see what the car can really do, and, I guess, for owners who may actually need to traverse the white stuff from time to time, Ferrari has launched a new winter driving school in Aspen.
Ferrari's Winter Driving Experience is based on the Italian offering, Pilota On Ice, and will be available from January of 2012 through early spring. Pricing for the two-day course is $11,300 and includes two-nights/three-days in Aspen. Porsche's Camp4 Canada winter driving experience in Mecaglisse, Quebec runs about $4,995 CAD.
First up: This guy.
Categories: Ferrari
