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Weekly Recap: Ferrari plans to gradually increase production by 2019

Ferrari has long been known for the exclusivity of its performance machines. It's on a different level than Porsche, BMW, and Mercedes. But as it transitions to a new era of independence from Fiat Chrysler, Ferrari is going to get a little less exclusive. It's by design, and it means a subtle, slow ramp-up of production – a move Ferrari believes will ensure its future by meeting growing demand in new markets. The strategy was detailed in SEC documents filed this month as part of the company's pending stock offering. The files reveal Ferrari will gradually increase shipments to about 9,000 units per year by 2019. This is a reversal of Ferrari's 2013 plans to cap production at 7,000 cars annually, which it hit on the nose that year. Ferrari shipments inched up to 7,255 in 2014, though that's down from 2012's record tally of 7,405. Ferrari is a vastly different operation than it was in 2013. Longtime chairman Luca di Montezemolo stepped down last fall, and FCA chief executive Sergio Marchionne has been overseeing the company since then. Its IPO has attracted high levels of attention from enthusiasts and investors. As expected, demand has reportedly outstripped the availability of the stock, which has an estimated offering price of $48 to $52 a share. Speaking of more Ferraris, the company revealed a limited-edition model this week called the F12tdf (shown above). Based on the F12 Berlinetta, the car is a salute to the Tour de France endurance auto race that Ferrari dominated in the 1950s and '60s. The V12 engine's output increases to 769 horsepower, while weight is cut by 243 pounds – allowing for a sprint to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. Dramatic carbon-fiber elements and a radical redesign of the body panels give the F12 a more dramatic look. It will be limited to 799 units over the life of the car. If this is how Ferrari is increasing production, we're more than okay with the company's new strategy. OTHER NEWS & NOTES Tesla software unlocks Autopilot features Tesla released the latest version of its software for the Model S this week, which allows the all-electric sedan to drive in a semi-autonomous state called Autopilot. Tesla Version 7.0 enables the Model S to maintain lane position, change lanes by touching the turn signal, and manage the car's speed using an advanced, traffic-sensing cruise control. It also has a parallel parking feature, which searches for open spots and then parks your Tesla.

Only in Japan: Dodge van one-make racing series is a thing

Japan seems willing to embrace a level of automotive insanity that many other places lack. Whether it's 1,200-horsepower Nissan GT-Rs blasting through tight, tree-lined mountain roads or advertisements with dances for the Toyota Prius Plug-in, the country definitely has a unique way of expressing a love for autos. The D-Van Grand Prix might be one of our favorite examples yet of crazy Japanese car culture, because the annual, one-make race at the Ebisu Circuit is exclusively for heavily customized Dodge vans. Like many great things, this wonderfully crazy idea came from a little rule breaking. D-Van Grand Prix organizer Takuro Abe was at a track event for a motorcycle racing school, and vans were used to haul the bikes around. During lunch someone came up with the idea for a race. Ignoring that the big machines weren't actually allowed on the circuit, the drivers headed out. The popularity has just grown since then. These days, the racing vans absolutely aren't the stock machines from the event's inspiration. In addition to stripped interiors and track rubber that you might expect, the list of mods for them is a mile long. For every possible advantage, the racers fit them with things like Brembo brakes, cross-drilled rotors, heavy-duty transmissions, and much more. Seeing vans lumbering around the track is very weird at first, but the racers take the competition very seriously. These folks even employ all sorts of little tricks to coax the most from the machines. This is a fascinating motorsports story, but be sure to turn on the subtitles to understand the interviews with the competitors.

Who are Mike Manley, Louis Camilleri, and Suzanne Heywood?

MILAN – Fiat Chrysler aid on Saturday that boss Sergio Marchionne, 66, would not be returning to work because he was gravely ill. In addition to being FCA chief executive, Marchionne was also CEO and chairman of luxury sports car brand Ferrari and chairman of truck and tractor maker CNH Industrial, which were spun off from FCA in recent years. Following is a brief summary on the executives who have been appointed to replace him in the various roles: MIKE MANLEY The 54-year-old Briton picked to become the FCA's new CEO has been leading the group's top brand Jeep since 2009, first as Jeep President and CEO at Chrysler and then as FCA's Jeep head. In 2015 he was also appointed head of the Ram brand. Under his tenure, Jeep turned into a global brand becoming, together with Ram, FCA's profit engine. Jeep sold nearly 1.4 million cars last year compared with less than 338,000 in 2009. Manley had worked as DaimlerChrysler's head of network development in Britain since 2000, having earlier worked for several years in car dealership. At Chrysler, he headed product planning and all sales activities outside of North America and then became the group's chief operating officer for Asia and the lead executive for the international activities outside of NAFTA. LOUIS CAMILLERI The new Ferrari CEO was already a board member at the luxury sportscar maker before his latest appointment. He is also the chairman of Philip Morris International, where he also held the job of CEO from 2008 to 2013. Born in 1955, Camilleri had joined Altria Group, which controls Philip Morris, in 1978 holding various positions until he became chief financial officer in 1996 and then CEO in 2002. Camilleri was also chairman of Kraft Foods from 2002 to 2007. Malta's Prime Minister Joseph Muscat wished Camilleri luck on Twitter saying he was proud to have "a bit of Malta in Ferrari" thanks to the new CEO, who was born in Egypt to Maltese parents. SUZANNE HEYWOOD The new, British-born chairwoman of CNH Industrial has been since 2016 the managing director of EXOR, the holding company through which the Agnelli family controls FCA. Heywood, 49, started her career at the British Treasury and then joined McKinsey in 1997, leading for many years the consultancy firm's global service line on organization design. She eventually became a senior partner there. Heywood sits on the board of The Economist, which is controlled by EXOR, and the board of the Royal Opera House, where she is also deputy chair.