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Meet the man that discovered and restored the oldest existing Porsche

Luciano Rupolo is an absolutely fascinating gentleman. He was born in France but spent nearly his entire life in Italy as an auto mechanic running his own shop. His grandfather and father instilled a love of sports cars in him that he carried on by historic racing in Italy for decades. He saw his life-long automotive passion repaid when he found and restored the car that might have been the first Porsche registered for the road.
You can spot in his garage a split-window Corvette, Ferrari 250 GTE and other exotics, but Rupolo's most interesting automotive story concerns his Iso Grifo Competizione (pictured above). The sports coupe was found in the Canary Islands as little more than a shell, but Rupolo got help from a prestigious source for its restoration. The result is a motoring masterpiece.
Rupolo is a fantastic storyteller with a captivating, tale to tell. Settle in, scroll down and watch the bittersweet documentary about his life with one of the first Porsches.

LaFerrari XX may have lapped N?rburgring in 6:35

Enthusiasts around the world - ourselves included - have been anxiously awaiting the ultimate supercar showdown. After all, we seldom see three of the world's preeminent exotic automakers come out with such closely matched machinery in such close proximity as we have with the Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari. That showdown could occur on no better a playing field than the Nürburgring, but the automakers haven't exactly been playing ball.
Porsche set down a lap time of 6:57, staking its claim as the fastest street-legal production car ever to lap the vaunted Nordschleife. Rather than challenge Zuffenhausen head-on, though, McLaren has only said that the P1 has clocked a time of under seven minutes, and though Ferrari has been testing the new LaFerrari at the Ring, it hasn't released any official time at all. Maranello may, however, be preparing to announce an even faster time.
According to word we're receiving from across the pond, Ferrari has clocked a lap time of 6:35 - only it wasn't achieved in the road-going LaFerrari, but in the upcoming track-bound LaFerrari XX. That model, which was just confirmed and spied last week, will follow in the footsteps of the Enzo-based FXX and the 599XX, which itself recorded a lap time of 6:58 in 2010. Because it's not street-legal, it didn't contend for the same honors, and within a couple of months was pipped on the leaderboard for non-street-legal vehicles by the Pagani Zonda R by over ten seconds.

Ferrari FXX-K Evo sprouts wings and looks ready to fly

The winged devil you see above is the Ferrari FXX-K Evo. All those protuberances are there for a reason – from the reshaped front fascia with its carbon fiber splitters to the twin-profile rear wing and fixed fins – and that's to produce downforce. Some of the most important aero bits are hidden where you can't see. Vortex generators affixed to the belly of the beast and a massive rear diffuser help suck the FXX-K Evo to the track. A path of air travels from the hood, over the canopy, and ultimately to the rear wing, all in an effort to optimize flow and increase high-speed stability. At 124 miles per hour, says Ferrari, the bits and baubles push toward the earth with 1,411 pounds of downforce. In addition to the aero tweaks, Ferrari made adjustments to the FXX-K's suspension, fitted it with a redesigned steering wheel, and installed a larger interior display. Owners of previous FXX-K models can opt to have these upgrades added to their cars, and a limited number of new Evos will be produced. These 1,050-horsepower hybrid gasoline-electric machines aren't meant for the street. Instead, Ferrari arranges a nine-race schedule for owners who wish to stretch the FXX-K's legs out on the track. And if you're lucky enough to own one, we certainly hope you find enough time to take part in the high-speed festivities. Related Video: