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Seeing Red: 70 Years of Ferrari at the Petersen Museum

When the Petersen Automotive Museum completed its extensive 14-month renovation and reopened its doors in December of 2015, automotive enthusiasts were treated to a refreshed 95,000 square feet of exhibit space boasting 25 separate galleries. At the time of opening our favorite of those was the Precious Metal exhibit in the Bruce Meyer Family Gallery, featuring some of the world's most desirable cars all painted in silver. While we're sad the Precious Metal exhibit is no more, the gallery is now filled with something perhaps even better - an exhibit celebrating the 70th anniversary of Ferrari called "Seeing Red". The theme of a single color has been maintained (red, of course), and the gallery features eleven of the most significant road and race cars built by the Prancing Horse in the last seven decades. Leading the herd is a stunning 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO, one of just 39 built and widely considered to be one of if not the most desirable collector car in the world. The last one that sold at auction brought a record $38 million. Following up the 250 GTO is an achingly gorgeous 1958 250 Testa Rossa and then a 1965 250 LM that won Le Mans outright in 1965. A Mille Miglia winner, a 1949 166 MM Barchetta, is also on display. Perhaps the most historically significant car in the collection, however, is a 1947 Ferrari 125 S. Although this particular vehicle's history is difficult to trace, with many early race cars being wrecked, cut up, or combined with other cars, many believe this example, chassis 010I, to be the very first car to carry the Ferrari badge. Not surprisingly, the 125 S was a successful race car, winning six of the thirteen races in which it competed. The rest of the gallery is a celebration of belle macchine, which includes a 1955 Ferrari 857 Sport, a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder SWB, Michael Schumacher's 2006 Ferrari 248 F1, a 1976 Ferrari 312 T2 driven by Niki Lauda to victory at the Monaco Grand Prix, and a 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari. "We're so thrilled to bring some of the world's most beautiful Ferraris to the Petersen," said Bruce Meyer, founding chairman of the Petersen's Board of Directors. "Seeing that Rosso Corsa paint and the beautiful curves of the body work is always enough to make your heart skip a beat.

Weekly Recap: FCA hit with record fine as NHTSA crackdown continues

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration slapped Fiat Chrysler Automobiles with a record fine this week that could reach $105 million. The punishment comes after NHTSA found problems with the automaker's execution of 23 recalls that affect more than 11 million vehicles. The consent agreement, announced Sunday, calls for FCA to pay a $70-million cash fine and requires the company to spend at least $20 million over a three-year period on industry outreach programs and to beef up old recall campaigns. Failure to comply will result in another $15-million fine. FCA also agreed to federal oversight, which includes an independent monitor to oversee the company's recalls. The $70-million cash fine equals a penalty NHTSA levied on Honda in January. "Fiat Chrysler's pattern of poor performance put millions of its customers and the driving public at risk," NHTSA administrator Mark Rosekind said in a statement. "This action will provide relief to owners of defective vehicles, will help improve recall performance throughout the auto industry, and gives Fiat Chrysler the opportunity to embrace a proactive safety culture." FCA called the deal a "consensual resolution," but admitted that it "failed to timely provide an effective remedy" during certain recalls. "We are intent on rebuilding our relationship with NHTSA and we embrace the role of public safety advocate," the company said in a statement. The announcement kicked off a busy week for the automaker. NHTSA agreed FCA did not need to recall 4.7 million vehicles after an investigation failed to find defects with a power module used in some Jeep, Dodge, and Ram vehicles. A Georgia judge also reduced a civil verdict involving a death in a Jeep Grand Cherokee crash. Amid all of that, the company reported net profit of about 333 million euros, or $364 million in the second quarter on Thursday. OTHER NEWS & NOTES FCA ramps up Hellcat production Despite a decidedly legal and financial week for FCA, there was still time for the performance side of the business to briefly grab the spotlight. The automaker is more than doubling its production of the Dodge Challenger and Charger SRT Hellcats in response to strong demand. The order bank opens the second week of August and production begins in September. FCA will finish up its scheduled 2015 model-year Hellcat builds, and cancel any "unscheduled" versions, though customers will get discounted pricing for 2016.

The new Ferrari 812 Superfast has a 789-hp V12, is self-explanatory

You're looking at the replacement for the F12 Berlinetta. Gorgeous, right? While in keeping with the recent styling success of Ferrari cars, this one bucks a trend. Unlike the last three updated models from Maranello – the GTC4 Lusso, California T, and 488 GTB – the 812 Superfast doesn't use turbos. Instead, it continues with a naturally aspirated V12. A bigger, more powerful one. And of course, this front-engine supercar GT will be super fast. The 812's twelve-cylinder displaces 6.5 liters, up from the F12's 6.3. Power stands at a round 800 CV, which translates to 789 horsepower, while torque is up to 530 pound-feet. For reference, the 6.3-liter in the F12 makes 731 hp and 508 lb-ft, while the F12 Tdf's massaged version puts out 769 hp and 520 lb-ft; the LaFerrari's engine made 789 hp, which was boosted further with the addition of an electric motor. So this 6.5-liter is tied for the title of most powerful Ferrari road-car engine, and it makes this the most powerful front-engine Ferrari ever, which is neat. It's supposed to reach 62 mph in 2.9 seconds and reach a top speed of 211 mph. Yep, super fast. Max power is again made at a screaming 8,500 rpm and the torque peaks at 7,000. More displacement means more output, but Ferrari also switched to a higher-pressure fuel system and variable-geometry intakes to squeeze even more out of its big V12. The company's seven-speed dual-clutch transmission gets its own gear ratios to handle the power in this application. One big change is the car's switch from hydraulic to electric power steering. It's the first Ferrari road car to use EPS, and the company assures us just makes things better by working with the other chassis systems, like Side Slip Control. The 812 Superfast also gets the second version of Virtual Short Wheelbase, Ferrari's name for rear-wheel steering. Ferrari says the updated design is supposed to be reminiscent of the 365 GTB4 from 1969. We say it's just plain pretty either way. There are active flaps at the front and some kind of new air bypass at the rear to improve downforce, and which sounds a lot like something out of Formula 1. The launch color seen here is the special Rosso Settanta, which is in celebration of the company's 70th anniversary. The interior has been updated a bit as well, with a reshaped dash top (featuring one fewer air vent) and new controls on the steering wheel.