1992 Red Signed By Ferrari F1 Team Serviced Excellent Condition Collector Car on 2040-cars

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Chris Harris brings together the 918 Spyder, LaFerrari, and P1

The Porsche 918 Spyder, Ferrari LaFerrari, and McLaren P1 show that a hybrid powertrain can make for blistering performance despite its electric assist. This trio doesn't arrive on track together very often, but Chris Harris assembled these three stars at the Portimao circuit for a nearly hour-long demonstration of their amazing capabilities. So, which one is quickest around the track? Harris provides an answer with in-car video of all three contenders. His team also goes out of its way to even the playing field by sourcing tires independently from Pirelli for the P1 and LaFerrari. With the technical part out of the way, Harris can start having fun by doing his usual slides during the driving comparison. Tiff Needell and Marino Franchitti also eventually show up to provide the perfect recipe for a track battle in these hypercars. If you don't have the time, skip about 14:25 into the clip just to see the lap times. However, those numbers only tell a tiny part of the story. The whole video is definitely worth a watch.

What I learned after 5,600 miles in a Ferrari F355 Spider

I'm paraphrasing, but Autoblog reader Paul Dyer asked me one day, "Want to drive my 1998 Ferrari F355 Spider from San Jose, California, to me in Newfoundland?" I'm also paraphrasing and leaving out some colorful but unpublishable language, but essentially I said, "Yes." That's how I ended up on a two-week, 5,600-mile road trip, getting an extensive and intimate look at one of the most spectacular cars of our generation. Here's what I discovered. To paraphrase, you don't even know how badly you want an F355. The F355 Spider is the last beautiful Ferrari. Subsequent stallions are modern and dramatic, the F355 is eternally gorgeous, like Brunelleschi's doors and sunsets in Viareggio. The Iliad would still make sense if you said the Greeks took to ship after a Trojan keyed Menelaus' F355. You cannot say the same about the 348, or even the 458 (though we do love it so). This car began the era in which mid-engined Ferraris sell out for years in advance. That said, F355 upkeep is the equivalent of giving your bank account a flesh-eating disease. This car's most recent engine-out service was $28,000: $12,000 in labor, $16,000 in parts. Dropping the Propulsore Completo is recommended every three years for routine service and runs $7,000 or more if no other work is required. Gooey valve guides, melting exhaust manifolds, and cranky seat sensors are among the fickle components that will guarantee the bill will exceed that amount. A single bolt is $45. One F355 owner, asked if he'd recommend the model, replied without hesitation "Absolutely not." But the F355 began a whole new game for The Prancing Horse. One of Luca de Montezemolo's first marks on the company as president, the F355 was intended to rectify the sins of the 348 and deal with the Acura NSX. The F355's design resulted from 1,800 wind tunnel hours. It introduced Ferrari's five-valve V8 engine – at 107.3-horsepower-per-liter, the highest specific output of any naturally aspirated car at the time. It had an 8,500-rpm redline. The engine was so important that Ferrari changed its naming convention to highlight it. The F355 introduced a six-speed manual transmission to the V8 range. It introduced the paddle-shifted sequential gearboxes to consumers, previously the purview of top-tier race cars. This Spider was the brand's first semi-automatic droptop. This car began the era in which mid-engined Ferraris sell out for years in advance. Some of the trademark features take getting used to.

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.