1997 Ferrari F355 Spider - 3,449 Miles - Collector Quality - 1 Owner - Like New on 2040-cars

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Ferrari, Maseratis trashed in Chinese off-road adventure

Ready to cringe? A group of Chinese motorists drove the Sichuan-Tibet Highway in a fleet of Italian cars, fording streams and hopping rocky terrain as they went. Well, they attempted to drive it, anyway. Only five of the cars managed to survive the truly unnecessary ordeal. The trip was reportedly the idea of a wealthy Chinese businessman named Ni Haishan. Haishan was driving the red Ferrari F12, with his employees following in what appear to be 10 Maserati Ghibli sedans. The Maseratis were gifts to his employees, which makes the loss of six of them along the way only slightly easier to stomach. Even the cars that made it to the finish line in Lhasa, Tibet, arrived with some serious damage. The unsurprising fallout included several wheels and tires on the Ferrari, including one wheel that took the studs it was attached to with it. As you can see above, the "highway" route was not exactly suited to these particular cars. There is some precedent for a car from Maranello driving to Lhasa, however. In 2005, Ferrari sent two 612 Scagliettis on a tour of China called "Ferrari 15,000 Red Miles" with various journalists at the wheel. That journey started and ended in Shanghai and took the cars all over the vast country, including two crossings of the Gobi Desert, along the Great Wall, and on some of Marco Polo's route. Of course, it also involved a lot of planning, a huge support team, and at least a modicum of common sense. All of this was supposedly Haishan's way of showing the world that business is good for him and that customers should trust their money with him. We might conclude otherwise based on the results. If you absolutely have to run this road in something Italian and expensive, may we suggest a Maserati Levante next time? Related Video: Image Credit: news.163.com Auto News Ferrari Maserati Coupe Luxury Performance Sedan ferrari f12 berlinetta maserati ghibli

Buy Ferrari's F1 motorhomes and start your own Scuderia [w/videos]

The single-seat racecars themselves may be the most impressive bits of machinery a Formula One team brings to the circuit, but the vehicles you see on the track are not the end of the story. The trucks in which they're transported and which serve as mobile bases for the team's trackside operations are almost as impressive in their own right, and now a pair of these tractor-trailers are available for sale. Only they're not from just any team – they're from Scuderia Ferrari. This pair of transporters include two scarlet red Iveco Stralis tractors and a pair of matching custom trailers made by AstaCar in Reggio Emilia, just 45 minutes down the autostrada from Maranello. One trailer was made to transport the F1 cars, and the other as a mobile office and repair shop. They can deploy once parked to a height of 23 feet for two floors and cover an area of over 2,000 square feet. The trailers were commissioned by Ferrari back in 2003 during the height of the Michael Schumacher era. They were used by the team as its rolling base of operations and trackside hospitality at grands prix across Europe for ten years, upgraded incrementally along the way until they were replaced halfway through last season. They've even still got the nameplates of former team principal Stefano Domenicali and drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa on the doors. The constructor is putting them up for sale, and while they wouldn't disclose for publication how much they're asking for the pair, commissioning a new setup like this one – complete with tractors, trailers and all the fixins – would set you back a cool ˆ2 million (about $2.5 million at today's rates) plus applicable taxes. Whether they're worth less than that now for their wear or whether the championships and race wins that were orchestrated from these rolling pieces of racing history make them even more valuable is a matter the buyer will need to negotiate with the seller, but you're invited to scope 'em out on the sale page and in the images above, as well as the videos of the manufacturer's work below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Le Mans-raced 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM headed to auction

Vintage Ferrari models show up on the auction circuit all the time, but few can match this particular '53 340/375 MM Berlinetta Competizione in terms of historical significance. Not only did the machine compete in the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans, but this particular model managed to finish in second place before being disqualified for taking on extra brake fluid during a stop. More importantly, a total of three Formula One world champions have driven this car in competition at events like the Spa 24 Hours, Pescara 12 Hours and the Circuit of Guadeloupe.
The coolest part for us? Umberto Maglioli managed to set a public road stage record with this machine during the Carrera Panamericana by averaging 138 miles per hour over 223 miles. The effort was good enough to land the team a sixth place finish overall, and the record still stands to this day for any road stage anywhere. The 340/375 MM Berlinetta Competizione is up for auction in restored condition at the RM Auction event in Paris this week. Check out the full press release below for more information.