Auto blog

Drunk driver launches $385,000 Ferrari off of cliff

A young man made the bad decision to get behind the wheel of his supercar after having too much to drink in Austin, TX. According to KTBC, the Austin Police and Fire Departments responded to a single vehicle crash just after 2 am on January 13. When first responders arrived on the scene, they discovered a mangled Ferrari 458 Italia at the bottom of a 50 foot ravine. Also in the ravine were three bruised, sheepish-looking drunks. Detective Mike Jennings of the Austin Police Department's DWI unit told KTBC that the trio was lucky to be alive. "They are lucky that we didn't have three people that were killed or injured more seriously than they were," Jennings told KTBC. Witnesses reported they spotted the Ferrari flying along the dark, windy road at speeds approaching 100 miles per hour before the driver lost control and balled the Ferarri up at the bottom of the ravine. The driver, James Allen of nearby Georgetown, TX, told APD officers that he'd only had two beers that night. Clearly not buying his explanation, APD arrested Allen for driving while intoxicated. "Anybody that has ever talked to intoxicated people, they always remember two beers, it's always the first one they had and the last one they had, it's everything in between, a lot of times they often forget," said Detective Jennings. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: KTBC Auto News Ferrari Driving Safety Performance austin austin texas

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: The next five years

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, you've no doubt read about all of the big future product news coming out of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles today. We had individual brand reports from Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Maserati and even Ferrari, but in the interest of simplifying and summarizing, we're going to list out the hard facts once more. Of course, with all of this still off in the future, there's still the possibility that a few changes will be made. But as of what we know right now, here's what's coming, and what's going away.
Chrysler
2014: Refreshed 300/300C, debuting at Los Angeles Auto Show

Ferrari 212 Barchetta highlights RM auction at Villa d'Este

While show-goers sip champagne and basque in the glow of some of the most beautiful classics and most notable concept cars at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, at the Villa Erba just down the shore, collectors bid on some of the most tempting automotive creations. And this year was no exception. Highlighting RM Sotheby's auction this year was a rare classic 1952 Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta. The Touring-bodied competition roadster from Ferrari's early days fetched an incredible ˆ6,720,000 – nearly $7.4 million at current exchange rates – to set a new record for that model. According to Sports Car Market, the previous record was held by a 212 Export coupe that sold for $3.2 million early last year. A Barchetta failed to sell for a high bid of $1.97 million in 2008, which just goes to show how far this auction raised the bar for the 212. Though it was by far the top lot of the day, it wasn't the only million-dollar sale of the day. Heck, it wasn't even the only million-dollar Ferrari sold. A quartet of Ferrari supercars – including a 288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo – each fetched seven figures, as did a 250 GT Berlinetta Lusso and a 250 GT Cabriolet. So did a Lamborghini Miura, a '73 Porsche 911 Carrera RS 2.7 and a '53 Fiat 8V Cabriolet, if you can believe it. Other notable lots included a 1949 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Villa d'Este Coupe, a '74 Lancia Stratos and a rare stick-shift Ferrari 599 HGTE. All told, RM Sotheby's racked up nearly $30 million in sales at its first European auction since merging and rebranding, selling 34 out of the 39 lots consigned, but that stunning 250 California Spider did not appear to be among them.