2004 Ferrari 360 Spider Convertible 2-door 3.6l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ferrari 250 TR recreation channels the spirit of Fangio

Peter Giacobbi grew up watching the likes of Juan Manuel Fangio and Phil Hill race cars like the Ferrari 250 TRs when he was a kid. Once he grew up – or at least grew older – he knew he had to have one to call his own. The trouble is that original Testa Rossas sell for tens of millions these days, and as accomplished as he may have been in his life and career, Giacobbi didn't have that kind of money to spend on a car. So he did the next best thing and built one of his own. Fortunately Giacobbi had some experience building exotic sports cars. He formed half of the duo that created the Sinthesis 2000, a one-off concept that he and designer Tom Tjaarda unveiled at the 1970 Turin Motor Show. And that project ended up serving as his interview for the job of chief engineer for DeLorean. So when he set to building his own Testa Rossa, he knew how to go about it. His recreation may not be 100 percent authentic, but then it's not entirely fake, either. The bodywork is genuine, as are many of the parts. The rest he faithfully reproduced or had made specially. The result, as you can see, is quite stunning – especially left bare in its hand-beaten aluminum form. Hear his story, see his project, and listen to that Colombo V12 engine sing in this latest video installment from the cinematographic artisans at Petrolicious.

Autoblog Podcast #404

Episode #404 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth, Chris Paukert and Brandon Turkus talk about the BMW i8 and i3, this week's SEMA show, the looming Ferrari spin-off and the passing of Tom Magliozzi, longtime co-host of NPR's Car Talk. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. Check out the rundown below with times for topics, and you can follow along down below with our Q&A. Thanks for listening! Autoblog Podcast #404: The video meant to be presented here is no longer available. Sorry for the inconvenience. Topics: BMW i8 and i3 SEMA Ferrari to be spun off Tom Magliozzi of Car Talk passes away In The Autoblog Garage: 2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA45 AMG 2015 Mercedes-Benz C300 4Matic 2015 Ford Mustang GT Hosts: Dan Roth, Chris Paukert, Brandon Turkus Runtime: 01:54:34 Rundown: Intro & Garage - 00:00 BMW i8 and i3 - 36:18 SEMA - 01:00:53 Ferrari IPO - 01:12:44 Tom Magliozzi - 01:21:12 Q&A - 01:32:45 Get the podcast: [UStream] Listen live on Mondays at 10 PM Eastern at UStream [iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes [RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator [MP3] Download the MP3 directly Feedback: Email: Podcast at Autoblog dot com Review the show in iTunes Auto News Celebrities Earnings/Financials Podcasts SEMA Show BMW Ferrari Ford Mercedes-Benz SEMA 2014 mercedes gla45 amg

Ferrari developing V-twin motorcycle engine?

When we read reports that Ferrari had applied for a patent on a V-twin engine design, our first thought was to check the date: this says the first of October, right... not April? And so here we are, entertaining the notion that Ferrari could be developing a motorcycle engine.
The report comes from Autocar, which claims to have dug up the application to patent the design for an "internal combustion engine having two cylinders, which are arranged in a 'V' configuration." In other words, a motorcycle engine. The application reportedly goes on to describe a balancing shafts to reduce vibration. Our own research did not lead us to find the application in question, so we'll have to take it with a grain of salt for the moment. But supposing it's all on the up and up, and that Ferrari was actually developing a motorcycle engine. Would that be so out of the ordinary?
Well, yes and no. Parent company Fiat, which is taking increased direct control of Ferrari, is undoubtedly looking at rival Volkswagen and its recent acquisition of Ducati (putting it in close proximity to Lamborghini) and would be keen to get in on that action. However tenuous the relationship, Lotus has also recently authorized a motorcycle bearing its name. And of course automakers like BMW and Honda, with which Ferrari has competed on and off the race track, also make motorcycles.