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$64M Ferrari 250 GTO could be a fake

Remember that Ferrari 250 GTO that we reported on last week, supposedly listed on mobile.de for $64 million? Well, don't go putting down your deposit just yet, because it might be a fake.
According to noted Ferrari expert Marcel Massini, the vehicle listed on the German used-car website is a replica. "I can tell you that with 100 percent certainty," Massini told CNBC. "I know where all of these cars are today. And this is not one of the original GTOs."
Of course "replica" is a relative term when it comes to 250 GTOs. Other authentic classic Ferraris are sometimes rebodied to look like a GTO, but while they're not real GTOs, they are real Ferraris. We reported on such an "Evocazione" example (pictured above) based on a '65 Ferrari 330 GT a few years ago, around the same time that Matt Farah came across one based on a 365 GTB/4 Daytona alongside a Ford GT as well.

Ferrari cuts Toronto lawyer a deal to replace his flooded California [w/video]

A Ferrari might be the last vehicle you'd want to be driving when streets are submerged in water, but Toronto lawyer Howard Levitt was unfortunate enough to be behind the wheel of his $200,000+ Ferrari California when the tunnel he was driving through started to fill up. It was July, when parts of the Canadian city were flooded, but he was determined to make his flight to a court appearance the next day. So Levitt abandoned his metallic blue supercar in the middle of the street and took a cab to the airport, the National Post reports.
The car subsequently was totaled, and the insurance company covered the damage, so after completing his court assignment (and a column for the Financial Post that was due the same day), Levitt began to search for a replacement for his California - driving his 1994 Dodge Viper in the meantime. He decided on a 2014 California in the same metallic blue to replace his 2010 model. When he approached Ferrari to put in an order, the Italian marque was waiting for him, having heard of his mishap. The company offered him a "very generous" deal on a 2014 model; an undisclosed amount less than the after-options retail price of around $300,000.
The new Ferrari is expected to be delivered to Levitt in November, and we can only hope another flood doesn't catch him off guard. We're not so sure Ferrari would offer him another "very generous" deal. Feel free to watch the short video below, despite its rather static nature, which we included to precisely show the sad fate of Levitt's fallen California.

Scarbo Performance SVF1 First Drive Review | A hot-rodder's take on vintage F1

THERMAL, Calif. — Some turn their nose to the sky as soon as they hear the term, "replica." They only care for "originals," cars that are inevitably destined to collect dust in someone's impeccably clean garage, preserved for posterity, and never revved in anger or given the beans in fear of fouling up an "investment." Joe Scarbo thinks this "mere existence" is a boring one, that cars are meant to be driven hard – period. That's the outlook that spurned him to create the SVF1, an ass-kickin' track weapon so good, and so demanding, our body quit well before we wanted to hand back the keys. Once you realize what the Scarbo Performance SVF1 actually is, you'll get it. The open-wheeled, open-cockpit retro-racer is modeled after a 1967 Ferrari F312 Formula One car, and many, justifiably, consider its sultry, minimalist lines to be among the prettiest F1 designs. However, the guts under its beautifully hand-beaten aluminum exterior are more SoCal hot-rodder than devout Tifosi replica. Made even clearer that this track beast resides in the former is what powers it; a Red, White, and Blue-blooded GM-sourced, 430-horsepower LS1 V8. You can't get much more American than that. Our date with the SVF1 occurred at The Thermal Club near Palm Springs, an automotive oasis plopped squarely in the middle of an agricultural hub. The freshly finished facility is just a few hours outside of Los Angeles, but unlike the better-known Willow Springs, the track surface here is absolutely pristine, on top of which there was a fine mist of sand, a condition which kept both us and the SVF1 on our tiptoes. To provide the perfect soundtrack for our track adventure, Scarbo married the LS1's fly-by-wire throttle system with eight velocity stacks, providing an otherworldly induction yowl. This is punctuated by a guttural exhaust featuring an eight-into-one collector with a three-inch exit. Upon startup, the SVF1 is sends shivers through your body, and like chain lightning it propagates through the bodies of anyone within 60 feet. Grunt and stamina are required to shift the transaxle 5-speed manual transmission from a 986-generation Porsche Boxster mated up to the LS1. No flappy paddles or dual-clutches here. You get into the SVF1 by placing your feet onto the softly padded seat and sliding your butt in-between its fuel tank, which straddle your hips and posterior. Clip into the five-point harness and you're eyeball level with the truly massive Avon race-spec slicks.