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Ferrari 250 GT California nets $17 million at Amelia Island

The 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider is famed for its feature (in replica form) in "Ferris Beuller's Day Off" and as one of the more valuable Ferrari models. This year's Gooding & Company auction at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance have has cemented that with a high-dollar example. This 250 is indeed a real example, one of just 56 ever made, and only 37 with those desirable covered headlights. This was the first time this particular example was ever offered for sale to the public in its 55-year history, and it fetched $17.16 million at the Florida concours over the weekend. That's not quite enough to take the record for this highly sought-after model. According to Sports Car Market, that still belongs to the barn-find example that Artcurial sold last year for over $18 million. But it did beat its own pre-sale estimates, and was enough to top Gooding's list as well as that of Amelia Island. Related Video:   Gooding & Company Sets Amelia Island Record for Single Lot and Celebrates More Than $60 Million in Sales from its 2016 Amelia Island Auction - 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider Fetches $17,160,000, a Gooding & Company Record - Selections from The Jerry Seinfeld Collection Total More Than $22.2 Million AMELIA ISLAND, Fla. (March 13, 2016) – Gooding & Company, the auction house acclaimed for selling the world's most significant and valuable collector cars with the tradition of presenting some of the greatest collections to ever come to market, realized $60,162,150 in a single day at the company's 2016 Amelia Island Auction. The most talked about event of the week did not disappoint, as President David Gooding and Auctioneer Charlie Ross sold 69 of 79 lots for an impressive 87% sales rate, which resulted in an astounding average price of $871,915 per car sold. The standing-room-only crowd also witnessed the company achieve nine new world auction benchmarks. There were highlights throughout the auction, including the $22,244,500 garnered by Selections from The Jerry Seinfeld Collection and the star of the day, the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider which commanded a price of $17,160,000. "We are delighted with our auction results and are proud of the new auction records we have set, which demonstrates that there is a strong demand for high quality cars," stated David Gooding, President of Gooding & Company. "The room was electric from the beginning and the crowd's intensity only grew when Mr.

Weekly Recap: Racing legend Jim Hall explains Chevy's futuristic Chaparral concept

"I said our cars are built to be winners." – Jim Hall Racing legend Jim Hall never thought he'd be a video game consultant, but when Chevrolet asked for his advice to create a futuristic Chaparral for the Vision Gran Turismo series, he was eager to help. He reviewed early sketches and suggested some changes that made it onto the concept, including the addition of a camera that's mounted onto a mast over the cabin to aid the driver. The Chevy Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo concept was revealed this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show and will be part of a downloadable update for PlayStation 3's Gran Turismo 6 in December. Theoretically, at least, it uses a laser-beam propulsion system and an air-powered generator to produce 900 horsepower in the video game. It's capable of sprinting to 60 miles per hour in 1.5 seconds en route to a top speed of 240 mph. Those gaudy performance specs – even in the virtual world – came at Hall's urging. "I said our cars are built to be winners," Hall told Autoblog on the floor of the Los Angeles show. The 79-year-old drove Lotus racecars in Formula One before launching the successful Chaparral Cars in the 1960s. Like his innovative Can-Am racers, the Vision Gran Turismo project has an eye toward the future. It also introduces the iconic Chaparral name to a new generation of fans, and hopefully, Hall says, gets them excited about engineering and design. "It emulates what we did in the '60s," he said. And what they did back then still resonates. Chaparral Racing and Chevy partnered more than 45 years ago for development work on the composite monocoque chassis, lightweight alloy powertrains, automatic gearboxes and active aerodynamics. "He [Hall] walked right back into this and was able to apply thinkings and learnings," said Clay Dean, General Motors executive director of advanced design. The Chevy Chaparral 2X Vision Gran Turismo concept was created at GM's North Hollywood advanced design studio, and it will be on display at the show through November. Other News and Views Sebastian Vettel joins Ferrari team in 2015 Ferrari confirmed that four-time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel will join the Scuderia for the 2015 season, jettisoning Ferrari's current ace, two-time champ Fernando Alonso. Vettel has been F1's most successful driver since Michael Schumacher, though he's struggled to match his previous accomplishments in 2014.

FIA president and former Ferrari boss Jean Todt named UN special envoy

Jean Todt, the 69-year-old former Scuderia Ferrari boss, Ferrari CEO and current FIA president has been named the United Nation's special envoy for road safety. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced the appointment Wednesday in Paris. Citing the 1.3 million people killed and the 50 million people injured each year on the world's roads, the UN is appointing Todt to mobilize "sustained political commitment towards road safety." Beyond that, the Frenchman will work towards raising awareness of the UN's "road safety legal instruments." "The road safety challenge is too often ignored, but road injuries are the number one killer of young people aged 15 to 29. That being the case, it deserves much more attention on the global political agenda," Todt said in the attached statement. "This appointment will bring greater visibility to efforts to tackle this health and development crisis, as well as new leadership and renewed momentum." Meanwhile, the FIA also confirmed Todt and 44 other delegates in Nepal to attend the organization's Asia-Pacific Sport Regional Congress in Kathmandu were safe after the country was struck by a devastating earthquake last week. Scroll on down for the official press release from the FIA. FIA President Jean Todt appointed as UN Special Envoy for Road Safety UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has appointed FIA President Jean Todt as his Special Envoy for Road Safety at a meeting held today in Paris. In this capacity, he will assist the UN Secretary General in mobilizing sustained political commitment towards road safety. Mr. Todt will also advocate and raise awareness about the United Nations road safety legal instruments, and share established road safety good practices, through his participations in global and regional conferences on road safety. In addition, the Special Envoy for Road Safety will generate funding for advocacy efforts through strategic partnerships between the public, private and non-governmental sectors. FIA President Jean Todt said: "The road safety challenge is too often ignored, but road injuries are the number one killer of young people aged 15-29. That being the case, it deserves much more attention on the global political agenda." adding "This appointment will bring greater visibility to efforts to tackle this health and development crisis, as well as new leadership and renewed momentum". "In my position as FIA President, with the backing of our members, road safety has become a key priority.