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Ferrari 288 GTO to be auctioned by Mecum in Monterey

If you're a rather affluent person attending the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance this year, you may want to set aside some spending money. Mecum is offering this gorgeous Ferrari 288 GTO at its Monterey auction. For those that don't know about the 288 GTO, it is one of Ferrari's greatest supercars, frequently compared with its successor, the F40. The car was originally developed for the fast and dangerous Group B rally racing class and featured a twin-turbocharged 2.8 liter V8 making 400 horsepower. Not only that, but the steel tube-frame chassis was draped in cutting-edge carbon fiber and Kevlar body panels. This particular model has just over 11,000 kilometers on the clock. If anyone of us at our office had it, that number would be multiplied a few times over. And it would likely be a reasonably comfortable driver, since this one has the option package that added air conditioning, a stereo and power windows. The stereo might be a tad superfluous considering the likely sonorous powertrain in this machine. The car also carries certification from Ferrari's in-house certifier and restorer, Ferrari Classiche. All this could be yours provided you have the cash to back up your bids. Mecum is expecting the 288 GTO to bring between two and three million dollars. This falls in line with Hagerty Insurance's average valuation of $2,350,000. That sum is a significant jump from five years ago when Hemmings estimated a good model going for about $650,000. Related Video:

Driver limps away from massive Ferrari crash

The safety of modern racecars is absolutely astounding, and few videos show that better than this crash from a race in France's GT Tour at Nogaro. Driver Sacha Bottemanne in a Ferrari 458 GT3 bumps a fellow racer in another Ferrari. The slight hit is still enough to throw Bottemanne off balance, and his Prancing Horse slams hard into the wall. The high-speed crash causes pieces to explode off the car, but you can immediately see the driver moving inside once the Ferrari stops spinning. Bottemanne climbs out the space formerly occupied by the windshield, and a corner worker helps him limp to the side of the track. A translated tweet from GT Tour says the driver went to the hospital afterward, but he only suffered some bruises. After a shocking crash straight into the wall at such high speed, it says a lot for GT3 safety that his injuries were so minor. Related Video:

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.