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Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta frolics topless in the rain with Evo

With nearly 600 horsepower from a sonorous 4.5-liter V8 nestled in an already fantastic platform, Ferrari might have outdone itself with the 458 Speciale. At this year's Paris Motor Show, it took the idea to the next logical step by letting buyers drop the coupe's top with the limited-edition 458 Speciale Aperta. Evo recently got the chance to drive one of the 499 of them; unfortunately, it was pouring rain the whole time. Still, when you get an opportunity to drive such a special Prancing Horse, you don't pass it up, no matter what the weather is doing.
All of the standing water on the road does allow for a chance to see how the Aperta's traction control works in the slippery conditions, and the car handles it with aplomb. In fact, the host has a hard time taking the big grin off of his face for the entire clip. Check out the video to watch this special, new Ferrari and its wonderful V8 go singing in the rain.

Stellantis not looking for further mergers, including with Renault

MILAN — Stellantis Chairman John Elkann on Monday denied the carmaker was hatching merger plans, responding to press speculation about a possible French-led tie-up with rival Renault. Elkann said that the Peugeot owner, the world's third largest carmaker by sales, was focused on the execution of its long-term business plan. "There is no plan under consideration regarding merger operations with other manufacturers," said Elkann, who also heads Exor, the Agnelli family holding company that is the largest single shareholder in Stellantis. After abandoning the Russian market, at the time its second largest after France, and reducing the scope of its global cooperation with Nissan, Renault has been seen as a potential M&A target. Speculation intensified after an electric vehicle market slowdown forced it last week to cancel IPO plans for its EV and software unit Ampere. Its market cap remains stubbornly low at little over 10 billion euros ($10.8 billion) despite a financial recovery over the past few years. Stellantis, the product of a 2021 merger between France's PSA and Fiat Chrysler and one of the most profitable groups in the industry, has a market cap of more than 85 billion euros when unlisted shares are factored in. It has a 14 brand portfolio also including Citroen, Jeep, Opel and Alfa Romeo. NEWSPAPER REPORT Italian daily Il Messaggero had said on Sunday that the French government, which is Renault's largest shareholder and also has a stake in Stellantis, was studying plans for a merger between the two groups. A spokeswoman for Renault said on Monday the group did not comment on rumors. France's Finance Ministry had declined to comment on Sunday. Stellantis has crossed swords with the Italian government, which has accused it of acting against the national interest on occasions. Industry Minister Adolfo Urso last week raised the prospect of the Italian government taking a stake in Stellantis to help to balance the French influence. Renault shares pared gains after Elkann's comments to stand 1.2% higher by 1220 GMT, having initially risen more than 4%. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, a Portuguese-national, last week said in an interview with Bloomberg that the group was "ready for any kind of consolidation" and that its job was to make sure that it would be "one of the winners". Analysts, however, question the rationale of a Stellantis-Renault merger, which would also expand the group's excess capacity in Europe.

Ferrari 250 GTO could fetch as much as $75 million at auction

Last month we reported on a Ferrari 250 GTO heading for the auction block at Pebble Beach. We knew at the time it would break records and bring in tens of millions of dollars. But now that the gavel is about to drop, it looks like even our projections could fall short.
According to a report on Bloomberg, citing the classic car authorities at Hagerty Insurance, the GTO in question (pictured above) could fetch upwards of $60 million and as much as $75 million when the auction takes place two days from now in Monterey, CA.
Hagerty's reported estimate would not only blow the previous records out of the water, but would eclipse the pre-sale estimate attributed to Bonhams, the auction house handling its sale, which placed its value between $30 million and $40 million.