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Ferrari to be spun off from Fiat Chrysler

The recently merged Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire has ambitious plans for growth, and it's going to need some big bucks in its coffers in order to enact them. Part of that cash injection is coming from the floating of its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, but now FCA has announced a further capital campaign to be based on the enormous asset that is Ferrari.
FCA's board of directors has just approved the separation of Ferrari from the rest of the group as a separate entity. Once that separation is complete, Ferrari will put 10 percent of its shares on the stock market "in the United States and possibly a European exchange" as well.
This isn't the first time that the idea of a Ferrari IPO has been raised. Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Chrysler, Fiat and Ferrari (pictured above), first raised the idea four years ago. Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo nixed the idea, but now that he's been discharged, it appears there's nothing to get in the way of Marchionne's desires.

Ferrari's Vettel sets lap record and take pole position for Chinese Grand Prix

SHANGHAI – Ferrari made Formula One rivals sit up and take notice after an ominous show of speed in qualifying for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix. World championship leader Sebastian Vettel took pole position with a lap more than half a second faster than that of Valtteri Bottas, the fastest of the two Mercedes drivers in third place. The German's best time of one minute, 31.095 seconds – a Shanghai circuit record – turned up the heat on a chilly afternoon with Finnish team mate Kimi Raikkonen joining him on the front row. "We thought coming into today that we would be fighting for the pole position," said Bottas, whose reigning champion team mate Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth after aborting his final flying lap. "But it was definitely out of reach today, there was nothing in the lap that we could have gained that much." "I don't know if we can challenge, we're half a second behind today," added Hamilton. "We were quicker in the race in the last race (Bahrain) but they (Ferrari) were able to hold on. They will probably do the same tomorrow." Dominant isn't a word that has been used to describe Ferrari since they chalked up five straight drivers' titles and six consecutive constructors' crowns with Michael Schumacher, but they were imperious on Saturday. The front row lockout was their second in a row after Vettel beat Raikkonen to pole last weekend in Bahrain. "Ferrari were just way too quick," said Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who was fifth fastest but a hefty 0.701 seconds off Vettel's pace. "Somehow they've found a turbo button on the straight because they are really quick and still in the corners they are reasonably quick." Verstappen's Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo added, "Ferrari has had really good pace all weekend and I can't say honestly now that we're going to have their pace tomorrow, but Mercedes definitely look within reach." Ferrari's speed had already stunned rivals after Friday's opening day of practice pointed to a close battle, even if Hamilton was top of the timesheets. With temperatures plunging on Saturday, the scarlet cars seemed to come into their own. Vettel, who holds a 17-point lead over Mercedes rival Lewis Hamilton after winning in Australia and Bahrain, is looking good for a hat-trick. No driver has ever won the season's first three races without being crowned champion that year, and the last Ferrari driver to do it was Schumacher in 2004 when he was at the peak of his powers and won the opening five.

Ferrari 488 GTB rocks throwback '80s livery in Paris

We have a soft spot for retro racing liveries – especially when they're applied to road-legal supercars. Like a Porsche 918 Spyder with Martini racing stripes, a Ford GT in Gulf blue and orange, or this latest Ferrari 488 GTB unveiled in Paris. The Tailor Made department in Maranello prepared this one-of-a-kind 488 in tribute to the 308 GTB that Jean Claude Andruet drove to victory twice in the Tour de France Automobile – in 1981 and '82 – only a few years before the event was discontinued. It was one of the most iconic of Ferrari racing liveries (aside from the classic rosso corsa of course) and is beautifully reinterpreted for that car's modern successor. The unique treatment includes a French racing blue and white exterior with Pioneer sponsorship, matte gold wheels, and matte black brake calipers. The interior looks as stripped-out as the 458 Speciale's and features red fabric seats with matte-finish aluminum and carbon-fiber trim. Commissioned by Charles Pozzi, the same Paris dealer that campaigned the original decades ago, the turbocharged retro smurf was unveiled yesterday at the Grand Palais. It marked the start of the Tour Auto Optic 2000, a French rally. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The GTC4Lusso makes its French premiere at the Grand Palais The 488 GTB Tailor Made Pioneer also unveiled for the first time Paris, 18th April 2016 – What better setting than the Grand Palais in Paris for the GTC4Lusso, Ferrari's latest creation, to make its debut on French soil? The new Prancing horse V12 four-seater, four wheel drive with rear-wheel steering, was a magnet for the over 200 journalists who attended the premiere this afternoon on the opening day of the Tour Auto Optic 2000 rally. The GTC4Lusso will be also the star attraction at a gala cocktail in the evening for over four hundred guests who will have the opportunity to see this superb example of a unique mix of benchmark sports car performance, all-weather versatility and sublime elegance. This very important "rendez-vous" is also the occasion for Ferrari to present a unique version of its 488 GTB. In association with its Parisian dealer Charles Pozzi, the very exclusive Tailor Made program imagined a car which pays homage to the 308 Gr4 Pioneer driven by Jean Claude Andruet and two times winner of the Tour de France Auto in 1981 and 1982.