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Ferrari shows California with unique upholstery at Goodwood

Order up a new Ferrari and you can get it just about any way you want it. That's what the company's Tailor Made program is all about. And it's showcasing some of the possibilities at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this weekend with the unique cabrio you see here. This one-of-a-kind Ferrari California T has been done up in a special blue and white livery. Its three-layer Bianco Italia paintjob is overlaid with a pair of offset blue stripes, complimented by a set of 20-inch alloys in blue and silver. The interior is similarly done up in blue and white, but it's the material with which that's done that's the most interesting bit. Maranello has upholstered and trimmed the interior of this particular California with a new high-tech material called Mycro Prestige. It's less than a millimeter thick and weighs only a third of what the leather would, but it's flameproof and water resistant while being porous and breathable. Sort of like Alcantara, but more advanced. Of course these are only some of the options Ferrari can offer through its Tailor Made program. Clients are set up with their own personal designer who'll walk them through the endless choices available through three collections, dubbed Scuderia, Classica and Inedita, the latter offering the most out-there choices. So if what you really want is a Prancing Horse swathed in cashmere or denim, Ferrari will be only too glad to oblige your open checkbook. Related Video: "TAILOR MADE" FERRARI CALIFORNIA T SHOWCASES NEW LIGHTWEIGHT MYCRO PRESTIGE FABRIC Maranello, 24 June 2015. Ferrari will be showcasing a very special "Tailor Made" California T at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, inspired by the passion and colours of Polo and Horse racing. The California T encapsulates the ethos of personalisation, with a Bianco Italia three-layer exterior with a double-asymmetric stripe in Blu Hellen mirrored by a sumptuous Blu Sterling interior with Bianco elements and highlights. The car is finished off with 20" forged wheels which have been painted in Blu Hellen and Argento Nurburgring. This particular California T showcases a new high-tech "Mycro Prestige" fabric material that has been specifically made exclusively for Ferrari. Mycro Prestige is a highly resistant material that offers an exceptional level of grip, and, thanks to its unique mixture of fibres which are only 0.7mm thick, it is only one-third the weight of traditional leather.

2016 Italian Grand Prix race recap

The Italian Grand Prix at Monza is called the Temple of Power. Furthermore, the winning driver in Italy started on pole in 13 of the last 16 years, and only one driver in that time has won the Italian GP from behind the front row of the grid: Rubens Barrichello in 2002 and 2009. By this point in the current Formula 1 season (era?) we know what it means when a track emphasizes both power and pole position: Mercedes-AMG Petronas. The Silver Arrows locked out the front row with Lewis Hamilton on pole. A poor start prevented the Briton from capitalizing on the advantage, so teammate Nico Rosberg and four other drivers swept by him before the end of the second turn. Mercedes would later say a clutch issue caused Hamilton's botched start, but that didn't help the man who'd just fallen to sixth place. Rosberg got about two laps of television coverage on his way to an unbothered victory ahead of Hamilton. Ferrari made Hamilton's second-place finish easier by sticking to a two-stop strategy; both Mercedes drivers pitted once. We aren't sure why Ferrari didn't at least attempt a one-stopper once Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen had been gifted second and third on track. A pit stop took about 23 seconds from entry to exit and Vettel finished third, six seconds behind Hamilton. Raikkonen finished fourth, another seven seconds behind Vettel. Perhaps the Scuderia's tire usage wouldn't allow longer stints, but we'll never know. Daniel Ricciardo wielded his Red Bull like a scalpel to make an impeccable pass on Valtteri Bottas in the Williams and take fifth place. Ricciardo, trailing another Italian province behind, somehow closed the gap on Bottas in just the braking zone of Turn 1, pulling alongside near the apex without locking a wheel on entry nor running wide on exit. Bottas claimed sixth ahead of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez in the Force India, Felipe Massa in the second Williams, and Nico Hulkenberg in the second Force India sealing the top ten. Monza did spring a few on-track surprises. Esteban Gutierrez drove Haas F1 into Q3 for the first time this season, the Mexican setting the sixth-best time in Q2. Manor Racing planned for Monza all season, Pascal Wehrlein repaying the effort by qualifying 13th. Fernando Alonso pitted his McLaren on Lap 50 of the 53-lap race for a set of super soft Pirellis, then set the fastest lap. It's Honda's first fastest lap since 1992. The biggest moments happened off the track.

Weekly Recap: Aston Martin to add another sports car, new Lagonda sedan, EVs

Aston Martin will revamp and expand its lineup as part of a five-year plan laid out by the company's new executives. If it succeeds, the strategy will position Aston for growth as an independent automaker with a more stable future in its second century. Aston will replace all of the cars in its current lineup and add a fourth sports car to its stable. It currently has three: the DB9, Vanquish and Vantage. The unnamed sports car will be joined by a production version of the DBX concept – an all-wheel-drive electric car that treads near crossover territory – that was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show. Aston's electric strategy also includes a potential electric-powered Rapide. Eventually, Aston plans to build a new four-door Lagonda. Though Aston will diversify its portfolio and the range could expand to seven vehicles, it will limit production to around 7,000 units annually, said Aston Martin marketing and communications director Simon Sproule, who described the company's strategy in an interview with Autoblog. CEO Andy Palmer, who joined Aston last year from Infiniti, has also spoken recently about remaking the company for the future. EVs are a major part of Aston's future, Sproule stressed, because they allow the automaker to "balance" its portfolio. Aston is studying the feasibility of an electric Rapide and is working with an undisclosed engineering firm. It's likely to use a plug-in setup and would cost $200,000 to $250,000 or more. It could use either a rear-wheel or all-wheel-drive configuration. View 14 Photos "It's a study, but we're serious about it," Sproule said. He added for emphasis: "If not this, there will be an electric Aston Martin in the future." Aston has taken note of what Tesla has done with the brisk-driving Model S and decided that's the dynamic it wants for some of its own cars. Even though EVs don't emit the same sonorous note as a V12 – they're better than the alternative, Sproule said. "The sound of silence is much more preferable than the sound of a four-cylinder whining away under the hood of an Aston Martin," he said. Speaking of V12s, they're not going away. Aston will continue to make its own V12 engine, but will source its V8 from Mercedes-AMG (whose parent, Daimler, owns a small stake in Aston). While the V12 is sure to please the faithful, Aston admits EVs and the crossover-like DBX will rankle many. Sproule argues those are the moves that will keep Aston relevant.