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1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sells for record $39.8 million

This might not come as a shock, but ultra-rare vintage cars are only going to get more expensive as time rolls on, particularly if there's a prancing horse on the car's nose. For example, in 2011, a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for $16.39 million. In February 2012, a 1964 250 GTO sold for nearly $32 million. Later that year, a 1962 250 GTO sold for $35 million. It was the most expensive car ever sold, making last year's 275 GTB/4 NART Spider and its $27.5-million auction price seem like a drop in the platinum-lined bucket. Now, there's been another high-dollar Ferrari sale.
An unrestored, 1957 250 Testa Rossa was reportedly sold for over $39 million, making it the most expensive car ever sold in the United Kingdom. Just for perspective, $39 million is about 28 LaFerraris or roughly 128 F12 Berlinettas. It's not the most expensive car ever sold, but it still represents a huge sum of money for a classic car. Part of the reason for chassis number 0704 - the car pictured above is 0714, which sold for a mere $12.2 million in 2009 - being sold for so much is down to its excellent provenance.
It made its race debut at the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans, although it failed to finish. Phil Hill and Peter Collins racked up wins with this exact car in Buenos Aires and Sebring, according to the folks at Hemmings. Combining race wins by a former Formula One World Champion with an unrestored example of an extremely rare car (one of just 34 250 Testa Rossas ever built) makes its monumental sale price almost seem reasonable.

Ferrari 458 Speciale A trots out its 597 sun-drenched ponies [w/video]

To say that Ferrari has made some powerful drop-tops over the years would be like saying the Pope has been known to make a couple of blessings here and there. There was the F50, the 575 Superamerica and the 599 SA Aperta, to name just a few. But this is the most powerful Spider it has ever made. Taking its curtain call at the Paris Motor Show today is the new Ferrari 458 Speciale A – successor to the F430-based 16M Scuderia Spider and lovechild of the 458 Spider and 458 Speciale. That means it's got the same 4.5-liter V8 – all 597 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of it – as the Speciale coupe, but with the folding aluminum roof from the Spider. Best of both worlds, as they say - especially with a 0-62 time quoted at three seconds flat. But since Maranello will only produce less than 500 of them, you'd better check it out in our gallery of live shots above. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Watch the trailer for 'Ferrari 312B: Where the revolution begins' documentary

It's not often that a car gets to star in its own silver screen documentary, but the Ferrari 312B is doing just that, as the 1970-introduced Formula 1 car is being featured in Ferrari 312B: Where the revolution begins. The 312B launched a new era for the Italian marque. The B stood for "boxer," referencing the 180-degree 3.0-liter 12-cylinder engine, which replaced the preceding 312's 60-degree V12. The groundbreaking flat engine enabled the new car to have a lower center of gravity, which among other benefits, allowed more space for unhindered airflow above it. The body designs that graced the 312B were unconventional, earning one particularly nose-heavy-looking car the nickname "snowplow." As a dramatic story arc requires, the newly designed engine proved unreliable in its early guise, taking years of honing for it to be properly nailed. Racing legends Niki Lauda, Jacky Ickx, Jackie Stewart, Gerhard Berger and Damon Hill are among those to analyze the car and the years that turned Ferrari's fortunes around. The 1970 car even returns to the Monaco race track all these years later, having been overhauled by a team led by its original engineer – Mauro Forghieri. The documentary hits American theaters Nov. 17.