2012 Ferrari 458 Italia Base Coupe 2-door 4.5l on 2040-cars

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Marchionne's FCA-GM merger might come after Ferrari spinoff

Sergio Marchionne is continuing to rumble about working out a merger with General Motors, but don't expect anything big to happen before at least early next year. That's because Marchionne would likely wait for the Ferrari spin-off to be complete before beginning his next big deal, according to Automotive News. While the Ferrari IPO on the New York Stock Exchange is expected in the coming weeks, that only concerns 10 percent of the shares. The remaining 80 percent of stock is being distributed among shareholders in 2016. Piero Ferrari holds the final 10 percent with no intention to sell. This strategy allows FCA to claim 80 percent of the Prancing Horse's profits in the automaker's 2015 financial results. According to Automotive News, the tactic has other advantages, as well. FCA would be flush with cash by waiting for the spin-off to be complete, and it would keep Ferrari separate if a GM merger actually happens. Marchionne thinks Ferrari could be valued at over $11 billion in the IPO, and it could make FCA $3.3 billion richer when complete. Marchionne believes a combined FCA/GM could sell 17 million vehicles a year globally and rake in $30 billion in earnings. In the CEO's opinion, the two automakers are wasting money by developing components to do the same things on their vehicles. Although, so far the General's top execs are rebuffing all of his advances.

Ferrari threatens to quit F1 over new engine regulations

This past week, the FIA and Liberty Media, the group that currently owns F1, announced a plan to shake up the sport's engine regulations in 2021. The new rules are intended to make things a bit more exciting, though not everyone seems to be on board. Ferrari and FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne fired back, saying that the Italian automaker isn't interested in staying if the regulations stray too far from their current course. According to Bloomberg, Marchionne said that Ferrari will only stay if there is "a set of circumstances, the results of which are beneficial for the maintenance of the brand in the marketplace and for strengthening the unique position of Ferrari." Ferrari occupies a special and unique place in the sport. It's the only team to have competed in the sport since it officially became Formula 1 back in 1950. The team even has certain veto powers not granted to any other team. No other team has more wins or more championships. It could be argued that F1 needs Ferrari more than Ferrari needs F1. If this all sounds familiar, that's because it is. It seems that every time the rules get changed, Ferrari throws up its hands and threatens to walk if things don't go its way. It may sound like whining, but Ferrari has a point. Part of what makes F1 special and different from sports like IndyCar and NASCAR is that each team builds its own cars from the ground up. Ferrari actually agrees with the cost-cutting measures but is opposed to any changes that take away from "powertrain uniqueness." Basically, Ferrari want each engine and hybrid unit to be unique. In the end, Ferrari is more likely than not to stay in F1. The team's bosses will use their weight to sway things in a direction that benefits them because they believe what's good for Ferrari is good for the sport. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Getty Motorsports Ferrari F1 scuderia ferrari

This is how you go camping with a Ferrari F40 in the snow

If any of the Autoblog staff owned a Ferrari F40, we would drive it as much as possible anywhere we could. However, this clip from Red Bull shows an F40 owner who takes that idea to the extreme by taking the iconic supercar on a camping trip up a ski slope in Japan. The result is stupendous. The driver straps his luggage to the roof, and the bank of lights on the front provides plenty of illumination when the sun goes down. Slide a surf rock cassette into the player (remember the F40 is a product of the late '80s), and it's time to hit the road. Once the snow becomes an issue, the guy puts chains on the tires, and he enjoys some beautiful drifts up the mountain. Ferrari likely never imagined that someone would drive an F40 up a ski slope to go camping. However, this clip shows the supercar can do that just as well as clicking off fast lap times around a track. We love seeing an F40 showing its amazing performance no matter what the environment. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.