2015 Ferrari 458 on 2040-cars

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Would you pay $2 million for a Ferrari F50? [w/video]

The F50 may not have been the finest of Ferrari's flagship supercars, but it remains a collector's commodity just the same – and its value keeps rising. F50s are already trading hands at upwards of $1 million apiece – and this year, at least one is expected to fetch upwards of $2.5 million. Ferrari launched the F50 in 1995 as the successor to the legendary F40 that came before. It eschewed the twin-turbo V8 that powered the 288 GTO and F40 for a naturally aspirated V12, setting the stage for the Enzo and LaFerrari that followed in the series. That high-revving 4.7-liter engine, according to Ferrari, was derived from the unit used in the actual F1 car from 1989 (known as the F1-89, naturally). This engine served as a stressed member of the chassis, mounted behind a carbon-fiber tub. With its removable hardtop, the F50 remains the only model in Maranello's flagship series (excluding the Enzo-based Maserati MC12) that offered an open cockpit. It was all very F1-like, but was barely any faster (if at all) than its iconic predecessor. Only 349 F50s were made, each carrying a half-million-dollar price tag. That would be a good $750k in today's money. Still, it is part of a highly collectible series. Only 349 were made, each carrying a half-million-dollar price tag that seemed astronomic at the time in the mid-'90s. That'd be about $750k in today's money, but it's still a far cry from what they're trading at these days. Last year alone, RM Sotheby's sold two F50s at auction: one in May at Villa d'Este for just under $1.4 million, and another at Pebble Beach (as part of the Pinnacle Portfolio) for nearly $2m. This compared to just a few years ago when they were selling for six figures, not seven, prior to 2013. At this early point in the year, two major auction houses have already announced consignments of F50s. RM has one (pictured above) on the docket that's estimated to sell for a good $1.5m. It's sure to be one of the top sellers in a couple of weeks at its sale in Paris during the Salon Retromobile (where Artcurial has another Ferrari for sale at over $30m). Gooding & Company has one lined up as part of the Tony Shooshani Collection. That example (depicted in the video below) was displayed at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show and was owned by Jacques Swaters (of Ecurie Francorchamps fame). It has only 1,100 miles on the odometer and is expected to fetch between $2.5m and $2.9m, which would set a new record for the model.

Ferrari 330 P4 is a stunning red bolide

There are many beautiful cars in the world, and then there is the Ferrari 330 P4 that outdoes practically all of them. Combining more curves than Christina Hendricks and the singing voice of Adele, it might just be one of the most aesthetically pleasing cars ever made. In its latest video, Petrolicious takes a look at the sole remaining original P4 in existence and talks to the lucky man who gets to drive it.
Ferrari Corsa instructor Nick Longhi has the enviable task about getting behind the wheel of the V12 racer in this video, and he says it doesn't drive the way you might think. The P4 isn't out to bite drivers who aren't paying attention. Instead, he claims that the car just does everything right and helps the person at the controls be that much better.
Historically, the P4 was Ferrari's attempt in the 1967 season to take on the dominating Ford GT40. The Prancing Horse's major achievement that year was a 1-2-3 finish in the 24 Hours of Daytona, but it couldn't quite beat the Ford at the famous race at Le Mans.

2017 Ferrari GTC4Lusso First Drive

The Ferrari FF is a monster, a four-wheel-drive bread van with a 6.3-liter V12 that people like us have adored since it arrived in 2011. It's great to drive and better to look at, a shooting brake with more power, less practicality, and a higher price tag than pretty much anything else in this shape. Ferrari has sold almost 6,000 of them, handily beating its target of 800 per year. It was a success by any measure. Its replacement, the GTC4Lusso, might sound like something out of Ferrari's mad, bad Sixties brochures, but under the skin is pretty much the same aluminum-alloy space frame of the FF. Ferrari has carefully listened to its critics on practicality, price, and power, and duly made the GTC more powerful, pricier, and not much more practical. There have been some slight stylistic adjustments. A scallop was cut into the front fender and door skins to reduce the visual weight, and the roofline has been extended, terminating in a slight spoiler at the waist, which is said to improve aerodynamic efficiency by up to six percent. It looks sharp and mean on its 20-inch five-spoke alloys, although some of the detail, such as the wing vents and the absurdly long hood, verge on the cartoonish. The basic 65-degree, 6.3-liter, quad-cam V12 stays largely the same, but has a higher compression ratio and redesigned cylinder heads and pistons, which make the fuel/air mix burn more efficiently and consequently provides 30 more horsepower. The engine shrieks to 8,250 rpm, but peak power is 681 hp at 8,000 rpm with peak torque of 514 pound-feet produced at 5,750 rpm. Top speed remains the same at 208 mph, but the 0–62 mph acceleration time comes down slightly to 3.4 seconds. US gas mileage is yet to be homologated, but the European-cycle figures improve slightly – not that you care. The engine drives a rear-mounted, seven-speed, twin-clutch transaxle and then there is that extraordinary four-wheel-drive system, which consists of a simple, helical-cut, hydraulically controlled gearbox running off the front of the crankshaft. It weighs 100 pounds and has two speeds plus reverse and a couple of Haldex-type clutches to activate each wheel when required in first to fourth gears and at speeds below 124 mph. New for the GTC is a ZF rear-steering system, a ram powered by an electric motor that pushes the rear suspension against its bushings to give a couple of degrees steering in either direction.