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Kimi out, Bottas in at Ferrari?

Things have not gone well for Scuderia Ferrari driver Kimi Raikkonen since he returned to the team in 2014. After a pair of strong seasons for Lotus that saw him finish third and fifth, the Finn ended last season in 12th, 106 points behind his teammate, Spaniard Fernando Alonso. His 2015 fortunes have improved – he currently sits in fourth, only a spot behind teammate Sebastian Vettel – but he's been remarkably inconsistent, struggling with the SF15-T, a car that was specifically designed to work with his driving style. He only has a single podium this season, was forced to retire in Australia after a bad pitstop, and he crashed out of the most recent round in Austria. Clearly, Kimi should just stay away from races starting in "Austr." That advice may have come too late, though, as rumors are bubbling up that Ferrari may be swapping its Finns, dropping Raikkonen for his young countryman, Valtteri Bottas. Fox News, citing a report from Germany's Bild, claims Ferrari has made an offer to Bottas' current team, Williams, to secure his services. It doesn't sound like the British team will give him up all that easily, though. According to Fox, Williams enjoys a contractual "option" on the 25-year-old Finn's contract for next season, and that Ferrari would need to buy that contract out to steal him away. Bild claims the Italians have offered $4.4 million, but Williams' second-in-command, Claire Williams, wants nearly four times that. Ferrari has, rejected that figure, allegedly and unsurprisingly. Should the two sides come to a compromise, German and Sahara Force India driver Nico Hulkenberg seems to be the popular choice to take the open Williams seat, Fox is reporting. It's unclear where Raikkonen would end up next. And with that, we consider the 2015 Formula 1 silly season officially open.

Petrolicious gets super Seventies in a Ferrari Dino 208 GT4

The Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 was the automaker's first sports car with a V8 mounted amidships, and that formula quickly became the Italian automaker's bread and butter. The 308 in the name denotes a 3.0-liter V8, but for the Italian market, where a tax was imposed on cars with engines larger than two liters, Ferrari decided to de-bore the V8 to avoid the tax. Thus the 2.0-liter Dino 208 GT4 was born, and New York resident Bradley Price likes his 1976 model just the way it is.
Price initially was attracted to the Bertone-styled wedge because it "fit into the whole aesthetic of the space age and of the boundless possibility of [the late 1960s and 1970s]," he says in the Petrolicious video, adding that the opening scene of the original The Italian Job struck a chord with him, and the feeling never left. With 170 horsepower on tap, the 208 isn't very quick, but, in his opinion, it has a sweeter song than the bigger V8 and the driver-centric interior is one of his favorites.
Watch Price snake the original wedge through some East Coast back roads in the video below, and, just for kicks, we've also included the opening sequence of The Italian Job.

Final Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta sells for $10 million

All Ferraris are expensive, but some are more expensive than others. The Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta is the current king of the mountain, with just 209 examples built, at least so far. A few weeks ago, the Italian automaker announced it would be building one last example, putting the total production number at 210. The car went up for auction this past weekend, and, with a final sale price of about $10 million, the car more than doubled the initial estimates of $3.5 million to $4.7 million. What's a few more million if it's all going to charity? The LaFerrari Aperta is basically the open-top version of the standard LaFerrari. The 210th example was built to celebrate Ferrari's 70th anniversary as an automaker. We're not sure that the owner of the 209th model will be too happy that their car is slightly less special, but we're sure they can drown their sorrows with a screaming V12. The 210th model will wear a special livery that's basically a few white stripes over classic Ferrari-red paint. $10 million is a lot of dough for a car that hasn't actually been built yet. Technically, the winning builder bought the rights to the 210th car, not the car itself. According to Autoweek, all proceeds from the auction will benefit Save the Children, an organization that helps disadvantaged children around the world. The LaFerrari Aperta just beat out this gorgeous 1 959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider by Scaglietti that sold for $9.5 million. Related Video: News Source: RM Sotheby's Green Ferrari Auctions Convertible Supercars ferrari laferrari ferrari laferrari aperta