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Ex-Ferrari chairman sounds off on IPO

Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo preferred to put exclusivity over profits when he ran the company, and the lower volume still meant huge amounts of cash for the business. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne has since taken over Ferrari, but that hasn't stopped di Montezemolo from voicing his opinions. "I hope that the clients will remain more important than the analyst or the investor or the financial markets," di Montezemolo said prior to his induction into the Automotive Hall of Fame in Detroit, the Detroit Free Press reported. The former chairman argued that once on the stock exchange, a company would need to maximize profits quarter after quarter to keep investors happy. Conversely, di Montezemolo said Ferrari's years of success came from an "exclusivity in terms of number of cars, exclusivity in terms of how you deal with the clients." When di Montezemolo left Ferrari last year, he and Marchionne were scuffling about the future of the brand, including the health of the Formula 1 program. With the change in leadership, the company has reversed course in some ways. Where volume was previously kept around 7,000 units annually, the carmaker has set a new goal of closer to 10,000. The paperwork was filed for the IPO, and Marchionne thinks the company could be worth over $11 billion. The actual shares are rumored to go on sale in October. Related Video:

UPDATE: A Ferris Bueller replica Ferrari is headed to auction this week

UPDATE: The Ferris Bueller Ferrari 250 GT California crossed the auction block on Saturday at Barrett-Jackson, and it hammered for $396,000. That's just a touch less than what one of the other Bueller replicas sold for last, so the enthusiasm for the movie isn't dying off yet. Barrett-Jackson called it a "crowd favorite"  — it rolled onto the stage to the "Oh Yeah" theme song used in the movie. If you don't care too much for originality but love Ferris Bueller, we'll call this one a good buy. An original 250 GT California would've sold for many millions more. Would you like to own a Ferrari, or a piece of movie history? How about a little of the latter that is pretending to be the former? In any other year, even noteworthy auction listings popping up this week probably would have drowned in the rising tide of auto show news, but with the Detroit auto show punted to June this year, we've been inundated with some fantastic auction finds, including this Hollywood icon that was built for one of John Hughes' greatest films.  This 1963* Modena Spyder California is maybe one of the best-known Ferrari replicas in the world, and it's slated to cross the block at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale this weekend. It takes an eagle-eyed auto enthusiast to recognized the Bueller fakes for what they are, but the fact that they're replicas of the Ferrari 250 GT California doesn't really hurt their value. In fact, it makes it even easier to verify their provenance. Granted, real-deal 250 GTs are going for stupid money, but we find it hard to believe that a little Matthew Broderick stardust would really make much difference when examples are being auctioned off for more than $17 million.  As Road & Track points out, the other running movie replica sold for more than $400,000. Fortunately, there were three of these replica models built for the film, so the buying public is getting yet another crack at one. Two of the replicas were runners, and the third was effectively an unladen stunt double used for the infamous scene where Alan Ruck's Cameron Frye works out his daddy issues by sending pop's precious collector's item straight through the side of their Highland Park Frank Lloyd Wright.  You know, the sort of thing your average angsty American teenager did before Twitter was invented.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The replica is not just a looker; it's a driver.

2016 Japanese Grand Prix | Hamilton faces the beginning of the end

We're told the Japanese mamushi viper haunts the undergrowth around Suzuka. If the pit viper attended the weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, it avoided human visitors but it put a nasty bite on Lewis Hamilton's championship hopes. The Briton, lined up second on the grid next to Mercedes-AMG Petronas teammate Nico Rosberg, flubbed his start. By the end of Turn 1 Hamilton was in eighth. Hamilton didn't suffer alone. The beginning of the race was a melee; many of the leaders got caught out either by the damp track or by having to swerve around slow starters. Only Mercedes' Nico Rosberg and Red Bull's Max Verstappen took off clean. The German rolled up another lights-to-flag victory despite the pass-happy race happening behind him. Rosberg was as unbothered by the Dutchman in second place as he was by the official Formula 1 camera feed. Verstappen didn't have much work to do until the final ten laps of the race. Thanks to the Mercedes team's strategy – or Ferrari waiting too long to pit – Hamilton got up to third on Lap 36 of 53. Unable to make a DRS-enabled pass on Verstappen down the front straight toward the end of the race, the Mercedes driver took a creative line through Spoon corner. Closing in down the back straight, Hamilton jinked inside to try a pass through the final chicane. Verstappen moved over in the braking zone while Hamilton was still behind him, closing the door on the move. Hamilton protested over his team radio, but seemed resigned to a third place finish after the incident – he didn't try any more passes in the final laps. The Ferrari duo of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen crossed the line fourth and fifth, respectively, in recovery drives after penalties. The scuderia tried an aggressive final stint after Hamilton successfully undercut Vettel in the pits. Ferrari put Vettel on the soft-compound Pirellis so he could hunt the Mercedes, but after a few laps of close pursuit the tires gave up and Vettel fell back. Daniel Ricciardo couldn't get comfortable in his Red Bull the entire weekend. The Aussie finished where he started, in sixth place. Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg followed the Red Bull home in two-up formation for Force India, Williams doing the same in the final two points-paying positions with Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas. Rosberg's 23rd career victory – his ninth of the season and first ever in Japan – puts him 33 points ahead of Hamilton in the Driver's Championship with four races left.