Ferrari 550 Maranello Yr 2001 on 2040-cars

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Nigel Mansell's Ferrari F40 sells for $870k

If you look at the $1.35 million price tag on the new LaFerrari and wonder how Ferrari can possibly charge that much for a single car, you could look at the prices of its competitors like the McLaren P1 that lists for almost as much at $1.15 million, you could look to the $2.5 million which Ferrari is said to have charged for the exclusive F60 America - or you could look at the prices at which LaFerrari's predecessors are still trading. Take, for example, this Ferrari F40 which, 25 years since it was built, just sold for nearly $870,000 at auction.
The F40 in question, a 1989 model, may be just one of 1,315 examples made, but it has a rather noteworthy provenance: the car once belonged to Nigel Mansell, the only driver ever to hold both the Formula One and Indy titles at the same time. That Mansell - a man who had access to some of the fastest and most capable racing cars ever made - selected the F40 as his personal ride of choice speaks volumes about the car's abilities and appeal. But then he did, after all, drive for the Scuderia that season, winning the Brazilian and Hungarian grands prix.
The celebrity provenance, however, may not have actually jacked the price up at all. While it may rank towards the top of the list, this was hardly the highest price paid for an F40 at auction. According to Sports Car Market, which tracks such sales, the record currently belongs to a 1993 Ferrari F40 LM that Bonhams also sold for $2.2 million at Monterey. The highest price for a standard, non-LM model was recorded at the same event at $1.43 million.

Race Recap: Brazil ends the 2013 F1 season with whimpers, bangs [spoilers]

When the grid lined up at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace in Brazil there were just 71 laps, almost 306 kilometers, until the end of the 2013 season. Sometimes the circuit in Interlagos is deciding a Championship winner or showcasing new talent, and sometimes it's merely deciding a winner. This year was the latter.
2013 World Champion Sebastian Vettel in the first Infiniti Red Bull Racing lined up in front of Nico Rosberg in the first Mercedes-AMG Petronas, Fernando Alonso in the first Ferrari, Mark Webber in the second Red Bull and his final Formula One race, Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes, Romain Grosjean in the Lotus, Daniel Ricciardo in the first Toro Rosso and his final race for the team before moving to Red Bull, his teammate Jean-Éric Vergne, Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari and Nico Hülkenberg in the Sauber.
There were numerous theories about what surprises might occur, with race day being the first dry running of the weekend and rain predicted to fall at some point during the running. The first surprise came when the lights went out and Vettel, the consummate starter, got beat to the first corner.

Ferrari looking to become even more exclusive

While most automakers are clawing and scratching for every possible sale, it sounds like Ferrari is content in losing a few potential customers in the name of better exclusivity and higher profits. Autocar reports that Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo recently stated that the Italian automaker hopes to sell fewer than 7,000 units globally in 2013 compared to last year's tally of 7,318.
As a part of this plan, Ferrari will be slowing its production lines and trying to create a balanced market for its cars in the US, the Middle East, Europe and China - the latter two being the automaker's biggest markets. Montezemolo also said that Ferrari would not be expanding its model lineup with SUVs, sedans or small cars.