2008 Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Oto (one To One) on 2040-cars

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Ferrari F8 Tributo brings the best of the 488 Pista to the masses

This is the Ferrari deemed worthy of replacing the 488 GTB, called the F8 Tributo. Let's start with the red meat: 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 710 horsepower and 568 pound-feet of torque. Those numbers sound familiar? They're the same as we got from the special edition 488 Pista, and they outdo the 488 GTB by 49 hp and seven pound-feet. The F8 Tributo warps itself to 62 miles per hour in a Pista-matching 2.9 seconds, takes two tenths longer to reach 124 mph at 7.8 seconds, but runs all the way to the same 211-mph top speed. What's more, the F8 Tributo weighs 2,932 pounds dry when graced with all of the lightweight options. That's 111 pounds more than the Pista, but an 88-pound diet compared to the 488 GTB. Rear-slanted radiators frame an evolution of the Pista's S-Duct to redefine the front end. Ferrari said the under-over airflow trick delivers a 15-percent increase in downforce compared to the retiring 488. Redesigned headlights take a horizontal stance, making room for brake cooling ducts that obviated needing to fit larger brakes. The Lexan engine cover and its three subtle louvers hearken to the F40, and the quad taillights hearken to Gran Turismo Berlinetta Ferraris of yore. The enlarged spoiler hunkers over that light cluster in 812 Superfast fashion, above a rear fascia that incorporates curved mesh grilles. Ferrari says the overall look is "the bridge to a new design language." As a side benefit, it confers a 10 percent improvement in aero efficiency compared to the 488. Ferrari's updated its Side Slip Angle Control (SSAC), and made the revised Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer (FDE) available in Race mode "to make performance on limit easier to reach and control for greater number of drivers." SSAC allows for more drifty attitudes, the FDE adds automatic braking inputs to reduce the need for sudden countersteering. Formerly, FDE was only available with the steering wheel manettino control in the CT Off position. The cabin's been overhauled, starting with a smaller steering wheel dotted with a couple of additional buttons for hands-free phone operation. The former oblong vents give way to round ones, there's a new digital interface for the driver and 8.25-inch touchscreen for the passenger, and new door cards. We will be taking a much closer look at all of it come Geneva. Related Video:

Fiat Chrysler starts production of ventilator components in Italy

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler has begun producing ventilator parts to help Italy's Siare Engineering boost its output of the medical equipment needed to treat patients during the coronavirus crisis, the carmaker said on Friday. Carmakers around the world are ramping up production of critical healthcare products and machines to respond to the enormous demand during the pandemic. Italy, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in Europe, had asked Siare to triple its normal monthly production as a part of government efforts to increase the number of intensive care beds. FCA said that with the support of luxury group Ferrari and holding company Exor, which controls both carmakers, it had produced the first electrovalves, a key part in ventilators, at its plant in Cento, in northern Italy. The Cento plant is usually used to produces high-performance car engines for the global market. It had been closed because of the coronavirus but has partially reopened for this project. "With the additional supply of electrovalves from Cento, Siare estimates that it will be able to reduce total production time for ventilators by as much as 30-50%", the statement said. In addition to the production of the electrovalves, a team of specialists from FCA is also working alongside Siare staff at their production facility near the city of Bologna. "The objective is to help increase Siare's total production, with a gradual scaling up of daily output beginning from the first week of April", FCA said.

Marchionne takes total control of Ferrari as CEO and chairman

Ferrari is undergoing another changing of the guard as Amedeo Felisa retires from his longtime role as CEO. In his place, Sergio Marchionne will add the job to his absurd list of responsibilities. An engineer by training, Felisa has been with the company for 26 years, and some form of Fiat for nearly 50, having come to Maranello in 1990 after two decades at Alfa Romeo. He took charge of Ferrari's road-car division in 2001, was named general manager in 2006, and got the CEO job in 2008 after Jean Todt left to run for president of the FIA. Felisa's role as chief executive was seen as all the more important after Luca di Montezemolo was shown the door. Rumors persisted recently that Felisa was on his way out. With Felisa gone, Marchionne will be left running the company more directly than he has been as chairman for the past two years since supplanting Montezemolo. As it is, Marchionne serves as CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, chairman of CNH Industrial (the merged entity of Fiat Industrial and Case New Holland), and directly runs the NAFTA region for FCA, splitting his time between offices in Detroit, Turin, and Maranello. We wouldn't be surprised, then, to see Ferrari name a new CEO, or at least a senior manager to run the day to day and take some of the pressure off Marchionne, as adept as he's proven at wearing multiple hats. The company is in the process of reforming itself as a corporate entity separate from FCA, positioned more as a luxury brand, and is seeking to rediscover its former winning form on the racetrack. In the meantime, while Felisa steps down with immediate effect, he will remain on the board – his term having recently been renewed – as a technical advisor, just as Todt did before him. Related Video: Ferrari announces CEO succession Maranello (Italy), 2 May 2016 – Ferrari N.V. ("Ferrari" or "Company") (NYSE/MTA: RACE) announces the retirement of its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Amedeo Felisa, after 26 years of dedicated service. Mr. Sergio Marchionne will assume those responsibilities while retaining his current role as Chairman of the Company. Mr. Felisa will continue to serve on the Board of Directors of Ferrari with a specific mandate as technical advisor to the Company. Sergio Marchionne had this to say: "I have known Amedeo for more than a decade and I have had the opportunity to work with him closely for the last two years. He is beyond any doubt one of the best automotive engineers in the world.