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Ferrari 250 GT California could be your day off for $8 million

Vintage Ferraris consistently top the list of the most expensive cars ever sold. In private treaty sales, the 250 GTO is king, but even at public auctions, it's the horses that prance the highest. After the Mercedes W196 grand prix racer that set the world record this past July at nearly $30 million, the list of eight-figure sales is populated almost entirely by Ferraris: a 275 GTB/4 NART Spyder for $27.5 million, the pair of '57 Testa Rossas that sold separately a few years ago for $17 and $13 million apiece, the 250 LM recently went for over $14 million and the 250 GT SWB California Spider that sold in 2008 for $11 million.
Now RM Auctions has another California - this time a long-wheelbase model - on consignment for its upcoming sales in Arizona, where it is expected to fetch between $7 and $9 million. The 11th of only 50 made, chassis number 1055 GT features matching numbers, in red over black with those highly-coveted covered headlamps from the factory. It was delivered new in 1958 to Texas and was owned by some prominent Ferrari collectors and historians across the United States.
It underwent a comprehensive restoration in 1994 before taking the top prize in its class at the Cavallino Classic and has made the rounds of numerous other concours. It's spent the last few years in northern Europe and is now being put up for auction. "It is so choice," as our childhood friend Ferris would say. "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." Check it out in the gallery of achingly gorgeous photos above and the details in the auction listing below.

Watch the Ferrari LaFerrari get put through its paces by Top Gear and Evo

Do you know what today is? Well, besides being the anniversary of the signing of the Louisiana Purchase (thanks France!), Consumer Protection Day in Thailand and Michael Waltrip's birthday, April 30 marks the expiration of the first of two embargoes on the Ferrari LaFerrari.
That means you're probably going to see quite a bit on Ferrari's hypercar in the coming days. One of the first things we've stumbled across is this video from our friends at Top Gear. Now, this isn't Jeremy, James and Richard playing with the ultra-powerful hybrid (although it's probably only a matter of time before the LaFerrari arrives at Dunsfold), it's the TG magazine crew. It's best to think of the Top Gear video as an appetizer, though.
The main course comes from Evo, which has a far lengthier and more detailed spot, running a full 10 minutes of fun. Dickie Meaden samples the 900-plus-horsepower monster on both the Italian roads and the Fiorano test track. We won't spoil the outcome, so be sure to take a look below for both videos.

Scuderia Corsa ready to recapture glory at Le Mans

There's nothing else in this world like endurance car racing. Be it a relatively short race like the 6 Hours of Nurburgring or 24-hour endeavors like Le Mans or Daytona, drivers and cars alike are put through long and grueling racing that either ends in triumph or heartbreak. At this year's Detroit Grand Prix, we had a chance to sit down with Scuderia Corsa drivers Alessandro Balzan and Christina Nielsen just hours before they left for France to participate in first practice for the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Scuderia Corsa competes in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship team in the GT Daytona class. This is the second year Balzan and Nielsen have partnered, and the relationship has been fruitful. The pair won the class championship in 2016 and are currently sitting in second for 2017. Despite being in the sport longer, this will be Balzan's first attempt at Le Mans. The pair will be joined by American Bret Curtis in the race, usually racing against Balzan and Nielsen behind the wheel of a BMW. "There's a lot to prepare for with this race," Balzan said. "Christina raced there last year, so she's helping me prepare. It's not like any other race, even something like Daytona. There's a lot of preparation that goes into this race." Everything from food intake to sleep schedules has to be adjusted and set appropriately. There's 24 hours of on-track action bookended by pre-race prep and a post-race cool down. Your body and mind must adjust accordingly, and it's not as simple as drinking a few cups of coffee and munching on an energy bar. Scuderia Corsa is the defending class champion at Le Mans, though not with Nielsen behind the wheel. The team is backed by Ferrari and competes with 488 GT3s, a stripped out, lightweight, race-only version of the 488 GTB. The cars share a version the 3.9-liter turbocharged V8, but the rest of the car has been extensively modified, bearing little resemblance beyond styling. "The cars don't share much with the regular car," Balzan said. The interior is all removed and the suspension and aero are all different. It looks similar, but it's really changed. It drives like a totally different car." That's par for the course with GT cars. While they might share more in common with road cars than something like the Porsche 919 Hybrid prototype, the world of race cars and production cars are far removed. That said, Balzan and Nielsen both enjoy the road car correlation.