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Totaled Ferrari Dino sculpture sold for $250k

How much would you pay for a Dino? Although this sub-brand was supposed to offer lower-cost alternatives to more expensive Ferraris, a 246 GTS model with "chairs and flares" can fetch big bucks. The later, more angular 308 GT4 is less desirable, but the one above just sold for $250,000. Oh, and it's a complete wreck - an absolute write-off, as you can see. So how did it fetch a quarter million when it wouldn't be worth that much in pristine condition? Because this is art.
"Objet trouvé", to be specific, the French term for a common object elevated to a work of art. That's the way it ended up displayed by celebrated French artist Bertrand Lavier and the Galerie Yvon Lambert at the Foire Internationale d'Art Contemporain (FIAC) art fair at the Grand Palais in Paris last week, where an unnamed Turkish collector paid the landmark price. Let's hope he's not planning on restoring it, because it's apparently worth more totaled.

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:

Phony Fauxrrari and Shamborghini replicas seized in Brazil

A shop in the state of Santa Catarina in Brazil has been raided and shut down by police after it was discovered that it was turning out shoddy replica supercars. The Fauxrrari and Shamborghini (we borrowed the latter clever term from the Associated Press) copies themselves look impressively detailed considering that they were reportedly coming out of a father-son operation, but the engineering, underpinnings and powertrains are surely a wee bit shy of what's flowing out of the real factories in Italy. According to the Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper, one replica was powered by the engine from a Chevrolet Omega, which we knew at one time in the U.S. as the Cadillac Catera. Scrolling through the image gallery above, though, we see at least one Ferrari knock-off that appears to have a bright red intake manifold behind the passenger compartment, so who knows? Police reported that the replicas were being offered on unknown social media channels for between $45,000 and $60,000. Needless to say, that's nowhere near the price of a real Ferrari or Lamborghini. And this isn't the first (and likely, not the last) time this has happened, either. According to the AP, the raid was conducted after at least one of the Italian marques tipped off authorities. Eight vehicles in various states of completion were found, along with tools, molds and what looks to be a treasure trove of car parts. It's not clear how many finished vehicles may have rolled out of the shop, or how many may already be in the hands of buyers. The father and son duo who ran the operation have been arrested on industrial property charges.