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1954 Ferrari 375-Plus sells for record $18 million at Goodwood

Among all the action at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this past weekend, Bonhams held its classic car auction, bringing in a massive $38.4 million in sales. And this was undoubtedly the highlight.
Bearing the chassis number 0384 AM, this 1954 Ferrari 375-Plus has a storied racing history, competing that year in such events as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Mille Miglia and the Silverstone endurance race, where the late José Froilán Gonzalez drove it to victory. One of only five made, the 375 Plus packed a 4.9-liter V12 with 330 horsepower under aluminum barchetta bodywork by Pininfarina. It was subsequently owned by Kleenex scion Jim Kimberly, trading hands between owners on both sides of the Atlantic and was the subject of a legal dispute over its ownership four years ago.
With the dispute now resolved and after heated competition between two bidders, the Ferrari finally sold for £10.7 million, equivalent to $18.2 million at today's rates and accounting for nearly half of the day's sales totals. Other highlights included a 1902 De Dietrich 16-HP "Paris-Vienna" Rear-Entrance Tonneau and a a '75 Lamborghini Countach, each of which sold for around $1.7 million - the latter eclipsing the example that Bonhams also recently sold for $1.2 million.

Ferrari celebrates its founder's birthday

Buon cumpleanno, Commendatore! That's what we'd be saying today to Enzo Ferrari if he were still alive. But the founder of the Prancing Horse marque passed away at the ripe old age of 90 way back in 1988. If he were still with us today, he'd be 118 years old. And we can't help but wonder what he'd think of his legacy if he were still around to see it. Enzo Anselmo Ferrari was born in Modena before the turn of the century – no, the previous century – way back in 1898. He started out as a racing driver, but soon found his real talents laid in preparing the racecars, not driving them. After achieving success running Alfa Romeo's factory team, Enzo struck out on his own - initially under the name Auto Avio Costruzioni (due to the terms of his previous contract) and then under the Scuderia Ferrari name. Under Enzo's leadership and those that followed, Ferrari emerged as one of the most successful teams in motor racing. The Scuderia has scored more championships, checkered flags, podiums, pole positions, and fastest laps than any other in the history of Formula One. And though it hasn't fielded a factory effort in the top tier decades, it's still among the winningest constructors at Le Mans, with nine outright wins between 1949 and 1965 – outscored only by Audi and Porsche. It also won the Targa Florio seven times, the Mille Miglia another eight, and Sebring 12 times. After famously rejecting a takeover bid from Ford, Enzo sold half his company to Fiat in 1969. He retained control until his passing in 1988 – upon which Fiat took over another 40 percent, leaving 10 to the Ferrari family. But now the company is independent again, having split off from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire, and floated its IPO on the stock market. Though his son still serves as vice chairman, Enzo's prodigy and successor, Luca di Montezemolo, is gone. The road car division makes hybrids but no manual transmissions, the racing department hasn't won the Formula One World Championship since 2008, the theme park in Abu Dhabi welcomes more visitors than the factory museum, and the company makes a significant portion of its revenue these days from selling branded merchandise. It's a very different company, in short, from the one Enzo founded back in 1947, but it wouldn't be here without him. The factory is celebrating with a raft of social media posts. For our part down here, to il Commendatore at the big autodromo in the sky: happy birthday, Enzo.

Mysterious Ferrari may be rumored Dino

At first glance, this Ferrari 458 looks innocuous, but several signs suggest the black coupe might actually be a test mule for a future revival of the Dino name. Unfortunately, one of the biggest hints to the car's identity is sonic rather than visual. According to our spies, the engine doesn't sound like company's naturally aspirated V8 or the turbocharged mill in the new 488 GTB. That suggests the possibility of a V6 being mounted behind the driver here. The lack of exhaust pipes poking out the rear further hints that something is amiss with the powerplant. The large intakes on each side should be plenty to feed cool air to the Dino's rumored twin-turbo V6, as well. A version of the 510-horsepower mill from the new Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio is possibly in this Prancing Horse, but FCA execs are very cagey about discussing any connection between that engine and Ferrari. According to FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne about the revived Dino, "It's a when not an if." Marchionne indicated the model could pack around 500 hp and be lighter than a 488. "The six-cylinder response has been positive," he said. The smaller displacement powerplant would also mean lower taxes in China. The Dino would reportedly be positioned to take on the entry-level rung of supercars like the Audi R8 and McLaren 570S. Unfortunately, an actual launch could be as far away as 2019. So expect to see many more spy shots until then. Related Video: