Yellow Calipers Carbon Fiber Electric Seats Magneride Led Shields 20 Diamond on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ferrari plans theme park for North America

Ferrari is building more theme parks, and the next one could be built somewhere in North America, according to Bloomberg. The exotic automaker opened Ferrari World – its first theme park – in 2010 on Abu Dhabi's Yas Island, adjacent to the grand prix racing circuit and where Warner Bros will soon open another theme park. A second Ferrari theme park (pictured) is currently under construction in Spain as part of the PortAventura Resort that's one of the largest in Europe, and the company recently announced a third facility "to be located in one of the primary cities in mainland China" as well. The prospective North American location would be the fourth, though details on potential sites remain unknown. The Los Angeles and Orlando areas have developed into epicenters for theme parks in America and could attract a Ferrari location, or send it looking for alternatives like Six Flags and Busch Gardens parks have. Wherever Ferrari selects, you can expect the park to feature various racing-themed attractions, including roller coasters, vertical acceleration towers, virtual test tracks, and more. The licensing of additional Ferrari theme parks comes as the company strives to position itself as a luxury lifestyle brand as much as an automaker and racing team. The storied marque has lines of clothing and various merchandise, and a network of retail stores through which it sells its products. Underscoring its expansion, Ferrari shareholders approved the appointment of several new board members from luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy and the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. Investors also approved the renewal of Amedeo Felisa's contract as chief executive, but he's not expected to stick around much longer as Sergio Marchionne assumes more control over the company, which recently spun off from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group over which he also presides. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Ferrari Ferrari ferrari world theme park

Ferrari 488 Special Series finally shown in official teaser video

It's been no secret that a hopped up version of the Ferrari 488 GTB is on the way. The car will follow the trend of previous models like the 458 Speciale and 430 Scuderia by reducing weight, boosting power and re-tuning the suspension and aero. Today, Ferrari itself finally gave us an official teaser on its Facebook page, and it looks like the leaked image from a few weeks back was correct. The timing of the video suggests we'll get the full breakdown in just a few weeks at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. This is just a teaser, so all the video shows is a few very brief cuts and angles of the new car. We've taken a screenshot of the front end, and it's pretty obvious that it's the car we've been following in spy shots for months now. It's blurry, but — as seen in the linked image above — it looks like there are substantial changes to the front bumper. There also appears to be a few small aero tweeks on other places, but again it's difficult to discern. What's obvious is that the blue and white stripes have made another comeback. For a while, the car was being referred to as the 488 GTO. That no longer seems to be the case, though what it will be called is unclear. In the leaked presentation, Ferrari called the car the "New V8 Sport Special Series," though something a little more romantic is likely. Look for a twin-turbo V8 making upwards of 700 horsepower, up from the standard 488 GTB's 660 horsepower rating. Stay tuned for more news in the next few weeks. Related Video:

Daytona decision reversed, Level 5 Motorsports reinstated as class winners [w/video]

After its first ever race at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, we can already tell that there should be plenty of excitement in the newly formed United SportsCar Racing series. Of the four competing classes, three of the winners came down to close last-lap performances, but perhaps none were as close - or controversial - as the GT Daytona (GTD) winner. Spoiler alert.
Midway through the infield portion of the Daytona International Speedway, the Level 5 Motorsports No. 555 Ferrari 458 Italia was trying to hold onto its first-place position over the Flying Lizard Motorsports No. 45 Audi R8. The R8 took an aggressive line trying to pass the Ferrari, and it ended up running out of track and driving off the course momentarily. International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) officials originally thought there was avoidable contact on the Ferrari's part and penalized the team accordingly, which meant Flying Lizard was the class winner. After watching the video replay, though, it was clear that there was no contact between the two cars. Officials overturned the ruling, rightfully giving the Level 5 Motorsports team the Rolex win.
A brief statement from IMSA is posted below regarding the matter, and we've also included a full video recap of the race from FOX Sports where you can see this GTD incident starting at the 2:30 mark.