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Ferrari, Fiat, McLaren, Nissan join coronavirus ventilator efforts

Siare Engineering, Italy's largest manufacturer of hospital ventilators, has turned to Italian automakers Ferrari and Fiat to investigate the possibility that the automakers might help produce more of the live-saving machines that are urgently needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The Italian government has asked Siare to increase ventilator production from 160 per month to 500 as the country's death toll has surpassed 3,400 and is climbing rapidly.  "We're talking to Fiat Chrysler, Ferrari and Marelli to try to understand if they can lend us a hand in this process for the electronics part," Gianluca Preziosa, Siare's chief executive said in an interview quoted by Reuters, adding that the car companies' expertise in electronics and pneumatics could make them ideal partners. Preziosa said that another advantage of partnering with carmakers was their purchasing power, making them more likely to obtain parts that his small firm was struggling to secure amid coronavirus-related disruption to global supply chains. A spokesman for Exor, parent of both FCA and Ferrari, said that meetings with Siare had taken place on Thursday to study the feasibility of the idea and that a decision was expected in the coming hours. Two main options were being considered: either to help Siare engineer a capacity increase at its plant, with the support of technicians provided by FCA and Ferrari, or outsource production of ventilator parts to the carmakers' facilities. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters that Ferrari would be ready to start manufacturing ventilator parts in its famous Maranello headquarters, which lies close to the Siare factory, but that the luxury carmaker had yet to make a final decision. Automakers worldwide are being drafted for ventilator duty. In addition to Ford and GM making plans with the U.S. government; British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reaching out to Ford, Honda and Rolls-Royce; and an Elon Musk tweeted offer to build ventilators "if there is a shortage," other automakers and aerospace companies are joining in. In Europe, three groups have formed. Meggitt, which builds components including oxygen systems for civil aerospace and military fighter programs, is leading one consortium alongside engineers GKN, Thales and Renishaw. The other two teams are being led by carmakers McLaren, which is looking at how to design a simple version of a ventilator, and Nissan, which is working with others to support existing ventilator producers.

Ferris Bueller Ferrari 250 GT California replica sells for $396,000

UPDATE: The Ferris Bueller Ferrari 250 GT California crossed the auction block on Saturday at Barrett-Jackson, and it hammered for $396,000. That's just a touch less than what one of the other Bueller replicas sold for last, so the enthusiasm for the movie isn't dying off yet. Barrett-Jackson called it a "crowd favorite"  — it rolled onto the stage to the "Oh Yeah" theme song used in the movie. If you don't care too much for originality but love Ferris Bueller, we'll call this one a good buy. An original 250 GT California would've sold for many millions more. Would you like to own a Ferrari, or a piece of movie history? How about a little of the latter that is pretending to be the former? In any other year, even noteworthy auction listings popping up this week probably would have drowned in the rising tide of auto show news, but with the Detroit auto show punted to June this year, we've been inundated with some fantastic auction finds, including this Hollywood icon that was built for one of John Hughes' greatest films.  This 1963* Modena Spyder California is maybe one of the best-known Ferrari replicas in the world, and it's slated to cross the block at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale this weekend. It takes an eagle-eyed auto enthusiast to recognized the Bueller fakes for what they are, but the fact that they're replicas of the Ferrari 250 GT California doesn't really hurt their value. In fact, it makes it even easier to verify their provenance. Granted, real-deal 250 GTs are going for stupid money, but we find it hard to believe that a little Matthew Broderick stardust would really make much difference when examples are being auctioned off for more than $17 million.  As Road & Track points out, the other running movie replica sold for more than $400,000. Fortunately, there were three of these replica models built for the film, so the buying public is getting yet another crack at one. Two of the replicas were runners, and the third was effectively an unladen stunt double used for the infamous scene where Alan Ruck's Cameron Frye works out his daddy issues by sending pop's precious collector's item straight through the side of their Highland Park Frank Lloyd Wright.  You know, the sort of thing your average angsty American teenager did before Twitter was invented.  This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The replica is not just a looker; it's a driver.

'Ford v. Ferrari' gets Oscar nomination for Best Picture

Ford v. Ferrari is a great movie. It packs gorgeous cars shot beautifully on famous racetracks and recorded in all their booming, roaring glory. And it features a compelling story with excellent acting, particularly from Christian Bale. But it's not just car enthusiasts like us who think that. The film has been nominated for an Oscar for best picture. It's up against eight other films for the award. They're listed below. The Irishman Jojo Rabbit Joker Little Women Marriage Story 1917 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Parasite If it doesn't nab the best picture award, Ford v. Ferrari is up for three other awards: best sound editing, best sound mixing and best film editing. The winners for each category will be announced during the award show on February 9 at 8 pm Eastern time. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.      

1995 Ferrari F50 Berlinetta Prototipo heads to auction

We've seen our fair share of classic and exotic cars head to auction, but it's rare to see something as special as this 1995 Ferrari F50 Berlinetta Prototipo on offer to the general public.  Prototipo, of course, is Italian for "prototype," indicating this example's status as the very first example of the F40 successor ever built. It saw duty as a development vehicle, auto show star, and media evaluation tool. That's right: if you ever read a "first drive" review of the 1995 Ferrari F50, chances are this is the car your favorite auto scribe was driving.  Per the listing, it was also the model for Shin Yoshikawa's cut-away illustration and several scale models (including those sold by Burago, Maisto and Tamiya) and its likeness was even depicted on postage stamps.  After this world tour, the Prototipo returned to the Ferrari factory for a complete rebuild, after which it was sold (as promised ahead of time) to Jacques Swaters, a personal friend of Enzo Ferrari. It remained in the Swaters collection until 2007, when it was sold to a Ferrari collector in Burbank, California. It has since changed hands several times. While it may have lacked the raw, angular aggression of its F40 predecessor, the F50 was no less stunning (or less special) as a result. Its ferocious 4.7L V12 made more than 510 horsepower and 345 lb-ft of torque, which is still plenty respectable even today, especially considering it weighed just a little over 2,700 pounds. That combination was good for a 0-60 run of just 3.7 seconds on the way to a 202-mph top speed.  As CassicCars.com points out, fewer than 350 examples of the F50 Berlinetta were ever produced.  The F50 Berlinetta Prototipo will cross the block Wednesday, Jan. 15th, 2020, at the Worldwide Auctioneers event in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Ferrari Roma platform to underpin Purosangue SUV, as product roadmap takes shape

To create the Roma, Ferrari started with the platform used for the Portofino convertible. Engineers strengthened and lightened the architecture and made it modular, so that it will support the company's range of front-engined vehicles included in CEO Louis Camilleri's near-term product roadmap of 15 new vehicles over the next three years. Auto Express reports one of those products will be the Purosangue SUV – or FUV, Ferrari Utility Vehicle if you heed the carmaker's marketers – expected to debut in 2021 before going on sale in 2022 or 2023. The breadth of possibility built into the platform means it can swallow Ferrari's range of V8 and V12 engines, as well as the coming V6, plus plug-in hybrid equipment and all-wheel drive mechanicals.  Although observers figure a V12 Purosangue will grace the lineup eventually, models with smaller engines braced with hybrid assistance are expected first. The V12, in fact, is unlikely to get a hybrid form if Ferrari can help it, the brand's marketing manager saying, "To be honest, electrifying a V12 means creating, very probably, a heavy and big car. So electrification ideally should be coupled with smaller engines." Absent Ferrari's righteous 6.5-liter V12, Ferrari's head of technology says there will be other ways the vehicle codenamed "175" distinguishes itself from V8-powered super-SUV competition, but wouldn't clarify what those ways are. We'll guess the people-hauler slots into the company's GT vehicle classification alongside the GTC4Lusso, Portofino, and Roma. In the next decade, the GT category grows with a new supercar that marks "the return of an elegant model" cued off classic, mid-20th-century Ferrari Gran Turismos, as well as a battery-electric car after 2025. The Sport Range includes the 812Superfast and 812 GTS, 488 and 488 Pista, and SF90 Stradale. The Icona line kicked off with the Monza SP1 and SP2, and will expand with "timeless design[s] of iconic Ferraris reinterpreted with innovative materials and state of the art technologies." One-offs like the F12 TRS, SP12 EC and SP38 form the Special Series. The carmaker's entire range will be split across two modular platforms, one for front-engined placement, one mid-engined. At the pointy end of the product roadmap, it's thought Ferrari's already begun development of its LaFerrari successor.

Ferrari spills more details on the new Roma

The Ferrari Roma saw its grand release just over a month ago in Italy. At the time, Ferrari was rather stingy with details. We were given a few key facts and figures, but there was even more that we were left wondering about. That’s now changed, as Ferrari has provided much more info about its newest two-door GT car. We knew the 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 made more power than the Portofino — 611 horsepower and 561 pound-feet of torque — but now we know what Ferrari did to get there. The Roma features new cam profiles and a new speed sensor, which allowed Ferrari engineers to increase the maximum rpm. To make it emissions-compliant in Europe, Ferrari also had to add a gasoline particulate filter. Ferrari says it worked hard to optimize it, so that the filter doesnÂ’t negatively affect driving enjoyment, and with the amount of power the car makes, it appears to have done a bang-up job. Paired to the engine is a new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. ItÂ’s derived from the unit in the SF90 Stradale, but Ferrari made a few modifications to it for Roma use. New for the front-mid-engine coupe is the addition of a reverse gear and longer gear ratios. The SF90 didnÂ’t need a reverse gear, because it uses the electric motor to travel backwards. Ferrari also designed a new clutch module for this transmission and a more powerful ECU thatÂ’s said to make shifts quicker, smoother and more consistent. Ferrari designed a totally new exhaust system for the Roma to give it a unique soundtrack. The geometry is different from the Portofino, and the two real silencers were eliminated. Ferrari says this drastically reduces back-pressure. The bypass valves were also redesigned in an oval shape. A strange detail to share, but Ferrari says this move improves the sound quality, and thatÂ’s of utmost importance for a car with the prancing horse on the front of it. Perhaps you were thinking that this car was just a Portofino with a hardtop. Ferrari says, not so fast. Within the chassis and bodyshell, Ferrari says 70 percent of the components are completely new. ItÂ’s all been redesigned in an effort to reduce weight and use the latest production technologies. Handling should be superb and fun, as Ferrari incorporated its next-gen Side Slip Control 6.0 tech in the Roma. It also has the five-position manettino mode switcher on the steering wheel and the Ferrari Dynamic Enhancer (can adjust brake pressure on one or more wheels depending on the situation).

Electric Ferrari coming after 2025, says CEO

MARANELLO, Italy - Ferrari will issue its first fully electric model after 2025, with battery technology still requiring more development, Chief Executive Louis Camilleri said. Ferrari has previously said a fully electric vehicle would be launched after the current industrial plan ends in 2022. Analysts have said they do not expect it before 2023. Camilleri said Ferrari was "certainly" studying a fully electric grand tourer car, but that it would stick to hybrid vehicles for the "current foreseeable future". "My sense is the electric will come out after 2025. The battery technology is not where it should be yet," he told reporters in embargoed comments made during a lunch on Wednesday in the Centro Stile at Ferrari's Maranello factory. "There are still significant issues in terms of autonomy, in terms of speed of recharging. So eventually we will come out with one. But it's post-2025. Not in the short term," he added. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, writing by Giulio Piovaccari) Ferrari Electric Future Vehicles Luxury Performance

The V10 from Schumacher's and Barrichello's Ferrari F2002 is for sale

Between November 22 and December 2, 2019, RM Sotheby's is holding an online-only auction of Formula 1 memorabilia. It heavily focuses on the early '80s, early '90s, and early '00s and includes a wide variety of items from toy models to race-used car parts. One of the key drivers during this period was Michael Schumacher, and the number of related collectibles reflects that. One of the golden eggs of the auction is a Ferrari F2002 Tipo 051/B/C V10 Engine from 2002.  The Ferrari F2002 is a legendary racecar with a stellar record on the track. In 2002, with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello driving, the F2002 won 15 of 17 races, including nine one-two finishes. Ferrari and Schumacher claimed the Constructors’ Title and Driver's Championship with ease, and the force behind those victories was the Tipo 051/B/C V10.  The Paolo Martinelli-designed engine is a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter that is rated at 835 horsepower at a mind-bending 17,800 rpm. Sotheby's points out the engine was not as high-powered as some of its competitors, but the lightweight design and placement allowed the car to flourish. As of this writing on the auction's opening day, the top bid is at $2,000, but Sotheby's is expecting it to bring $50,000 to $70,000. Interestingly enough, that's well below Ferrari's $90,000 direct price. Yes, Ferrari is offering this engine, too, and it's available for pre-order. So that leaves a decision: save money and go through a third party or buy straight from the source. 

Lego Speed Champions Ferrari F8 Tributo and 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 are 25% bigger

During a week when auto manufacturers are at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show debuting real, drivable cars, Lego has debuted two new toy car kits modeled after the 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 and the Ferrari F8 Tributo. The new models also show off an improvement to the Lego Speed Champions series: the kits are now 25 percent bigger. Lego is expanding its Speed Champions line of blocky car kits with two high-performance rides with very different purposes from very different times. One is a modern supercar, the other is a classic Group B rally car. The F8 Tributo is an inch high, five inches long, and three inches wide. It wears a clean red color scheme with a black splitter and black diffuser, and the only stickers are the headlights and the badges. The toy design carries over features of the F8 such as the hood and side body scoops, and the tiered taillights. and the rear engine cover. The S1, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary, has a much busier design. The main body of the car is white and yellow with retrolicious yellow body graphics. Black, gray and red striping add to the scheme, and "Audi," "Audi Sport," "Audi Team" and "quattro" stickers are seen on the body, the windshield, the hood and the rear wing. Clustered front rally lights, wheel flares, angular aerodynamic pieces and two sets of wheel designs help make the quattro look as authentic as possible. The car also comes with a miniature racer who can sit in the car and grip the stick shift. Both the Ferrari and the Audi will be released for January 2020. Each model is listed at $19.99, plus tax.

Buongiorno Roma! What the beautiful GT means for Ferrari's future

The new Ferrari Roma was seen in the flesh during its unveiling in Rome yesterday, and I can confirm that it is not only one of the most beautiful Ferraris in recent memory, but one of the handsomest of any contemporary sport or luxury car. Its details are predictably rich, well rendered, and pointedly, alluring and accessible. But it is not just the details in a car from the famed Italian sports car manufacturer, and one that is expected to start at around $250,000. "If you now go in the market, and you ask someone who can afford (a Ferrari) — because this is not a cheap product —why don't you buy a Ferrari? They are tempted, but most of them are a bit afraid. 'I don't know if I can drive it, it's very aggressive,'" said Enrico Galliera, the brand's chief marketing officer, in an interview with Autoblog. "And that's one of the major answers. It's not, 'It's too expensive,' or 'I don't want to have fun driving.'" There's a kind of fear of the brand's reputation for aggression and showiness. The Roma is intended to soothe these concerns, and entice new clients into the Ferrari stable. This is accomplished by making everything at once more sophisticated, more mature, and more enticing. On the inside, one is especially drawn to the big, curved and crystalline LCD instrument panel and large center screen, the cozy and coddling leather seats, and the new aviation-inspired metal toggles that act as the transmission selector. Less impressive are the capacitive haptic "buttons" on the steering wheel, but judgment will be reserved on those until we have a chance to experience them while driving, instead of just while sitting on a stage making embarrassing vroom-vroooooommmmmm noises. But it is the outside that really has me drooling. This is not just because the Roma has classical rear-drive GT proportions, with a fiendishly long hood, a selfish not-quite-four-place cabin that the brand describes simply as a "2+," and a truncated Kamm-back tail. It is because the design is so improbably clean, devoid of the strakes, scoops, spoilers, or even ancillary lines that corrupt so many modern cars. Especially evocative is the treatment of the front and rear, both of which are impossibly low, without ever feeling threateningly so. It all feels of a piece, and there's not a bad angle. "We want to transmit this idea of harmony, and a beautiful dynamic in balance," said Ferrari head of design Flavio Manzioni.