1984 Ferrari Mondial Quattrovalvole Convertible 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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'Ferrari' is an oft-banned search term in China, but why?

The Internet has been a boon for car enthusiasts; after all, information about any car ever made is available at a few taps of the keyboard, whenever you'd like. Unfortunately, some Chinese motor heads are not quite as lucky because state censors have been intermittently banning searches for Ferrari on the country's micro-blogging sites, according to Time.
The problem has nothing to do with Maranello's supercars; it's what they represent. The Prancing Horse has become the symbol for so-called "princelings," wealthy young Chinese who use their parents' privileges in the Communist elite to afford luxuries.
The first bout of censorship came in 2011 when the son of then-high-ranking politician Bo Xilai was spotted cruising around Beijing in a red Ferrari, a vehicle much more expensive than he should have been able to afford. It started trending on Chinese social media, and censors began blocking searches for Ferrari in the car's red color. The Italian brand was censored again briefly in 2012 when a Chinese investor crashed his Prancing Horse into two other cars in Singapore.

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.

See what the Chevy C7 ZR1 may be benchmarked against

One of the greatest things every Corvette has had going for it, and also one of the most re-used arguments against it, is its price-to-performance equation - long before the Nissan GT-R became the de facto Porsche 911 comparator the Corvette spent decades as Exhibit A. Depending on which side of the argument you stressed, supporters crowed about how much performance you got for how (comparatively) little, detractors carped on how little you got everywhere else in the bargain.
It appears Chevrolet is working as hard as ever to render the argument meaningless. Spy shooters at KGP captured a convocation of European birds of prey leaving the General Motors test center, and aimed at benchmarking the C7 Corvette ZR1. The road train comprised of two C7 Corvette Stingrays, a 2013 Corvette ZR1, McLaren MP4-12C, Ferrari 458 Italia, Audi R8 V10 Spyder and Porsche 911 Carrera S and it was last seen heading down the same kinked-up back roads used to hone the Corvette Stingray.
The C7-series ZR1 and its possible 700 horsepower are still a ways off. If it really is being positioned to compete with the celestial exotica in the testing group, could it be the first Corvette to regularly be the first answer to the question "Cost no object, which would would you rather have?"