1978 Ferrari 308 Gts Base Coupe 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2019 Ferrari 488 Pista First Drive Review | Quantum physics

MARANELLO, Italy — Ferrari's special-edition V8s have a long history of delivering more than the sum of their individual parts. The 360 Challenge Stradale (2003), 430 Scuderia (2007), and 458 Speciale (2013) each leapfrogged the capabilities of their donor cars to cement their notoriety in supercar history. The latest in that lineage is the Ferrari 488 Pista, a hopped-up variant that is the most powerful road-going V8 in Ferrari history. The Pista is so quick that its lap time around the company's own private Fiorano circuit is only 1.8 seconds behind the LaFerrari. With 49 more horsepower pushing around 198 fewer pounds, the $345,300 488 Pista looks, at least on paper, like a no-brainer for deep-pocketed speed fiends. But there are also a slew of tiny changes that alter its persona — 50 percent of the engine components are new — as well as intangible characteristics. The carbon fiber intake manifold, for instance, shaves weight but also features shorter, lower-volume intake runners for better throttle response. The turbocharger's turbines are composed of a new aluminum-titanium alloy that slashes inertia in half, trimming the powerplant's already minimal turbo lag. Titanium connecting rods aid cylinder acceleration. And new robot-welded Inconel exhaust manifolds are 10-percent wider and slightly longer, offering reduced back pressure and a throatier note. Coupled with reduced sound-deadening materials, the pipes are responsible for more engine sound reaching the cabin. Before tackling the famed Fiorano track, I drive the 488 Pista on the street to see what 710 horsepower in a twin-turbo Ferrari feels like, and my first impressions came on thick. Sure, there's the expected interior upgrades of copious Alcantara and carbon fiber, visible aluminum floor plates, and massive carbon paddles borrowed from the 488 Challenge race car. Hold the red steering wheel-mounted engine start button with a press of the big drilled aluminum brake pedal, and the 3.9-liter V8 fires up with a noticeably more bass-heavy thrum than before, the first hint that this is an entirely different beast than the off-the-rack 488. Leave the seven-speed dual-clutch in automatic, and gearshifts happen remarkably smoothly, even in the second-most aggressive "CT Off" mode, which removes traction control but keeps stability control active.

Second day of RM's Monterey auction continues the million dollar madness

RM Auctions' two-day event during the Monterey car week is pretty much a matter of appetizer and main course. Friday night's appetizer saw a trio of multi-million-dollar Ferraris, along with a pre-war Mercedes-Benz and a Jaguar D-Type. You can read all about those beauties right here. But as we said in that post, the action would really happen on Saturday night. The prices listed below include RM's ten-percent commission fee, and, as you'll see, the auction house did pretty well for itself.
We've already told you about the $27.5 million winning bid for the 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART Spyder, with all the profits headed to charity. While there were more seven-figure winners on night two, the overall prices weren't quit as high as we saw on Friday night. The Ferrari F50 (pictured above) shown during the car's Geneva debut back in the 1990s and with only 1,100 miles on the clock took $1,677,500 (on a $1.25 to $1.6 million estimate). Another winner was a 1935 Hispano-Suiza K6 Cabriolet, which brought in $2,255,000 on a $1.5 to $2 million estimate. A 1974 McLaren M16C Indianapolis, the race winner of the 1974 Indy 500, brought home $3.52 million, essentially doubling its expected price of $1.25 to $1.75 million.
The night wasn't a success for everybody, though. The 1928 Mercedes-Benz 680S Torpedo Roadster, which took Best In Show at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance failed to reach its $10-million expectations, selling for $8.25 million. That's not peanuts by any stretch, but a car that only goes for about 80 percent of its expected price isn't something to be enthusiastic about. A 1960 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage, which was expected to go for $3 to $4 million only took in $2,090,000.

Ferrari planning six-cylinder Dino revival?

Ferrari swore up and down when it was developing the California that it wouldn't be an "entry-level" model. Whether that ultimately proved to be the case or not is up for debate, but it seems that the Prancing Horse marque is now preparing to launch a properly more accessible model in the near future. According to Motor Trend, Maranello is working on a new six-cylinder sports car to serve as the point of entry for new customers – especially in China. Tax implications there could mean the V6 would displace less than 3.0 liters, but likely pack a pair of turbochargers to ensure that output and performance live up to the Ferrari standard. Tipped to arrive in 2019, the six-cylinder model could materialize as a revival of sorts of the Dino line. Named after Enzo Ferrari's first-born son, the Dino sub-brand used mostly six-cylinder engines to take on the Porsche 911 on and off the track. The Dino 206 GT emerged in 1968, evolved into the larger-displacement 246 the following year and ultimately gave way to the very different, eight-cylinder, four-seat 308 GT4 in 1973, later to be rebadged as a proper Ferrari once the Dino brand was put to rest in '76. It's worth noting that Ferrari developed the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 for the Maserati Ghibli and Quattroporte, which would presumably serve as the basis for the new entry-level Ferrari. Though FCA typically endeavors to keep its brands from competing directly with one another, Maserati is due to release a production version of the Alfieri sports car concept within the next couple of years, powered by that same engine, and could share its underpinnings with the Ferrari model in question. The six-cylinder Prancing Horse could carry a price tag of around $180,000 to take on the likes of the Porsche 911 Turbo, Mercedes-AMG GT, Audi R8 and the Sports Series which McLaren just kicked off with its new entry-level 570S. Related Video: News Source: Motor TrendImage Credit: Newspress Ferrari Coupe Performance v6 ferrari dino