1994 Ferrari 348 Spider on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ferrari dominated classic car auctions in 2014

If it seems to you that the prices being paid for top collector classics at auction keep ratcheting up, you're right. In fact in the US alone, some $1.3 billion were spent on collector cars this past year – a $100 million increase over 2013's tally. And much of that was made up of Ferraris. In fact vintage Prancing Horses accounted for nine out of the ten most expensive cars sold at auction in 2014 – and their prices went up by some 43 percent. The headline of the year, of course, was the 250 GTO which Bonhams sold in Monterey for over $38 million, setting a new world record. But impressive as that was, the GTO wasn't the only eight-figure Ferrari auctioned off this year. On the same week, RM sold a 265 GTB/C Speciale for $26.4 million. Bonhams sold a 375-Plus for $18.4 million at Goodwood, Gooding got $15 million for a 250 GT California Spider, RM raked in $11.5 million for a 250 LM and another $10 million for Steve McQueen's 275 GTB/4. The rest of the list was populated by another 250 California, another 275 and a 250 Mille Miglia, each of which sold for around $8 million apiece. That's the list reported by Ferrari itself, but while the top prices listed on Sports Car Market differ slightly, any way you slice it, the top ten slots are still taken by Maranello's finest. (Hagerty, for its part, reported a slightly different list a few days ago, with eight of the top slots taken by Ferraris and two by Ford GT40s.) Oh, and in case you're wondering, the tenth car on the list was not a Mercedes – the only marque that has traded places with Ferrari for the top place any year since the turn of the millennium. No, this year, the list was rounded out by the pristine white McLaren F1 that Gooding sold for $10.75 million at Pebble Beach this year, slotting in just above the McQueen 275. News Source: Ferrari, Sports Car MarketImage Credit: Ferrari Ferrari Auctions Classics record

Ferrari SF90 Stradale shows how it was made in new video

Supercar geeks! Stop what you’re doing and watch this, preferably somewhere quiet where you can listen to the ambient, ethereal music. ItÂ’s a nearly 10-minute video Ferrari released titled “Manufacturing the SF90 Stradale,” and it offers a dream-like look at the production of its first-ever plug-in hybrid ahead of its launch this year. What we see isnÂ’t exactly sequential — 3D digital modeling and virtual reality are shown at the end, after weÂ’ve seen the physical car being built — but itÂ’s nonetheless an interesting look at the artistry side and painstakingly detailed preparation of manufacturing a 986-horsepower Italian supercar. The video opens with a visit to the foundry, where molten aluminum is poured into molds and we see gloved hands and robots assembling parts for the 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, its most powerful V8 yet at 769 hp. Ferrari says its engineers increased the capacity on the F154-heritage engine to 3,990 cc from 3,902 cc via a larger, 88-millimeter bore. ThereÂ’s also a new, narrower cylinder head with a central injector, a Ferrari V8-first 350-bar GDI and a larger intake and redesigned exhaust system. From there, thereÂ’s lots more eye candy, as weÂ’re taken through body assembly, the paint shop, digital and clay modeling, interior parts assembly, and so forth. It finishes with a shot of the completed car in red against a dark background. Other notables in the SF90 include four powertrain modes controlled by buttons on the steering wheel, including up to 15 miles in all-electric with front-wheel drive relying on the two front electric motors. The hybrid modes activate a third e-motor located at the rear axle, between the engine and the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. The SF90 is also the first Ferrari to use all-wheel drive, which the company says was necessary to fully exploit the hybrid power. The video can only mean that weÂ’re getting close to launch, and itÂ’s sure to whet the appetites of those privileged enough to afford one.

'The best Lewis' Hamilton faces resurgent Ferrari in F1

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton has raised his game but whether the Mercedes driver can deny Ferrari a second successive win of the season in China this weekend remains to be seen. On paper, the triple world champion is still the man to beat -- the most successful driver by far in Shanghai with four wins to date. "Lewis is the best Lewis that I've seen in the last four years, both on and off the track," said Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff after the Briton started on pole and finished second to Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in the Australian season-opener. "He has become a pillar of this team and he proved that in Melbourne." But Vettel is leading the championship, the first time a non-Mercedes driver has done that since he took his fourth title with Red Bull in 2013, and once-dominant Mercedes have a fight on their hands. Mercedes, who have taken both the drivers and constructors' titles for the last three years, have won four of the last five races in China. As Melbourne showed, however, past form may count for little in a season of sweeping rule change. "If you think you are going to cruise to victory in the future, based on a track record of success, you'll be proven wrong very quickly," said Wolff. "Australia was a weekend full of lessons, now we go to China ready and excited for another battle." Ferrari have not started a season with consecutive wins since 2004 at the peak of the Michael Schumacher era, the Italian team taking 15 victories from 18 races that season. Vettel's win in Australia ended a victory drought for Ferrari stretching back to September 2015, and drew rare praise from company chairman Sergio Marchionne, but they must now prove they can be genuine contenders. "You really have to go step by step," said Vettel. "It's good to know that we have a great car but it's just the beginning: new regulations, new generations of cars so there will be a lot of progress." The cars this year are longer and wider, sporting fatter tires and more swept-back bodywork as part of a rules shake-up aimed at making them faster, more spectacular to watch and harder to drive. But overtaking has also become more difficult, with Australia raising concern about the lack of real moves. The long straights and wide sweeps of the Shanghai circuit saw 128 passes last year, more than at any other track, and should provide a more definitive verdict.