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2014 Ferrari FF

Ferrari announced a panoramic roof option for its all-wheel drive FF at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, promising the new full-length glass panel would offer its well-heeled clientele "a genuine open-air driving feeling, while providing thermal and acoustic insulation." That statement was intriguing, as my experience with glass roofs usually ends abruptly after I close the opaque shade - as a Southern Californian, I always find tinted glass panels too hot during the day and too cold at night.
While the FF I reviewed in August was fitted with a solid aluminum roof, I was fortunate to catch up with a brand-new silver Ferrari FF (it only had about 160 miles on the odometer) with the optional panoramic roof at the Formula One race at Circuit of the Americas just last month. It was my lucky day, as I was about to spend about six hours with the four-place Italian, blissfully enjoying it during the warm day until long after the sun had set on the Texas horizon.
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Ferrari unwraps radical new F12 TdF

The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta has never been in need of a performance boost, but Maranello has given it one just the same. Feast your eyes on the new F12 TdF. The latest Prancing Horse recalls the legendary Tour de France (for automobiles, not bicycles) that Ferrari dominated nine years running from 1956 through 1964 – and the elegant long-wheelbase 250 GT named in its honor. But the F12 TdF is much more about forward momentum than looking back. Power is up, weight is down, and everything's been tightened up, with new systems on board to keep it all together. For starters, the screaming 6.3-liter V12 from the existing F12 Berlinetta has been upgraded from 730 horsepower to 769. Torque has been increased from 509 pound-feet to 520. Although the engine will wail all the way up to 8,900 rpm, 80 percent of that torque is available as low as just 2,500 revs. Of course, Ferrari being Ferrari, it didn't just tinker with the engine and call it a day. It also returned the seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions to deliver upshifts 30 percent faster, downshifts 40 percent faster, and with ratios six percent shorter. The track is wider, the wheels larger, and the one-piece brakes are lifted out of the even more extreme LaFerrari. Ferrari has also fitted the TdF with a new Virtual Short Wheelbase system – Modenese for four-wheel steering – that sharpens turn-in, increases high-speed stability, and keeps the tail from spinning around to fast on the wider front tires. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. As you can see, the bodywork has been substantially redone as well, to be both lighter and more aerodynamically efficient. As a result, the TdF produces 87 percent more downforce than the stock Berlinetta. And thanks to its more extensive use of carbon fiber – not to mention the stripped-out cabin – the whole thing weighs a good 240 pounds less. The result of all these enhancements, Ferrari says, is a 0-62 time of just 2.9 seconds. Keep the throttle pegged (as you would most certainly be tempted to do) and it'll reach 124 miles per hour after 7.9 seconds, topping out at over 211 mph. It's also been clocked around the company's private, on-site Fiorano test track in 1 minute and 21 seconds, which is a good two seconds faster than the Berlinetta or the 488 GTB – and barely more than a second adrift of LaFerrari, the fastest road car ever to lap the circuit.

Ferrari fined 50,000 euros after Kimi Raikkonen runs over mechanic

MANAMA, Bahrain — Ferrari was fined 50,000 euros ($61,385) on Sunday after one of its Formula One mechanics was hit by Kimi Raikkonen's car and suffered a broken leg during a Bahrain Grand Prix pitstop. Raikkonen, who had been in third place, was told to stop immediately and retired in the pitlane while teammate Sebastian Vettel went on to win. At an IndyCar race in Phoenix over the weekend, meanwhile, Alexander Rossi and Sebastien Bourdais both also were penalized when they made contact with their mechanics. Ferrari said the mechanic on the left rear wheel, named only as Francesco, had been taken to hospital with a suspected shin bone and fibula fracture. He was knocked over as the Finn was wrongly given the signal to leave with only three tires replaced and the other still to be removed. "I go when the light is green. I don't see what happens behind and unfortunately he got hurt," said Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion. "My job is to go when the light says so. Hopefully, he's OK." The Finn was left sitting in his car for a while before stepping out while the mechanics focused on their stricken team mate on the floor. Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne wished the mechanic a speedy recovery in his post-race statement. "I am sorry for Kimi who could certainly have finished on the podium," he added. It was the second time Ferrari had been penalized for an unsafe release over the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. It was fined 5,000 euros after Raikkonen was sent out of the pits with a loose wheel in Friday practice. Race stewards said that in Sunday's incident the car was released "in a manner endangering team personnel and causing injury." Reporting by Alan BaldwinRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: Getty Motorsports Ferrari Racing Vehicles F1 Kimi Raikkonen sebastien bourdais