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Ferrari SUV is probably happening

Just a few weeks after another report that Ferrari has some sort of SUV or crossover in the works, Bloomberg releases its own report of the same thing. The news outlet spoke with anonymous sources that said the plan is to release an SUV in 2021. The sources said that it is still in the early days of development, and it could have either two or four doors, but it will be more spacious than the most capacious Ferrari on sale now, the GTC4 Lusso. It also will likely be aimed at the Asian market, and could sell as many as 2,000 units a year, which would make it easy for the company to continue increasing its sales, possibly past the 10,000-unit mark that exempts the company from some U.S. and European emissions regulations. The previous report from Car about the Ferrari utility went a little further in its predictions. Supposedly the utility will share the GTC4 Lusso's platform, which makes sense as it's the only all-wheel-drive platform in Ferrari's lineup. It will also likely have a V8 and possibly a hybrid variant. A hybrid version would fit in with Bloomberg's report that Ferrari is also planning on more hybrids in addition to the crossover for both more sales and to help meet emissions regulations if the company exceeds 10,000 units a year. Considering that Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne famously said he'd have to be shot before building a Ferrari SUV, it's a little surprising that Ferrari is headed this way. But if a company wants to expand sales, there's no easier way to do so than to offer some kind of crossover. Porsche learned that a long time ago, and now Lamborghini and Aston Martin are following suit. And if this Ferrari utility launches in 2021, it will be right about the same time that Marchionne plans to retire from Ferrari, so he'll sort of be able to keep his word. Related Video: Related Gallery Ferrari GTC4Lusso T: Paris 2016 View 17 Photos News Source: Bloomberg, CarImage Credit: Lorenzo Marcinno Ferrari Crossover SUV Future Vehicles Hybrid Luxury Performance

This electric Ferrari 308 GTS would do Magnum PI proud

We've seen Lancias, Alfas, Maseratis, and assorted F1 cars over the years packing Ferrari engine. But seeing a Ferrari running under different power is something else entirely – let alone one packing a fully electric powertrain. Yet that's what one company in Southern California has done with this 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS, swapping out its V8 engine for an array of electric motors and battery packs. Rather than tearing apart a perfectly good Italian sports car, Eric Hutchison of San Diego-based Electric GT found the Magnum PI-spec Prancing Horse for salvage after it had burned out from an unfortunate fuel leak. One man's loss being another's gain, he bought it for $10,000 and, together with his friend Michael Bream at EV West, set about converting it to electric power. The cavallo elettrico produces an impressive 465 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque. With three AC51 HPEVS electric motors and 48 batteries installed, the cavallo elettrico produces an impressive 465 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque. That's a heck of a lot more than the 2.9-liter V8 in the original 308 ever produced: before later versions introduced fuel injection and four-valve cylinder heads, the 308 packed about 200 horsepower and 181 lb-ft. Not one of the most powerful models ever to leave the factory in Maranello, in other words. To handle the extra muscle, Hutchison, Bream, and company fitted a new clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, and (perhaps the oddest part) a Porsche transaxle, mounted upside down. Though most EVs do away with a conventional transmission, Hutchison points to the original (though ultimately unfulfilled) Tesla Roadster plans and the Formula E setup as evidence of the combo's ideal blend of efficiency and performance. "The massive torque transferring through the transmission engages the driver in a clutch-dropping, gear-pounding Ferrari experience," he said. To offset the added weight of the four dozen 3.3-volt lithium-ion batteries, they stripped out anything they could, and found new homes for many of the jettisoned components through fora like Ferrari Chat, whose members enthusiastically followed the conversion process. The result is a vehicle just 150 pounds heavier than stock that can travel 100 miles on a single charge. That's more than most OEM EVs can go these days, and (arguably) in better style, too. We've been following the project's development for nearly two years now, and took it for a spin on Translogic.

Ferrari 250 GT California could be your day off for $8 million

Vintage Ferraris consistently top the list of the most expensive cars ever sold. In private treaty sales, the 250 GTO is king, but even at public auctions, it's the horses that prance the highest. After the Mercedes W196 grand prix racer that set the world record this past July at nearly $30 million, the list of eight-figure sales is populated almost entirely by Ferraris: a 275 GTB/4 NART Spyder for $27.5 million, the pair of '57 Testa Rossas that sold separately a few years ago for $17 and $13 million apiece, the 250 LM recently went for over $14 million and the 250 GT SWB California Spider that sold in 2008 for $11 million.
Now RM Auctions has another California - this time a long-wheelbase model - on consignment for its upcoming sales in Arizona, where it is expected to fetch between $7 and $9 million. The 11th of only 50 made, chassis number 1055 GT features matching numbers, in red over black with those highly-coveted covered headlamps from the factory. It was delivered new in 1958 to Texas and was owned by some prominent Ferrari collectors and historians across the United States.
It underwent a comprehensive restoration in 1994 before taking the top prize in its class at the Cavallino Classic and has made the rounds of numerous other concours. It's spent the last few years in northern Europe and is now being put up for auction. "It is so choice," as our childhood friend Ferris would say. "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up." Check it out in the gallery of achingly gorgeous photos above and the details in the auction listing below.