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Luca doesn't believe in electric cars, but Ferrari will build more hybrids

Confirming what we'd long suspected, the hybrid powertrain in the Ferrari LaFerrari was not a one-time thing. "I don't believe in the electric cars, but I strongly believe in hybrids," Ferrari boss Luca Cordero di Montezemolo tells Bloomberg. It's unclear when we'll see another hybrid Ferrari, though, as the automaker's current lineup is quite fresh - the oldest model is the California, which was updated for the 2013 model year - but make no mistake, there are more electrified cars coming from Maranello. "The answer is yes," Montezemolo told Bloomberg when asked about hybrids, although he was quick to add "without exceeding." It's that last part that is key for enthusiasts of the gas engine.
Ferrari's move towards hybrid powertrains reflects a pair of trends in both the political and motorsports spheres. Politically, automakers, even exotics, are being pushed to produce cars with cleaner emissions, or in many cases, no emissions at all. Look no further than the Range Rover Hybrid, which was just announced. Formula One's push towards hybridization and smaller engines is also informing decisions at Ferrari, with the LaFerrari already using hybrid tech already inspired by the sport.
Still, it's reassuring to know that while Ferrari is pushing forward with future technologies, that the gas engine won't go the way of the manual transmission in Maranello - at least in the near term.

Buongiorno Roma! What the beautiful GT means for Ferrari's future

The new Ferrari Roma was seen in the flesh during its unveiling in Rome yesterday, and I can confirm that it is not only one of the most beautiful Ferraris in recent memory, but one of the handsomest of any contemporary sport or luxury car. Its details are predictably rich, well rendered, and pointedly, alluring and accessible. But it is not just the details in a car from the famed Italian sports car manufacturer, and one that is expected to start at around $250,000. "If you now go in the market, and you ask someone who can afford (a Ferrari) — because this is not a cheap product —why don't you buy a Ferrari? They are tempted, but most of them are a bit afraid. 'I don't know if I can drive it, it's very aggressive,'" said Enrico Galliera, the brand's chief marketing officer, in an interview with Autoblog. "And that's one of the major answers. It's not, 'It's too expensive,' or 'I don't want to have fun driving.'" There's a kind of fear of the brand's reputation for aggression and showiness. The Roma is intended to soothe these concerns, and entice new clients into the Ferrari stable. This is accomplished by making everything at once more sophisticated, more mature, and more enticing. On the inside, one is especially drawn to the big, curved and crystalline LCD instrument panel and large center screen, the cozy and coddling leather seats, and the new aviation-inspired metal toggles that act as the transmission selector. Less impressive are the capacitive haptic "buttons" on the steering wheel, but judgment will be reserved on those until we have a chance to experience them while driving, instead of just while sitting on a stage making embarrassing vroom-vroooooommmmmm noises. But it is the outside that really has me drooling. This is not just because the Roma has classical rear-drive GT proportions, with a fiendishly long hood, a selfish not-quite-four-place cabin that the brand describes simply as a "2+," and a truncated Kamm-back tail. It is because the design is so improbably clean, devoid of the strakes, scoops, spoilers, or even ancillary lines that corrupt so many modern cars. Especially evocative is the treatment of the front and rear, both of which are impossibly low, without ever feeling threateningly so. It all feels of a piece, and there's not a bad angle. "We want to transmit this idea of harmony, and a beautiful dynamic in balance," said Ferrari head of design Flavio Manzioni.

Tax The Rich goes slow-mo with a Ferrari F50

What is it about slow-motion video that makes everything so much cooler? Whether it's as simple as slapshot during a hockey game or as complex as a hypercar, filming in slow motion adds a new sense of depth, technicality and beauty to the subject. That's especially true when the video in question includes a rare Ferrari F50 and the team from Tax The Rich.
One Autoblog staffer called it "mesmerizing" the first time he watched it, and we're certainly inclined to agree. The F50 has never been a very pretty car, but in this setting, it's somehow incredibly compelling, as it drifts around a corner and does donuts at an agonizingly slow pace. Scroll down for the entire video, and let us know what you think in Comments.