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Ferrari FF coupe plans found in European patent application

The FF is quite a departure for Ferrari - it's the company's first hatchback and all-wheel-drive vehicle - so it isn't surprising that it rubs some people the wrong way, even if the car itself is very good. Well, judging from these patent drawings of what looks like a FF coupe filed with the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM), Ferrari has plans to build one.
We're not sure if Ferrari is planning a production run, however, and it's very possible this is a one-off special being built for a very rich customer, a la Eric Clapton and his 458 Italia. Patent drawings of Clapton's special 458 were filed with OHIM before it was finished, as well.
We think the regular FF is a good-looking car as is, but would welcome a coupe version if it looked like the one in these drawings. It could be a great alternative to the F12 Berlinetta for people who want all-wheel drive and a lower profile.

Chief justice invokes 'Ferris Bueller' Ferrari in Supreme Court car case

WASHINGTON — U.S. Supreme Court justices on Tuesday wrestled with the scope of police authority to search vehicles without warrants, with Chief Justice John Roberts referencing the shiny red Ferrari taken for a joyride in the 1986 comedy film "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" to make a serious legal point. The justices heard arguments in two cases in which convicted defendants are seeking to have key evidence against them thrown out because it was obtained by police officers through vehicle searches conducted without a court-issued warrant. One case involved a stolen motorcycle that was covered by a tarpaulin and parked on private property next to a house in Charlottesville, Virginia. The other involved a rental car stopped by police in Pennsylvania — driven by a man who was not named on the agreement with the rental agency — in which heroin was found. At issue is whether police in the two cases violated the U.S. Constitution's Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. In the motorcycle case, Roberts and other justices seemed concerned about issuing a broad ruling in favor of law enforcement that would let police officers not just inspect the immediate area outside a property without a warrant but also potentially inside a house if a vehicle is located there. Under the Fourth Amendment, police need a warrant to search a house unless there is an emergency situation. In the case of convicted defendant Ryan Collins, the motorcycle was a few feet from the house. In "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" starring Matthew Broderick, three teenagers skip school and take a ride in a red 1963 Ferrari Modena Spyder California that was parked inside a showroom-type garage apparently attached to a house. After mentioning the film's car, Roberts asked Trevor Cox, the state of Virginia's lawyer who was defending the police search, whether he was arguing that police "can just go in" to a house without a warrant because a car is "mobile and they got it in there somehow (so) they can get it out." Roberts also mentioned comedian Jay Leno, known for storing a large collection of cars. Other justices voiced similar concerns, including Neil Gorsuch, who seemed troubled about police officers being able to search garages and other outbuildings without a warrant. "Not many people live in their garage. Some people do, some people do, and in barns, but usually they're reserved for cars and for animals.

Ferrari boss Montezemolo expects big changes from FIA

You'd think that with former Ferrari principal Jean Todt running the FIA, the relationship between the motorsport governing body and the team he once called home would be a solid one. But his former boss expects more from the organization that overseas Formula One.
In a recent interview (excerpts from which you can read below), Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo pointed to some perceived inconsistencies in rulings made by FIA officials this season and called for "strong changes." Among those controversies was a drive-through penalty handed to Felipe Massa at the season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix last weekend, his last for the Scuderia. Massa was reprimanded for cutting across the white line that marks the exit from the pit lane, the penalty for which dropped him from fourth place in the race to seventh, and cost Ferrari its second place in the final standings for the constructors' championship - and with it a good $10 million in prize money. Montezemolo characterized the penalty as "disproportionate and unjust".
The Ferrari chief also pointed to penalties handed to Mercedes as either too harsh or not harsh enough, calling for greater consistency in FIA rulings and implying that more permanent race stewards be appointed instead of alternating race to race.