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Romania's Forza Rossa to join 2016 F1 grid

Bazac's Maranello ties have prompted speculation that Forza Rossa could be as closely affiliated with Ferrari as Hass. Formula One may be in a bit of a crisis at the moment, with two of its smaller teams collapsing into bankruptcy, but there may yet be light at the end of the proverbial tunnel as two new teams are gearing up to take their place. One of those teams is Forza Rossa, and while we haven't much anything about the Romanian entry in in recent months, a new report from Pitpass indicates that plans are well under way – if not without their complications. Forza Rossa is being backed by a number of Romanian parties, including veteran race strategist Colin Kolles (who was most recently involved in the Caterham buyout) and Ion Bazac, former government minister and Ferrari's Romanian importer (pictured above next to Giancarlo Fisichella). Interestingly, the latter's ties to Maranello have prompted speculation that the team could be at least as closely affiliated with Ferrari as Haas (the American team being started by industrial machinery magnate and NASCAR team owner Gene Haas). A third Romanian individual – former soccer player Constantin Cojocar – turns out to have been the one who bought Caterham Sports Ltd, the company which designed and built the cars for the Caterham F1 Team until its recent collapse. The plan was to supply chassis and components to both Caterham and Forza Rossa, but Cojocar evidently had trouble paying the bills and keeping the lights on. Caterham's bankruptcy, however, could present a golden opportunity for Forza Rossa to scoop up the assets of both the team and the manufacturer at a good price, building the new team on the burnt foundations of the old one – even if it has already been granted the go-ahead by the FIA to form its own entry. That, however, won't happen until 2016 at the earliest, whittling down the grid in the meantime from 22 cars to 18. According to the arrangement between the FIA, Formula One Management and the teams, that threshold would oblige at least the leading teams to make up the lost places on the grid by fielding a third car each – something they couldn't prepare in time for US Grand Prix this past weekend, but which could be put into action for next season.

This Ferrari Superamerica Aerodinamico can be yours for $3 million

Introduced at the 1959 Turin Motor Show, the 400 Superamerica represented the finest and fastest grand tourer Ferrari had ever made. The Colombo-designed 3.0-liter V12 engine from the 250 GT was bored out to 4.0 liters, the drum brakes from the previous 410 Superamerica were replaced by disc brakes at all four corners, and the four-speed manual fitted with overdrive. The original convertible was followed by a svelte Aerodinamico coupe at the same show a year later, which was in turn succeeded by the longer version you see here. This was the first such long-wheelbase model Ferrari built, and was displayed at both the Earls Court Motor Show and Chicago Auto Show in 1962. It was one of only 18 made, of which 14 featured the highly desirable covered headlights. Chassis number 3931 SA was done up in silver with a black interior, has traded hands over the years between owners in the United States, Japan, and Europe. It is now consigned to RM Sotheby's for its upcoming sale in Paris on February 3, where the auction house expects it to as much as $3.6 million. The same auctioneers sold another such long-wheelbase Superamerica Aerodinamico for $2.86 million in Texas this past May, where it also sold a short-wheelbase convertible for a record $7.6 million. Sports Car Market also records that Gooding & Company sold an earlier short-wheelbase coupe for over $4 million in Scottsdale last January. Paris 3 February 2016 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica LWB Coupe Aerodinamico by Pininfarina - Chassis no. 3931 SA - Engine no. 3931 340 bhp, 3,967 cc SOHC V-12 engine with three Weber 40 DCZ 6 carburettors, four-speed manual transmission with overdrive, independent front suspension with unequal-length A-arms and coil springs, live rear axle with semi-elliptical leaf springs and parallel trailing arms, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 2,600 mm - 1962 Earls Court and Chicago Motor Show car - The first of only 18 second-series long-wheelbase examples - Previously of the renowned Yoshiho Matsuda Collection - Beautifully presented in its original colour combination of Grigio Argento over Nero - Matching-numbers example; a grand touring Ferrari par excellence THE 400 SUPERAMERICA AERODINAMICO By the 1950s, Ferrari had established itself not only as a world-class manufacturer of sports racing cars but also as a manufacturer of the world's best grand touring cars for the road.

Why Italians are no longer buying supercars

Italy is the wound that continues to drain blood from the body financial of Italian supercar and sports car makers. The wound was opened by the country's various financial police who decided to get serious about superyacht-owning and supercar-driving tax cheats a few years ago, by noting their registrations and checking their incomes. When it was found that a rather high percentage of exotic toy owners had claimed a rather low annual income - certain business owners were found to be declaring less income than their employees - the owners began dumping their cars and prospective buyers declined to buy.
Car and Driver has a piece on how the initiative is hitting the home market the hardest. Lamborghini sold 1,302 cars worldwide in 2010, 1,602 cars in 2011 and 2,083 cars in 2012 - an excellent surge in just two years. In Italy, however, it's all about the ebb: in 2010, the year that Italian police began scouring harbors, Lamborghini sold 96 cars in Italy, the next year it sold 72, last year it sold just 60. The declines for Maserati and Ferrari are even more pronounced.
Head over to CD for the full story and the numbers. What might be most incredible isn't the cause and effect, but where the blame is being placed. A year ago the chairman of Italy's Federauto accused the government of "terrorizing potential clients," this year Luca di Montezemolo says what's happening has created "a hostile environment for ­luxury goods." Life at the top, it ain't easy.