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How this Ferrari 250 GTE became Rome's most famous police car

We're used to seeing fancy cars gifted to or bought by certain international police forces today, but the story of this 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE goes well beyond a gift. Because Rome's anti-organized-crime unit, Squadra Mobile, was doing a terrific job in the early '60s, the Italian president asked what they wanted as a token of appreciation. The answer, meant as a joke, was "A Ferrari." The president, in all seriousness, got them two.
One was almost immediately destroyed during testing, the other remains in the care of Alberto Capelli today, whose father began attending military and government auctions just after World War II. Petrolicious visited Capelli to hear the 51-year-old tale of the most precious cop car you're going to see for a while, and it involves outlaws, a French gangster in a Citroën, a policeman who was offered a spot on the Ferrari factory team by Enzo himself, and more. It's a fantastic yarn, and you can watch the whole story below.

Ferrari 612 Scaglietti gets the shooting brake treatment

As much as we love shooting brakes, since they're basically two-door wagons, the world clearly isn't willing to buy them. Most remain concepts or just designs. But someone took up Dutch coachbuilder Vandenbrink on its design for a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti shooting brake. The company finished the car this year, and the results are impressive. The shooting brake's roof fits the existing roofline of the Ferrari well, and the car's signature wide haunches haven't been hidden. The hatchback also looks like Ferrari included it from the beginning, making the car look like a precursor to the FF and GTC4Lusso. The skylights in the roof are also fascinating, and they surely make the rear seats less claustrophobic. Vandenbrink's choice of the 612 Scaglietti is a good one, too, even if it was partly dictated by the fact the company penned this design over a decade ago. It's a classic grand touring car designed to be fast but comfortable. Its large size, particularly its prominent prow, suits a long-roof design, too. The one part we slightly question are the rear pillars, which even with some creases to break them up, look a bit large and out of place. This is currently the only example of the 612 shooting brake, but Vandenbrink is happy to build additional cars on request. The company says it will work with buyers every step of the way to make sure their example is customized exactly as they wish, from the paint to the equipment. Vandenbrink even suggests it could make one geared toward horse riding or falconry. There's no price for the vehicle, though, which is probably due to the fact that each one will be custom ordered and the cost will vary. And this is undoubtedly a car you can't afford if you have to ask the price. Vandenbrink is also happy to create one of a few other sports cars, such as a roadster version of the 599 GTB Fiorano. All you have to do is ask and bring tons of money.

Second day of RM's Monterey auction continues the million dollar madness

RM Auctions' two-day event during the Monterey car week is pretty much a matter of appetizer and main course. Friday night's appetizer saw a trio of multi-million-dollar Ferraris, along with a pre-war Mercedes-Benz and a Jaguar D-Type. You can read all about those beauties right here. But as we said in that post, the action would really happen on Saturday night. The prices listed below include RM's ten-percent commission fee, and, as you'll see, the auction house did pretty well for itself.
We've already told you about the $27.5 million winning bid for the 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART Spyder, with all the profits headed to charity. While there were more seven-figure winners on night two, the overall prices weren't quit as high as we saw on Friday night. The Ferrari F50 (pictured above) shown during the car's Geneva debut back in the 1990s and with only 1,100 miles on the clock took $1,677,500 (on a $1.25 to $1.6 million estimate). Another winner was a 1935 Hispano-Suiza K6 Cabriolet, which brought in $2,255,000 on a $1.5 to $2 million estimate. A 1974 McLaren M16C Indianapolis, the race winner of the 1974 Indy 500, brought home $3.52 million, essentially doubling its expected price of $1.25 to $1.75 million.
The night wasn't a success for everybody, though. The 1928 Mercedes-Benz 680S Torpedo Roadster, which took Best In Show at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance failed to reach its $10-million expectations, selling for $8.25 million. That's not peanuts by any stretch, but a car that only goes for about 80 percent of its expected price isn't something to be enthusiastic about. A 1960 Maserati Tipo 61 Birdcage, which was expected to go for $3 to $4 million only took in $2,090,000.