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Ferrari 400 Superamerica fetches record $7.6 million at auction

RM Auctions and its new partners at Sotheby's are no strangers to setting records at classic car auctions – especially when it comes to Ferraris. And now they've set another with the sale of this gorgeous 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica SWB Cabriolet. Sold as part of the father-and-son Paul & Chris Andrews Collection last weekend, chassis number 3309 SA fetched a whopping $7,645,000. That's a fair bit more than the similar, green over red, open-headlight example which the same auction house sold just a couple of months ago for $6.38 million, and far outstrips the $4,070,000 paid earlier this year at Gooding & Co.'s Scottsdale auction for a white Aerodinamico coupe. A 1963 Ferrari 400 Superamerica LWB Coupe Aerodinamico also sold for $2.86 million at the Andrews Collection sale. Succeeding the earlier 410 Superamerica, the 400 Superamerica was the Bugatti Veyron of its day: extremely expensive, exceedingly rare, and incredibly fast. Only 47 examples were made, seven of which were bodied by Pininfarina, and this was the last of them: a convertible with removable hard top and covered headlights. This was the show car which Ferrari exhibited at both the Geneva and New York auto shows upon its completion, originally in red over tan, before its first owner took it to the Bonneville Salt Flats. It subsequently bounced between a few owners over the following decades, undergoing restorations along the way and picking up numerous awards. It most recently served as the centerpiece of the Paul and Chris Andrews Collection in Fort Worth, TX, which RM Sotheby's liquidated over the weekend. The Superamerica was, of course, the top lot sold, but far from the only one: the auction featured another 15 seven-figure lots, including Packards, Duesenbergs, and more. All told, the event brought in a massive $53,887,585, setting a new record for a private automobile collection auction after every one of the lots sold.

Ferrari issues stop-sale order on 488 GTB for fire risk

The Basics: Ferrari North America has issued a stop-sale notice to its dealers regarding 2016 models of the new 488 GTB. The Problem: As with the earlier recall of the California T, the issue stems from low-pressure fuel line that may not connect properly to the feed pipe of the fuel pump. That could cause a fuel leak in the engine compartment, which could in turn start a fire. Injuries/Deaths: None reported. The fix: Dealers will need to replace the fuel line assembly. If you own one: All the problematic units of the 488 are in dealer hands. According to the statement below from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "no un-remedied Ferrari 488 vehicles have been sold to the public." Ferrari S.p.A. informed Ferrari North America, Inc. (FNA) of the possible defect on the low pressure fuel line connection of the fuel pump provided by Ferrari's supplier Dytech – Dynamic Fluid Technologies S.p.A. on 11/17/15. Ferrari S.p.A. has informed FNA that during a routine pressure check for Assembly Line Testing on 11/04/15, they found a small air leak on the above described pipe connection. On 11/05/15 Ferrari S.p.A. extended their testing to evaluate vehicles that had been produced with the same batch of low pressure fuel lines. On 11/17/15 Ferrari S.p.A. concluded the investigatory testing and determined that the fuel vapor leak was a safety defect. With regard to the Ferrari 488 vehicles, on or about December 10, 2016 Ferrari determined that affected vehicles had left our control bound for various Ferrari dealers. We have notified our dealer network with a "Stop Sale" Notice informing them that this recall must be performed before the affected vehicles are sold to customers. It is important to note that no un-remedied Ferrari 488 vehicles have been sold to the public.

$80M Ferrari deal would make Vettel world's highest-paid sportsman

Formula One is in for a big shakeup next season, as the only two multiple World Champions on the grid are kicking off a game of musical chairs. Just who will end up where has yet to be figured out, but the overwhelmingly prevailing wisdom has Sebastian Vettel, who has already announced his departure from Red Bull, inking a contract with Ferrari worth 150 million pounds sterling for three years - that works out to over $80 million per year.
If the reports are true, that would make Vettel (pictured above with his assumed new teammate Kimi Raikkonen) the highest-salaried sportsman in the world. Compared to Vettel's rumored $80 million/year, soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo was paid $52 million last year and NFL quarterback Matt Ryan got $42 million, just ahead of soccer player Lionel Messi at $41.7 million. Boxer Floyd Mayweather was reportedly paid a whopping $100 million last year, but that's based on how many fights he fights and wins, putting him on a different earnings spectrum.
Those figures are also just for salaries, and do not include sponsorship and endorsement deals - and therein may lie part of the reason for Vettel's reportedly stratospheric salary. In addition to his salary from the Red Bull team with which he's won four World Championships, Vettel also pulls in a large retainer from Infiniti, which sponsors both the team and himself personally. In departing Red Bull, he'd undoubtedly have to sever the tie with Infiniti as well.