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Limited-run Ferrari F12 GTO supposedly headed to Frankfurt

After spy shots of a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta in Italy wearing some sticky rear-end camo went public, insiders have told GTspirit that the car is an F12 GTO and it will come to this year's Frankfurt Motor Show in September. It's hinted that the Gran Turimso Omologato changes to the 6.3-liter V12 up front might increase output from 731 horsepower to 800 hp by using the HY-KERS unit from the LaFerrari. That module provides an extra 163 hp to the supercar. True to GTO form, more power would come with less weight, the purported F12 GTO going on a diet of more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds). That would get matters of mass down to a stated curb weight of around 3,140 pounds. More technology could make the jump from its supercar sibling, all hidden underneath more aggressive bodywork and a GTO badge. A production volume of just 650 cars is mentioned, which, if true, would give buyers more chance to procure one; the Ferrari only made 599 units of the 599 GTO. Featured Gallery 2014 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta: Review View 39 Photos News Source: GTspirit via World Car FansImage Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Rumormill Frankfurt Motor Show Ferrari Coupe Hybrid Luxury Special and Limited Editions Performance ferrari f12 berlinetta

Seven-figure cars highlight day one of RM's Monterey auction

RM Auctions is one of several houses holding auctions during the Monterey weekend, and Friday night's festivities got quite pricey. Seven-figure vehicles were not at all uncommon during the first day of the two-day event, with the 1953 Ferrari 375 MM Spider, seen above, crossing the block for $9,075,000.
Other big earners included a pair of rare Ferraris, a 1950 166 MM Barchetta and a 1955 750 Monza Spider, which took $3,080,000 and $4,070,000, respectively. Outside of the red Italians, a 1939 Mercedes-Benz 540K Special captured $7,480,000 while a stunning, color-appropriate 1955 Jaguar D-Type took $3,850,000. We've got images of these vehicles, and a few other stunning examples of last night's auction, in the gallery above.
Thought it seems impossible, tonight's auction is expected to see even more high-dollar action. The winner of the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours, a 1928 Mercedes-Benz 680S Torpedo Roadster is expected to command over $10 million. Also crossing the block will be a car we reported on a few weeks back - a supremely rare 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART Spyder. One of only 10 in the world, it's expected to take anywhere from $14 to $17 million when it hits the stage tonight.

This electric Ferrari 308 GTS would do Magnum PI proud

We've seen Lancias, Alfas, Maseratis, and assorted F1 cars over the years packing Ferrari engine. But seeing a Ferrari running under different power is something else entirely – let alone one packing a fully electric powertrain. Yet that's what one company in Southern California has done with this 1978 Ferrari 308 GTS, swapping out its V8 engine for an array of electric motors and battery packs. Rather than tearing apart a perfectly good Italian sports car, Eric Hutchison of San Diego-based Electric GT found the Magnum PI-spec Prancing Horse for salvage after it had burned out from an unfortunate fuel leak. One man's loss being another's gain, he bought it for $10,000 and, together with his friend Michael Bream at EV West, set about converting it to electric power. The cavallo elettrico produces an impressive 465 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque. With three AC51 HPEVS electric motors and 48 batteries installed, the cavallo elettrico produces an impressive 465 horsepower and 330 pound-feet of torque. That's a heck of a lot more than the 2.9-liter V8 in the original 308 ever produced: before later versions introduced fuel injection and four-valve cylinder heads, the 308 packed about 200 horsepower and 181 lb-ft. Not one of the most powerful models ever to leave the factory in Maranello, in other words. To handle the extra muscle, Hutchison, Bream, and company fitted a new clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, and (perhaps the oddest part) a Porsche transaxle, mounted upside down. Though most EVs do away with a conventional transmission, Hutchison points to the original (though ultimately unfulfilled) Tesla Roadster plans and the Formula E setup as evidence of the combo's ideal blend of efficiency and performance. "The massive torque transferring through the transmission engages the driver in a clutch-dropping, gear-pounding Ferrari experience," he said. To offset the added weight of the four dozen 3.3-volt lithium-ion batteries, they stripped out anything they could, and found new homes for many of the jettisoned components through fora like Ferrari Chat, whose members enthusiastically followed the conversion process. The result is a vehicle just 150 pounds heavier than stock that can travel 100 miles on a single charge. That's more than most OEM EVs can go these days, and (arguably) in better style, too. We've been following the project's development for nearly two years now, and took it for a spin on Translogic.