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EVO dubs Ferrari 458 Speciale its Car of the Year

While some publications are concerned with finding the best car or truck for the average buyer and slapping a ribbon on it, or (in our case) identifying the best new automotive technology of the year, across the pond our compatriots at Evo are more single-minded in their approach. Every year, the British car mag awards its Car of the Year to its top new performance automobile on the market. And this year, they've picked the Ferrari 458 Speciale. The stripped-out supercar from Maranello beat out some heady competition. Second place went to the Jaguar F-Type R, followed by the Porsche Cayman GTS, VW Golf R, Renaultsport Megane 275 Trophy-R, BMW i8, McLaren 650S Spider, Aston Martin Vanquish, BMW M3 and, last but not least, the Audi S1. It was only the second time a Ferrari won the eCOTY award, after the 599 GTB Fiorano took top honors in 2006. Precedent suggests the magazine typically hands the award to a version of the Porsche 911 – like the GT3 that won last year, preceded by other Elfens in 2011, 2010, 2007, 2004, 2003, 2000, 1999 and 1998 (when the award was inaugurated). Why is the latest 458 derivative so... Speciale? Watch this video to find out.

It took four minutes to steal Roger Waters' Ferrari

The owner of a 1973 Ferrari 365 Daytona in Australia is singing Wish You Were Here after thieves stole his red Italian coupe, which counts Pink Floyd lyricist Roger Waters as a former owner. The car was at a mechanic in Melbourne when the brazen crooks rammed open the shop's door in the early morning. They needed just four minutes to get away with the Daytona and a 328 GTB, according to The Drive. This Daytona carries an estimated value of 2.5 million Australian dollars ($1.8 million), and it counts a string of celebrity owners, according to The Age. James Hunt allegedly drove it because the coupe once had a connection to the Hesketh Formula One team. Waters used the car to go to Pink Floyd's recording studio, and magnate Mohamed Al Fayed later had the Ferrari also. He gave it to his son Dodi – Princess Diana's boyfriend when she died. The Daytona wasn't just another brick in the wall to the owner, either. "I don't have any other sport cars, that was the one," he said to The Age. The car just completed a restoration three weeks ago, and it was at the mechanic to sort an alternator problem. Police are still searching for the perpetrators. The 328 was reportedly spotted about 4 miles away after the robbery, but the car was gone when the cops went to check.

Ferrari California replica from Ferris Bueller is so choice

We like car auctions well enough, but often the high-end affairs are a bit too much like outdoor museums - very beautiful and very cold, and you're not allowed to touch anything. A perfect case in point is the upcoming Mecum auction during the 2013 Pebble Beach weekend, which will feature the legendary replica Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder used in none other than Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Only three were made. The current owner spent ten years restoring this car. It is his love, it is his passion. (Well, it was before he decided to auction it, anyway.)
Actually built by Modena Design and Development in El Cajon, CA, the official name of the stunning replica is Modena Spyder California. Built up on a tube frame, with a meticulously maintained interior and powered by a 500-horsepower small block V8 the car is so choice. If you have the means, we highly recommend picking one up.
Mecum hasn't suggested a predicted auction price for the Hollywood relic as of yet, but with the perfect pedigree to pull Gen X heartstrings, and the proliferation of stupid-wealthy fourtysomethings in and around northern California, we wouldn't be surprised to see a decent value. Just don't wait on it, life moves pretty fast around Pebble Beach. If you'd like to read a full description of the car with fewer script-quotes, look, it's real simple, scroll down.