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World Car of the Year finalists announced

To say the 2014 Geneva Motor Show was packed full of news is an understatement as big as the show's home at the Palexpo convention center. Despite everything that we were able to cover during this year's show, there's still more coming out of Switzerland, including the announcement of the finalists for the 2014 World Car of the Year Awards.
We reported on the original list of finalists over three weeks ago, and now, that initial list has been pared down to three finalists for each of the five awards. The finalists were announced at a press conference by frequent Autoblog contributor and co-chair of the awards, Matt Davis (above).
The finalists for the overall title of 2014 World Car of the Year are the Audi A3, the BMW 4 Series and the Mazda3. The World Luxury Car of the Year will be either the Bentley Flying Spur, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or the Land Rover Range Rover Sport, while the Performance Car of the Year will be awarded to the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the Ferrari 458 Speciale or the Porsche 911 GT3 (which, um, yeah...).

2018 Ferrari Portofino First Drive Review | Forget all about the California

It's about 9,500 miles between the Golden State and a swanky former fishing village on the Italian Riviera known as Portofino, where pastel-painted cottages mix it with celebs and super yachts. For Ferrari, however, it's a gap of 10 years between the launch of the California, its first front-engined V8 sports car and this, the Mk. II version, the Ferrari Portofino. "California is such an iconic name," says Nicola Boari, head of Ferrari product marketing. "Trying to stay close wasn't a good thing. Portofino is discreet, it's not as splashy as Monte Carlo." The California was aimed at a new breed of Ferrari customer: younger, with a family, women. In one sense it's done that job well, in another it's failed. Boari admits with a shrug that not many women have actually bought a California, but for a car launched just as Lehmann Brothers was gasping its last, the car has attracted a new sort of customer just the same and attracted 35 percent of Ferrari's total sales. Last year, that numbered 8,398 vehicles. "Same sex, but a different type of customer," says Boari, adding that California customers use their cars 150-percent more than typical Ferrari sports car owners, tend to use their cars every day and 30 percent of them even use the tiny rear seats. "We had to learn new things," he admits. A lot of those "new things" have been crammed into this car, which goes on sale this August in the United States priced at $229,551. The basic premise remains the same: a 3.8-liter, twin-turbo V8 driving the rear wheels via a seven-speed, dual-clutch transmission and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential in a rear-mounted transaxle. That's 592 horsepower at 7,500 rpm and 560 pound-feet of torque at 3,000 rpm. The torque "curve" continues on from there with a profile resembling a pool table. It's good for 199 mph, 0-62 mph in 3.5 seconds, 0-124 mph in 10.8 seconds and gas mileage in the European test cycle of 31.7 mpg - this is no ordinary family vehicle. The 2+2 Pinifarina-designed aluminium body has been completely redesigned, but retains the same basic dimensions as the outgoing California. Dealers reported that the size was just about right, so the Portofino has grown by only 0.62 inch in length and 1.1 inches in width. It's lighter by 176.4 pounds, thanks mainly to a lighter body construction and interior, and stiffer thanks to more integral parts and aluminum pans under the floors.

Ferrari still finalizing LaFerrari hardware? [w/videos]

McLaren, Ferrari and Lamborghini helped make this year's Geneva Motor Show one of the most exciting in recent memory, but the LaFerrari might be a little further away from production than its McLaren P1 hypercar rival. According to GTSprit.com, it sounds like Ferrari is still trying to hammer out the the car's details to ensure the lucky 499 souls laying down $1.5 million aren't left in the dust by a brightly colored McLaren.
While it's not clear what sort of things Ferrari is still working on, the continued development aspect is somewhat substantiated by the fact that the 949-horsepower hybrid supercar is still running around Italy wearing camouflage - albeit light camo. As proof of this, the site also found a pair of enthusiastic amateur spy videos that get some good rolling shots of the LaFerrari out testing. They also show how well the car can handle a roundabout. Both videos are posted below.