2010 Ferrari California Base Convertible 2-door 4.3l on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2022 Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance Mega Gallery | The show in pictures

COMO, Italy — Held annually, the Villa d'Este Concours d'Elegance is, in many ways, Europe's version of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. It takes place in a beautiful location, and it brings together an impressive selection of rare and valuable cars. It's a real treat for the eyes, the ears, and, if you're into champagne, the palate. The 2022 edition of the show was no exception: About 50 cars were shipped to Lake Como from over a dozen countries, and it wasn't just the usual suspects. Sure, there were a lot of pre-war cars (including a couple of one-off models), but some of the icons that younger enthusiasts grew up with (like the Lamborghini Countach) were present as well. This year's event was split into eight categories: The Art Deco Era of Motor Car Design, The Supercharged Mercedes-Benz, How Grand Entrances Were Once Made, Eight Decades of Ferrari Represented in Eight Icons, "Win on Sunday, Sell on Monday," BMW's M Cars and Their Ancestors, Pioneers That Chased the Magic 300 KPH, And a design award for concept and prototypes. The jury gave the coveted "best of show" award to a 1937 Bugatti 57 S owned by Andrew Picker of Monaco, while the aforementioned classes were won by, respectively: The Bugatti 57 S, shown below, A 1936 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet, A 1956 Chrysler Boano Coupe Speciale, A 1966 Ferrari 356 P Berlinetta Speciale Tre Posti, A 1961 Porsche 356 B Carrera Abarth GTL, A 1972 BMW 3.0 CSL, A 1989 Porsche 959 Sport, And the Bugatti Bolide concept unveiled in 2020. Winning at Villa d'Este is a big deal: The cars are judged by a panel of highly experienced judges. No one gave me a scoring sheet, presumably out of fear that I'd award points to the late-model Fiat 600 lurking in the parking lot, but several cars that didn't win an award caught my eye. One is a 1934 Bugatti Type 59 Sports, a grand-prix racer that was once owned by King Leopold III of Belgium and that has never been restored — its patina is inimitable. Another is a 1961 BMW 700 RS. One of two built (the other is in the BMW collection), it's a tiny, ultra-light roadster related to the 700 and powered by a 697-cubic-centimeter air-cooled flat-twin tuned to develop 70 horsepower. It won several hill-climb events during the 1960s, and it's one of the rarest cars ever to wear a BMW roundel. Aston Martin's freshly-restored 1979 Bulldog concept was cool to see as well; check out the cassette player integrated into the headliner!

2017 Ferrari Model Year Preview and Updates

Despite the stereotypes surrounding Ferrari and its owners, at least a few of these automotive thoroughbreds are still bought for driving. And in 2017 the driving has never been better. A V8-equipped GTC4Lusso T is a welcome addition, while the entry-level California T remains relatively accessible. FERRARI 488 GTB/GTS: Some forty years after introducing the now-iconic 308 GTB, Ferrari continues the 'Berlinetta' format with power supplied by a 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8. The GTS (Spider) shares the same drivetrain and architecture, but offers a power retractable hardtop that folds in 14 seconds. Both are unchanged for the 2017 model year. CALIFORNIA T: Ferrari's most accessible GT now offers a Handling Speciale package, which makes the California's handling more 'special', with stiffer springs and magnetic dampers reprogrammed for a more athletic dynamic. This mod also ups the decibels by three. It, too, is powered by a 3.9-liter V8, albeit in a lower state of tune than the 488. F12 BERLINETTA: You may have missed the F12tdf, as fewer than 800 examples were produced. The Tour de France commemorative offered an upgraded V12 in combination with a faster acting twin-clutch gearbox. The V12 remains naturally aspirated, and delivers – in either standard or tdf versions – over 700 horsepower. GTC4LUSSO: The family-friendly Ferrari boasts generous 2+2 seating. For 2017 there's a massaged V12 and new touchscreen. With all-wheel drive this is the all-season, all-climate Ferrari. GTC4LUSSO T: Take the GTC4LUSSO, pull out the V12/AWD drivetrain and substitute the same V8 as the California T, in combination with rear-wheel drive. The combo is lighter, tighter, less expensive, and brand new for 2017.

Christopher Ward chrono has actual metal from a Ferrari 250 GTO

We've seen watchmakers use all sorts of methods to make their timepieces more attractive to automotive enthusiasts, from carbon-fiber dials and titanium cases to the logos of partnering automakers and racing series. Some have even designed all-new watches to go with a specific make or model. But Christopher Ward has taken things a step further with its latest chronograph.
The new Christopher Ward C70 3527 GT chronometer eschews all the usual gimmicks and goes for a more interesting one: it actually includes in its construction metal taken from the restoration of a Ferrari 250 GTO - namely chassis number 3527 GT that belongs to one Irvine Laidlaw, a Scottish nobleman and one of the wealthiest individuals in the UK.
When Baron Laidlaw bought his GTO in 2005, he sent it in for a thorough restoration that involved replacing some corroded and damaged exterior body panels. The discarded metal was acquired by TMB Artmetal, which specializes in that sort of thing, and partnered with Christopher Ward to create this limited-edition timepiece. The metal was used to make the back plate on which the number 6 - in homage to 3527's iconic 6 GTO license plate - is etched by laser and placed under museum-grade sapphire crystal.