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Ferrari reopens wind tunnel after 18-month refurb

Ferrari is not a company used to being behind the curve, but if you've been wondering how the Scuderia has lost so much territory on the Formula One circuit to a relative newcomer like Red Bull, part of the answer could come down to its wind tunnel.
Seriously, the wind tunnel? Yes, the wind tunnel. Aerodynamics play an increasingly vital role in F1 racing, and while Red Bull has one of the best in the business, Ferrari's hasn't been running right for some time now.
A year and a half ago Ferrari shut down the galleria del vento at its headquarters in Maranello, citing problems with "correlation" - that is, a major discrepancy between the results it got in the wind tunnel, in CFD computations and on the racetrack. Having narrowed the problem down, the Scuderia embarked upon a major overhaul. It's been using Toyota's facility in Cologne, Germany, in the meantime, but as team principal Stefano Domenicali put it, not having your own wind tunnel on premises "is like playing basketball with one hand behind your back." Now the renovations reportedly complete, however, and Ferrari will begin using its wind tunnel again next month.

Florida aquaman drives a Ferrari straight into the drink

Often the worst and most annoying part of security footage is that there is no sound to the video. Viewers are left to their own imaginations as people on camera are seen doing strange or dumb things. A recent video from Florida has us wishing a police officer would have been mic'd up for a conversation he had moments before a person got into a Ferrari and drove it right into a body of water. Reported by WPTV and blogged by Car Throttle, the dash camera on a police car caught 48-year-old James Mucciaccio Jr. doing something that makes absolutely zero sense (before the Florida bath salts jokes come out, neither drugs nor alcohol were involved). The morning of Dec. 26, a police officer got out of his cruiser and approached a blue Ferrari 360 that was parked on a gated dock on the Palm Beach Inlet just off of the Atlantic Ocean. Based on the soundless video, it appears Mucciaccio and the officer had a civil conversation likely suggesting that the car couldn't be parked there. Mucciaccio then hustled to get into the car and looked to be backing out of the dock. But before he passed the gate, he stopped, then switched out of reverse as evidenced by the blinking lights on the car. He then gunned it and drove the Ferrari straight off the dock and into the water. Considering the interaction seemed to be completely calm, it's mind-boggling trying to imagine what Mucciaccio was thinking, if it was indeed on purpose. And no, there is no word yet as to why exactly he did what he did. According to the report, Mucciaccio was not injured and was rescued by a friendly observer. After the Ferrari sank 30 feet to the bottom, it was pulled out using inflatables. For more photos of the crashed Ferrari both above and below water, check out images from the Code 3 Divers here. Surprisingly, this is not the first time Code 3 has pulled a Ferrari out of the water. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

UK collector pays $800k for license plate '25 O'

You can't get a vanity license plate in the UK, but Brits have proven their willingness time and time again to part with huge amounts of cash in order to get a particularly desirable number to put on the front and back of their high-priced machinery. This time, a Ferrari collector paid over $800,000 for the license plate "25 O." The princely sum of GBP518,000 – equivalent to over $814k at today's rates – was paid by John Collins, owner of classic car broker Talacrest. Collins reportedly intends to put it on his Ferrari 250 GT SWB. What's more is that he had just paid another GBP130,320 ($205k) for the license plate "250 L" that he plans to put on his 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, the long-wheelbase touring version of the same vehicle. The winning bids were placed at an auction held by the UK's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency – the 150th such auction held by the government office, marking its 25th anniversary. The "25 O" plate broke the event's previous record of GBP357,000 ($560k), paid in March 2009 for plate number "1 D." In 2008 noted tuner Afzal Kahn bought the license plate "F1" for GBP440,000, which is less than what Collins paid for "25 O" but different exchange rates worked that out to $870k at the time. Kahn was said to have turned down a $9 million offer for that plate last year. DVLA PERSONALISED REGISTRATIONS SETS A NEW BRITISH RECORD AS 25 O SELLS FOR GBP500,000 DVLA Personalised Registrations has set a new British record for a personalised registration sold by the Agency after 25 O was bought for more than GBP500,000. Incredibly, John Collins, who, as owner of Talacrest, is regarded as one of the world's leading collectors and dealers of classic Ferraris, bought 25 O for GBP518,000 less than three hours after successfully buying 250 L for a staggering GBP130,320. Both sums include fees and take the total amount paid by the businessman to GBP648,320. Both are among the 1,600 registrations being auctioned by the Agency as part of its 25th Anniversary three-day auction – and also 150th live sale – currently being held at The Vale Resort near Cardiff. Both registrations will be placed on two of the world's most exclusive cars; 250 L will head onto a rare 1964 Ferrari Lusso, while 25 O will sit on the Ferrari 250 SWB once owned by the rock singer Eric Clapton.