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Ferrari Dino prototype will go for auction at Pebble Beach

Following the announcement of a Duesenberg that could go for more than $10 million at Pebble Beach, we have yet another historic car headed for the auction block at the venerable event. This is a 1966 Ferrari Dino Berlinetta GT, and it was the second prototype designed. It previewed the production 206 GT, and it could be yours if you have the means. While the car looks very close to the production coupe, there are quite a number of differences. Compared with the production car, the prototype has its turn signals below the grille, and the taillights consist of three round lenses rather than two. They have a chrome rectangular background, too. The entire body looks to be a bit longer than the production car. Part of this may have to do with the fact that the 2.0-liter V6 in the middle is mounted longitudinally. In the production Dino, the engine was mounted transversely. The body has a more tapered tail, too, one that has less of a duck-tail spoiler integrated. Additional details not found on the production car are the chrome bars across on the side strakes and the large single windshield wiper. Even with these detail changes, the Dino prototype is still gorgeous, maybe even more so than the consumer version. Now we come to the part of the post where we discuss the car's high price. For this rare piece of Ferrari history, Gooding and Company expects someone will spend between $2 million and $3 million. Obviously that's a lot of money, in fact it's twice what the Ferrari Aperta cost when it launched. But this is a truly one-of-a-kind car, and it has an important place in history in helping give us the first mid-engine V6 Ferrari. So, it might be worth it. If you agree and have the cash, be sure you get to the Gooding and Company auction on Aug. 24-25. Related Video: Featured Gallery 1966 Ferrari Dino Berlinetta GT prototype View 9 Photos Image Credit: All images copyright and courtesy of Gooding & Company. Photos by Mathieu Heurtault Ferrari Auctions Coupe Concept Cars Classics Pebble Beach ferrari dino

Jeep and Ram could be spun off from FCA, says Marchionne

Jeep is surely the biggest single feather left in the cap of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles portfolio. Under Sergio Marchionne's leadership, Jeep went from fewer than 500,000 annual sales in 2008 to 1.4 million in 2016, and is on track for 2 million by 2018. Add in the brand's legacy, status as one of the most recognizable nameplates in the world, and rabid fan base, and Jeep has extraordinary monetary value to its parent company. Investors and analysts have certainly noticed Jeep's inherent value. According to The Detroit Free Press, Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas asked FCA chief Sergio Marchionne if he would ever consider spinning Jeep and Ram, FCA's dedicated truck brand, into a separate corporate entity, and he responded with a simple "Yes." Jonas estimated Jeep's worth in January of this year at $22 billion. Ram was valued at $11.2 billion. Marchionne has a history of spinning off brands while keeping them part of FCA's corporate umbrella. The most noteworthy example of this value maximization was with Ferrari, which now trades on the New York Stock Exchange and rakes in $3.4 billion in annual revenue and close to $435 million in net income, reports the Free Press. Marchionne still serves as chairman and CEO of Ferrari, and Fiat heir John Elkann owns 22 percent of the Italian marque's shares. Even if the offloading of Jeep and Ram into a separate entity would amount to little more than a profit-driven ownership change on paper, it would be huge news to the brands' loyal fanbases. In any case, such a move would likely take years to actually happen and probably wouldn't mean much at all to the products that Jeep and Ram produce. In other words, Jeep fans can keep the pitchforks in the shed ... for now. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Would you pay $2 million for a Ferrari F50? [w/video]

The F50 may not have been the finest of Ferrari's flagship supercars, but it remains a collector's commodity just the same – and its value keeps rising. F50s are already trading hands at upwards of $1 million apiece – and this year, at least one is expected to fetch upwards of $2.5 million. Ferrari launched the F50 in 1995 as the successor to the legendary F40 that came before. It eschewed the twin-turbo V8 that powered the 288 GTO and F40 for a naturally aspirated V12, setting the stage for the Enzo and LaFerrari that followed in the series. That high-revving 4.7-liter engine, according to Ferrari, was derived from the unit used in the actual F1 car from 1989 (known as the F1-89, naturally). This engine served as a stressed member of the chassis, mounted behind a carbon-fiber tub. With its removable hardtop, the F50 remains the only model in Maranello's flagship series (excluding the Enzo-based Maserati MC12) that offered an open cockpit. It was all very F1-like, but was barely any faster (if at all) than its iconic predecessor. Only 349 F50s were made, each carrying a half-million-dollar price tag. That would be a good $750k in today's money. Still, it is part of a highly collectible series. Only 349 were made, each carrying a half-million-dollar price tag that seemed astronomic at the time in the mid-'90s. That'd be about $750k in today's money, but it's still a far cry from what they're trading at these days. Last year alone, RM Sotheby's sold two F50s at auction: one in May at Villa d'Este for just under $1.4 million, and another at Pebble Beach (as part of the Pinnacle Portfolio) for nearly $2m. This compared to just a few years ago when they were selling for six figures, not seven, prior to 2013. At this early point in the year, two major auction houses have already announced consignments of F50s. RM has one (pictured above) on the docket that's estimated to sell for a good $1.5m. It's sure to be one of the top sellers in a couple of weeks at its sale in Paris during the Salon Retromobile (where Artcurial has another Ferrari for sale at over $30m). Gooding & Company has one lined up as part of the Tony Shooshani Collection. That example (depicted in the video below) was displayed at the 1995 Tokyo Motor Show and was owned by Jacques Swaters (of Ecurie Francorchamps fame). It has only 1,100 miles on the odometer and is expected to fetch between $2.5m and $2.9m, which would set a new record for the model.