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Fiat Chrysler begins Magneti Marelli spinoff

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler has kicked off its planned spinoff of parts maker Magneti Marelli, which will be registered in the Netherlands and listed on the Milan stock exchange, a document outlining initial plans and seen by Reuters showed. The spinoff is part of a plan by FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne to "purify" the Italian-American carmaker's portfolio and to unlock value at Magneti Marelli similar to his earlier spinoff of Ferrari. Analysts say Magneti Marelli could be worth between 3.6 billion and 5 billion euros ($4.2 billion to $5.8 billion). It sits within FCA's components unit alongside robotics specialist Comau and castings firm Teksid. FCA has created a separate entity called MM Srl, the document showed, into which it will fold Magneti Marelli's electronics and electro-mechanical operations related to racing motorbikes and racing cars, as well as 14 other holdings in various companies around the world, including Germany, Slovakia, Mexico and South Africa. MM will be incorporated into a Dutch holding company via a cross-border merger, it added. FCA declined to comment. The move follows a similar procedure adopted by FCA for the spinoff and listing of Ferrari as well as of trucks and tractor maker CNH Industrial, both registered in the Netherlands and listed in Milan. The Dutch holding company would allow Marchionne, known for his success in extracting shareholder value through this strategy, to introduce a loyalty share scheme to reward long-term investors through multiple voting rights, as was the case with CNH and Ferrari. That would tighten the grip of FCA's controlling shareholder Exor, the Agnelli family's investment holding company, on the parts maker. Magneti Marelli, which employs around 43,000 people and operates in 19 countries, is a diversified components supplier specialized in lighting, powertrain and electronics. The Magneti Marelli separation is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early 2019, FCA has said. FCA's advisers initially looked at a possible initial public offering for the business to raise cash to cut FCA's debt, but the Agnelli family — FCA's main shareholder — was put off by low industry valuations and did not want its stake in Magneti Marelli to be diluted, three sources close to the matter told Reuters in March. Magneti Marelli has often been touted as a takeover target, and FCA has fielded interest from various rivals and private equity firms over the years.

Ryan Tuerck's Ferrari-powered Scion drifts, crashes, fixes, and drifts again

We were pretty astonished when Ryan Tuerck and Gumout shoved a Ferrari 458 V8 into a Scion FR-S. And as awesome as that fact alone may be, it's even more amazing that it's a fully functional drifter, not just a show car. Tuerck recently took it out to Portland, Ore. to do some sweet drifting on a mountain road. Unfortunately for him and the car, he did something substantially less sweet right off the bat. As you'll see in the video, in just the second corner of the course, Tuerck drives the front corner of the GT4586 right into the dirt cliff on the side of the road. For a moment, it looks like things are all right, but the car starts pulling to the right and he stops the car for repairs. After fixing bits including a thoroughly bent tie-rod, the GT4586 is good as new. We're glad the car wasn't down for long, because the drifting show following the repairs was fantastic. In the video, Tuerck throws the Scion into high-speed, super smoky drifts. And all of it happens to the tune of a shrieking Ferrari V8. It's well worth a few minutes of your time to watch. Related Video: Image Credit: YouTube / Donut Media Ferrari Scion Coupe Racing Vehicles Videos toyota gt86 toyota 86

Lego Speed Champions Ferrari F8 Tributo and 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 are 25% bigger

During a week when auto manufacturers are at the 2019 Los Angeles Auto Show debuting real, drivable cars, Lego has debuted two new toy car kits modeled after the 1985 Audi Sport Quattro S1 and the Ferrari F8 Tributo. The new models also show off an improvement to the Lego Speed Champions series: the kits are now 25 percent bigger. Lego is expanding its Speed Champions line of blocky car kits with two high-performance rides with very different purposes from very different times. One is a modern supercar, the other is a classic Group B rally car. The F8 Tributo is an inch high, five inches long, and three inches wide. It wears a clean red color scheme with a black splitter and black diffuser, and the only stickers are the headlights and the badges. The toy design carries over features of the F8 such as the hood and side body scoops, and the tiered taillights. and the rear engine cover. The S1, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary, has a much busier design. The main body of the car is white and yellow with retrolicious yellow body graphics. Black, gray and red striping add to the scheme, and "Audi," "Audi Sport," "Audi Team" and "quattro" stickers are seen on the body, the windshield, the hood and the rear wing. Clustered front rally lights, wheel flares, angular aerodynamic pieces and two sets of wheel designs help make the quattro look as authentic as possible. The car also comes with a miniature racer who can sit in the car and grip the stick shift. Both the Ferrari and the Audi will be released for January 2020. Each model is listed at $19.99, plus tax.