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The Ferrari Enzo's designer isn't worried about the future of supercars

Ken Okuyama is a talented designer with a prestigious portfolio. He spent 12 years at the famed Italian design house Pininfarina after a stint with GM's Advanced Design Studio, where he worked on the C5 Corvette. He also styled the Boxster and 996-generation 911 at Porsche. His first Ferrari design was the Rossa concept car, though his most famous creation is the Enzo. Now Okuyama runs a design studio that not only is responsible for the new Kode57 supercar that debuted in Monterey this past weekend, but also eye glasses, civic planning, and even Japanese bullet trains. We caught up with Okuyama at the Concorso Italiano car show, plopped down on a couple of plush leather chairs right in front of his brand new Kode57, and chatted about what the future holds for car design. Alex Kierstein: Lately there's been a lot of talk about autonomy and future mobility. What sort of challenges and opportunities do you think this autonomous future is going to provide for you as a car designer? Ken Okuyama: It is a really fantastic time for designers because of two reasons. One is that the public and private transport have been two separate, completely different industries up until now. Now, when you think about the future of autonomy, that really brings the automobiles into something more of a public transportation. You really have to think about the total experience of the customers from buying the ticket to the paying mechanism. That's just hardware, actually. It is a huge challenge for engineers and designers, and I really love that. That's one reason. Another reason is that just like horses were a means of transport 100 or so years ago, up until Henry Ford mass-produced the Model T. Now, maybe sports cars are becoming like horses. Now, horses are a great object for hobby, sports, and part of the Olympics and everything. Cars are going to be like that also. Dr. Porsche [was asked what type of] automobile is going to last for the longest time. He said, "the sports car." I really believe in that, because with sports cars, you never lose a sense of ownership. Autonomous vehicles are things you don't have to own. You have to design a total experience and the whole operation. A car, you want to own it. It's part of you. Your mechanical watches, do you borrow them from somebody? You want to own it. Your suits, your favorite shirts, you want to borrow them from somebody for your experience? No, you want to own it. Ownership is a core part of human beings.

Ferrari building one more LaFerrari Aperta for charity auction

When Ferrari officially introduced the LaFerrari Aperta roadster, it announced that it would only build 209 of them. It also announced that every single one was already sold. That apparently isn't quite the case, though. RM Sotheby's announced it would be selling a LaFerrari Aperta, and it's a new one, No. 210, that hasn't yet been built. According to the description, this is an additional special edition that will be built to help celebrate Ferrari's 70th anniversary. It will also have a unique paint scheme and will be unveiled during the celebration in Maranello. No details were given as to what the paint scheme would be, but based on the other five specially painted LaFerrari Apertas, it will probably be inspired by one of the company's more famous road or race cars of the past. Also, since this car will be auctioned, it presents a rare opportunity to own one of Ferrari's top-tier sports cars without going through the trouble of becoming one of the company's favored customers. Of course that means this car could be very expensive, too. RM Sotheby's estimates it will go for between ˆ3 million and ˆ4 million, which at current exchange rates is $3.5 million to $4.7 million. On the plus side, the proceeds from the auction will go to an unnamed charity. Related Video:

Harry Metcalfe drives his Ferrari Testarossa in the Sahara

Take a moment to conjure some worthy answers to this question: "What can I do in a [Ferrari] Testarossa that's a really good road journey?" Then imagine yourself saying, "Tomorrow we're off to the Sahara in my Testarossa." If you were Evo magazine impresario Harry Metcalfe, those would be the kinds of Q&A sessions you'd have with yourself, and thankfully he's put the question and the answer in a fantastic 29-minute video. That answer was 2,500-mile journey out of London, on boat from Portsmouth, England, to Santander, Spain, a ferry from Tarifa, Spain, to Tangier, Morocco, a drive to Marrakech, over the snowy alpine-looking Tizi n'Tichka Pass, to Erfoud, and then to the dunes of Sahara. It involved some bribes, a twice broken-down Testarossa, confiscation of a drone, tons of speed traps and at least one ticket, a pair of lucky pants, some phenomenal scenery, and Ferrari sounds, including a long stint off-roading on a washboard track. Plus, a lot of jealousy on our part. Enjoy. News Source: Harry's Garage via YouTube Ferrari Coupe Luxury Police/Emergency Supercars Classics Videos evo harry metcalfe morocco ferrari testarossa sahara