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Fiat Chrysler starts production of ventilator components in Italy

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler has begun producing ventilator parts to help Italy's Siare Engineering boost its output of the medical equipment needed to treat patients during the coronavirus crisis, the carmaker said on Friday. Carmakers around the world are ramping up production of critical healthcare products and machines to respond to the enormous demand during the pandemic. Italy, the epicenter of the virus outbreak in Europe, had asked Siare to triple its normal monthly production as a part of government efforts to increase the number of intensive care beds. FCA said that with the support of luxury group Ferrari and holding company Exor, which controls both carmakers, it had produced the first electrovalves, a key part in ventilators, at its plant in Cento, in northern Italy. The Cento plant is usually used to produces high-performance car engines for the global market. It had been closed because of the coronavirus but has partially reopened for this project. "With the additional supply of electrovalves from Cento, Siare estimates that it will be able to reduce total production time for ventilators by as much as 30-50%", the statement said. In addition to the production of the electrovalves, a team of specialists from FCA is also working alongside Siare staff at their production facility near the city of Bologna. "The objective is to help increase Siare's total production, with a gradual scaling up of daily output beginning from the first week of April", FCA said.

Beautiful Ferrari 250 California poised to break hearts, records

If you think buying a new Ferrari is expensive, just look at the prices collectors pay at auction for some of the brand's most desirable classics. The figures regularly delve well into eight figures. As in, tens of millions of dollars. One of the most sought-after is the Ferrari 250 GT SWB California Spider, and the one you see here looks poised to raise the bar yet again. One of only 56 made (and just 16 with open headlights), chassis number 2505 GT is an exceptional example of the breed in Blu Scuro with Pelle Beige interior. Unlike most Californias that were sent to the US, this particular one was delivered new within Italy, where it remained until 1974 when it moved to Switzerland for 20 years. Since undergoing full restoration by Ferrari's own Classiche department, it won top honors at the Cavallino Classic and honorable mention at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, it's been displayed at the Ferrari Museum in Maranello and was even driven by Luca di Montezemolo himself in the parade at the Finali Mondiali in Valencia a few years ago. Now it's going up for auction by RM Sotheby's at Villa d'Este next month, where it is sure to fetch a pretty penny or two. (And by "two," we mean "bajillion.") It's got quite an act to follow: the last time a California Spider traded hands, it sold for a record $18.5 million – and that was an unrestored barnfind – eclipsing the pristine example Gooding sold last summer for over $15 million. The records at Sports Car Market demonstrate that California Spiders hold the top spots for the most expensive variants of the iconic 250 GT ever sold at auction, and though pre-sale estimates place its value between $12 and 14 million, we wouldn't be surprised to see it fetch much more once the gavel drops. Though surely the most valuable, it's not the only collectible Ferrari up for grabs at the event on Lake Como this year. The California will be joined by a 1950 Ferrari 195 Inter Berlinetta along with an enviable quartet of Prancing Horse supercars (288 GTO, F40, F50 and Enzo) as well as a rare 599 GTB with a six-speed and HGTE package and a single-owner 575 Superamerica.

2014 Ferrari FF

Ferrari announced a panoramic roof option for its all-wheel drive FF at the 2012 Paris Motor Show, promising the new full-length glass panel would offer its well-heeled clientele "a genuine open-air driving feeling, while providing thermal and acoustic insulation." That statement was intriguing, as my experience with glass roofs usually ends abruptly after I close the opaque shade - as a Southern Californian, I always find tinted glass panels too hot during the day and too cold at night.
While the FF I reviewed in August was fitted with a solid aluminum roof, I was fortunate to catch up with a brand-new silver Ferrari FF (it only had about 160 miles on the odometer) with the optional panoramic roof at the Formula One race at Circuit of the Americas just last month. It was my lucky day, as I was about to spend about six hours with the four-place Italian, blissfully enjoying it during the warm day until long after the sun had set on the Texas horizon.
Driving Notes: