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Leaked Ferrari presentation drops details on super hot 488

Ferrari convened a gathering of dealers and special customers recently, and presented them with some of the specs on that special, monstrous version of the Ferrari 488 that's been percolating in public for nearly a year. Someone in the audience snapped pics of a few slides, those pics made their way to Ferrari Photo Page, and now we can assemble the loose bolts of rumor into something approaching a real vehicle. Not just "a" vehicle, but the most powerful Ferrari V8 the company has ever made. Ferrari uses the 488 GTB as the base for its Ferrari Challenge racing series; now the Italian carmaker's returned the Challenge motorsport lessons to the production car. First, the coupe almost certainly won't be called 488 GTO. Ferrari owners in the Ferrari Chat forum have been wheedling their dealers for information, and several contributors to an 80-page thread attested that even the dealers don't know the name of the coupe yet. The presentation refers to it as "New V8 Sport Special Series." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The slides also note the "highest horsepower increase vs donor car for a V8 special series," so watchers expect more than 700 horsepower from the 488's 3.9-liter twin-turbo engine; production numbers come in at 660 horsepower and 561 pound-feet of torque. The engine making all that fuss is an evolution of the racing unit in the Challenge car, is ten percent lighter than the production car motor, and can produce a "unique track-like sound" – as if Ferraris haven't been doing that since the 1960s. The coming coupe gets more carbon fiber than ever seen in a Ferrari production car: the hood, bumpers, and large rear spoiler come in resin-soaked cloth, as do the dashboard, center tunnel, and the 20-inch wheels. Those wheels, dressed in Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 rubber, are 40-percent lighter than stock alloys. The cabin floor will be made of aluminum, with added lightness courtesy of less sound deadening and, thinner fixtures like side windows, and the omission of non-essential parts like the glove compartment. New S-ducts in front and a GTE-inspired rear diffuser help increase aero efficiency by 20 percent over the standard 488.

Ferrari planning special Schumacher tribute to mark injured racer's 45th birthday

Michael Schumacher may have completed his Formula One career with Mercedes-Benz, but the German racer will forever be associated with the Scuderia Ferrari, where he spent the better part of a decade winning just about everything. And as the seven-time World Champion continues to fight for his life following a skiing accident, the Tifosi are in the midst of organizing to pay tribute to one of their greatest heroes as his 45th birthday approaches.
According to the Scuderia's Facebook page, it's calling on Scuderia Ferrari Clubs from across Europe to show up at the Grenoble Hospital where Schumacher is being treated for a "silent and respectful" event to honor the injured champion, whose birthday is tomorrow. There's also a tribute being run on the Scuderia's website passing along the team's thoughts as Schumacher tries to recover from his injury.
The latest reports on Schumacher indicate that his condition continues to be stable, but he remains in a medically induced coma. News of the circumstances surrounding his ski mishap continue to trickle out, with the latest report from The Mirror heartbreakingly suggesting that Schumacher was actually attempting to help a friend's daughter who had fallen herself when he had his own tumble.

1956 Ferrari 250 Tour de France could fetch $11M [w/video]

Highly valuable and arrestingly gorgeous classic Ferraris come up for auction all the time. Most of them derive from the 250 series: GTOs, SWB Berlinettas, Lussos, Testa Rossas. And when they do, they almost invariably fetch big bucks. But there's something about this one that just stops us in our tracks. The long wheelbase, the simple but elegant lines, the French blue paintjob and minimalist racing livery.... That it happens to have an unsurpassed racing history only sweetens the deal, as we're sure collectors are bound to find out when bidding opens in Monterey next month. This 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione was one of just 14 made, and one of just nine built by Scaglietti without the louvers on the remaining five Zagato-bodied examples. But what sets it apart is its racing history. It belonged to the legendary Marquis Alfonso de Portago, a Spanish nobleman and gentleman racer who rose to celebrity status in the early 1950s. Renowned for courting both women and danger, de Portago took to motor racing in 1953, proved a quick study, and was signed by Ferrari in '56. Portago drove this very car to victory at the notoriously challenging Tour de France, which included two hill climbs, six circuits, and a drag race over the course of six days. With his longtime compatriot and co-pilot Edmund Nelson (whom he befriended as a child living in New York's Plaza Hotel where Nelson worked the elevator) at his side, the Marquis dominated the event. So kicked off a series of four consecutive wins Ferrari would take at the famously grueling race, cementing this model's name as a result. The duo won a number of other races in this car, which proved practically undefeated in their hands. Tragically, Portago and Nelson were killed in a crash at the Mille Miglia mere months later, putting an end to their lives as well as that of the Italian road race. The car subsequently passed through the hands of a number of notable collectors on both sides of the Atlantic, underwent a ground-up restoration in the early 1990s, and has won top honors at numerous events, including Pebble Beach, Meadow Brook, and the Louis Vuitton concours d'elegance. It's now going up for auction for the first time in 23 years as part of RM Sotheby's array at Monterey this summer.