Autoblog

This past Sunday, Ferrari had its Racing Days event at the Nürburgring in Germany and after the customers got a chance to 'ring out their rides, company legend Michael Schumacher wheeled out the new Ferrari California and put it through its paces. For those of you waiting to hear a lap time, don't hold your breath. The track was wet, the course was the F1 track, and the event was more of a meet-and-greet than a pedal-to-the-metal assault on the GT-R. This short YouTube clip by JurreAG will show you MS taking the California through the first few turns from a standing start near turn one. While you can clearly see that the car has some oomph, there aren't any real references for comparison or hard data for bragging/arguing/flaming yet. Sure does sound nice though, and it beats the last video clip we had of the car pretty much sitting still and posing for beauty shots. Check out the mini-gallery of stills below and the YouTube clip after the jump.

Yesterday we told you that the Ferrari California was officially sold out through 2010. Some of you seemed to think that this was a ploy. Others thought it fitting. Still others thought it ridiculous because of the car's lack of aesthetic appeal. Well, for all but the last group, here is the newest batch of official photos from Ferrari showing this hot little coupe/cab. More beauty shots of the red and blue models have popped up in the wake of the Paris Motor Show and we have them here for you to see and download. They might even convert a few of you who have thus far been impervious to this car's charms. Click any image here to go to the full high-res galleries.

What recession? Ferrari just confirmed that the Ferrari California is officially sold out through 2010. The 179,000 Euro supercoupe/cab is scheduled to be produced in batches of about 2,000 per year and has been a runaway success for the Maranello manufacturer. Company President Luca di Montezemolo was recently quoted as saying, "In 2008 there was the success of the Scuderia. 2009 will be characterized by the California. It has been an incredible success. We have already sold all of the 2008 and 2009 production. You have to now wait until 2011 for one."

Rather than act as a replacement for anything in the current lineup, the California was intended to be an eight-cylinder car that would compliment the F430 and be a vehicle with a lot of flexibility according to Ferrari. While some say it isn't the most beautiful Ferrari they've ever seen, the performance should be pretty spectacular for those lucky souls with a signed contract already in hand. The new direct-injection, 460-hp 4.3L V8 should be more than adequate for propelling this prancing pony down the road with gusto. We'll keep our fingers crossed that someone listening will loan us one for a short stay in the garage so we can confirm our suspicions.



[Source: la Repubblica via Eurocar Blog]

Polyphony's Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is about to get a pretty substantial upgrade. The next time you boot up your Playstation 3, an update will be available for GT5 that will add the GT by Citroen, Ferrari's new California and the Lotus Evora. Lotus fans got a sneak peek into the Evora's GT5 inclusion at the British Motor Show a few weeks back, and now everybody gets to join in on the aluminum-intensive fun. It's always a pleasure to strap yourself in a Ferrari, in real-life or virtually, and the California is the latest Italian Stallion around, so its addition was a foregone conclusion. The biggest news, though, is the new French GT, which its maker says was "a partnership between Citroën and Polyphony." In the game-realm, the new GT concept will be powered by electrons generated from a hydrogen fuel cell. Even if the technology isn't quite ready for prime time in your driveway, it can always make waves in digital form, running around various race tracks while emitting nothing but water.


[Source: PlayStation Blog via Joystiq]

Speculation about Ferrari building a sedan has repeatedly cropped up over the past couple decades, and Ferrari denies it every time it does. As Aston Martin, Porsche and now Lamborghini have been working on four-door cars lately, the idea that Ferrari might has gained even more traction. It looks like the Sultan of Brunei will have to continue relying on Pininfarina and other coach builders for his four-door Ferraris. Today in Paris, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo applied full carbon brakes to that theory as he stated in no uncertain terms that as long as he was holding the top office at the sports car maker, "We will never do a four-door." Wtih Ferrari selling its sports cars and GTs as fast as they can be built, Montezemolo is content to let corporate sibling Maserati handle the task of building exotic Italian four-doors.

While Ferrari owners are by definition people of considerable means, they and the company are still not immune to modern realities when it comes to both fuel prices and environmental regulation. At this years Detroit Auto Show, Ferrari displayed an F430 Spyder that could run on E85 ethanol. Similarly, the F1 side of the house is currently developing a kinetic energy recovery (KERS) hybrid drive system that, like current semi-automatic transmissions, could migrate to production vehicles. According to Montezemolo, Ferrari will not be building a V10 engine either as an upgrade to the V8 or downgrade from the V12.

[Source: Automobile]

Click either image to view the Ferrari California live in high resolution

It's not every day that Ferrari unveils a new sportscar. And when it does, it's almost invariably billed as a successor to the one that came before, or a version of something already on the market. But the Ferrari California is an entirely different beast, expanding the Prancing Horse's line-up into a new segment, and it certainly looks the part when viewed up close. We'll have to reserve our judgment for the time being on the California's driving dynamics, but the Italians promise it'll keep up its end and then some with its new direct-inject, 460-hp version of the company's 4.3L V8. In the meantime, today was a big day for Ferrari, and we've got the pictures to prove it. Click the thumbnails below to see for yourself.

Prior to Ferrari's successful customization plan for the 612 Scaglietti, your best bet at having Maranello build you a one-off would be to throw your wealth around like a Sultan. The One To One Personalisation Programme has been met with enthusiasm, so Ferrari is going to offer the factory custom treatment on the 599 GTB Fiorano, as well. The official announcement will take place at the Paris Motor Show tomorrow, where everyone will be packed like sardines to get a glimpse of the new Ferrari California up-close. An Atelier has also been set up in Italy to aid buyers in looking through all of the various permutations in order to come up with just the right car. The only option we're interested in is the one entitled "park a Ferrari in your driveway."

[Source: Ferrari]

Since everyone else is getting in on the four-door supercar game, Ferrari might as well give one of its cars the taffy pull treatment. Rather than wait for one of the design houses classically associated with the Prancing Horse to apply masterstrokes of design, Russian enthusiast Krasnov Igor came up with his own quad portal thoroughbred. We're not thrilled with the results, but we'll bestow an A for effort. Looking like a Scaglietti that got tossed in the blender with an Elise's roof and a Lamborghini tail, the wheelbase and proportions just don't look quite right. Perhaps the Lambo tail is a nod to the car's intended role as a competitor to the Lamborghini Urus/Estoque/whatevertheywannacallit, but we're thinking that car's styling will be far more cohesive. Thanks for the tip, Greg!


[Source Cardesign.ru]

To celebrate its 26th year as Orange County's most prestigious classic car show, this year's Newport Beach Concours d'Elegance moved from its recent home in Irvine to the St. Regis Monarch Beach Resort in Dana Point. Still not Newport Beach, but much closer to the ocean at least. Benefiting the Mary & Dick Allen Diabetes Center at Hoag Hospital and the Assessment and Treatment Services Center, the event featured Cadillac as its honored marque to commemorate GM's 100th birthday this year. Besides the gorgeous 1931 Cadillac Sport Phaeton V16 Fleetwood poster car, there were at least a dozen other notable Caddys, as well as about 150 other beautiful classic and collector cars, of which you can see most of them in our high-res gallery below.

Although a notch below the premier events like Pebble Beach, some of the most beautiful and significant vehicles around show up for this concours. Representatives from The Petersen, The Nethercutt Collection, the William Lyon Estate, the Mercedes Classic Center, the Simon Collection, the Caballeriza Collection, and the Marconi Museum were on display, alongside some superb machinery from local collectors like David Sydorick and Peter Mullin. Altogether there were about 150 cars in 14 classes. Ferraris, Porsches, Jaguars, Aston Martins, Packards, Lincolns, Cadillacs, Delahayes, Mercedes, Rolls-Royces, Duesenbergs, Woodies, race cars and even a horseless carriage or two were visible through the fog around the links.

Personal favorites included the 1937 Talbot-Lago T150-C-SS Sport Coupe, 1939 Delahaye 165 Cabriolet, 1908 Niclausse D971B, 1961 Abarth 1000 GT Bialbero Berlinetta, 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic Berlinetta, 1971 Lamborghini Miura SV Jota, 2006 Saleen S7R, 1959 Ferrari 410 Super America Series III, 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Competizione, 1933 Rolls-Royce 20/25 Shooting Brake Woody, 1933 Duesenberg J Speedster and the blue Ferrari 550 Barchetta in the parking lot. Another great show for a wonderful cause.


All photos copyright ©2008 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

This may not be the first effort at creating a Ferrari motorcycle, but it may very well be the best. Alfredo "Dino" Ferrari, the departed son of company founder Enzo, was said to have raced specially-prepared motorcycles in the 1950s. In the 1970s, Kay Engineering crafted a racing bike, now said to be worth half a million dollars, with full factory backing to honor Enzo Ferrari. In the '80s, legendary motorcycle designer Arlen Ness styled a one-off chopper on the Testarossa, while some guy named George crafted a pair of Ferrari-powered superbikes. Last year someone built a custom Scuderia Ferrari chopper for the retiring Michael Schumacher (who has since been trying his hand at motorbike racing), and earlier this year a collector crafted a model of what a Ferrari sportbike could look like. We're sure some more will be brought to our attention in the comments below, but while some of these creations have been more convincing than others, this one has to be the slickest.

The concept motorbike is the work of Israeli designer Amir Glinik, who centered his design around the theoretical application of the Ferrari Enzo's V12 engine, chopped down to four cylinders and modified to drive just one wheel in a motorcycle frame. Around the V4 engine, Glinik has designed a fluid shape that may appear more futuristic in its styling than inspired by current roadcar designs, but certainly catches your attention. Glinik has even planned out the theoretical controls, which blend elements from an F-16 fighter jet (more common in his home country than Ferraris, anyway) and the Scuderia's high-tech Formula One steering wheel, supplemented by a weatherproof touch-screen LCD atop the fuel tank.

Onetime Ferrari designer Frank Stephenson, now at arch-rival McLaren, was quoted as saying that the closest the average person will get to owning a Ferrari would be a Ducati. True as that may be, what you see here may be the most well thought-out and enticing application of the Ferrari ethos to two-wheeled motoring we've seen yet. Follow the link for more information, and check out the images in the gallery below for a closer look.

[Source: Industrial & Art via Luxist]