Ferrari North Europe Brightens the Lives of 50 Children

On Tuesday, July 26, 50 special children will enjoy being driven around the Silverstone circuit in a Ferrari California by professional racing drivers from the British Racing Driver’s Club along with “BRDC SuperStars”, young drivers learning to be the professionals of tomorrow.

Ferrari North Europe organizes the event for the second time in collaboration with the BRDC and two charities, The Variety Club and BEN, to brighten the lives of some disabled, disadvantaged and seriously ill children. During the children’s 15-minute ride in the passenger seat of the California, their families will have access to the BRDC Clubhouse.

Matteo Torre, Ferrari North Europe’s Regional Manager, commented: “It is our honour and privilege to be able to share the excitement of riding in a Ferrari with another group of truly deserving children. Last year’s event was unforgettable, not only for the children but for all those who donated their time and energy. We look forward to create another memorable day”.

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1:24 Scale Supercar Exotics Encased In Resin

Here’s something you don’t see every day: a 1970's style resin “sculpture” made by an unknown French artist and featuring various 1:24 scale Ferraris.
There’s also a Lamborghini Diablo, Jaguar XJ220 and Bugatti EB110 in there among others. Props to anyone who can help us identify the rest. The unusual item is being sold by Mantiques Modern [sic] of New York.
For details on price, you’ll have to contact the dealer, but something tells us it won’t be cheap… More photos of the artsy piece in the gallery 

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McLaren Will Spend $1 billion to Challenge Ferrari and Lamborghini

After Lotus, Italian supercar makers have another British contender challenging their supremacy. McLaren is the most successful team in Formula 1 after Ferrari, and yesterday opened its first dealership in the most prestigious part of London.
According to a news report from Bloomberg, the British automaker has much broader plans: its managing director, Antony Sheriff, revealed in an interview that McLaren Automotive intends to spend as much as $1 billion in developing and marketing costs to launch 13 new models and variants in the following years to challenge the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini.
“I see it as a fantastic challenge to come to the market with a new brand” said Executive Chairman Ron Dennis in Bloomberg Television late last night.
McLaren has already invested about $320 million to develop its 458 Italia challenger, the $200,000 MP4-12C and last month unveiled its $500,000 racing counterpart. The street-legal version of the MP4-12C, which at this point is McLaren’s sole production car, has already proven to be a hit, with more than 2,000 orders and a two-year waiting list.

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Lotus CEO Talks About: Ferrari 458 & McLaren MP4-12C

A few days agο, we received wοrd that Lotus was ditching the Toyota-sοurced V8 and dropping its οwn engine intο the new Esprit.

Nοw we get a few pointed remarks frοm the automaker, intent οn clarifying its future positiοn in the supercar segment, and a bit more insight intο the pοwerplant. Lotus CEO Dany Bahar tοld a recent press conference audience that its upcοming flagship will offer a mοre authentic driving experience than the targeted Ferrari 458 Italia alsο McLaren MP4-12C.

Thοse are fighting words, directed at very lοfty rivals.

Furthermοre, according tο Bahar, any injection οf KERS-style (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) technοlοgy in the new Esprit will be tο add to the driving experience, nοt detract from it. In οther engine-related news, the in-house V8 is rumοred tο be both lighter and smaller than the reportedly drοpped Toyota 5.0-liter.

The new eight shοuld debut with a power rating οf about 570 hοrsepower. That's pοtent, and it's necessary tο be a genuine contender in this segment. As a reminder, when the last Esprit ended prοduction in early 2004 its twin-turbο 3.5-liter V8 was rated at "οnly" 350 horsepower.

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Investigators Uncover Multi-Million Pound Tax Scam in India; European Exotics And Foreign Diplomats

In what sounds more like the plot of a The Fast and the Furious movie than real life, investigators at India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence office (a.k.a. India’s IRS) have uncovered a massive exotic car smuggling operation in the nation’s capital of New Dehli. It all has to do with India’s notorious 100% import tax on new luxury vehicles.
It began with one New Dehli luxury car dealer, Sumit Walia, importing brand new luxury cars on forged invoices. These invoices listed the cars as second-hand, which saved Walia – and his customers – some 40% on import tax. Some of the cars – which included Porsches, Bentleys and Aston Martins – were found to have been stolen from the streets of Britain, France, Singapore and Japan.
A month later, another scam – involving a London-based British-Indian car dealer and diplomats from New Delhi’s North Korean and Vietnamese embassies was uncovered. The diplomats would act as middle-men for rich buyers; buying the exotics under their names and therefore getting them tax-free. An official Directorate of Revenue Intelligence office had this to say about the investigation:
“Our investigators suspect around 300 to 400 luxury cars have been imported on fake papers and sold in all major cities across India using the same modus-operandi. The cars have been sold to politicians, celebrities, cricketers, Bollywood actors and many businessmen in the last four to five years.”
Some 40 cars have been impounded, including several Porsche Panameras and Aston Martin Rapides valued at £250,000 and £290,000 per unit. A £350,000 Bentley Continental Supersport was also among those vehicles recovered. Other vehicles have simply been abandoned by their owners on the streets of New Dehli. Investigators found that most of these vehicles were either illegally registered or displayed temporary plates.

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Graf Weckerle-Tuned Ferrari 458 Italia

It seems that there is a tune for just about everyone and everything these days, from subtle to extreme, and all points in between. We do not know where exactly this Ferrari 458 Italia from German tuning firm Graf Weckerle fits in that spectrum, but those odd-looking alloy wheels are sure to catch the attention of every passerby.
Featuring a design that would be more suitable in an antique fireplace screen, the so-called “fleur-de-lis” 21-inch alloy wheels are a trademark of Graf Weckerle and are hand-assembled out of 184 individual pieces. The tune also includes hand-painted stripes, a sports exhaust system and an engine upgrade that both help push output to 600-horsepower, and a lowered suspension.

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Ferrari Car

In the automotive industry it is very difficult to establish a delicate balance between how exclusive the car is, producing enough of the these elusive vehicles to create a demand and profit while still holding back enough that even the people who can afford it can not purchase these exotic beasts on a whim. No other company has managed to achieve this delicate balance as successfully as Ferrari.

In general for any of the exclusive Ferrari models the waiting list is approximately 2 years. Ferrari also uses a centralized system that enables both the company and its dealers to place individuals who have already purchased a Ferrari higher on the list.

Design Ferrari Sports Cars 458 Italia

PRESS RELEASE Following international acclaim for their finely honed Porsche GT2, GT3 and Panamera conversions, Oakley Design is now proud to announce their tuning programme for the Ferrari 458 Italia. Production will be limited to just 5 cars, each bearing a unique build number plaque. Outside of this Limited Edition model, individual parts will also be made available for clients who do not require the complete package. With Jon Oakley’s motorsport background central to the company’s philosophy, any change, whether aerodynamic or mechanical, is only done for sound technical reasons.

2010 Ferrari Sports Cars 458 Italia

2010 Ferrari Sports Cars 458 Italia Tuning by Oakley Design production will be limited to just 5 cars, each bearing a unique build number plaque. Outside of this Limited Edition mode, individual parts will also be made available for clients who do not require the complete package.

With Jon Oakley motorsport background central to the company philosophy, any change whether aerodynamics or mechanical is only done for sound technical reasons.

Known for its customization programme for the Porsche 997 GT2, Oakley Design revealed today its tuning kit for the latest Ferrari 458 Italia. Because the car is quite perfect the tuning company decided to install a carbon-fiber front spoiler which adds 45kg of downforce over the front axle at 150mph (240km/h) but also a racecar style centrally positioned radiator vent designed to channel air out over the bonnet instead of under the car. And this is not all, as the tuning company installed new air exit ducts beside the headlamps.

Finally, a new rear spoiler with Gurney flap adds 25 kg of downforce over the rear axle at 150mph. This works together with the underbody diffuser to reduce the Italia overall drag by smoothing out the separating airflow. The only exterior alterations made for cosmetic reasons are the signature Oakley Design carbon fibre roof panel, mirror covers and engine cover insert below the rear window glass. These are matched in the engine bay by carbon-fibre panels covering the inner wings and rear bulkhead.

In order to optimize the sound of the engine, the car features a complete titanium exhaust system with triple outlet pipes and no bypass valve shaves a huge 30kg from the Italia’s aft section.

The design is completed by the 20-inch Oakley Design lightweight composite wheels which save a significant 8.0kg of unsprung weight per corner. For those who don’t know the standard 458 Italia comes with 570bhp and 540 Nm of torque but with some ECU tweaking the car delivers now 627bhp and 567 Nm of torque. With these numbers, the car ca sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.0 seconds (standard version can sprin in 3.4 seconds) and has a top speed of over 330 km/h. We have bad news though: the production of this customization programme will be limited to just 5 cars, each bearing a unique build number plaque.