At the end of the morning after the Fourth of July, the mercury was slamming 112 degrees outside of Las Vegas, and it was nice and somewhat cool inside the tent with all the exotic cars I’d been driving. After prepping myself with a drive in a Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Superleggera, I had one car left. Thanks to the heat, the F430 Scuderia I’d wanted had gotten sunburned and whimpered back to its lair, but the newer 458 Italia in the tent was just tanning in the searing sun, ready for me to drive it. Of course I obliged, and found out what’s possible with a 562bhp V8 stuffed a few inches behind the back of my ears, other than making me nearly go deaf. Continue reading Ferrari 458 Italia Review, Al’s Take (GRADE: A)→
The only street legal Tumbler Batmobile around. This one IS a car!
We attended the 2014 Festivals of Speed at Amelia Island. There were some major cars in attendance with flavors to suit all tastes, everything from classic Ferraris to slammed VWs to the Batmobile you see above. These are the highlights of the event, and there is a lot more where this came from. Enjoy!
Here is the second part of our highlight reel from the 2014 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. It includes everything from the magnificent Ferrari 330 P3/4 you see above to the brand new McLaren P1 and Lamborghini Huracan. Also featured are the best in show award winners, a Horch 853 and a Scarab Mark II. The cars at this year’s show were truly incredible, and we literally were shooting photos from sunrise to sunset.
There were over 700 Lamborghini Miuras produced over a period of six years, but the car you see here is the one and only roofless example. Built by Bertone for the 1968 Brussels Auto Show, the Miura Roadster may well be the most stunning Miura of them all, with its vibrant, sparkling aqua-blue paint job.
We had the unexpected privilege of seeing this car up close at last year’s Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance. The Miura Roadster was in attendance as a part of Lamborghini’s 50 year anniversary celebration, and it even took the first place prize in the Lamborghini judging class. I had actually seen the car once before at Pebble Beach in 2008, but this time around I was able to get far better photos.
The one-off Miura Roadster set the precedent for the roadster versions of the Diablo, Murcielago, and now, the Aventador. Open-top V12 motoring is something we should all be glad exists. Enjoy the photos!
This beautiful Ferrari 250 GT SWB was at Festivals of Speed: Amelia Island last year. It is a stunning example of this iconic Italian racing car painted in Ferrari’s signature red. This classic Ferrari was one of many stunning cars at the show last year, and we are looking forward to attending this year’s event in a few weeks. I’m sure there will be much more where this came from. Till then, enjoy the photos.
Here we will be discussing the cars from the Pebble Beach Concept Lawn. Now that some time has passed since the 2013 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, we can see a little more of what has become of some of these incredible machines, or in some cases, more accurately, these cool ideas.
While out car spotting during Monterey Car Week, we caught this striking white Ferrari 430 Scuderia prowling the streets of Carmel, California. Naturally, with droves of exotics roaming the streets in the Monterey area, only the creme de la creme of cars stand out enough for us to raise our cameras. This Scuderia was definitely good enough with its custom gray accents. Enjoy.
If the Ferrari California was broken in any way at all, it has now been fixed with a healthy spoonful of forced induction. That’s right folks, you are looking at the first turbocharged Ferrari since the mighty F40, and it comes to us in the package of the “baby” model for the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. Well it seems that the baby has grown up because the California T’s new 3.9L twin-turbocharged V8 makes 552hp and 523ft/lbs of torque to the previous version’s 485hp and 372ft/lbs of torque…. if that isn’t a substantial increase, then I don’t know what is.
I drove the original version of the Ferrari California, the one with a measly 452hp and 358ft/lbs of torque, and I never once felt it was lacking for speed. This new California T is a major change, though, and not just because of the raw numbers. The real difference will be in the car’s drivability, now with all that extra torque available lower down in the rev range. It will be a Ferrari unlike any we have seen in quite some time, if ever.
I spotted this awesome looking Ferrari 599 GTO at Pebble Beach during Monterey Car Week. I was about to step into into a Jaguar F-Type V6 S for a drive when I heard a loud downshift with the unmistakable bark of a Ferrari V12. I quickly got my camera ready and caught the GTO right as it came into view. Great car.
1953 Ferrari 340/375MM Berlinetta Competizione at Amelia Island
Right at the entrance to the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, last year, was an RM Auctions booth with this majestic 1953 Ferrari 340/375MM Berlinetta Competizione on display. It was a sort of tangible promotion for the auction they would be running in Lake Como, Italy later in the year, and what a way to draw attention! As a well-decorated classic racing car, this Ferrari 340/375MM Berlinetta Competizione just screamed top-dollar, and it wound up selling for around $13 million (9,856,000 Euros).
Many may wonder what makes this car $13 million worth of “special.” Just remember that cars have become like fine art at this point, and historical significance plays a huge role in these astronomical values. Most notably this car, chassis number 0320AM, helped to propel Ferrari to victory in the 1953 Manufacturer’s Championship. While it only took first place at the 12 Hours of Pescara, this 340/375MM managed to accrue many solid finishes that helped Ferrari earn valuable points. In particular, it placed 6th in the infamous Carrera Panamericana, and the car set a record over a stage of the race that has yet to be broken — averaging 138mph over 223 miles on public roads (yes there was pedestrian traffic during many races back then). Now just imagine trying that in even a fast modern car, let alone one with 1950s era technology, like this Ferrari.
In this video from the The Smoking Tire, Matt Farah does a brilliant comparison between the Lamborghini Countach and the current Lamborghini Aventador Roadster. It is interesting to see how a now timeless classic compares to the latest and greatest V12 Supercar.
Mind Over Motor 