The weather was gorgeous the other day, so I decided to go cruise around for a bit. I went through Newtown because there is usually an exotic or two to be found there on such days. Sure enough, I find this amazing Ferrari F430 Scuderia parked in front of one of the most expensive restaurants in town. Enjoy the pics.
Continue reading Spotted! Ferrari F430 Scuderia, Newtown, PA
I remember when I was first coming down with my major case of the car bug, the Ferrari 360 was the first car I saw that had a paddle shift transmission. While the F1 gearbox was offered in the F355, the 360 was the first model where enough of the kinks had been ironed out to make it a viable alternative to the traditional manual. Technology has come quite a long way since then, and the 360 is no longer on the tip of the technological spear. But once a Ferrari, always a Ferrari, and it still has quite a lot of appeal for buyers on the secondhand market. With this context in mind, I went into my drive in this 360 Modena ready to judge how it stands in our current day and age.
The Tipo C 8C35 was one of the great Alfa Romeo racing cars that saw action under Scuderia Ferrari. This was before Enzo Ferrari had gone and started his own company, at the point in his life where he was making the transition from aspiring racing driver to successful team manager. Ferrari was always a fairly mediocre driver, but as a manager he became the legend we know him as today. It was awesome to see this Tipo C in action at the 2012 Lime Rock Historic Festival. It absolutely decimated its field of competition, doing its heritage proud. Enjoy the gallery.
Continue reading Lime Rock Historic Festival: 1935 Alfa Romeo Tipo C 8C35
Ferrari had their new F12 Berlinetta on display at the Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance. This was my first encounter with an F12 in person, and I must say it is gorgeous. The V12 grand tourers have always been my favorite Ferraris, yes even more than the hypercars. The F12 certainly did not disappoint with its first impression. Enjoy.
Continue reading Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance: Ferrari F12 Berlinetta
Underneath its unique Zagato body, this is an Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Sport racing car. The 6C 1750 Zagato Aprile is a one-off, and was built to its current form by its second owner, Guiseppe Aprile, after it was damaged. It was hidden during Word War II by its third owner, and kept locked away in for 50 years in the private collection of its fourth owner. It sits today in the hands of its fifth owner, who had it restored to its current glory, the way Guiseppe Aprile made it.
I was privileged to see this car in person at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance. It was a showstopper for sure, as many Alfa Romeos from this era are. Enjoy the gallery.
Continue reading Amelia Island Concours d’ Elegance: 1931 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Zagato Aprile
Ok, so yes, the name is a little weird, but it’s better than it being named after a Ford pickup truck. The basic details are 963hp, 600 ft/lbs of torqe, around 2900lbs, 0-60 in under 3 sec, and a top speed of 205mph. So it seems all of the same people who criticized the Mclaren for being “slow” will probably hate this because “The Veyron is faster, maaaaan”. For those of us who actually can appreciate real things about cars, we can all revel in the fact that the LaFerrari has taken a hefty 5 seconds off of the Enzo’s lap time at the Fiorano test track. I can’t wait to see, and hear, more about this car, but it definitely seems mighty impressive. Way to go Ferrari!
-Nick
This Pagani Zonda F has been custom painted with most people’s favorite caped crusader, Batman. Nothing more really needs to be said.
-Nick
So this whole controversy has erupted over whether Pagani “cheated” to get the Top Gear lap record. In the first episode of the new season the Pagani Huayra managed a lap time of 1:12.8, the fastest they’ve ever had. Now, in order for the lap to count, a car must be road legal. Clarkson defines this as “being able to get over a speed bump”, but it also applies to a car having street legal tires. People noticed that, during the lap, the Huayra’s tires had a different tread pattern than those you see above, and indeed the tires do look sort of similar to the track spec tires seen on a Zonda R.
Jalopnik reached out to Pagani for comment. Because Pagani is full of good people, unlike other companies, they responded nicely, and admitted that two separate tires had been used for the Top Gear shoot. Pagani maintained that the tires used for the lap are indeed street legal, though. Pagani has a very close relationship with Pirelli, and helps them to develop new tires. The general consensus, at this point, is that the Huayra was on street-legal versions of the Zonda R’s racing slicks, tires that were custom made for Pagani. So yes, Pagani did use better than standard tires for the winning lap, but they were street legal, if only just.
My opinion is that, so long as the tires used were street legal, then the lap should stand. Quite plainly, it is the responsibility of any automaker sending a press car to a big show, like Top Gear, to ensure their car is prepared in a manner that will give the best showing possible for their audience. Pagani was really just doing their job here, and doing it well, I might add. They pushed the rules, but they didn’t brake them, and they wound up with the fastest lap time. That people, is how competitions have been won throughout all of time, and I applaud them for their thoughtful preparation. More to show us all that Pagani possesses an uncompromising commitment to excellence in their work, and not even press car logistics are allowed to be a routine motion. This is exactly why Pagani is my favorite.
Also, the way people are talking about this, you’d think it was some big, important scandal. Everyone is acting like its the F1 World Championship, and the winning driver cut a corner for a pass on the final lap. People, Top Gear is purely entertainment, and this is hardly any sort of serious legal matter. If the tires are legal, the time counts, if they’re found not to be, then I’m sure they will remove it. In the end, it was just a great episode, and a great moment when the Huayra won the top spot. Can’t we all just leave it at that?
-Nick Walker
These were my first encounters with 458 Spiders while in Switzerland last summer. They had just hit the streets, and I’d assume Switzerland is one of the first places in the world to see its orders filled, given its proximity to Italy, and their immense wealth. Enjoy.
Continue reading Spotted! Ferrari 458 Spiders, Zurich, Switzerland
Someone who shot this video must be quite the music and car buff. For today, we have a Ferrari Enzo drifting around a bunch of dirt trails, set to the background music of Beethoven’s Symphony No.9, “Ode To Joy”. This is most definitely an ode to joy–it’s a drifting Enzo. I bet a lot of people are cringing at the sight of someone thrashing an Enzo, but this still some spectacular driving and camera work–even if one cameraman drops his camera at the very end. If you’ve got two minutes or three, watch this video–it’s a few minutes well-spent.
-Albert S. Davis
This pristine Ferrari 250 LM was in attendance for the 2012 Radnor Hunt Concours d’ Elegance. It is owned by the Simone Foundation Museum in Philadelphia, PA. The 250 LM came about when Ferrari finally decided to give up on front-engined GT racing cars. The 250P was the first mid-engined Ferrari that saw major success, and was a contemporary of the legendary 250 GTO in the early 1960s. Seeing the success of their rivals with mid-engined racing cars, Ferrari decided to end the 250 GT cars, and carry on competition with a development of the 250P. And with that, the 250 LM was born.
The 250 LM was very similar to the 250P, except it had a roof and was built from a higher gauge of steel. The LM used an enlarged version of the 250 GTO’s 3.0L V12. At 3.3L the LM’s V12 produced 320hp, and it only had to propel a car which weighed under 1900lbs, lighter than the GTO. The result was a car that was very fast, and despite being denied homologation as a GT class, it still saw success in the Prototype class. 250LMs won 10 out of the 35 races they competed in, and in 1965 the NART team won the Le Mans 24 Hours. This would be the final outright Le Mans victory for Ferrari to this day, ending an era of Ferrari dominance in the late 50’s, early 60’s.
A total of 32 250 LMs were produced, making it on par in rarity with the GTO, and certainly worth a solid fortune in its own right. Seeing a car like this up close, with no barriers to keep people away is a rare treat indeed. I stuck around after most people had left the show, and had the privilege of some quality, un cluttered photo time with this epic car. Enjoy the gallery below.
Many of you probably know about how Chris Harris exposed Ferrari’s rigging of press cars during magazine tests. Ferrari immediately blacklisted him after his article aired on Jalopnik (We did a reaction piece to it as well), which meant he would never be allowed to drive Ferrari press cars again, or purchase a brand new Ferrari for that matter too. Chris has had other ways of still getting Ferraris to road test, but this time he has actually landed himself one of Ferrari’s own press cars via some under-the-table means. The hilariousness of this video for me lies in how he proceeds to absolutely ring the car’s neck, beating the crap out of it on a racetrack like it is a Nissan drift car, or something. It would’ve been hilarious to see the angry looks of the Ferrari executives, in their well tailored suits, upon seeing this video.
I personally love Ferrari for who they are, arrogance included, but it is common sense that when you act the way Ferrari does towards people, they will take any chance they get to make a fool out of you. Needless to say, I will be laughing about this for the rest of the day. Another big win by the Drive Network and Chris Harris. Enjoy
-Nick
Mind Over Motor 