FORUMula1.com - F1 Forum

[sagi58]

Matthew Jones (06 June 2012) wrote:">Ferrari 250 GTO sells for $35M
Stirling Moss’ Fez is now the most expensive car… in the world



Ettore Bugatti once opined that nothing is too beautiful, nothing is too expensive. But even he may have baulked at the price of Sir Stirling Moss's apple-green 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. It just sold for $35 million. THIRTY FIVE MILLION BUCKS.

That's 22 Bugatti Veyrons. Or 79 Rolls-Royce Phantoms. Or 2834 VW Ups. Or entire towns in the North of England.

So, what do you get in exchange for £22,661,065? A one-of-39 GTO - y'know, the one Jeremy Clarkson really, really likes - built for racing driver, Sir Stirling Moss.

But he didn't actually race it. Chassis number 3505, painted in the pale-green color of Stirling Moss's UDT-Laystall race team, was sculpted for him just before he suffered career-ending injuries in crash on April 23, 1962, at Goodwood.

It has raced, though. British driver Innes Ireland pedaled it at the 1962 24 Hours of Le Mans, but it didn't finish. Its main victory came when Ireland ran the GTO at Goodwood to win the 100-lap Tourist Trophy.

So what sort of a person buys a $35 million car? According to the car-dealer website Anamera.com, accessed by Bloomberg U.S, car collector Craig McCaw swapped his millions with Dutch-born businessman Eric Heerema.

The green GTO had been acquired by Heerema ten years ago for around $8.5 million from the Japanese collector Yoshiho Matsuda. He also owned the 250 belonging to Chris Evans, which James drove last season.

Before the GTO, the world's most expensive ever car was a 1936 Type 57SC Bugatti Atlantic, which sold for between $30 million and $34 million to Peter Mullin, owner of the Mullin Automotive Museum in Los Angeles.

[sagi58]

Here it is, courtesy of YouTube:

[youtube]vJj3A7iHiBw[/youtube]

[sagi58]

 wrote:">Most Expensive Car Crash? Christopher Cox Gets In Accident With $30 Million Ferrari

Ferrari known as the Picasso of the motoring world and worth an estimated $30 million was involved in a crash in France last week, earning the incident the title of "most expensive car crash ever," the British newspaper Metro is reporting.

The banged-up Ferrari, a blue and yellow 250 GTO, is reportedly owned by U.S. businessman Christopher Cox, who was taking part in the 50th anniversary celebration of the rare model when the accident occurred.

Sports Car Digest reports just 36 Ferrari GTOs were made between 1962 and 1963. Three additional versions of the car, dubbed the 'Series II' were built in 1964, which means just 39 GTOs were ever made. The cars' values can be north of $35 million.

According to Metro, the GTO birthday festivities included a five-day tour through France, and participants included other Ferrari owners, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Maso among them. Drivers were en route to the town of Le Mans when Cox's vehicle was hit by another car.

According to the Sun, Cox's Ferrari was once red but had been painted blue with a yellow stripe down the middle back in 1963, in honor of the Swedish race car driver Ulf Norinder. Cox purchased the car in 2005. According to CNBC this isn't the first time it's been in a crash; the vehicle was in another accident in 1976.

CNBC also reports that, lucky for Cox, the accident won't damage the car's value.

“If a car is properly restored, damages don't necessarily affect the value, especially in the circumstance of a rare Ferrari 250 GTO,” David Gooding, president the automobile auction company Gooding & Company, told the news outlet.

The total cost of Cox's crash remains to be seen, but the last accident to earn the "most expensive car crash" title resulted in millions of dollars in damages. In December, eight Ferraris, three Mercedes and a Lamboghini collided in Japan, with the incident estimated to have cost between $1 and $4 million.

[sagi58]

This is it, before the accident:

[youtube]l_RvG5QYpQI[/youtube]

[sagi58]

Dirk de Jager (8/27/2012) wrote:">




In the early years of Ferrari's existence, the company experimented with all sorts of engine types, especially for its sports cars. In 1954, it focused mostly on four-cylinder engines. But luckily for Ferrari, at the end of 1955, the Lancia racing department was closed, and Vittorio Jano together with Andrea Fraschetti returned to the Prancing Horse stable.

With Jano's influence with il Commendatore, he managed to get approval to build a V12 again for racing. The new creation was a 3.5-liter mill cranking out a stunning (at the time) 320 hp at 7,300 rpm. The engine was placed in an evolution of the 250 chassis that was dubbed the 290 Mille Miglia, as the cars are specifically prepared for the famous Italian road race.

In the end, the factory built just four of these brutes, and chassis No. 0626 that you see here was prepared for the Maestro himself: Juan Manuel Fangio. This is the car he drove in what turned out to be his last Mille Miglia.

Today, just two 290MMs remain in their original form, as one was destroyed when it burned following a severe crash while another model was rebodied in the 1970s.

1956 was Fangio's first (and only) year racing for Ferrari, so he after he received No. 0626, he entered the Mille Miglia as one of the top contenders for overall victory. Unfortunately, the 1,000-mile dash across Italy was done in a heavy rain from start to finish. That made the drive for Fangio difficult and prevented him from using the car's full capabilities.

Running without a co-driver didn't make the journey any easier, either. In the end, he came in fourth after more than 12 hours of flat-out racing. This placed him 50 minutes behind the overall winner, Eugenio Castellotti, driving another 290MM. Castellotti's car is the other 290MM that still exists.

In between them where two more Ferraris, both 860 Monzas—basically the four-cylinder versions of the 290MM with about 40 hp less.

This was the only time Fangio drove this machine, yet the car went on to be piloted by some of the greatest drivers of the day. A month later, the car was at the Nürburging 1,000 Kilometers driven by Phil Hill and Ken Wharton until it was commandeered by the primary team of Alfonso de Portago and Olivier Gendebien.

At Rouen, it is de Portago again behind the wheel, and at the final race of the season at Kristianstad in Sweden, Count Wolfgang Von Trips and Peter Collins were the drivers.

After that, No. 0626 was sold to its first private owner, Temple Buell, who put his star driver, Masten Gregory, in it. During his first race at the Buenos Aires 1,000-kilometer, Gregory is paired up with Cesare Perdisa until again the car gets commandeered by the factory drivers Luigi Musso and Castellotti. They take No. 0626 to its only overall victory.

The rest of the season, the car doesn't fare well, even with the talented Jo Bonnier behind the wheel. Early in 1958, the car is sold again and ends up being used sporadically for local racing.

In 1970, the car gets a new lease on life after Pierre Bardinon from the Mas du Clos collection buys the car and restores it. But it won't be seen very often until the British owner who has the car today manages to buy No. 0626 from the famous long-term French collection in 2004.

After this, the car gets prepped for usage and is seen regularly in British events and even back at the Mille Miglia. It is with Ferrari specialist Terry Hoyle that we find the warhorse just an hour outside of London. He knows of a place where we can do the road test and photo shoot. When standing at the local gas station with a car like that, you always tend to attract some attention, yet we were both astonished when a man stopped next to us, got out of the car and said, “Hey, nice-looking E-type, gents.” Amazing. The Cavallino Rampante insignia on the side isn't big enough?

Once behind the wheel of the car, it is surprising how much room there is. This is, after all, a racer from the 1950s.

The clutch itself is very easy. Gently lift off it, and the car drives off very smoothly. The biggest surprise comes as soon as you get past 2,200 rpm. It is then that the whining of the straight-cut gears overpowers the engine note, and for the next 2,000 rpm it's all you hear. Even the slightest conversation with the passenger is impossible without yelling.

This is a bit of a shock, since while following the car, all you hear is that glorious V12. The usability of that big engine, even as low as 1,200 rpm, is quite surprising. Just hit the throttle and off it goes, with no need to grab a lower gear. After that, the needle will willingly keep on climbing till redline. Below 4,500 rpm, the car drives smoothly, is very tractable and actually feels very much like a wonderful rally car. But once you wind it up above 5,000 revs, you're reached the territory where the brute warrior comes alive. It doesn't take much imagination to see Fangio behind the wheel trying to master all that power as he screams across the Italian landscape.

[sagi58]

Italiansupercarvideo wrote:">Here's the video of the beautiful Ferrari Tribute to 1000 Miglia, which was held for the third consecutive year. The cars of the"prancing horse", about 150, passed about an hour ahead of the parade of historic cars. The cars in the video were taken on arrival of the first stage in Ferrara, with the passage at night in the historic center. The magnificent wide Cavour avenue was ideal ground to see them in all their power!

[youtube]ylsAA9mZzQI[/youtube]

[sagi58]

Jonathon Ramsey (Jul 26th 2012) wrote:">What 60 Ferrari F40s look (and sound) like

It isn't clear if Ferrari's London office was able to marshal a record-breaking 1,000 prancing horses for this year's Silverstone Classic, but there was another record broken: 60 F40s in one place lapping the Silverstone track on the supercar's 25th anniversary.

You'll find a video below from YouTube user Munch997 with footage of the parade and the paddock, as well as a press release and high-res photos. According to one of the commenters who was supposedly driving one of those F40s, there were actually 62 that showed up on the day. Which makes it an even better, redder record.

[youtube]kqDrL0-5HOY[/youtube]

[spankyham]

Those 250's are iconic. I remember how impressed I was with them - the look, the power.

[sagi58]

Perry Stern wrote:">1967 Ferrari sells for 27.5 million dollars

New world record for a road-going car sold at auction.



A 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spider went up for auction Friday night at RM Auctions in Monterey, Calif., and sold for an amazing $27.5 million, making it the most expensive road-going car of any kind sold at auction.

The 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spider is one of the world’s rarest Ferraris, with only 10 ever built. The car was commissioned by Ferrari’s American importer, Luigi Chinetti. This particular car is even rarer for the fact that it has been in the same family since it was new.

The price of $27.5 million establishes a new world record for a Ferrari sold at public auction.

Furthermore, all proceeds from the sale will be donated to charitable causes close to the heart of the late owner, Mr. Eddie Smith Sr.

When this model was new, it was unlike anything Ferrari had built before. Road & Track magazine called it “the most satisfying sports car in the world” and featured it on their cover. In fact, the 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spider was the first chassis that had been raced by Denise McCluggage and Pinkie Rollo very successfully at Sebring, and it was later featured in the Steve McQueen film "The Thomas Crown Affair." McQueen loved the car so much that he bought his own example.

In speaking with RM Auctions recently, McCluggage commented, “I love the look of the car, and it’s absolutely perfect for all the great driving events, from the Colorado Grand to the California Mille. Even with the top down, you can outrun the rain and stay perfectly dry.”

The 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T Spider features a 300-horsepower overhead cam V12 engine, 5-speed manual transmission, independent suspension, 4-wheel disc brakes and a tubular steel frame. This particular vehicle was fully restored to perfect condition and remains one of the most desirable Ferraris on the road.