1985 Ferrari 308 Gtb Quattrovalvole Coupe 2-door 3.0l on 2040-cars

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How this Ferrari 250 GTE became Rome's most famous police car

We're used to seeing fancy cars gifted to or bought by certain international police forces today, but the story of this 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE goes well beyond a gift. Because Rome's anti-organized-crime unit, Squadra Mobile, was doing a terrific job in the early '60s, the Italian president asked what they wanted as a token of appreciation. The answer, meant as a joke, was "A Ferrari." The president, in all seriousness, got them two.
One was almost immediately destroyed during testing, the other remains in the care of Alberto Capelli today, whose father began attending military and government auctions just after World War II. Petrolicious visited Capelli to hear the 51-year-old tale of the most precious cop car you're going to see for a while, and it involves outlaws, a French gangster in a Citroën, a policeman who was offered a spot on the Ferrari factory team by Enzo himself, and more. It's a fantastic yarn, and you can watch the whole story below.

First test of Formula 1 shield cut short, Vettel reports dizziness

At this weekend's Formula One British Grand Prix, Ferrari driver and four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel tested the "shield," a polycarbonate canopy intended to protect a driver in an accident. Teams have tested other protective devices like the "halo," but Vettel was the first to trial the new shield. In theory, the shield would protect from debris like a loose wheel or a bouncing spring without hampering visibility. Unfortunately, Vettel called it quits early after getting dizzy out on the track. There has been a big push in recent years to make the sport safer for drivers, especially after the death of Jules Bianchi in 2015. In 2009, Felipe Massa missed much of the season after being hit in the head by a broken suspension part. The shield is essentially a windshield or canopy, protecting the driver from anything coming into the car. The open top allows the driver to escape quickly. Vettel said the curvature of the shield distorted his vision and made him dizzy. He also complained about irregular airflow coming over the shield on the back straight, forcing his head forward. We'll have to wait to see how things develop. The FIA is determined to introduce some sort of head protection, but the current solutions are proving difficult to implement. Related Video:

Ferrari IPO may turn out to be good news for enthusiasts

Sergio Marchionne's strategy to spin off Ferrari from FCA and make the Italian automaker a publicly traded company has been met with ire from a vocal contingent of enthusiasts ever since rumors about the plan began to surface a few years ago. Some of these particularly pessimistic automotive pundits have voiced fears that with stockholders in the mix, it would not only spell the demise of the exclusive Italian supercar maker as we know it, but would in fact "ruin" the company. Call me dense, but I fail to see what the issue is. That isn't to say that I don't understand what's causing the fear. When profitability becomes a higher priority for a brand that's historically relied on exclusivity to keep its products in the highest echelons of desirability, there's a high potential for internal philosophical conflict. And then there are concerns about the sorts of products that Ferrari might develop that aren't the high-performance sports cars that the brand is known for. But individuals with those apprehensions seem to forget that Ferrari has already lent its name to a multitude of things that are not LaFerraris, 488 GTBs, or F12 Berlinettas, including clothing, headphones, and even laptops. But let's assume for a moment that the core anxiety is about future vehicles – including the unspeakable notion that Ferrari might develop an SUV. Why wouldn't Ferrari build an SUV, especially after seeing how incredibly successful that endeavor has been for Porsche? I think it's likely that Ferrari will put engineers to task creating some sort of crossover or high-rolling cruiser with room for the whole family at some point in the near future. And why wouldn't it, after seeing how incredibly successful that endeavor has been for Porsche? After all, the Cayenne accounted for more US sales in 2013 than the Boxster, Cayman, 911, and 918 combined, and it only gave up about a thousand units of sales last year to make room for the Macan crossover, the latter of which Porsche sold nearly as many of as it did Boxsters and Caymans. People want these vehicles, and they're willing to pay quite a bit of money for them. If we use Porsche's recent trajectory as a foreshadowing metric for what's in store for Ferrari, the future actually looks pretty good. After all, those SUV sales keep plenty of cash in Porsche's coffers for the low-volume projects that we enthusiasts love, like the 918 Spyder and the 911 GT3 RS.