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Robert De Niro cast as Enzo Ferrari in new film

In one of Robert De Niro's early defining roles, he portrays a young Vito Corleone as a man climbing up the ranks of the New York underworld in flashbacks during The Godfather: Part II. Soon, we might see De Niro stepping into the shoes of a godfather from the Italian sports car industry in a biopic about Enzo Ferrari. According to The Guardian, De Niro recently told an Italian newspaper that the film would go into production soon and would shoot in Italy. This project apparently holds a high priority for him, and in addition to starring, De Niro's company is co-producing. It could be a while before we see the film in theaters because the script is still being written. We're also told that Clint Eastwood might sit in the director's chair, if he likes the story. Ferrari had a life every bit as fascinating as many fictional characters with stints as a racecar driver, an engineer and of course a canny businessman. He also held a long passion for motorsports, which could make for some very exciting scenes. According to The Guardian, the film would focus on Ferrari's life from around the founding of his sportscar company in the mid '40s through to his death in the late '80s. With characters like Jake Lamotta in Raging Bull and Sam Rothstein in Casino under his belt, De Niro certainly has shown the chops to portray a larger-than-life figure like Ferrari. Hopefully, he has retained the clout to get the film finished, though. Similar motorsports biographies haven't made it to the screen, such as the supposed Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise flick Go Like Hell or the Mad Men-inspired TV show about sports car racing in the '50s and '60s. Related Video:

2016 Ferrari FF mule sounds super snarly in Fiorano testing

There are innumerable advantages to a company having its own test track on premises like Ferrari has with Fiorano. The Scuderia may not be able to test its Formula One machinery much on the track these days, what with the limitations placed by the FIA, but the factory can still use the circuit to wring out the road-going machinery it has under development – to say nothing of opportunities for visiting customers, journalists and VIPs. But it also means that the paparazzi know where to look to see what the company has in the works. In this case, supercar videographer extraordinaire Marchettino caught a Ferrari FF prototype running some hot laps around Fiorano. But to what end, exactly, we don't know. With the 458 expected to be updated shortly, the twelve-cylinder, four-seat, all-wheel-drive FF will soon be the oldest model in the company's lineup (introduced as it was in 2011), which would ostensibly put it next in line for a refresh. There've been rumors of a more elegant roofline to replace the hatchback, and even an eight-cylinder version to bring the model down-market slightly – although that might bring it too close to the California T. We'll have to wait and see what Ferrari has in store for its first and only all-wheel-drive model. But as you can hear for yourself in the video above, the exhaust sounds pretty raunchy, even by Maranello standards.

Ferrari stock sale pegged for October, or later

The Ferrari IPO is still coming, but it won't be before Columbus Day (Monday, October 12, that is), according to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne. The outspoken exec is blaming tax reasons for the fourth-quarter date, according to a report from Reuters. Marchionne said a full year needed to pass between FCA's October 13, 2014 Wall Street debut and any additional listing. This isn't the first delay in the Ferrari IPO. FCA was originally supposed to make a 10-percent offering of Ferrari during second or third quarter of 2015, before officially pushing things back to the third quarter of this year. Now, it's unclear if Ferrari will even go public before the dawn of 2016. Related Video: News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Marco Vasini / AP Earnings/Financials Government/Legal Chrysler Ferrari Fiat Sergio Marchionne FCA fiat chrysler automobiles