2001 Ferrari 360 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Chris Harris wrings out Ferrari F40 and F50 on track

Chris Harris one of the most beloved of British automotive journalists, and yet Ferrari doesn't seem inclined to take him off its black list. Something about having shined the light on the way Maranello sets up its cars for press evaluations, years ago... So the only time the auto scribe and video host we know as Monkey gets his hands on a Prancing Horse-emblazoned steering wheel is when a private owner offers Harris a drive. Fortunately, that seems to happen all the time, but rarely in such a fashion as it has for this latest video.
Here the owner of not only an F40 but also its successor the F50 has lent Harris both of his anniversary-edition Ferrari supercars and insisted that he drive them aggressively. So off they went to the Anglesey circuit in Wales to see how these precursors to the Enzo and LaFerrari fare alongside one another decades after they first hit the road.

Ferrari 488 Spider turbocharges its topless way into Frankfurt

There's a droptop supercar for any wealthy buyer's style at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show. If the sharply styled Lamborghini Huracan LP 610-4 Spyder doesn't get your heart racing, Ferrari is in attendance, as well, to give the turbocharged 488 Spider a public debut. With either of them, buyers are getting an exclusive, Italian name and plenty of performance to keep the wind gusting through their hair. The major upgrade for the 488 Spider and the reason for the new name is the addition of Ferrari's 3.9-liter twin-turbo V8 to the droptop. Just like in the 488 GTB coupe, it makes 661 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque. The Prancing Horse claims its latest Spider can hit 62 miles per hour in about 3 seconds and 124 mph in 8.7 seconds. The retractable hardtop is pretty quick, too, and can open in just 14 seconds. A redesigned aluminum spaceframe offers the benefit of 23 percent better torsional rigidity compared to the 458 convertible. While the styling at the front is the same, the 488 Spider wears some beautifully sculpted nacelles behind the seats. They create a streamlined look that flows right down the tail in profile. The glass pane between them can be retracted in three positions, too, to adjust the amount of wind and sound in the cabin. The droptop also has a new engine cover with louvers on each side. Check out all the little details of the blue example from the Frankfurt show yourself in our image gallery above.

$80M Ferrari deal would make Vettel world's highest-paid sportsman

Formula One is in for a big shakeup next season, as the only two multiple World Champions on the grid are kicking off a game of musical chairs. Just who will end up where has yet to be figured out, but the overwhelmingly prevailing wisdom has Sebastian Vettel, who has already announced his departure from Red Bull, inking a contract with Ferrari worth 150 million pounds sterling for three years - that works out to over $80 million per year.
If the reports are true, that would make Vettel (pictured above with his assumed new teammate Kimi Raikkonen) the highest-salaried sportsman in the world. Compared to Vettel's rumored $80 million/year, soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo was paid $52 million last year and NFL quarterback Matt Ryan got $42 million, just ahead of soccer player Lionel Messi at $41.7 million. Boxer Floyd Mayweather was reportedly paid a whopping $100 million last year, but that's based on how many fights he fights and wins, putting him on a different earnings spectrum.
Those figures are also just for salaries, and do not include sponsorship and endorsement deals - and therein may lie part of the reason for Vettel's reportedly stratospheric salary. In addition to his salary from the Red Bull team with which he's won four World Championships, Vettel also pulls in a large retainer from Infiniti, which sponsors both the team and himself personally. In departing Red Bull, he'd undoubtedly have to sever the tie with Infiniti as well.