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Father's ultra-rare Ferrari to leave family for a good cause

It isn't every day that the rarest of Ferrari models change hands. In fact, you can count your fingers to get the number of 275 GTB/4*S N.A.R.T. Spyders that ever existed. The 1967 Ferrari you see here is one of those ten Spyders, and it has stayed in the same family since it was bought new.
The car was bought through Luigi Chinetti, Ferrari's US importer at the time, by the late Eddie Smith Sr., a Ferrari collector and businessman from North Carolina. Smith kept it - and kept driving it - until the day he died six years ago. Since then, this remarkable machine has been collecting dust. Smith's son, Eddie Smith Jr., spent some time with Petrolicious to give a history of the car and explain why he and his family are going to do the one thing his father never could: sell it. The catch? All of the money it earns on the auction block will be donated to charity.
"It'll be a bittersweet thing, because we know the fact that all the money is going to charities that he would approve of," Smith Jr. said about his father, and it "will really make him smile, because he loved to give back."

Ferrari 488 GTB challenges that whole 'no replacement for displacement' thing [w/video]

You can't stand in the way of progress, even if you wanted to. And the current state of affairs in the automobile industry has everyone reaching for turbochargers. That includes even a company as famous for its wailing, high-revving supercars as Ferrari. The Prancing Horse marque has galloped in to the Geneva Motor Show this year on the back of the new 488 GTB. Replacing the 458 with its atmospheric 4.5-liter V8, the new 488 GTB packs a downsized turbo eight that may be smaller at 3.9 liters, but doesn't skimp on the power – now producing 661 horsepower and 560 pound-feet of torque to trump even the ultimate 458 Speciale. Compared to the new McLaren 675LT, the 488 packs almost as many horses but even more torque, and goes well beyond the Lamborghini Huracan by both measures. Even the new Audi R8 V10 Plus can't touch it. That's the kind of progress we can get behind, but there's more to the new 488 GTB than the turbocharged engine. It's also got revised electronics, updated bodywork, enhanced aerodynamics and a revised interior. Scope it out in our slideshow of live images from the floor of the Geneva Palexpo and in the video below. THE FERRARI 488 GTB – EXTREME POWER FOR UNIQUE DRIVING PLEASURE The innovative 8-cylinder berlinetta debuts at Geneva: new design, new engine and a plethora of patented solutions Geneva, 3 March 2015 – On its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show, the Ferrari 488 GTB sets a new benchmark for the sports car sector. Forty years on from the launch of Ferrari's iconic first-ever mid-rear-engined V8 berlinetta, the 308 GTB, the Ferrari 488 GTB opens a new chapter in the history of cars with this particular architecture. Credit for this achievement must go to the Ferrari 488 GTB's revolutionary proprietary solutions which deliver a car at the top of its class in terms of power output (670 cv) with engine and response times of just 0.8 and 0.06 seconds respectively. Sophisticated dynamic vehicle controls make this performance completely controllable even on the limit by drivers of all abilities, resulting in the unique driving pleasure that only a Ferrari can deliver. Ferrari drew extensively on its experience in both Formula One and endurance racing, bringing to the road the technology that delivered victory in two editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the title in the WEC (World Endurance Championship).

Stellantis wants to outfit cars with AI software to drive revenue

MILAN — Carmaker Stellantis announced a strategy Tuesday to embed AI-enabled software in 34 million vehicles across its 14 brands, hoping the tech upgrade will help it bring in 20 billion euros ($22.6 billion) in annual revenue by 2030. CEO Carlos Tavares heralded the move as part of a strategy that would transform the car company into a “sustainable mobility tech company,” with business growth coming from features and services tied to the internet. That includes using voice commands to activate navigation, make payments and order products online. The company is expanding existing partnerships with BMW on partially automated driving, iPhone manufacturer Foxconn on customized cockpits and Waymo to push their autonomous driving work into light commercial vehicle delivery fleets. StellantisÂ’ embrace of artificial intelligence and expansion of software-enabled vehicles is part of a broad transformation in the auto industry, with a race toward more fully electric and hybrid propulsion systems, more autonomous driving features and increased connectivity in automobiles. Ford and General Motors also are banking on dramatically increased revenue from similar online subscription services. But the automakers face immense competition for monthly consumer spending from movie and music streaming services, news outlets, Amazon Prime and others. Stellantis, which was formed from the combination of PSA Peugeot and FCA Fiat Chrysler, said the software would seamlessly integrate into customers' lives, with the capability of live updates providing upgraded services over time. New products will include the possibility to subscribe to automated driving features, purchase usage-based car insurance or even increase the power of the vehicle with a tune-up to add horsepower. As a baseline, Stellantis generates 400 million euros in revenue on software-generated services installed in 12 million vehicles. To meet the targets, Stellantis will expand its software engineering team of 1,000 to 4,500 in North America, Asia and Europe. More than 1,000 of the expanded team will be retrained in house. Stellantis also announced a new partnership with Foxconn to develop semiconductors to cover 80% of the companyÂ’s needs and simplify the supply chain. The first microchips from the partnership are targeted to be installed in vehicles in 2024.