2013 Ferrari 458 Spider - $370k Msrp, One-owner, Rubino Miccalizato, Perfect Car on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Rain prolongs the Championship battle | 2016 Brazilian Grand Prix recap

Rain and an old-school circuit are the antidotes to Formula 1's constricting technical regulations and Tilke tracks. At Brazil's Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace – otherwise known as Interlagos – rain Saturday night and on race day washed away everyone's careful plans, except for those of the man at the front of the pack. Lewis Hamilton put his Mercedes-AMG Petronas ahead of the field throughout the weekend. On Sunday, a storm-delayed start behind the Safety Car assured Hamilton of a clean path to the lead and a clear track. The Briton didn't waste it, pulling out a gap on teammate Nico Rosberg behind, and Rosberg appeared to have no interest in going hard after Hamilton. Safety Cars and red flags kept resetting the gap to zero, though. After the Mercedes-AMG GT S led the first seven laps, it emerged again on Lap 13 for another six laps when Marcus Ericsson crashed his Sauber. Seconds after racing resumed, Kimi Raikkonen aquaplaned his Ferrari into the wall on the front straight. That caused the first red flag, leading to another eight-lap Safety Car interval, then a second red flag stoppage due to conditions on Lap 28, then three more Safety Car laps, and then, finally, racing again. Hamilton never surrendered his lead. The Briton changed tires once during a stoppage, and drove fast enough to cover the full race distance despite the intermissions. Afterward, he said "it was a very easy race." Rosberg had it harder, defending against the preternatural Max Verstappen in third. Barring misfortune it's already clear the Red Bull pilot has at least one Driver's Championship in his career future. In Brazil the young Dutchman drove like he's worthy of the hardware right now. After Verstappen passed Rosberg for second on Lap 34, the Red Bull driver pitted for intermediate tires on Lap 44 – a huge gamble in the conditions – coming back out in fifth. That tire wager failed, giving Rosberg a safe position in second when Verstappen had to pit for extreme wets on Lap 54 of 71. The teenager re-emerged in 16th. Over the race's final 17 laps Verstappen passed 13 drivers at six different places on track. He ran it close-but-clean a couple of times, especially when getting around Sebastian Vettel and Sergio Perez, but he was simply untouchable. Not only did the Dutchman score an amazing third place, he put in what could be the drive of the season.

Ferrari design contest winner is sleek Manifesto concept [w/videos]

Ferrari asked students at a selection of top design schools around the world to submit their best ideas, and this is the one that a jury of people close to the company unanimously chose as the winner. It's called the Manifesto, and it was designed by six students at the ISD-Rubika in Valenciennes, France. The sleek design features a single line extending from the nose, rising between the arched fenders, over the greenhouse, and back to the tail. The rear wheels are spaced from the tapering greenhouse in a manner not unlike those on the Ford GT. There's a snorkel air scoop on the roof, thin strips for head- and taillights, and a split cockpit that opens with canopy-like clamshell doors. The striking shape is rendered in black with red highlights, and appears to be propelled by some manner of jet engine. The jury was made up of designers, engineers, collectors, and drivers – including Paolo Pininfarina, Sebastian Vettel, Nick Mason, and Jay Kay. Despite their varied backgrounds, Ferrari says their decision was unanimous in singling out the Manifesto as the clear-cut winner. They also made special mention of the FL, a futuristic cockpit layout designed by Roman Egorov – a Russian student at the Hochschule Pforzheim in Germany. The results from an online poll also awarded the popular Premio Speciale to the de Esfera designed by three students from Hongik University in Seoul, South Korea. Check out the winners in the gallery above and the videos below. You can also review all the entries in the supplemental gallery at bottom, and if you think the jury made the wrong call, share your thoughts in comments. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Presenting Manifesto – The Ferrari of the future Winners of Top Design School Challenge announced Maranello, 15 January – The Manifesto, the FL and the de Esfera are the three winning models in the third Top Design School Challenge, in which four prestige institutes submitted three designs each of the Ferraris of 2040. The jury comprised Ferrari exponents in the broadest sense of the term from designers to engineers, drivers and even famous collectors: Nicola Boari, Franco Cimatti, Aldo Colonnetti, Rodolfo Gaffino Rossi, Jay Kay, Flavio Manzoni, Nick Mason, Andrea Militello, Paolo Pininfarina and Sebastian Vettel.

Ferrari rated world's most powerful brand ahead of Apple

Ferrari has nabbed the honor of becoming the world's most powerful brand from Apple. According to Brand Finance, the Italian automaker earned the highest rating among all brands on the Global 500 list despite being worth considerably less than its competition. But the ranking takes into account more than just a company's bottom line. Brand Finance also looks at margins, average revenue per customer and less tangible notions like brand affection and loyalty.
There's no disputing those latter two categories, and this year saw Ferrari enjoy the best financial results in the automaker's history. In 2012, the company's revenue jumped by eight percent to 2.43 billion euro thanks in part to a 4.5 percent increase in deliveries worldwide.
Meanwhile, Apple squeaked out ahead of Samsung to earn the top spot as the most valuable brand at $400 billion. You can check out the Brand Finance press release below for more information.