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Weekly Recap: Ferrari, Ford and Porsche power up for Geneva

Monday was Groundhog Day. Tuesday, apparently, was Sports Car Day. The Ferrari 488 GTB, the Ford Focus RS and the Porsche Cayman GT4 all debuted within hours of each other ahead of their rollouts at the Geneva Motor Show. Three sporty machines, three vastly different approaches – and a lot of implications for enthusiasts. That's a day worth repeating. It also illustrates the opportunities automakers see in the performance market, which is expected to grow in the coming years. Ford estimates the segment has expanded 14 percent in Europe and surged 70 percent in North America since 2009. The Detroit Auto Show was evidence of this, and performance cars of every stripe debuted, including the Acura NSX, Ford GT, Alfa Romeo 4C Spider and several others. This isn't a fad. Performance cars aren't going away. The question is why? Stricter CAFE standards are looming in the United States, as are tighter emissions regulations in Europe. And no one expects gas prices to remain low in America. None of this matters for sports cars, and automakers are increasingly using them to elevate their images. That's why Dodge rolled out two 707-horsepower Hellcats last year. It's why Ford has decided to resurrect the GT for road and track. It's why in the depths of bankruptcy, General Motors continued work on the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, not to mention the Z06. "Great brands are made one car at a time," Ford of Europe president Jim Farley said at the reveal of the Focus RS. Still, companies make those cars for different reasons. View 5 Photos Mainstream brands like Ford and Dodge want to build cars that get people talking, excite their bases and drive more potential customers into the showroom. They probably don't buy a Focus RS or a Hellcat, but suddenly the regular Focus hatch looks a bit hotter, and that V6 Charger seems to be just a touch more muscular. The halo of performance is alive and well in the eyes of automakers and their customers. "It's one of the most effective catalysts for ingenuity and innovation," said Joe Bakaj, vice president of product development for Ford of Europe. That also leads to a trickle-down effect. Some of the technologies inevitably make their way to other products. It's hard to think the new all-wheel-drive system in the Focus RS that distributes torque front to rear and side to side won't be used in other vehicles. It's different for Ferrari and Porsche.

Race Recap: Canadian F1 Grand Prix is one story with a thousand dramas

There were rain and wind and sun, sometimes all at once. There was the Wall of Champions. There was nothing happening in first place and nothing happening back in sixth during the race, but everywhere else - from the time the weekend began - it was surprises, passes, spins, more passing, flying carbon fiber and finally a couple more last-minute surprises. The Canadian Formula One Grand Prix was a proper race for all the right reasons... well, except for the part where the crowd booed the winner.

Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas assemble by the shore at Pebble Beach

Seeing one Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many people because so few exist, and those that do generally trade hands for tens of millions of dollars. At this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, there are 20 of these amazing rarities lined up next to each other.
Situated right on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, you can actually hear the waves lapping against the rocks during the quiet moments. Just a few feet away these thoroughbred Prancing Horses are on display and being polished to perfection. The Testa Rossas represent some of the most important historic racers in the world, and the mix here include a prototype, a Le Mans winner and models that counted drivers like Phil Hill and Dan Gurney behind the wheel.
Not all Testa Rossas were created equal, though. Ferrari built both factory racing and customer versions, and they came with curvaceous bodies from Scaglietti and a bit more angular look with dual snouts from Fantuzzi. Many of them also had further modifications from there to make each one about as unique as a snowflake. Check out our fabulous gallery of all 20 of these beautiful red heads on display together.