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Ferrari F12 Berlinetta takes home 2014 Robb Report Car of the Year [w/video]

In what is being called an "unprecedented landslide decision," those who have the right to cast votes have anointed the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta as the 2014 Robb Report Car of the Year. Standout features that have helped the Ferrari earn such a runaway victory include its 0-60 blast of 3.1 seconds, its 211-mile-per-hour top speed and the exhaust note of its 731-horsepower V12 engine.
After being driven by a team of journalists and 100 or so members of the private Robb Report Club, the grand tourer beat out a total of 13 contenders that included the Audi R8 V10 Plus, Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster, Aston Martin Vanquish Volante, Bentley Continental Flying Spur, Jaguar F-Type V8 S, Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe, Maserati Quattroporte GTS and Dodge SRT Viper GTS.
This is the 21st year that Robb Report has selected a Car of the Year. Scroll down below for the official announcement and video, and feel free to read more about the F12 Berlinetta and some of its worthwhile competitors over at Robb Report.

Ferrari F12 gunning for GT-R's Nurburgring lap time?

Ferrari may not play the Nürburgring lap time game to the extent that Porsche, Nissan and Radical do, but it has been known to go for some lap times of its own. And now an F12 Berlinetta has been spotted lapping the Nordschleife in an apparent record attempt.
The F12 reportedly had the track all to itself for about an hour and a half, suggesting one of two possibilities: either Ferrari is testing an updated version, or it's going for a lap record with the existing version. While it's impossible to tell what may be going on under the sheetmetal, the communications equipment taped to the roof appear to be the only outward modifications, and would seem to indicate the latter more than the former.
In between warm-up and cool-down laps, the F12 reportedly lapped the circuit in 7 minutes and 48 seconds - which wouldn't be anything spectacular in and of itself, but that lap apparently included 40 seconds of cool-down between T13 and Hatzenbach, suggesting a possible 7:08 lap time. That's the time which Nissan recently recorded in the GT-R Nismo, indicating that Ferrari could be going for Godzilla's top time as the fastest front-engined, street-legal car ever to lap the 'Ring, ahead of the Dodge Viper ACR, Lexus LFA with the Nürburgring Package and Corvette ZR1 (but behind Ferrari's own track-bound 599XX, which clocked a 6:58 lap time four years ago).

Ferrari 488 GTB among the best car designs of 2016 [UPDATE]

Can't decide whether the Ferrari 488 GTB looks better than the 458 Italia it replaces? A design jury has make up its mind. The 2016 Red Dot design awards are being announced today, and Maranello's latest eight-cylinder, mid-engined supercar won top honors. The Red Dot Awards for Product Design recognize the best new products on the market across an array of categories and industries, including automobiles. This year's panel of 41 experts, including Chris Bangle and Ken Okuyama, evaluated some 5,200 designs. From those, they selected 1,304 for a Red Dot award, and only 79 as the "Best of the Best" – among them the new Ferrari. This is the second year in a row the Prancing Horse marque has been awarded the honor, having been earned an award for the FXX K last year. A full list of this year's honorees isn't yet available, and it's uncertain that other automakers will earn awards. Last year's list also included the Mazda MX-5, Mercedes-AMG GT, and Volvo XC90. The Peugeot 308 SW, if you can believe it, was the only car awarded Best of the Best in 2014, the Audi R8 in 2013, and the Renault Twizy in 2012. UPDATE: The Red Dot organization has released the full list of this year's product design honorees, with the McLaren 570S and Kia Optima also awarded among the Best of the Best. Red Dots were also awarded to the Audi A4, R8, and Q7, BMW 7 Series, M2, and X1, Fiat Toro, Hyundai Ioniq, Kia Sportage, Mercedes C-Class, Skoda Superb Estate, and Volvo S90. The jurists also gave Honorable Mentions to the Borgward BX 7, Genesis G90, Mini Clubman, Qoros 3 City SUV, and Smart Fortwo Cabriolet. The 488 GTB wins the Red Dot award The V8 sports car named "Best of the Best" Maranello, 30 March 2016 – The 488 GTB has won the Red Dot Best of the Best award for its design and innovative lines. This is the latest in string of plaudits garnered by the Ferrari Style Centre which also picked up several IF Design Awards in Munich, Germany, at the start of the month. On the latter occasion, the big winner was the FXX K (Red Dot Best of the Best 2015) which took home the Gold Award, the Hannover institute's top prize. However, the 488 GTB and 488 Spider also scored a double whammy at the same event with a Design Excellence Award apiece.