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FCA likely won't sell more than 10% of Ferrari stake

The initial public offering of Ferrari on the stock market is likely coming in the second or third quarter of this year, but apparently the exact stake of the Prancing Horse set to hit the exchange isn't final. When FCA first announced the plan to spin off Ferrari, the idea was for 10 percent of the stock to go on the open market in the US and maybe also in Europe. Another 10 percent would go to company vice chairman and Enzo's son Piero Ferrari, and the remaining 80 percent would be divided among current shareholders, including a large portion for the Agnelli family. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne hasn't finished tweaking those numbers, though. Last month, he indicated the automaker might put more than 10 percent of Ferrari on the market to boost liquidity. However, the original proposal has now returned to the table. "I don't believe we will go above 10 percent," Marchionne said, according to Automotive News, but also noted things weren't final. By increasing the Ferrari stock on the open market for the IPO, FCA decreases the amount going to current shareholders, according to Automotive News. With that being the case, don't expect too much of the Prancing Horse to be offered up to investors when the stock hits the market. Related Video:

$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.

Ferrari launches upgraded 458 Challenge Evoluzione

Want to drive an eight-cylinder, mid-engined Ferrari? Assuming you can get your lucky little hands on one, you can drive a 458 Italia, 458 Spider or new 458 Speciale on the street. But the real action is where the road ends and the racetrack begins. Ferrari's Corse Clienti division offers versions for GT2 and GT3 racing, for Grand-Am (likely to be revised for the new United SportsCar Championship), and, of course, for its own Challenge racing series.
It's the latter version that Ferrari revealed it was upgrading last week, and now it's made its debut at the tail end of the rain-soaked Finali Mondiali event at Mugello. Although Ferrari only released limited details and just the one new photo, the new 458 Challenge Evoluzione upgrades on its predecessor as promised with obvious aerodynamic enhancements.
Those upgrades are "aimed at making the car even more driveable" for the customer racers who take part in the series, and seem to bridge the gap (at least visually) between the previous 458 Challenge and the more extreme racing versions that have to contend with more competition than its own kind. The upgrades are being rolled out as a kit that will be obligatory in the various Challenge series that will kick off around the world next year.