2008 Ferrari 599 Gtb. White Over Black. 8500 Miles. 350k Msrp. Carbon Fiber. on 2040-cars

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Ferrari design challenge looks for the supercar of 2040

Ferrari launched a design contest to imagine what one of its cars might look like in 2040. Some 50 schools entered from around the world, and now that list has been whittled down to four. The finalists are: the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Hongik University in Korea, Hochschule Pforzheim in Germany, and the ISD-Rubika in France. Each school was invited to prepare three designs and spent the last year preparing them for final evaluation. The total of 12 entries are presented here from multiple angles in the gallery above. They range from the realistic to the fantastic, and while some were rendered in black, silver, or white, naturally most were imagined in the marque's signature red. The point in showing them to you is that the public gets to vote for their favorite. The winner will be awarded the Premio Speciale by popular choice. The Gran Premio, however, will be selected by a jury that includes Sebastian Vettel, Paolo Pininfarina, and musician-collectors Jay Kay (frontman of Jamiroquai), and Nick Mason (of Pink Floyd fame). The winners will be named on January 15, so cast your vote now on the dedicated Facebook page. What will the Ferraris of 2040 be like? The Top Design School Challenge enters its final phase Maranello, 4 December 2015 – What seemed like the wildest science fiction in the days of Jules Verne has been more than surpassed by modern invention. Maybe in a quarter of a century's time, we'll be saying the same about a slew of present-day projects that endeavour to envisage the Ferraris of the future. We are talking, of course, about the 12 models to have reached the finals of the Ferrari Top Design School Challenge. Also run in 2005 and 2012, this is the third outing for a competition in which the world's most prestigious design institutes vie for supremacy. Around 50 schools were considered in the first round and this number was then whittled to eight before four third-level institutes (spread across three continents) were selected as finalists.

Ferrari reports fewer sales, more profit to prove strategy is working

Ferrari's angle of emphasizing exclusivity by limiting deliveries is appearing to bear fruit. The company posted a 7.1-percent increase in revenues to 1.7 billion Euros ($2.2 billion at today's exchange rates) during the first half of 2013. Net profits, meanwhile, saw a jump of 20 percent to 116.2 million Euros ($153.5 million). The Prancing Horse delivered 3,767 cars, which, while an increase of 2.8 percent, represents a rate of growth that's slower than in the first quarter of 2013.
While Ferrari may be actively trying to slow its sales down to below 7,000 in 2013, it's seen increased numbers in the US, Great Britain and Germany, along with double-digit growth in the Middle East and Japan (39 percent and 28 percent, respectively).
The move to limit sales should have a greater impact on the numbers that come in later this year, which we told you about back in May. Ferrari's controversial move has already seen a drop in sales to China, which saw 50 fewer Prancing Horses than this time last year.

Ferrari F12 races Air Malta A320 jet

Air Malta recently worked up a little stunt that pitted an Airbus A320 against a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta in a drag race to raise funds for charity. It's easy to forget just how quick something the size of a jetliner can be, but watching the video below shows us just where the big passenger aircraft stands when it comes to sprinting down a runway. We won't spoil the clip for you, you'll just have to check out the showdown below.
Air Malta says it raised over 178,820 euro with the stunt, which is around $230,000. That's despite the fact that intermittent rain showers kept crowds away. Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton even stopped by to say "Hi" to the crowds. He wasn't piloting the F12, however. Check out the video below for yourself.