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A Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 retrospective, by Gear Patrol

When we think of desirable Ferraris from the 1970s, the choices are somewhat thin. Obviously, there was the 365 GTB/4, better known as the legendary Daytona, but that was initially a product of the 1960s. Really, aside from the arrival of the stylish 308, the 1970s weren't a strong decade for Ferrari.
As Ferrari the brand grows, though, even some of its less-desirable cars are becoming popular among enthusiasts. Considering that, we should begin hearing more mid-70s Ferrari love, such as that being espoused by Anthony Rimicci, for his Dino 308 GT4.
As the first mass-produced, mid-engined V8 Ferrari, the Dino-badged 308 GT4 can best be thought of as the earliest ancestor to the 458 Italia (other mid-engined Ferraris, like the 250LM and 288 GTO are more akin to the Enzo and LaFerrari). It was also the final car in the Dino line, while many of the vehicles were rebadged as Ferraris, following lackluster sales.

Ford GT dominates Le Mans qualifying, gets slapped with performance adjustment

Fifty years after Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon drove the Ford GT40 to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford is poised for a historic return to the Circuit de la Sarthe. The new Ford GT took the top two qualifying positions in the LMGTE Pro class, and four of the top five. Ferrari's 488 filled in the rest of the spots in the top seven, the first two from AF Corse. In other words, we're primed for a reboot of the classic Ford-Ferrari feud at this year's race. Or not, as the ACO, which organizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, announced sweeping pre-race Balance of Performance (BOP) adjustments this morning that make this year's GT class anybody's race. In LMP1, last year's overall winner Porsche locked up the top two spots with the 919 Hybrid and will lead the entire field at race start. Toyota's two-car factory effort followed with qualifying times 1.004 and 2.170 seconds behind the pole lap. Audi rounds out the manufacturer-backed LMP1 class in fifth and sixth. Full qualifying results can be found here. The storyline for the GT cars is perfect - some say too perfect. Ford's class-leading times came after BOP adjustment to the Corvette Racing C7.R before qualifying. BOP is intended to level the playing field in the class by adjusting power, ballast, and fuel capacity. (Check out this explainer video for more, or even just if you love French accents.) But the process is riddled with unknowns and ripe for accusations of sandbagging. That is, if the Ford cars were intentionally slow in practice they could hope for BOP adjustment to improve their race chances. On the Corvette side, last year's GTE Pro winner went from the top of the field to the bottom, barely improving from practice to qualifying. If you think Le Mans is as rigged at the NBA Playoffs, well, it's not that simple. Because if Ford and Ferrari held back until qualifying - the eighth-place Porsche 911 RSR is three-and-a-half seconds off the class pole time - it was a pretty dumb strategy. This morning, the ACO tried to put things back in order by limiting the boost in the Ford GT's twin-turbo V6 and adding 11 pounds of ballast. Ferrari was also given extra weight but allowed more fuel capacity. The Corvette and Aston Martin teams were both given breaks on their air restrictors, which will allow their engines to make more power. Both Ford and Porsche also received extra fuel capacity.

2016 Ferrari FF mule sounds super snarly in Fiorano testing

There are innumerable advantages to a company having its own test track on premises like Ferrari has with Fiorano. The Scuderia may not be able to test its Formula One machinery much on the track these days, what with the limitations placed by the FIA, but the factory can still use the circuit to wring out the road-going machinery it has under development – to say nothing of opportunities for visiting customers, journalists and VIPs. But it also means that the paparazzi know where to look to see what the company has in the works. In this case, supercar videographer extraordinaire Marchettino caught a Ferrari FF prototype running some hot laps around Fiorano. But to what end, exactly, we don't know. With the 458 expected to be updated shortly, the twelve-cylinder, four-seat, all-wheel-drive FF will soon be the oldest model in the company's lineup (introduced as it was in 2011), which would ostensibly put it next in line for a refresh. There've been rumors of a more elegant roofline to replace the hatchback, and even an eight-cylinder version to bring the model down-market slightly – although that might bring it too close to the California T. We'll have to wait and see what Ferrari has in store for its first and only all-wheel-drive model. But as you can hear for yourself in the video above, the exhaust sounds pretty raunchy, even by Maranello standards.