2013 Ferrari Cabriolet on 2040-cars

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Ferrari looking to become even more exclusive

While most automakers are clawing and scratching for every possible sale, it sounds like Ferrari is content in losing a few potential customers in the name of better exclusivity and higher profits. Autocar reports that Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo recently stated that the Italian automaker hopes to sell fewer than 7,000 units globally in 2013 compared to last year's tally of 7,318.
As a part of this plan, Ferrari will be slowing its production lines and trying to create a balanced market for its cars in the US, the Middle East, Europe and China - the latter two being the automaker's biggest markets. Montezemolo also said that Ferrari would not be expanding its model lineup with SUVs, sedans or small cars.

$3M Ferrari FXX K already sold out [w/videos]

When Ferrari took the wraps off its new FXX K track machine in Abu Dhabi last week, it conspicuously left out some key details. Sure, the Prancing Horse marque told us how much power it produced, and what it had done to the aero package to make it hug the track even closer than the road-going LaFerrari on which it's based – but it didn't tell us just how fast it will go, or how much it will cost. The latest reports, however, seek to fill in those blanks. According to Ferrari marketing chief Nicola Boari in speaking to Top Gear, the FXX K will lap the company's Fiorano test track in 1 minute 14 seconds. That would make it five seconds faster than the LaFerrari, a solid second ahead of the 599XX Evoluzione and two seconds faster than the original FXX. However it seems to fall short of the eight- to nine-second gap those previous XX derivatives opened up over the road-going models on which they in turn were based. So it seems, for the time being at least, that the 1:11.9 lap time recorded by the 333 SP – an open-cockpit sports prototype from the late 1990s – will remain for now the fastest car this side of an F1 racer ever to lap the circuit. The outright record stands at under 56 seconds and belongs to Michael Schumacher in the ten-cylinder F2004 he drove to his seventh and final world championship. As for the FXX K's production, Top Gear reports that Ferrari will build fewer than 40 of them, and that they've all been spoken for – at a price of ˆ2.5 million (more than $3M) apiece. If you're not one of those forty fortunate souls to have put down their deposit, your best chance to see this rare beast in its natural habitat (at least until one of the XX track days hits a race track near you) are the live images above and the handful of videos below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Leno drives Henry Ford II's all-original '52 Ferrari 212 Barchetta

The story of the relationship between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari is absolutely fascinating. The two great men of the auto industry had what appeared to be a burgeoning friendship until Ferrari pulled out of a deal to sell his company to Ford in the '60s. The latest car featured in Jay Leno's Garage is a 1952 Ferrari 212 Barchetta that tells the very beginnings of that story.
This Prancing Horse was a gift to Ford from Enzo when the two companies were first thinking about merging, according to the curator of the Petersen Automotive Museum. Ferrari really wanted to show off its best so instead of the 212's normal V12, this car was fitted with the larger 2.7-liter unit from a Ferrari 225. The car has been almost unaltered since then. It still wears its original paint, and it's tires date back to 1954.
The great thing about the Petersen is that unlike a lot of auto museums, the people there actually drive the cars and keep them in working order. Once on the road with Leno behind the wheel, this Ferrari really sings. Unfortunately, he can't open it up too much because the 60-year-old tires really hold things back. Scroll down to watch this amazing piece of automotive history and learn it's possible effect on the styling of the original Ford Thunderbird.