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Ferrari reveals LaFerrari-based FXX K in Abu Dhabi

Ever since Ferrari revealed the latest evolution of its flagship hypercar series with the debut of LaFerrari at the Geneva Motor Show last year, the question on everyone's mind – aside from how it would stack up against rivals like the McLaren P1 and Porsche 918 Spyder – is what it would look like in its ultimate, unhinged, track-focused iteration. But now we need wonder no more as the Prancing Horse marque has revealed the new FXX K. The what-letters-now, you ask? FXX K. The name is drawn from the Enzo-based FXX that kicked off the company's client development program the better part of a decade ago, but with an extra letter tacked on to signify the KERS hybrid system on board. In the FXX K, that system has been further optimized: the electric motor now delivers 187 horsepower (instead of 160) and the 6.3-liter V12 has been boosted to 848 hp (up from 789) for a total output of 1,035 prancing ponies – a solid increase from the 950 hp in the road-going LaFerrari, but at 664 pound-feet, it's down in the torque department by 51 lb-ft. Of course output isn't the end of the story, and as you can see the scarlet-clad engineers in Maranello have focused a considerable amount of energy on optimizing the aero package. The front end gets a two-part splitter derived from Ferrari's victorious GT racing program, with vertical fins along the flanks, side skirts extending between the wheels, a dynamic rear wing, vertical fin and a giant diffuser. All of this and more contributes to as much as 50 percent more downforce, aided by increased mechanical grip from the Pirelli racing slicks, with carbon-ceramic brake discs measuring 15 inches across (plus or minus, front to rear) to keep it all in check. Unveiled at Ferrari's Finali Mondiali event at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, the FXX K also boasts a recalibrated electronic differential, traction control, ABS, Racing SSC (Side Slip Angle Control) and a four-mode Manetinno dial on the center console to switch between levels of electric boost. In short, Ferrari has pulled out all the stops, and we wouldn't be surprised to see the FXX K taking the Fiorano lap record for anything this side of an F1 car. The record is currently held by the 333 SP at 1:11, nine seconds ahead of the road-going LaFerrari's 1:20. That's roughly the same differential between the FXX and the Enzo on which it was based, or the 599XX Evoluzione and the 599 GTO.

This rare vintage Ferrari is not like the others

This particular Ferrari profiled by Petrolicious is attached to many of the vital names we've come to associate with the brand, like Dino, Scaglietti, Ascari, and Formula 1. What it doesn't have is the kind of engine we've come to associate with Maranello: at the front of that delicious bodywork is a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 172 horsepower. The car is a 1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series II Scaglietti-bodied spider, its engine derived from the 2.0-liter engine used in the Ferrari 500 race car that Alberto Ascari used to win the F1 World Championship in 1952 and 1953. We can only wonder if any of today's cars will provide the same joy at being a barn find as this one did for its affable owner, retired US Navy Admiral Robert Phillips. He discovered it in the back of a dealership in 1960 - it had been sitting unused in Ohio and California for years - and almost walked away from it. He only bought it when he realized it had a four-pot engine. He paid two-thirds of his yearly salary at the time for it, the handsome sum of $2,225. In today's money that's about $18,000. Phillips says there are only three left with the original engines, so odds are that his car's value is exponentially more than the inflation-adjusted purchase price. One of them is going on the block with RM Auctions next month which looks a lot like this one, and they've listed it as "Price on Request." Phillips is our kind of owner, though - one who believes his car is meant to be driven, and who wants to pass it on to another driver when the time comes. His vehicle has quite the history, too, making its way to the Americas thanks to a call from the president of Venezuela to Enzo Ferrari. Check out the video for its beautiful story. Related Video:

Ferrari developing V-twin motorcycle engine?

When we read reports that Ferrari had applied for a patent on a V-twin engine design, our first thought was to check the date: this says the first of October, right... not April? And so here we are, entertaining the notion that Ferrari could be developing a motorcycle engine.
The report comes from Autocar, which claims to have dug up the application to patent the design for an "internal combustion engine having two cylinders, which are arranged in a 'V' configuration." In other words, a motorcycle engine. The application reportedly goes on to describe a balancing shafts to reduce vibration. Our own research did not lead us to find the application in question, so we'll have to take it with a grain of salt for the moment. But supposing it's all on the up and up, and that Ferrari was actually developing a motorcycle engine. Would that be so out of the ordinary?
Well, yes and no. Parent company Fiat, which is taking increased direct control of Ferrari, is undoubtedly looking at rival Volkswagen and its recent acquisition of Ducati (putting it in close proximity to Lamborghini) and would be keen to get in on that action. However tenuous the relationship, Lotus has also recently authorized a motorcycle bearing its name. And of course automakers like BMW and Honda, with which Ferrari has competed on and off the race track, also make motorcycles.