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Ferrari completes two-year restoration of fire-damaged 225E

See this classic Ferrari? It looks pretty good, right? Well it didn't a couple of years ago, having been all but destroyed in a fire. But the Ferrari Classiche department completed a comprehensive two-year restoration process that's left it looking as good as (if not better than) new. The vehicle in question is a 1952 Ferrari 225E, one of the earliest sports cars the Prancing Horse made, just five years after its founding. It was delivered new to Count Antonio Sterzi, who campaigned it first in the Mille Miglia. The car went on to win events like the Bolzano-Mendola hillclimb and the Coppa InterEuropa at Monza, but after changing hands a couple of times, it was ravaged by a fire. View 7 Photos Several attempts were made in the decades since to bring it back to proper working condition. But it wasn't until its current Argentinian owner commissioned the factory's own restoration department to completely overhaul the burnt-out shell that it regained its luster. Over the course of two years, the Classiche studio has comprehensively reconditioned the 225E inside, out, and under the hood, sourcing original documentation from the factory archives to match the interior as close as possible to how it would have originally been outfitted, and giving it a beautiful two-tone blue and white paintjob. A FERRARI RISES FROM THE ASHES A fire-damaged 225E makes a triumphant return Maranello, 15 March 2016 – After almost two years of work, restoration of the 225E chassis no. 0178 is finally complete and the car is back in its owner's hands. The project was a huge challenge for the Ferrari Classiche department as the car, which belongs to an Argentinean collector, arrived in Maranello in a terrible state of repair, having been partly-destroyed in a fire. Racing past. The 225E left the factory in May 1952 and was first owned by Count Antonio Sterzi. It quickly made its competitive debut in none other than the Mille Miglia in the hands of that gentleman and his co-driver Nino Rovelli. In June the same year, the 225E won the Coppa della Toscana with Bruno Sterzi who also raced it to victory in the Bolzano-Mendola hillclimb and the Coppa InterEuropa at Monza for which both front and rear bumpers were removed. The car changed hands a couple of times but was then involved in a fire in which it sustained severe damage. The engine, however, was almost entirely salvageable and an attempt was made during the 1980s to restore the bodywork.

UK collector pays $800k for license plate '25 O'

You can't get a vanity license plate in the UK, but Brits have proven their willingness time and time again to part with huge amounts of cash in order to get a particularly desirable number to put on the front and back of their high-priced machinery. This time, a Ferrari collector paid over $800,000 for the license plate "25 O." The princely sum of GBP518,000 – equivalent to over $814k at today's rates – was paid by John Collins, owner of classic car broker Talacrest. Collins reportedly intends to put it on his Ferrari 250 GT SWB. What's more is that he had just paid another GBP130,320 ($205k) for the license plate "250 L" that he plans to put on his 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, the long-wheelbase touring version of the same vehicle. The winning bids were placed at an auction held by the UK's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency – the 150th such auction held by the government office, marking its 25th anniversary. The "25 O" plate broke the event's previous record of GBP357,000 ($560k), paid in March 2009 for plate number "1 D." In 2008 noted tuner Afzal Kahn bought the license plate "F1" for GBP440,000, which is less than what Collins paid for "25 O" but different exchange rates worked that out to $870k at the time. Kahn was said to have turned down a $9 million offer for that plate last year. DVLA PERSONALISED REGISTRATIONS SETS A NEW BRITISH RECORD AS 25 O SELLS FOR GBP500,000 DVLA Personalised Registrations has set a new British record for a personalised registration sold by the Agency after 25 O was bought for more than GBP500,000. Incredibly, John Collins, who, as owner of Talacrest, is regarded as one of the world's leading collectors and dealers of classic Ferraris, bought 25 O for GBP518,000 less than three hours after successfully buying 250 L for a staggering GBP130,320. Both sums include fees and take the total amount paid by the businessman to GBP648,320. Both are among the 1,600 registrations being auctioned by the Agency as part of its 25th Anniversary three-day auction – and also 150th live sale – currently being held at The Vale Resort near Cardiff. Both registrations will be placed on two of the world's most exclusive cars; 250 L will head onto a rare 1964 Ferrari Lusso, while 25 O will sit on the Ferrari 250 SWB once owned by the rock singer Eric Clapton.

World Car of the Year finalists announced

To say the 2014 Geneva Motor Show was packed full of news is an understatement as big as the show's home at the Palexpo convention center. Despite everything that we were able to cover during this year's show, there's still more coming out of Switzerland, including the announcement of the finalists for the 2014 World Car of the Year Awards.
We reported on the original list of finalists over three weeks ago, and now, that initial list has been pared down to three finalists for each of the five awards. The finalists were announced at a press conference by frequent Autoblog contributor and co-chair of the awards, Matt Davis (above).
The finalists for the overall title of 2014 World Car of the Year are the Audi A3, the BMW 4 Series and the Mazda3. The World Luxury Car of the Year will be either the Bentley Flying Spur, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class or the Land Rover Range Rover Sport, while the Performance Car of the Year will be awarded to the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, the Ferrari 458 Speciale or the Porsche 911 GT3 (which, um, yeah...).