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1960 Ferrari 250 GT sells for over $8 million in record-setting RM auction weekend

Although the vast majority of eyeballs were tuned to the madness at Barrett-Jackson this past weekend, that televised car auction wasn't the only high-dollar game in Arizona. RM Auctions brought its usual gaggle of exotic wares to the desert, and the car that came out on top sold for much more than Barrett-Jackson's highest sale, the Batmobile.
Coming out on top at RM last weekend was Lot 164, a 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta 'Competizione' that sold for a massive $8,140,000 - the buyer could've nearly bought two Barris Batmobiles for that chunk of change. Lot 122, a 1967 Shelby 427 'Semi-Competition' Cobra, stood at $2,007,500 in second place, just in front of Lot 145, a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, which sold for $1,842,500.
After all said and done, RM reported $36.4 million in sales. That's a record for RM in Arizona, even though the total number of lots for 2013 was reduced significantly. Eight machines cracked the million-dollar mark, and you can see all of them in the press release right down below or peruse all of the auction results here. But first, be sure to scroll through our high-res image gallery of live photos above.

Ferrari unwraps radical new F12 TdF

The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta has never been in need of a performance boost, but Maranello has given it one just the same. Feast your eyes on the new F12 TdF. The latest Prancing Horse recalls the legendary Tour de France (for automobiles, not bicycles) that Ferrari dominated nine years running from 1956 through 1964 – and the elegant long-wheelbase 250 GT named in its honor. But the F12 TdF is much more about forward momentum than looking back. Power is up, weight is down, and everything's been tightened up, with new systems on board to keep it all together. For starters, the screaming 6.3-liter V12 from the existing F12 Berlinetta has been upgraded from 730 horsepower to 769. Torque has been increased from 509 pound-feet to 520. Although the engine will wail all the way up to 8,900 rpm, 80 percent of that torque is available as low as just 2,500 revs. Of course, Ferrari being Ferrari, it didn't just tinker with the engine and call it a day. It also returned the seven-speed dual-clutch transmissions to deliver upshifts 30 percent faster, downshifts 40 percent faster, and with ratios six percent shorter. The track is wider, the wheels larger, and the one-piece brakes are lifted out of the even more extreme LaFerrari. Ferrari has also fitted the TdF with a new Virtual Short Wheelbase system – Modenese for four-wheel steering – that sharpens turn-in, increases high-speed stability, and keeps the tail from spinning around to fast on the wider front tires. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. As you can see, the bodywork has been substantially redone as well, to be both lighter and more aerodynamically efficient. As a result, the TdF produces 87 percent more downforce than the stock Berlinetta. And thanks to its more extensive use of carbon fiber – not to mention the stripped-out cabin – the whole thing weighs a good 240 pounds less. The result of all these enhancements, Ferrari says, is a 0-62 time of just 2.9 seconds. Keep the throttle pegged (as you would most certainly be tempted to do) and it'll reach 124 miles per hour after 7.9 seconds, topping out at over 211 mph. It's also been clocked around the company's private, on-site Fiorano test track in 1 minute and 21 seconds, which is a good two seconds faster than the Berlinetta or the 488 GTB – and barely more than a second adrift of LaFerrari, the fastest road car ever to lap the circuit.

Michigan man gets jail time for Ferrari engine sale

Tax evasion is not something to mess about with. Ask Al Capone. For most of us that sell stuff, though, it's not something we really think about. Are you honestly going to pay taxes on that old iPhone 5 you sold? The couch with the questionable stain? No, because paying tax on something you sold for a relative pittance is just a pain in the butt. If you sell one of Aurelio Lampredi's Ferrari engines – used in a range of vintage racers, including the 750 Monza shown above – for over $600,000, you might want to make a point of paying the taxes on your profits. A Michigan man found that out the hard way, Reuters reports, after selling the Lampredi engine in 2009. 71-year-old Terry Myr of Smiths Creek, MI, was convicted in April of tax evasion and four counts of failing to file a tax return and was sentenced to two years in prison and two years of supervised release on Thursday. He was also ordered to pay $738,904 in back taxes, interest, and penalties – he already owed $195,000 in back taxes before his conviction – by a US District Court judge, Reuters reports. Now, this wasn't a simple case of Myr forgetting to set some money aside from the sale. The buyer wire-transferred the $610,000 into a corporate account he made the week prior. Then, Myr promptly withdrew $360,000, which he used to buy silver and gold coins, while the remainder was transferred to other accounts – be they personal or corporate – or simply used for checks to cash. Hence the tax evasion charge. According to Reuters, no explanation was given as to how Uncle Sam uncovered the engine sale in the first place. Related Video: