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Skip Barber's favorite car is a Ferrari 275 GTB

"My name is Skip Barber," says the voice at the end of this Petrolicious video, "and I'm fortunate to drive a variety of cars. My favorite car is a Ferrari 275 GTB." If you've ever heard that name before, you'll know it carries a lot of weight, and if you've ever seen a 275 GTB up close – or driven one – you know what he's talking about. Barber is a multiple Sports Car Club of America national champion and one of only a handful of American drivers to have competed in Formula One. But he's arguably better known as the founder of his namesake racing and driving schools, which operate at dozens of locations across the country. He's usually linked most prominently to the iconic Lime Rock race course. Barber rescued the Connecticut circuit when its previous owners pulled out, putting the investment together with some alumni from his school. These days Skip is the sole remaining proprietor, but as you can see from the way he talks about it, he's justifiably proud with what he's done with the place. It's one of the few automotive race tracks in the country recognized on the US National Register of Historic Places, and still hosts top-level racing – including the United SportsCar Championship that will return for the Northeast Grand Prix this summer. Between the racing career he's had, the schools he's started, and the track he's preserved, it's safe to say that Barber has left an indelible impact on the motor racing scene in America. And at 79 years old, he's showing no signs of slowing down. Related Video:

CA man accused of stealing same Ferrari twice

Cars get stolen all the time. It's an unfortunate reality, but a reality nonetheless. It's just unusual when the same guy steals the same car twice, but that's what apparently occurred recently in Fontana, CA.
That's where one Earnie Hooks was arrested late last month driving a black Ferrari 458 Spider. According to police, Hooks was intoxicated when he arrived at a roadside checkpoint, and when they ran the plates, they found the car was reported as stolen.
Hooks managed to evade police (not too hard to imagine given the car he was driving) and later abandoned the car, which was taken to the impound. Around 3 am the next morning, though, someone broke into the impound and stole the car... again. Hooks was found five days later in Studio City, still driving the stolen Ferrari. He was arrested and somehow still had the gall to plead not guilty to the charges of car theft and resisting arrest.

Ferrari IPO could come any day now

According to Bloomberg, Fiat Chrysler Automotive Sergio Marchionne told reporters at the Toronto Global Forum that the Ferrari IPO could come any day now. "We are days away from filing the prospectus," said Marchionne, who declined to confirm whether rumors of involvement from UBS Group AG, JPMorgan Chase & Co and Goldman Sachs Group were accurate. In addition to an expected filing in New York, Marchionne hinted that a secondary filing could take place in Milan, Italy. Although the FCA Chief Executive didn't offer any expected sum for Ferrari, he had previously suggested that an IPO for the iconic Italian brand could be worth $1 billion, ringing the registers to the tune of 10 percent of the company's $11 billion valuation. According to Bloomberg, that potential sum is significantly higher than its own internal figures indicate after taking a poll of analysts who we assume must know a heck of a lot more about such things than we do. Considering how close we apparently are to the actual filing, though, we probably won't have to wait long to find out. Another hot topic any time Sergio is the subject of reporter questioning is a potential merger with General Motors or another large, full-line automaker. It seems there aren't any new revelations to reveal on the consolidation front, though Marchionne told reporters there were no plans to mount a hostile takeover of GM or any "other, less optimal" partners. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: STR/AFP/Getty Earnings/Financials Chrysler Ferrari Fiat Sergio Marchionne FCA