2012 Maserati Granturismo Sport Conv Mc Sport Options Carbon Fiber 444 Hp! on 2040-cars

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Is this designer sitting in Alfa Romeo's new SUV?

Well, well, well, what have we here? A picture of Lorenzo Ramaciotti, that's what. It was posted by Ralph Gilles on Instagram. But what's more interesting is what Ramaciotti is sitting in. And it appears to be a new crossover from Alfa Romeo. For those unfamiliar, Lorenzo Ramaciotti is one of the foremost designers in the Italian automotive industry. He served as head of Pininfarina until 2005, and in 2007 was named chief designer for the Fiat group. That's put him in charge of styling more Ferraris, Maseratis, Alfas, and others than we could name. But at nearly 68 years old, he's now preparing to retire, handing the reins to the design of everything that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles makes to his American counterpart Ralph Gilles. Gilles paid tribute to Ramaciotti with this photo and statement posted on Instagram. It shows the veteran designer sitting in the back of what looks to be an SUV. The thing is, though, that it doesn't look like any SUV or crossover we've seen to date. Judging from what we can see of the dashboard design – more angular and modern than rounded and retro – and given who's sitting in the back, we're likely looking at either an Alfa Romeo or a Maserati. Both are working on launching their first crossovers, but the similarity of the dashboard and center-stack design to that of the new Giulia suggests this is probably an Alfa. Whatever it is, it appears to have a rather tall but narrow tailgate, with a flat load floor extended by a fold-down rear bench. If Ramaciotti has done half the job with this crossover as he did with hits like the Ferrari 360 Modena or the Alfa 4C, we're sure it will be a stylish affair inside and out. We'll have to hold on to see how it pans out, but judging from the apparent level of completion of the product pictured, it shouldn't be long now. I have got to dedicate my year and this era of my career to one of my true Heroes, design Legend (& very soft spoken) Lorenzo Ramaciotti. Many of you may not have heard of him but have likely loved the cars he has had his hands in. Mr. Ramaciotti has had one of the most illustrious careers an automobile designer can have. Having led one of Italy's most famous design houses, #Pininfarina for 17 years and contributed there for an incredibly prolific 33 years. He came out of retirement in 2007 to lead Fiat design. In 2009 I met him as my colleague, global boss and most importantly a true mentor.

Swedish toymaker offers a wooden Maserati collection

In some ways, Maserati had it easier in the 1980s. We don't necessarily mean in a financial sense, or that the cars were especially reliable, but it has to be said both the Biturbo and the third generation Quattroporte are both simple, three-box shapes that are easy to re-create from blocks of solid wood. The Swedish toy company Playsam offers the Alfieri concept, the Levante SUV and open-wheel Maserati race cars in wooden toy car form, and the production portfolio is planned to be enlarged later. Maserati has plenty of classic designs for Playsam to re-create, but our tip is to look into the Biturbo style cars if they want to take a break from all those swoopy shapes you can see in the slideshow above. Maybe they could even offer the Chrysler TC by Maserati with a detachable hardtop: Those round opera windows must be really easy to drill in place. Browsing the online store, the prices for the Playsam's Maserati products are far higher than the toymaker's conventional $70 wooden toy car range, at over $370 apiece. But like the real counterparts, they should not just sit untouched: We would rather see them being used. Related Video:

Gary Cooper's 1935 Duesenberg SSJ fetches record price at Pebble Beach

The 1935 Duesenberg SSJ formerly owned by Gary Cooper sold for a jaw-dropping $22 million over the weekend at the Gooding & Co. Pebble Beach auction, setting a record for the most valuable pre-war car ever sold at auction. It also appears to have become the most expensive American collector car ever sold at auction, eclipsing the very first Shelby Cobra ever made, which sold for $13.75 million in 2016. The Duesenberg was also the lone American-made entrant in the list of top 10 sellers, which was crowded with the names Ferrari and Porsche. You have to go all the way down the list to No. 21 to find the next American car: a 1930 Packard 734 Speedster Phaeton, which sold for a mere $1.127 million. All told, Gooding & Co. said it realized more than $116.5 million in auction sales over the weekend, with a whopping 25 cars sold for north of $1 million, an 84 percent sales rate and an average transaction price of $947,174. Clearly this is how the other half 1 percent lives. Gooding & Co. said there were five world-record sales at the auction. Joining the Duesenberg were a 1955 Ferrari 500 Mondial Series II, which sold for $5.005 million; a 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France Berlinetta, $6.6 million; a 1967 Ferrari 330 GTC Speciale, $3.41 million; and a one-of-two 1966 Ferrari Dino Berlinetta GT, $3.08 million. Oh, and that 1969 Ford Bronco test vehicle we told you about? The one that was rebadged by Holman & Moody as a Bronco Hunter? It sold for $121,000, which was well below the expected range of $180,000 to $220,000. Perhaps it was the presence of all those gorgeous Porsche Spyders and Ferraris that meant collectors weren't interested in boxy, utilitarian off-roaders. View 24 Photos Gooding and Co. had expected the convertible Duesenberg coupe to go for more than $10 million. It was one of only two of its kind built by Duesenberg — the other having gone to Clark Gable — with a specially shortened, 125-inch wheelbase and a supercharged straight-eight with double overhead cams, able to produce around 400 horsepower and a top speed of 140 miles per hour. It features a lightweight open-roadster bobtail body produced by LaGrande out of Connersville, Ind. The car was also owned at one point by race driver Briggs Cunningham.