Ferrari: 328 Gts on 2040-cars

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1957 Ferrari 335 S could set auction record at $30+ million

This car that could set the record for the highest price to be paid for an automobile at auction in 2016 – by the second month of the year, no less. It's a 1957 Ferrari 335 S Spider, and it's going up for sale at Artcurial in Paris next month, with an estimate topping $30 million. Though it may look a lot like the iconic 250 Testa Rossa that came out the same year, chassis number 0674 actually started out its life as a 315 S and fitted with coachwork by Scaglietti. After finishing sixth at Sebring and second in the Mille Miglia, it returned to Maranello and was upgraded to 335 S spec. The 3.8-liter V12 was enlarged to 4.1 liters, and its output swelled from 360 horsepower to nearly 400. Mike Hawthorn drove it at Le Mans that year, leading the race and setting a lap record before dropping down to fifth with mechanical troubles. It went on to compete in several more events as part of the factory Scuderia, helping it secure the title in 1957. It was then sold to famed US importer Luigi Chinetti who campaigned it for another couple of years, winning (among others) the 1958 Cuba Grand Prix with Stirling Moss and Masten Gregory behind the wheel. The 335 S was ultimately sold to noted collector Pierre Bardinon. Asked once why he didn't have a factory collection, Enzo Ferrari once said he had "no need" because "Bardinon has done it for me." That's high praise indeed, and the car remained one of the highlights of the Bardinon collection for over 40 years. Having liquidated the Baillon barnfind collection last year, the auction house estimates that this 335 S will sell for $30-34 million. That would not only set the bar very high for the year ahead, but could make it one of the highest price ever paid for a car at auction. 2014 saw a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sell for nearly $40 million, and a 250 GTO for $38 million. Behind them is Fangio's Mercedes W196 Silver Arrow that sold for nearly $30 million in 2013. The auction is set to take place during the Salon Retromobile in the French capital on February 5th. Among the other Prancing Horses that Artcurial has corralled for the event include a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta (estimated at $10–13.2m), Gianni Agnelli's unique 1986 Ferrari Testrossa Spider ($750k-1m), and a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series 2 that belonged to the King of Morocco ($1.5-1.9m). So if it's a multi-million-dollar Ferrari you're after, Paris will be the place to be in a couple of weeks.

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:

Ferrari FXX K could get even more extreme Evoluzione version

Whenever a new Ferrari comes out – a mid-engined one especially – speculation begins to ramp up over how the boys in Maranello could make it even faster. When the 458 Italia was revealed, for example, focus immediately turned to what would become the 458 Speciale – just as the F430 begat the 430 Scuderia before it. Ditto LaFerrari, which was instantly projected to breed a new track variant, and that's exactly what we got with the debut of the FXX K in Abu Dhabi last month. And now that it's here, speculation is beginning to mount for an even more hardcore Evoluzione version. Look over the history of Ferrari's Corse Cliente version and you'll see the original Enzo-based FXX was followed by an FXX Evoluzione, and the subsequent 599XX bred a similarly enhanced 599XX Evoluzione. It would stand to reason, then, that an FXX K Evoluzione could be in the cards, but it won't come anytime soon. Speaking with Autocar, Ferrari test driver, former grand prix pilot and Le Mans winner Marc Gene said, "Right now, I think we cannot improve" on the FXX K, "but no doubt something will come up. I wouldn't be surprised if it happens, but it won't be in two years." Approximately three years separated the debut of the FXX and FXX Evo, but the 599XX was only out for a year or two before the 599XX Evoluzione came around. If and when a FXX K Evo does arrive, Gene figures it will focus more on weight reduction, efficiency and handling than on power. As it is, the FXX K already produces 1,035 horsepower, after all. Given the nature of the XX development program, however, owners of the FXX K can expect their track machine to get incrementally more advanced as the Prancing Horse marque uses the program to test new components.