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1959 Ferrari 250 GT California sells for nearly $18M, exceeding expectations

RM Sotheby's just wrapped up its auction in New York, where it sold off a pair of gorgeous silver roadsters, with one of them selling for the incredible price of $17.99 million. That car was a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California that we covered previously, and Sotheby's was only expecting it to go for between $14 million and $17 million. Apparently someone felt the car's rare aluminum construction and racing history was worth the extra cash. View 11 Photos The other roadster went for considerably less money but was notable because of its previous owner, late Apple CEO Steve Jobs. The car is a 2000 BMW Z8 that the tech mogul had for around three years. The final sale price only met expectations, though, at $329,500. The original auction estimate was between $300,000 and $400,000. Related Video: Featured Gallery 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione by Scaglietti View 30 Photos Image Credit: Diana Varga courtesy of RM Sotheby's, RM Sotheby's Celebrities BMW Ferrari Auctions Convertible Racing Vehicles Performance Classics bmw z8 ferrari 250 gt california

A Ferrari Dino 308 GT4 retrospective, by Gear Patrol

When we think of desirable Ferraris from the 1970s, the choices are somewhat thin. Obviously, there was the 365 GTB/4, better known as the legendary Daytona, but that was initially a product of the 1960s. Really, aside from the arrival of the stylish 308, the 1970s weren't a strong decade for Ferrari.
As Ferrari the brand grows, though, even some of its less-desirable cars are becoming popular among enthusiasts. Considering that, we should begin hearing more mid-70s Ferrari love, such as that being espoused by Anthony Rimicci, for his Dino 308 GT4.
As the first mass-produced, mid-engined V8 Ferrari, the Dino-badged 308 GT4 can best be thought of as the earliest ancestor to the 458 Italia (other mid-engined Ferraris, like the 250LM and 288 GTO are more akin to the Enzo and LaFerrari). It was also the final car in the Dino line, while many of the vehicles were rebadged as Ferraris, following lackluster sales.

Ferrari 488 Pista Prototype Drive | Pants-soiling straight-line performance

Independent studies confirm that Lotus Elise drivers are 221.6 times more likely to spontaneously dispose of light-colored undergarments after driving on curvy roads. That's because the weight distribution of a mid-engine car encourages novice drivers to inadvertently ask the rear wheels to pass the fronts in the middle of a corner. Adding insult to staining, the layout's resulting low polar moment of inertia ensures that this rotation happens more quickly than the average person's sphincter-startle clench reflex. The flip side is that even the most powerful mid-engine cars have enough weight over their rear wheels to make straight-line acceleration a worry-free affair. Well, they used to. Full-throttle acceleration in the Ferrari 488 Pista is genuinely terrifying. Wheelspin is a genuine threat at any road-legal speed — and when that happens, its rear end steps out with the same violence as the car accelerates. And that is saying something. The 488 Pista is diabolically quick. Like, hallelujah-hold-on-tight, praise-the-lord, scream-like-a-child and slap-yo-momma quick. Or, in slightly more objective terms, the Ferrari's claimed 7.6-second sprint from a standstill to 200 km/h (124 mph) is but 0.3 second behind that of the 1,000-hp Bugatti Veyron 16.4. When we say quick, we mean QUICK. Perhaps too quick for the road, so it's a good thing the car is literally named after the track. The Pista is the latest in the lineage of harder-core Ferraris that began with the 360 Challenge Stradale. The 360CS, like the F430 Scuderia ("Team") and 458 Speciale ("Special") that followed, was a little quicker than the regular car, a little more devoid of creature comforts and a lot louder. The same basic recipe applies to the 488, though in its transition from GTB to Pista (say "peas-ta"), its engine gets a bigger power boost than any of its predecessors. Boasting 720 metric horsepower, or 710 American ponies, the Pista makes 49 hp more than the already absurdly powerful 488 GTB. The expected weight-savings measures are also present, accounting for a claimed 198-pound reduction in total mass. Ten-percent-stiffer springs and recalibrated magnetorheological dampers offer tighter body control, and Michelin Sport Cup 2 tires conspire with those changes to generate massive cornering grip. But more on that later — the star of this prototype preview drive was the engine, Ferrari's award-winning 3.9-liter flat-plane-crankshaft V8.