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Le Mans-raced 1953 Ferrari 340/375 MM headed to auction

Vintage Ferrari models show up on the auction circuit all the time, but few can match this particular '53 340/375 MM Berlinetta Competizione in terms of historical significance. Not only did the machine compete in the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans, but this particular model managed to finish in second place before being disqualified for taking on extra brake fluid during a stop. More importantly, a total of three Formula One world champions have driven this car in competition at events like the Spa 24 Hours, Pescara 12 Hours and the Circuit of Guadeloupe.
The coolest part for us? Umberto Maglioli managed to set a public road stage record with this machine during the Carrera Panamericana by averaging 138 miles per hour over 223 miles. The effort was good enough to land the team a sixth place finish overall, and the record still stands to this day for any road stage anywhere. The 340/375 MM Berlinetta Competizione is up for auction in restored condition at the RM Auction event in Paris this week. Check out the full press release below for more information.

Autoblog's ultimate holiday rides

Over the hills and through the woods, it's the time of year when many of us visit family and friends for the holidays. But getting there can be a chore. It's cold and snowy across much of the United States, and even if the climate is favorable, the drive to grandmother's house often is not. Think back to holiday road trips of yore: They probably included crying babies, antsy children, hungover adults and frequent bathrooms stops all around. Now, we're all at different life stages here at Autoblog, and the perfect car for one staffer might be as useful as a team of Budweiser Clydesdales to another. Some of us bounce from family event to family event with children and a labrador in tow, while others prefer a quieter, simpler holiday. But whatever the endeavor, we all need wheels. With that in mind, here is the unofficial Autoblog list of the ultimate cars in which to tackle the holiday season. 2015 Ferrari FF To borrow a chestnut from Top Gear presenter James May, "As you'd expect, I've done this properly." That oddly voluptuous ruby bolide in the photo above? It's a 2015 Ferrari FF – all 652 all-wheel-driven horsepower of it. What makes a Ferrari the ideal for holiday time in PaukertLand? My Midwestern winter breaks are wonderful, but they're typically frenetic and slushy, involving a lot of schlepping from house to house and even city to city, not to mention inevitable last-minute runs for forgotten presents and dinner ingredients. Needless to say, a powerful V12 is a welcome ally for such duties. And this one isn't just a friend when the road is clear. The FF has been gifted Ferrari's novel 4RM AWD system, and despite sitting lower to the ground than, say, an SUV, it's a pretty effective tool for real winter driving, especially when outfitted with a set of snow tires. Unlike other Ferraris, it's also a rather practical thing, with legitimate seating for four adults and 15.9 cubic feet of cargo space – that's precisely as much room as a Mercedes E-Class – and you can fold the rear chairs and cram 28.2 cubes-worth of holiday cheer in the back. Okay, so it's far from cheap and fuel economy isn't that great, but who cares? Just drop a paddle-shifted gear or two, bury the throttle and Repeat The Sounding Joy. Ain't the holidays grand? – Chris Paukert Executive Editor 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe My Mom gives out more presents than any other human being I've ever encountered.

$3M Ferrari FXX K already sold out [w/videos]

When Ferrari took the wraps off its new FXX K track machine in Abu Dhabi last week, it conspicuously left out some key details. Sure, the Prancing Horse marque told us how much power it produced, and what it had done to the aero package to make it hug the track even closer than the road-going LaFerrari on which it's based – but it didn't tell us just how fast it will go, or how much it will cost. The latest reports, however, seek to fill in those blanks. According to Ferrari marketing chief Nicola Boari in speaking to Top Gear, the FXX K will lap the company's Fiorano test track in 1 minute 14 seconds. That would make it five seconds faster than the LaFerrari, a solid second ahead of the 599XX Evoluzione and two seconds faster than the original FXX. However it seems to fall short of the eight- to nine-second gap those previous XX derivatives opened up over the road-going models on which they in turn were based. So it seems, for the time being at least, that the 1:11.9 lap time recorded by the 333 SP – an open-cockpit sports prototype from the late 1990s – will remain for now the fastest car this side of an F1 racer ever to lap the circuit. The outright record stands at under 56 seconds and belongs to Michael Schumacher in the ten-cylinder F2004 he drove to his seventh and final world championship. As for the FXX K's production, Top Gear reports that Ferrari will build fewer than 40 of them, and that they've all been spoken for – at a price of ˆ2.5 million (more than $3M) apiece. If you're not one of those forty fortunate souls to have put down their deposit, your best chance to see this rare beast in its natural habitat (at least until one of the XX track days hits a race track near you) are the live images above and the handful of videos below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.