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Ferrari IPO may turn out to be good news for enthusiasts

Sergio Marchionne's strategy to spin off Ferrari from FCA and make the Italian automaker a publicly traded company has been met with ire from a vocal contingent of enthusiasts ever since rumors about the plan began to surface a few years ago. Some of these particularly pessimistic automotive pundits have voiced fears that with stockholders in the mix, it would not only spell the demise of the exclusive Italian supercar maker as we know it, but would in fact "ruin" the company. Call me dense, but I fail to see what the issue is. That isn't to say that I don't understand what's causing the fear. When profitability becomes a higher priority for a brand that's historically relied on exclusivity to keep its products in the highest echelons of desirability, there's a high potential for internal philosophical conflict. And then there are concerns about the sorts of products that Ferrari might develop that aren't the high-performance sports cars that the brand is known for. But individuals with those apprehensions seem to forget that Ferrari has already lent its name to a multitude of things that are not LaFerraris, 488 GTBs, or F12 Berlinettas, including clothing, headphones, and even laptops. But let's assume for a moment that the core anxiety is about future vehicles – including the unspeakable notion that Ferrari might develop an SUV. Why wouldn't Ferrari build an SUV, especially after seeing how incredibly successful that endeavor has been for Porsche? I think it's likely that Ferrari will put engineers to task creating some sort of crossover or high-rolling cruiser with room for the whole family at some point in the near future. And why wouldn't it, after seeing how incredibly successful that endeavor has been for Porsche? After all, the Cayenne accounted for more US sales in 2013 than the Boxster, Cayman, 911, and 918 combined, and it only gave up about a thousand units of sales last year to make room for the Macan crossover, the latter of which Porsche sold nearly as many of as it did Boxsters and Caymans. People want these vehicles, and they're willing to pay quite a bit of money for them. If we use Porsche's recent trajectory as a foreshadowing metric for what's in store for Ferrari, the future actually looks pretty good. After all, those SUV sales keep plenty of cash in Porsche's coffers for the low-volume projects that we enthusiasts love, like the 918 Spyder and the 911 GT3 RS.

Without engine deal, Red Bull could be squeezed out of F1

It would have seemed unthinkable just a couple of years ago when it was winning more races than it lost and scoring one world championship after another, but these days Red Bull can't get a competitive engine. And if it doesn't get one soon, it could be forced out of Formula One altogether. This development emerges after two years of the once indomitable but now deteriorating relationship between Red Bull and its longtime engine partner Renault. When F1 switched from the previous V8 engines to the new hybrid turbo V6 power units ahead of last season, Renault dropped the ball, and Mercedes picked it up. Ferrari has since recovered much of the lost ground to push the Mercedes factory team for wins, but Red Bull and Renault have not. The stress of falling off their perch has left both parties pointing fingers at each other to the point that the team's longtime technical director Adrian Newey doesn't think the marriage is salvageable, or worth salvaging. "Unfortunately, our relationship with Renault is pretty terminal – there's been too much of a marriage breakdown, so we have no engine," said Newey. That's left Red Bull looking elsewhere for a new engine deal, but so far it's been unable to find one. The prospect of replacing sponsor Infiniti and supplier Red Bull with a similar partnership with Aston Martin and Mercedes has apparently come to naught. And the proposed buyout and engine deal from the Volkswagen Group evidently collapsed in the wake of that brand's diesel emissions scandal. That leaves Red Bull to turn to one of the existing engine suppliers in the series, and apparently neither Ferrari nor Mercedes are willing to sell their engines to one of their chief rivals. As McLaren has demonstrated this season, the Honda engines aren't up to speed, either. Which leaves Red Bull with nowhere else to turn. And if it doesn't find something in time for next season (or the following one at the latest), Newey says it may have to pack it in and close up shop. "Red Bull should not be put in a position where they're only there to make up the numbers." Related Video: News Source: Reuters via Motorsport.comImage Credit: Felipe Dana/AP Motorsports Ferrari Renault F1

Jeep and Ram could be spun off from FCA, says Marchionne

Jeep is surely the biggest single feather left in the cap of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles portfolio. Under Sergio Marchionne's leadership, Jeep went from fewer than 500,000 annual sales in 2008 to 1.4 million in 2016, and is on track for 2 million by 2018. Add in the brand's legacy, status as one of the most recognizable nameplates in the world, and rabid fan base, and Jeep has extraordinary monetary value to its parent company. Investors and analysts have certainly noticed Jeep's inherent value. According to The Detroit Free Press, Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas asked FCA chief Sergio Marchionne if he would ever consider spinning Jeep and Ram, FCA's dedicated truck brand, into a separate corporate entity, and he responded with a simple "Yes." Jonas estimated Jeep's worth in January of this year at $22 billion. Ram was valued at $11.2 billion. Marchionne has a history of spinning off brands while keeping them part of FCA's corporate umbrella. The most noteworthy example of this value maximization was with Ferrari, which now trades on the New York Stock Exchange and rakes in $3.4 billion in annual revenue and close to $435 million in net income, reports the Free Press. Marchionne still serves as chairman and CEO of Ferrari, and Fiat heir John Elkann owns 22 percent of the Italian marque's shares. Even if the offloading of Jeep and Ram into a separate entity would amount to little more than a profit-driven ownership change on paper, it would be huge news to the brands' loyal fanbases. In any case, such a move would likely take years to actually happen and probably wouldn't mean much at all to the products that Jeep and Ram produce. In other words, Jeep fans can keep the pitchforks in the shed ... for now. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.