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Ferrari reopens wind tunnel after 18-month refurb

Ferrari is not a company used to being behind the curve, but if you've been wondering how the Scuderia has lost so much territory on the Formula One circuit to a relative newcomer like Red Bull, part of the answer could come down to its wind tunnel.
Seriously, the wind tunnel? Yes, the wind tunnel. Aerodynamics play an increasingly vital role in F1 racing, and while Red Bull has one of the best in the business, Ferrari's hasn't been running right for some time now.
A year and a half ago Ferrari shut down the galleria del vento at its headquarters in Maranello, citing problems with "correlation" - that is, a major discrepancy between the results it got in the wind tunnel, in CFD computations and on the racetrack. Having narrowed the problem down, the Scuderia embarked upon a major overhaul. It's been using Toyota's facility in Cologne, Germany, in the meantime, but as team principal Stefano Domenicali put it, not having your own wind tunnel on premises "is like playing basketball with one hand behind your back." Now the renovations reportedly complete, however, and Ferrari will begin using its wind tunnel again next month.

Ferrari California replica from Ferris Bueller is so choice

We like car auctions well enough, but often the high-end affairs are a bit too much like outdoor museums - very beautiful and very cold, and you're not allowed to touch anything. A perfect case in point is the upcoming Mecum auction during the 2013 Pebble Beach weekend, which will feature the legendary replica Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder used in none other than Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Only three were made. The current owner spent ten years restoring this car. It is his love, it is his passion. (Well, it was before he decided to auction it, anyway.)
Actually built by Modena Design and Development in El Cajon, CA, the official name of the stunning replica is Modena Spyder California. Built up on a tube frame, with a meticulously maintained interior and powered by a 500-horsepower small block V8 the car is so choice. If you have the means, we highly recommend picking one up.
Mecum hasn't suggested a predicted auction price for the Hollywood relic as of yet, but with the perfect pedigree to pull Gen X heartstrings, and the proliferation of stupid-wealthy fourtysomethings in and around northern California, we wouldn't be surprised to see a decent value. Just don't wait on it, life moves pretty fast around Pebble Beach. If you'd like to read a full description of the car with fewer script-quotes, look, it's real simple, scroll down.

Ferrari might bring back the Dino, says Sergio

Dino: It's one of the most evocative, though long-dormant nameplates in automotive history. Coined after Ferrari founder Enzo's son, the badge was on a series of smaller and more affordable mid-engined sports cars produced between 1968 and 1976. And now Ferrari's boss says it could come back on the rump of an all-new Ferrari/Dino model. "It's a when not an if," says Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, majority owner of the Italian sports car maker. "We know that it [Dino] is an under-used resource, but that's why we need to get it right." He agrees that a Dino model could have around 500 horsepower, be smaller and lighter than the mid-engine, V8-powered 488, and could even have a V6 engine just like the original Dinos. Ferrari collaborated on the development of the V6 engine design for Maserati and forthcoming Alfa Romeo models. A future Dino-badged model could share the same mill. "The six-cylinder response has been positive," says the CEO. Just don't go thinking that such a car would be a cheaper Ferrari. Marchionne is adamant that a Dino would not be seen as, or indeed be, a budget Ferrari. But there is the possibility that Dino could be launched as a standalone brand, just as it was at one time in the Seventies. "You don't screw around with the interests of your customers," says Marchionne, admitting he hated the Porsche Boxster model because it was seen as a cheap Porsche. Dino was originally created to compete with Porsche's 911. Enzo reasoned that he didn't want to reduce the price of his more expensive models to compete with the more affordable German sports car. Ferrari could do good business in a lower-priced arena, but Marchionne is clear that he wouldn't chase sales at the expense of the brand. "I would never try to sell another 500 cars at the expense of the Ferrari name," he says. Related Video: Image Credit: Winfried Rothermel / AP Design/Style Ferrari Supercars Sergio Marchionne ferrari dino