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Ferrari F12 gunning for GT-R's Nurburgring lap time?

Ferrari may not play the Nürburgring lap time game to the extent that Porsche, Nissan and Radical do, but it has been known to go for some lap times of its own. And now an F12 Berlinetta has been spotted lapping the Nordschleife in an apparent record attempt.
The F12 reportedly had the track all to itself for about an hour and a half, suggesting one of two possibilities: either Ferrari is testing an updated version, or it's going for a lap record with the existing version. While it's impossible to tell what may be going on under the sheetmetal, the communications equipment taped to the roof appear to be the only outward modifications, and would seem to indicate the latter more than the former.
In between warm-up and cool-down laps, the F12 reportedly lapped the circuit in 7 minutes and 48 seconds - which wouldn't be anything spectacular in and of itself, but that lap apparently included 40 seconds of cool-down between T13 and Hatzenbach, suggesting a possible 7:08 lap time. That's the time which Nissan recently recorded in the GT-R Nismo, indicating that Ferrari could be going for Godzilla's top time as the fastest front-engined, street-legal car ever to lap the 'Ring, ahead of the Dodge Viper ACR, Lexus LFA with the Nürburgring Package and Corvette ZR1 (but behind Ferrari's own track-bound 599XX, which clocked a 6:58 lap time four years ago).

FCA likely won't sell more than 10% of Ferrari stake

The initial public offering of Ferrari on the stock market is likely coming in the second or third quarter of this year, but apparently the exact stake of the Prancing Horse set to hit the exchange isn't final. When FCA first announced the plan to spin off Ferrari, the idea was for 10 percent of the stock to go on the open market in the US and maybe also in Europe. Another 10 percent would go to company vice chairman and Enzo's son Piero Ferrari, and the remaining 80 percent would be divided among current shareholders, including a large portion for the Agnelli family. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne hasn't finished tweaking those numbers, though. Last month, he indicated the automaker might put more than 10 percent of Ferrari on the market to boost liquidity. However, the original proposal has now returned to the table. "I don't believe we will go above 10 percent," Marchionne said, according to Automotive News, but also noted things weren't final. By increasing the Ferrari stock on the open market for the IPO, FCA decreases the amount going to current shareholders, according to Automotive News. With that being the case, don't expect too much of the Prancing Horse to be offered up to investors when the stock hits the market. Related Video:

CA man accused of stealing same Ferrari twice

Cars get stolen all the time. It's an unfortunate reality, but a reality nonetheless. It's just unusual when the same guy steals the same car twice, but that's what apparently occurred recently in Fontana, CA.
That's where one Earnie Hooks was arrested late last month driving a black Ferrari 458 Spider. According to police, Hooks was intoxicated when he arrived at a roadside checkpoint, and when they ran the plates, they found the car was reported as stolen.
Hooks managed to evade police (not too hard to imagine given the car he was driving) and later abandoned the car, which was taken to the impound. Around 3 am the next morning, though, someone broke into the impound and stole the car... again. Hooks was found five days later in Studio City, still driving the stolen Ferrari. He was arrested and somehow still had the gall to plead not guilty to the charges of car theft and resisting arrest.