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Ferrari celebrates its founder's birthday

Buon cumpleanno, Commendatore! That's what we'd be saying today to Enzo Ferrari if he were still alive. But the founder of the Prancing Horse marque passed away at the ripe old age of 90 way back in 1988. If he were still with us today, he'd be 118 years old. And we can't help but wonder what he'd think of his legacy if he were still around to see it. Enzo Anselmo Ferrari was born in Modena before the turn of the century – no, the previous century – way back in 1898. He started out as a racing driver, but soon found his real talents laid in preparing the racecars, not driving them. After achieving success running Alfa Romeo's factory team, Enzo struck out on his own - initially under the name Auto Avio Costruzioni (due to the terms of his previous contract) and then under the Scuderia Ferrari name. Under Enzo's leadership and those that followed, Ferrari emerged as one of the most successful teams in motor racing. The Scuderia has scored more championships, checkered flags, podiums, pole positions, and fastest laps than any other in the history of Formula One. And though it hasn't fielded a factory effort in the top tier decades, it's still among the winningest constructors at Le Mans, with nine outright wins between 1949 and 1965 – outscored only by Audi and Porsche. It also won the Targa Florio seven times, the Mille Miglia another eight, and Sebring 12 times. After famously rejecting a takeover bid from Ford, Enzo sold half his company to Fiat in 1969. He retained control until his passing in 1988 – upon which Fiat took over another 40 percent, leaving 10 to the Ferrari family. But now the company is independent again, having split off from the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire, and floated its IPO on the stock market. Though his son still serves as vice chairman, Enzo's prodigy and successor, Luca di Montezemolo, is gone. The road car division makes hybrids but no manual transmissions, the racing department hasn't won the Formula One World Championship since 2008, the theme park in Abu Dhabi welcomes more visitors than the factory museum, and the company makes a significant portion of its revenue these days from selling branded merchandise. It's a very different company, in short, from the one Enzo founded back in 1947, but it wouldn't be here without him. The factory is celebrating with a raft of social media posts. For our part down here, to il Commendatore at the big autodromo in the sky: happy birthday, Enzo.

Drive inks 10-episode deal with NBC Sports Network

Today is a good day for Chris Harris, Mike Spinelli and Matt Farah, the hosts of the entertaining YouTube series Drive. The show has officially moved from the world of online video and become an actual, honest-to-goodness television show.
In addition to its YouTube exploits, which will continue, ten episodes of the show will air on the NBC Sports Network. The debut will run this Saturday, and coincide with NBCSN's coverage of the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix. From the sounds of it, this first episode should be unlike anything the trio could do on the Internet.
The team is going on a Top Gear-like trans-European adventure in a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Black Series, a Ferrari F12 and a McLaren 650S. The three will converge on Monaco, and explore the legendary atmosphere that surrounds the principality when the Formula One World Championship rolls into town.

Harry Metcalfe drives his Ferrari Testarossa in the Sahara

Take a moment to conjure some worthy answers to this question: "What can I do in a [Ferrari] Testarossa that's a really good road journey?" Then imagine yourself saying, "Tomorrow we're off to the Sahara in my Testarossa." If you were Evo magazine impresario Harry Metcalfe, those would be the kinds of Q&A sessions you'd have with yourself, and thankfully he's put the question and the answer in a fantastic 29-minute video. That answer was 2,500-mile journey out of London, on boat from Portsmouth, England, to Santander, Spain, a ferry from Tarifa, Spain, to Tangier, Morocco, a drive to Marrakech, over the snowy alpine-looking Tizi n'Tichka Pass, to Erfoud, and then to the dunes of Sahara. It involved some bribes, a twice broken-down Testarossa, confiscation of a drone, tons of speed traps and at least one ticket, a pair of lucky pants, some phenomenal scenery, and Ferrari sounds, including a long stint off-roading on a washboard track. Plus, a lot of jealousy on our part. Enjoy. News Source: Harry's Garage via YouTube Ferrari Coupe Luxury Police/Emergency Supercars Classics Videos evo harry metcalfe morocco ferrari testarossa sahara