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Lamborghini Countach, Ferrari 512M and more immortalized as Lego sets

Lego has announced a slew of new Speed Champions sets, the ones based on actual licensed cars, for 2022. The latest batch includes a smorgasbord of supercars, from beloved classics like the Lamborghini Countach to yet-to-be-released promises like the long-awaited Mercedes-AMG One. There are seven cars in total, released in five sets.  Our favorite is probably the 262-piece Lamborghini Countach, based on a later LP500 variant. Not only does it tick the box of a childhood dream machine, but the angular shape of the real-life Countach lends itself well to being recreated in Lego bricks. Also, it's modeled in white rather than the typical red. Lego Speed Champions Ferrari 512M 1 View 6 Photos We also really dig the Ferrari 512M. It marked the last of Ferrari's V12 endurance racers, and even though it was soundly spanked by the Porsche 917, the cars are undeniably beautiful. The 291-piece Lego set does a great job of capturing its brutal wedge silhouette in brick form. Lego Speed Champions Lotus Evija 1 View 5 Photos Rounding out the single-car sets is the 247-piece Lotus Evija. The electric Lotus has a bit of a generic supercar look about it, but that's not entirely the fault of the Lego kit. Its dramatic vents can't really be replicated with the limited "resolution" of the Lego bricks. Its rear, with unique taillight-encircled air tunnels, is a bit more distinctive. Lego Speed Champions Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR & Vantage GT3 1 View 7 Photos In addition to the single car sets, there are two larger sets of two cars each. One is a 592-piece Aston Martin-themed pack that includes the Valkyrie AMR Pro and Vantage GT3. Again, it's a bit difficult to sculpt the cars' curvaceous lines out of straight-edged bricks, but the effort is admirable. The Valkyrie is probably the more successful of the two, as the Vantage would resemble a Corvette or Viper if it didn't have stickers to clarify the details. Lego Speed Champions Mercedes-AMG F1 W12 E Performance & Project One 01 View 9 Photos Last but not least is a twofer comprised of 564 bricks to build the Mercedes-AMG One and seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton's W12 racer. In Lego's official product description the driver is not mentioned by name, but the number 44 gives it away. The model of the One indeed looks like a sharp supercar, but the blocky pieces don't exactly replicate the lines we've seen on camouflaged test mules.

Listen to the Ferrari 488 GTB for the first time

We've received the initial information, seen it on the floor of the Geneva Motor Show and even played around with the online configurator. The one thing we haven't seen (or heard) just yet is the new Ferrari 488 GTB actually firing up. (Well, that and driving the thing, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.) Fortunately some paparazzi with a video camera have caught the new mid-engined, eight-cylinder Ferrari undergoing testing – still under wraps despite having already been unveiled – in Maranello, entering and exiting the factory. And in case you were worried that the twin turbochargers would muffle the exhaust note, it seems the boys in red have invested some time making sure that wouldn't be an issue. Not only that, but we appear to have here our first glimpse at the convertible version, expected (in accordance with traditional Ferrari nomenclature) to be dubbed the 488 GTS – that S standing for Spider instead of the B for Berlinetta. Expect a similar folding hardtop mechanism to that found on the outgoing 458 Spider. Then again, the last time the GTB handle was used on this line was with the F355, where the GTB was the coupe, GTS was the partial convertible with the removable roof panel, and the full convertible was called the F355 Spider. (The more recent, twelve-cylinder 599 GTB Fiorano only led to the limited-edition 599 SA Aperta, as Ferrari doesn't typically offer twelve-cylinder roadsters in "regular" production.)

Miami Vice Ferrari Testarossa headed to auction

Push up the sleeves on your suit jacket, get your favorite pastel T-shirt out of the closet and put on those Wayfarers for a trip to Monterey Car Week on the California coast. One of the 1986 Ferrari Testarossa hero cars from the hit '80s show Miami Vice is heading across the auction block there on Aug. 15. Even if you have no interest looking like Sonny Crockett, this is still a beautiful Prancing Horse. The story behind the Ferraris on Miami Vice is just as entertaining as the show. For the first two seasons, Don Johnson's Sonny Crockett drove a black Daytona Spyder, but in reality it was a C3 Corvette underneath. Ferrari reportedly threatened to sue the replica maker, and a compromise was worked out to cease production in exchange for two Testarossas. Originally black, they were repainted in white to pop better in night scenes. Mecum's example is part of that duo. Beyond the TV connection, this Testarossa is one of the early examples with the side mirror on a stalk that's perched high on the A-pillar. It still packs a 4.9-liter, 390-horsepower flat-12 engine paired with a five-speed, gated manual gearbox with a recent $8,000-engine-out service. Inside, there's cream leather and even a car phone that's period correct. This example is quoted with just 16,124 miles and authentication by Ferrari North America and Ferrari Classiche. Late last year, another white Testarossa showed up on eBay claiming to be one of the Miami Vice hero cars. The seller was asking for a $1.75-million Buy-It-Now for that one. It will be interesting to see how Mecum's Ferrari performs on the auction block in Monterey. "MIAMI VICE" HERO CAR SPEEDS INTO MECUM AUCTIONS MONTEREY 2015 Iconic 1986 Ferrari Testarossa to be offered at The Mecum Daytime Auction Aug. 15 WALWORTH, Wis. – July 7, 2015 – The star of the '80s-era television series "Miami Vice" is coming to the Mecum Daytime Auction in Monterey this Aug. 13-15. No, not Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs—the flashy detectives played by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas who fought episode-after-episode against the seedy underworld of Miami—but their 1986 Ferrari Testarossa. This iconic supercar with its signature side strakes was one of the quintessential poster cars that found itself plastered on many a teenager's bedroom wall in the 1980s, and it will now be offered for sale at the Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa – Del Monte Golf Course this Aug. 15.