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1956 Ferrari 250 Tour de France could fetch $11M [w/video]

Highly valuable and arrestingly gorgeous classic Ferraris come up for auction all the time. Most of them derive from the 250 series: GTOs, SWB Berlinettas, Lussos, Testa Rossas. And when they do, they almost invariably fetch big bucks. But there's something about this one that just stops us in our tracks. The long wheelbase, the simple but elegant lines, the French blue paintjob and minimalist racing livery.... That it happens to have an unsurpassed racing history only sweetens the deal, as we're sure collectors are bound to find out when bidding opens in Monterey next month. This 1956 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta Competizione was one of just 14 made, and one of just nine built by Scaglietti without the louvers on the remaining five Zagato-bodied examples. But what sets it apart is its racing history. It belonged to the legendary Marquis Alfonso de Portago, a Spanish nobleman and gentleman racer who rose to celebrity status in the early 1950s. Renowned for courting both women and danger, de Portago took to motor racing in 1953, proved a quick study, and was signed by Ferrari in '56. Portago drove this very car to victory at the notoriously challenging Tour de France, which included two hill climbs, six circuits, and a drag race over the course of six days. With his longtime compatriot and co-pilot Edmund Nelson (whom he befriended as a child living in New York's Plaza Hotel where Nelson worked the elevator) at his side, the Marquis dominated the event. So kicked off a series of four consecutive wins Ferrari would take at the famously grueling race, cementing this model's name as a result. The duo won a number of other races in this car, which proved practically undefeated in their hands. Tragically, Portago and Nelson were killed in a crash at the Mille Miglia mere months later, putting an end to their lives as well as that of the Italian road race. The car subsequently passed through the hands of a number of notable collectors on both sides of the Atlantic, underwent a ground-up restoration in the early 1990s, and has won top honors at numerous events, including Pebble Beach, Meadow Brook, and the Louis Vuitton concours d'elegance. It's now going up for auction for the first time in 23 years as part of RM Sotheby's array at Monterey this summer.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton buys LaFerrari

Lewis Hamilton has driven some of the fastest cars ever devised, like the McLaren MP4-23 with which he won the 2008 Formula One World Championship, the Mercedes W05 with which he won the title last year, and the new W06 he drove to the checkered flag in the season opener earlier this month. But what does he drive in his spare time? According to the latest reports quoting his boss Toto Wolff, the reigning champ celebrated his win at the Australian Grand Prix by ordering a new LaFerrari. The seven-figure, 950-horsepower hybrid hypercar may be made by a rival manufacturer to the team for which he drives, but then his employers at Mercedes don't (for the time being at least) build anything that competes in the segment – unlike his former employers at McLaren that offer the similarly potent P1. Something tells us he won't be invited to drive it at Fiorano, though - which is something his rivals Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel have all had the chance to do. Hamilton has a long-established penchant for driving twelve-cylinder exotic supercars in his spare time. At his previous place of work, he was promised an exceedingly rare McLaren F1 LM – valued at some $4 million – but only if he won three world titles for the Woking-based team. He also owns a Pagani Zonda that was made specifically for him with a 760-horsepower engine (supplied, naturally, by Mercedes) and a six-speed manual – complete with a clutch pedal, which (apart from starting off the line) is something he doesn't usually get to operate during working hours. Related Video:

Alonso and Rossi to field Ferrari at Le Mans?

The plot thickens and just keeps thickening when it comes to Ferrari's potential return to Le Mans. Antonello Coletta, the head of Ferrari's sports car racing program, first suggested that the new regulations being implemented by the ACO could potentially see the Prancing Horse marque compete in the top-tier LMP1 class. His thoughts have since been echoed by Stefano Domenicali, the head of the Scuderia's F1 team, and by chairman Luca di Montezemolo. And now we're hearing rumors over its potential driver lineup.
Word has it that Ferrari could send Valentino Rossi and Fernando Alonso to pilot its prototype at Le Mans in 2015 or 2016. The rumors were tweeted by Mark Webber (embedded below), who recently left F1 to drive for Porsche at Le Mans - and could amount to pure speculation, to some inside track on hard news or (as is often the case) something in between. One way or another, both Rossi and Alonso are multiple world champions in their fields with strong ties to Maranello and would make a formidable lineup - particularly if paired, we'd venture, with Ferrari's test driver Marc Gené, who won at Le Mans with Peugeot in 2009.
Although the Rossi connection would seem the greater stretch, it might actually make the most sense of the two. With nothing left to prove on two wheels, the seven-time MotoGP champion has been talking about leaving the series. He's test-driven Ferrari F1 cars on several occasions and raced the Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 in the Blancpain Endurance Series last season. The move would be a rare departure for Alonso, however, who has raced almost exclusively in open-wheel single seaters his entire career, and would need to balance the program with his F1 commitments. That is, assuming he doesn't get fed up with chasing after Sebastian Vettel and teaming with Kimi Raikkonen by then.