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Ferrari auctioning one-off LaFerrari for Italian earthquake relief

Ferrari is about as Italian as Italian gets, so it's no surprise that the company is launching an initiative to help the victims of this year's two major central Italian earthquakes. And it involves a LaFerrari. Ferrari, RM Sotheby's, and the National Italian American Foundation's Earthquake Relief Fund are partnering up to auction off a one-off LaFerrari from the company's own collection at the upcoming Finali Mondiali on December 3. All proceeds from the auction will go to the reconstruction efforts in central Italy following August's magnitude 6.2 quake and the string of quakes that hit late last month. If you're heading to the Daytona International Speedway for Finali Mondiali and have seven-figure's worth of cash burning a hole in your finely lined pockets, it's worth mentioning what you could bid on. The LaFerrari in question wears the company's traditional Rosso Corsa, but sports white accents down its body and an Italian tricolor on its nose. Ferrari says bespoke interior stylings complement the one-of-a-kind exterior treatment. The special LaFerrari will cross the block at RM Sotheby's on December 3. Related Video:

Aston Martin hires Ferrari's 'key guys' to challenge 488 GTB

Aston Martin is wasting no time in its aggressive product rollout, and it's putting Ferrari and other supercar makers on notice. At the recent launch of the DB11 V8 in Catalonia, Spain, we caught up with Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer. The Aston chief gave us new details on plans for a mid-engine car to go up against the Ferrari 488 GTB, the McLaren 720S and the Lamborghini Huracan. Palmer says Aston has harnessed a great deal of learning from the $3 million Valkyrie hypercar and plans to apply that to its next mid-engine car, slated to land sometime in 2020 or so. As indicated in part of our conversation below, design plans for that car are developing quickly. Autoblog: You said there will be a forthcoming mid-engine sports car. I still think the Ferrari 488 GTB is one of the best I've driven. How do you compete with that? Andy Palmer: "Well, I agree with you. That's the best car in its segment. And we're going to take it on. And I realize the gravity of that statement, of what that means." AB: So how do you take on the 488 GTB? AP: "Well, to start with, you recruit from Ferrari the head of body structures, and the head of powertrains. I've now got three of Ferrari's key guys. And really, it's a big compliment to Ferrari. That's the defining car in its segment, and it's really, really good. And those three guys now work for me. And you combine those guys with Nick [Lines, chief planning officer, Aston Martin] and Marek [Reichman, chief creative officer, Aston Martin] who you know really well, and you create some great recipes. And now I've got a better understanding of what that car looks like." AB: How far along is that car? Is there a clay model already? AP: "Yeah, there's clay. There's actually eight quarter-scales. And there's one in particular that I'm leaning toward. We've got it pushed out; it's gone to a second studio in Milton Keynes. That studio is different from Gaydon. And I've got a pretty good idea of what the replacement for the 488 is going to be like as well. So, if we're going in that market, we need to be ahead of the 488. And there's no naivete about what that means." View 16 Photos One of the recruits Palmer is referring to is Max Szwaj, former head of innovation and body structures at Ferrari and Maserati. Szwaj has been named vice president and chief technical officer in his new role in Gaydon.

Ferrari Names Sergio Marchionne CEO | Autoblog Minute

Sergio Marchionne is consolidating his power at the iconic Italian sports car maker. By adding the CEO title he will have even more power and control over the daily operations of Ferrari. Ferrari Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video Sergio Marchionne