Only 32k Gray 6 Speed Manual Full Service Records Beige Interior on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ferrari replaces F1 boss with Marlboro exec

Ferrari just finished its worst Formula One season in decades, and if you're thinking heads are going to roll, you're right. In fact they already have, as team principal Stefano Domenicali was dismissed earlier this year and longtime chairman Luca di Montezemolo was axed just two months ago. Now Maranello has announced a new team principal, yet again. Instead of promoting from within, however, this time Ferrari has called in an outside executive – albeit one with whom it is intimately familiar. His name is Maurizio Arrivabene, and he's served as a senior executive at tobacco giant Philip Morris International, managing (among other areas) the Marlboro brand's sponsorship of the Scuderia. In that capacity he's been sitting on the FIA's Formula One Commission as the sponsors' representative since 2010, giving him a familiarity with how the series is run. In his new capacity as Managing Director of the Gestione Sportiva and Team Principal of Scuderia Ferrari, Arrivabene replaces Marco Mattiacci, who was called up to the post from his previous position as head of the North American office just eight months ago. Back then Mattiacci replaced a similarly under-performing Domenicali. The change may very well have come at the behest (if not insistence) of Philip Morris, which remains the team's main sponsor and is undoubtedly displeased with Ferrari's performance lately. It wouldn't be the first time. After all, Marlboro similarly brokered the deal that put Ron Dennis in charge of McLaren in the early 1980s. Mattiacci's swift replacement comes at the end of a disastrous season for the Scuderia. Following yesterday's season finale in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari finished fourth in the constructors' standings behind Mercedes, Red Bull and Williams. The last time it finished the championship in such poor shape was in 2010 when Felipe Massa was injured and the team scrambled to find a replacement. But even then it managed to win at least one race and land on the podium another five times. Fernando Alonso finished on the podium only twice this season while Kimi Raikkonen struggled further back. This year marked the first time Ferrari failed to win a grand prix since 1993, and even then Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger managed more podiums than the team scored this season.

Fiat Chrysler denies rumors that Ferrari SpA is moving to London

It seems that reports of Ferrari's relocation to London have been somewhat exaggerated. The past few days have seen more than a few stories on the legendary Italian brand's decision to move its tax base out of Italy, and now Fiat Chrysler is speaking out against the scuttlebutt. "These rumors have no grounds," FCA said in a statement obtained by Reuters. "There is no intention to move the tax residence of Ferrari SpA outside Italy, nor is there any project to delocalize its Italian operations, which will continue to be subject to Italian tax jurisdiction." Ferrari's move to London was based on two beliefs. First, that the company would benefit from being located nearer the investor community, should it be listed on a European exchange. FCA, though, said a European listing was only a "possibility," according to Reuters. Instead, the company will be listed on an American market. Aside from the move to benefit investors, it was believed Ferrari was looking to relocate to escape Italy's more oppressive corporate tax rate, which sits around at 31.4 percent, compared to the UK's 20 percent, Bloomberg reports. This denial by Fiat Chrysler, though, should be enough to close the book on Ferrari leaving Italy, no matter how much sense it might make. Related Video:

Crashing a Ferrari was the best life lesson I've ever had

I screamed out a string of expletives as the gleaming Rosso Corsa-bodied F430 spun sideways through the curve, locking up the brakes, and sending the $240,000 Italian masterpiece sliding into the forest, coming to an abrupt and grinding halt, narrowly missing the tree line and avoiding my untimely death. As the proverbial dust had settled, I knew that I had been through one of the most harrowing experiences of my life and I was alive to tell the story. I knew for sure I would never live this down, not financially and definitely not socially ... or so I thought. Big mistakes often have a polarizing effect where on-one-hand we don't have a real way to know the scope of the damage and this results in fear of the unknown, but on the other hand we usually know we're okay and this results in strange internal calmness. For me this experience led to a major life lesson, an amazing story to tell, and a level of humility that served to be instrumental in all of my future endeavors. Throughout my entire childhood I had built up an obsession with Ferrari. I grew up with a poster of a yellow F355 Spyder above my bed, and like many kids I admired fast, ridiculous, and unattainable cars. Fast forward to adulthood, I found an opportunity that coincided with my love for these cars and a chance to drive one from the lauded brand as a birthday present to myself. A local exotic car rental business had a package that allowed you to test drive six exotic cars from various manufacturers, each more colorful and ostentatious than the last. I knew this was my chance to come up close and personal with the cars of my dreams. That is, until the whole experience went awry. On the day of my dream car tour, I drove myself and a friend to the New Jersey headquarters of the rental company. Greeted by nearly two dozen of the finest exotic vehicles available for purchase, doors open, the visual experience alone proved to be astounding. In addition to completing a slew of legal paperwork, we were all required to watch an introductory safety briefing, complete with photos of various past mishaps on the tour. The instructor stressed the importance of safety and actions we should take care to avoid. Our carefully planned route along the winding hills of Harriman State Park were detailed prior to departure. Each of the six drivers for that day would take their allotted turns at commanding two-Lamborghinis, two-Bentleys, one-Maserati and one-Ferrari.