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Fiat gives outgoing Ferrari chairman $35M severance package

Luca di Montezemolo may not have wanted to leave Ferrari this way, but don't feel too bad for the departing chairman, because he'll be hitting the ground with a golden parachute so big that he'll never have to work again.
According to the latest reports, Fiat will pay Montezemolo 26.95 million euros (nearly $35 million) in severance pay. A little more than half of that will be paid in a lump sum of 13.71 million euros ($17.7M, equivalent to five times his annual salary) on January 31, 2015, with the rest to be paid within the next 20 years.
The payment is contingent on Montezemolo not going to work for a competitor, so don't expect to see him replacing Stephan Winkelmann at Lamborghini or Wolfgang Dürheimer at Bugatti any time soon. At least not until March 2017. Of course with that much cash on hand, the 67-year-old marquis need never work again, but considering how busy he's used to keeping himself, we'd be surprised if he didn't pop up again somewhere.

Possible Ferrari F70/F150 specs emerge from private showings

At a private showing in Maranello, a group of lucky souls got to sneak a peek at the upcoming successor to the Ferrari Enzo, which has been referred to as both the F70 and F150 (not that F-150). While we still don't get any name confirmation or a definitive idea (aside from spy shots) as to what the newest Ferrari supercar will look like, one of the attendees did manage to pass along some vital performance information about the car as well as production numbers that are said to be limited to just 499 units.
The report on Auto-Blog.com.mx confirms that the Enzo successor will utilize an 800-horsepower V12 paired with a hybrid KERS good for another 150 hp. The engine's peak power kicks in at a screaming 9,200 rpm, while peak torque (not divulged) will be available at just 1,000 rpm. That kind of power could be great in just about anything, but the report also says that this new Ferrari model will have a dry weight of just 2,799 pounds (about the same as the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S twins and just slightly more than a Mazda MX-5 Miata). Rumored speed times include a top speed of 229 miles per hour, and the ability to run from 0-60 mph in less than three seconds; doubling that speed takes an extra second.
We've already seen the car's carbon fiber chassis and now we're just waiting to see the production car in real life, but Ferrari has not announced when the car will be introduced.

$80M Ferrari deal would make Vettel world's highest-paid sportsman

Formula One is in for a big shakeup next season, as the only two multiple World Champions on the grid are kicking off a game of musical chairs. Just who will end up where has yet to be figured out, but the overwhelmingly prevailing wisdom has Sebastian Vettel, who has already announced his departure from Red Bull, inking a contract with Ferrari worth 150 million pounds sterling for three years - that works out to over $80 million per year.
If the reports are true, that would make Vettel (pictured above with his assumed new teammate Kimi Raikkonen) the highest-salaried sportsman in the world. Compared to Vettel's rumored $80 million/year, soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo was paid $52 million last year and NFL quarterback Matt Ryan got $42 million, just ahead of soccer player Lionel Messi at $41.7 million. Boxer Floyd Mayweather was reportedly paid a whopping $100 million last year, but that's based on how many fights he fights and wins, putting him on a different earnings spectrum.
Those figures are also just for salaries, and do not include sponsorship and endorsement deals - and therein may lie part of the reason for Vettel's reportedly stratospheric salary. In addition to his salary from the Red Bull team with which he's won four World Championships, Vettel also pulls in a large retainer from Infiniti, which sponsors both the team and himself personally. In departing Red Bull, he'd undoubtedly have to sever the tie with Infiniti as well.