2011 Ferrari 458 Italia 2dr Cpe on 2040-cars

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Ferrari planning sleeker FF coupe?

There are a lot of things you could call the Ferrari FF. Innovative, advanced, pioneering, ponderous... beautiful may not be one of them, though. Because while it does pack Ferrari's first all-wheel drive system, it doesn't pack it into a very pretty shape, alternately described as a chopped shooting brake or stretched hatchback. Word has it, though, that Ferrari is working on a solution.
That solution, according to Car and Driver, would be to chop it down into an FF coupe. Apparently separate from the SP FFX project that ultimately emerged as a one-off, this rebody could potentially solve the FF's stylistic shortcomings and attract more buyers, while retaining the 6.3-liter V12 engine that drives 651 prancing horses to all four wheels. But here's where it gets tricky: if Ferrari simply sloped the roofline and got rid of the rear seats, the finished product would end up precariously close to the F12 Berlinetta, albeit with an extra set of driven wheels.
We'd sooner guess that Maranello would lengthen the form slightly to keep the rear seats, add a trunk and give it a more graceful profile, though the elongated form of the preceding 612 Scaglietti strikes us as what Ferrari was trying to get away from with the FF in the first place. And guessing is as good as we've got at this point, as our attempts to get more from Ferrari PR resulted in a sad (if predictable) "no comment."

Ferrari teases more specs on its Enzo successor

On its web site, Ferrari has divulged a little more info about the supercar that will succeed the Ferrari Enzo. The Ferrari magazine reported that everything the Scuderia has learned in Formula One has gone into its soon-to-be-revealed animal, and this latest disclosure shows just how much that's true. We don't know its length or width, but Ferrari says one of the targets for the car was "a reduction in height and wheelbase to match that of the 458 Italia."
Rory Byrne, the Ferrari F1 designer that's been involved in 11 world championships for the team, has spent three years contributing to chassis development. That chassis will be laid up by hand in the company's F1 composites department, each chassis composed of different kinds of carbon fiber and cured in an autoclave, F1 monocoque-style. That's part of where the lighter weight and vastly heightened torsional and beam rigidity versus the Enzo comes from. Just behind the tub - and behind the driver's back - will be the batteries and fuel tank, again, just as on an F1 car.
The cockpit will be personalized to the driver in a way that is rare among road cars, with each seat made-to-measure for the driver and then set in a fixed position in the cabin. The steering wheel and pedal box will move to accommodate pilots. What's more, we're told that "the occupant's feet are at the same level as the driving position." That, and the angle of the seatback, will provide "an extraordinarily racy feeling."

1964 Ferrari 250 GTO sees Petrolicious embracing gorgeousness

We've never, ever accused Petrolicious of slacking when it comes to the quality of cars it features. Each week brings a new, exciting, rare vehicle that has some special quality or provenance to it. But this week's video... it's beyond everything else the series has ever done.
That's because it stars the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO, also known as (possibly) the most expensive vehicle ever sold. Only 36 were ever built, and this particular 1964 example was the first of the Series II range. Rather than some tinkerer or restorer behind the wheel of this masterpiece, Derek Hill, son of the first American Formula One World Champion, Phil Hill, is on hand for the interview and is slotted into the tight cockpit of the Rosso Corsa masterpiece.
This particular GTO was raced multiple times by Hill Sr., and it recorded wins at Daytona and Nassau, thanks in part to its 300-horsepower, 3.0-liter V12 engine. That makes it a bit special for the younger Hill, who can speak with some authority about this car's provenance - and wheel it rather well himself, as he's a fairly accomplished racer in his own right. Of course, if you're like us, you'll forget everything Hill says and will go completely slack-jawed as soon as that V12 starts to sing.