2011 Ferrari 458 Italia 2dr Cpe on 2040-cars

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Ferrari 412 picks up a teak cargo bed

While marques like Porsche and Lamborghini having already branched out into SUVs, with Bentley and Maserati soon to follow, Ferrari remains one of the few high-end automakers that refuses, for better or worse, to follow suit. But the boys in Maranello never said anything about a pickup.
That's precisely what we have here, although as you might have guessed, this was not (unlike the similar treatment BMW applied to the previous M3) a factory-authorized conversion. Instead it was undertaken by the London Motor Group, parent company to the London Motor Museum and London Supercar Workshop. It's based on a late-80s Ferrari 412, the 2+2 coupe that preceded the 456 GT, which in turn was replaced by the 612 Scaglietti and then the FF, itself Ferrari's first hatchback. In other words, it comes from a line that was ripe to mark a first in terms of Ferrari body-styles.
The one-off retains the 4.9-liter V12 and just about everything forward of the cabin. But behind it's got a three-foot pickup bed lined in teak. The London outfit also gave it a twin-barrel hood scoop, variable exhaust and a custom Bang & Olufsen sound system to round it out. The vehicle is set to feature on the History Channel's Ultimate Wheels, alongside a VW camper, Ford Mustang, Group B-inspired Audi and a unique Bristol.

This is what it's like to drive Magnum PI's Ferrari 308

In the pantheon of 80s pop culture, few cars have such provenance as the Ferrari 308. Sure, vehicular icons like the DeLorean and Pontiac Trans Am (especially in time machine and KITT guise) made us swoon back in the day, but there's something about the bright red Italian that makes it stand out; perhaps it is the 308's performance credibility, at least when compared to other memorable cars of its ilk.
Our fondness for Magnum PI's Ferrari 308 is shared by Oscar Verdugo, who's featured in the video you'll see below. Brought to you by theAFICIONAUTO, this video highlights the bond between the men and women who own and love such so-called star cars, and it focuses on one particular 1981 Ferrari 308 GTSI. Scroll down to watch the video below.

Car designer Frank Stephenson wants to show you something ... smaller

Influential car designer Frank Stephenson has often thought small. Now he’s thinking smaller. Throughout the past three decades, he has shaped — literally — some of the most indelible designs in automotive history: the modern Mini, the Ferrari FXX track star, the Maserati Gran Sport, a range of stunning McLarens and down to the funky 21st-century version of the Fiat 500. Now heÂ’s turned his pen to fashioning watches. His Cosmos analog piece, made to mirror “a black hole in space” and detailed “with an orange pinstripe which simulates the supernova glow of a neutron star,” features a Japan-built quartz movement and was created in concert with the Time Concepts company. “ItÂ’s the age-old adage ‘car people are watch people,Â’ so it was a natural step for me to get creative with timepieces too,” Stephenson said in a statement. “The collection showcases the love I have for exceptional and emotionally charged design, just like what is required in designing world class cars.” While Stephenson, who is 64, may be best known publicly for his vision of “affordable style” with the Mini and the Fiat, his ethos also translated to the utilitarian. In the case of BMW in the mid-1990s, the company was hustling to market an SUV, and turned to him for inspiration. His team had six months to complete the project. The result was the high-end X5, which Stephenson sketched during a two-hour flight. In 2018, Stephenson established the independent design company, Frank Stephenson Design, based in London. Related video: Design/Style BMW Ferrari Fiat Maserati McLaren MINI Gadgets watch frank stephenson