2011 Ferrari 458 Italia Carbon Fiber Wheel Leds Scuderia Shields Hard Loaded Wow on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Ferrari dominant at high-priced RM Auctions' Monterey event

Of the 21 multi-million-dollar lots sold over RM Auctions' two-day Monterey event, the top six were Ferraris while the top four were members of the vaunted 275 family. In total, 13 of the 21 seven- and eight-figure entries bore the yellow shield and prancing horse of the Scuderia.
Two cars in particular wowed bidders at the Monterey event - the exceptionally rare Ferrari 275 GTB/C Speciale and a 275 GTB/4 that was originally owned by Hollywood legend Steve McQueen.
The GTB/C Speciale was the first of a three-car run. Ferrari originally planned on campaigning the new range as a GT complement to its prototype entries at Le Mans, although squabbles with the FIA limited its racing career. Still, the extremely rare nature of this car means another example probably won't be coming up for auction for several years. Considering that, the GTB/C's selling price of $26.4 million does make a bit of sense.

Ferrari celebrates at Hong Kong's Asia World Expo

More than 600 Ferrari models, representing every era of the famed automaker's production, celebrated 30 years of presence in Hong Kong with a gathering at the Asia World Expo this past weekend. The event marked the largest single gathering of Maranello's sports cars ever organized in China. The weekend culminated with Marc Gene, Scuderia Ferrari's test driver, unveiling the new 458 Speciale.
There are only about 1,700 Ferrari owners in China, and they boast an average age of just 35 years. The young clientele in the Asian market often take advantage of Ferrari's 'Tailor Made' bespoke program and they have a growing interest in racing. The automaker says that many will travel to the Mugello circuit in Italy to participate in the final event of the Asia Pacific series of the Ferrari Challenge in a couple weeks.
"I am pleased to be here to celebrate Ferrari's thirty years in Hong Kong, along with so many owners who share our passion and the search for excellence, exclusivity and innovation," said President Luca di Montezemolo. The video shows hundreds of Ferraris, in popular white, yellow and red, being arranged indoors to form the Bauhinia Blakeana, a five-pedal flower that is the characteristic symbol of Hong Kong. Apparently owners of the more exclusive Blu Scozia, Avio Met and Vinaccia colors were asked to park outside. Scroll down below for a video and press release detailing the event.

Why Italians are no longer buying supercars

Italy is the wound that continues to drain blood from the body financial of Italian supercar and sports car makers. The wound was opened by the country's various financial police who decided to get serious about superyacht-owning and supercar-driving tax cheats a few years ago, by noting their registrations and checking their incomes. When it was found that a rather high percentage of exotic toy owners had claimed a rather low annual income - certain business owners were found to be declaring less income than their employees - the owners began dumping their cars and prospective buyers declined to buy.
Car and Driver has a piece on how the initiative is hitting the home market the hardest. Lamborghini sold 1,302 cars worldwide in 2010, 1,602 cars in 2011 and 2,083 cars in 2012 - an excellent surge in just two years. In Italy, however, it's all about the ebb: in 2010, the year that Italian police began scouring harbors, Lamborghini sold 96 cars in Italy, the next year it sold 72, last year it sold just 60. The declines for Maserati and Ferrari are even more pronounced.
Head over to CD for the full story and the numbers. What might be most incredible isn't the cause and effect, but where the blame is being placed. A year ago the chairman of Italy's Federauto accused the government of "terrorizing potential clients," this year Luca di Montezemolo says what's happening has created "a hostile environment for ­luxury goods." Life at the top, it ain't easy.