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1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sells for record $39.8 million

This might not come as a shock, but ultra-rare vintage cars are only going to get more expensive as time rolls on, particularly if there's a prancing horse on the car's nose. For example, in 2011, a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for $16.39 million. In February 2012, a 1964 250 GTO sold for nearly $32 million. Later that year, a 1962 250 GTO sold for $35 million. It was the most expensive car ever sold, making last year's 275 GTB/4 NART Spider and its $27.5-million auction price seem like a drop in the platinum-lined bucket. Now, there's been another high-dollar Ferrari sale.
An unrestored, 1957 250 Testa Rossa was reportedly sold for over $39 million, making it the most expensive car ever sold in the United Kingdom. Just for perspective, $39 million is about 28 LaFerraris or roughly 128 F12 Berlinettas. It's not the most expensive car ever sold, but it still represents a huge sum of money for a classic car. Part of the reason for chassis number 0704 - the car pictured above is 0714, which sold for a mere $12.2 million in 2009 - being sold for so much is down to its excellent provenance.
It made its race debut at the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans, although it failed to finish. Phil Hill and Peter Collins racked up wins with this exact car in Buenos Aires and Sebring, according to the folks at Hemmings. Combining race wins by a former Formula One World Champion with an unrestored example of an extremely rare car (one of just 34 250 Testa Rossas ever built) makes its monumental sale price almost seem reasonable.

Ferrari introduces trick new augmented reality showroom

Augmented reality is darn cool, giving us a new and highly informative way to look at everyday scenes. We've seen a number of automakers play around with it, from Mini's AR goggles to Land Rover's information-intensive windshield. But while those are merely concepts, Ferrari is bringing augmented reality to the showroom. Literally. The company commissioned an app that uses 3D tracking technology to display a seven-step walkaround program that overlays information on one of the company's products. Want to see different wheel designs? How the air flows over the car's body? Or easily transmit your idea of the perfect Ferrari to friends and family? The app can do it all. It's a seriously impressive piece of technology, and one we could see moving well beyond the Ferrari showroom. Check out the iPad app in the video and let us know what you think of Ferrari's latest sales tool.

Scuderia Ferrari displaces relatives of missing passengers at Malaysian hotel

The action and glamor of a Formula One race coming to town is usually more than enough to shine an international spotlight on a host country, but Malaysia has made headlines recently for another reason entirely. That, of course, would be the disappearance of Malaysian Airlines flight 370. But with the two events coming together, something's going to have to give, and unfortunately in this case, it's the grieving families of the flight's passengers.
The clash came to a head when the Scuderia Ferrari came to town to set up for next weekend's race. Team members were booked to stay at the Cyberview Hotel in the capital of Kuala Lumpur, arrangements which F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone points out were likely to have been made long ago. The trouble is that over a dozen relatives of MH370 passengers who had come in from China were still staying at that hotel while awaiting word on their loved ones' fates, and with the hotel apparently filling up fast ahead of the grand prix weekend, those family members were forced to leave.
Just where they've gone, we don't know, but while the development may not look good for Ferrari or for F1, it strikes us as one of those unfortunate situations where no one is really to blame. The race has been booked for months, the team likely made their reservations long before the flight went missing, the hotel is obliged to honor the reservations and the grieving families need somewhere to stay. The tendency to point fingers often prevails, but in this situation we're afraid no one is to blame but the circumstances. That, and the still as-yet unknown cause of the flight's mysterious disappearance.