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1957 Ferrari 335 S could set auction record at $30+ million

This car that could set the record for the highest price to be paid for an automobile at auction in 2016 – by the second month of the year, no less. It's a 1957 Ferrari 335 S Spider, and it's going up for sale at Artcurial in Paris next month, with an estimate topping $30 million. Though it may look a lot like the iconic 250 Testa Rossa that came out the same year, chassis number 0674 actually started out its life as a 315 S and fitted with coachwork by Scaglietti. After finishing sixth at Sebring and second in the Mille Miglia, it returned to Maranello and was upgraded to 335 S spec. The 3.8-liter V12 was enlarged to 4.1 liters, and its output swelled from 360 horsepower to nearly 400. Mike Hawthorn drove it at Le Mans that year, leading the race and setting a lap record before dropping down to fifth with mechanical troubles. It went on to compete in several more events as part of the factory Scuderia, helping it secure the title in 1957. It was then sold to famed US importer Luigi Chinetti who campaigned it for another couple of years, winning (among others) the 1958 Cuba Grand Prix with Stirling Moss and Masten Gregory behind the wheel. The 335 S was ultimately sold to noted collector Pierre Bardinon. Asked once why he didn't have a factory collection, Enzo Ferrari once said he had "no need" because "Bardinon has done it for me." That's high praise indeed, and the car remained one of the highlights of the Bardinon collection for over 40 years. Having liquidated the Baillon barnfind collection last year, the auction house estimates that this 335 S will sell for $30-34 million. That would not only set the bar very high for the year ahead, but could make it one of the highest price ever paid for a car at auction. 2014 saw a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sell for nearly $40 million, and a 250 GTO for $38 million. Behind them is Fangio's Mercedes W196 Silver Arrow that sold for nearly $30 million in 2013. The auction is set to take place during the Salon Retromobile in the French capital on February 5th. Among the other Prancing Horses that Artcurial has corralled for the event include a 1963 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta (estimated at $10–13.2m), Gianni Agnelli's unique 1986 Ferrari Testrossa Spider ($750k-1m), and a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Series 2 that belonged to the King of Morocco ($1.5-1.9m). So if it's a multi-million-dollar Ferrari you're after, Paris will be the place to be in a couple of weeks.

1954 Ferrari 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe named Best In Show at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance

For the first time in the event's 64-year history, the prestigious Best In Show honor at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance has been awarded to a Ferrari. The 1954 375 MM Scaglietti Coupe seen here is owned by car collector Jon Shirley of Medina, WA, and as it turns out, has quite a rich history.
Nevermind the fact that it's currently one of five road-going 375 MMs - this example was ordered by film director Roberto Rossellini, and was actually born as a Pininfarina-bodied competition Spyder. Following an accident, the car's original body wasn't able to be saved, but the chassis was sent to Carrozzeria Scaglietti in Modena for replacement, and the finished product became the company's first passenger car design for Ferrari.
Following its tenure with Rossellini, the car was owned by Mario Savona of Palermo, and later Charles Robert of Paris. Years later, the car was restored by its current owner in 1995, after being found in an underground garage in a Paris suburb.

The troubled Alfa Romeo Giulia needs serious help [UPDATE]

UPDATE: An Alfa Romeo US spokesman responded to this article with the following statement: The safety concerns expressed in the story are false. The all-new 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia is designed and engineered to meet or exceed all federal safety regulations. The Alfa Romeo Giulia will begin production for the North American market in the late second-quarter of this year. Alfa Romeo will have a full product portfolio of premium vehicles that includes plans for (8) all-new Alfa Romeo vehicles by 2020. The product launches are prioritized by segment volumes starting this year with the Alfa Romeo Giulia production for North America starting in late Q2, followed by the Midsize-UV – the 2nd largest premium segment in North America. Even on the day you dragged them kicking and screaming and gesticulating wildly to a table full of concrete evidence, Alfa Romeo executives will never admit the Giulia program is going through a tough patch. But it is. Reports say the Giulia, on the eve of production, didn't just fail one internal crash test, but failed the front, side and rear impact tests. Alfa denies it. Automotive News published a report last week saying two suppliers had insisted the Giulia, on the eve of production, didn't just fail one internal crash test, but failed the front-, side-, and rear-impact tests. A third supplier source told us the same thing. Alfa is denying it. It was due on sale in Europe late last year and was supposed to be here in the next month or two. But it wasn't, and it won't. It was to be headlined by a twin-turbo V6 that reportedly howled its way around the Nurburgring 14 seconds faster than the BMW M3 could manage. That second part is only true if you believe it's fair to compare a full lap in a standard BMW M3 with a favorable accumulation of sector times to a development prototype Giulia with 220 pounds stripped out of it and rolling on hand-cut racing slicks. No, me neither. A Promising Start The Giulia's all-new architecture was developed in just two years by a skunkworks of young engineers headed by Fiat's engineering prince, Philippe Krief, and (bafflingly) sited inside Maserati's headquarters complex in Modena, about three hours from Alfa Romeo's own Turin HQ.