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1964 Ferrari 250 LM sets Arizona auction record at $9.6 million [w/video]

We've seen some high-priced metal come up under the hammer in Arizona over the years, but the one you're looking at right here is the most expensive ever sold during the famous auction weekend. It's a Ferrari 250 Le Mans from 1964, the ninth of just 32 examples made. And RM Auctions just sold it for $9,625,000. That doesn't make it the most expensive Ferrari ever sold at auction, or even the top price paid for a 250 LM: according to figures from Sports Car Market, the same auction house has handled the top five highest-grossing 250 LMs of all time, including the 1965 Le Mans winner that sold in New York in 2013 for $14.3 million and another that sold last August in Monterey for $11.5 million. But it does make this example, according to RM, "the most valuable automobile sold in Arizona auction history." One of the earliest mid-engined Ferraris, the 250 LM was the last of Maranello's Le Mans winners. This particular example, chassis number 5899 GT, was sold by the factory to the famed Swiss racing team Scuderia Filipinetti, winning the Sierre-Montana Crans Hill Climb fresh out the box, followed immediately by another win at the XV Coppa Inter-Europa at Monza – both at the hands of Ferrari F1 and Le Mans drivers. After Filipinetti was done with it, 5899 GT was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show, was sold off the stand and changed hands a few more times – including one owner who oddly replaced the bodywork with that of a Porsche 906 Carrera 6 and another who swapped out the engine. It went on to win many more races, and was ultimately reunited with its original engine and proper bodywork. Restored several times over, 5899 GT was certified ten years ago by the Ferrari Classiche department and was even displayed at the factory museum in Maranello. The 250 LM wasn't the only noteworthy lot RM sold this weekend in the Frank Lloyd Wright Ballroom at the Arizona Biltmore, though. Several other Ferraris sold in the millions, from a '67 275 GTB/4 that sold for $3.6 million to a 2005 FXX Evoluzione for $1.6 million. The '71 Lamborghini Miura SVJ that was tipped to break the $2-million mark ultimately sold for under $1.9M, and the '84 Audi Sport Quattro ultimately dropped right in its estimate range at $401,500. All told, RM sold 90 percent of the metal it was consigned for the event, bringing in a whopping $63.7 million in sales. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Kimi Raikkonen returns to Ferrari

The so-called "silly season" in Formula One conjured up all kinds of rumors, and most of them revolved around Kimi Raikkonen. Would the 2007 World Champion stay at Lotus? Would he switch to Red Bull to replace Mark Webber? Would he return to Ferrari?
Well now we have the answer. Ferrari has confirmed that the Finn is heading back to Maranello, where he will partner with Fernando Alonso starting next season in a two-year deal. That means Felipe Massa, who has been at Ferrari since 2006 but has struggled to keep up the pace since his catastrophic crash in 2009, will need to find a new seat.
The announcement opens up a series of questions as a game of musical chairs commences. Where will Massa go? Who will fill Raikkonen's seat at Lotus? And will Alonso tolerate the team bringing in another former champion and serious contender to challenge his position as number one at the top team? We'll just have to wait and see, but the move in and of itself demonstrates a certain businesslike lack of personal emotion on Kimi's part, having been unceremoniously dumped by Ferrari three years ago to make way for Alonso. Head on down below for the rather Raikkonenly brief announcement.

Ferrari cuts Toronto lawyer a deal to replace his flooded California [w/video]

A Ferrari might be the last vehicle you'd want to be driving when streets are submerged in water, but Toronto lawyer Howard Levitt was unfortunate enough to be behind the wheel of his $200,000+ Ferrari California when the tunnel he was driving through started to fill up. It was July, when parts of the Canadian city were flooded, but he was determined to make his flight to a court appearance the next day. So Levitt abandoned his metallic blue supercar in the middle of the street and took a cab to the airport, the National Post reports.
The car subsequently was totaled, and the insurance company covered the damage, so after completing his court assignment (and a column for the Financial Post that was due the same day), Levitt began to search for a replacement for his California - driving his 1994 Dodge Viper in the meantime. He decided on a 2014 California in the same metallic blue to replace his 2010 model. When he approached Ferrari to put in an order, the Italian marque was waiting for him, having heard of his mishap. The company offered him a "very generous" deal on a 2014 model; an undisclosed amount less than the after-options retail price of around $300,000.
The new Ferrari is expected to be delivered to Levitt in November, and we can only hope another flood doesn't catch him off guard. We're not so sure Ferrari would offer him another "very generous" deal. Feel free to watch the short video below, despite its rather static nature, which we included to precisely show the sad fate of Levitt's fallen California.