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LaFerrari XX may have lapped N?rburgring in 6:35

Enthusiasts around the world - ourselves included - have been anxiously awaiting the ultimate supercar showdown. After all, we seldom see three of the world's preeminent exotic automakers come out with such closely matched machinery in such close proximity as we have with the Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1 and Ferrari LaFerrari. That showdown could occur on no better a playing field than the Nürburgring, but the automakers haven't exactly been playing ball.
Porsche set down a lap time of 6:57, staking its claim as the fastest street-legal production car ever to lap the vaunted Nordschleife. Rather than challenge Zuffenhausen head-on, though, McLaren has only said that the P1 has clocked a time of under seven minutes, and though Ferrari has been testing the new LaFerrari at the Ring, it hasn't released any official time at all. Maranello may, however, be preparing to announce an even faster time.
According to word we're receiving from across the pond, Ferrari has clocked a lap time of 6:35 - only it wasn't achieved in the road-going LaFerrari, but in the upcoming track-bound LaFerrari XX. That model, which was just confirmed and spied last week, will follow in the footsteps of the Enzo-based FXX and the 599XX, which itself recorded a lap time of 6:58 in 2010. Because it's not street-legal, it didn't contend for the same honors, and within a couple of months was pipped on the leaderboard for non-street-legal vehicles by the Pagani Zonda R by over ten seconds.

Harry Metcalfe drives his Ferrari Testarossa in the Sahara

Take a moment to conjure some worthy answers to this question: "What can I do in a [Ferrari] Testarossa that's a really good road journey?" Then imagine yourself saying, "Tomorrow we're off to the Sahara in my Testarossa." If you were Evo magazine impresario Harry Metcalfe, those would be the kinds of Q&A sessions you'd have with yourself, and thankfully he's put the question and the answer in a fantastic 29-minute video. That answer was 2,500-mile journey out of London, on boat from Portsmouth, England, to Santander, Spain, a ferry from Tarifa, Spain, to Tangier, Morocco, a drive to Marrakech, over the snowy alpine-looking Tizi n'Tichka Pass, to Erfoud, and then to the dunes of Sahara. It involved some bribes, a twice broken-down Testarossa, confiscation of a drone, tons of speed traps and at least one ticket, a pair of lucky pants, some phenomenal scenery, and Ferrari sounds, including a long stint off-roading on a washboard track. Plus, a lot of jealousy on our part. Enjoy. News Source: Harry's Garage via YouTube Ferrari Coupe Luxury Police/Emergency Supercars Classics Videos evo harry metcalfe morocco ferrari testarossa sahara

Macron and Le Pen decry 'shocking' Stellantis CEO pay

PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron and his far-right challenger in the French presidential vote, Marine Le Pen, on Friday both decried as “shocking” the multimillion euro payout to the CEO of carmaker Stellantis. Stellantis CEO Carlos TavaresÂ’ remuneration package of 19.15 million euros just a year after the company was formed became an issue as Macron and Le Pen campaigned ahead of the April 24 runoff vote. Polls show purchasing power and inflation are a top voter concern. Stellantis was formed last year through the merger of PSA Peugeot and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Centrist President Emmanuel Macron, perceived by many voters as being too pro-business, called the pay package “astronomical” and pushed for a Europe-wide effort to set ceilings on “abusive” executive pay. “ItÂ’s shocking, itÂ’s excessive,” he said Friday on broadcaster France-Info. “People canÂ’t have problems with purchasing power, difficulties, the anguish theyÂ’re living with, and see these sums. Otherwise, society will explode.” Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who enjoys support from many working-class voters, called for bringing in more workers as shareholders. “Of course itÂ’s shocking, and itÂ’s even more shocking when it is the CEOs who have pushed their society into difficulty,” she said Friday on BFM television. “One of the ways to diminish this pay, which is often out of proportion with economic life, is perhaps to allow workers in as shareholders.” Stellantis continued to back the package despite a 52.1% to 47.9% vote rejecting it at an annual shareholders' meeting chaired from the Netherlands, where the company is legally based, on Wednesday. The company, citing Dutch civil code, noted that the vote is advisory and not binding. The company later said in a statement that it took note of the vote, and will explain in an upcoming 2022 remuneration report “how this vote has been taken into account.” In the 2021 report, the company identified peer group companies that it used as a salary benchmark, including U.S. companies like Boeing, Exxon Mobile, General Electric as well as carmakers Ford and General Motors. Stellantis, whose brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Jeep, Opel and Maserati, reported net profits last year had tripled to 13.4 billion euros ($15.2 billion). The French government is the third-largest shareholder in Stellantis, with a 6.15% stake through the Bpifrance Participations S.A. French public investment bank.