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Leno drives Henry Ford II's all-original '52 Ferrari 212 Barchetta

The story of the relationship between Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari is absolutely fascinating. The two great men of the auto industry had what appeared to be a burgeoning friendship until Ferrari pulled out of a deal to sell his company to Ford in the '60s. The latest car featured in Jay Leno's Garage is a 1952 Ferrari 212 Barchetta that tells the very beginnings of that story.
This Prancing Horse was a gift to Ford from Enzo when the two companies were first thinking about merging, according to the curator of the Petersen Automotive Museum. Ferrari really wanted to show off its best so instead of the 212's normal V12, this car was fitted with the larger 2.7-liter unit from a Ferrari 225. The car has been almost unaltered since then. It still wears its original paint, and it's tires date back to 1954.
The great thing about the Petersen is that unlike a lot of auto museums, the people there actually drive the cars and keep them in working order. Once on the road with Leno behind the wheel, this Ferrari really sings. Unfortunately, he can't open it up too much because the 60-year-old tires really hold things back. Scroll down to watch this amazing piece of automotive history and learn it's possible effect on the styling of the original Ford Thunderbird.

Ford Focus RS will go global, come to US

"We are transforming our approach to performance." – Mark Fields Ford will launch a new high-performance Focus RS around the world, including the United States, company CEO Mark Fields confirmed at a press conference Thursday morning. It is expected to debut in January at the Detroit Auto Show, though launch timing is unclear. "We are transforming our approach to performance," Fields said. The RS will serve as a hotter variant of the Focus, which will be redesigned next year as part of Ford's 16 product launches. Our spy photographers have already captured images of a purported RS, which you can see above. Ford last sold a Focus RS in Europe in 2009, and it continues the long lineage of RS-badged performance cars, which dates to 1968. "The RS has a significant heritage and pedigree," Ford product chief Raj Nair said. The Focus RS will slot above the Focus ST, which will continue, a spokesman said. The ST runs a turbocharged, 252-horsepower four-cylinder that's paired with a six-speed manual transmission. It also has chassis and design upgrades to reinforce its athletic dynamics. The most recent intel suggests that the new RS could use Ford's 2.3-liter turbo-four, tuned to anywhere from 325 to 350 hp. All-wheel drive is also rumored to be part of the new RS formula. Meanwhile, Ford announced it is putting all of its sporty units under the umbrella name of "Ford Performance," which will be led by Mustang chief engineer Dave Pericak. Ford Performance will include Ford Racing, SVT (which is responsible for the Raptor and Shelby GT350) and RS. "We're changing Ford's performance business," Nair said. Ford is placing a renewed emphasis on performance, as the customers tend to be younger, wealthier and better educated, Nair said. In other news, Nair said the company is working on a Raptor version of the new, aluminum-bodied F-150, which launched this year. "I want to get it out as quickly as we can," he said.

Auto investor Kirk Kerkorian dead at 98

Kirk Kerkorian, among the most talked-about investors in the American auto industry in recent memory, died at the age of 98 in Los Angeles on Monday, June 15. The billionaire ran the investment company Tracinda Corp. and was the largest shareholder in MGM Resorts International. Kerkorian attempted to use his power as a well-financed investor to push the auto industry in some fascinating ways. In 2006, he used his nearly 10-percent stake in General Motors to push a merger with the Renault-Nissan Alliance. The deal made it as far as discussions, but eventually fell through. Kerkorian also attempted to purchase Chrysler - twice. According to Automotive News, the first effort came in 1995 with a $22.8-billion offer for the automaker, and soon after it failed the company merged with Daimler. Then in 2007, Kerkorian was back with a bid for $4.5 billion, but things eventually fell to Cerberus. The billionaire finished the trifecta by buying up $1 billion in Ford stock in 2008 to make Kerkorian the single largest investor in the company. However, the situation didn't last long, and by the end of that year, he had unloaded the shares. According to Automotive News, Kerkorian was ranked by Forbes as the world's 41st richest man in 2008 with a net worth of $16 billion. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Joe Cavaretta / AP Photo Celebrities Earnings/Financials Chrysler Ford GM obituary