$40 Million Ferrari sets record

Careening financial markets seem to not throw the collectible car market off course.

A 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa recently the deal sold in the UK for $40 million, according to people in the vicinity. The private sale is likely be the most expensive of the year so far. While other Ferraris for higher prices in private sale shops have sold, this is the highest price for a Testa Rossa.

The sale set a strong tone for the collectible car market as the auto auctions in Paris about the stage. RM auctions on Wednesday sold a 1955 Jaguar D-type for 3.69 million euro or something more than $5 million. Total turnover for the day were 17.7 million euros, with 80 percent of its cars sold.

Collector car sales and prices, as well as stock exchanges rose in the fourth quarter. The blue-chip index collector cars by Hagerty, a collectible car insurance rose 10 percent in the quarter.

Read more: Ferrari sold for record $16.4 million

However, sales of 1957 Testa Rossa, offers the latest evidence that Ferrari have now entered a different stratosphere from the rest of the car market. Hagerty Ferrari index staged its biggest move the surging 31 percent in price the last six years, with some Ferrari models,.

The Testa Rossa was estimated for two reasons. It has a race vaunted history and it is unrestored, which means that it still not been rebuilt with new or manufactured parts. The car has top origin, were stored in the Henry Ford Museum outside before landing in Britain for 30 years Detroit.

"It is the most original unrestored 250 TR in the world," said Marcel Massini, a Ferrari historian and top expert in vintage Ferraris. "It has also perfect provenance. Fantastic car."

Read more: FFangio of Mercedes-Benz W196R sells for record $29,619,826

The car was sold by Tom Hartley Jr., a British super sports car dealers, confirmed the sale on Twitter. While Hartley, an opinion on the price or the buyer refused people say familiar with the deal, the price was $39.8 million and the buyer was a little-known British collector.

The Testa Rossa was a top racer in his time, his debut in the 1957 24 hours of Le Mans, then race in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Sebring, Florida

On Twitter, Hartley, said that after the sale "my only disappointment is the fact that I believe that it can ever be achieved, as I really don't, it is the world's largest car."

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$1 Million Ferrari owned by "Poor Little Rich girl"

Some of the most expensive cars on the planet while auctions are sold, and the show, which is the low season for well-heeled collector kicks in Amelia Iceland. This small beach community against North Florida is less than 12,000 inhabitants, but on a weekend in March it the Hamptons cheap feel.

Several cars with a famous story crossed the auction blocks in Amelia Iceland this year, but one of our favorites is a lipstick red 1969 Ferrari 365 GTC. This rare supercar was customized for Woolworth heiress Barbara Hutton, who was known as the "Poor Little Rich girl" and was once married, made with Cary Grant.

This Ferrari is still the original Moroccan plates on cars and Hutton's House in Morocco was delivered. It was sold for more than $1 million in the past March auction.

And that is not even sold at auction of the most expensive car. A millionaire Motorhead spent $4.5 million on a 1935 Duesberg, model SJ Walker at RM auctions.

When the dust from the car buying frenzy set, collectors spent more than $26.8 million to the RM auction and more than 28 million $ at the Gooding & company auction nearly $55 million for the weekend of this year's sales bring.

If you are next year auction would trade, book now better. Filling the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and any other hotel in the city up a year in advance for the event.

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Chevy upgrading its 'Vette to take on Ferrari, Porsche

Paul A. Eisenstein

It’s long been known as “America’s sports car.” But as Chevrolet gets ready to roll out the latest version of the Corvette, that’s clearly no longer good enough for the General Motors division.

When the all-new model, known to aficionados as the C7, debuts at the Detroit Auto Show next January, Chevy is clearly hoping to deliver the sort of sports car that can challenge global leaders like Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini.

"We set out to build a world-challenging sports car with design, refinement, efficiency and drive engagement that is second to none," declared Tadge Juechter, the program’s chief designer.

The new model, as its code name signifies, will be only the seventh version of the Corvette since its debut in 1953. First seen in concept form at GM’s annual Motorama car show in New York City, the production “’Vette” quickly developed a following among those who wanted an alternative to the heavy steel land yachts rolling off Detroit’s assembly lines.

Though early models were more show than go, they were popularized in song and on such TV shows as “Route 66,” a CBS series that followed two buddies cruising the back roads of the West in search of adventure.

By the late 1960s, models like the legendary Corvette Stingray had evolved into some of the more powerful automobiles ever produced in the U.S. But the twin oil shocks of the 1970s changed the automotive equation. Downsized Japanese automobiles challenged the Detroit mainstream, while European brands delivered sleek and more nimble alternatives to U.S. luxury and sports car buyers.

While the Corvette could still deliver neck-snapping acceleration off the line, it couldn’t come close to matching the handling of a Porsche or Ferrari in the corners. At the other end of the price spectrum, Americans discovered nimble little Japanese models like the Mazda Miata and so-called rice rockets such as the Honda Civic.

The GM division shifted gears with a fifth-generation Corvette introduced in 1997 and the even smaller, more nimble C6 that debuted eight years later, now about the size and weight of a Porsche 911 — though still boasting the trademark small block V-8 that had powered Corvettes since the mid-1950s.

Despite such improvements, efforts by Chevy to sell its two-seater abroad gained little traction except among a few select fans who wanted something decidedly offbeat. But with Chevrolet today earmarked as GM’s lead brand globally, the automaker is clearly targeting its European rivals with the C7.

And that’s led to an assortment of rumors about what’s in store. Early in its development, there was speculation that Chevy engineers would shift to a Lamborghini-like midengine layout, or migrate to the sort of small, high-tech turbo or supercharged six-cylinder power trains favored by other European competitors.

As the development program heads for the finish line, spy shots have begun leaking out showing that the new Corvette won’t be nearly as radical as some had anticipated. The 2014 model appears to be roughly the same size as the current C6, although it’s expected to make use of new materials and advanced manufacturing techniques that will result in a sports car that’s lighter, more aerodynamically efficient and a lot more nimble.

Meanwhile, the new C7 Corvette will deliver even more power than before. Chevy this week revealed the next-generation LT1 engine, a 6.2-liter small block that is expected to make “at least” 450 horsepower and 450 foot-pounds of torque — 20 horsepower and 26 foot-pounds more than the outgoing LS3 V-8.

If the new two-seater is indeed notably lighter than the outgoing Corvette, that would signify a major improvement in its power-to-weight ratio. For the moment, Juechter is only hinting that it will deliver zero-to-60 times of 4.0 seconds or less, “and that is on the entry-level vehicle.” Chevy has yet to reveal what it has in store for the limited-edition Corvette Z06 and ZR1 versions.

There may yet be some surprises, such as a small, high-tech power train option, more in line with the likes of Porsche or Ferrari, but that possibility — along with a shift to a midengine layout — appear likely to be on hold for the eventual C8 Corvette.

The one other detail Chevy is confirming is that there’ll be an all-new “crossed flags” logo appearing on the 2014 Corvette.

While the Corvette has always been a low-volume niche product, it is the halo brand for Chevrolet and takes on even more significance as the brand’s role grows for post-bankruptcy GM.

So, anticipate plenty of media attention in the weeks building up to the January auto show in Detroit, including a flood of spy shots and endless reports and speculation. This could be a critical moment for America’s sports car and a critical opportunity to take on the world’s best.

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Sergio Pininfarina, former Ferrari design chief, dies

The man who designed some of the most glamorous cars to hit the road in the past five decades, has died at 85. Here are a few of his iconic creations.

By msnbc.com staff and news wires
Sergio Pininfarina, the man behind the designs for some of the most glamorous cars to hit the road in the past five decades, has died, the company that bore his family's name said Tuesday. He was 85.

Pininfarina was an auto design genius whose stamp can be seen on a slew of iconic cars, including the 1984 Ferrari Testarossa, the 1996 Peugeot 406 Coupe, the 1986 Fiat 124 Spider, the 2002 Ferrari Enzo, the 2003 Maserati Quattroporte and the 2004 Ferrari Scaglietti.

He headed a family company founded in 1930 by his father, Gian Battista 'Pinin' Farina, a onetime Turin carriage maker, that had a knack since the 1950s for creating stunning production and concept cars. Pininfarina designed autos for Ferrari, the company most associated with the formidable design house, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Rolls-Royce, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Bentley, Volvo and Peugeot.

The ground-breaking 1947 Cisalfa coupe, designed by Gian Battista after World War Two, now sits in New York's Museum of Modern Art. It was one of Sergio's favourite models.

Gian Battista also initiated the Ferrari connection in 1952, but Sergio ended up managing most of their common projects and turned the business from craftsman level into a world renowned name.

Born in 1926, Sergio joined the family firm after graduating in mechanical engineering from Turin's Polytechnic University, became chief executive in 1961 and then chairman when his father died in 1966.

Benoit Tessier / Reuters

A Ferrari P4/5, designed by Pininfarina, is displayed on media day at the Paris Mondial de l'Automobile in Paris in this September 29, 2006 file photo.

In his half-a-century reign at Pininfarina, the company's automobile production rose from 524 units per year to more than 50,000.

Pininfarina was listed on the Italian Stock Exchange in 1986.

Sergio Pininfarina stepped down to become honorary chairman in 2006, shortly before the financial crisis, which hit the car industry heavily.

Many small builders, like Germany's Karmann and France's Heuliez, did not survive. Other design firms downsized, while Italdesign - another leading Italian stylist - was acquired by Volkswagen AG.

Pininfarina was forced to raise capital in 2009, re-negotiate its debt and shrink its business.

It had to close its manufacturing operations and reinvent itself as a smaller niche design player, with the family's 77 percent stake in the company used as collateral for loans with creditors it needs to pay back by 2018.

In May, Pininfarina said it expected to post its first profit this year since 2004.

Sergio Pininfarina's death comes about three months after the passing at age 76 of famed Porsche founder, and the designer of the iconic Porsche 911, Ferdinand Alexander Porsche.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ferrari sold for record $16.4 million

A 1957 Ferrari Testa Rossa took a $16.4 million in an auction of California the record for the highest price ever paid for a car sold at auction.

The car was the first Testa Rossa built, and served as a prototype for Testa Rossa race car. It has a 300-hp 3.0 litre V-12 engine and a four speed manual transmission. The Hammer came Saturday at the annual Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Monterey car week in California, where hundreds of other expensive classic cars were sold.

The buyer was not recognized.

"The super rich super-rich remain," said Swiss Ferrari historian Marcel Massini Sydney Morning Herald. "The very, very best sold easily, and incredibly high."

The bright red Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, which won 24 hours of race Le Mans, won the first place in the 2006 Concours d'Elegance, where vintage cars are judged see due to their State.

The previous record for a car was auctioned the $12 million sale of another in 1957 Testa Rossa in Maranello, Italy in 2009. The price includes a 10-percent fee for auctioneers Gooding & company, in accordance with CNNMoney on Saturday.

Go to the auction Rolls-Royce was sold 1925 new Phantom, which had been expected to fetch $1 million. Sammy Davis, Jr. was also not sold Rolls-Royce Silver cloud III convertible a 1963 possession.

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Ford sued over use of 'f150' Ferrari

DETROIT/Milan - Ferrari is the full name which formula 1 car to use his "Ferrari f150th Italia" after Ford Motor Co. about how to use the abbreviation "f150." the Italian automaker sued

Ferrari F150 logo's Ford F-150-pickup-truck, the best-selling vehicle in the United States, too similar was, Ford said in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Detroit.

"Ferrari misappropriated has to use the F-150 mark in naming his new racing vehicle of the F150 and benefit from the considerable goodwill Ford F-150 trademark has developed", Ford said in the complaint.

Ford is from bar named questions the Court to Ferrari, and works also unspecified damages, including damages, $ 100,000 under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.

Ferrari hit back to say it was "very difficult to understand Ford's viewpoint on the matter", because the car was in world championship this season to celebrate 150 years of Italian unit name and not commercially available.

"Ferrari believes that own candidate in the upcoming F1 Championship can be confused with other commercially available vehicle types of any way whatsoever nor it can give the impression, that it a link to another road going vehicle brand", said a statement.

"Despite of this and another to prove it is in good faith... handelnFerrari decided to make sure that Ferrari F150th Italia are replaced in all areas of operation, the abridged version at all times with the full version."

Ford's rival Fiat SpA has an 85 percent stake in Ferrari and management control of Chrysler Group LLC has accounted for 25 percent.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters.

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