Bridgestone announced today that it will supply its new Potenza S001 ultra high-performance sport tires to Ferrari for its new 458 Italia supercar.
“Bridgestone is privileged to have been selected by Ferrari as an official tyre supplier partner for the exciting new 458 Italia” said Mr Didier Schneider, Vice President Original Equipment, Bridgestone Europe. “Both Ferrari and Bridgestone compete to the highest of standards in Formula One, the pinnacle of single-seater racing where performance and safety are the ultimate goals. We are proud of this relationship, working both on the race track and on road car projects together.”
Bridgestone has developed ires for Ferrari since the 348 back in 1990. Many of Ferrari’s flagship models have been fitted with Bridgestone tires, including the 612 Scaglietti, the Enzo Ferrari and the Superamerica.
Refresher: Power comes from a mid-rear mounted 4.5L V8 producing 570-hp at 9,000 rpm with a maximum torque of 398 lb-ft at 6,000 rpm. Mated to a dual-clutch 7-speed F1 gearbox, 0 to 62 mph comes in just 3.4 seconds with a top speed of over 202 mph.
Source: egmcartech.com
It may be nearly half a century old, but this rare Ferrari 400 Superamerica Cabriolet Pininfarina is appreciating quite nicely with age. So well that when it goes under the hammer in Monaco in May, keen judges are expecting the 1962 supercar could fetch in excess of US$5 million. With CES top of mind right now, one wonders how many products on the showroom floor this year will appreciate in value over the next 50 years.
Just six short-wheelbase Ferrari 400 Superamerica Cabriolets were produced by Pininfarina and this particular example graced both the Geneva and New York International Motor Shows as Ferrari’s own display car. The last one built, it is also the only one of the six to sport covered headlights, further adding to its rarity.
This particular car has been fully restored and was an award winner at the 2009 Pebble Beach concourse. It will be delivered with full documentation from new, with its original tools and books.
Powered by a 3.0 litre V12 engine producing 240 bhp, the Ferrari 400 Superamerica Cabriolet is one of small number of cars built for the legendary Italian car maker’s most exclusive clientel.
The Sporting Classics of Monaco auction will take place on 1 May 2010 in the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco and is organized by RM Auctions.
Source: gizmag.com
Few words have greater impact when mashed together than "Ferrari" and "GTO." While there are rivals at times, the most expensive car in the word for the last three decades has been the original, Daytona Coupe battling, Le Mans winning Ferrari 250 GTO. Designed by Giotto Bizzarrini and raced into history by Phil Hill, few cars wear the moniker "legendary" quite as well. After all, only 39 were ever made.
But, like Leah, there is another. The mighty Ferrari 288 GTO. Developed -- like Porsche's 959 and 961 -- for Group B action, few if any cars set our hearts so totally on fire. Know nothings might scoff at the 2.85-liter displacement, but those of us in the know will point to the two turbochargers, two intercoolers and 400 stampeding horses. We might even tell them that if they turned the boost pressure up from 11.6 psi to something a bit higher, 600 hp is well within reach. However, the 288 GTO isn't, as just 272 examples (though some say 273) were made. Compare that to the 1,315 Ferrari F40s that were built. A car we should point out, that's basically a 288 GTO with a body kit.
Now there might be three. EVO is reporting that Ferrari is about to let loose a new GTO upon the world in the form of a 700 horsepower monster called the 599 GTO. Obviously, it's an evolution of the street 599, and in fact EVO's claiming it's the racetrack only 599XX for the street. During a recent interview, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa told the Brit mag that when the 458 Italia debuted, the 599 was internally reassigned to the "Sports Car" division, instead of where it used to reside, as a "GT."
More interestingly, should it come to fruition, the 599 GTO will have specs to make Enzo owners smack their own foreheads. 700 hp will come from the raising the 6.0-liter V12's redline to a stunning 9,000 rpm. A faster transmission should shave gear change times down from 100 milliseconds to an essentially F1 quick 60 milliseconds. And it will be light. Everything should add up to a 3.2 second dash to 60 mph and an Enzo-matching top speed of 217 mph. Though if the 599 GTO went a little bit faster than that, we wouldn't be all that surprised.
Source: autoblog.com
