The Mounted Carabinieri Regiment made a star appearance with their celebrated “Carosello” performance at the Diamond Jubilee Pageant, as part of Italy’s tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Celebration which took place at Windsor Castle over four days from 10-13 May 2012. The Queen has visited Italy three times since 1961, and had the honor of seeing the Italian Carabinieri perform in Rome in both 1980 and 2000.

The Carabinieri are a part of Italy’s working police force, but they also have a ceremonial role and pride themselves in preserving cavalry traditions. The Carosello itself, for which the Carabinieri brought 90 horses and riders to Windsor, has a long and fascinating history, with its origins in mediaeval knightly tournaments. The performance is a series of complex figures that need to be performed with absolute accuracy at speed, with the most exciting moment being the charge, with sabres drawn, to the rousing battle cry: “Pastrengo!”

The Carabinieri were accompanied by multi-award winning multinational operatic pop vocal group, Il Divo, who performed “Caruso” from their fourth album, Siempre.

Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari President, was a guest of honor for the Gala Performance and commented: “It was a most pleasant evening and I was honored to see the Carabinieri perform the historic Carosello at such a special event, which delighted the spectators and keeps high the flag of our Country.”

It is a source of great pride to Ferrari to have made such a significant contribution to the celebration and also that two such internationally renowned representatives of Italian excellence have the opportunity to pay tribute to one of the most important Monarchs of our time. Ferrari and the Carabinieri share deep-rooted values, such as respect for tradition and history, but also a sense of determination, innovation and passion. Together these two representatives of Italian excellence are the perfect partnership to represent our nation at its finest.

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The rumors and theories surrounding the successor to the 599 GTB will soon be put to rest because we are closing in on the official unveiling of the Ferrari F620 GT. The newest addition to this notable Italian family will weigh less, be shorter, and noticeably lower than the 599. The new 2013 F620 GT will have an upgraded 6.3 liter V-12 engine, just as the FF has. Already, it seems this prancing pony will prove to be one hell of a looker if it truly looks anything like the photo. The appeal comes from the car’s curvaceous fenders, large, aggressive grille upfront, and its impressive motor that can produce 740 hp and 690 lb-ft of torque. With numbers like these, that means that this V-12 engine is one of the most powerful twelve cylinders ever made by Ferrari. As you can expect, the car’s performance numbers are impressive, accelerating to 60 mph in close to three seconds flat and to 100 mph in approximately eight seconds. Please note that the vehicle featured in the picture above is not an official Ferrari rendering and the car is set to make its official debut on February 29th, 2012. Check out the teaser video below:

[Photo via GT Spirit]

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It is rumored that Ferrari Enzo’s successor, codename F70, will have a 7.3-liter V-12, which will produce 800 hp according to Automobile. We hope that Ferrari sticks with this plan and doesn’t decide to downgrade to a turbocharged V-8 or something equivalent. We may even get to see this new beauty this upcoming fall.

There is an optional KERS package, which throws a 120-hp electric motor in the mix, resulting in a combined total of 920 hp. The best part of these rumors is that it is said that the F70’s weight will be close to the track-only FXX car, which weighs in at 2,546 pounds. This means that the next Ferrari supercar has the potential to be faster off the line than a Bugatti Veyron if these rumors are true, and we hope they are!

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Ferrari is expected to introduce the 599 GTB Fiorano successor at the 2012 International Geneva Motor Show, which will be held in a couple weeks. But, we will not have to wait until then to get a first glimpse of the F620 GT, as it has been dubbed by the motoring media. In eight short days, Ferrari will unveil images and details of the flagship Ferrari to all, and, to build hype for the upcoming event, Ferrari has released a video of a camouflaged version lapping Ferrari’s Fiorano test track. Cloaked in black, the snippet doesn’t provide many details about its form, but it does give us a nice little engine-derived soundtrack.

On the video, it is called the most powerful Ferrari ever. This would corroborate rumors that have the F620 GT producing 700 hp via a 6.2-liter V-12. That power is said to drive the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

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One of only 39 Ferrari 250 GTOs produced between 1962–1964 sold for £20.2 million, or nearly $32 million, says Talacrest, the self-dubbed number one classic Ferrari market. This makes the 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO the second most expensive car ever sold behind a 1936 Bugatti Type 57SC Atlantic that sold for $30–$40 million (no exact figure has ever been confirmed) in 2010; it would also be the most expensive Ferrari ever sold.

The Ferrari was owned by a businessman named John Hunt, who purchased the car in 2008 for $24.7 million; that’s a nearly 30 percent markup in five years’ time. At its launch, the 250 GTO came with a price tag of a £6,000.



You may recall that Chris Evans, a disc jockey in the United Kingdom, purchased a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO for £12 million, or approximately $17.7 million in 2010, the year of purchase. In 2009, a 1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for more than $12,000,000, setting a then world record for a car sold at an auction.

[via Telegraph.co.uk]

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HRE Performance Wheels recently introduced its new Vintage Series line. This line of wheels is a modern example of throwback designs. The classically styled wheels are hand built just as they were almost thirty years ago. The auto industry could use a little old school mixed in with its new school, and this wheel line molds these two opposites together seamlessly, keeping the traditional wheel designs alive through new school flair. View the making-of video below. Follow the link for individual photos of the wheels.

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According to Autobild.de, Ferrari's successor to the 599 GTB will internally be called the F152, but the official name will be the F620. This artist’s representation shows it sharing many of its styling elements with the FF and 458 Italia. It will also produce 90 hp more than the current car via a 6.3-liter V-12. Power is transmitted to the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The rumor mill is saying this new generation of the prancing pony is set to debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show.

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More than 2,000 vehicles were auctioned off over a six-day span at the 2012 Scottsdale Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction, which ran from January 16–22, 2012, and amounted to a total of $182 million in sales. The Barrett-Jackson Company was the leading seller at the auction with a total of $90.6 million in sales, selling off all but three of its lots. Its top-selling vehicle was a 1948 Tucker Torpedo, one of only 51 produced, which sold for $2,915,000. Another rare find was the one-of-a-kind 1954 Desoto Adventurer II coupe, which sold for $1,430,000. Not every vehicle did as well, though. The original General Lee, also known as Lee 1, sold for only $110,000, much lower than the seller had hoped.

Gooding & Company sold 97 percent of its lots (116 of 118) for a total amount of $39.8 million. Its top-selling vehicle was a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300SL alloy Gullwing, which sold for $4,620,000. Russo and Steele sold 63 percent of its lots (401 of 641). Its top-vehicle sold was a 1968 Chevrolet Corvette L88, which sold for $687,500. The Silver Auctions company had a total of $2.95 million in sales, selling 66 percent of its lots (175 of 267). Its top-selling car was a 1960 Facel Vega HK500 2dr Hardtop, which sold for $93,960. RM Auctions had a total of $24.7 million in total sales, selling 120 of 140 lots, which is about 86 percent. Its top-selling vehicle was a 1957 Ferrari 410 Superamerica coupe, which sold for $1,815,000. Last but not least, Bonhams had a cumulative total of $5.7 million in sales, selling about 60 percent of its lots, with its top-selling vehicle being a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K Cabriolet C, which sold for $667,000.

The total amount in sales for all the auction companies combined has risen from 2011 to around $157 million. As we can see, the classics did well this year but the rarer cars were the winners this season. Could this be a sign that the economy is finally turning around?

[via Hagerty]

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Ralph Lauren is offering miniature car models based on the amazing real-life car collection owned by the man behind the brand.

These limited-edition 1:8-scale replicas are said to be exact to one-tenth of a millimeter. To produce such accurate imitations, each car was digitally scanned and more than 3,000 hours were invested creating the master molds. Another 350 man-hours were spent assembling, painting, detailing, and polishing each model.

Being marketed as a last minute gift idea for the classic-car lover, the four different models are based on some of Ralph Lauren's rarest and best-known cars: his 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, 1938 Bugatti 57 S/C Atlantic, and 1996 McLaren F1 LM. Each model is offered for $9,500.

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