ferrari

Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles in 1947.

Enzo Ferrari was not initially interested in the idea of producing road cars when he formed Scuderia Ferrari in 1929. Ferrari prepared and fielded Alfa Romeo racing cars for amateur drivers. In 1933 Alfa Romeo withdrew its in-house racing team and appointed Scuderia Ferrari as a works team.

The first Ferrari road car was the 1947 125 S, powered by a 1.5 L V12 engine – Enzo Ferrari reluctantly built and sold his automobiles to fund Scuderia Ferrari.

Since the company’s beginnings, Ferrari has been involved in motorsport, competing in a range of categories including Formula One and sports car racing through its Scuderia Ferrari sporting division as well as supplying cars and engines to other teams and for one make race series.

The latest craze for the rich in China

If you suddenly won the lottery and could afford a life of luxury, what would your first purchase be? A house, a holiday, maybe some exquisite jewellery? Well people in China are shunning these ideas and going for a more extreme and extravagant buy!

People act very strangely when they suddenly come into money.  Think of all the lottery winners who are famous for half a second and then mysteriously disappear.  If you ask any of them, they almost all say the same thing, “My life was actually more manageable before the money”.  For men and women in countries that have been poor for decades, but have suddenly reaped the rewards of globalization, the shift in fortune is even more dramatic.  When an entire country is seemingly wealthy overnight, people do some weird things.  Case in point – China.  A generation of men and women have made their fortunes by producing goods and parts more cheaply than anywhere else in the world.  They have been amassing their fortunes long enough that their children are now reaping the benefits of their business savvy.  As countless E! True Hollywood Stories have shown, there is little more dangerous, or ridiculous, than a rich child with no limits.  Such is the case in China, where immensely rich twenty and thirty-something’s are constantly on the lookout for new ways to both show off their wealth and entertain themselves.

A recent trend has been to paint or wrap luxury cars in gold.  Yep.  You read that correctly – gold.  It doesn’t really matter what car as long as the car is high-end.  This list seems to include anything by Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Infiniti, or BMW.  Oh!  Limousines count, too.  The general population seems to take these ostentatious displays of wealth in stride.  The bright gold cars are parked at malls and movie theatres like any other vehicle and nobody really bats an eye.  However, the cops have been known to confiscate one or two of the vehicles for being just too, too eye-popping.  It is hard to tell what constitutes too much versus all right when looking at a luxury vehicle wrapped entirely in gold, but apparently China’s police force has it figured out.

Source http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/celebrity-cars/gold-cars-the-chinese-noveau-riche-flaunt-their-wealth/

Here are the 10 optional extras on a luxury car that you DO NOT need!

Knowing what optional extras to go for on any luxury car can be daunting, but we have listed below the ones that you should reconsider or just stay away from and save your money!

We’ve all splashed out just a bit too much at one time or another. Did your TV really need gesture control, and have you ever actually used it? Why have you got a 750gb hard drive when all you use your computer for is YouTube and Facebook? And did you absolutely have to have the extra large onion rings with that sandwich?

Mind you, these personal excesses pale into insignificance compared to what some people are prepared to shell out for. Buying any luxury car is in and of itself excessive (after all, you could get around just as easily and comfortably in a Ford Mondeo…) but some buyers take it just that stage extra, and the car makers and tuning companies are more than happy to indulge their expensive, profitable whims…

10. Audi Design Selection leather

Ah, Audi. The company that gave us four wheel drive performance cars and utter domination at Le Mans. The company that says you can find advancement through technology. The company that created Audi Ultra – a rigorous programme to shed the weight and fight the flab to make its cars more efficient. The company that offers you leather seats that cost as much as an entire other car.

Seriously. If you buy an Audi A8 (and, as Barry Norman never actually said, why not?) and tick the box for Design Selection package in either Balao Brown or Marble Grey, you’re going to add €19,254 to the price of your car. That’s enough to buy an entire extra Octavia or Leon. Or two Ups. All that for some leather seats (they are made of nice leather, right enough) and some extra climate control buttons.

Sublime or ridiculous? Both at the same time.

Or you could have bought: A 1.2 TSI Seat Leon S.

9. Gold leaf paint

Carlsson, in spite of the rather Swedish-sounding name, is actually a German tuning company founded in 1989 by brothers Rolf and Andreas Hartge. The firm specialises in tweaking and modifying Mercedes-Benz models and will happily bling up, to your spec, anything from an A-Class all the way to a seven-seat R-Class. They even do kits for the Vito van. For the 2014 Geneva motor show, Carlsson really decided to push the boat out and presented a modified version of the new Mercedes S-Class. Only 25 of the CS50 Versailles model will be made, and all will come with modified 700hp V8 engines. And gold, lots of gold, so much gold that Auric Goldfinger would think it was a bit over the top. This isn’t just faux-gold trimming either, this is the real, weighty metal stuff, hand-beaten and applied to the instrument panel, the door cards, the window switches, even the cupholders. There’s even gold in the paint, just in case you were worried that you weren’t quite pulling off the South American tinpot dictator look. Cost? At least €800,000 to land one in Ireland, and that’s before Revenue create a special VRT category for gold leaf…

Sublime or ridiculous? Neither; just unbearably naff.

Or you could have bought: A 5-bed mansion on two-thirds of an acre just a stone’s throw from Adare Manor.

8. The Aston Martin Cygnet

Now, this is, strictly speaking, an entire car and not an option. However the original plan was for Aston Martin to offer its smallest, most efficient car ever only to those buyers who were already signing up for a new Vanquish, DB9 or whatever. At a price of around STG£30,000, it was certainly not cheap but hey, it was an extra car with an Aston Martin badge on the bonnet so bargain, right?

Not so fast. The Cygnet was nothing more than a tiny Toyota iQ tarted up with an Aston-style grille and some nasty-looking quilted leather seats. Aston suggested that it would make the ideal in-town runabout for those Aston customers who didn’t want to risk parking dings on their precious V12 Grand Tourers. A fair point, but then a normal Toyota iQ which cost about a third as much to buy would have done the same job. The whole idea was cooked up when Aston boss Ulrich Bez bumped into Toyota boss Akio Toyoda in the back of a garage at the Nurburgring 24hrs race. Both must have been inhaling a few too many tyre fumes that day. Essentially, buyers were being asked to pay way over the odds for a tiny car whose real purpose was simply to drag down Aston’s profligate corporate Co2 emissions. It was quietly taken out back for a meeting with the vet late last year.

Sublime or ridiculous? Utterly ridiculous.

Or you could have bought: An actually Toyota iQ (a brilliant little car) and pocketed the change.

7. Ferrari F12 Berlinetta carbon fibre filter box cover

While we often castigate the big German car companies for their skill in separating buyers from their money via the means of an extensive and expensive options list, let’s not forget that the Italians are just as keen on burrowing into your bank account and no more so than when you’ve signed up for a Ferrari. There are many silly and frivolous options you can spec on your Fezzer, but the cake must surely be taken by this, the STG£3,072 carbon-fibre silted box cover. That’s right, a lid for the bit that holds the air filter made from the same space age material that Formula One cars are built from. Surely, you would think, this is excellent. It must reduce the weight of the car, lower the centre of gravity, make it FASTER! Nope. It’s just silly. The standard plastic cover is just as light, and any potential weight saving could just as easily be made by leaving your watch at home. Or hitting the gym for a week.

Sublime or ridiculous? Ridiculous.

Or you could have bought: A Omega Seamaster Planet Ocean Titanium watch, which would probably save the same amount of weight.

6. Porsche’s leather air vents

Sorry, having just said that the Italians were close to matching the Germans when it came to fleecing their customers, the Germans have nipped in with a last-minute equaliser – Porsche’s leather air vents. More and more car makers have been taking advantage of the fact that allowing customers to personalise and customise their cars means chunkier profit margins. Ford arguably started the trend with the original Mustang but everyone’s at it now. No-one more so than Porsche. Clearly, there are Porsche options that are aimed at actually improving the performance of the car. You can spec your 911 with a lighter lithium-ion battery for instance, or increase its grunt with the Power Kit option. Or you can spend STG£1,173 on having the air vent slats of your Panamera covered in leather. Yes, that’s right, the air vent slats. The little wiggly bits that direct the airflow either to your perma-tanned face or your diamond-encrusted jeans. In leather. It can even be in a different colour leather to the rest of the interior, if you like.

Sublime or ridiculous? Pointless…

Or you could have bought: Four Dyson Air Multiplyer fans.

5. Bentley furniture

You can buy just about anything branded with your favourite car logo these days. Porsche is the past master at this; everything from kettles to sunglasses to watches to wallets logo’ed up with the Porsche crest. Ferrari makes more money from licensing its Prancing Horse logo out to the makers of various jackets, t-shirts, baseball caps and pens while this very author still has a pair of Land Rover-badged boots gifted to him some years ago and very nice they are too. So how about a king0sized bed? Or a sideboard? Yup, really, you can buy these but only if your disposable income levels are on the disgusting side of plentiful. Bentley has been branching out into branded goods lately (its aftershave is surprisingly nice…) but surely the cake is been thoroughly taken by these outrageously expensive home furnishings. The ‘Canterbury’ bed will cost you STG£15,000 while the metal and veneer sideboard is a staggering STG£22,000. They aren’t strictly, we suppose, vehicular options but doubtless your Bentley dealer will happily include them on the invoice for your Mulsanne.

Sublime or ridiculous? Probably depends on the size and/or location of your house.

Or you could have bought: An Opel Meriva (bed) or a Ford Fiesta ST (sideboard).

4. Ferrari’s passenger-side speedo

You buy a Ferrari for two primary reasons; to look good when going slowly, and to feel good when going quickly. Both are pretty much the core competencies of any Ferrari and as we all know, there’s nothing a member of the opposite sex prefers than to see an attractive version of the other gender driving one. Ferraris are the wheeled version of dopamine, in that sense. However, one of the other points of driving a Ferrari is to demonstrate what a terrific driver you are; taming your Italian stallion as you go. The idea of putting a digital speedo (and rev-counter) in front of your passenger then is a little odd. Surely you don’t actually want anyone sitting in the other seat to know exactly how fast you were just going? They’ll either squeal and shout at you to slow down or shrug insouciantly and point out just how slow and unskilled you really are. The art of being a wannabe Fangio is in not letting people see how hard you are trying. This doesn’t help…

Sublime of ridiculous? Ridiculously unhelpful.

Or you could have bought: It’s a STG£2,400 option on the FF so, a lifetime subscription to The Irish Times for your passenger to look at instead.

3. Bentley’s iPod drawer

Bentley can offer you an entirely kitted-out mobile office in the back of your Mulsanne or Flying Spur. With multiple screens, a 4G internet connection and a Mac Mini stashed in the boot, it turns your sybaritic limo into a full-on den for deals on wheels. Buy. Sell. Buy. Long, Short. Etcetera. Still, that’s not entirely frivolous – after all, if you’re being driven around in the back of your Bentley you’re probably worth a bit and probably want to be worth a bit more, so being able to work and communicate on the move is actually quite a useful thing. However, Bentley can offer you a cutting-edge connectivity option that’s so utterly frivolous it almost defies description. It’s a drawer, inset into the dash of your Mulsanne, made of the same polished walnut veneer and lined with the same Connolly leather as the seats. And it’s for your iPod or iPhone. Most car companies make you stick your Pod into a handy cupholder, Some, Skoda chief amongst them, can offer you a handy custom-made slot to leave it in. Not Bentley though. Bentley reckons your iPhone needs to be pampered.

Sublime or ridiculous? iRidiculous.

Or you could have bought: A 64gb iPod Touch.

2. Hyundai Equus

We think of Hyundais as affordable, well-specified and possessed of a long warranty. They are rivals to the likes of Ford, VW and Opel. They are not luxury cars. Well, that’s not what Hyundai really wants you to think, or at least, if you’re in the United States, that’s not what they really want you to think. They want you to think of Hyundai as capable of mixing it with the likes of BMW and Mercedes as easily as it does with Ford and Opel. That’s why, in the US, you can buy cars like the Equus – a big, luxurious, imposing, rear-drive V8 saloon. It’s not half bad either; good to drive, refined and very, very comfy. And it’s got a champagne cooler in the back. Now, a mini-fridge in a Hyundai we could understand, but a specific champagne cooler? That’s the sort of thing you find in Commander Bond’s Aston, not a Korean-built exec saloon. Maybe it’s just a question of perspective, but even so, don’t expect to see this on a Santa Fe any time soon.

Sublime or ridiculous? Ridiculous.

Or you could have bought: Well, an Equus costs USD$62,000 so quite a lot of other things, really…

1. Rolls-Royce Starlight headlining

This is kind of a charming one. A few years back, Rolls-Royce decided to offer as an option a roof liner that replicated the night sky. It was originally offered on the first generation Phantom Coupe and seemed to be of similar provenance to the decision to fit the Phantom Drophead with a cloth roof instead of a folding steel item – because it’s more romantic to hear the patter of soft summer rain on a cloth hood. Similarly, the idea of feeding tiny fibre-optic lights into the headlining to replicate the night sky from within seems rather romantically lovely. A nice touch. It all gets a bit undermined when you dig a little deeper though. You see, for a fee, Rolls-Royce can layout the ‘stars’ to replicate the view of the night sky from a chosen point on the Earth on a chosen date. Your birthday, perhaps. Or the night you bought the winning Lotto ticket that led to you buying a Rolls. It makes the romanticism of the original idea start to seem needlessly narcissistic. Besides, you can now have a similar option on a lowly Opel Adam, which rather spoils the whole effect…

Sublime or ridiculous? Sublimely ridiculous.

Or you could have bought: An actual star, probably.

Source http://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/10-most-ridiculous-optional-extras-on-a-luxury-car-1.1783389?page=3

Worlds top 10 fastest road cars

 

Whether you prefer Ferrari over Lamborghini or Porsche over Jaguar, there is one thing that we all have in common. Its the need for speed! Take a look at the top 10 fastest road cars in the world.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport - Top 10 world's fastest road cars
 1. Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (268mph). This version of the original Veyron still has the same 8.0 litre, 16 cylinder   engine but upgrades have pushed it into the record books

SSC Ultimate Aero - Top 10 world's fastest road cars
 2. SSC Ultimate Aero (257mph). Built by USA firm Shelby SuperCars, it held the ‘world’s fastest car’ title   for more than three years. It has a twin turbo V8 engine with 1183hp and   costs from £435,000.

Saleen S7 Twin Turbo - Top 10 world's fastest road cars
 3. Saleen S7 Twin Turbo (248mph). An updated version of the California-built S7, this version was produced in   2005 and 2006 and cost £295,559. With the engine located in the middle of   the car, it had both a front and rear boot

Koenigsegg CCX - Top 10 world's fastest road cars
4. Koenigsegg CCX (245mph). The 4.7 litre twin-supercharged V8-engined car was first built in 2006 as a   version of the original CC. Created by the Swedish motor firm founded by   Christian von Koenigsegg, its name is an abbreviation of Competition Coupé   X, marking the 10th anniversary of the test drive of the first CC vehicle in   1996.

McLaren F1 - Top 10 world's fastest road cars
 5. McLaren F1 (240 mph). Fitted with a BMW S70/2 60 V12 Engine, it remains the world’s fastest   naturally-aspirated production car. Naturally-aspirated engines use   atmospheric pressure to increase the intake of air for combustion. 106 were   produced between 1992 and 1998.

Jaguar XJ220 - Top 10 world's fastest road cars
 6. Jaguar XJ220 (217mph). First conceived in the late 1980s as an after-hours project among Jaguar   workers, this car became an official Jaguar production with 281 manufactured.

Ferrari Enzo - Top 10 world's fastest road cars
7. Ferrari Enzo (217mph). Only 400 of these were ever produced, leading to price increases with every  sale. Named after the Italian company’s founder, Enzo Ferrari.

Pagani Zonda C12 F - Top 10 world's fastest road cars
8. Pagani Zonda C12 F (215mph). This Italian-designed car made its debut at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show

Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce - Top 10 world's fastest road cars
9. Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce (213mph). The 2009 incarncation of the Lamborghini Murcielago supercar has a top speed   of 213mph thanks to fine tuning of the original design

Porsche Carrera GT - Top 10 world's fastest road cars
 10. Porsche Carrera GT (205mph). The most powerful and most expensive Porsche, at over £300,000

Gumball 3000 Rally to Go From Miami to Ibiza this June

The Gumball 3000 rally will be using its new route from Miami to Ibiza this June. Those of you that are fans of the Rally will be able to see its array of supercars this June, starting on the 4th and finishing on the 11th, after it has passed through New York, Atlanta, Edinburgh, London, Paris, Barcelona and finishing in Ibiza

The annual Gumball 3000 rally is a rolling 3,000 mile festival of crazy driving and debauchery that features the world’s most exclusive supercars. This year’s race, which costs about $40,000 to participate in, will travel across two continents and five countries with various parties, concerts and VIP events along the way.
Gumball 3000 car rally

Photo Courtesy of Gumball 3000

Every major supercar marque — including Bugatti, Ferrari, Bentley, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce — will be represented in this year’s event, which was first started back in 1999 by ex-racing driver, designer and British entrepreneur Maximillion Cooper (he also got engaged to singer-actress Eve December of last year). The 2013 rally from Copenhagen to Monaco was won by a team from the United Arab Emirates driving a custom Lamborghini Aventador.
Gumball 3000 car rally

Photo Courtesy of Gumball 3000

This year’s event is set to be even more hedonistic thanks to a new partnership with AnastasiaDate, a leading international escort service specializing in beautiful Russian women. Two of the firm’s sexiest “employees” will drive a Lamborghini Gallardo Spider in the race in homage to the 1981 movie Canonball Run. Injuries along the route, which changes every year, are not uncommon — in 2007 there were even two fatalities — and cars worth a small fortune have been confiscated in previous years.

Fancy driving your own supercar? Have a look at our website and see what we have to offer!

Source https://www.justluxe.com/lifestyle/luxury-cars/feature-1954544.php

15 Classic cars that everyone should know about

The last couple of weeks we have shown you the luxury cars that are coming out in the future and the ones that are hitting the market now.

Today we thought we would take you back in time and look at the classic cars that define cool, style and speed!

We’ve overheard people say they don’t care what kind of car they drive as long as it gets them from Point A to Point B. Those people are liars. Who wouldn’t want to own a car that turns more heads than a bikini car wash? Maybe these guys have only driven used jalopies and don’t know anything else. Well, these are the cars they should know.

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1966 Shelby 427 Cobra

Anything attached to Carroll Shelby’s name is immediately worth your time. With an insane power-to-weight ratio, the Shelby 427 Cobra has a bit more giddyup than your Corolla. Plus, the hundreds of thousands of dollars you’d pay for one will seem like chump change compared to the $5.5 million shelled out for the ’66 Shelby 427 Cobra Super Snake.

1961 Jaguar E-Type

Whether you pronounce it Jagwar or Jag-u-ar, everyone agrees the brand oozes style. The E-Type was released in 1961 to some pretty heavy praise. If Enzo Ferrari referred to it as, “The most beautiful car ever made,” well, that’s good enough for us.

1969 Maserati Ghibli 4.7

The aggressive shark-shaped nose on the Maserati Ghibli is enough to place it firmly on this list. Plus, the Maserati name earns it plenty of clout. Basically, this car is what the Mazda Miata dreams of becoming as it falls asleep at night.

1964 Aston Martin DB5

If it’s cool enough for Bond, it’s cool enough for us. If you had to pick one vehicle that James Bond relied on the most, you’d be hard-pressed not to go with the DB5, and the one from Goldfinger would look pretty sweet in our garage next to the cans of beer and lawn care products.

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1957 Mercedes 300SL Gullwing

The doors are only part of the reason this is one of the coolest cars to ever hit the pavement. The fact that the 300SL was the fastest production car at the time, means driving to your ad meetings in Manhattan wouldn’t be a bore.

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1969 Boss 429 Mustang

You know you’re getting some sick power when they have to change the body of a Mustang just to accommodate your freakishly large engine. How could you not want to roll down the windows and listen to that sucker as you were cruising around? (Which would be a good idea since, due to the size of the engine, they couldn’t fit in any air conditioning.)

1963 Corvette Sting Ray

While nothing was wrong with the Corvette prior to ’63, when the Sting Ray rolled out it made the previous models look like chopped liver (fast & still somewhat attractive chopped liver). Besides the new look, the C2 Corvette was a bit lighter and handled far better than its predecessors. While some nice stylistic changes would be made in the coming years, there’s something about being first.

1969 Ferrari Dino 246 GT

Far too often cars are rigid. The lines and angles are harsh and, unless there’s something crazy under the hood, they become a complete clone of something else. The soft lines on the Ferrari Dino 246 GT tells us this car is meant to be driven fast and playfully. If we had one, we’d oblige.

1966 Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto

Something about this car just makes us want to drive the Italian countryside while occasionally stopping to drink local wines. Plus, any time you can get a car with style AND storage space, well you just hit the jackpot my friend. It’s perfect for storing all the sheets of paper with phone numbers on them.

1969 Dodge Charger

If there’s one thing we know about the ’69 Charger, it’s aerodynamic. At least that’s what we learned from Bo and Luke Duke. The ’69 Charger is a thing of beauty whether it’s a General Lee or not. It may never get the billing its Mustang counterparts always do, but the fastback look and all American style will never go out of fashion.

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1966 Lamborghini Miura

We don’t know if it’s the most stylish car on the list, but as far as cred goes, well it inspired the whole “Let’s toss a couple of seats on a rocket” sports car idea. It also became a new and different Italian sports car option outside of the Ferrari’s of the world for auto enthusiasts at the time.

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1969 Toyota 2000GT

If you’re noticing a small Bond theme here, you’re totally right. While Bond got a drop-top, the ’69 Toyota 2000GT was stylish enough without one being offered up from the factory. The elongated front, along with the design in general, makes it feel much more like an Italian roadster than something you would picture purchasing for its “dependable gas mileage.”

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1962 Ferrari 250 GTE

The Ferrari 250 GTE was the sports car for the family man. It was for the guy who wanted a Ferrari but also wanted to get little Timmy to hockey practice with all his gear. As Road & Track said, “A not only grand, but glorious, touring car.” We’d tack on cool as well.

1970 Datsun 240Z

The Jaguar E-Type’s Asian doppelgänger has the same beautiful look as the Jag with perhaps more brains underneath. The thought that went into the car became the hallmark of Japanese sports cars. See, being cool doesn’t just mean looking good (but it mostly means looking good).

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1969 Chevrolet Camaro

It was pretty much a foregone conclusion that this list would include at least one Mustang and one Camaro. What can we say, we like old-school American muscle power. Seeing those white stripes on a blue Z28 just strikes us as quintessentially cool.

Source http://coolmaterial.com/roundup/classic-cars-that-define-cool/

Rick Ross’ Gets Red Forgiato Wheels For His Ferrari 458 Italia

The Ferrari 458 Italia is a beautiful car, but some people still feel the need to make it stand out in the crowd even more.

Rick Ross certainly isn’t a man to go unnoticed. Thanks to his large frame, heavily tattooed body and most importantly to us, his impressive exotic car collection, you can always be assured that Ross will make a big appearance wherever he goes. And thanks to a new set of bright red wheels on his Ferrari 458 Italia, he’ll stand out from the crowd even more.

These new wheels come courtesy of Forgiato and while they certainly aren’t to everyone’s taste, there is no doubt  they catch your eye!

What luxury cars are celebrities driving?

Everyone envy’s the cars that celebrities both sides of the pond can afford to drive. whether you like the classic Ferraris that Chris Evans owns or the Eco friendly cars that the likes of Cameron Diaz and Diane Kruger drive, you are sure to find some little gems in the list below!

Audi: David Beckham (S8), Sandra Bullock (A6), Daniel Craig (S6), Vanessa Hudgens (A7), John Mayer (R8), Jason Statham (R8), Dwyane Wade (R8), Robert Downey Jr. (A7), Cristiano Ronaldo (RS6), Justin Timberlake (S8), Rosie Huntington-Whiteley (S5), Chris Brown (R8), Taylor Lautner (R8), Sienna Miller (TT), Kevin Costner (S8), Zooey Deschanel (A5), Michael Bloomberg (R8), Phil Knight (R8), Taylor Swift (Q7), Zac Efron (S5), Zoe Saldana (A8), Miranda Kerr (A8), Harry Styles (R8)

Aston Martin: Dwyane Wade (Vanquish Volante), Jason Statham (DBS), Olivier Martinez (V8 Vantage), Ice-T (Vantage), Eddie Murphy (Vanquish), Ryan Seacrest (DB9), Pierce Brosnan (Vanquish), Adam Carolla (DB9), Jonathan Ives (DB9 and Vanquish), Lil Wayne (Vantage), Sylvester Stallone (DBS), Prince Charles (DB6), David Beckham (AMV8), Janet Jackson (Vanquish), Marc Anthony (DB7), Missy Elliott (Vanquish), Jamie Oliver (Vantage)

Bentley: Drake (Supersports), Jennifer Lopez (Continental), Prince William (Flying Spur), Bruce Willis (Continental), Eva Longoria (Continental), Jonathan Ives (Brooklands), Simon Cowell (Azure), Sylvester Stallone (Continental), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Supersports), Paris Hilton (Continental), Floyd Mayweather (Mulsanne), David Beckham (Supersports and Mulsanne), Cristiano Ronaldo (Continental), Ryan Seacrest (Flying Spur), The Game (Continental), Lil Wayne (Mulsanne), Sharon Stone (Continental), Scott Disick (Mulsanne), Queen of England (State Limousine), Carlos Slim (Flying Spur)

BMW: Brad Pitt (Hydrogen 7), Jessica Alba (750iL), Anne Hathaway (i3), Reese Witherspoon (Alpina B7), Heidi Klum (M6), Selena Gomez (X5), Cristiano Ronaldo (M6), Taylor Lautner (Z4), Will Ferrell (Hydrogen 7), Alanis Morissette (X5), Samantha Ronson (750iL), Sean Penn (Z3), Taye Diggs (X6)

Bugatti: Drake, Birdman, Flo Rida, Floyd Mayweather, The Game, Chris Brown

Ferrari: Pharrell (Enzo), Justin Bieber (458 Italia), Harry Styles (California), Kim Kardashian (F430), Jermaine Jackson (California), Eddie Murphy (599 GTB), Dwyane Wade (F12 Berlinetta), Rick Ross (458 Italia), Gordon Ramsay (F12 Berlinetta), Paris Hilton (F430), Adam Levine (365 GTC), 50 Cent (FF), Cristiano Ronaldo (599 GTO), John Mayer (599 GTB), LeBron James (F430 Spider), Ozzy Osbourne (458 Italia), Tommy Hilfiger (Enzo), Alex Rodriguez (575 Maranello), Hugh Grant (California), The Game (F430 Spider), Ashton Kutcher (California), Tyga (California), Seal (F430 Spider), Kobe Bryant (458 Italia Spider), Flo Rida (California), Ralph Lauren (F430 Scuderia), Keith Urban (F360), Usher (F430 Spider), Gucci Mane (458 Italia), Wyclef Jean (360 Spider), Adrien Brody (F430), Rod Stewart (599 GTB)

Ford: Shia LaBeouf (F150), John Mayer (Raptor), Heidi Klum (Raptor), Dwayne Johnson (F150), Simon Cowell (Bronco), Christina Aguilera (Mustang), Amber Heard (Mustang), Nick Jonas (Mustang), Shaquille O’Neal (Mustang), Benji Madden (Galaxie), Ken Block (Raptor)

Jaguar: Victoria Beckham (XJ), Kelly Rowland (F-Type), Lana Del Rey (XKF), Patrick Dempsey (XK120), Harrison Ford (XK140), Miranda Kerr (XJL), Danny Aiello (XJL), Jay Leno (E-Type), Kristin Davis (XF)

Lamborghini:  Kanye West (Aventador), Swizz Beatz (Aventador), Chris Brown (Gallardo and Aventador), Scott Disick (Aventador), Cristiano Ronaldo (Aventador), 50 Cent (Murcielago), Rick Ross (Murcielago), Missy Elliot (Gallardo), Robinho (Gallardo), Kobe Bryant (Aventador)

Lexus: Natalie Portman (RX), Paris Hilton (LFA), Paul McCartney (LS600h), Gisele Bündchen (RX), Owen Wilson (ES), Sarah Michelle Gellar (RX), Halle Berry (RX)

Maserati: Pierce Brosnan (GranTurismo), Miley Cyrus (Quattroporte), Lapo Elkann (Ghibli), Gwen Stefani (Quattroporte), Barry Diller (GranCabrio), Britney Spears (GranCabrio), Kylie Minogue (Gran Turismo), Katy Perry (GranCabrio)

Maybach: Madonna, Will Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Birdman, Lil Wayne, Jay Z, Sean Combs, Kanye West, Rick Ross

McLaren: Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga, David Beckham, Ludacris, Larry Ellison, Swizz Beatz, Dwayne Wade, Jay Leno, Will.i.am

Mercedes-Benz: Liev Schreiber (E350 wagon), Harry Styles (190 SL), Hilary Duff (G-Wagen), Jon Hamm (SLS AMG), Ashley Tisdale (G55), Tom Ford (G-Wagen), Ashley Olsen (G-Wagen), Kylie Jenner (G-Wagen), David Hasselhoff (CLS), Khloe Kardashian (G-Wagen), Gwen Stefani (G-Wagen), Bradley Cooper (G-Wagen), Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum of Dubai (G63 AMG), Jay Z (S-Class), Patrick Dempsey (SLS AMG and G-Wagen), Sandra Bullock (GL550), Eddie Murphy (SLS AMG), Tom Cruise (SLK), Justin Theroux (S550), Rick Ross (CLS and S550), Nigo (300 SL), Russell Crowe (S550), Usher (CLS), Jim Carrey (S550), Wyclef Jean (G-Wagen), Jensen Button (C63 AMG DR250), Britney Spears (G55 AMG), Selma Blair (ML 350), Shakira (SL 550), Shaquille O’Neal (S-Class), Jared Leto (SLS AMG), Tiger Woods (S65 AMG), Tobey Maguire (S400), Alec Baldwin (M-Class), Megan Fox (G-Wagen), Mark Wahlberg (SLS AMG)

Porsche: Kate Moss (vintage 911), David Beckham (911 Turbo Cabriolet), Dustin Hoffman (911 Cabriolet), Kanye West (Panamera Turbo), Patrick Dempsey (GT3), Hilary Duff (911), Keith Urban (Cayenne), Kiefer Sutherland (Panamera), Jonah Hill (911), Miley Cyrus (Cayenne GTS), Adam Levine (356 Speedster), Maria Sharapova (Panamera GTS), Cristiano Ronaldo (Cayenne Turbo), Ellen DeGeneres (911), LeBron James (911), The Game (Panamera), Jerry Seinfeld (various 911s), Keanu Reeves (911), Zach Braff (911), Adriana Lima (Cayenne), Lindsay Lohan (911 Cabriolet), Rihanna (911 Turbo), Chris Brown (Panamera), Samantha Ronson (911 Targa), Bruce Willis (911 GTS), Sylvester Stallone (Panamera), Pharrell (550 Spyder), Steven Tyler (911 Turbo), Matthew Perry (911 Cabriolet), LeAnn Rimes (Panamera), Ashley Tisdale (Boxster), Bill Gates (959), Michael Dell (Boxster), Robert Pattinson (Boxster)

Range Rover: Brad Pitt, Charlize Theron, Russell Brand, Kate Moss, David Beckham, Victoria Beckham, Robin Thicke, Sofia Vergara, Pippa Middleton, Jay-Z, John Mayer, Ryan Seacrest, Sharon Osbourne, Chris Brown, Shannen Doherty, Prince Harry, Queen of England, Courtney Cox, Alessandra Ambrosio, Richard Branson, Tim Burton, Hugh Jackman

Rolls-Royce: Swizz Beatz (Wraith), Jaime Foxx (Ghost), Ice-T (Ghost), Rick Ross (Wraith), Simon Cowell (Phantom), David Beckham (Phantom and Ghost), 50 Cent (Ghost), Snoop Dogg (Phantom), The Game (Ghost), Tom Brady (Ghost), Eddie Murphy (Phantom), Ryan Phillippe (Ghost), Shaquille O’Neal (Phantom), Missy Elliott (Phantom), Sean Combs (Phantom), Guy Ritchie (Ghost)

Tesla: Matt Damon, Eva Longoria, Jack Osbourne, Jeremy Renner, Shakira, Ashton Kutcher, Rachel Zoe, Laurence Fishburne

Toyota: Leonardo DiCaprio (Prius), Adrien Grenier (Prius), Ryan Gosling (Prius), Julia Roberts (Prius), Kirsten Dunst (Prius), Eric Schmidt (Prius), Sarah Jessica Parker (Prius)

Sources: Zimbio, X17 Online, Celebrity Cars Blog, Flickr, London Daily Mail, Autoevolution, UrbanDaddy’s DRIVEN, GT Spirit, Just Jared, Celebritycarz,

http://www.justluxe.com/lifestyle/luxury-cars/feature-1953959.php

 

Ferrari unveil the F14 T with typical style.

If you are into cars and love being teased and dazzled by images of exotic cars, Ferrari recently released one of their most enchanting car porn teasers ever to the F1crowd. There are no girls and no sex scenes even in it. Watch the unveiling of the all new Ferrari F14-T unveiled at the home of Ferrari at Maranello and Scuderia devotees are likely to bet you good money that if you are into hot cars, fast cars, or cool cars that if you press play to see the new video, you are more than likely about to get turned on. Even the car guys at the official F1 Newspage can’t stop talking about the car company’s latest and greatest racing masterpiece. On Feb. 26, they even released drawings of the car after trying to get a closer look at her undercarriage (those voyeuristic rascals).

 

Created by: AutoMotoTV

Click here to see the video.

The tantalizing video filming appears to have taken place primarily inside the company’s factory at Maranello [located in the heart of Italy]. All the engineers and development team are wearing uniforms in the traditional Scuderia Ferrari “Rosso Corso” red color — a red that has a slight undertone of orange rather than blue, giving their fabrics a very distinct level of official “Ferrari-esqueness” (for lack of a better term that describes the color more easily).

Alluring photography is just one way the famous Italian exotic car brand marketers have sought to capture the mind, hearts, and various other sundry body parts of the viewing audience. Saying this year they need to have all the aces, they make reference to their team of engineers and auto mechanics, F1 drivers Kimi and Fernando, and then a simple phone call from an office to the company president makes the announcement.

The F14-T is ready. Oh yes, that is a statement that produces immediate anticipatory shivers.

[Would it be wrong for race fans to refer to Kimi Raikkonen and Fernando Alonso “fluffers” in this particular situation? Whatever you call them, they certainly raised the temperature of the video and appear to have lifted the factory worker’s spirits quite effectively simply by showing up in the video, paying attention, and being willing to smile while actively participating.]

The president and the F1 race drivers arrive together at the factory where a sea of Italian auto workers parts like the red seas. Scuderia red to be more accurate — a color everyone who knows and loves the brand marquis is proud to say their arteries already naturally bleed.

Formula One construction of the new F14-T is finally complete and present to the crowd as a truly orgasmic joy to see. Look closely — she’s a beauty. Much more subtle and refined in her prowess and mastery: elegant, commanding of presence, red hot and ready for man-handling.

Look closely and you will see the car sports logos for such famous auto racing sponsors as Fiat, Shell, UPS, Puma, Brembo, and Pirelli. There is even a decal on the car and a logo teaser at the end for TNT energy drink.

 

Black Satin Ferrari F12 Berlinetta looking good.

Modifying a supercar is not that easy because the percentage of screwing it up is much higher than the one in which the vehicle will end up looking even better than the original one, and it seems that the crew at Elite Wrap has done the impossible. The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta in question has received an awesome matte black wrap, complete with the satin finish, a red front splitter, a set of black and red Vossen aftermarket and some other tweaks.

The Ferrari F12 Berlinetta has been introduced during the 2012 Geneva Motor Show and it’s coming as the official replacement of the 599 GTB. The supercar is offered in a two-door coupe body style, with a front mid-engine and a rear-wheel drive layout. Power is being provided by a 6.3 liter naturally aspirated V12 engine, shared with the FF, which is good for 730 HP (544 kW) at 8,250 rpm and 690 Nm (509 lb-ft) of torque, available at 6,000 rpm. The unit is mated to a 7-speed dual clutch automated semi-automatic transmission. The 0 to 100 km/h sprint takes 3.1 seconds and top speed stands at 340 km/h (210 mph).

 

Thanks to www.inautonews.com

Enzo Ferrari – a brief look at his life

One of the favourite cars we rent at Hemingway Luxury Car Hire is the Ferrari 458 Italia and we know that there are few people who can resist any of these sports cars. We have taken a moment to share a few details of the man without whom this dream car would not be as sought after as it is today.

Ferrari is a name which has now become synonymous with speed and glamour around the world. But for all this, credit goes to one man who had an ambition to build the fastest and most advanced cars in the world, Enzo Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena, Italy on February 18, 1898. When only 10 years old, he went to witness the race, which completely mesmerized him. Throughout his life, he remained quite attached to his birthplace and spent a majority of his days there. He totally inhabited in his life the culture and the values with which he was brought up and never strayed away from it. His life was affected by the First World War, in which he along with his brother had to join the Italian army. This period had a grievous impact upon his life as he lost both his brother and father in a flu outbreak in Italy and also just nearly survived from the flu himself. After returning from the war, left with no employment opportunities, he sought after to fulfil his childhood ambition. Fascinated by cars and racing since his childhood, he landed a small job with CMN Car Company. Later on, he also raced for them, but did not garner much success.

By 1920, he left CMN and joined Alfa Romeo as a racer. He had driven in several races for Alfa Romeo, who had become impressed with his driving ability and were willing to give him a chance to drive at a higher level, but he declined the offer. This practically ended his racing career, and he then directed his attention towards managing racing teams.

After this, he continued to work with Alfa Romeo and managed their racing team. In 1929, he convinced Alfa Romeo to race under his name and formed his own racing team “Scuderia Ferrari”. During this time the trademark prancing horse logo was also adopted by him, he once described the reason for it –

“The horse was painted on the fuselage of the fighter plane of Francesco Baracca – a heroic airman of the First World War. In ’23 I met count Enrico Baracca, the hero’s father, and then his mother, Countess Paulina, who said to me one day, ‘Ferrari put my son’s prancing horse on your cars. It will bring you good luck’. The horse was, and still is, black, and I added the canary yellow background which is the colour of Modena.”

He also got hold of several young drivers like Tazio Nouvlari and Giuseppe Campari. After humble beginnings, his team started winning races and dominating the racing arena for several years. But by the mid 1930s, several nations had understood the possibilities of utilizing motor racing as a means to showcase their supremacy. This marked the arrival of well funded and technically advanced German teams like Mercedes and Auto Union in the racing arena, which had assistance from the German Government. The German teams with their superior machinery, completely outshone everyone on the grid including Ferrari. During this time, one man who still kept the team competitive was his lead driver, Tazio Nouvlari. Even with inferior machinery when compared to the Germans, he still outpaced the capability of the car and came up with several fine performances. The most famous of which was the German Grand Prix in 1935, in which against all odds, he outclassed the Germans at their home.

Nouvlari is perhaps one of the greatest drivers in racing history. Enzo Ferrari first noticed his talent while racing alongside him on the grid in the 1920s. He admired his talent a lot and considered him to be an ideal racing driver. Nouvlari served as a benchmark to Ferrari and he always looked for qualities like him in other drivers. His heroics at the 1935 German Grand Prix served to Ferrari as a benchmark as to how a driver should drive in a race.

By 1937, Nouvlari left his team and joined Auto Union. Later, Ferrari was sacked from the team when Alfa Romeo retook control the same year. He spent the next few years selling parts to other racing teams and also built two cars of his own in 1940. But all his racing activities were abruptly stopped after the beginning of the Second World War, when he had to direct his factory to produce ammunition for the Italian army. There was no major racing activity until the war ended in 1945.

After the war, in 1947, he laid foundations for Ferrari S.p.A, which still exists today. In 1950, there were foundations of a championship, called Formula One, which was to crown World Champions each year. Ferrari enrolled his team for the inaugural season and since then it has competed in every season of Formula One. In 1951, Jose Froilan Gonzalez provided the first win for the team at the British Grand Prix in Silverstone.

Then Ferrari signed an experienced driver and a close friend, Alberto Ascari, who succeeded in winning the first championship title for the team in 1952 and also defended it the next year. Another championship was also won with the help of Juan Manuel Fangio in 1956. Ferrari continued to dominate in Formula 1 throughout the 1950s and its popularity further increased due to successful outings in Le Mans and Mille Miglia. During this time, aside from racing, he also entered the business of producing and selling sportscars, a business which has flourished since then and continues to be so till this day.

The 1950s and early 1960s brought a lot of success to Ferrari, but this was also the period when motor racing was extremely dangerous and it had almost become common for drivers to lose their lives. Ferrari’s team also did not remain untouched by this as during this period seven of Ferrari’s drivers lost their lives which also included his close friends, Alberto Ascari and Giuseppe Campari. Perhaps this was why he chose not to get too involved with his drivers. But the most painful moment for him during this time was the untimely death of his son Dino, the heir to the throne of Ferrari, who died due to muscular dystrophy at a mere 24 years of age in 1956.

The year 1958 brought further success to Ferrari in Formula One as Mike Hawthorn triumphed in winning the world title. This was followed by further championship successes in 1961 and 1964 with Phil Hill and John Surtees respectively.

Ferrari always believed that the car had a greater role to play in winning than the driver. It is also supposed that during accidents, he was more concerned with the condition of the car than that of the driver. As a boss and team principal, he was known to be ruthless to his team and drivers. In order to win, he did not hesitate in creating a conflicting environment between his drivers, so that they would push each other in the race and help bring victories to the team.

By the late 1950s, other teams and especially British teams like Cooper, BRM and Lotus started challenging Ferrari and dominating Formula One. Enzo Ferrari always believed in horsepower in a car, he hated the concept of aerodyanmics which was being utilized by the new teams. He believed “Aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines”.

After 1964, for several years his team did not garner much success. In 1969, due to increasing expenses, he had to sell a 50 percent share of his team to the FIAT Motor Group, who allowed him to remain in operational command of the team. Since then, the FIAT Group has retained its control over Ferrari and now owns 85 percent shares of it (as of 2008).

In the early 1970s, he spotted a young Austrian driver Niki Lauda, who had signed with BRM in 1973. By 1974, he signed Lauda alongside the more experienced driver Clay Regazzoni. Lauda immediately showed his prowess and by the end of the season, provided another world championship to the team.

The 1976 season is remembered mostly for the rivalry between Niki Lauda and James Hunt, in which Lauda returned to racing within a few weeks after a near fatal accident to challenge Hunt for the title. But this season also signaled a strain in the relationship between Lauda and Enzo Ferrari due to events at the Japanese Grand Prix, the last round of the season. It was raining heavily during the race, and Lauda was in contention for the championship, but he retired from the race due to safety concerns and thus eliminated all chances for Ferrari to win the title. This made Ferrari furious and this damage in their relationship was never undone. Despite this, Lauda stayed on with the team in 1977 and won another world championship, before departing in 1978.

After Lauda left, Jody Sheckter helped Ferrari in winning another world title in 1979. This would be the last time during Ferrari’s lifetime that he would witness a driver win a world championship with his team. By this time, the highly regarded Canadian driver Gilles Villeneuve had also joined the team alongside Sheckter. Ferrari had spotted immense talent in him and found his driving to be similar to that of Nouvlari. He proved right in his potential, as Villeneuve had the talent to push and be competitive even in those cars which were no match against the others on the grid. In 1981, he was joined by another young driver, Didier Pironi. Both of them had the ability to lead the team towards another world championship, but their careers were abruptly ended the following year. In 1982, Villeneuve had a fatal accident during a practice session at Zolder, Belgium and Pironi’s legs were badly injured due to an accident at Hockenheim, Germany. After this, Enzo Ferrari’s team had moderate success during the 1980s.

Enzo Ferrari died in 1988 in his sleep. He did not live to see the glory which was to be attained by Michael Schumacher with his team in the future. But he has left behind a legacy which has been responsible for making Ferrari more than just a company but a phenomenon. Such has been the impact of Ferrari that even people who don’t know anything about automobiles, have heard the name of Ferrari. He is the one responsible for making Ferrari one of the most famous and beloved racing teams and car manufacturers in the whole world. The legacy which he has left behind is still growing and will continue to grow for numerous generations to come.

 

Credits to Sportskeeda (blog)

“Timewatch” The Secrets of Enzo Ferrari – BBC

www.grandprix.com