Classic Ferrari locked away for decades inside Hollywood apartment

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The car was literally stored away inside a one-bedroom apartment in West Hollywood.

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Classic Ferrari locked away for decades inside Hollywood apartment originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 01 Feb 2017 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Anti-purist 1963 Ferrari GTE sports hot rod Chevy V8

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Meet the FrankenFerrari, a 1963 250 GTE with a small-block Chevy, a Viper gearbox, a nine-inch Ford rear, Mitsubishi-sourced paint, and Pininfarina styling.

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Anti-purist 1963 Ferrari GTE sports hot rod Chevy V8 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 08 Oct 2015 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1956 Ferrari 250 Tour de France could fetch $11M [w/video]

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This is the car that started a string of victories for Ferrari at the Tour de France in the hands of the Marquis de Portago, securing its handle and place in history. Now it's going up for auction in Monterey.

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1956 Ferrari 250 Tour de France could fetch $11M [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 29 Jul 2015 08:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ferrari 250 TR recreation channels the spirit of Fangio

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Peter Giacobbi couldn't afford to buy an authentic Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa. So he set about faithfully recreating one. Watch and listen to his story courtesy of Petrolicious.

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Ferrari 250 TR recreation channels the spirit of Fangio originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 15 Jul 2015 20:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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All the cars of the monster Baillon Collection barn find are headed to auction [w/video]

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The massive Roger Baillon Collection of barn finds from France goes to auction on February 6, and auction house Artcurial has photos and descriptions of them all. Come check out our gallery to see each of them and what the company thinks they might sell for. There are a few somewhat more modern surprises in the group.

Continue reading All the cars of the monster Baillon Collection barn find are headed to auction [w/video]

All the cars of the monster Baillon Collection barn find are headed to auction [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 09 Jan 2015 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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UK collector pays $800k for license plate ’25 O’

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The record-breaking license plate 25 OYou can't get a vanity license plate in the UK, but Brits have proven their willingness time and time again to part with huge amounts of cash in order to get a particularly desirable number to put on the front and back of their high-priced machinery. This time, a Ferrari collector paid over $800,000 for the license plate "25 O."

The princely sum of £518,000 - equivalent to over $814k at today's rates - was paid by John Collins, owner of classic car broker Talacrest. Collins reportedly intends to put it on his Ferrari 250 GT SWB. What's more is that he had just paid another £130,320 ($205k) for the license plate "250 L" that he plans to put on his 1964 Ferrari 250 GT Lusso, the long-wheelbase touring version of the same vehicle. The winning bids were placed at an auction held by the UK's Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency - the 150th such auction held by the government office, marking its 25th anniversary.

The "25 O" plate broke the event's previous record of £357,000 ($560k), paid in March 2009 for plate number "1 D." In 2008 noted tuner Afzal Kahn bought the license plate "F1" for £440,000, which is less than what Collins paid for "25 O" but different exchange rates worked that out to $870k at the time. Kahn was said to have turned down a $9 million offer for that plate last year.

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UK collector pays $800k for license plate '25 O' originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Dec 2014 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas assemble by the shore at Pebble Beach

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Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa Gathering at Pebble Beach

Seeing one Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many people because so few exist, and those that do generally trade hands for tens of millions of dollars. At this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, there are 20 of these amazing rarities lined up next to each other.

Situated right on the shore of the Pacific Ocean, you can actually hear the waves lapping against the rocks during the quiet moments. Just a few feet away these thoroughbred Prancing Horses are on display and being polished to perfection. The Testa Rossas represent some of the most important historic racers in the world, and the mix here include a prototype, a Le Mans winner and models that counted drivers like Phil Hill and Dan Gurney behind the wheel.

Not all Testa Rossas were created equal, though. Ferrari built both factory racing and customer versions, and they came with curvaceous bodies from Scaglietti and a bit more angular look with dual snouts from Fantuzzi. Many of them also had further modifications from there to make each one about as unique as a snowflake. Check out our fabulous gallery of all 20 of these beautiful red heads on display together.

Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas assemble by the shore at Pebble Beach originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Aug 2014 13:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1964 Ferrari 250 GTO sees Petrolicious embracing gorgeousness

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Petrolicious Ferrari 250 GTO

We've never, ever accused Petrolicious of slacking when it comes to the quality of cars it features. Each week brings a new, exciting, rare vehicle that has some special quality or provenance to it. But this week's video... it's beyond everything else the series has ever done.

That's because it stars the legendary Ferrari 250 GTO, also known as (possibly) the most expensive vehicle ever sold. Only 36 were ever built, and this particular 1964 example was the first of the Series II range. Rather than some tinkerer or restorer behind the wheel of this masterpiece, Derek Hill, son of the first American Formula One World Champion, Phil Hill, is on hand for the interview and is slotted into the tight cockpit of the Rosso Corsa masterpiece.

This particular GTO was raced multiple times by Hill Sr., and it recorded wins at Daytona and Nassau, thanks in part to its 300-horsepower, 3.0-liter V12 engine. That makes it a bit special for the younger Hill, who can speak with some authority about this car's provenance - and wheel it rather well himself, as he's a fairly accomplished racer in his own right. Of course, if you're like us, you'll forget everything Hill says and will go completely slack-jawed as soon as that V12 starts to sing.

Grab your best pair of headphones, turn up the volume as loud as you can bear and scroll down for the full video. You won't hear anything better all week.

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1964 Ferrari 250 GTO sees Petrolicious embracing gorgeousness originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 29 Apr 2014 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Meet the man who discovered and restored the oldest existing Porsche

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First Registered Porsche

Luciano Rupolo is an absolutely fascinating gentleman. He was born in France but spent nearly his entire life in Italy as an auto mechanic running his own shop. His grandfather and father instilled a love of sports cars in him that he carried on by historic racing in Italy for decades. He saw his life-long automotive passion repaid when he found and restored the car that might have been the first Porsche registered for the road.

You can spot in his garage a split-window Corvette, Ferrari 250 GTE and other exotics, but Rupolo's most interesting automotive story concerns his Iso Grifo Competizione (pictured above). The sports coupe was found in the Canary Islands as little more than a shell, but Rupolo got help from a prestigious source for its restoration. The result is a motoring masterpiece.

Rupolo is a fantastic storyteller with a captivating, tale to tell. Settle in, scroll down and watch the bittersweet documentary about his life with one of the first Porsches.

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Meet the man who discovered and restored the oldest existing Porsche originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 Mar 2014 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sells for record $39.8 million

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1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa CN 0714

This might not come as a shock, but ultra-rare vintage cars are only going to get more expensive as time rolls on, particularly if there's a prancing horse on the car's nose. For example, in 2011, a Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for $16.39 million. In February 2012, a 1964 250 GTO sold for nearly $32 million. Later that year, a 1962 250 GTO sold for $35 million. It was the most expensive car ever sold, making last year's 275 GTB/4 NART Spider and its $27.5-million auction price seem like a drop in the platinum-lined bucket. Now, there's been another high-dollar Ferrari sale.

An unrestored, 1957 250 Testa Rossa was reportedly sold for over $39 million, making it the most expensive car ever sold in the United Kingdom. Just for perspective, $39 million is about 28 LaFerraris or roughly 128 F12 Berlinettas. It's not the most expensive car ever sold, but it still represents a huge sum of money for a classic car. Part of the reason for chassis number 0704 - the car pictured above is 0714, which sold for a mere $12.2 million in 2009 - being sold for so much is down to its excellent provenance.

It made its race debut at the 1957 24 Hours of Le Mans, although it failed to finish. Phil Hill and Peter Collins racked up wins with this exact car in Buenos Aires and Sebring, according to the folks at Hemmings. Combining race wins by a former Formula One World Champion with an unrestored example of an extremely rare car (one of just 34 250 Testa Rossas ever built) makes its monumental sale price almost seem reasonable.

Following its racing life, the 0704 was donated to The Henry Ford Museum, outside of Detroit. It spent 30 years there, before being sold in 1997. According to Hemmings, the care by The Henry Ford team, which has a voluminous collection of rare and classic cars, is part of the reason this unrestored car remains in such good condition.

As this was a private sale, rather than through an auction house, it's unlikely we'll ever know the complete details behind the sale. The pricing information comes from The Daily Mail, which claims well-placed sources confirmed the price of 24 million pounds (that converts to $39.2 million as of this writing). The car was owned by Tom Hartley, Jr., a UK-based car dealer. Hartley admitted to selling the car, although it's unclear who the new owner is, according to Hemmings.

1957 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sells for record $39.8 million originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 04 Feb 2014 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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