Ferrari

Ferrari stepped into the limelight once again this year at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show where they debuted their vettura laboratorio, the Ferrari 599 HY-KERS hybrid concept sports car. Known for their screaming V-12 exotic sports cars, Ferrari is for the first time experimenting with the inevitable future of electrification. The HY-KERS is based on the 599 GTB Fiorano, which is one of the best torque producing vehicles Ferrari has to offer, now amplified with the hybrid-electric motor rated at an astonishing 107 hp and 111 lb-ft of torque.

The new hybrid system incorporates pioneering engineering principles into every detail of the vehicle. The flat lithium-ion batteries are located on the floor pan of the car resulting in a lower center of gravity. The compact electric motor of the HY-KERS is coupled with a dual-clutch 7-speed transmission. Ferrari’s goal was to offset every kilogram increase in weight by a gain of at least one hp from the electric motor.

Cam-Shaft is a German car wrapping shop with high-end customization aspirations. They recently completed a camouflage vinyl wrap for a Ferrari 458 Italia that was specifically designed with a special matte-brown hue to match the interior of the customer's vehicle. As the company expands their offerings we look forward to see what kind of interior and exterior mods they introduce. For now, we will just bask in the glory of the camouflage Ferrari 458 Italia sitting in the snow. 

This is not the first time we've seen this phenomenon, although this is the first time we have come across detailed pictures with close-ups. The application in this case looks flawless. Check out some of the other camouflage creations, for better or worse, of past exotic cars we've come across: WTF? Is Camouflage the New Black? These Exotic Car Owners Seem to Think So... In any case, check out the photos after the jump...

The Ferrari 458 Italia debuted in final production form in late July to widespread oohs and aahs. Since then, we've seen some polished press footage of this supercar performing hot laps at several racetracks from various media outlets. But what we have been yearning for was some true-to-life, caught-in-the-wild video to give us an idea of what the Ferrari 458 looks like on city streets.

An astute driver in the Netherlands was passed on the highway by the 458 Italia and quickly went into chase/stalker mode with their handicam. They followed the car to Kroymans Ferrari/Aston Martin/Maserati in Hilversum and waited until it went on another run to capture some great footage. Ferrari's new wondercar was filmed in various environments and situations to give us a nice all-round preview in the real world. Check out the video after the jump.

As I was with my college football team (the CU Buffaloes), when it comes to Gemballa, I'm a fair-weather fan. All of their cars are fast and original (to say the least), but I don't always love them. Put on too much orange and too many scoops, I leave the game early. Build The Avalanche, I cheer 'til the end. The Gemballa team is on a hot streak, but with a different player this time: Ferrari. The German company known for tuning Porsches for over almost 30 years has crossed border into Italy, with fantastic results. This is the Ferrari Enzo-based Gemballa MIG-U1, and I am a fan.

We wish we had something more to say than wha the title makes obvious. Basically, two dudes go all out for a crazy night after renting an Audi R8 and Ferrari California. There are hot girls, a house party, some exhilarating driving and of course the furries.

This is hands down the best rental car commercial we've seen. It was produced by Nick Miller on behalf of Midway Car Rental Company, a Los Angeles based operation that clearly wants to give you a taste of all of the craziness that the city offers on any given night. Anyway, check out The Fast & The Furryious after the jump:

Some of you may remember the Ferrari P4/5 that movie man James Glickenhaus had crafted a few years ago. The custom Ferrari Enzo was modified by Pininfarina to better resemble the P Series cars from the 1960s that the billionaire so loved. The $4 million one-off supercar appeared in August 2006 at Pebble Beach.This endeavor got Ferrari thinking about the creation of an official coach-building operation.

The Ferrari Portfolio initiative was designed to allow those folks with loads of cash to commission special builds from Italian design firms the likes of Pininfarina, Zagato and Fioravanti, with full factory support from Ferrrari. Customers can base their dream cars on any platform in the company's lineup, with structural integrity and "good taste" the only constraints. The Ferrari SP1 was the first car that came out of this program and was produced for Japanese business executive Junichiro Hiramatsu.

The 599 GTB Fiorano is Ferrari's flagship model and the company's most powerful production road car. But it has also turned into an interesting development platform, with Ferrari offering an in-house tuning upgrade in the form of the HGTE package as well as a track variant, the Ferrari 599XX. Now it looks like another offspring may emerge, a hardcore version of the 599 Fiorano that is lighter, faster and more agile. Initial pre-order paperwork lists this new monster as the Ferrari 599 GTO Limited Edition. Obviously, this is a reference to the legendary 250 GTO cars from the 1960s. Nobody is sure what the final name will be, but this seems to work just fine.

Engine output from the V12 is suggested to fall somewhere between 680 hp and 700 hp. The base 599 Fiorano is rated at 611 bhp while the 599XX is listed as 690 bhp. So, this should be a significant performance boost over the stock model and peg the new Ferrari 599 GTO closer to the development version. Weight reduction is expected to be in the range of 100 to 150 pounds through the use of lighter components and carbon fiber. This looks to be shaping up as Ferrari's answer to the Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce.

I don't care what the Chinese calendar says, it is the year of the turbo. Whoever the turbo salesman is, he can probably loan GM more money, because they are everywhere. Turbos now mean less fuel and more power; the best of both worlds. They've always allowed smaller engines to make serious power. This year BMW made its award-worthy 3.0 liter turbo and sparked a turbo-renaissance. BMW is considering using turbos for the next M3 and mighty M5. Turbos are being used across the board now. From hot hatch-backs to million dollar super cars, turbo-chargers are being perfected and improved each year. Well, like the last man to jump on a rescue boat in a flood, Ferrari has filed a patent for turbo-charged V-8. Turbo Ferraris? As if it wasn't hard enough for me to fall asleep...

For a long time there seemed to be two camps of car manufacturers; turbos-for-life (Audi, Volvo, Nissan) and all-naturally-aspirated (BMW, GM, Ferrari, Lamborghini). The Italians were by far the biggest opponents. In all their years building fine sports cars, companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini have built less than a handful of turbo cars. The last turbo Ferrari was the unparalleled F40. Propelled by a 2.9 liter twin-turbo V-8, it was raw, light and fast as hell. Since then Ferrari has been playing clean, using high-strung, complex 8 and 12 cylinder engines to make power. But the benefits of turbo-charging have gotten too strong for Ferrari to ignore. Ferrari's own engine chief Jean-Jacques told  Britain's Autocar magazine that the company has begun R&D on a turbo-charged power-plant.