Ferrari SF90 Stradale (phev) Reviews

As Australians go through the discussion about same sex marriage, Americans also face the same issues. The American Family Association argues that if marriage laws are relaxed, we will soon legally be able to marry anything – even our cars. And that’s a proposal that had the Carsguide journalists shopping for confetti quicker than you can say ‘I do’. “I’ll take the Lamborghini Aventador to be my lawfully wedded wife, because it’s the Batman car - and I’ve got a thing for Batman,” Mark Hinchliffe confesses - but declines to discuss whether his current wife knows of his Gotham obsession. “I’d turn up at the altar with the Ferrari 599 FTB Fiorano, not because of its tongue-tangling name or because it’s the greatest car I’ve ever driven but because it’s a gorgeous, feisty Italian - and I’m married to one of those, so must have a thing for them,” says Ged Bulmer (with the nous of a man who wants to ensure he stays happily married to one of them).     “I’ll hook up the classic 1954 Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing,” says Karla Pincott. “But it will have to be an illicit elopement – that car isn’t the marrying kind.” “I’d be prepared to enter a civil union - as endorsed by the ALP - with the new BMW 328i,” says Paul Pottinger. “It’s sleek, fast, desirable and will grow on you. In other words, it possesses many of the qualities I would like in myself.” “My bride would be a Porsche because I like the German efficiency that means it would keep things clean, its cute rounded tail and the sensual sound it makes when going hard at high revs,” volunteers Neil Dowling bravely.

But when the V12 powered replacement for today's 599 is being readied in Italy then it's really, really big. The newcomer is called F152 and - after years of rumours and speculations - the Italian stallion has finally been caught testing by Carparazzi. Ferrari has done a great camouflage job with body bits that look more like a winter jacket, but the disguise will be stripped away at the opening of the Geneva Motor Show in March when everything from the car's all-new chassis and its 6.3-litre V12 engine - with more than 520 kiloWatts - is revealed. Expect it here late in 2012 with a price tag of at least $650,000.

Scaglietti, who gave his name to the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, also gave his life to the company and gave the company its life. He styled some of Ferrari's best cars - the 250 Testa Rossa and 250 Monza - and even went outside Italy to create the Chevrolet Corvette Scaglietti Coupe of 1958. In an official statement, Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo said: ``Today is a sad day for Ferrari'' ``We lost a friend, a travel companion, a man who had his name forever connected to the Prancing Horse.  ``Sergio Scaglietti leaves behind the legacy of an artist who, with his talent, created some of the most beautiful cars of our history. ``(Those who) had the luck to know him like I did will also remember him as a straightforward and honest man, completely dedicated to his work. We will miss him.''  Scaglietti, who worked mainly in aluminium and preferred to sculpt a car body rather than draw it, started work in a garage in Modena at the age of 13. By age 17 he and his brother had opened a workshop opposite Ferrari's Scuderia factory.  He worked on repairing race cars for Ferrari's clientele as well as for Enzo Ferrari. During the 1950s Enzo was so impressed with Scaglietti's work that he hired him to build a new chassis. Scaglietti soon after handled most of Ferrari's work.

Set to be at the top of the street legal Ferraris, the 599 GTB will be officially unveiled at Geneva motor show in March, but has been snapped testing by spy photographer group, Carparazzi. Under the bonnet – rather than at the rear -- will be a version of the 6.3-litre V12 also carried by the four-seater FF all-wheel-drive – however the 599 GTB will be rear-wheel drive, via a seven-speed DSG transmission. Considerable work has been done with advanced aluminium technologies to reduce weight, and with a tipped 520kW of power, is likely to get to 100km/h in about 3.2 seconds and have a top speed above 340km/h.

In 1952, with Alfa Romeo having withdrawn from Grand Prix racing, fans faced the prospect of a dull F1 season with outdated cars. Track promoters persuaded the Grand Prix to make the more exciting Formula 2 car races championship events. It was perfect for the Ferrari Tipo 500 -- a Formula 2 car designed by Aurelio Lampredi, which monopolised the racing and the podium over the next two seasons. The car was powered by a simple in-line four-cylinder 2.0-litre engine which was mounted behind the front axle, improving weight distribution. Driver Alberto Ascari piloted the Ferrari 500 to his first World Championship in 1952. He won every race except one – because he was driving the 4.5 litre Ferrari at the Indianapolis 500 – but Ferrari still won the race in his absence. In 1953, Ascari again won the World Championship, with Ferrari taking all but the final race. Ascari’s record of nine straight World Championship wins in the 500 has not yet been broken. In 1954, the World Championship returned to Formula 1 engine regulations, so the Ferrari 500 chassis was modified with the 2.5 litre 625 engine and won two just more races, one each in 1954 and 1955, being largely outclassed by the Mercedes-Benz W196 and Maserati 250F.  Two model revisions were released over that time, but the 625 was used until 1956 when it was replaced by the D50 chassis bought in as part of Ferrari’s purchase of the Lancia Formula One team

1 Jay Leno: Duesenbergs What a Doosey of a way to start this top 10 star cars feature! One of the world's most expensive cars and most sought after by Hollywood legends over the years is the American luxury Duesenberg. Talk show host Jay Leno has one of the biggest stables of exotic cars in the world, including six Deusenbergs, each worth more than $1.5m. They are so luxurious, they gave birth to the expression "What a duesy/doosey"! They have been owned by celebs such as Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, Greta Garbo, and Mae West. they have also been owned by millionaires Howard Hughes and William Randolph Hearst, criminal Al Capone and royalty. 2 Simon Cowell: Bugatti Veyron They cost about $2m and are one of the fastest production cars on the planet with a top speed of 431km/h. The Veyron also launches to 100km/h in 2.5 seconds. The TV talent show judge is a good judge of a car with a garage that also includes a Ferrari F430 and Rolls Royce Phantom. He has also paid a deposit for the Rolls-Royce 100EX Cabriolet which is still just a concept. 3 David Beckham: Custom Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead The V12-powered Roller is worth about $1.3m in "standard" trim. But there is nothing standard about this Roller for the soccer superstar and husband of Posh Spice. For a start, it has custom-made 24-inch Savini forged wheels which cost several thousand dollars each. Beckham's number 23 is embroidered on to the leather seats. 4 Jerry Seinfield: Porsche 959 The reclusive comedian built a $1.4m multi-storey garage in New York just to house his 46-car collection, most of which are Porsches. The most expensive is his rare 959. Only 337 were built and only 200 of those were street legal. A 959 is estimated to cost more than $1m. Bill Gates also owns one, but neither he nor Seinfeld can drive them on the streets as they don't pass US emissions tests. 5 Jay Z and Beyonce: Maybach Exelero Rapper Shawn Corey Carter (Jay Z) and Beyonce Knowles paid about $8m for this one-off German luxury sports car. It was commissioned by Fulda Tyres to test their widest tyres, but now Maybach is building the Batmobile-esque cars for general sale. The 350km/h two-seaters are powered by a 522kW twin-turbo V12 engine. The Exelero features in Jay Z's Lost One video. 6 Kim Kardashian: Ferrari 458 Italia Now that she has filed for divorce from her husband of 10 weeks, Kris Humphries, her collection of cars could also be split up. The reality TV star has several cars, including a Bentley Continental GT, Rolls-Royce Ghost, Range Rover and Ferrari F430, to which she has added the F430's successor, the 458 Italia. In Australia they cost more than $500,000, but Kim's has apparently been specially pimped. 7 Paris Hilton: Bentley GT Continental Of course, it's pink! The body, the grille, wheels, seats and interior trim. If that's not bling enough, it features a diamond-encrusted dashboard that is reported to be worth more than $250,000. In Australia, they cost about $400,000, but with a diamond-encrusted "PH" badge on the front, this one cost a whole lot more. The heiress bought it as a Christmas gift to herself in 2008. 8 Nicolas Cage: Ferrari Enzo The Hollywood actor's addiction to cars caused his financial ruin. At one stage he owned nine Rolls-Royces. But his most valuable and valued car was the legendary Ferrari Enzo which was gone in less than 60 seconds at auction for a bargain price. The V12 sports car, named after Ferrari's founder, had a top speed of 350km/h. Only 399 were built. They can sell for up to $20m. 9 Ralph Lauren: McLaren F1 LM The American fashion designer owns a huge collection of classic cars including the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Gullwing Coupe, Porsche 550 Spyder, a Bugatti Veyron, two Ferrari 250 Testa Rossas and a rare 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO, of which 39 were made. While some might consider the 250 GTO the greatest Ferrari of all time, fetching up to $15m at auction, it's not as rare as the McLaren. Only five were built to honour the five McLaren F1 GTRs that finished and won the 1995 Le Mans 24-hour race. 10 Patrick Dempsey: Jaguar XK120 The hunky actor from Grey's Anatomy has great taste in cars, especially race cars. The aspiring racer has driven the pace car in Indy 500 and has raced sports car and off-road buggies. He is a co-owner of an IndyCar team and also owns a classic Jaguar XK120. They were built between 1948-1954 and successfully raced at Le Mans.  

Removing the top is almost always a good thing - a beer, for example, is much better topless. It's rarely a bad thing unless we're talking about cars - many hardtops that are hacksawed into convertible status don't make the grade sans roof.The Ferrari 458 Spider is most certainly NOT one of these - it is a gorgeous four-wheeled supermodel, which despite a drop in torsional rigidity over the coupe and some rear end changes, is an improvement over the hardtop.VALUEWhen a pricetag not out of place on a family home is sitting on the windscreen then "value" isn't the first adjective to spring to mind when this car looms into view - spectacular, gorgeous and phenomenally fast are more likely, along with a few expletives if you're lucky enough to drive one.The features list is extensive, leather and carbon-fibre trim everywhere, the chunky steering wheel with almost everything mounted on it, including the manettino drive system to keep it pointing in the right direction, the three-screen instrument panel and information display system, paddle-shifters for the seven-speed auto, full iPod integration is on offer but why you'd have anything competing with the mid-mounted sound system is beyond me.TECHNOLOGYThe Spider is powered by the same naturally-aspirated direct-injection 4.5-litre V8 with continuously variable valve timing displacing 4.5 litres that propels the coupe - outputs are unchanged at 425kW and 540Nm and over 80 per cent of that impetus is available from 3250 rpm.The repositioning of the air intakes has warranted changes to the exhaust to re-balance the aural impact of the car - the work on the Spider has made it sound even better than the 50kg heavier coupe.Also retained for the Spider is the twin-clutch F1 paddle-shift seven-speed transmission - sending drive rearward using the trick E-Diff, but where the 1430kg Spider gets a tweak for topless duties is in the throttle pedal electronics and within the damper software - both changes are for the better.Fuel use is down - with the option of further drops via the Ferrari HELE (High Emotion Low Emission) system - to a combined figure of 11.8 l/100 km with 275g/km of CO2 emissions; the coupe's launch claim was 13.7 and 307g/km.The flip-top lid goes a step further than the limited-edition Superamerica's somewhat-similar system - the patented retractable hard-top does it's stuff in 14 seconds, and is made of aluminium.The company claims it's 25kg lighter than an old-school ragtop and flips its lid to neatly somersault into its home above the engine bay with no aerodynamics compromises."We took inspiration from the 575 SuperAmerica, but that's a front-engined car, but we wanted more - we thought about integrating the roll bars into the buttresses and using a multi-panel hardtop or a concertina fabric roof," says 458 product marketing manager Michele Comelli.The only real compromise is the absence of a view of the engine bay, something coupe owners get but Spider drivers don't - they'll just have to make do with the aural sensations and the open-air experience.DESIGNThe snout is unchanged - it's a sharp looker already so no need to mess with a fince face - but the rear of the car is all-new and sleek, thanks to not requiring big hips at the rear to accomodate a conventional folding hardtop.Dominated by the buttresses (with integrated roll-over protection), the new rear panels direct air flow to the engine intakes as well as the cooling system contained within the sleek rump.The roof mechanism is quick at 14 seconds and uses the rear window as a device to reduce cabin turbulence - which it does remarkably well at high speed, and it can also be retracted with the roof up, just to maintain the aural appeal.SAFETYThe standard four airbags are on stand-by in case of impending dooms, but there are electronic driver aids are all integrated and on speaking terms. The traction and stability control, anti-lock brakes, adjustable suspension and myriad other electronic functions are all tailored to the selected drive mode via the wheel-mounted switch. The highlight is massive Brembo-gripped carbon-ceramic brakes which only just squeeze in behind the wheels, with 6-pot aluminium front calipers and 4-pot aluminium rear calipers.DRIVINGThere's always a fear that when a coupe becomes a convertible that the tight, bulletproof feel of the former fails to translate to the latter - fear not, Ferrari fans, the 458 has lost little of its strong-bodied feel.Only sporadically will a shimmy be sparked by a shocking road surface, but it is rare and doesn't adversely effect the ride (which is very good given its abilities) or the drive experience, which is stupendous.The 0-100km/h claim remains near three seconds and the top speed claim is 320km/h - nothing about the road drive suggests those figures are optimistic.The snarling V8 is maniacal as it heads for the 9000rpm redline - yes, 9000rpm - and it's a soundtrack that overloads the nervous system.Instant changes from the seven-speed twin-clutch briefly change the orchestra's pitch and straights are obliterated.Tipping the Spider into the bends is child's play, the steering is quick and there's no misinformation - just a corner completed with considerable speed and little fuss, unless you have backed the electronics off and have the skills to play with the tail.The engineering team say the suspension and throttle mapping have been wound back a little for the Spider, which is more likely to be driven daily and with a passenger - it's a little less frenetic than the coupe in a good way.Cabin comfort, even on the optional carbon-fibre buckets, is remarkable - the magnetic-fluid dampers do an amazing job on bumps and corners - and even at 190-odd cm the roof lining never rubbed what's left of the hair on my head.Vision straight back is better than you'd expect for the segment, but lane changes can sometime be a concern if you like to double check over your shoulder - all you'll see is trim.VERDICTAt $600,000 this is certainly rarified air, not many will make onto Aussie roads but the level of ability - at the extremes as well as in daily driving - is quite astounding. Putting it into perspective - a Japanese luxury carmaker recently put $750,000 pricing on a super-coupe that is similarly astounding, but not 150-grand better - in fact it makes the Spider look like good value, and you can still get hold of the Ferrari droptop. If you could muster up the extra cash the 458 Spider has the best of both aspects - the security of a hard-roofed machine without the storage issue, as well as open-air appeal and performance off the scale.FERRARI 458 SPIDERPrice: from $600,000 (estimated)Warranty: 3 years, unlimited kmResale: N/AService interval: 20,000km or 12-monthsEconomy: 11.8 l/100km; 275g/km CO2Safety equipment: four airbags, ABS, EBD, stability and traction control.Crash rating: N/AEngine: 425kW/540Nm 4.5-litre naturally-aspirated variable-valve direct-injection V8.Transmission: seven-speed twin-clutch automated manual, rear-wheel driveBody: 2-door, 2 seatsDimensions: 4527mm (L); 1937mm (W); 1211mm (H); 2650mm (WB)Weight: 1430kgTyres: 235/35 20in fr, 295/35 20in rear

The McLaren MP4-12C tops the list of Dad's dream cars.

When it comes to used dream cars, the Ford Falcon GTHO Phase III takes the cake.

The second member of the new 458 family follows the family droptop pattern, as the second model in the new mid-engined range, with a go- faster Scuderia expected out of the blocks in the second half of 2012. The Ferrari 458 Spider is confirmed for production next year with the first Australian deliveries before the end of 2012. No-one is betting yet on the bottom line, but it's likely to be somewhere significantly beyond the $526,950 of the 458 coupe. The big difference in the new fresh-air speed machine is the roof - it's been switched from a canvas soft top to a folding clamshell similar to the one already fitted to the Ferrari California. It comes with the promise of more security and reduced noise levels, although the top speed is still pegged at 320km/h with a 0-100km/h sprint in 3.4 seconds. The top is made from aluminium, achieving a 25 kilogram weight reduction over the previous system, and Ferrari says it can be raised or lowered in 14 seconds. The design was integrated into the 458 program from the beginning, which Ferrari says has not compromised the car's aerodynamics or the ability to carry luggage on the small bench behind the car's twin bucket seats. The Spider will be officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month but the car is already close to a sellout in Australia - at least for deliveries in the first 12 months. "At this point we're sitting on well into the double figures of expressions of interest. It's not a case of how many cars we can sell, but how many are allocated for sale," says Edward Rowe, spokesman for Ferrari in Australia.