Photo copyright ©2009 Damon Lavrinc / Weblogs, Inc.

You’ve heard of diamond-encrusted televisions. You’ve heard of gold-plated refrigerators. You’ve heard of bathtubs dipped in platinum. Are any of these things better because of their blinged-out status? No.

A gold-plated refrigerator is still a refrigerator. If I gold-plated my excrement, it would still be excrement.

When you get down to the nuts and bolts of the matter, it’s just flat-out tasteless.

This is what plagues the Lexus LFA.

It’s a great machine. It can lap the Nürburgring in 7:24. It’s got a great-sounding V10 engine. It’s dynamic, and it’s the automotive equivalent of gold-plated excrement.

I have come to this conclusion via the power of complex mathematical reasoning. If I were born yesterday, I’d be able to guesstimate the LFA’s price at $168,000 just by looking at it. If you told me how it performed, I’d add $25,000 to the total. If I were to hear the sound of the engine – which may be the best sound of any road car today - I’d start feeling generous and I’d add $30,000 to the expected price.

So where does that leave us? $223,000
Lexus LFA MSRP: $380,000
Discrepancy between perceived price and actual MSRP: $157,000

So where did all those Benjamins go? They went into the carbon fiber-reinforced polymer body which saves about 200 lbs. versus an all-aluminum car.

So tell me, are you willing to pay $157,000 to lose 200 lbs? I’m not and I’m certain NBC’s Biggest Loser isn’t either. So while the Lexus LFA is a great car, it’s a great car wrapped in carbon fiber, or the automotive equivalent of gold plating, and for an extra $157,000 … well, if i carry the seven and cross-cancel – yep, that makes the car crap – crap wrapped in “gold”.

I know, everybody wants to be like Audi. Put a halo car in the showrooms to get people to walk in, and they walk out with an A4. Same thing with the Ford GT. Same thing with the Acura NSX. Same thing with the Dodge Viper. All those cars changed their entire car companies and the way people perceived them.

But now the halo car business is becoming too much of a “me too” business; as a result, I think this car will hurt Lexus’s image. The Lexus LFA is a halo car done wrong. Halo cars have to present something new and/or unique to the marketplace. The Acura NSX was the best example – it was the first supercar that was easy to drive. The Dodge Viper – the automotive equivalent of a red thong flossing a tan butt on a summer day north of 100°F. Audi R8 - a true supercar you could drive every day and almost afford. LFA: just another fast car.

You see, halo cars don’t necessarily have to beat all their rivals, but they have to be compelling. I’m sorry, but among Ferrari 599 GTB Fioranos and Mercedes-Benz SLS AMGs … even the much cheaper Nissan GT-Rs, the Lexus LFA is leaving this reviewer cold.

The name LFA originates from “Lexus Future Advance”. It’s a shame because in many ways, this car is retarding Lexus’s future.

They should have made a successor to the Supra (the name alone sounds better than “LFA”) that would have been less expensive than the Nissan GT-R, but better-performing. What they’ve given us is an overpriced Supra with a Lexus badge and radiators in the back. Stinky.

Photos copyright ©2009 Damon Lavrinc / Weblogs, Inc.

Although this blog has become mostly about Formula One, that wasn’t what I set out to do with it. Well, now, after many posts about F1, I have a new topic (although it also involves F1). A few months ago, I was in a little principality you may have heard of called Monaco. This is a place of glitz and glamour and the cars and the city did not disappoint. I arrived there on a day that started out raining extremely hard, but as we pulled into the principality, the skies began to clear and the sun briefly shone through. The main reason that I wanted to go to Monaco was to walk the Formula One track that has become so famous. You may have watched it on TV, seen it in a movie or even played it in a video game, but unless you go there, you cannot believe how close to the buildings these guys get to drive. The second reason I wanted to go to Monaco was to see all the great cars these super wealthy people drive. As the day started with that aforementioned rain, I was not expecting too much, but I was surprised at what I did see.

We parked waaaaay up at the top of some hill that I probably couldn’t even find again. Luckily, we had a GPS system with us and it really came in handy. As I said, we parked way up the hill, as Monaco is sort of built into the side of a mountain (or at least some very tall hills). This leads to the city being a bevy of apartments, all built right on top of one another. Another thing this leads to is lots of stairs; thousands of them, in fact. However, we had another stroke of luck in that we parked near an elevator. Because the town is built so vertically, they have elevators that you can use to go up and down throughout the city to get to your destination. This not only saves time, it keeps you from killing yourself trying to climb up all those stairs. As it happened, we came down an escalator that opened up onto a street with a view directly toward the harbor. And again, as luck would have it, this street also contained the Formula One store and the Ferrari dealership. How fortuitous is that?

Obviously, I had to check both of them out. First, we took a trip inside the store. This place has everything…almost. Other than an actual car being inside the store, they had helmets, suits, an engine, exhausts, wheels and models galore! The walls were lined with models and hats and actual racing suits. I have been in other Formula One stores before, and though the one in Toronto comes close, this one is right in the heart of the action and is the place to go if you want some great merchandise. I will say that the one in Toronto has a very awesome Ayrton Senna helmet, but this one in Monaco is actually in Monaco! You can’t go wrong with that. I wish I had taken pictures of the inside, but I never thought to do so. I have this one of the outside, and the address is 15, Rue Grimaldi, should you ever be in the neighborhood. Originally, I wanted to get a car model or something that would be very Monaco-ish from the store (like a Michael Schumacher Ferrari F1 car), but all of the stuff they had – surprise, surprise – was really expensive. I ended up looking around the store and just taking it all in and then leaving to go explore the town with my dad.

The next stop was the Ferrari dealership just down the street, toward the harbor. This store had pretty much everything, bar an Enzo. Outside, in the rain, was a new California, a 599 GTB, a couple of 360s  and even a rare (in that it didn’t sell very well) 456. Inside the showroom was a 430 spider as well as an F430 Scuderia. This car is unbelievable to look at and the interior is pure racing car. Welds out in the open, no carpets, upgraded seats, Alcantara all over the place; a true beast of a car. I snooped around here for a bit and then we moved on down toward Port Hercule.

Port Hercule is the port that is so famous because of all of the gigantic yachts in the harbor during the grand prix. These yachts in these photos are just little things compared with what shows up on that weekend. It really is amazing that there are so many wealthy people out there who can not only live in Monaco, but be able to still afford to eat, let alone own a boat that is larger than my entire house!

Of course, right next to the port is the front straight of the actual track. Right on the street that all the cars drive on you can see the grid positions where they line up every year. It’s an amazing thing that an entire city/country can be shut down just for a bunch of cars to drive at ludiculous speeds through the town. At the corner of the first turn, called St. Devote, there is a large statue of a car drifting through that turn. Then it is up the hill toward the casino and the square. This hill is so much steeper than it appears on the television, it’s hard to get across in pictures, but it is like walking up stairs without the benefit of steps. And when you get to the top of the hill, it is a completely blind left turn that seems to go on forever, until you get into Casino Square.

And what a square! If you love to watch cars, this is one of the very best places in the world to see supercars up close and personal. There are two good reasons for this. The first is that the casino attracts many high rollers of course, but the other reason is that the Hotel de Paris is right next door. This is where high rollers stay, racing drivers sleep and celebrities frequent. Outside of the hotel, there were approximately 8 Bentleys waiting to take people wherever they wanted to go. And pulled up in front of the casino were multiple Porsches, Ferraris, an Aston Martin and an Audi R8. In fact, as I walked up to the Casino for the first time, I saw a convertible SLR McLaren leaving the scene. It is one of the many cars in the world that I wish I could have gotten a picture of, but, alas, I was not fast enough.

Going on from here, you take a right turn around the mirror in the middle of the square and head down the hill to Mirabeau. This is the corner where Lewis Hamilton crashed in qualifying for the 2009 GP. I took these pictures of the hairpin from his crash spot. Here you can see just how much of a drop in road height there is from the top of this spot to the bottom.

Once you get down there, you take a succession of quick right hand turns and enter the spectacular tunnel. I walked the entire track, and at the end of the tunnel, there was construction, but that didn’t stop me from walking out near the traffic and continuing on. Another car that I missed taking a picture of, mostly because I didn’t want to be hit by it, was the new Lotus Evora. Once you are down here, you are literally right next to the port again. While there are barriers blocking the cars from splashing into the ocean, or crashing into multi-gazillion dollar yachts, it is still only about five or 10 feet from the actual marina. Then it is a left around Tabac and then the quick piff-paff of the swimming pool. Once you are past the pool, you can see right down to the Rascasse restaurant and corner. This corner is famous for a couple of reasons. First, it is a famous restaurant, but also, it is where Michael Schumacher “lost control” of his Ferrari in trying to lock out pole for the 2006 race. Just about where this white van is sitting is where Schumi parked his car. SUCH HISTORY!

From here, the cars blast through Antony Noghes and back onto the start-finish straight. The lap is one of the coolest things you can do in Monaco, because it only takes a couple of minutes (barring any unforeseen stopping to ogle cars) and is a great way to get a sense of the history of the track and to feel just how close they actually come to buildings and spectators. We then took a look at the Automobile Club of Monaco. Since we were not members, we only went into the doorway to see the trophies and the names on the plaques, but behind one of the windows are three formula one engines for all to see.

Unfortunately, we did not spend the night in the city (expensive much?) and moved on. But before we did, I figured that since I would probably never be back to the city, I we should stop back at the Formula One store that we went in earlier. I already had something in mind that I wanted, and luckily, I got there just before they were about to close. In fact, about five minutes before they were about to close! I ran in the back and grabbed a hat. In all the years I have been watching Formula One I have never owned a Michael Schumacher hat, so I grabbed the final edition of his world title winning hats and took it up front. The woman that worked there was kind enough to answer my questions as well. The main one being, “Who is that in the picture?” She then rattled off names like Jarno Trulli, Sylvester Stallone, Sebastian Loeb and more that had all been pictured inside of the store. There were pictures of many people up there, all of them very famous racing drivers or celebrities. This store has a lot of history in it and should be on your list if you are a fan of motorsports and are in Monaco. With this track now crossed off my list, I have been to seven Formula One circuits around the world. Monaco is a beautiful place to visit, and should certainly be on your list of places to visit if you love F1.

El Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano HGTE equipa nuevas llantas de 20 pulgadas, suspensión más rígida, frenos de carbono y un interior más deportivo. Monta el mismo propulsor V12 que rinde 620 CV.

Hace un año, tuve la suerte de poner mis manos en un vehículo de 620 CV. Más que potencia, lo que desprendía ese coche era historia, lujo y deportividad; hablo del Ferrari 599. Si ya de por sí era un coche excelente para los circuitos, ahora, con los cambios introducidos por la marca italiana en esta edición, tiene que ser un devorador de curvas.

El nuevo Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano HGTE (Handling GT Evoluzione) presenta ligeros cambios que le hacen ser, aún si cabe, más exclusivo. Su imagen exterior se diferencia del modelo base por las llantas de 20 pulgadas y los escapes cromados. La suspensión es más rígida y equipa frenos de carbono.

En el interior encontramos un volante con detalles en Alcántara y un nuevo tapizado en los asientos, más deportivo y con la inscripción “Handling GTE”. Los ajustes del Manetino se han modificado, con lo que el comportamiento del coche se ha mejorado.

Estos cambios permiten al conductor del Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano HGTE “domar” los 620 CV de su V12 con mayor facilidad.

Un articolo di Mario Donelli > http://motori.corriere.it

Come fare un cross a Cristiano Ronaldo. Oppure palleggiare con Federer. Fare da caddy a Tiger Woods o suonare la chitarra sul palco durante un concerto di Bruce Spreengsten. E’ stato tutto questo stare seduti alla destra di Michael Schumacher. Su una Ferrari naturalmente. E in pista a Fiorano: 3 chilometri di curve a esse, di tornanti e rettilinei da divorare. I cinque minuti (un’eternità….) insieme al più grande pilota degli ultimi vent’anni sono stati il momento clou di un corso piloti al quale sono statti eccezionalmente chiamati a partecipare una decina di giornalisti da tutto il mondo. Cina, Giappone, Inghilterra, Germania, Francia, Australia…

“Hot laps”: si chiamano così i giri che Schumacher ci farà fare al suo fianco. Giri bollenti. Preceduti da poco incoraggianti raccomandazioni: mangiate leggero, tenetevi ben saldi, occhio ai cambi di direzione. L’ingegner Amedeo Felisa, amministratore delegato della Ferrari, per esempio durante l’incontro che precede l’arrivo di Schumi, interrompe il suo perfetto inglese e chiede: «Come si dice spremere?». «Squeeze» gli viene immediatamente suggerito. E Felisa torna a spiegare: «Bene, vedrete che Schumacher spreme al massimo il motore delle nostre Ferrari»… Ed eccolo Michael un’ora dopo ai box. Jeans, camicia azzurra, collanina di cuoio con artiglio di leone a fare da ciondolo, scarpe bianche e blu. Sorridente e rilassato. Come non lo è nessuno di noi.

L’auto sulla quale viaggeremo (voleremo) è una Ferrari 599 Gtb Fiorano. Solo qualche numero per capire: 6000 di cilindrata, 620 cavalli, velocità di oltre 330 chilometri all’ora, da ferma raggiunge i 100 all’ora in 3,5 secondi. Schumacher sa benissimo che ce la facciamo sotto. «Avete mangiato leggero?» chiede con ironia cui fanno seguito risatine nervose. Sì, abbiamo mangiato leggero ma servirà a qualcosa? Quando parte con il primo «passeggero» ci guardiamo increduli. Pochi secondi e il ruggito del motore è già lontano, la Ferrari un puntino rosso laggiù in fondo. Un giro, un altro, un altro ancora. Ma che cosa succede? Michael ha fermato la macchina e la sta facendo ruotare su se stessa a tutto gas. Le ruote fumano, fumano, fumano fino a nascondere completamente la 599. Ma ecco il momento della verità.

Tocca a noi. Saliamo. Una stretta di mano, un sorriso, qualche frase di circostanza. Parliamo italiano, lui è migliorato molto. «Sei pronto?» chiede. La cintura è allacciata, i piedi ben puntati. Michael ingrana la prima (il cambio è al volante, come quelli della Formula 1). Esce lento dal box, fa qualche metro e poi…. e poi….e poiiiiiiiii….. Quasi non ci si rende conto. Anzi, non ci si rende conto per niente. Siamo già alla prima curva a destra. Con il cuore in gola. Ma ecco già la esse: sinistra, destra, poi ancora sinistra. E giù a tutta velocità fino alla curva verso il ponte. Il piede di Schumacher picchia sul freno con una forza inaudita. E’ questo che colpisce di più: la forza con cui schiaccia fino in fondo il freno quando sembra che sia troppo tardi per rallentare la macchina. E subito dopo la curva, con la stessa intensità lui schiaccia l’acceleratore facendo urlare il motore. Incredibile. Michael vorrebbe conversare, per lui evidentemente è tutto normale. Ma che cosa si può dire? Ogni parola resta strozzata in gola. Ecco il rettilineo di nuovo. Siamo oltre i 250 chilometri all’ora probabilmente. Lo sguardo è fisso verso quella curva sempre più vicina. Staccata. Giù con il freno, ora accelerazione progressiva. La curva è già un ricordo. E presto lo saranno anche tutte le altre. Ha ragione Felisa: Schumacher spreme, spreme. E meno male che abbiamo davvero mangiato leggero… Ultimo giro, poi un altro più lento per raffreddare la Ferrari. E’ il momento per ringraziarlo e scusarci per certi nostri <commenti > dettati dalla fifa durante gli hot laps precedenti. Michael è comprensivo, sa di guidare come un extraterrestre. Lo salutiamo, lo ringraziamo, lo ricorderemo. Tra poco toccherà a noi passare al volante. Ma anche quando ci sembrerà di andare fortissimo, rispetto a lui sapremo di essere lenti come tartarughe.

Puoi vedere il video del giro in pista qui > http://video.corriere.it/?vxSiteId=404a0ad6-6216-4e10-abfe-f4f6959487fd&vxChannel=Motori&vxClipId=2524_d9ecebaa-5522-11de-b097-00144f02aabc&vxBitrate=300

Nota di Pao: Mi chiedo come facciano a mettere una ridicola musica di sottofondo, quando la colonna sonora del motore della Ferrari sarebbe il massimo per un appassionato…

Everyone has heard of the Ferrari 599 GTB right? Well that car looks like a Hyundai compared to Ferrari’s new project. The “Laboratorio Tecnologico 599XX” is a car that embodies the most advanced technologies from Ferrari’s road going and F1 research. A lot of the technology this rare car possesses are being used for the first time and have been developed exclusively for this car. This looks like one hell of a car and it is aimed at a select group of clients. This Ferrari is essentially being used as a technological laboratory for all the future Ferraris.

The 599XX made its debut at the 79th Geneva Show on March 3, 2009 so it isn’t news per-say but it was just too nice for me not to share with you guys.

Under the Hood: In the brake department; carbon fiber brake pads and ceramic brake discs will be bringing you back down from high speeds. Equipped with F1 style aerodynamics and slick tires this hot little number is capable moving quick. Ferrari also stated that with all these new and experimental modifications, the car should still be as easy to use as the 599GTB.

My Thoughts: I’m a big fan of modified and exotic cars, so when you put them both together in a classy way, thats pretty much heaven for me. Ferrari managed to make one hot looking car that much I think is clear. On the lines of performance it would be pretty hard to judge what the Ferrari will be capable of because of all the new and experimental technology. I do think that Ferrari is playing this one pretty smart. I mean you want to test new things all the time, so might as well release a car with all that new technology to a select group of clients and see how some customers respond to it. Its product testing and market research in one shot!

Thumbs up for this baby. Also I looove the windshield banner.

Jogadores na Inglaterra vão ter escola de direção

Após a destruição de alguns bólidos por jogadores do futebol inglês, a PFA vai oferecer cursos de direção

A PFA (associação de Jogadores de Futebol Profissionais da Inglaterra) oferece aulas de direção aos seus filiados após uma sucessão de acidentes envolvendo os atletas no Reino Unido. A entidade não quer que os jogadores atuem bem apenas dentro de campo, mas também como motoristas. “Uma das coisas mais importantes para um jovem é poder comprar um carro por conta própria. E este carro tem de oferecer muita potência. Temos de manter estes jovens conscientes de que um carro pode ser uma arma de destruição se não for conduzido corretamente”, disse Gordon Taylor, executivo chefe da PFA.

Em janeiro, o atacante do Manchester United, Cristiano Ronaldo, destruiu sua Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, avaliada em cerca de R$ 1,9 milhão, após bater em um túnel próximo ao aeroporto de Manchester. O jogador também já tinha destruído um Audi R8 no ano anterior. Seu companheiro de equipe, o ex-corintiano Carlos Tevez, teve seu Bentley Continental apreendido após a polícia descobrir que o jogador não possuía licença para dirigir no país.

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 Looking at the state of that wreckage he is very lucky that he wasn’t injured or worse!

If I was him I might be a little worried though about the upcoming Police investigation.  Someone who’s only 23 taking his new super car out for a drive… you don’t think he might have been speeding (only slightly above the limit of course)? Driving a little careless? Racing his team mates Bentley? Hmmmmmmm

İngiliz The Sun gazetesinin haberine göre, İngiltere’de M27 otoyolunda 80 km/sa’lik sınırın olduğu bölgede 220 km/sa’lik hızla geçen iki araçtan biri olan Bugatti Veyron’un sahibi yakalanırken, yarıştığı Ferrari 599 GTB’nin sahibi kaçmayı başarmış. Bugatti’nin Fransız sahibi sadece 160 km/sa’lik hız ile görüntülendiği için sadece 60 poundluk bir ceza ile kurtulmuş. Bu iki süper otomobil aralarında yarışırken otoyolda seyreden Eddie David, Audi’sinin içinde kendisini bir anda LeMans’te gibi hissettiğini, iki aracın uçarak yanından geçtiği ve hemen ardından da polisin en az 250 km/sa hızla geçtiklerini açıkladı.

Idag, den 13:e maj, gick Ferrari ut med ett pressmeddelande där man officiellt sett gick ut med de första bilderna på deras kommande modell, California. Bilen kliver in i GT-segmentet (Grand Tourer) och blir därmed syskon till 612 Scaglietti och 599 GTB Fiorano. Bilen finns endast som cabroliet men kommer ha en nedfällbar hardtop för de dåliga dagarna.

Ferrari California kommer med en V8:a på 4,3 liters motor på 460 hästkrafter vid 7500 RPM. Med hjälp av dess dual clutch-växellåda spinner bilen bilen iväg från 0-100 km/h på under 4 sekunder samtidigt som den hjälper till att hålla nere bränsleförbrukningen och koldioxidutsläppen.

Målgruppen för California sägs enligt Ferrari vara de som eftersträvar allt som Ferrari representerar men som samtidigt vill ha en mångsidig bil. Bilen kommer officiellt presenteras under internationella bilmässan i Paris. Under de närmsta veckorna är de sagt att fler bilder ska komma samt mer information om modellen.

Exista o serie de zvonuri care circula pe web, afirmand ca Ferrari este gata sa lanseze un SUV, oricat de improbabila ar parea aceasta mutare a companiei. Editorii de la World Car Fans numesc modelul Ferrari F599 FS 599 Fuoristrada si il anunta drept participant in cadrul showului de la Geneva din 2010. Iata vehiculul in imaginea urmatoare: World Car Fans a prezis si greutatea automobilului – 2.2 tone, dar si motorizarea – o variatie pe tema lui 599 GTB si acesta derivat din Enzo.

Motorul va genera peste 600 de cai putere, iar lista de speculatii include si jante de 22 inch si pneuri 315. SUV-ul va avea tractiune pe toate cele 4 roti si va atinge 100 km/h in sub 5 secunde, avand o viteza maxima de 280 de km/h si un pret de 250.000 de euro. Aceste caracteristici sunt extrem de precise pentru o serie de zvonuri, dar World Car Fans asigura ca are surse de incredere. Probabil nu trebuie sa luam in calcul faptul ca o serie de directori Ferrari au afirmat ca astfel de speculatii sunt nefondate, avand in vedere ca acelasi tratament l-a primit si modelul Dino.

Totusi am fi surprinsi sa asistam la o schimbare de orientare a unui constructor care niciodata nu a produs un vehicul cu mai mult de 2 usi, cu atat mai putin unul cu 5. Evident, Lamborghini a produs un SUV la un moment dat, dar la urma urmei, compania a debutat construind tractoare. De asemenea si Porsche e un exemplu bun, avand in vedere faptul ca exista Cayenne…Nu credem ca Ferrari isi va dezamagi fanii cu un SUV, avand in vedere ca o companie care domina Formula 1 nu isi schimba orientarea de la o luna la alta.