The Ferrari Edition – Driving a 250 GTO as it Should Be Driven, Lauda’s 312T to be Auctioned and a Love Letter to the F40

Ferrari, the Prancing Horse, the “Rosso Corsa” bright red colour, the noise (music), the fame, the magic… The dream car for many of us. There’s something unique to Ferrari, an unexplainable fascination for these sometimes outrageous machines, something irrational that has created a legend. Today, in this Ferrari-special episode of “The Petrolhead Corner”, it is all about passion, with some of the most legendary models on stage.

Driving a Ferrari 250 GTO as it should be driven (meaning, FAST)

What you’re about to see here is seven minutes of classic car pornography. Take the most expensive car on earth, a car with immense racing pedigree, a car produced in just 36 examples, a car that should be kept in a safe considering its value and historical importance… and drive it the way it has been built to be driven: fast, very fast.

But here, the most important factor isn’t the 50-million value of this car. It’s the noise, the sensations, the speed, the beauty of the machinery… and the noise (again). No talking, no distractions, just a closed road, a very talented driver, one of the most amazing race cars ever manufactured (in this case, one of the three examples of the 1964 Ferrari 250 GTO) and you’ll enjoy a moment of pure bliss!

You can see more on this amazing experience on petrolicious.com here.

Niki Lauda’s title-winning Ferrari 312T to be auctioned

The legend of Ferrari isn’t only due to the cars, but also (mostly) to the people behind them. Enzo “Il Commendatore” Ferrari was the greatest architect of this fascination but there are also the names of some of the greatest, most talented racing drivers of all times. Niki Lauda, maybe the least “sexy” of the 1970s F1 drivers was nevertheless one of the best of his times, contributed to the legend. After his crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, he only missed two races appearing at the Monza GP only six weeks after the accident… And at that time, he was driving for Ferrari, onboard a 312T.

Behind the wheel of his Ferrari 312T, Lauda won two races and scored two podium finishes on his way to winning his maiden Formula 1 World Championship in 1975. The car is now up for auction in a sale held by Gooding & Company, at the flagship Pebble Beach Auctions this August. The present car is one of just five chassis built for Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni for the 1975 Formula 1 season. This chassis 022 was instrumental in clinching Lauda the first of his three World Championships and Ferrari its first constructor’s title since 1964. This painstakingly restored, Lauda-driven Ferrari 312T is expected to sell for USD 6-8 million.

More details at www.classicdriver.com.

A love (video) letter from an owner to his Ferrari F40

And I can understand him… As a child of the early 1980s, the Ferrari F40 (alongside the Lamborghini Countach) was the definitive dream car. The one that I was drawing, the one that was on my bedroom walls… Outrageous, almost ridiculous, shaped like a Le Mans prototype, barely equipped for road use, supremely dangerous to drive and insanely powerful, this car was the perfect definition of my dream machine as a child (and still is today).

In the following video, entitled “My Twin-Turbocharged Lucky Charm”, the owner explains what is it to own, drive and live with an F40, moving from magazine cutouts to make a dream come true. Hope you enjoy this video as much as I did.

Great footage again thanks to petrolicious.com.