Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of this reflective 599

For some Ferrari faithful, every prancing horse that comes out of the factory should be painted in red. Yellow, black, blue and grey are just plain heretical, and perhaps that's why some of the purest Ferraris, the F40 and 288 GTO, were only offered in red. Well, if anything but Rosso Corsa bothers you, then this particular Ferrari will give you the shivers. We can't imagine what inspired this Saudi Arabian Ferrari owner to chrome his 599 GTB Fiorano, but it definitely reflects his personality. We also have to wonder if it helps keep the car cooler in the hot sun. No matter his reasoning, he's guaranteed himself plenty of looks.

[Source: CarDomain.com]

Click above for high-res gallery

OK, we've seen some of their previous work so we probably shouldn't have expected much more this time around, but when we heard that Mansory had gotten its hands on an SLR and a Ferrari 599 GTB, we certainly hoped that it would figure out a way to enhance their gotta-have-it quotients. Alas, our prayers went unanswered. Done up in a matte gold and black combo, the SLR looks a bit toy-like, but it should manage to sell in the single digits at least. Which digit you choose to count the sales is up to you. The Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano had actually been criticized in some camps for being a bit too evocative of the Chevrolet Corvette when it was first shown. The Mansory edition done up in white and carbon fiber looks even more Vette-like to our eyes. Thoughts of a ZR1 or the recent 427 special edition Z06 leapt to mind. There was also a Phantom in the booth, but quite honestly, doing something outrageous to a Roller just doesn't offend us as badly. Take a look at the gallery and let us know if you agree. We've already heard from at least one other journo who happened to be winding his way down the road towards us that the 599 looks seriously racy and that we are dead wrong about it. We'll let you decide for yourselves. Click away.

click above image for our entire gallery showing the Vandenbrink 599 GTO

With three of the planned five copies already spoken for, Michiel van den Brink's GTO homage is going fast. And it's not just because of the Enzo-derived powerplant under its elegant bonnet. We just talked about this limited run of vehicles last week, but a new image surfaced that we thought we'd share. While still not an actual photo, when it comes to GTO-inspired art, we'll take anything we can get. No word yet on whether or not anybody popped for the full carbon fiber body instead of the handcrafted aluminum, but with a car designed to emulate an automotive icon like the GTO, aluminum seems somehow more appropriate. Designed by Vandenbrink Design, the cars are being built on the 599 GTB Fiorano platform by Hietbrink Coachbuilding in the Netherlands. Purists always scoff at vehicles that aren't officially sanctioned by the factory, but we'll side with Top Gear on this and admit that it's one of the most beautiful designs we've ever seen. As long as the workmanship is as good as the design, it's a winner to us, though we suspect the five lucky buyers don't need our validation or anything. The only important thing is that THEY like it, and we're pretty sure they will.

[Source: Vandenbrink Design via Autoblog.nl]

It appears Ferrari may be facing a growing number of disgruntled owners who are not happy having to wait in line 24 months for a new Italian Stallion. You can count Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert among the disgruntled, as he revealed on The Colbert Report this week that he'll have to wait months to replace his ratty 550 with 4,000 miles for a brand spanking new Lime Green 599 GTB Fiorano (with a platinum Jesush fish on the bumper, of course). Ever the schemer, Stephen announced he's willing to trade his spot on the kidney donor list to anyone at the front of the line to buy a Ferrari. Only Ferrari faithful with potential renal failure need apply.

Check out the clip from The Colbert Report after the jump in case you missed it.

[Source: Colbert Nation]

Striking us as perhaps something out of Shaun of the Dead, where bizarre news reports keep filtering in through a world-wide crises, we have a somewhat garbled missive from abroad that seems to indicate that the British TV program, Fifth Gear, has awarded the Chevrolet Corvette its Fast Car of the Year award for 2006. A British TV show naming an American car as the best in its class? Must be something amiss. Perhaps the satellite feed is a bit wonky. The show's website doesn't have a confirmation of this award yet, so we can only wonder.

Actually, Fifth Gear handed out a few awards on Monday night, with the Audi TT taking home the slab of Portland Stone for Car of the Year. In the Small Car category, the award went to the new Mini Cooper. Best Family Car was the Ford S-Max. And the previously mentioned Corvette beat out the new 997 Turbo Porsche and Ferrari's latest GTB, the 599 Fiorano in the Fast Car segment.

By the way, the photo shows the actual award, which British sculptor Rob Bowers creates out of Portland Stone for the show. The annual award goes to the car the staff picks out of every vehicle they tested over the previous twelve months.

Thanks for the tip, James!

[Source: Fifth Gear]

Back in August, two Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano's began a 20,000-mile-long trek across the Americas. The trip began in Brazil and over the course of the next three months the two vehicles will wind there way through both South and North America, eventually completing their marathon in New York City this November.

Those of you fortunate enough to live in the So. Cal. area can check in on how the two 599s are holding up when they stop for a fill up at the La Cienega Shell station this Wednesday, between 7:30 and 8:30 AM. It will be an open forum with both the drivers and Shell's tech nerds, along with cookies, punch and 'gifts.'

The gas stop serves as the U.S. kickoff point of the Panamerican 20k, which is described by Shell as a chance for the two companies to show off their technological prowess.

All the details, including the address of the Shell station, can be found in the press release after the jump. If you're in the area, buy the team a Red Bull and wish them luck. And if you have a camera, some photos would be much appreciated.

Spurred by the success of last year's Ferrari 15,000 Red Miles, which saw two 612 Scagliettis driven 15,000 miles through China by international journalists, Ferrari is gearing up for a new odyssey that kicks off on August 24th.

The Ferrari Panamerican 20,000 will once again put journalists behind the wheel as they drive a pair of 599 GTB Fioranos from Brazil through South and Central America, and then across the United States and Canada to New York City, where the road trip will finally come to an end on November 17th. The 84-day tour will be broken up into 15 stages, which will see the cars challenged by diverse conditions such as simple dirt roads, rain forests, salt plains, and high-altitude runs through the Andes.

The specially-liveried cars will be chased by a support team made up of 3 Fiats (Alfas in Mexico) and 3 Iveco trucks. As was the case with the 15,000 Red Miles, you'll be able to follow the tour's progress at the marque's official website, FerrariWorld.com.

(Additional photos, comprehensive press release after the jump)

[Source: Ferrari]

Ferrari is planning to have a formidable presence at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The company's main attraction will be the new 599 GTB Fiorano, which will make its first and only public UK driving display at the speedfest. The Fiorano will be showing everyone what it's made of on the Supercar Run each day of the event, winning many new fans along the way. More than a few attendees will head home after the weekend lusting after Maranello's latest cruise missile on wheels.

Goodwood will also see the premiere of a special 612 Scaglietti modified by Wallpaper* magazine's design team. They will make changes to the car inside and out to reflect a synergy of the design languages of both Ferrari and Wallpaper*.  At the very least it will be interesting, and more likely, it will be stunning.

The Scaglietti will be joined in the Ferrari area by the full range of Ferrari road cars, an FXX, the 2004 Formula 1 car, a number of classic Ferraris and a display showcasing the winners of the global design competition, Ferrari: New Concepts of the Myth.

It doesn't say so in the press release, but we checked with Ferrari and got confirmation that the FXX will indeed be making the run up the hill!

(Press release after the jump)

[Source: Ferrari UK]