Driving down the boulevard in their Italian supercars, wealthy but genuine car enthusiasts face the difficult challenge of separating themselves from the typical playboys in fast cars. To solve this first world problem, HRE performance wheels proposed that there is no better way to add a touch of class to an exotic than by installing performance wheels with vintage flair.

Introducing the new Vintage Series, HRE wheels recreated three iconic designs from the brand’s 34-year history, each of which range from 18- to 20-inches, and are completely re-engineered as 3-piece forged wheels from quality aerospace-grade forged alloy. What’s more, each wheel is hand-finished in order to meet customer’s specifications for their modern exotic.

HRE provided a press gallery to showcase its new wheels installed upon the successors of the same automobiles that once wore the originals. The German racing car roots of the “501″ wheels are instantly recognizable, as its mesh lace design suits the latest viper green Porsche 991 ducktail nicely.  The five-porthole “454″ is a modern take on the wheels from the sensational Lamborghini Diablo and are just as striking to look at when fitted to the new Aventador. Finally, the pentagram design “505″ is a proper ode to the Ferrari F40, although pairing the set of wheels to a Ferrari 458 Spider is slightly clashing.

HRE Wheels President Alan Peltier said, “The process of recreating vintage designs that captured the style and essence of the originals was very exciting and challenging for all of us at HRE. These designs take us all back to the ’70′s and ’80′s when we were kids falling in love with exotics for the first time and truly becoming car lovers. Capturing all the character and magic of these designs, while ensuring they fit modern super cars and met our current engineering standards, made the project tougher than simply creating replicas of the original cast wheels. We found inspiration in those original designs but created wheels that reflect the HRE of today; wheels that are truly inspired.”

Wealthy automotive connoisseurs, rejoice!

GALLERY: HRE Vintage Series

[Source: Autoblog]

Ferrari‘s F620, which will succeed the 599 GTB Fiorano, is set to debut March 6 at the press preview for the 2012 Geneva Auto Show.

As we reported previously, the car will have the same 6.2-liter V12 engine as the recent Ferrari FF, though it will produce 700 horsepower, significantly more than the four-seat FF.

German AutoBild released an artist rendering of what they think the car will look like. It seems they are heavily speculating that the F620 will take styling cues from the FF, featuring the same smiling grille and low, sweeping nose.

We’ll be in Geneva snapping photos and racing to post them, but for now you can look at our spy photos and imagine Ferrari’s next grand tourer for yourself.

GALLERY: 2013 Ferrari F620

About two months ago we reported a collection of luxurious and exotic machines that were involved in a bizarre accident in Japan that claimed at least eight Ferraris, three Mercedes-Benzes, a Lamborghini, a Nissan Skyline and a Toyota Prius.

The exotic car crash occurred on the Chugoku Expressway out in the Yamaguchi Prefecture and fortunately only ten people were hospitalized with just minor injuries.

Now a video of the aftermath from that accident has surfaced and it appears that Japan is now home to at least two parking lots full of fine machines just sitting and rotting. This accident is now being dubbed “the world’s most expensive car pileup” with an estimated combined cost of $4-million in damage.

Take a closer look at the Italian carnage after the break.

[Source: Carscoop]

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The Ferrari FF is gorgeous anywhere, but putting letting it loose in the middle of a snow-covered forest with Markku Alen behind the wheel? Roll the cameras, because something amazing is about to happen.

In possibly one of the most scenic backdrops you could capture on film, Ferrari put former World Rally Champion Markku Alen into a Ferrari FF to put their innovative 4RM four-wheel drive system to the test. The Finnish ice track specialist and winner of the 1978 FIA Cup for Drivers came away impressed with not only the 4RM system, but Ferrari’s latest 12-cylinder powerplant.

The 8.7-mile forested track had temperatures ranging from -22 to 5 degrees Fahrenheit and was packed with steep inclines and challenging corners. Clearly, this course gave Alen the opportunity to test the Ferrari FF’s capability to extremes, especially the car’s traction on surfaces with very little grip.

Watch the breathtaking video after the break.

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Anticipation for the new Ferrari F620, successor to the 599, is mounting again thanks to a new YouTube video offering an early look at the veiled supercar.

If you haven’t been keeping up to speed, no pun intended, with the numbers surrounding this Italian road demon, revel in this: it’s powered by the FF’s 6.3-liter V12, pumping out more than 700 ponies. Though we can’t comment on exactly what the F620 is going to look like, it’s evident that the basic body characteristics will be the same as the 599 it will replace.

Even draped in black cloth meant to mask specific traits, it resembles a sprinter about to launch on a track. To watch some footage of the F620 out cruising click here. The video isn’t particularly inspirational, but it’s better than still photos. You also get to hear a healthy dose of the exhaust note, which is a scintillating experience for any fanboy.

We’ll bring you the full details during our coverage of the 2012 Geneva Auto Show starting March 6. And check out our spy pics below.

GALLERY: 2013 Ferrari F620

It appears that people will be willing to turn any vehicle into a stretched limo these days. We already thought the Fiat 500 Limo was a little bit silly, but these stretched exotics really raise some eyebrows.

Carbonyte UK will be collaborating with Limo Broker out in the UK to create the world’s first, super-stretched Audi R8 V10. Limo Broker is already known for their stretched Ferrari 360 Modena limousine, that has produced its fair share of controversy on the Internet. We can’t even imagine what enthusiasts will think of the R8 V10 creation.

Limo Broker stated that work on the Audi R8 conversion has already started and they estimate that it’ll be completed by the summer of 2012. The limo will seat up to eight people in clearly race-inspired bucket seats and will still be powered by the stock 5.2L V10 engine with 528-hp.

Check out the videos from Limo Broker on their two stretched, exotic limos below.

GALLERY: LimoBroker Audi R8

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Originally owned by Lee Iococca, this Ferrari F40 is heading to RM Auctions with less than 300-miles on the odometer and could fetch anywhere from $650,000 to $750,000.

The iconic Ferrari supercar was built for Iacocca while he was the chief executive at Chrysler. The F40 was created to celebrate Ferrari’s 40th anniversary and was originally limited to just 400 units but popular demand caused Ferrari to expand production to 1,315 cars – only 213 ever made it to America. This particular F40 was the 94th of the 213 US-specification cars, produced in October 1990.

The Ferrari F40 features a 2.9L mid-mounted V8 engine with 471-bhp and weighs in at just 2,425-lbs. Back in the late 1980s, the F40 was tested to do 0-60 mph in just 3.9-seconds.

Included with the vehicle will be all the original documents including a “Built Especially for Lee Iacocca” card.

GALLERY: Lee Iacocca Ferrari F40

The automotive aftermarket and motorsports have a lot in common, so it’s no surprise to see both celebrated together at venues like the Tokyo Auto Salon. On hand to cover the latest tuning trends from Japan, AutoGuide decided a closer look at the numerous race cars on display, from Formula cars to custom machines and plenty of hardware from the world famous Super GT series.

See below for extensive galleries on some of the most jaw-droppingly amazing race cars:

GALLERY: Nissan Kondo Advan GT-R

GALLERY: Toyota Prius Race Car

GALLERY: JIMGAINER Dixcel Dunlop Ferrari 458 GTC

GALLERY: Hasepro Toyota Corolla Axio GT300

GALLERY: NISMO Autech Nissan GT-R

GALLERY: Gazoo Racing Toyota GT 86

GALLERY: Gazoo Racing Lexus LFA

The Ferrari by Logic3 collection of products were recently announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and the collaboration of two-high end brands result in some exquisite toys.

Two collections were created between Ferrari and Logic3, the Cavallino Collection and the Scuderia Ferrari Collection. The Cavallino Collection is influenced by the emotive driving experience of Ferrari’s iconic GT road cars while the Scuderia Ferrari Collection is inspired by the competition, speed and technological innovation of the Ferrari F1 team.

Each collection has a pair of speaker docks while the Cavallino Collection has the T350 over-ear headphones, T250 on-ear headphones and a pair of earphones to choose from; while the Scuderia Ferrari Collection has a set of R300 over-ear headphones, a pair of on-ear headphones and a pair of earphones.

The Ferrari by Logic3 collection will be available from April 2012 and those looking to pre-order can check out their website at www.ferrari-by-logic3.com.

GALLERY: Logic3 Ferrari Audio Products

Three months ago, Zahir Rana crashed into the Atlantic Ocean while racing the Targa Newfoundland Rally in his $2 million modified Ferrari Enzo. The owner of exotic car dealer ZR Auto, Zahir Rana emerged from the accident without a scratch while his Enzo suffered $100,000 in damages.

Then, thanks to a video of the crash uploaded to YouTube, Rana and his Ferrari became an internet sensation overnight, garnering more than a million views in its first week. Although he received criticism from those who mocked his ability to pilot a Ferrari as well as those that disapproved his expensive hobby, Rana answered his critics by shipping his Enzo back to Germany for repairs and for the fitment of a new, more powerful, 950-hp motor.

During an interview after the incident, Rana said, “It gave me another thing to live for.” In fact, Rana adds, “Gee, this was so much fun, I’m going to do it again. Gonna do bigger, better next time.”

Rana is well into laying the groundwork for his return to Targa Newfoundland next year. Preparing his refurbished Ferrari, Rana will be joined with a surprising number of fellow racers as well. Rana reveals, “Next year I’m going back again with 20 cars. All my friends and clients are now envious. They said, ‘oh we should have gone.’ It should be great. I’m looking forward to it.”

Watch the video of Rana’s crash and the Ferrari’s recovery from the ocean after the jump:

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[Source: www.winnipegfreepress.com]

The list of the Top 10 most expensive new cars is even more shocking that you might expect. Released by Forbes, you can forget the Ferrari 458 or the $300,000 Lamborghini Aventador because even at the low end of the scale these models start at right around the one million mark.

In 10th place, at $845,000 is Porsche’s upcoming flagship, the 918 Spyder. When it does arrive later this year, it will come powered by a high-revving V8 engine making more than 500 hp, mated to a plug-in hybrid system that adds over 218 hp. Porsche claims a 0-60 mph time of 3.1 seconds, with an incredible 78 mpg rating.

Vocal critic of former leader Silvio Berlusconi, Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo has announced his intention to run for the position of Prime Minister of Italy.

Montezemolo has quite the background to make a legitimate run for office too, being a member of Italy’s hereditary aristocracy and a lawyer by profession. He currently presides over Ferrari and Fiat and has even coordinated the World Cup while it was in Italy. Now obviously those are trivial tasks compared to running a country, but Montezemolo looks poised to take on the task now.

Back in 2009, he formed Italia Futura, a center-left think tank which could rapidly become a political party placing Montezemolo as a candidate for prime minister. Elections are scheduled for 2013 and it’ll be interesting how big of a role Montezemolo will play.

[Source: Business Insider]