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The AutoGuide News Blog is your source for breaking stories from the auto industry. Delivering news immediately, the AutoGuide Blog is constantly updated with the latest information, photos and video from manufacturers, auto shows, the aftermarket and professional racing.

16/01/2012 | By: Jason Siu

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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

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26/10/2010 | By: Jason Siu

Wraps are easily becoming the new aesthetic modification of the future. The offer owners a fairly cost-efficient method of changing the entire look of their vehicle, without having permanent ramifications. If you get bored of it, you can simply peel it off and go back to the stock look. And with any style that catches on and demand goes up, enthusiasts find new and better ways to set themselves apart from the crowd. This Ferrari F40 went the route of a full on carbon fiber wrap as opposed to just a more common flat black wrap.

The material used is a carbon fiber film that is also known as DI-NOC from 3M Films. The DI-NOC material comes in a different variety of finishes including wood, aluminum, marble, stucco, granite and more. One impressive aspect with the material is that you can actually feel the fiber in the weave and, truth be told, the close ups reveal that is looks a lot more realistic than one would think.

We’re loving just how race-inspired and menacing this Ferrari F40 looks with the complete wrap. And even alongside its current-generation friends and counterparts, it’s definitely a stunning car. The matte black wheels and tinted headlights and taillights just round off the package perfectly.

[Source: Mike Bolt Photo via Jon Sibal]

GALLERY: Carbon Fiber Vinyl-Wrapped Ferrari F40

13/11/2009 | By: Colum Wood

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Ferrari is hard at work trying to refine the turbocharging process so that future products will use the high-horsepower, low emissions (and low weight) technology. According to a report in the U.K.’s AutoCar, Ferrari engine developer Jean-Jacques His says the development is well under weigh, but the biggest issue facing the project is turbo lag.

Conventionally, turbos take time to spool up to full power, but that doesn’t suit the Ferrari way of doing things. Instead, Ferrari has traditionally opted for naturally aspirated (non turbocharged or supercharged) engines that deliver better throttle response and a more linear deliver of power. His told AutoCar that a delay of any sort in the power delivery was simply unacceptable.

A few years ago Porsche introduced variable turbine geometry (VTG) turbos that helped reduce turbo lag significantly, but apparently even that impressive technology is not enough for Ferrari. The company has also discounted using Fiat’s Multiair setup, as it doesn’t work as efficiently at higher rpm and with larger engines.

Ferrari has used turbos sparingly across its model range over the years, including most recently in the F40 supercar (pictured above), which was last made in 1992.

Another bit of info gleaned from the interview is that Ferrari’s new seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, which debuted in the California, is suitable for V12 engines, meaning that were likely to see this new technology arrive in the successor to the 612 Scaglietti and other future V12 models.

[Source: AutoCar]