VIDEO: Tunisians Repossess Ousted President’s Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano with a...Forlkift

As a result of the political turmoil going on in Tunisia, president Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali has fled the country. But like any dictator on the run, Ben Ali had to leave plenty of wealth behind, accumulated in his 20+ years of totalitarian rule, including his Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, which was “repossessed” by angry protesters using a forklift. Video after the jump.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: Youtube via Autogespot

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VIDEO: Ferrari 599 GTO Prototype Shows Some Muscle on the Fiorano Race Track

A prototype model of the Ferrari 599 covered in black cladding has been snagged on film during testing at the Fiorano circuit. We're not entirely sure if it's a test mule for a replacement of the 599 or an updated version of the current model, possibly featuring Ferrari's upcoming KERS energy-recovery system which was first shown on the Geneva Salon HY-KERS hybrid concept.

In any case, the vented hood and the styling of the bumpers point towards a prototype based on the 670-horsepower 599 GTO, which was introduced into the range this past April, with some minor changes such as the California-esque LED headlamps. Watch the video right after the jump.

Via: Jalopnik , Source: Youtube/Marchettino

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21yo Saudi Arabian Millionaire Takes Delivery of 33rd Supercar

Actress Bo Derek once quipped, "Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping." Someone who would most likely agree with her is 21-year-old Dhiaa Al-Essa, a Saudi Arabian Engineering student and millionaire playboy with a collection of over 30 exotic supercars worth more than £4.5 million (US$7.3 million).

Al-Essa has recently taken delivery of his thirty-third exotic, the first Ferrari 599 GTO worth £345,000 (US$557,000). In his own words:

"I've been so excited about the Ferrari 599 GTO – I have had to wait six months for it to arrive. It's a limited edition car with more technology that pretty much any other car in the world – and it's the fastest ever Ferrari. My favourite car used to be the Mercedes McLaren SLR but now it's the 599. It's the best ever, simply amazing – I love it."

His collection includes a £350,000 (US$565,000) Ferrari SA Aperta and a £255,000 (US$411,700) Ferrari F430 Scuderia Spider 16M; both the last of the line. Al-Essa also owns several other Ferraris as well five Porsches, three Lamborghinis, two Rolls-Royces and a Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren.

This latest acquisition is a stop-gap measure until he receives his 22nd birthday present: a Koenigsegg Agera and a Bugatti Veyron, both worth £1.6 million (US$2.6 million) a piece. Al-Essa concludes:

"I love speed, but the limit in Saudi Arabia is 75 mph (121 km/h) so I'm pretty limited. When the Bugatti arrives I hope to take it to Germany where you can drive as fast as you can on parts of the autobahn."

By Tristan Hankins

Source: Swsn & Metro / Photos: Ferrari

VIDEO: C&D Pits Lexus LFA Against Ferrari 599 HGTE

In 1971, one of the greatest one-on-one boxing matches took place in New York's Madison Square Garden: the bout between Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier. So big was this event, advertisers dubbed it, 'The Fight of the Century'. Now, two different contenders take to the ring (uh...tarmac). The reigning champion: the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano HGTE. The challenger: the Lexus LFA. Video after the jump.

One is a purebred, Italian racehorse with decades of motor racing heritage under its belt. The other is the new kid on the block: the young hood with its 'doof doof' music and unshakable will to win.

So maybe I went a bit too far with the boxing analogy...

The real scoop here is U.S. magazine Car and Driver putting the V12-powered 599 GTB HGTE and V10-powered LFA through their paces on the narrow, sodden backroads of Wales. Technical editor Michael Austin is behind the wheel of the Ferrari while executive editor Mark Gillies is in the Lexus. Their goal: to find out which of these two, similarly priced front engined, rear-wheel-drive GTs is the best?

Watch the video and decide for yourselves.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: C&D

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Ferrari's Already Sold Out SA Aperta Roadster Stops by Paris Show

The 'greener' California HELE wasn't the only new car on display at Ferrari's Paris Show stand. The 670-horsepower SA Aperta, which we reported on last week, also made its debut. All 80 examples of the limited edition, open-top 599s have been spoken for well before the car made its way to Paris.

Co-designed with Ferrari Centro Stile to celebrate 80 years of Italian design firm Pininfarina, the car was built partly as homage to Sergio and Andrea Pininfarina, the son and grandson respectively of company founder Battista Farina (latter Battista Pininfarina).

Like the Bugatti Veyron roadster, the SA Aperta features an emergency soft top [read: umbrella] and the same structural rigidity of the hardtop without adding any additional weight

Pricing is irrelevant as you can't buy one, at least not new. There is, however, an online configurator, which doesn't make any sense but anyways...

By Tristan Hankins

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Ferrari Launches Online Configurator for SA Aperta even though it's Sold Out...

Ferrari may have sold all 80 examples of its awkwardly named SA Aperta before the roadster's world premiere at the Paris International Motor Show on September 30, but that hasn't deterred the company from launching an online configurator for the rest of the world to see.

Unfortunately, the configurator is preset, meaning you're only allowed to check out the five available configurations and can't fool around with paint schemes or interior decors, so unless you're a photoshop wizard, there goes your dream of creating a lime-green colored SA Aperta with pink seats.

If you don't fancy Ferrari's site, here are the five available color configurations of the SA Aperta:

Nero Stellato

Rims: Chrome shadow
Brake calipers: Rosso Corsa
Interior leather color: Sabbia colour with black straight stretch; ecrù stitching
Passenger zone dashboard: black wrinckled
Other features: F1 dashboard, radio doors/panels, collar badge in varnished black

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Blu Elettrico

Rims: Chrome shadow
Brake calipers: Argento Alluminio
Interior leather color: black with straight stretch, blue central part of the seat, central part of the panel and white stitching
Passenger zone dashboard: external Blu Elettrico
Other features: F1 dashboard, radio doors/panels, collar badge in carbon fibre

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Giallo Tristrato

Rims: Chrome shadow
Brake calipers: Nero
Interior leather color: black with yellow straight stretch and white stitching
Passenger zone dashboard: carbon fibre
Other features: F1 dashboard, radio doors/panels, collar badge in carbon fibre

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Rosso Fuoco

Rims: Chrome shadow
Brake calipers: Black
Interior leather color: black with red straight stretch and white stitching
Passenger zone dashboard: Argento Nürburgring Opaco
Other features: F1 dashboard, radio doors/panels, collar badge in varnished black

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Rosso Dino

Rims: Chrome shadow
Brake calipers: Argento Alluminio
Interior leather color: black with straight stretch, central part of the seat and central part of the panel in orange leather
Passenger zone dashboard: Black wrinckled
Other features: F1 dashboard, radio doors/panels, collar badge in carbon fibre