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This computer-generated Ferrari 250 GTO carved from marble rocks

The Ferrari 250 GTO ranks as perhaps the most valuable production car ever made. In just the past two years, units of the ultimate '60s sports car have sold for $32 million, $35 million and maybe as high as $52 million. With just 39 of them ever assembled, these Ferrari owners are among a rarefied class of an already top-tier class of car collectors. So once you collect the ultimate car, then what do you do? How about buy a scale model of it hewn from a single block of Arabescato marble by stone specialist Lapicida?
Interestingly, no sculptor developed a leathery callouses on his or her hands over the hundreds of man hours surely necessary to create this work of art, nor were dozens of hand tools worn to the nub in the pursuit of this homage to Italian performance. To create the 1:3.6 replica of a 1962/1963 GTO, Lapicida simply laser-scanned an actual GTO and fine-tuned the resulting data in 3D modeling software. Then, the file was sent to a computer-controlled, five-axis mill to shape the marble, which was selected because the veining gave the illusion of speed. Finally, it was hand-finished to make sure the details were as crisp as possible. The completed model measures 47.2-inches long, 18.1-inches wide and 13.4-inches tall and retails for a tidy £30,000 - over $49,000 USD.
Impressive though it may be, it seems hard to imagine spending that sort of money on a car that you can't sit in or drive down the road. Then again, if you can afford to own a real 250 GTO, it's barely pocket change. Lapicida also takes commissions, so if you want a marble model of your car, they're happy to do it. Then again, if you just need your foyer retiled or your personal chef's is demanding an upgraded kitchen, they'll do that, too. Scroll down to get the full details on the model.

Ferrari boss Montezemolo expects big changes from FIA

You'd think that with former Ferrari principal Jean Todt running the FIA, the relationship between the motorsport governing body and the team he once called home would be a solid one. But his former boss expects more from the organization that overseas Formula One.
In a recent interview (excerpts from which you can read below), Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo pointed to some perceived inconsistencies in rulings made by FIA officials this season and called for "strong changes." Among those controversies was a drive-through penalty handed to Felipe Massa at the season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix last weekend, his last for the Scuderia. Massa was reprimanded for cutting across the white line that marks the exit from the pit lane, the penalty for which dropped him from fourth place in the race to seventh, and cost Ferrari its second place in the final standings for the constructors' championship - and with it a good $10 million in prize money. Montezemolo characterized the penalty as "disproportionate and unjust".
The Ferrari chief also pointed to penalties handed to Mercedes as either too harsh or not harsh enough, calling for greater consistency in FIA rulings and implying that more permanent race stewards be appointed instead of alternating race to race.

How this Ferrari 250 GTE became Rome's most famous police car

We're used to seeing fancy cars gifted to or bought by certain international police forces today, but the story of this 1962 Ferrari 250 GTE goes well beyond a gift. Because Rome's anti-organized-crime unit, Squadra Mobile, was doing a terrific job in the early '60s, the Italian president asked what they wanted as a token of appreciation. The answer, meant as a joke, was "A Ferrari." The president, in all seriousness, got them two.
One was almost immediately destroyed during testing, the other remains in the care of Alberto Capelli today, whose father began attending military and government auctions just after World War II. Petrolicious visited Capelli to hear the 51-year-old tale of the most precious cop car you're going to see for a while, and it involves outlaws, a French gangster in a Citroën, a policeman who was offered a spot on the Ferrari factory team by Enzo himself, and more. It's a fantastic yarn, and you can watch the whole story below.