VIDEO: Ferrari Scuderia Spider, California and 599 GTB HGTE Tackle the Goodwood Hill Climb

One of the most popular events at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed is the Sunday Times Supercar Run which sees some of the fastest and most powerful cars in the world race up the 1.16 mile hill climb. At this year"s run that was completed on Sunday, June 5, Ferrari showcased three of its latest supercars - the limited run 510HP F430 Scuderia Spider 16M, the new California hardtop-convertible that"s moved by a 460HP V8 and the 599 GTB Fiorano equipped with the HGTE sport package.

Below you can watch all three Prancing Horse models at the Sunday Times Supercar Run through an inboard video camera while we"ve also added an additional "over-the-shoulder" film of the California. According to the Italian sports car maker, the Scuderia Spider 16M was the fastest of the bunch completing the Goodwood hill climb in just 59 seconds.

Ferrari to Perform Three British Debuts at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Italian supercar maker Ferrari will be showcasing three new models for the first time in the UK at next month"s Goodwood Festival of Speed: the California coupe-convertible, the limited edition Scuderia Spider 16M and the beefed-up 599 GTB Fiorano with the HGTE package. All three supercars will participate at the Sunday Times Supercar Run.

Ferrari will also be represented at Goodwood by the Scuderia Ferrari team that will show off the 2008 Championship-winning F1 car driven by Marc Gene throughout the weekend while privately-owned cars entered in this year"s event include a 1956 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta, a 1961 Ferrari 196 SP Dino and a 1980 Ferrari 512 BBLM.

Push and Pull: Ferrari F430 Spider on a Leash...

Even though it"s an unfortunate situation to be in, we hope for the owner"s sake that the reason why these men put are pushing and pulling this Ferrari F430 Spider has to do with the snow and the frozen roads, and not something relevant to the story line of the "Gone in 60 Seconds" film... More photos after the jump.

Source: Autojunk , Thanks for the tip Alex!

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Pininfarina Hands Over One-Off New Lancia Stratos to its Owner

In what could be one of the happiest days in Michael Stoschek's life, the German millionaire who commissioned the creation of a modern-day Lancia Stratos, took delivery this week of the one-off Italian supercar from Pininfarina's headquarters outside of Turin.

All in all, it took two years for the Italian design firm and coachbuilder to complete the project. Pininfarina's engineers and technicians built the New Stratos almost from scratch, using the platform and mechanical hardware of a Ferrari F430 Scuderia as a base. In the process, they tweaked and modified the Prancing Horse model's chassis as well as its V8 powerhouse.

Even though the car has been handed to its rightful owner, Pininfarina said final output and performance figures will be announced at a later date.

This isn't the last we'll be hearing of the New Stratos as in two week's time, the Italian supercar will be presented to the international press at the Paul Ricard Circuit. Until then, check out the photos below from the delivery ceremony at Pininfarina's plant or click here for a video of the car filmed during the development phase.

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Pininfarina"s Lancia Stratos Supercar: New Engineering Details Emerge

The automotive industry was taken by surprise a few months ago when it was revealed that German businessman, Michael Stoschek, commissioned Pininfarina to build an one-off successor to the legendary Lancia Stratos HF, based on the Ferrari F430 Scuderia. Now, new technical data emerged about this very special model.

Like its predecessor, which was built around the Ferrari Dino V6, the new Stratos also uses Ferrari DNA. While few donor cars are better than the F430 Scuderia, engineers behind this project heavily modified and even customized all of its components.

Work started on the chassis, which was shortened by 20 cm (about 8 inches) and fitted with an FIA-certified roll cage. Thus, the structural rigidity was greatly increased and engineers also shifted the center of gravity towards the front of the car, improving handling characteristics.

Despite the added weight of the 55 kg (121 lbs) cage and 28 kg (62 lbs) air conditioning unit, the builder"s say the New Stratos is actually 80 kg (176 lbs) lighter than the donor car.

Next up were the dampers, which come with electronic calibration, adjustable from the steering wheel like in many professional racing cars. The springs were modified too, as specialists worked out the optimum camber and toe values.

The new Stratos rides on 19-inch wheels, shod in Dunlop Sport Maxx tires (265/30 front, 315/30 back), and uses high performance Brembo ceramic brakes. There are no detailed technical specifications on the engine yet, but the 4.3-liter V8 has received a new control unit and exhaust system, so peak power is likely to be higher than the stock F430 Scuderia"s 510HP.

The interior is entirely built using aluminum and carbon fiber, with the racecar-sourced steering wheel taking center stage. It has paddle shifters attached to it, which control the 6-speed transmission capable of shifting gears in less than 60 milliseconds.

The new Stratos will be thoroughly tested in the coming weeks. We"ll be back with updates, as the project goes on.

By Csaba Daradics

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VIDEO: 170 mph in a Ferrari 430 Scuderia on the Monza Track

Where are my friends with their Ferrari 430 Scuderias and Monza track days? The best I can hope for is a ride around the McDonald"s parking lot in a rust-coloured Datsun 280ZX with a faulty clutch. No wonder I"m so cynical.

So the story goes that YouTube member "Marchettino" flew shotgun in his mate"s Ferrari 430 Scuderia at some sort of invitation only track day for Ferraristas. Speaking of which, there"s a nice selection of Maranello muscle there. I think I saw (and correct me if I"m wrong) two 430s (white and red), a red 360, a black 458 Italia, a red 599 and a silver 575 M. Man, my Jealous-O-Meter is at like 11 right now.

So his friend hits 270km/h (170mph) in 6th gear...big deal. That doesn"t make me green with envy. I"m a grown man; I have no interest -cough-cough- in this girly, track day malarkey.

Now if you"ll excuse me, I"m going to buy some bright red Michael Schumacher F1 gloves and a bottle of Ferrari Light Essence. Ciao...

By Tristan Hankins

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VIDEO: Ferrari CEO Luca di Montezemolo Drives the New Stratos

After Pininfarina presented the New Stratos to the car's owner Michael Stoschek, the Italian design house invited Ferrari head-honcho Luca di Montezemelo to take it for a spin around the Fiorano circuit in Maranello.

According to the project's official website, Mr. di Montezemolo was very impressed with the New Stratos, openly praising it with exclamations such as "bellissima" and "congratulazioni". And that's not all, as the Ferrari CEO called his technical director, Roberto Fedeli, and suggested he should also take a look at the car.

Chief test driver Dario Benuzzi was next behind the wheel, pushing the new Stratos to its limits. With more than 40 years of experience in calibrating sport and racecars, Benuzzi concluded that the rear axle becomes a bit "agitated" during high speed cornering, but it can be "cured" by a bit more toe-in on the rear wheels.

Then again, given that the New Stratos is based on the F430 Scuderia's underpinnings, we weren't expecting anything but words of praise from the Ferrari brass. The next meeting with the New Stratos will take place at the official press unveiling at the Paul Ricard Circuit, in France in about a week's time.

By Csaba Daradics

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