James Glickenhaus’ Ferrari P4/5 Competizione Starts Taking Shape

In 2006, American car collector James Glickenhaus took the world by surprise with his Enzo-based one-off Ferrari P4/5, built by Pininfarina. In the meantime, Mr. Glickenhaus decided to build a race version, too, dubbed P4/5 Competizione, which, initially, was scheduled to make its racing debut at this year’s 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Unfortunately, that never happened.

However, we're happy to report that the build is still underway. And there’s more: thanks to an update on a dedicated Facebook page, we can show you pictures depicting key moments of the assembly, available after the jump.

The P4/5 Competizione still has a long way to go until it’ll be capable of challenging other renowned racecars, but the featured images are impressive nevertheless.

Engineers made no compromises using carbon fiber for the entire body. Other bits and pieces are also visible, such as the roll-cage, pedals, brakes, various suspension elements and wheels.

As of yet, it’s unknown what Ferrari engine the racecar will use, but it has been revealed that the underpinnings are sourced from an F430 Scuderia.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: Facebook , Via: Autoblog

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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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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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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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READ MORE - Pininfarina's Lancia Stratos Supercar: New Engineering Details Emerge