(Hat top to Ritch!) [via Inside Bay Area]

According to Drive.com.au, Ferrari's CEO admitted the company reached out to Top Gear to get them to "stoppa da crap" when it comes to the next show.

Speaking at the Geneva motor show, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa said it was important to protect the brand and, as a consequence, the company had spoken to the Top Gear Live show's organisers from the BBC.

A spokesman for Ferrari said Top Gear Live had admitted to using fake Ferraris.

"We asked them to change it … for the Hong Kong [Top Gear Live] show (the last stop on the world tour)," said the spokesman. "We said ‘please use real Ferraris'."

The organizers for Top Gear Live said they'd be using drift cars, not fakes, for the Hong Kong show, thus removing the problem. Felisa was later heard saying "Nut up, this is Top Gear, not Top Pussy."

[Drive.com.au]

Here's what Drive has to say about the shocking scandal:

The three Ferraris that wowed the crowd by doing burnouts just inches from each other in the confined spaces of Acer Arena were apparently fakes.

Underneath their exotic red panel work, the "Ferraris" were believed to be infinitely less glamorous Toyotas.

The replica Ferraris, reportedly based on Toyota MR2 underpinnings, were produced at a fraction of the cost of the real McCoy. The Ferrari 360, which was discontinued in 2005, sold for almost $400,000, while the MR2 cost less than $50,000 new.

But wait, wouldn't the auto-crazy crowds at the Top Gear Live shows have noticed the MR2 engine sounds a wee bit different from the beast behind the glass panel in the 360? Well, yes, which is why they weren't allowed to actually hear them:

For fans who attended one of the ten shows last weekend, the only clue that all was not what it seemed was the loud music that drowned out the sound of the "Ferrari" engines.

Organisers were clearly concerned that the sound of four-cylinder MR2 engines – in lieu of high pitched Ferrari V8s - would give the game away, especially in a stadium full of car nuts.

Several Herald bloggers who saw the show complained that the sound of the "Ferraris" had been drowned out by loud music and one suggested the cars may not have been genuine.

How naughty is this? [Drive]

The precursor to the current Ferrari F430, the Ferrari 360 Modena housed an Italian-tuned V8 good for 400 bhp @ 8500 rpm and 275 lb-ft of torque @ 4750 rpm. The F131 90° V8 had a bore and stroke of 85mm by 79mm with a total displacement of 3.6 liters singing one hell of a sweet song. The Challenge Stradale models carried the same engine but it was blessed with 25 more of those thoroughbred Italian horses for a total tally of 425 bhp @ 8500 and the same 275 lb-ft of torque as the standard 360 models.

The Sound Of Angels Singing:
It was a sweet motor indeed, but like most of the Italian breed this particular one needed a little maintenance done. Thankfully, master craftsman Luigi at Universal Autosports decided to snap some pics before he put the whole assembly back together and, as you can see above, it's a beautiful piece of work.

[via youtube, teamspeed]

It looks like the Yank Me Crank Me pedal-pumping fetish hasn't died, though it has moved upscale. This is safe-for-work unless you work somewhere exceptionally prudish. [Lexeed via Break]

You like the Ferrari 360, but you say it's just not extreme enough for you? Well, then you're an obvious candidate for the 360 Challenge, the stripped-down, race-only version of the 360 Modena, and we think you have what it takes to convince the bureaucrats in your state that it deserves street-legal status. Before you can do that, however, you need to find one that you can afford (hey, all those lawyers ain't gonna be cheap), so we've found you this one for a paltry $40,000. No doubt you're having a hard time accepting that a genuine Ferrari 360 Challenge can be purchased for that kind of small-time cash, but it's for real. You see, it needs some work. Tell the truth, it's been in a bit of a fender-bender… or maybe a more accurate term would be chassis-bender. You know how most Ferraris come with an exhaustively documented history? How boring! Not so in this case, though; the seller states "I really can not tell you alot about this car,I do not know how it was wrecked,I do not know how many miles or hours are on this car." It appears that the engine was spared during the crash- though perhaps it was one of those throw-rod-then-hit-wall incidents- and the seller adds that he or she "was told engine was recently overhauled by ferrari of new england but i do not have the paperwork at this time." So there ya go- blurry photos, information-free description, no title, all on a hideously mangled somewhat battered factory race car. We like it!

Ferrari, Italy, Pininfarina… blah, blah, blah. Don't your eyes sort of glaze over when Italian-car geeks go droning on about "soul" and "passion" and all that noise? You want precision in your factory race car. Science! Naturally, that means you must start shopping for a BMW… but where could you possibly find one with a description as maddeningly vague as the Ferrari Challenge we just contemplated? Impossible! The bar has been set too high! Put your monocle back on, Helmut, because we've managed to find this BMW E46 M3 (go here if the ad disappears) for the steal-it-today price of 36 grand. The listing for this car- that is, if "car" is the right word in this case- is a genuine Craigslist masterpiece; we can't even figure out quite what's being sold here. The "factory built roll cage is up for sale," but there's also the "rolling chassis is as is in photos shown below." The photographs muddle more than they enlighten; we've got two blurred shots of what appear to be shipping labels, one shot of a car that appears to be a chassis that rolls only on pallet jack wheels, and one shot of a vehicle- perhaps the same one- surrounded by packing materials. Do you get a suspension? Does the cage come with the deal? How about ownership paperwork? We're pretty sure there's no engine involved, so you can go ahead and start building up a wild Bavarian six-banger now; we know you'll leap all the other hurdles as they come.

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

Given the choice, we'd much rather have an Enzo's V12, but the 360's V8 would still be great fun to play with. We bet there's a way to mount it in the middle of an Alfa Romeo Brera. Perhaps hanging out the back of a Fiat 500? Or you could just do like the current owner and have it on display on the second floor of your home.
[ebay via Autofiends]

Oh look, another Ferrari crash. Maybe we should have run this Monday when we were having our Maximum Ferrari Crash Morning but now that we look at it, maybe the owner of this 360 Modena just wanted to take it for a little swim. Or maybe he just couldn't find a car wash open late enough. [Autogespot]

Ferrari Burned — Known journalist fights for his life

The passenger is dead and the driver hospitalized in critical condition after a Ferrari Modena 360 hit an overpass in Mokotow neighborhood of Warsaw. The car was driven by Maciej Zientarksi, as found out by RMF FM. The known automobile journalist is in critical condition. His friend who was driving with him, Jaroslaw Zabieg, a journalist for Super Express did not survive.

Zientarski, son of a known automobile journalist and expert Wlodzimierz Zientarski, hosted (among others) the program V Max on Polsat digital cable channel and is co-creator of the show "The Passionate Ones". The tragedy took place at around 10pm on Pulawska Street. The Ferrari, driven by Maciej Zientarski, was launched off the ground on an uneven part of the street where the speed limit is 50 km/h. The car, thrown off its path, went across a few meters of grass and ended up hitting the supporting beam for the overpass leading to Ursynow.

The car separated into two parts. One of them was completely burned. The bodies of the journalists were thrown from the car. The Super Express journalist, Jaroslaw Zabiega, died on the spot. Maciej Zientarski is fighting for his life in a hostpital and is undergoing multiple surgeries.

Tomas Glowacki, the press agent for the Warsaw fire department informed us that two engines were sent to fight the fire.

"The patient received multiple injures. I just cant tell you what his outcome will be. The case is dynamic, it could change at any moment" said Dr. Andrzej Chmura. "We don't ourselves know what can now occur." He added.

Dr. Chmura said: "We are trying to do everything that needs to be done. The operation was in the area of his stomach cavity and the patient will require at least one more surgery. He has spine injuries, but we will get to those after we stabilize him."

With those figures in mind, the owners are planning to make a run at the record for the longest Ferrari and the fastest limo in April. Not bad considering we only found out about the Ferrari Limo only about a year ago. If you live in England, you and seven of your closest friends can rent it out for the princely sum of 700 quid an hour. Have fun doing really, really big donuts. [via The Daily Mail]