Lots of people daydream of being part of Scuderia Ferrari, but the closest mere mortals can really get to living the dream is plunking down some serious coin for a Ferrari FXX. So if you're looking for a slightly cheaper way to play dress-up Formula One, perhaps you should consider joining the Scuderia Ferrari Club in Italy and entering their soap box racing league.
Sure the racers are powered only by gravity and ingenuity, but they do get to run on real race tracks. The first round launched the series this past weekend at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari at Imola. Though none of the racers are allowed help or input from real Ferrari engineers, it doesn't stop the soap boxes from wearing Scuderia shields. With gas price panic the way it is nowadays, we wouldn't be surprised if this was actually the first step in a development program for Ferrari's attempt at an X-Prize contender or something.
[Ferrari via WorldCarFans]