March 12: Over the top - Ferrari & Lamborghini

Thank goodness for money and imagination.Your $ and someone else's imagination is usually the case, but too bad it wasn't the other way around. So what "over the top" creation has sprung forth from the fertile minds of those Italian supercar designers? What new and outrageous way to spend your money?

Let's look at Ferrari's Enzo successor first..........

The Ferrari LaFerrari - introduced last week at Geneva. I kid you not, that is the rather bizarre name for this beauty. Sounds like something from the dark days of Chrysler's name challenged past. Ok, there is another designation, the Ferrari f150. A homage to a Ford truck? Who knows, but I believe Ford sent Ferrari a letter over this name. Ok, so enough about names, give us the good stuff.........

......ever environmentally friendly, Ferrari has made this a hybrid (Prius watch your back). How about a 163 hp electric motor backed up by (wait for it).........an 800 hp V12? Now that's my idea of a hybrid. You've just spent close to $1m large for your LaFerrari, now you can save some real money. Drive by every other gas station thumbing your nose at those gas prices for premium. Who says you can't be environmentally friendly as you blow by us plebs with a 0-60 time under 3 seconds?

A little too conservatively styled for you? Want to make more of a statement, much, much more of a statement? Considering a lightly used Countach........

.......but even this outrageously styled beast is still too conservative for your liking? What to do, what to do? Well, aren't you fortunate (maybe not, but more about that in a minute), that also at Geneva, Lamborghini unveiled a lovely little concoction.........

.........the Veneno, named after a famous bull which killed a matador in the '40's. Appropriate name.

Great looking? Well, that's debatable. Makes a statement? Yep, it wins that category hands down. Also reaching 0-60 in under 3 seconds, but with only 750 hp (weakling?).

Just finding out about it? Too bad, since it's already sold out. How so? Well, the production run was three. Yes, sir, you read that right, three. And you could order it in one of the three colours of the Italian flag (so why did they show it in grey?). Price? About $4.5 million USD. I often wonder why they couldn't gear up for a few hundred thousand and get the price down to Honda Civic territory? Wouldn't that be good for mankind?

Where do you think those three Veneno's ended up? Don't know, but my guess would in an oil producing country, if you get my drift.

So you have the $ and someone has the imagination and you still might not be able to get your dream ride. Bummer!

Until next time.........