Handy Auto Guide

Popular Mechanics takes a "first look" at the recently unveiled Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. 'The newest Prancing Horse, five years in the making, is a stunner. The two-seater features an aerodynamically awesome wind tunnel created by two flying buttresses in the rear that funnel air from inside the rearview mirrors to create 419 lbs. of downforce without increasing drag. Combine that with an aerospace-inspired, all-aluminum chassis from Alcoa, and the front-mounted, 611-hp engine (modeled off the Enzo supercar) can really go to work. This puppy goes zero-to-60 in 3.7 seconds, and Ferrari says it couldn’t even find a test track to safely test its max speed, which the company is putting at simply “plus-250 mph.” What’s maybe even more impressive is that the 599 keeps a front-back weight distribution of 47%-53%, despite the engine beginning just at the yellow Prancing Horse logo on the hood.'

A review of the 2008 Ferrari F430 supercar has been posted over at The Truth About Cars. 'Firing-up the F430’s 4.3-liter V8 is like watching the opening scene of a James Bond movie: predictably ridiculous, yet giddy-making in its promise of extreme violence. Engage the F1-style gearbox and you’re away. A. Long. Way. Away. Calling the F430 fast is like calling Miss America determined. Zero to sixty is a sub-four second experience of mammoth, manic intensity; it’s like being shot of a cannon into a black hole. The dual-stage exhaust goes from a martini-soaked Frank Sinatra to a cocaine-crazed Richard Patrick in less time than it takes to crank a stereo knob.