abruzzo

Ferrari Donates Special-Edition F430 for Abruzzo Disaster Relief

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions, Charity

The annual Leggenda e Passione auction at the Ferrari factory in Maranello always features a staggering array of unique sports and racing cars from the company's history, and this year's is shaping up to be no exception. Among the myriad historic Ferraris heading up on the block this weekend, Alain Prost's F1 car, a 330 P4 Le Mans racer and a unique 250 Testa Rossa are headlining in the event. But Ferrari has just added one more vehicle to the docket: a special one-off F430 to raise funds for relief work in the Abruzzo region of Italy, which was struck by a devastating earthquake last month.

The special-edition supercar will be the last F430 off the assembly line when production ends later this year to make way for the next-generation model. It will be painted silver and gold, the colors of the city of Aquila that bore the brunt of the disaster, and come equipped with an array of extra features from Ferrari's extensive customization catalog. The special F430 will be auctioned off at the event, with proceeds going to disaster relief in Abruzzo.

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Pope Benedict XVI Tours Earthquake Zone in Special Fiat Ducato Panorama Van

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Charity

The Pope can't just ride around in any old car. That's why he had to sell his Volkswagen before ascending from Cardinal to the Papacy. But the head of the Catholic church and head of state of Vatican City has a well-equipped motor pool at his disposal, including sport-utility vehicles donated to the Vatican by Volvo and BMW, a W12 Phaeton luxury sedan by Volkswagen, and of course the specially-made Popemobile from Mercedes-Benz. The latest, by comparisson, may seem the least prestigious, but desperate times call for desperate measures. So while touring the aftermath of the earthquake in Abruzzo, Italy, the Pope is riding around in a specially-equipped Fiat Ducato Panorama van.

The Ducato is one of the most prolific vehicles in Italy, with some 2 million on the road. But the Pope's, of course, is special, equipped with a white leather interior including a five-seater sofa, the latest electronics and deployable steps to allow the gowned pontiff easy ingress and egress.

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