» Ferrari launches earthquake appeal

Ferrari will stage an international online auction to raise much-needed funds for the families of the victims of the latest earthquakes to have hit Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region in the last week.

The team elected to temporarily close its factory following the latest 5.8-magnitude earthquake, which killed at least seventeen people.

The auction will be staged at Ferrari’s official online store – www.ferraristore.com – and it will include a host of exotic items and memorabilia.

The headline item is the carmaker’s rare 599XX Evo, an extreme non-homolgated sports berlinetta which usually retails for upwards of €1.3 million.

The team’s racing drivers, Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, will also get in on the act, which each donating a racing suit and helmet for the auction, while the team will donate one of its V8 engines.

A host of other official merchandise items will go on sale, including a selection of ‘Prancing Horse’ watches.

It is not the first time that Ferrari has pitched in to support earthquake victims. The team has previously raised funds to assist in the rebuilding of the Abruzzo region in 2009, along with financial support to victims of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in 2011.