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Weekly Recap: Ferrari pens a provocative F1 car of the future

Scuderia Ferrari unveiled its vision of the future for Formula One this week, revealing sketches of a sleek, muscular racecar. Called the Concept F1, Ferrari is showcasing the design to start a conversation about the next generation of Formula One cars and spur interest in the sport, which has been maligned for its unattractive racecars in recent years. The Concept F1 was penned by the company's in-house studio, Centro Stile Ferrari, with input from its aerodynamics department. Though the sketches look futuristic, the company says the design could be executed without changing F1 regulations. From its beginning, Ferrari's racecars have had both form and function, winning on the track and turning heads with everything from the 250 Testa Rossa, 330 P3, Michael Schumacher's single-seaters from the early 2000s and many others. That lineage led the Scuderia's leaders to survey the paddock, wring their hands and come up with the Concept F1. As Ferrari said on its website: "Our challenge was to create something that was – to put it short – better looking." It's a philosophy that was implemented for this season's car, the SF15-T. While not groundbreaking in appearance, Ferrari cleaned up the design, particularly up front, and the racecar now has a more attractive nose that delivers better aerodynamics. It's more of the same in back, where a tighter design creates more downforce. "This year's car is certainly an awful lot better looking than last year's car," Ferrari technical director James Allison said in a video on the Scuderia's website. The updates come as Ferrari, and all F1 teams, get a better handle on the extensive 2014 rule changes that brought back turbocharged engines and altered the aerodynamic regulations for the series. Less dramatic changes also are going into effect this year. Ferrari, which is coming off a disappointing fourth-place finish in the World Championship, is obviously looking to the future. Appearances have always mattered for the red cars. We'll see if they bring the Scuderia success this season and beyond. Other News and Notes Next-generation Chrysler Town & Country spied Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is hard at work on the next-gen Town & Country minivan, and our spy shooters have captured heavily covered prototypes during testing on the road. We can't tell anything about the exterior design, though we see glimpses of an instrument panel (which looks vaguely Dodge Charger-esque) and infotainment screen inside.

Scuderia Ferrari dreams up the F1 car of the future

Formula One is in for a big shakeup, at least if all the parties can agree on a way forward at a meeting of the F1 commission today in Geneva. And this is the way Ferrari apparently hopes things will go. Dreamt up by the design department in Maranello, this concept represents Ferrari's vision for the F1 car of the future. Its got far more streamlined aerodynamics, a two-tier front wing, a much larger rear wing, and wheels that are still "open" but far more enveloped than anything we've seen to date, wrapped in low-profile tires like those proposed by Pirelli. The cockpit is still open as well, contrary to proposals to enclose them, with a conceptual helmet design that seems to meld into the bodywork – though we're not quite sure how that would be implemented, practically speaking. It's a pretty striking design, especially compared to the oddball shapes to which modern grand prix racers have evolved over recent years, with all their fragile appendages. Actually putting this into practice, though, is another matter entirely. Both McLaren and Red Bull were said to have shown their own evolutionary designs to the F1 strategy group, though they didn't release theirs to the public. This pie-in-the-sky proposal from Ferrari looks a bit closer to some of the radical, futuristic designs penned by Red Bull for Gran Turismo. Featured Gallery Ferrari Design Formula 1 Concept News Source: Ferrari Motorsports Ferrari Concept Cars Racing Vehicles F1 scuderia ferrari

Chris Harris does road and track work in the LaFerrari

Yes, we know, we just saw Chris Harris smoking it up around Anglesey Circuit in a Porsche 911 GT3 and a Ferrari 458 Speciale, and here he is again. But this is Harris in one of the (three!) era-defining supercars, and we simply can't miss that. Harris celebrates every aspect of the Ferrari LaFerrari but one - its name - praising it for "immediate" thrust, a "very pointy" front end, and the sound at 9,000 revs. Even if you watched without words, his face tells tales, sometimes intense, sometimes agog, and at least once, with mouth agape at 9:44, looking like he's doing something other than driving a car. His final verdict is that the LaFerrari "is in a class of two," but beats all. Take 15 minutes of your day to enjoy the video and discover the LaFerrari's only competitor, as well as "a little oversteer." In slow motion, naturally.