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F1 teams to test titanium skid plates to reignite spark in series

The 2014 Formula One season opened with one overwhelming complaint - the cars didn't sound right. It sapped the excitement, despite the fact that this season has seen a number of truly thrilling races (Bahrain, Spain and Montreal all come to mind). Attempts have been made to restore some of the audible thrill of the cars, although efforts have remained unsuccessful.
If F1 can't fix the sound of the cars, then other methods need to be considered to restore its self-perceived lack of excitement. One of those involves fitting titanium skid plates to the cars in a bid to reintroduce the sparks that were so prevalent in the sport's past.
Mercedes-AMG and Ferrari conducted initial experiments with the new skid plates during early practice sessions for the 2014 Austrian Grand Prix. Kimi Raikkonen and Nico Rosberg had the plates fitted to different locations of their cars, in a bid to see which created the most dramatic sparks. Considering the photos the tests, though, neither Mercedes' nor Ferrari's setup really seemed successful, which is why you're seeing Johnny Herbert and his 1989 Benneton B188 up top.

Bertone's shark-nose Ferrari 250 set to break records

If Nuccio Bertone had one regret, it's that he didn't get to work more with Ferrari. "They have always been with Pininfarina," Bertone was quoted as saying toward the end of his career. "I would have liked to have done more for Ferrari." There were a few exceptions, like the atypical Dino GT4, the angular Rainbow concept of 1976, and the unique 250 GT you see here. Only this one wasn't just designed and crafted by Bertone – it was designed and crafted for Bertone. And now it's going up for auction. Inspired by the 156 Grand Prix racer, this one-of-a-kind 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta was commissioned by Bertone to showcase its capabilities at the Geneva and Turin motor shows that year, and to serve as Nuccio's personal wheels. The design was carried out by none other than Giorgetto Giugiaro, in close collaboration with Bertone, and is characterized by the shark nose that would look right at home on a week-long Discovery Channel special... if it were directed by Roberto Rossellini. It's painted in Blu Notte Metallizzato (Italian for "midnight blue metallic") with a rich burgundy leather interior. The only one of its kind, chassis 3269 GT has been part of the Lorenzo Zambrano collection for over three decades now. It's slated to cross the auction block for the first time next month at Pebble Beach. That's where Gooding & Company expects it will fetch around $15 million, which would (according to the archives at Sports Car Market) make it one of the most expensive Ferraris, and by some margin the highest-priced 250 GT SWB Berlinetta, ever sold at auction. 1962 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Speciale (Estimate $14,000,000-$16,000,000) Any coachbuilt Ferrari will stir excitement on the auction block, but 3269 GT is quite possibly the most important 250 GT SWB ever to be presented at public auction. Built for and personally owned by Nuccio Bertone to showcase his company at the Geneva and Torino Auto Shows in 1962, this one-off "sharknose" Berlinetta Speciale Ferrari is sure to electrify the Pebble Beach Auctions when Gooding & Company presents this Italian masterpiece in August. This unique Ferrari was one of the first cars penned by the well-known stylist, Giorgetto Giugiaro, while working for Nuccio Bertone. The two worked together to create one of the most viscerally moving designs in Ferrari's history, which was inspired by the world championship-winning Grand Prix car - the Ferrari 156 F1.

2014 Ferrari F12 Berlinetta

Most cardiologists and physiologists maintain that a human's maximum heart rate is calculated with a mathematical formula: subtract a person's age from 220. But some leading doctors are now questioning the established academics, which trace their origins back to 1970, claiming that a simple formula isn't accurate for people of all ages, in particular those who are older. Rather than endorse the time accepted calculation, this progressive group argues that maximum heart rate equals 208 minus 0.7 times age.
While medical science continues its debate, I recently discovered a more elementary approach that disregards age and physical condition, and it requires no math.
To reveal a human's true maximum heart rate, I propose strapping test subjects into the driver's seat of a Ferrari F12 Berlinetta and then firing up its ferocious V12.