2007 Ferrari F430 Spyder For $1269 A Month With $30,000 Down on 2040-cars

Auto blog

What new F12 has Ferrari got in store for Frankfurt?

Ferrari is widely expected to be preparing a new version of the F12 Berlinetta to unveil at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. Assuming the anticipation doesn't prove futile, the question at this point is what that new variant will look like. At present, we're looking at two possibilities. One prospect would see the Prancing Horse marque present an updated version of the F12 to replace the existing model – much like the 488 GTB is replacing the 458 Italia, the California T replaced the previous California, or (perhaps more poignantly) the 575M supplanted the 550 Maranello. Ferrari has, after all, undertaken a pattern of updating its core models half-way through their eight-year life-cycles. The F12 was introduced in 2012, so a refresh for 2016 would be right on schedule. The other possibility, as Autocar asserts (and as we reported last month), would be to introduce a more potent model to slot in above (and alongside) the current F12. That would follow the pattern established by its predecessor, which yielded the hardcore 599 GTO to slot in above the 599 GTB Fiorano. Those latter three letters would be a more likely choice for the performance-focused F12 than the Speciale name that Autocar proposes and which was already used on the ultimate version of the naturally aspirated 458. Either way, we'll likely be looking at more power and less weight. The F12's 6.3-liter V12 currently produces 730 horsepower, and speculation has placed the new version's output anywhere between 760 and 800 hp. In any event, output will likely be enough to steal bragging rights away from the Lamborghini Aventador SV and its 740 horses. Just what form the revised engine will take remains a big question mark, but don't expect it to go turbo like the aforementioned 488 GTB and California T. Ferrari is anticipated to keep forced induction for its eight-cylinder models, and go with a hybrid boost for the twelves. The enhanced F12, then, could adopt an electrically boosted V12 like the one found in LaFerrari, or it could continue on unassisted for another four years until the model line is replaced entirely. One way or another, we're less than two months until showtime, so we'll find out soon enough.

Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton buys LaFerrari

Lewis Hamilton has driven some of the fastest cars ever devised, like the McLaren MP4-23 with which he won the 2008 Formula One World Championship, the Mercedes W05 with which he won the title last year, and the new W06 he drove to the checkered flag in the season opener earlier this month. But what does he drive in his spare time? According to the latest reports quoting his boss Toto Wolff, the reigning champ celebrated his win at the Australian Grand Prix by ordering a new LaFerrari. The seven-figure, 950-horsepower hybrid hypercar may be made by a rival manufacturer to the team for which he drives, but then his employers at Mercedes don't (for the time being at least) build anything that competes in the segment – unlike his former employers at McLaren that offer the similarly potent P1. Something tells us he won't be invited to drive it at Fiorano, though - which is something his rivals Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel have all had the chance to do. Hamilton has a long-established penchant for driving twelve-cylinder exotic supercars in his spare time. At his previous place of work, he was promised an exceedingly rare McLaren F1 LM – valued at some $4 million – but only if he won three world titles for the Woking-based team. He also owns a Pagani Zonda that was made specifically for him with a 760-horsepower engine (supplied, naturally, by Mercedes) and a six-speed manual – complete with a clutch pedal, which (apart from starting off the line) is something he doesn't usually get to operate during working hours. Related Video:

Race Recap: 2014 Austrian Grand Prix is old-school front row, new-school racing

The last time Formula One raced in Spielberg, Austria the track was called the A1 Ring, Juan Pablo Montoya and Ralf Schumacher were the pilots for Williams, the field contained other not-so-venerable names like Ralph Firman and Justin Wilson and V10 engines were bolted to the bulkheads - the only Mercedes units being in the backs of the two McLarens, one of which was driven by Kimi Räikkönen, who finished second behind Michael Schumacher.
The return to an old-school Formula One track - now called the Red Bull Ring - after 11 years away put an old-school team on the front row, Felipe Massa in a Williams getting his first pole position since 2008, followed by teammate Valtteri Bottas. Behind them came Nico Rosberg in the first Mercedes AMG Petronas, Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari, Daniel Ricciardo for Infiniti Red Bull Racing, Kevin Magnussen for McLaren, Danil Kvyat in his Toro Rosso, Räikkönen in the second Ferrari, Lewis Hamilton in the second Mercedes way back in ninth - he'd spun on his final timed lap after having his previous effort disqualified for going wide at Turn 8 - Nico Hülkenberg in the Force India in tenth after opting not to set a time at all in Q3.
It's a shame the well of nostalgia wasn't deep enough to give us some proper old-school racing.