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2016 Ferrari FF mule sounds super snarly in Fiorano testing

There are innumerable advantages to a company having its own test track on premises like Ferrari has with Fiorano. The Scuderia may not be able to test its Formula One machinery much on the track these days, what with the limitations placed by the FIA, but the factory can still use the circuit to wring out the road-going machinery it has under development – to say nothing of opportunities for visiting customers, journalists and VIPs. But it also means that the paparazzi know where to look to see what the company has in the works. In this case, supercar videographer extraordinaire Marchettino caught a Ferrari FF prototype running some hot laps around Fiorano. But to what end, exactly, we don't know. With the 458 expected to be updated shortly, the twelve-cylinder, four-seat, all-wheel-drive FF will soon be the oldest model in the company's lineup (introduced as it was in 2011), which would ostensibly put it next in line for a refresh. There've been rumors of a more elegant roofline to replace the hatchback, and even an eight-cylinder version to bring the model down-market slightly – although that might bring it too close to the California T. We'll have to wait and see what Ferrari has in store for its first and only all-wheel-drive model. But as you can hear for yourself in the video above, the exhaust sounds pretty raunchy, even by Maranello standards.

EVO dubs Ferrari 458 Speciale its Car of the Year

While some publications are concerned with finding the best car or truck for the average buyer and slapping a ribbon on it, or (in our case) identifying the best new automotive technology of the year, across the pond our compatriots at Evo are more single-minded in their approach. Every year, the British car mag awards its Car of the Year to its top new performance automobile on the market. And this year, they've picked the Ferrari 458 Speciale. The stripped-out supercar from Maranello beat out some heady competition. Second place went to the Jaguar F-Type R, followed by the Porsche Cayman GTS, VW Golf R, Renaultsport Megane 275 Trophy-R, BMW i8, McLaren 650S Spider, Aston Martin Vanquish, BMW M3 and, last but not least, the Audi S1. It was only the second time a Ferrari won the eCOTY award, after the 599 GTB Fiorano took top honors in 2006. Precedent suggests the magazine typically hands the award to a version of the Porsche 911 – like the GT3 that won last year, preceded by other Elfens in 2011, 2010, 2007, 2004, 2003, 2000, 1999 and 1998 (when the award was inaugurated). Why is the latest 458 derivative so... Speciale? Watch this video to find out.

Alonso and Rossi to field Ferrari at Le Mans?

The plot thickens and just keeps thickening when it comes to Ferrari's potential return to Le Mans. Antonello Coletta, the head of Ferrari's sports car racing program, first suggested that the new regulations being implemented by the ACO could potentially see the Prancing Horse marque compete in the top-tier LMP1 class. His thoughts have since been echoed by Stefano Domenicali, the head of the Scuderia's F1 team, and by chairman Luca di Montezemolo. And now we're hearing rumors over its potential driver lineup.
Word has it that Ferrari could send Valentino Rossi and Fernando Alonso to pilot its prototype at Le Mans in 2015 or 2016. The rumors were tweeted by Mark Webber (embedded below), who recently left F1 to drive for Porsche at Le Mans - and could amount to pure speculation, to some inside track on hard news or (as is often the case) something in between. One way or another, both Rossi and Alonso are multiple world champions in their fields with strong ties to Maranello and would make a formidable lineup - particularly if paired, we'd venture, with Ferrari's test driver Marc Gené, who won at Le Mans with Peugeot in 2009.
Although the Rossi connection would seem the greater stretch, it might actually make the most sense of the two. With nothing left to prove on two wheels, the seven-time MotoGP champion has been talking about leaving the series. He's test-driven Ferrari F1 cars on several occasions and raced the Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 in the Blancpain Endurance Series last season. The move would be a rare departure for Alonso, however, who has raced almost exclusively in open-wheel single seaters his entire career, and would need to balance the program with his F1 commitments. That is, assuming he doesn't get fed up with chasing after Sebastian Vettel and teaming with Kimi Raikkonen by then.