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McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari call for unfreezing F1 engines

Formula One is a hugely expensive sport. Not only do you have enormous salaries and logistical expenses, as you would in any other sport, but each team also spends huge sums developing their own chassis from the ground up – and so too do the participating automakers in developing the engines. One of the ways the series organizers mitigate those costs is by freezing development. So once the new crop of V6 turbo hybrid powertrains were developed, that was it. But now three of the of the sport's leading teams are calling on the FIA to unfreeze engine development. Their reason? Unfair advantage. There's little question that Mercedes did the best job of developing its "power unit" to meet the new regulations that took effect at the beginning of this past season. That's how the Mercedes team won all but three of the grands prix this season and finished with at least one car on the podium at every single race. It's also a big part of how the teams that bought their engines from Mercedes this season managed to consistently outperform the other non-works-supported teams. That clear advantage is why Red Bull, Ferrari and now McLaren are calling for engine development to be unfrozen. Their argument is that, under the current locked-down status quo, their engine suppliers (Renault, Ferrari and Honda, respectively) cannot possibly catch up. So unless the FIA and Formula One Management want the next few seasons to be the kind of absolute blow-outs that this past season was, these leading teams argue, the powers that be are going to have to make some changes. For its part, Mercedes naturally counters that unfreezing engine development would send costs spiraling out of control. But then of course it stands to lose the most by re-opening engine development. If those three teams, however, closely intertwined as they are with the three other engine suppliers participating in next year's championship, manage to solicit enough support from the other customer teams and bring the matter to a vote, Mercedes may very well find itself out-numbered. News Source: ESPNImage Credit: Patrick Baz/AFP/Getty Motorsports Ferrari McLaren Mercedes-Benz F1 engine

Ferrari testing 458 successor in the snow?

It may not seem so long ago that Ferrari introduced the 458 Italia. But it's been on the market a solid 5 years since its launch in 2009, which makes it not only the oldest model in the company's lineup, but one of the oldest in its segment, the Lamborghini Huracan and McLaren 650S just having been launched in the past couple of months. So while a solitary Ferrari playing in the snow might otherwise seem like little more than an unlikely place for it to be, its chronology suggests the crew from Maranello could be up to something more.
The white 458 captured by our spy photographers in Northern Sweden appears to have something going on around its wheel arches. Aside from the panel gap that's taped up between the quarter panel and rear fender in front of the rear wheel arch, there appear to be some modifications around the front wheel arch. Just what they're for, we don't know, but their presence suggests something's up.
The test mule pictured here could be simply testing some new components, for whatever application, but if this is indeed a prototype for the 458's replacement, we'll probably start seeing more of these from here on in before the finished product comes around within the next couple of years - by which time the 458 will be a good seven years old, longer than the F430 or 360 Modena before it were on the market.

Electro super star Deadmau5 selling kitty-themed Ferrari 458

Are you a huge fan a electronic dance music, Internet memes, and in the market for a customized Ferrari? Then today is your lucky day. EDM star Deadmau5, real name Joel Zimmerman, is selling his Ferrari 458 Spider on Craigslist. He calls it the Purrari, and it features a full-body wrap of the eight-bit Nyan Cat, pink brake calipers, prancing cat logos, a Purrari emblem 6,500 miles on the odometer. It's currently located in Toronto, Canada, with an asking price of $380,000. Any amount offered over that is being donated to the Toronto Humane Society.
In addition to the car, the buyer gets an iPod full of "nyancat songs" and a meeting with Zimmerman to say goodbye to his Purrari over a cup of coffee. If you're not in the Toronto area, he is willing to ship the feline automobile anywhere in North America. Obviously, a blue, cat-themed Ferrari isn't to everyone's taste, so Zimmerman can remove the wrap at the buyer's request... though he won't be happy about it.
If you're curious why Zimmerman would sell such a personalized item, it appears a new supercar has his eye now. On May 28, he tweeted about driving a McLaren 650S and announced the Purrari would go up for sale soon. We can only imagine what theme his next ride gets.