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LaFerrari racing prototype spotted in Southern Europe

Rumors have been circulating for a few months now that Ferrari could be gearing up to challenge for outright victory at Le Mans once again with an LMP1 racer of its own. First the head of the sports racing division hinted at the prospect, then the head of the Formula One team lent it more credence, and most recently, the chairman of the company itself confirmed the possibility. We've even heard some rumors over who could drive the thing. But what we haven't seen yet is any solid proof that the Prancing Horse marque has actually been working on such a racecar.
That could be what we're looking at it here, but then again, it might not be. Spied undergoing testing in Southern Europe, this camouflaged test mule appears to be based on the new LaFerrari supercar, but with some key modifications that indicate this isn't the road-going version. The revised aero is a dead giveaway, with that giant front splitter jutting out like a swollen lip and a massive rear wing protruding from the back. The headlights are different, it's got center-lock wheels fitted at each corner and there's a big snorkel air scoop protruding from the engine bay.
What's clear is that this is test mule has definitely been set up for the race track. The only question is, to what end? Even with all the add-ons, it's still nowhere near as extreme as the purpose-built prototypes that Audi, Toyota and Porsche will be fielding in the FIA World Endurance Championship this year, and it's missing key features like the mandatory center tailfin. It could be a platform for testing components to use on an upcoming LMP1, but if not for the aforementioned Le Mans rumors, our money would have been on something else - be it a GT racing version of LaFerrari like Maserati did with the Enzo-based MC12, or a customer track toy to follow in the footsteps of the (also Enzo-based) FXX and the 599XX that followed.

Aston Martin hires Ferrari's 'key guys' to challenge 488 GTB

Aston Martin is wasting no time in its aggressive product rollout, and it's putting Ferrari and other supercar makers on notice. At the recent launch of the DB11 V8 in Catalonia, Spain, we caught up with Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer. The Aston chief gave us new details on plans for a mid-engine car to go up against the Ferrari 488 GTB, the McLaren 720S and the Lamborghini Huracan. Palmer says Aston has harnessed a great deal of learning from the $3 million Valkyrie hypercar and plans to apply that to its next mid-engine car, slated to land sometime in 2020 or so. As indicated in part of our conversation below, design plans for that car are developing quickly. Autoblog: You said there will be a forthcoming mid-engine sports car. I still think the Ferrari 488 GTB is one of the best I've driven. How do you compete with that? Andy Palmer: "Well, I agree with you. That's the best car in its segment. And we're going to take it on. And I realize the gravity of that statement, of what that means." AB: So how do you take on the 488 GTB? AP: "Well, to start with, you recruit from Ferrari the head of body structures, and the head of powertrains. I've now got three of Ferrari's key guys. And really, it's a big compliment to Ferrari. That's the defining car in its segment, and it's really, really good. And those three guys now work for me. And you combine those guys with Nick [Lines, chief planning officer, Aston Martin] and Marek [Reichman, chief creative officer, Aston Martin] who you know really well, and you create some great recipes. And now I've got a better understanding of what that car looks like." AB: How far along is that car? Is there a clay model already? AP: "Yeah, there's clay. There's actually eight quarter-scales. And there's one in particular that I'm leaning toward. We've got it pushed out; it's gone to a second studio in Milton Keynes. That studio is different from Gaydon. And I've got a pretty good idea of what the replacement for the 488 is going to be like as well. So, if we're going in that market, we need to be ahead of the 488. And there's no naivete about what that means." View 16 Photos One of the recruits Palmer is referring to is Max Szwaj, former head of innovation and body structures at Ferrari and Maserati. Szwaj has been named vice president and chief technical officer in his new role in Gaydon.

Corvette gets slidey with Britain's best performance cars

Autocar wants to find Britain's best driver's car, and it's challenging a murderers' row of some of the world's best performance vehicles to find out, including the latest Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. All of them were therefore assembled at the Castle Combe Circuit to find a winner.
If it wants to take the crown from this pack of mostly European competitors, the 'Vette has to beat some steep competition. Its challengers include monsters like the Ferrari 458 Speciale, Ariel Atom 3.5R and Jaguar F-Type Coupe. As a further hurdle for the winner to clear, Autocar also has last year's champ among the fighters - the Porsche 911 GT3.
Even if you're not at all interested in the C7, there's still something here for practically any fan of fast cars. The competitors include relative oddities among the pack like the Renault Mégane RS Trophy and Alfa Romeo 4C. Plus, Autocar has some well-positioned microphones that let you hear the Atom wailing like a banshee and the roar of the 458 Speciale. Check out the video to see which one of these all-stars takes home the award this year.