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Ecclestone wonders if F1's upcoming turbo V6s should get augmented sound [w/videos]

While every team on the Formula One grid is worried about making a good showing in this year's championship at the same time as they develop a brand-new car for next year's championship, Bernie Ecclestone and F1 circuit promoters have a different concern: how next year's cars will sound. The current cars use 2.4-liter, naturally-aspirated V8s that can reach 18,000 revolutions per minute and employ dual exhaust, next year's engine formula calls for 1.4-liter turbocharged V6s that are capped at 15,000 rpm and are constrained to a single exhaust outlet. Ecclestone and promoters like Ron Walker believe the new engines sound like lawnmowers and that the less thrilling audio will keep people from coming to races. If Walker's Australian Grand Prix really is shelling out almost $57 million to hold the race, every ticket counts. As a fix, according to a report in Autoweek, Ecclestone "suggests that the only way to guarantee [a good sound] may be to artificially adjust the tone of the V6s."
However, neither the manufacturers nor the governing body of F1, the FIA, think there will be a problem. Ecclestone fears that if the manufacturers "don't get it right" they'll simply leave the sport, but the only three carmakers and engine builders left next year, Renault (its 2014 "power unit" is pictured), Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari are so embedded that it would stretch belief to think they'd leave the table over an audio hiccup - if said hiccup even occurs. And frankly, these issues always precede changes to engine formulas, as they did when the formula switched from V10 to V8; fans, though, are probably less focused on the engines and more on the mandated standardization of the sport and the spec-series overtones that have come with it.
No one knows yet what next year's engines will sound like, but we've assembled a few videos below to help us all start guessing. The first is an engine check on an Eighties-era John Player Special Renault with a 1.5-liter V6 turbo, after that is Ayrton Senna qualifying in 1986 in the Lotus 98T that also had a 1.5-liter V6 turbo, then you'll find a short with a manufactured range of potential V6 engine notes, and then the sound of turbocharged V6 Indycars testing last year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Any, or none of them, could be Formula One's future.

Next Mercedes-Benz C-Class to get diesel, hybrid versions

Mercedes-Benz is planning a more aggressive product strategy for its next-generation C-Class range. "We were fighting the 3 Series with two arms tied behind our back, and now we will change that," Steve Cannon, the automaker's US CEO, told Automotive News in a recent interview.
In addition to offering more body styles of the new C-Class, AN reports that the revamped Mercedes will also be offered here with hybrid and diesel powertrains. Currently, the C-Class comes in coupe and sedan variants, with only gasoline engines. The BMW 3 Series, however, is available as a sedan, coupe, convertible and wagon, and offers buyers the choice of gasoline, diesel (the upcoming 328d) or hybrid power.
Mercedes-Benz will show the next-generation C-Class at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, with sales of the US-built sedan following in August. Coupe, convertible and hybrid models will follow in early 2015, and while diesel and all-wheel-drive versions are planned, no specific timetable has been released regarding availability.

Mercedes-AMG GT3 thunders into Geneva debut [w/video]

Mercedes-Benz took the opportunity to debut its replacement for the SLS AMG GT3 at the 2015 Geneva Motor Show today, showing off the new AMG GT3. Unlike the road car on which it's based, Mercedes ditched the turbocharged V8 for its awesome 6.3-liter V8, which also powered the GT3's predecessor. That's far from the only change found for the racing variant of the new model, however. Mercedes conducted a serious overhaul of the car's aerodynamics, fitting a huge rear wing and an equally enormous front splitter. The front bumper is also home to a quartet of winglets, which add even more downforce to the front end. As we suspected in our original post on the GT3, the rear of the car has been fitted with a none-too-subtle rear diffuser. The cooling needs of the track have also been enhanced, courtesy of large ducts on the fenders and a deep vent in the hood, while meaty slats sit over the front wheel wells. In addition to the rear diffuser, large ducts have been fitted to both sides of the rear bumper. The AMG GT3 looks like a compelling offer in the world of customer racers, although we won't know that for certain until it hits the track for some competition. That should be later this year at the earliest, as Mercedes is targeting late 2015 for the first customer deliveries. Check out our live gallery of images of the new AMG GT3, direct from the floor of the 2015 Geneva Motor Show. World premiere in Geneva for spectacular AMG racing car All-out attack : the new Mercedes-AMG GT3 Affalterbach. Mercedes-AMG will ring in the 2015 motorsport season at the beginning of March with the sonorous sound of the V8 engine: the new Mercedes-AMG GT3, with which the Mercedes-Benz sports car and high-performance brand is systematically expanding its motorsports presence, will be making its debut appearance at the Geneva Motor Show. Developed to comply with the FIA's GT3 race rules, the racing car will compete in the world's most hotly contested customer race series. Cutting-edge racing technology and spectacular design predestine the new challenger for victories. The new GT3 is based on the Mercedes-AMG GT, which is being launched in just a few days' time. Following an intensive test phase, the new AMG racing car will be shipped to the first customer teams at the end of 2015. The Mercedes-AMG GT3 will blaze new trails in customer sports with its intelligent vehicle concept.