1999 Ferrari 360 Modena Coupe F1 Only 5,934 Miles / Serviced / Silver / Black on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Mercedes sues Ferrari-bound F1 engineer for stealing secrets

Mercedes is suing one of its Formula One engineers, one Benjamin Hoyle, claiming he was planning to take sensitive data to a competitor. An experienced powertrain engineer, Hoyle came to Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains in 2012 with previous experience at Prodrive and Cosworth. One of four team leaders at the company, Hoyle headed up the performance application department until he notified his employers of his intention not to seek renewal of his contract that expires at the end of this year. Once they found out that Hoyle was switching to Ferrari, the higher-ups at Mercedes reassigned him to other, less sensitive duties, however Hoyle was reportedly discovered accessing race reports and other sensitive data relating to the performance of the team's engines. In response, Mercedes has filed suit against Hoyle, claiming that he "and potentially Ferrari have gained an unlawful advantage." The German automaker is seeking the return of all documents and the payment of its legal fees. It also seeks to prevent Hoyle from working for another F1 team throughout next season. Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains is the Daimler's F1 engine division. Based in Brixworth, UK, it was founded back in 1983 together with Ilmor before Mercedes bought it outright. Aside from the company's own works team, the outfit this year powered Williams, Lotus, and Force India, and previously worked with McLaren as well as Sauber. This is not the first time that a case of industrial espionage has emerged in F1. A similar controversy erupted in 2007 surrounding engineers Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan. The highly publicized incident became known as "Spygate" or "Stepneygate" and involved the illegal sharing of secrets between Ferrari, McLaren, and Renault. News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Martin Meissner/AP Government/Legal Hirings/Firings/Layoffs Motorsports Ferrari Mercedes-Benz F1 industrial espionage

Ferrari LaFerrari supercar to spawn Maserati LaMaserati?

CAR reports Maserati may benefit from the introduction of Enzo-succeeding Ferrari LaFerrari (shown below). According to unnamed parties, Maserati is keen to create a successor for the MC12 (above) based on the bones of the new Ferrari.
Details are about as scarce as they come, but CAR reckons Maserati has a few options when it comes to building its own supercar. Those include using the suspension, chassis and electrical systems of the Ferrari but with a unique carbon fiber body and without the LaFerrari's hybrid system. The new take on the MC12 could use a detuned version of the 6.3-liter V12 from the LaFerrari or stick a quad-turbo 3.8-liter V8 behind the front seats.
The latter option could see the next MC12 yield up to 900 horsepower, putting it within reach of its cousin as well as hardware like the McLaren P1. Of course, all of this - including our fanciful name in the headline - is just speculation for the time being. CAR says that if the machine makes its way to production, it would could cost well over $1.3 million.

Ferrari P80/C one-off built for 330 P3/P4, 1966 Dino 206 S fanatic

For more than four long years, one person has kept a major secret with Ferrari. The company and the client were working on a project that Ferrari calls its "most extreme one-off design ever." Inspired by the 330 P3/P4 and the 1966 Dino 206 S, the P80/C is a new-age take on a track-focused sports prototype. Typically for these types of specialty builds, Ferrari does as they've done in the past and reshapes a new exterior over an existing car from the for-sale lineup. But because it is a track car, Ferrari used the 488 GT3 as a starting point, and made "radical changes" to the equipment from there. It not only has a slightly longer (about two inches) wheelbase than the 488 GTB, but it also has a cab-forward design rather than the 488 GTB's centrally located cabin. Ferrari says this allowed for more creative freedom and played a major part in how the design took shape. Flavio Manzoni and the Ferrari Styling Center set out to make what they described as a "Hero Car." The client's direction was to make a "modern sports prototype" with design cues from the 330 P3/P4 and the 1966 Dino 206 S. These two cars carry significance in Ferrari's design history, as they impressed on the track but also influenced future road cars such as the Dino 206/246 GT. With heavy involvement from the client during the process, Ferrari has been working on this car since 2015, the longest the company has ever spent on developing a one-off. Starting from the ground up, aerodynamics played a major part in the appearance of the P80/C. A gigantic front splitter, which is specific to this car, snuggles the ground and extends beyond the dimensions of the body. Visually, it carries on along the flanks with aero skirts, and circles around the rear with a bulky exaggerated diffuser. The lower kit is left in exposed carbon fiber, creating a two-piece look that's separate from the Rosso Vero body paint. Ferrari says only pieces that were strictly functional were highlighted with bare carbon and that the car has a five percent aerodynamic improvement over the 488 GT3. For the designers, the P80/C was a safe space of opportunity and experimentation. It is a track car that does not fall under racing regulations, but it's also a customer production car that is not forced into road-ready restrictions.