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Petrolicious documents the motorsport-changing Ferrari 512M

Petrolicious has had plenty of beautiful cars and big-time personalities in its videos, but today's interview is sees one of the series' most well known subjects - US Formula 1 commentator David Hobbs.
Hobbs is an accomplished racer, capturing a number of podiums and a pair of class wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in addition to short stints in F1 and at the Indianapolis 500. One of his Le Mans runs was behind the wheel of this, the Ferrari 512M, a car that's notable for two things - running a 1971 season that included the 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans, 12 Hours of Sebring and Watkins Glen 6 Hour races. The other thing it's known for? Failing to win a single one of those enduros.
Still, the Ferrari 512 is one of the Italian marques most iconic 1970s racers and Hobbs' example is a proud member of that breed, delivering a delicious 5.0-liter V12 exhaust note that makes this an easy video to sit through.

2015 Ferrari LaFerrari [w/video]

What a year it's been for enthusiasts who love high-performance, higher-dollar automobiles. The past twelve months or so have been consumed with the three horsemonsters of today's hybrid hypercar enlightenment: the Porsche 918 Spyder, the McLaren P1 and the Ferrari LaFerrari. Getting into just two of the three would be better than a lump of coal in one's stocking come holiday time, but for me, it'd still leave things feeling sadly incomplete, gnawing from within 'til the end of days.
Getting the call from Maranello, therefore, was even more fortunate and satisfying. The 918 Spyder - the only seriously green hybrid of the trio - shook me up with its sophisticated menu of technologies. The McLaren P1 remains more of a true hypercar than the Porsche, what with its e-motor designed to boost the lightweight beast to supernatural speeds above any terrestrial concerns like fuel efficiency. And now it's time for the Italian with the funny name, LaFerrari. No mistake about it: I've been waiting all year for this car a little more than I've been waiting for the other two.
This run of hypercars built up over the year like a famous three-part opera: The enthralling start of the drama sitting in the Porsche 918, tear-assing the heavier green dart around a track in Spain; then on to the UK with the lightness and quick heart of the biturbo V8 in McLaren's track-inspired P1, and it was all to be topped-off at Fiorano with the LaFerrari, fit for a Wagnerian finish.

Maserati Levante could get a V8 to battle the Cayenne Turbo

Maserati's new Levante crossover is based on the platform shared by the Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans. The Quattroporte's top engine is a 523-horsepower, twin-turbo 3.8-liter V8. When asked if that engine would fit in the Levante, a Maserati engineer gave the answer we were hoping to hear almost immediately. "Yes, it fits, and we have a prototype already," said Davide Danesin, the head of Maserati vehicle programs. The Levante will launch with two models, both of which use the 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 that Ferrari builds for Maserati, but in two different tunes. The first generation of the V6 launched in the Ghibli and Quattroporte. While the V8 is only currently used in the rear-drive Quattroporte GTS, Danesin assures us that packaging the V8 and an all-wheel-drive system works. There is that prototype, after all. The fact that Danesin volunteered that a V8 prototype exists leads us to believe it's being very seriously considered, since manufacturers reluctantly acknowledge that there will even be a future, let alone one that will bring new, as-yet-unannounced products. Maserati officials caution that it may be tough to make a case for such a vehicle, however, as the over-500-hp SUV segment is pretty small, at about 12,000 units per year by their estimates. It's also relatively crowded, with the logical bogeys being the Porsche Cayenne Turbo (520 hp) and Turbo S (570 hp) and the Range Rover Sport SVR (550 hp). None of them will touch the Levante's upcoming American cousin, the Hellcat-powered Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk, but that's cool. View 21 Photos We'd guess that the yay/nay on a V8 Levante will hinge on the overall popularity of the new model as well as the mix of 345-hp Levante versus 424-hp Levante S models once customers start ordering. Which is to say, if you think you'll want a V8 Levante eventually, get out there and buy a few Levante S models when they hit dealers this October. In other Maserati powertrain news, we're told the second-generation V6, which makes 20 more horsepower in its angriest tune and debuts in the Levante, will show up in the Ghibli and Quattroporte "soon." We'd peg that at mid-cycle refresh time, which should be in a year or so. The second-gen V6 gets its extra power from re-profiled camshafts, some redesign work on the heads, and other tweaks, likely in software. Oh, and for more on the first Maserati crossover and that updated engine, watch for our first drive of the twin-turbo V6 Levante very soon.