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Alfa Romeo returns to F1 racing by sponsoring Sauber for 2018

Doesn't it feel good to see the Alfa Romeo emblem proudly displayed on a Formula One car again? It's been 30 years since Alfa Romeo had anything to do with F1 cars, as in the late '80s the manufacturer supplied engines to Ligier and Osella. Alfa Romeo even developed the first modern Formula One V10 engine, but that ended up in a 164 Procar instead of Ligier race cars. After a 30-year hiatus, it was announced in late 2017 that Alfa Romeo's brand would return to F1 racing by sponsoring Sauber. There isn't an Alfa Romeo engine in the 2018 Sauber C37, as it uses a current Ferrari power unit instead and Alfa Romeo's involvement is strictly about FCA's sponsoring the Swiss racing team. The drivers for 2018 are Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson. Jorg Zander, Sauber's technical director, says: "The car philosophy is much different to that of the C36. The aerodynamic concept has changed significantly, and the C37 has several new features in comparison to its predecessor. We are positive that the new concept offers us more opportunities and will help us to make improvements during the course of the season. The 2018 Ferrari engine will also give us a boost in terms of our performance. We hope that we will make progress with the C37 and that we are more competitive compared to 2017." Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Image Credit: Sauber F1 Team Motorsports Alfa Romeo Ferrari Racing Vehicles F1 FCA

Ferrari 250 GTO may have set new sale record at $52M

Records are made to be broken, and it seems that one may have just been snapped again. An Italian website is reporting that a Ferrari 250 GTO, owned by American collector Paul Pappalardo, recently sold for $52 million.
Now, this is far from confirmed - Pappalardo responded to questions about the sale saying, "I do not confirm these things, I have no comment about!" - and if it's a private sale, it's unlikely that we'll ever know the exact amount of the transaction. If that figure is correct, though, it easily eclipses the $35 million made in a 250 GTO sale in April of 2012, as well as the $27.5-million sale of a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4 NART Spider sold at RM's Monterey auctions in August.
What makes a car that had 39 examples built more valuable than one that had only 10 units produced? Racing pedigree. The 250 GTO is a racing legend, with each car having a unique provenance that is more than enough to add some serious value. According to 0-100.it, the GTO in question, 5111GT, found its first owner in French racer and winner of the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, Jean Guichet, back in 1963. The Frenchman used the V12-powered racer to win the GT category of the Tour de France Automobile in that same year.

Watch Chris Harris drive the Ferrari 458 Spider like an "idiot"

Chris Harris gets to abuse his fair share of cars that we can only dream about driving, so why not add the Ferrari 458 Spider to that list. After somehow borrowing the keys to a Ferrari-owned 458 Spider, Harris spends about five minutes driving the 570-horsepower, open-air supercar like an "idiot" (his words, not ours).
In reality, it's impressive to watch the $257,000 (base price) 458 Spider being drifted and pushed hard into every turn. Not surprisingly, the car handles the "bad behavior" very well, but what is amazing is how easy it is for Harris to talk to the camera despite the top being down and the engine being at full throttle almost the entire time.
If you like watching Ferraris get sideways, you will most certainly enjoy Harris' video, which is posted below.