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Ferrari reopens wind tunnel after 18-month refurb

Ferrari is not a company used to being behind the curve, but if you've been wondering how the Scuderia has lost so much territory on the Formula One circuit to a relative newcomer like Red Bull, part of the answer could come down to its wind tunnel.
Seriously, the wind tunnel? Yes, the wind tunnel. Aerodynamics play an increasingly vital role in F1 racing, and while Red Bull has one of the best in the business, Ferrari's hasn't been running right for some time now.
A year and a half ago Ferrari shut down the galleria del vento at its headquarters in Maranello, citing problems with "correlation" - that is, a major discrepancy between the results it got in the wind tunnel, in CFD computations and on the racetrack. Having narrowed the problem down, the Scuderia embarked upon a major overhaul. It's been using Toyota's facility in Cologne, Germany, in the meantime, but as team principal Stefano Domenicali put it, not having your own wind tunnel on premises "is like playing basketball with one hand behind your back." Now the renovations reportedly complete, however, and Ferrari will begin using its wind tunnel again next month.

How to polish car paint | Autoblog Details

Here's how to quickly and properly polish your car's paint to increase the depth and shine of your clear coat with a dual action polisher. Watch all our Autoblog Details videos for more quick car care tips from professional detailer Larry Kosilla. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] Polishing paint properly is not only a skill, but it's what I consider an art especially on this 1964 Ferrari GTE. And like any art form, it takes years of practice to perfect. Today we're gonna discuss how to quickly and safely polish or paint to increase the depth and shine of your clear coat with dual action polishers. Coming up on this episode of Details. My name is Larry Kosilla and I'm a professional detailer. Together with Autoblog, we're creating [00:00:30] the ultimate collection of quick car care videos. This is Autoblog Details. Here are the items you'll need for this task. If your car has clear coat, and in most cases, any car manufactured after the mid 1980s, or repainted like this one here, will come standard with clear coat, and you'll need to use a machine. Polishing clear coat by hand is not recommended due to the hardness of the paint. [00:01:00] Polishing paint is typically done for two main purposes. First is to remove any remaining swirls left over from a previous compounding step, or to simply increase the gloss of the paint that has no scratches that lacks a deep rich shine like this one here. First, attach a foam polishing pad to a machine. In this case, I'm using a Meguiars foam yellow pad on a Rupes LHR 21ES polisher. Spread your polish of choice around the pad, covering all pores evenly by massaging the product in [00:01:30] by hand and of course, wearing gloves. Make sure to add a bit more in some areas that remain uncoated. Now that the pad is primed, add three small dots of polish and place the pad directly on the paint prior to engaging the machine. Speed settings will vary by machine and the type of pad used but a setting of three to four is a good place to start. Take note on small orbit polishing machines if the polishing pad is not rotating, little to no polishing work is being done to the paint. Adjustments to speed, pressure, [00:02:00] and machine angle may be needed. Apply light to medium pressure to the machine so that the foam pad compresses slightly. Arm speed is moderate to slow. But keep in mind, the slower your arm speed, the more work is being done to the paint.

LaFerrari Spider might actually use Aperta name

We've already shown you the Ferrari LaFerrari Spider, but it may ultimately use a different name. Sources told Autocar the topless LaFerrari will actually have "Aperta" in its title. The British magazine also notes that some of the images have file names labeled Aperta. It would be a fitting moniker as the word translates to "open" in English. It was affixed to other special Ferrari convertibles like the 599 SA Aperta and 458 Speciale A Aperta, and it makes sense to bestow the name upon the most powerful Ferrari convertible yet. The previous open-air Ferrari with the greatest output was the 488 Spider with 661 horsepower, which is paltry compared with the LaFerrari's 949 hp. The LaFerrari drop-top will make its official debut at the Paris Motor Show, and we expect it to cost about $1.4 million. Ferrari says all examples have already been sold. Related Video: