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Ferrari introduced the 059/3, the new V6 turbo engine unit, which will sit into the Ferrari, Marussia and Sauber cars next year.

"Being able to build the engine and chassis together is definitely a nice advantage," Ferrari's new technical director James Allison said on Thursday, as the Italian team's new V6 'power unit" was launched at Maranello.

"Other teams cannot do the same and this year, like never before, installing the new power unit in the car's chassis will be a complex operation," he added.

Allison is referring to the contrast between teams like Ferrari and Mercedes, who are both chassis and engine manufacturers, and 'customer' outfits like his former employer Lotus, who simply buy an engine from Renault.

"I've got direct experience of that from my time at Lotus: it's true the engine supplier tries to meet your demands, but it's never the same thing as happens here, where there is a historical culture relating to a common task of defining and developing the design of the new car," he said.

3D launch of the new Ferrari engine. Ferrari says the sound is real.

An Australian entrepreneur and a Romanian engineer have designed and built the dream car of every five-year-old boy: a hot rod made of over 500,000 LEGO blocks. And it works!

Equipped with a compressed air system, 256 pistons, and four radial engines, this machine can reach speeds of up to 30 km/h.

Source: blog.caranddriver.com

From GMM

Luca di Montezemolo, one of the most powerful figures in formula one, thinks the highly-controversial new 'double points' rule might live a short life.

Reaction to the plan for double points in Abu Dhabi next year, to keep the championship alive throughout the season, has been generally negative.

And Montezemolo, the Ferrari president with an unique veto over key F1 decisions, warned: "I'm not a fan of the double points.

"It's too artificial," he is quoted by Germany's Sport Bild. "I would not be surprised if the rule is soon abolished."

Luca di Montezemolo and Bernie Ecclestone. (Photo: WRi2)

In a wide-ranging and fascinating interview, Montezemolo also tipped Fernando Alonso to live out his full Ferrari contract, despite McLaren's obvious interest.

McLaren supremo Ron Dennis this week insisted "never say never" when contemplating bringing the Spaniard back to Woking.

But Montezemolo said: "I will not argue with my friend Ron, although it would be good for the press -- Fernando has a contract until 2016. My only concern is giving him a better car."

However, he did have to "tweak" the ear of the obviously frustrated Alonso this year. Montezemolo urged the 32-year-old to take a leaf out of Michael Schumacher's book.

"It is important that you not only win together, but also lose together," he said. "Michael knew how to do that between 1996 and 1999. Fernando knows that he drives not for himself, but for Ferrari, even if I can understand his frustration at times."

Some believe it was Alonso's attitude in 2013 that triggered the decision - against the Spaniard's wishes - to sign world champion Kimi Raikkonen to be his new teammate.

But, fascinatingly, Montezemolo suggested the Finn is in fact the number 2.

"He knows that he is in the second half of his career," he said, referring to Raikkonen. "But he is especially strong in the race, and is able to take points from Fernando's opponents."

For the moment, then, Montezemolo ruled out making a move to sign F1's driver of the moment.

"Sebastian Vettel is very fast, focused, wants to win," the Italian said. "I like his attitude: no manager, no politics. But although I have a lot of problems, a number 1 driver is not among them. In two years time we can talk about it again."

Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel. (Photo: WRi2)

Finally, Montezemolo revealed that he has been approached by an American group, keen to acquire a Ferrari 'customer car' and race in formula one.

At present, the rules would not allow it.

"It's true," Montezemolo said. "We were contacted, and if the rules allowed it, we would like to sell them a car. It is extremely difficult for a new team to build a competitive car out of nowhere, so I would like to help."

From GMM

Rodolfo Gonzalez, Marussia's reserve and occasional Friday practice driver in 2013, has revealed he has been offered a role as Pirelli's F1 tester.

Like his countryman Pastor Maldonado, Gonzalez is sponsored by Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA.

But he told the El Universal newspaper: "I have received an attractive offer to be Pirelli test driver in the coming season.

"First there are other options that I would like to explore, so fortunately, I can make a decision about the offer in February or March, as I really want to stay in formula one," Gonzalez added.

"I think in two years I will accept the offers to race in categories such as in the US and Europe, but at the moment I prefer to wait and stay."

Rodolfo Gonzalez. (Photo: WRi2)

Rodolfo Gonzalez has a low profile in the F1 paddock, with most observers believing his sponsor dollars talk louder than his talent.

He confirmed that sponsorship is crucial to the fate of all F1 drivers, with the exception of the very top teams.

Marussia team boss John Booth, however, insisted: "He has nothing to prove. Perhaps he is lacking a little bit of consistency, but he is a formula one driver and he knows what he's doing."

"He has helped us a lot," added John Booth.

On December 20th, 1928, the first international mail shipment using a dog sled left Lewiston, Maine; it arrived in Montreal on January 14th, 1929.

The 8' long, 200lb mushing sled was pulled by 6 blackhead Eskimo dogs, and averaged a speed of about 14 km/h.

A total of 385 letters were put in government-stamped, cancelled envelopes for this non-official trip. The sled returned to Lewiston on February 2nd after travelling 970 kilometres -- only 10% of which were covered in snow.

Source : trivia-library.com

From GMM

Sebastian Vettel's new teammate thinks the reigning quadruple world champion is still getting better.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo is replacing Mark Webber at Red Bull, but he said recently he hopes to be more competitive alongside Vettel than his retiring countryman.

"As strong as Mark is, Seb was better, " 24-year-old Ricciardo is quoted by Brazil's Totalrace.

"That was evident in the last two years. He (Vettel) is still very young, so we can ask the question of whether they were both at their peak when they were together," he added.

Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull RB9. (Photo: WRi2)

Indeed, he thinks Vettel - who is two years older than Ricciardo - is still improving, despite his obvious dominance as the 2013 season concluded.

"I don't think he has reached his peak, which is a little scary for the other drivers, because he has been impressive. In fact, the more he wins, the more confidence he gets, and the easier it is for him," said Daniel Ricciardo.

Despite that, team boss Christian Horner is excited to see how Ricciardo - who is moving to Red Bull from the junior team Toro Rosso - fares alongside Vettel.

"I think Daniel is very fast. Let's see how fast he really is," he said.

Christian Horner said he doubts Ricciardo will clash with Vettel, despite the increasingly fractious relationship between the dominant German and Webber in past years.

"I think the relationship will be very different than it was with Mark," he said.

"Mark was at his peak when Sebastian came to the team, but Daniel is much younger and still learning. He will learn from Sebastian. The dynamics will be very different," added Horner.

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull RB9. (Photo: WRi2)

Ricciardo, while insisting that he wants to beat Vettel, acknowledged that it might be a task too far when considering the world champion's top form.

He told Germany's Auto Motor und Sport: "If the car is good and he wins, that's what everyone expects of him.

"But no one is expecting me to come into the team and be the number 1 driver. That takes a little pressure from me," said Ricciardo.

"I want to come in and learn from the best, and then we'll see what happens. If you could offer to me right now that I'm second behind him at the end of the season but with the same number of wins, then I might accept that. But if he's world champion and I'm fifth, I'll just say 'f**k!" he grinned. I am prepared for a big challenge, but I am not prepared for him to kick my ass. I do hope I am closer to him than Mark was, but I don't want to promise all these big things and then be sh*t. We'll see what happens, but I am definitely positive," added Ricciardo.

From press release

The intense wheel-to-wheel action of Formula 1600 racing will be broadcast nationally by Move Motorsports and Fuel MediaLab.

Jason Sharpe of Move Motorsports (promoters of both the Toyo Tires F1600 Championship and Formula 1600 Super Series) and Joel Robinson of Fuel MediaLab (producers of the NASCAR Canadian Tire Series on TSN) have reached an agreement to produce a number of shows to be broadcast nationally during the 2014 season.

The broadcasts will cover a select number of events showcasing the entry-level formula to a large and passionate audience. It will include a high percentage of the on-track action but will also get behind the scenes in an effort to learn more about Canada's next wave of international racing superstars.


“Formula 1600 is the first step on the ladder to a career in racing,” said Jason Sharpe of Move Motorsports. “Half of our competitors are under the age of 18 and right out of karts. They are fearless and hungry for nothing other than victory. The other half have been doing this for years and their experience behind the wheel sometimes baffles the rookies and is the recipe for some epic battles. Canadians will be incredibly entertained by this show and as a bonus are getting the first look at the new breed of racing stars,” he added.

“In the twenty-five years I have been involved in televised auto racing, the Formula 1600 series has been one of the most exciting to watch,” said Joel Robinson of Fuel MediaLab. “It doesn't get better than seeing that group of thirty to thirty-five cars racing five-wide into turn one. I look forward to working with Jason and the team at Move Motorsports Management and showcasing this country's racing prospects to Canadian racing fans,” he added.

The events to be televised, network and broadcast schedule will be released early in the New Year.

Mazda has given a new lease on life to its rotary engine in the form of a Mazda2 hatchback reconfigured as an extended-range hybrid. The prototype runs as an electric vehicle, with an electric motor powering the wheels.

When hearing the term and#8220;luxury vehicle,and#8221; it's safe to say your mind doesn't automatically jump to phrases like and#8220;fuel-efficientand#8221; or and#8220;environmentally friendly.

Dealertrack Technologies, a leading provider of financial services software to auto dealers, has agreed to purchase digital-marketing giant Dealer.com for about $1 billion.

TI Automotive, the auto fuel-systems company owned by several hedge funds, is nearing a deal to sell itself to Bain Capital Partners for as much as $2 billion, people with knowledge of the matter said.

Ohio new-car dealers aren't giving up in their fight with Tesla.

Mercedes-Benz will build a long-wheelbase version of its new C-class sedan for China, as part of ambitious plans to roll out production of its biggest selling model across four continents in six months.

Shares in Martinrea International, Canada's third-largest auto parts maker by market value, slumped after it warned one of its factories had misreported net income over eight years and said earnings would be lower than forecast.

Archie Lewis relaxes in his recliner at the open entrance to his warehouse in Moriarty, N.M., on old Route 66. He has been collecting for 60 years.

A fire department in Southern California said a garage fire may have been caused by an overheated charging system in a Tesla

Fisker Automotive, the bankrupt electric-car maker, won't use a shuttered GM plant it bought in Delaware even if its new owner resumes production, Delaware Senator Tom Carper said today.

News 19 Dec, 2013

Lexus has revealed the second in a series of teaser images for the BMW M4-rivalling RC-F coupe

Ken Block's alter ego Mental Block is back for Snowkhana 2: the ultimate festive course. The stop-action, Christmas-themed clip features Mental Block in a mini Fiesta hoon vehicle, playing with a box full of Christmas toys.

Airstream 2 Go recently announced their rates and promotional programs for winter 2014, running from Nov. 22, 2013, through March 14, 2014. Travelers can rent the well-known Airstream trailers for 25 percent off.