Automotive records can be funny things. While everyone seems to be interested in knowing what vehicle is the quickest, fastest, most expensive or rarest, there always seems to be plenty of dissent when one automaker claims its product takes the coveted prize away from another. Such is the case with the Ultima GTR720.
There's no doubting that both the Ferrari FXX and the Ultima GTR are fast cars. Which car is actually faster around a race track, though, is currently up for debate. The track in question is the Dunsfold aerodrome circuit, better known to many as the Top Gear test track. Not long ago, the crew from TG invited one Stig impersonator by the name of Michael Schumacher in the super high-test Ferrari racer to take a lap around its circuit, and the tame racing driver managed to set a new record at one minute 10.7 seconds.
Here's where the mine-is-bigger-than-yours part comes in. Ultima reportedly contacted Top Gear to let them know its car could go 'round the track faster than the aforementioned Prancing Horse, but the show apparently never responded. Taking matters into its own hands, then, Ultima borrowed the track for itself and is claiming to have completed a lap in one minute 9.9 seconds – less than one full tick quicker than the Ferrari, but quicker nonetheless. Plus, Ultima says, the GTR720 was both cheaper and fully road legal while the £1 million FXX is a track-only proposition.
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The Ferrari 430 Scuderia is already one of the hottest-performing supercars on the market, but some people just don't know how to leave well enough alone. Some of those people work at Ferrari, who've worked tirelessly on the 458 Italia to supplant the 430's already legendary performance. And some of those people work for Novitec Rosso, who've come back yet again with another mod job for the Italian stallion.
Called the Edizione 747, the custom Scuderia may not be as big as a jumbo jet, but it packs nearly as much thrust. Strapping a pair of superchargers to that high-revving 4.3-liter V8, along with a few more tweaks here and there, brings output up from an impressive 510 horses to a bonkers 747 horsepower. Intercoolers and revised aerodynamic cooling keep the engine running cool. Twenty-inch NF3 rims wear Michelin Pilot Sport Cup rubber mounted to sport springs that drop the ride height by a further 30 milimeters, available with an adjustable front end that can lift 40 mm to clear curbs and speed bumps at the touch of a button. Novitec's also decked out this particular example with a two-tone yellow and matte black paint scheme, and given the interior a few mods to complete the package.
Novitec says the 747 is capable of reaching 218 MPH, about 20 more than stock, and hitting 62 MPH in 3.4 seconds – only a touch quicker than stock, which just goes to show there's a limit to what even steamroller rear tires can handle. Novitec will only be making three examples, which just may be enough to keep a few moneyed speed freaks busy until the new 458 Italia comes around, and then it starts all over again.
To paraphrase the great Mark Twain, rumors of A1GP's death been greatly exaggerated. Or at least that's the way it appeared a couple of weeks ago when the self-styled World Cup of Motorsport announced a 19-strong entry list for its season opener at Surfers Paradise on Australia's Gold Coast, scheduled for October 25.
The international open-wheel racing series has been teetering on the brink of collapse for several months now. The spec racer developed for the series by Ferrari had to go back to the drawing board several times, with the FIA most recently deeming the cars unfit to race and reportedly ordering significant modifications that series organizers were incapable of carrying out before the opening round of the 2009-10 season.
Technical issues aside, however, A1GP appears to be in serious financial difficulties. Following earlier reports that the series had gone into bankruptcy, the latest word is that the organizers owe money all over, now resulting in the logistics company contracted to ship the cars to races around the world holding the cars as ransom for payment, while Ferrari has reportedly demanded the series return the engines it ordered due to lack of payment. Whatever the problem, A1GP has had to cancel the race in Surfers Paradise, but insists that the remainder of the off-season season is still a go. We'll just have to sit tight and see if they can sort out their financial and technical problems before they have to cancel the second round in China, currently scheduled for November 15.
There was a time when shifting your own gears meant you had to drive with both feet, but in the age of high-tech automatics, that's no longer the case. Over the years, F1-style gearboxes has evolved and -- in most cases -- proven to be faster and more efficient than a manual, with far less physical labor.
Ferrari's recent lineup is chock full of auto 'boxes, and one F430 Challenge owner who frequents the track finally got fed-up with the teasing from his manual shifting brethren and decided to poke back at those who call his Maranello masterpiece the Ferraromatic. Hit the jump to watch all the things you can do in a self-shifting Fezza, including knitting, texting and wine tasting (simulated). Sure, it's all a clever ruse (a few inconsistencies with steering angle spoil the illusion), but it's damn funny all the same.
From his brief tenure at McLaren, we know that Fernando Alonso has a bit of trouble getting along with his teammates. Especially when he doesn't get the clear preferential treatment as the team's #1 driver. After all, as has often been said, a driver's teammate is his chief rival. So after Ferrari confirmed that Alonso and Felipe Massa would be put on equal footing, we smelled some trouble a-brewin'. But we didn't expect it to start at least until the beginning of next season. Turns out, that was a bit premature, as some cracks in the relationship between the two teammates-to-be have already started to show.
Speaking with a group of journalists in his native Brazil where the F1 circus is preparing for this weekend's grand prix, Felipe Massa said with "absolute certainty" that Alonso knew about the plan to have wingman Nelson Piquet crash to hand him the controversial victory. That's a pretty hefty charge levied by his future teammate, and Ferrari naturally scrambled to issue a clarification (which you can read after the jump) but you can't take back what's already been said.
Massa was suitably – and vocally – upset when the Crashgate story broke, because without Alonso's ill-earned victory, Massa would have won the championship last year, instead of losing to Lewis Hamilton by one point at the last corner of the last lap of the last race of the season. Better luck next year, gents.
If you checked out the images we posted of Felipe Massa's return to Maranello, you may have spotted the returning Brazilian driver chatting with one Jean Alesi and wondered what he was doing there.
The French driver raced for the Scuderia from 1991 through 1995, scoring a handful of podiums and a solitary grand prix victory in Montreal. Along with longtime team-mate Gerhard Berger, Alesi switched places with Michael Schumacher to Benetton-Renault in 1996, then bounced between a few other teams before retiring from Formula One at the end of 2001. Since then he's been competing in DTM and then headlined the new Speedcar Series.
With the ill-fated Asian stock car series now deceased, however, the racing world has been wondering what the retired F1 driver would try his hand at next, and on Tuesday they got their hint when Alesi showed up at Fiorano to test the Ferrari F430 GT2. Alesi's slated to race for AF Corse, the team run by Amato Ferrari, who shares strong ties with both Maranello and Maserati but no direct familial relation despite the common name.
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![Felipe Massa comes home to Maranello, meets the new 458 Italia, laps Fiorano, smiles for fans [w/VIDEO]](http://www.niot.net/blog-images/felipe-massa-comes-home-to-maranello-meets-the-new-458-italia.jpg)
It doesn't seem like it's been that long, but for Felipe Massa, it must feel like it's been an eternity since he's been up to speed. The Brazilian Formula One driver hasn't been at work since July when he suffered a major blow to the head from some flying debris at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
A lot has happened since then: his mentor and former team-mate Michael Schumacher prepared for a comeback and then had to cancel it due to health concerns of his own, the Scuderia promoted test driver Luca Badoer for a couple of races before sending him home, and then Maranello hired Giancarlo Fisichella to fill in and stay on as a reserve driver for the future. Then they picked up Fernando Alonso to be Massa's wingman next year, and somewhere in the middle of it all, Ferrari launched its first all-new mid-engine production car in a decade. (Not to mention the new engine chief they hired, the senior executive they lost or the new designer who is said to be taking over).
Now, after his prolonged absence, Massa has returned home to Maranello for the first time since the crash. He got some practice time in the simulator before hitting the track in a privately-owned, retired F2007 with GP2 tires to reacquaint himself with his craft. And while he was at it, he stopped by the production line to check out the new 458 Italia.
The new Ferrari 458 Italia isn't even out on the street yet, but already the automotive rumormill is churning out speculation over a potential Scuderia version. When outlining the roll-out of upcoming Ferrari models for the near future, Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa dismissed any such speculation as premature, but that's not going to stop some. Hence the rendering you see above, courtesy of user DJ at Teamspeed.com.
Since this can of worms has already been opened, the first thing we can say is that, while Maranello will in all likelihood produce a lightweight, slightly more powerful version of the new 458, it's probably several years away. The Italia is already expected to eclipse any previous benchmarks set by previous "volume" Ferrari road cars. And when it does, it almost certainly will not be called Scuderia – based on the 360 Challenge Stradale and the 430 Scuderia, it appears Maranello's keen on changing up the naming scheme with each new model. One board member suggested 458 Tifoso in tribute to Prancing Horse's dedicated legions of fans, but whatever name Ferrari decides on, and whenever it makes its way into the limelight, expect the supercar to drop a little weight, gain a little power and wipe the smirk off of any competitor's mug.
Ferrari just announced that injured driver Felipe Massa could be back in the saddle as early as Monday. Massa hasn't been in an F1 car since July's Hungarian Grand Prix, when a spring from another car flew up and hit him above his eye, fracturing his skull.
The first time he has even been back on track was last week when he took the wheel of a kart. Because of testing bans in place this season in F1, Massa can't drive the current car he was running until Hungary. As he gets back up to speed, the FIA has granted him permission to drive a 2007-spec car fitted with GP2 tires.
Massa has also spent time on Ferrari's racing simulator. Word has it he's already mastered Barcelona and is working hard at beating the Interlagos circuit now. Before taking the wheel of the 2007 car, he still needs to pass an examination, but once he's cleared, he could be on track in Italy by Monday. This will be testing only as the driver isn't expected to compete for Ferrari any more this season.
Dreaming of getting your hands on Ferrari's upcoming 458 Italia? You'd better know what you're getting yourself into, and this is our first real indication. Stemming from a supposedly leaked price sheet, the new V8 supercar will start in Europe at €162,900, before any taxes are taken into account. At today's exchange rates, that figures to about $240,000 – around halfway between the price of the outgoing F430 and the 430 Scuderia.
Of course, that's not an official figure – Ferrari North America has yet to confirm pricing for the U.S. market – and the long list of options amply demonstrates that the $240k starting price is exactly that: a starting price. On to that you can add leather everything, special paint finishes, upgraded wheels and more – most if not all of which you can already check out in the online configurator we reported on recently.
