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Rough seas delay salvage operation for burning ship carrying luxury cars

LISBON — Rough waters forced authorities on Wednesday to postpone a salvage operation for a ship packed with luxury cars that have been on fire for a week in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, a port official said. With teams unable to board the Felicity Ace, heavy tug boats sprayed water to cool the vessel, which is carrying around 4,000 vehicles, including Porsches, Audis, Lamborghinis and Bentleys. Lamborghini of America CEO Andrea Baldi told Automotive News that there were dozens of pre-sold Lamborghinis aboard, mostly the Urus SUV. But also some Huracans and Aventadors, the latter of which have ceased production. The ship's 22 crew members were evacuated last Wednesday, the day the fire began. Some of the vehicles are electric, and their lithium-ion batteries have made the fire very difficult to extinguish, port officials have said. Joao Mendes Cabecas, the captain of the nearest port on the Azorean island of Faial, said the blaze had lost its intensity — probably because there was little left to burn. Salvage teams hoped to board the ship, which is is adrift around 170 km southwest of the Azores near Portugal, to assess its condition and start preparing it for towing, the Portuguese navy said in a statement on Tuesday. The navy took photos of the ship that showed a gaping hole at least four decks high, with burn marks running the length of the ship. It is unclear if the vessel will be towed to the Bahamas or Europe. Cabecas told Reuters bad weather prevented the team from boarding the ship. Waves as high as 2.5 meters battered the coast of Faial on Wednesday, Portugal's weather agency IPMA said. The salvage team was expected to be flown to the ship on a helicopter belonging to the Portuguese air force, which will decide on Thursday if the operation can proceed, Cabecas said. Ship manager Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd (MOL) said in a statement on Tuesday the vessel was still on fire but stable, and that no oil leak had been reported so far. It did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the cause of the fire. Insurance experts said the incident could result in losses of $155 million.   Weird Car News Audi Bentley Lamborghini Porsche

Watch a Group B Porsche 911 tear up the 'Ring in the snow

The Nurburgring is a motorsports fantasyland during the best weather, but it looks even more exciting when the snow starts to fall. While the course isn't open to the general public during the winter, this Porsche 911 SC RS rally car managed a lap of the snow-covered Grand Prix Circuit, sliding the whole way around. The 911 SC RS isn't as famous as Porsche racers like the 917, but it has an interesting story. Porsche's development of the 959 was slow in the '80s, and this coupe was the company's stopgap for Group B rallying. The SC RS used the 911 Turbo's wider body, suspension, and brakes, but the car had a naturally aspirated 3.0-liter flat-six to drive the rear wheels. It couldn't compete against all-wheel drive beasts like the Audi Quattro, but one managed third place in the 1985 Tour de Corse in France. The SC RS sounds great in this video, and it looks even better kicking up snow. There's so much accumulation that you can't tell which way the track goes, but driver Patrick Simon knows his way around. After watching this clip, we think the 'Ring should unleash a few more old rally cars on the track for a new racing series next winter.

1973 Porsche 911 Carrera RS takes center stage with Petrolicious

Today, one of the most exciting track toys available is the Porsche 911 GT3. Its forbearer, though, was an altogether different beast that was every bit as exciting. Yes, we're talking about the old 911 Carrera RS that blessed the early 1970s. With a mere 1,580 cars built, meant specifically to satisfy the FIA's homologation requirements, the RS is one rare pre-Malaise era cars.
Complete with a 2.7-liter flat-six engine, this RS of Mark Haddawy is one of the earlier examples of the breed (later cars received a larger, 3.0-liter engine). Still, it can scamper to 60 miles per hour in a very respectable 5.6 seconds and will happily hit 150 mph in a straight line. Sporting Porsche's iconic duckbill rear spoiler, the equally iconic Fuchs wheels, as well as slew of options, as Haddawy points out, each of the nearly 1,600 RS models is its own unique iteration on the Porsche performance formula.
Take a look below for the latest video from the crew at Petrolicious.