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Performance cars old and new are headed to auction at Las Vegas Grand Prix

Auction house RM Sotheby's is hosting a sale ahead of the 2023 Las Vegas Formula One Grand Prix, and most of the lots that will cross the block were designed with performance in mind. Whether you want a supercar or a Formula One car, there's a chance you'll find it in Sin City. One of the highlights from the sale in terms of rarity and price is the Mercedes-AMG Petronas W04 that Lewis Hamilton drove in the 2013 F1 season. Assigned chassis number F1W04-04, it's the team's last car powered by a naturally-aspirated V8 engine, and you're on the wrong track if you're thinking of the 4.0-liter unit that powers AMG's road cars. The engine in question is a 2.4-liter unit that develops 750 horsepower and is capable of revving to a screaming 18,000 rpm. The KERS system injects 80 additional horses into the driveline. Hamilton drove F1W04-04 in 14 of the 2013 season's 19 races, and he won that year's Hungarian Grand Prix in the car. RM Sotheby's notes that F1W04-04 is "the sole example to be sold outside of the Mercedes-Benz organization," which explains why it expects the car will sell for anywhere between $10 million and $15 million excluding the buyer's fee and a 2.5% import duty that applies to American residents. That's a lot of money, but modern Formula One cars rarely come up for sale. Several other cars are expected to sell above the $1 million mark, including a 1999 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR ($8 million to $9 million), a 1988 Porsche 959 Komfort ($1,650,000 to $1,850,000), and a 1996 Bugatti EB110 Super Sport ($2,500,000 to $3,250,000). The 1990 Ferrari F40 GT (one of 21 units built) could bring up to $4 million. You can take home a rare, high-end classic even if you cap your budget at $1 million. How about a 1984 Lamborghini Countach 5000 S that was delivered new to Ralph Lauren and that has been in the hands of its second owner since 1986? RM expects the coupe will sell for up to $900,000. The auction house is also giving enthusiasts two distinctly different ways to spend a six-digit sum on a 30-something-year-old Mercedes-Benz. There's a 1990 190E 2.5-16 Evolution with about 3,400 original miles that could fetch up to $700,000. That's a lot to pay for a W201, but this isn't a run-of-the-mill Baby Benz: It's one of 502 examples built for homologation purposes. Alternatively, the 1989 560SEC AMG 6.0 Wide-Body could sell for up to $900,000. It's one of the most emblematic cars designed by AMG before it joined Mercedes-Benz.

A spotter's guide to Super Bowl LIV car commercials

Set to kick off on Fox at 6:30 ET on Sunday, February 2, from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, the big game will feature the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers. Throughout Super Bowl LIV, viewers will see about 50 commercials, each of which costs as much as $5.6 million per 30 seconds, according to AdWeek. Originally, there were more than 77 ad slots, so several companies could be paying well more than $10 million for a single, longer commercial. Numerous car companies have already announced their commercials, or their intentions to show commercials, during the game. Here's a roundup of the ones we know about so far. During the game on Sunday, we'll be livestreaming and adding links to the new commercials as they become available, so check back with us for that post.  Audi: E-Tron Sportback Maisie Williams has experience wearing many faces, and in Audi's Super Bowl commercial, she does her best Elsa impression. In the spot, titled "Let It Go," Williams faces the rigorous task of getting through L.A. traffic, but she's alleviated by the comfort of the Audi E-Tron Sportback electric crossover. The commercial is meant to signal the company leaving its gas past behind and moving forward to a sustainable future.  Genesis: GV80 Genesis makes its Super Bowl debut with a commercial that will show its all-new SUV, the GV80, to viewers around the world (many of which will be seeing the vehicle for the first time). The ad features Chrissy Teigen and John Legend as the purveyors of "new luxury," while "old luxury" is left for the birds. GMC: Hummer General Motors is bringing back the Hummer nameplate as a premium electric GMC truck. GM says it will have 1,000 horsepower and will be capable of going zero to 60 mph in three seconds. GM brought in NBA legend and Hummer fanboy LeBron James for the debut commercial. Hyundai: Sonata Hyundai is known for bringing in the big-time celebrities for its commercials, and 2020 is no different. A new advertisement called "Smaht Pahk" features John Krasinski, Chris Evans, and Rachel Dratch, all three of whom are from the Boston area. The trio gets into full character as they discuss the new high-tech parking feature on the redesigned 2020 Hyundai Sonata, and David Ortiz makes a cameo at the end. Even when New England isn't in the Super Bowl, New England is in the Super Bowl.

Porsche to expand range, Ferrari fighter a possibility

Porsche has something new on the way; not just the Cayman GT4 or 911 GT3 RS from the 2015 Geneva Motor Show, but a completely different, seventh model line. Unfortunately, the company is keeping mum about what exactly it has on the way. Porsche chairman Matthias Muller (pictured above) snuck the announcement into his speech during the brand's recent press conference. "For example, in the not too distant future we will present a seventh model series. But I am not yet able to tell you exactly when this will happen. There are already promising plans, but no board decision yet." Separately, Muller also indicated that the brand didn't want to set targets too far beyond 2018, which hints when this new vehicle might be unveiled. To lend one more possible clue, the boss said, "the high-speed high-tech laboratory of the 919 Hybrid will benefit all our future vehicles." With the absence of any more facts, speculation is filling the vacuum. Bloomberg posits that this could be Porsche's rumored competitors against Ferrari or Tesla. An electric model is rumored for 2019 with up to 600 horsepower and 300-mile range. "Tesla has built an exceptional car," Muller said, according to Bloomberg. "They have a very pragmatic approach and set the standard, where we have to follow up now." The model could also be the once-confirmed and reportedly-canceled Ferrari challenger to slot between the top 560-hp 911 Turbo S and sold-out, 887-hp 918 Spyder. There is a hole in the lineup in that niche with the latest Ferrari 488 GTB making 661 hp. Of course, there's also the already-spied Pajun four-door as yet another possibility. It's also rumored to hit the market in 2019. Although, some speculation postulates that that this smaller vehicle and the Tesla competitor are actually the same thing. Show full PR text Matthias Muller ? Annual Press Conference 2015 ? March 13, 2015 Ladies and gentlemen, After looking at business year 2014 in detail, I would now like to put my focus on 2015 and the medium-term future. The new business year started extremely well for Porsche. We were able to follow up on the success of the previous year with good delivery figures. By the end of February, we had already delivered 31,000 new vehicles to our customers worldwide. This is approximately a third more than the first two months of 2014. These figures are particularly pleasing because the global environment has not improved and is anything but easy.