Low Miles! + F1 + Challenge Grill + Scuderia Shields + Modular Whls + Yllw Cals on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Robert De Niro cast as Enzo Ferrari in new film

In one of Robert De Niro's early defining roles, he portrays a young Vito Corleone as a man climbing up the ranks of the New York underworld in flashbacks during The Godfather: Part II. Soon, we might see De Niro stepping into the shoes of a godfather from the Italian sports car industry in a biopic about Enzo Ferrari. According to The Guardian, De Niro recently told an Italian newspaper that the film would go into production soon and would shoot in Italy. This project apparently holds a high priority for him, and in addition to starring, De Niro's company is co-producing. It could be a while before we see the film in theaters because the script is still being written. We're also told that Clint Eastwood might sit in the director's chair, if he likes the story. Ferrari had a life every bit as fascinating as many fictional characters with stints as a racecar driver, an engineer and of course a canny businessman. He also held a long passion for motorsports, which could make for some very exciting scenes. According to The Guardian, the film would focus on Ferrari's life from around the founding of his sportscar company in the mid '40s through to his death in the late '80s. With characters like Jake Lamotta in Raging Bull and Sam Rothstein in Casino under his belt, De Niro certainly has shown the chops to portray a larger-than-life figure like Ferrari. Hopefully, he has retained the clout to get the film finished, though. Similar motorsports biographies haven't made it to the screen, such as the supposed Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise flick Go Like Hell or the Mad Men-inspired TV show about sports car racing in the '50s and '60s. Related Video:

The SP275 RW Competizione is the latest one-off from Ferrari

They say money can't buy happiness, but I disagree. I'd be very happy if I had enough cash to have Ferrari's Special Projects team build me a bespoke variant of any one of its current crop of cars. The group's latest creation, the SP275 RW Competizione you see here, was shown for the first time at the year-ending Finali Mondiali event at Daytona International Speedway. Details are scarce, but the 275SP appears to be based on the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta in either standard or TdF guise. (The F12 TdF debuted at last year's Finali Mondiali.) Based on design elements like the louvers behind the wheels, it seems likely that the new model started as a TdF. That means special touches like a front-mid-mounted 769-horsepower V12 and rear-wheel steering. It also means a 0–60 mph time of 2.9 seconds. It's difficult to say how much the 275SP weighs, though the F12 TdF is about 240 pounds lighter than the standard F12 Berlinetta. Looks are subjective, so you'll have to decide for yourself whether the new styling queues, like a redesigned front fascia, hood, doors, and glass, are an improvement. It's unlikely you'll find this particular shade of gold on another Ferrari. To my eyes, it looks like the Solarbeam Yellow hue that's available on the Mercedes-AMG GT for $9,900. The takeaway should be that if you have the means, Ferrari Special projects will build whatever you want. Look to the F12 TRS or the F12 SP America for more examples. Money may not buy happiness directly, but it will sure as hell buy you a nice Ferrari. Related Video: Featured Gallery Ferrari SP275 RW Competizione View 16 Photos Image Credit: Copyright 2016 Drew Phillips / Autoblog Design/Style Ferrari Coupe Supercars ferrari f12 berlinetta ferrari f12 ferrari f12 tdf

2015 Belgian Grand Prix is a return to scheduled programming

With summer intermission over, the second half of the Formula One season commenced in the Belgian countryside at Spa-Francorchamps. After qualifying, it looked a lot like the first half of the season with just a few minor changes. Lewis Hamilton was even more dominant in his Mercedes-AMG Petronas than usual, regularly taking half a second out of his teammate in just the middle sector of the circuit. Teammate Nico Rosberg tightened it up a tad for his final hot lap, but Hamilton still took pole by 0.45 seconds ahead of Rosberg in second. With his Williams back at a power track, Valtteri Bottas got himself up to third, although more than a second behind Hamilton. Romain Grosjean in the Lotus in fourth had his best qualifying performance since his fourth-place grid spot at the 2013 US Grand Prix. This was a huge boon for Lotus, the team facing another financial issue off track that threatened to have its cars impounded as soon as they left the circuit. Grosjean had to have his gearbox changed before the conclusion of six races, however, so the five-spot penalty meant he'd actually line up ninth for the race. Sergio Perez put the Sahara Force India in fifth, where we're more used to seeing his teammate Nico Hulkenberg, just ahead of Daniel Ricciardo in the Infiniti Red Bull Racing in sixth. Felipe Massa got the second Williams in seventh, in front of the second Lotus of Pastor Maldonado in eighth. Then came the first and only Ferrari in the top ten, Sebastian Vettel qualifying ninth after a disappointing Saturday for the scuderia; teammate Kimi Raikkonen suffered gearbox issues and qualified way down in 16th. Carlos Sainz took tenth in the Toro Rosso. A new start procedure in Belgium meant drivers had to handle clutches on their own, without the engineers finely tuning bite points between the garage and the start line. That was in conjunction with another rule limiting the kinds of radio messages possible between engineers and drivers, aiming to put more of the car in the drivers' hands. After an aborted start when Hulkenberg's car quit while sitting on the grid, Hamilton made the most of the new procedure. His start wasn't amazing but he beat everyone else off the line, while those behind were alternately getting bogged down or leaping ahead. Midway through the first lap the top ten was Hamilton, Perez, Ricciardo, Bottas, Rosberg, Vettel, Maldonado, Grosjean, Massa, Marcus Ericsson. At the end of 43 laps, Hamilton would still be in the lead.