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Historic race cars highlight the RM Sotheby's 2023 Le Mans sale

Auction house RM Sotheby's is celebrating 100 years of the 24 Hours of Le Mans by organizing a big sale on the day before the race. The cars scheduled to cross the auction block have all spent time on the track, and the catalog shows how racers have evolved since the 1930s. Browsing through RM's auction catalog is like taking a five-minute course in the history of racing. The oldest car is a 1932 Aston Martin Le Mans 'LM8' that's had a remarkable life. It was developed and built for competition and entered in the 1932 24 Hours of Le Mans by the Aston Martin factory team, where it finished seventh. It was ultimately sold to a private owner but it survived, which shouldn't be taken for granted: teams often destroyed obsolete race cars, and the list of special vehicles that didn't survive World War II is longer than you'd think. Paul Sykes bought the car in 1955 and used it as his daily driver. Imagine walking out of a shop in a British village in the 1960s and finding a 1932 race car parked next to your Mini. Sykes ultimately bought another daily driver, but he kept the Aston Martin for a total of 55 years. The second-oldest car is a 1936 Delahaye 135 S with a body by coach builder Pourtout. RM notes that this is one of the most significant pre-war competition Delahaye models and adds that it finished second in the 1938 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It continued racing until 1956 and then spent several decades hidden in storage. It was fully restored in 2005, and it's now eligible to compete in historic races such as the Mille Miglia and the Le Mans Classic. Restoring it was easier said than done: the car was rebodied twice before being tucked away. None of the cars crossing the block were built in the 1940s, so we skip ahead to the 1950s with a 1954 OSCA MT4 by Morelli. It's one of 72 built, according to RM, and only 19 of those were fitted with the twin-cam, 1.5-liter 2AD engine. It raced at Le Mans in 1954 but ended up disqualified following an accident. Another highlight from the 1950s is a 1958 Lister-Jaguar 'Knobbly' finished in yellow and green. We said that all of the cars crossing the block have spent time on the track, but that doesn't mean they were built to race. The 1963 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 Series III is a street-legal model, yet it's included in the auction because it was used as a safety car during the 1963 edition of the race.

Ferrari developing V-twin motorcycle engine?

When we read reports that Ferrari had applied for a patent on a V-twin engine design, our first thought was to check the date: this says the first of October, right... not April? And so here we are, entertaining the notion that Ferrari could be developing a motorcycle engine.
The report comes from Autocar, which claims to have dug up the application to patent the design for an "internal combustion engine having two cylinders, which are arranged in a 'V' configuration." In other words, a motorcycle engine. The application reportedly goes on to describe a balancing shafts to reduce vibration. Our own research did not lead us to find the application in question, so we'll have to take it with a grain of salt for the moment. But supposing it's all on the up and up, and that Ferrari was actually developing a motorcycle engine. Would that be so out of the ordinary?
Well, yes and no. Parent company Fiat, which is taking increased direct control of Ferrari, is undoubtedly looking at rival Volkswagen and its recent acquisition of Ducati (putting it in close proximity to Lamborghini) and would be keen to get in on that action. However tenuous the relationship, Lotus has also recently authorized a motorcycle bearing its name. And of course automakers like BMW and Honda, with which Ferrari has competed on and off the race track, also make motorcycles.

Ferrari threatens to quit F1 over new engine regulations

This past week, the FIA and Liberty Media, the group that currently owns F1, announced a plan to shake up the sport's engine regulations in 2021. The new rules are intended to make things a bit more exciting, though not everyone seems to be on board. Ferrari and FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne fired back, saying that the Italian automaker isn't interested in staying if the regulations stray too far from their current course. According to Bloomberg, Marchionne said that Ferrari will only stay if there is "a set of circumstances, the results of which are beneficial for the maintenance of the brand in the marketplace and for strengthening the unique position of Ferrari." Ferrari occupies a special and unique place in the sport. It's the only team to have competed in the sport since it officially became Formula 1 back in 1950. The team even has certain veto powers not granted to any other team. No other team has more wins or more championships. It could be argued that F1 needs Ferrari more than Ferrari needs F1. If this all sounds familiar, that's because it is. It seems that every time the rules get changed, Ferrari throws up its hands and threatens to walk if things don't go its way. It may sound like whining, but Ferrari has a point. Part of what makes F1 special and different from sports like IndyCar and NASCAR is that each team builds its own cars from the ground up. Ferrari actually agrees with the cost-cutting measures but is opposed to any changes that take away from "powertrain uniqueness." Basically, Ferrari want each engine and hybrid unit to be unique. In the end, Ferrari is more likely than not to stay in F1. The team's bosses will use their weight to sway things in a direction that benefits them because they believe what's good for Ferrari is good for the sport. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Getty Motorsports Ferrari F1 scuderia ferrari