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Ferrari to reveal California-based 149M on February 12

The updated, turbocharged Ferrari California might be the Prancing Horse's worst-kept secret ever. The long-rumored car was spotted testing last summer at the Italian dreammaker's Fiorano test track with the unmistakable whistle of a forced-induction engine, and Ferrari is now teasing the reveal of its "149M Project" on February 12. Because that the original codename for the California was the F149, the new car is almost certainly the refreshed version.
The exact engine under the hood is still a mystery, but it is rumored to be a tuned version of the 3.8-liter, twin-turbocharged V8 found in the Maserati Quattroporte with 523 horsepower and 524 pound-feet of torque, an engine that is already a significant upgrade over the 483 hp and 372 lb-ft in the current California. Other reported upgrades suggest there is the possibility of revised exterior pieces to make the new model look more like the F12 Berlinetta, along with an improved interior featuring a more modern infotainment system. As expected, Ferrari has no plans to drop the California's retracting hardtop for the updated model.
While Ferrari will debut the new car on February 12, the public will probably not get its first chance to check out the brand's entry-level sports car until the Geneva Motor Show in March.

Hamilton wins in Singapore as Vettel crashes out from pole

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Lewis Hamilton took a huge stride toward his fourth Formula One title on Sunday by winning an incident-packed Singapore Grand Prix after Ferrari title rival Sebastian Vettel crashed out at the start. The Mercedes driver now has a 28-point cushion over the German with six of the 20 races remaining. Red Bull's Daniel Ricciardo, who also emerged from the opening lap carnage unscathed, was second for the third year in a row with Finland's Valtteri Bottas completing the podium for Mercedes. "God blessed me today for sure," said Hamilton, who set a lap record on his way to a third win in a row, as he spoke from the podium on a night where everything fell into his lap. "I came here today really thinking it was about damage limitation, and we've come out ahead. So I'm very grateful," he said later. "To come to a track that was potentially our weakest circuit, and come away with a win like this and those points, it's really such a fortunate scenario... so I definitely have a skip in my step." The Briton cashed in after Vettel, Ferrari team mate Kimi Raikkonen and Red Bull's front row contender Max Verstappen smashed into each other as they raced off the wet starting grid and into the first corner. Raikkonen had made a storming start from fourth, Vettel a less impressive one from pole position while Verstappen went for the middle ground and was caught in a Ferrari sandwich as they converged. The stewards summoned all three and decided no driver was predominantly to blame. BITTER BLOW The first race to be hit by rain in the decade that Singapore has hosted Formula One had started in treacherous conditions, puddles gleaming in the floodlights, after a formation lap behind the safety car. With Hamilton starting fifth, everything looked set for Vettel to retake the overall lead that he had surrendered only two weeks earlier at Monza in Italy. And then it all went wrong, the collision with Raikkonen punching a hole in the side of Vettel's car before he spun into the wall at turn three. "It's bitter but it's done," said the German, a four times Singapore GP winner, whose retirement ended a run of 18 successive points finishes and left him with a mountain to climb. "Championship-wise it's a big step forward," recognized Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff. "The quickest car and the quickest driver were out within a minute into the race and that can happen all the time.

Barrett-Jackson 2014: Michael Schumacher's 1998 Ferrari F300 earns round of applause, $1.7M bid [w/video]

There isn't much in the world that can aurally match the screeching wail of a Formula 1 car at redline. We obviously can't say whether or not the showmanship of starting this 1998 Ferrari F300 in front of the assembled masses at Barrett-Jackson and slowly taking it up to its 18,000-rpm redline had any effect on bidders, but it did, at the very least, result in a round of applause.
This '98 Ferrari F300 was driven 38 times by Michael Schumacher, and there was another round of applause for the driver, who's currently in a medically induced coma and listed in stable condition after a skiing accident. This particular example is number three of nine total built for the '98 season. Power comes from a 3.0-liter V10 engine producing 805 horsepower at 17,500 rpm.
After it was all said and done, bidding ended at $1.7 million (plus another 10 percent in fees). Check out our live images from the auction floor above, and scroll down below for a spine-tinglingly loud auction video and to read its official description.