Feast your eyes on this life-sized Ferrari SF70H made of Lego bricks

Ever wish to come across a life-sized F1 car made from Lego bricks? Well, the Danish brand that makes ends meet with plastic bricks has made your wish come true in the form of the Ferrari SF70H. Yep, it's the very same race car at the helm by Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel for this year's Formula One championship.

Following in the footsteps of the McLaren 720S, the 2017 Ferrari F1 car is built from 349,911 individual bricks as claimed from the video above. That's a far higher number compared to 280,000 required for the life-sized McLaren 720S.

Anyway, enjoy the video above showing the time-lapse build process of the Ferrari F1 race coming into being.

Video Credit: Lego  

One-off Ferrari SP 275 RW Competizione-F12 Berlinetta Chassis; F12 tdf Engine and Gearbox

Source: 350z33 via wikipedia CC BY-SA 4.0/ Cropped from original

One last hurrah before the arrival of 2017, Ferrari decided to roll out a homage model for their legendary 275 GTB model that left its mark from 1964 to 1968. Christened the SP 275 RW Competizione, you have to be one lucky chap to even stake your ownership claim because this homage model is limited to just...one unit. Yep, you heard it right. Only one up for grabs.

Since it's based on the V12-powered 275 GTB, it's fitting to have a V12 behemoth plonked under the hood. It's not just any V12 though, because the engine is directly taken from the lairy F12 tdf rather than from the F12 Berlinetta the chassis is based on. The upshot is a tasteful 770 hp and 705 Nm worth of naturally aspirated goodness. Sitting between the V12 and the rear wheels is the prancing horse proprietary F1 7 speed dual clutch transmission.

The yellow paint is reminiscent to the 275 GTB Ecurie Francorchamps that famously won the 1965 Le Mans GT Class. What sets apart the modern day adaptation from the Ecurie Francorchamps is the headlight and front fascia.

If you have the cash and appreciate its historic racing success, better grab your one and only chance to have your name written all over this car before someone else beat you to it! 

  

Ferrari 488 Challenge replaces Ferrari 458 Challenge EVO

Source: https://twitter.com/FerrariRaces/status/804846713454415872

Old cars will eventually be replaced by new cars. The same rule applies to race car. Meet the new Ferrari 488 Challenge, the successor to the outgoing 458 Challenge EVO in conjunction with the 25th anniversary since the inception of Ferrari's Challenge series in 1992. The new race car was presented during the Finali Mondiali which took place in Daytona, USA.

Unlike the 458 Challenge EVO, the 488 Challenge will introduce turbocharging for the first time in the brand's one-make race series. The engine is directly derived from the production car's 661 hp 3.9 litre twin turbo V8, which won the 2016 International Engine of the Year Award. Ferrari further enhanced the 488 Challenge's aero and chassis which, together with the engine's unique race-optimised engine mapping, smashed the 458 Challenge EVO's Fiorano lap record by a second, now standing at 1:15.5.

The gear ratio for the proprietary F1 dual clutch transmission has been shortened, which will see improvement in acceleration. Shorter gearing aside, the transmission also employs "racing shift strategy" which (whatever it means) enables a blistering 6 seconds acceleration from dead stop all the way to maximum rpm in 4th gear.  

The marque's Side Slip Angle Control system is making its debut in the Challenge series. The system works in conjunction with the traction control, electronic differential and adaptive damper to improve lateral acceleration. This should theoretically endow the 488 Challenge with competitive edge around bends.

Aerodynamic has also been given a good tweak. To improve air flow over the radiators and reduce drag during racing conditions, Ferrari revised the front radiator layout, inverting the rake so it's inclined towards the rear. The front bumper features more aggressive splitter and flicks for more downforce and equalise load between the front and rear. Hot air flow from the radiator is directed rearwards thanks to the triple vents and integrated flaps on the front bonnet. A large rear wing has been added to double the downforce generated.

Out goes the old car, in goes the new car with new goodies. Hope this will spice up the next season of the Ferrari's Challenge Series!

Information Source: http://races.ferrari.com/en/finalimondiali2016/news/ferrari-unveils-488-challenge-world-finals-daytona/

All Ferraris to be hybridised by 2019

Source: PSParrot via wikipedia CC BY 2.0

Think of hybrid, the first thing to cross our mind is a run-of-the-mill, family-carrying grocery getter, until full-fledged supercars such as Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder and BMW i8 burst into the scene. Thanks to growingly stringent emission rules, even supercars are not exempted from the wave of hybridisation (not even race cars such as the current F1 cars). Seeing the increasing trend in hybridisation, Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobile, sees it fit to hybridise all Ferraris by 2019.

Marchionne has set the aim for Ferrari to sell "in excess of 10,000 cars in 2025". To do that though, requires pairing up the engine with the electric motor to cut emission. 

Meeting low emission demand is surely not Ferrari's sole purpose of going hybrid, but to also bolster performance potential. The LaFerrari is so far the only Ferrari production car to use hybrid approach, by hooking up the 789 horsepower naturally-aspirated V12 to the 161 horsepower HY-KERS for a total output of 950 horsepower.

It is also rumoured that by 2020 the first mainstream Ferrari to receive hybrid power is the successor to the F12, as reported by Autocar.

With Ferrari planning to hybridise all models by 2019, will we see more supercar makers hybridising their entire model line-up? In my opinion, with the tightening emission regulation, it wouldn't be surprising to see the road filling up with hybrid supercars, seeing that passing the all-important emission test nowadays is every car's, supercar or not, raison d'etre.    

  

Ferrari 488 GTB

      

Source: roadandtrack.com

Listening to the Prancing Horse roaring past with atmospheric pressure, only to be met with different tone, a tone that may cringe the naturally aspirated engine enthusiasts. Yes folks, The Prancing Horse has gone the route that the world is currently heading to: the trend of downsizing engine and slapping on a (gasp!) turbocharger. Newer models such as the California T has gone the turbocharging route, making it the first turbocharged Ferrari since the scintillating 2.9L twin turbo V8 F40. Next to follow California T in the realm of force induction is the 458 replacement, the 488 GTB.

Yep, you heard it right. Ferrari essentially took the F136 4.5L V8 from the 458 and reduced its displacement to 3.9L, adding on twin turbo to claw back the power deficit. Hence you have the F154 3.9L twin turbo V8 that makes 661 horsepower and 760 Nm of torque. Its predecessor made 562 horsepower on the Italia and 597 horsepower on the Speciale, and 540 Nm of torque, an increase in 99 horsepower (up by 64 horsepower from the Speciale) and 220 Nm of torque! 

The trend of using a small displacement engine and slapping on a turbo has enabled manufacturers to meet tough emission requirement while sustaining respectable power output. Top Gear compared the fuel economy and CO2 emission figure between the 488 GTB and the 2004 Ferrari 430. The former net 25 mpg and emit 260 g/km of CO2, while the latter net 18 mpg and 345 g/km of CO2. The effect of turbocharging on power is obvious but how does it contribute to lower fuel consumption and CO2 emission? 

In general, smaller engines are more efficient than larger engines due to lower internal friction from lower cylinder count and less inertial forces (shorter piston stroke and smaller piston). With that in mind, more of the power extracted from the burned air-fuel mixture is converted into useful energy to get the car down the road instead of being wasted as heat. Therefore, less fuel can be theoretically burned to make the same power. Also with less fuel burned, less CO2 is ejected down the exhaust pipe. In light of tighter emission, automakers are forced to downsize the engine which in general comes at the expense of power. In response, manufacturers slap on turbochargers to bring up the power figure.

Source: carscoops.com

Source: carscoops.com

Now, if you're interested in the specifics, the 488 GTB is powered by Ferrari's F154 3.9L twin turbo direct injected flat-plane V8 mid-mounted engine, channeling its raw power to the rear wheels. The turbo is a twin scroll type from IHI to ensure smooth exhaust flow and cut turbo lag. Also, the turbo's compressor wheel is made of titanium-aluminium alloy to further cut lag, and spins on ball bearing shaft to further cut lag and reduce friction. Lubrication will be taken care of by an all-aluminium dry sump, while keeping the turbocharged air cool are 2 air-to-air intercooler. 

Paired up to the V8 is a 7 speed dual clutch transmission sourced from Getrag. 

Stopping task is taken care of by carbon ceramic brakes with 398mm front disc and 360mm rear disc, surrounded by 5-spoke 20" alloy wheels with 245/35 tyres up front and 305/30 tyres at the rear. 

Handling also receives further boost, thanks to SSC2 (Side Slipangle Control 2), an enhanced version of the clever SSC introduced on the 458 Speciale, that combines F1-Trac (Traction Control) and E-Diff (Electronic Differential) with the adaptive magnetic damper to make a drift hero out of Joe Schmoe. 

Further boosting its handling is the aerodynamics. In between the 2 large lower air intakes (see the top picture) are Ferrari's so-called 'Aero Pillar' that directs air underneath the car to lower the pressure underneath, which helps boost downforce. At the rear, downforce is further increased thanks to the diffuser with active flaps that precisely adapt the diffuser's ramp angle in response to changes in speed.

In case if you are interested in buying this beast, Naza Italia, Ferrari's distributor in Malaysia, has launched it since last month at a base price of RM1,068,800 (excluding taxes and optional features).