Ecclestone wonders if F1's upcoming turbo V6s should get augmented sound [w/videos]

While every team on the Formula One grid is worried about making a good showing in this year's championship at the same time as they develop a brand-new car for next year's championship, Bernie Ecclestone and F1 circuit promoters have a different concern: how next year's cars will sound. The current cars use 2.4-liter, naturally-aspirated V8s that can reach 18,000 revolutions per minute and employ dual exhaust, next year's engine formula calls for 1.4-liter turbocharged V6s that are capped at 15,000 rpm and are constrained to a single exhaust outlet. Ecclestone and promoters like Ron Walker believe the new engines sound like lawnmowers and that the less thrilling audio will keep people from coming to races. If Walker's Australian Grand Prix really is shelling out almost $57 million to hold the race, every ticket counts. As a fix, according to a report in Autoweek, Ecclestone "suggests that the only way to guarantee [a good sound] may be to artificially adjust the tone of the V6s."

However, neither the manufacturers nor the governing body of F1, the FIA, think there will be a problem. Ecclestone fears that if the manufacturers "don't get it right" they'll simply leave the sport, but the only three carmakers and engine builders left next year, Renault (its 2014 "power unit" is pictured), Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari are so embedded that it would stretch belief to think they'd leave the table over an audio hiccup if said hiccup even occurs. And frankly, these issues always precede changes to engine formulas, as they did when the formula switched from V10 to V8; fans, though, are probably less focused on the engines and more on the mandated standardization of the sport and the spec-series overtones that have come with it.

No one knows yet what next year's engines will sound like, but we've assembled a few videos below to help us all start guessing. The first is an engine check on an Eighties-era John Player Special Renault with a 1.5-liter V6 turbo, after that is Ayrton Senna qualifying in 1986 in the Lotus 98T that also had a 1.5-liter V6 turbo, then you'll find a short with a manufactured range of potential V6 engine notes, and then the sound of turbocharged V6 Indycars testing last year at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Any, or none of them, could be Formula One's future.

Preparing for Le Mans 2014 Porsche remembers 1971 and the 917 [w/video]

Porsche has given us another look back at its successes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This time it's 1971, the year that its 917 set records that haven't all been eclipsed. It's 45-kilogram magnesium tube frame was the lightest, Jackie Oliver set the fastest in-race lap with a time that still stands, and winning drivers Helmut Marko the same Helmut Marko currently with Infiniti Red Bull Racing and Gilles Lethem did so many laps that their distance wasn't exceeded until the Audi R15 TDI did it in 2010.

1971 was also the year of the "Pink Pig." With bodywork created by a French aerodynamics firm, the wider, rounder 917 earned the porcine moniker so Porsche painted it pink and labeled it with the cuts you'd get from a pig. Sponsor Martini was so miffed they demanded all Martini branding be removed. No one can remove the thousands of photographs taken of the car ever since. Enjoy that and more in the video below.

1910 Benz 21/80 Prinz Heinrich [w/video]

As many invitations that I receive to drive the latest and greatest the automotive industry has to offer, my ears always perk up just a little bit more when the invite specifies a ride in a particular vehicle. Normally, I'd be expecting to ride shotgun in some sort of development mule or prototype, but during the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance last month, Mercedes-Benz offered to give me a ride in a fully restored 1910 Benz 21/80 Prinz Heinrich racecar. While hundreds of cars sat parked on the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island golf course, Mercedes shuttled me to a nearby road canopied by oak trees draped in Spanish moss to spend just 30 minutes with this super-rare antique racer.

Cars like the 21/80 were used in long-distance races between 1907 and 1911, and Mercedes-Benz says that they were among the first true sports cars. This particular example (wearing the No. 38) is owned by Mercedes, and it was recently restored to practically brand new condition at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart.

Driving Notes

• After a brief walkaround/history lesson, the two-man crew with the 1910 Benz 21/80 Prinz Heinrich got to work getting the car started. The first step is delicately removing the engine cover and priming the engine with a hectane fuel. Then comes the hard work. While one man adjusts the various steering-wheel controls and foot pedals, the other stands in front of the car to crank the engine over. It took four good attempts at the hand crank, but the 80-horsepower, four-cylinder engine finally came to life with fuel leaking on the ground and the exposed cylinder valves clattering away. Life was good!
• With the big Benz running, I hopped in the back seat... almost literally hopped. Back in the day, the car's single-piece, wheel-to-wheel running boards helped occupants get in the car, but you simply don't step on the freshly painted metal of a 103-year-old car. Getting into the back seat was a feat requiring athleticism and flexibility, but once in, it was like being transported a century back in time. There's just something very majestic about being chauffeured around on a cool Florida afternoon in a car with a suicide shifter.
• Taking off was no easy task either. As the driver started to work the gas and clutch pedals, it felt like we were rear-ended by another car to get our forward momentum kicked off. Once up to speed though, there is nothing as exhilarating as driving through a neighborhood with the wind in your face watching as local residents and motorists alike do double, triple and quadruple takes of the car before letting out a grin and a friendly wave.
• One of the requirements for the Prinz Heinrich racecars was that they must be production vehicles with seating for four passengers. Now while I'd like to tell myself this was one of those "bendable" racing rules, it's more likely just a telling sign that passenger size and personal space have both grown exponentially over time. I was obviously also a little taller than most 1910s-era passengers as the majority of my useable legroom was taken up by the spare tire, but some slightly banged up knees were more than worth it for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
• The driving route we took was along a standard side street, but at times it felt like the car was driving over whoopty doos thanks to its four-wheel leaf spring suspension, massive wheelbase and the fact that the rear passenger me was positioned directly over the rear axle. During this ride, we got up to around 40 miles per hour, but the car's handlers said that it is more than capable of hitting triple-digit speeds. Achieving such high speeds would surely have been thrilling in its time, but I can only imagine that things would get a little hairy every now and then considering that the car only has rear brakes.
• Just sitting still, the Benz 21/80 Prinz Heinrich was imposing. About as long as the GL-Class we pulled up in, this car was painted in a dark green hue accented only by subtle pinstriping and various racing decals and badges. One interesting part of the car was its added nose piece, which I was told helped improve aerodynamics and controlled air flow to the radiator. The simple cockpit of the car featured just four gauges we couldn't figure out what any of them were used for mounted into the wooden firewall (how ironically dangerous does that sound?).
• As exciting as it was to ride as a passenger in this timeless car, it was almost as fun to see it on display at Amelia Island the very next day alongside another Prinz Heinrich car a privately owned car that eventually went on to race in the very first Indianapolis 500.

LoveFab headed back to Pikes Peak with NSX-based heathen [w/video]

LoveFab had a rough run at Pikes Peak 2012. During qualifying on Day Two, owner and professional driver Cody Loveland launched his car off of the course at nearly 60 miles per hour. Never ones to be dismayed by a few bruised ribs and some busted body panels, LoveFab is headed back to the hill climb for 2013, and this year, it's bringing Garrett along as a title sponsor.

Loveland's chariot of choice is officially dubbed "Turbo by Garrett/LoveFab Pikes Peak Enviate" and is loosely based on an Acura NSX. All of the stock Japanese components have been swapped for LoveFab-built pieces with the exception of the subframes and suspension.

With a dry-sump LS1 V8, chromoly-tube chassis and a full carbon fiber body, the car is about as wild as they come. With around 800 pound-feet of torque on hand and a curb weight of under 2,000 pounds, the machine should give the mountain a run for its money. The team is expected to begin testing Enviate beginning May 1. You can check out a quick interview with Loveland in the video below along with the full press release.

This is how you use a McLaren MP4-12C GT3 to set a lap record at New Zealand's newest track

New Zealand officially has a new international-standard road track. Highlands Motorsport Park is a 2.8-mile circuit with three complete tracks that can be safely operated at the same time. Designed to serve as a members-only facility, the boots on the ground say track is likely one of the best in the Southern Hemisphere.

The organizers behind Highlands wanted give the facility a proper break in, so rather than throw some sort of gala, they simply unleashed Craig Baird and a McLaren MP4-12C GT3 on the course with just one instruction: set the first official track record.

Baird is something of a legend in New Zealand, having won three consecutive New Zealand Formula Atlantic Championship titles as well as four consecutive New Zealand Touring Car Championship titles, and he wasted no time in putting hammer to steel in the MP4-12C GT3. By the time all was said and done, the track was left with a 1:41.9-second lap. Something tells us that one's going to stand for awhile, though Baird says he thinks he can get his time down into the 1:30s with a bit more practice. That may be the case, but we're simply glad for the excuse to watch the guy hammer on this McLaren. Check it out.

Lewis Hamilton laying down 'off the hook' tracks for his own album? [w/videos]

Formula One racecar driver Sebastian Vettel is diversifying his resume by becoming the Director of Performance for Infiniti, and it also sounds like his rival Lewis Hamilton is also dabbling in some extracurriculars. According to Yahoo!, the 28-year-old Hamilton has apparently been stealing away time in a recording studio to record his own pop music album over the last year. The report, which quotes singer/songwriter Angel, indicates that Hamilton might have a second career waiting for him after racing.

So far, Hamilton and Angel have written about 12 songs across various music genres, and another interesting element to his involvement in the music industry is that his girlfriend, Nicole Scherzinger (above), is the lead singer for the Pussycat Dolls as well as a former judge for the reality singing contest, X-Factor. For those who are interested, it doesn't sound like he's ready to put out an album just yet. For the moment, it appears Hamilton's duties in Austin, Texas will be limited to lapping the Circuit of the Americas rather than the performing on the local music scene.

Us? We're just hoping for an eventual duet with fellow F1 racer and musical hopeful Jacques Villeneuve. Yeah, we went there. In the meantime, we'll have to keep hope alive by watching Hamilton and friends sing Wonderwall by Oasis in one of the videos below.

2013 Porsche 911 RSR makes official debut

Porsche is ready to go racing in 2013, showing off a new 911 RSR today that is scheduled to compete in several endurance events this year. Based on the current 991 911, the new RSR will compete in the 2013 season of the World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It will not, however, make an appearance in a North American racing series this year.

The 2013 version of the racecar has increased in wheelbase by some four inches, features a new wishbone front suspension in place of the last-generation's McPherson strut setup and boasts a new, lightweight six-speed racing gearbox. The engine, meanwhile, is an "optimized" version of last year's car, a 460-horsepower 4.0-liter boxer six-cylinder. Extensive use of carbon fiber and polycarbonate windows help the RSR shed weight, and Porsche has also balanced the weight more evenly with a lower center of gravity.

Porsche has thoughtfully dedicated some space to celebrate the 911's 50th Anniversary, with the number 50 clearly visible in the top-down view of the RSR, as well as along the doors. Scroll down to read the full Porsche press release, below.