Modena, Italy—Ferrari’s next-generation Testarossa will carry a traditional Vee engine—in other words, not a boxer—up front and be styled along the lines of the current 456GT. Known facts, all. But the question that won’t die is whether its powerplant will be an uprated 456 mill (in the 450-475 horsepower range) or an all-new V10 not yet released.
Recent reports said the roadgoing V10 idea was dead, but now that Ferrari is stepping up winter testing of its new 3-liter V10 GP engine, the picture has gotten fuzzy again. Either way, the new supercar will be on the road—and the current F512M will be history—by 1998.
The new TR’s chassis will be tubular—possibly in aluminum—and its suspension reportedly draws on both F50 and 333SP experience. Those cars feature similar layouts, but there are a few key differences in shock actuation and overall geometry. More compact than the 456 overall, it will also incorporate F50-style nose details, fixed headlights and a pronounced beltline crease.—Joanne Marshall and Jerry Traeger
Winging the 986
Stuttgart, Germany—Spy shooter Jon B. Lash figured he got lucky when a prototype Porsche Boxster "just showed up" in the slow lane of the autobahn. Sure, this car has been about as shy as Sharon Stone when it comes to paparazzi, but Lash caught a new twist: A speed-sensitive spoiler a la the current 911. Is the 986 lacking grip at speed, or simply looking for doodads?
Works Porsches Return to Le Mans
Reno, Nevada—The last time Porsche entered an official factory team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans was 1988, right smack dab in the heyday of the prototype era.
Now that GT racing has taken over, the company plans to return with a completely new car, the 911 GT1. While Le Mans’ GT1 rules require certain roadability concessions and effectively cap output at around 600 bhp, it’s doubtful the new racer will have much in common with the currently competitive twin-turbo, street-derived, 450- to 525-bhp 911GT2. The factory team will have exclusive use of the new design until 1997.
In other Stuttgart news, Porsche chairman Wendelin Wiediking has said his firm is looking at expanding its current lineup through joint ventures with other carmakers. Citing a desire to grow beyond sports cars alone, other products such as sport-utility vehicles and luxury sedans are being considered.
B is for Benz?
Stuttgart, Germany—When Mercedes-Benz’ Vario Research Car (VRC) debuted as a concept car at Geneva, its most interesting feature was a quick-change greenhouse: You could swap the coupe roof for a wagon, and so on. Now there’s also speculation that the VRC, sans removable hardware, was our first look at an entirely new Mercedes platform, the FWD B-class. If developed for the start of the next century, the B-class would carry its drivetrain below the floor, just like Mercedes’ 1997 A-class supercompact.
Honda’s Me-(ata) Too
Tokyo, Japan—Two Honda-powered roadsters debuted at the Tokyo Auto Show, the stunning Argento Vivo by Pininfarina and the...well, considerably less stunning SSM (for Sport Study Model). Naturally enough, a 4-cylinder, 2-liter, 20-valve version of the SSM is now likely for production, while the Acura Legend-powered, aluminum-framed Argento Vivo languishes. Hoping to get Japan back into the sports-car market, the 240-horse SSM could first show its blunt little nose on a showroom floor in late 1998. The cost should be about double that of the Mazda Miata.
Also at Tokyo was the less likely (but wonderfully named) Toyota MRJ, for Midship Runabout Joyful. Yow—I need that! A mid-engine 2+2 with a removable hardtop, the MRJ was Toyota’s bone to their MR2 faithful.
Is Eagle an Endangered Species?
Auburn Hills, Michigan— According to trade journal Automotive News, Eagle—the nameplate originally formed by Chrysler to handle its captive imports and attract import-oriented buyers—may be on its last claws. Not only have sales fallen recently, but Eagle’s intended demographic base is now willing to enter Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth dealerships. That wasn’t the case in Eagle’s heyday, the late 1980s.
Chrysler executives admit that while the nameplate currently makes sense, the cost of continuing it indefinitely may not be justified, particularly with the Plymouth brand looking for extra resources.
Eagle’s current lineup includes the popular Talon sports coupe, the Mitsubishi-built Summit and the Vision LH sedan.
Z.U. Later
Cologne, Germany—If the long-denied 6-cylinder Z3 is inevitable—and it is—then the M3-powered Z3 can’t be far behind. In fact, it may come out first.
BMW Motorsport personnel have been seen testing a Z3 equipped with a higher-output version of BMW’s current European M3 engine. In standard form, that 3.2-liter engine makes 320+ bhp; a hotrodded version could only mean that racing is in the cards, either as a full GT entry or for the Z3’s own one-make series.—Jerry Traeger
From the Are We Really Ready? File
Helena, Montana—Utah’s Corvette-crazy Joe Cavanaugh heard about Montana abolishing its daytime speed limit in Novem-ber, and he liked the idea. He liked it so much, in fact, that he arranged the "First Annual Montana Corvette Run" with three buddies.
All was well until Cavanaugh’s 1969 Corvette lost a front fender—hey, don’t ask us how—at 105 mph. That hit the windshield of the following car (1986 Corvette), which slammed on its brakes and was rear-ended by Corvette number three, a 1974 Convertible model.
Nobody was hurt, and all three cars were still drivable. But in their motel parking lot that night, Corvette number four (1966) was backed into by a pickup.
Munich Lightens Up
Tokyo, Japan—BMW, which has apparently just hired Ned Flanders as a copywriter, says the Just 4/2 showcar is "not Just for Fun, but absolutely fun-tastic." Highly reminiscent of Art Center Europe’s Lotus Echo concept car, BMW’s styling study is powered by a midship K-series motorcycle engine.
While exceedingly unlikely to see production as a BMW, the idea does have more merit than it might seem. By using the aluminum frame itself as a sacrificial exoskeleton, a vehicle designed this way might meet federal crash standards at less than 1400 pounds.
And oh yes: Since the Just 4/2 is about "pure, straightforward driving without the
extra adornments," BMW has designed an accompanying driving suit featuring such pure unadornments as a compass, a built-in tool kit and a cellular phone.
FROM THE EDITOR
Lights Out
I’ve got to warn you, this piece may ramble even more than usual. I’m still a little loopy from the big storm that just passed through California, and I’ve been up now for about 48 hours straight. Sunday evening it was just plain skittishness and insomnia—howling winds, cold house, all that stuff. But last night I had the pleasure of watching giant fireballs rolling down my driveway, and brother, if there’s one thing that puts you in the mood to pull an all-nighter, it’s the notion that at any moment a 5000-degree, 60,000-volt chunk of electricity could come bouncing through the window and blow up your toaster oven.
The whole show was provided free of charge by the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. At about eight last night the power line next to my bedroom window shorted out, which was good for two hours of bush-burning, wire-whipping fun. Then, just about when that got boring, the whole utility pole fell over, narrowly missing the garage containing my ’74 Alfa Don Corleone and SCI’s test RX7. (Which, by the way, would have given us a monster-cool photograph, but the shortest long- term car test in history.)
After that, every transformer in Point Richmond decided to explode, which is about the point at which I decided to spend the night hiding under the covers. Now, needless to say, I passed the first 45 minutes of the evening wondering just who, exactly, do you call to report giant fireballs rolling down your driveway, etc.? This turned out to be a moot point, as apparently the first thing any self-respecting fireball does on its trip from the power line to my toaster oven is visit its friends on the telephone pole. When I finally called 911 in lieu of the Federal Department of Giant Fireballs, the lines were down and that was that.
The only reason any of this is germane is that the US Weather Service— being agnostic, I don’t know who else to blame—picked the absolutely wrong time to pull this on me. This is the first issue of SCI for which I’m doing some of the computer layout work, and all-
electronic magazine production isn’t something a baggy-eyed, gummy-fingered, caffeine-addled amateur should actually be attempting. There’s about a gazillion keys I can hit that will cause 100,000 issues to be printed with giant white spaces where Mark Gillies’ Ferrari 512S track test should be, and only one or two I can hit that will actually make it come out correctly.
"In fact," art director Henry has just informed me, "there’s only one." And he looks pretty worried.
But the truth be told, all this computer layout stuff is seriously boss. One swipe of my paw can wipe out a five-day session of photography, or switch an entire historical narrative into italic for absolutely no reason, or give a long-term contributor’s front-of-the-book mugshot the livid, disgusting color of rotting pig livers. (My personal favorite.) The only trouble right now is that I’m trying to manipulate full-size, 2-page magazine layouts on a 13-inch computer screen, which is a little like trying to remove a squirming person’s appendix from the other side of a keyhole.
It’s a lot of work, and I’m not very good yet. But I thought it would be nice not to have to hide behind a potted palm every time someone starts discussing stuff like kerning numbers (whatever those are), and I also wanted to free up some time for Henry to work on Forza. This is the company’s new Ferrari magazine, and he’s going to be its art director and its editor.
I intend to help out, of course. After all, if it wasn’t for Henry watching over my shoulder while I’m learning all this electronic layout stuff for SCI, who knows what could happen? I could even have the last word of a story go clean off the page. Then I’d really look like a mo-
FITTIPALDI'S COLUMN
Into the World
IndyCar has taken a new direction: One that looks outward from the United States and begins to embrace the rest of the world. For the last ten years, I’ve been racing in IndyCar and dreaming that our sport would become a major force in global motorsports. Now I think that dream is becoming a reality, particularly for Latin America.
Of course, you’d have to say I’m pretty biased. On November 10th, we announced a brand new team in my hometown of São Paulo! This is really going to be something: Team Penske has joined with Carl Hogan to form this new venture, and my longtime sponsor Philip Morris will be backing it through its Latin American division.
What really excites me here is that this means the companies and the people of Latin America are going to represented in IndyCar by a top-flight effort. We’ll have the best equipment in the world—Penske cars—and the best engines, Mercedes. We’ll also get the most experienced people: My engineer from the last couple of years, Tom Brown, is going to come over to work with me, as will my chief mechanic and friend Rick Reineman. (So, okay, we’re going to have to finally teach these guys Portuguese and Spanish!)
As I’m sure you know, Carl Hogan ran the very successful Rahal/Hogan team with Bobby Rahal for years, and between them they’ve won several IndyCar championships. Carl is a proven winner on the racetrack, and he really loves the sport. He’s also, I have to say, one of the very few people in the world who could get a new team like this together—one that will be among the most competitive in the field right from its very first race, rather than an also-ran that’s only in it for the experience. And, of course, the continued support of the Penske group is going to guarantee us as a first-class effort.
So the question isn’t what will this team be like. It will be a top-flight endeavor, it’s as simple as that. The question really is, why did we do a team with this Latin American basis?
Frankly, I see this team as a long-overdue recognition of the tremendous enthusiasm of the fans in Latin America. Though most people in the United States don’t realize it, one of the biggest and most excited audiences for motor racing is the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking fans of Central and South America. In fact Brazil, my home country, has the largest audience for IndyCar racing in the world—the SBT Brazilian Television Network averages about 10 million viewers for each IndyCar race, and that’s just one country.
I’ve been extremely excited about these fans for years; so much so that I actually invested in the rights for Indy-style racing in Brazil. In the last few years that investment has really taken off, and our partnership with SBT has put IndyCar racing at the forefront of Brazil’s sports consciousness. ESPN International also has great coverage of the IndyCar races throughout Latin America, with Jorge Koechlin—who also hosts and produces AutoMundo, the TV version of his Spanish-language automobile magazine—and Alex Pomba as the expert commentators. This group formed a partnership with Fittipaldi USA over three years ago to produce IndyCar races for a worldwide audience.
These auto-racing programs are some of the most popular in ESPN’s Latin American lineup; more and more journalists and TV crews from its Latin American affiliates are showing up at the races, and they’re bringing more and more fans. I’m very used to shaking hands and signing autographs for English-speaking fans, but now a whole lot of people are greeting me in Spanish or Portuguese. It’s not so surprising in Miami, but it’s amazing in a place like Mid-Ohio or Elkhart Lake, right in the heartland of American open-wheel racing.
Now we even have an IndyCar race scheduled for Latin America. The event on 17 March 1996 in Rio de Janeiro promises to be one of the most exciting on the IndyCar schedule: The city has invested heavily to bring the race to life, and the new 3-kilometer oval is taking shape as you
read this. (By the way, this is probably the first IndyCar oval ever to be measured
in metric!) With this new race we hope to bring a little bit of the United States to
Latin American audiences, but we also want to show the world the new face of Latin America—to show off how proud we are of where all our countries are starting to go.
With all this growth, Latin America just couldn’t be ignored by the companies involved in IndyCar racing any longer. This part of the world is becoming a huge force in international motorsports, and it’s great to see the fans earning this next step. Watch this space...!—Emerson Fittipaldi
