Latest news with #EvolutionStudios
The Drive
25-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Drive
This Ferrari F40 For Sale Was Turned Into a Race Car by a Gaming Legend
The latest car news, reviews, and features. A road car that's been converted into a competition racer is no big deal. Such modifications have been done before and will continue to be done well into the future. A road-going Ferrari F40 that legitimately earned its racing stripes, though? Well, that's a different story, and a rare example with a seven-figure valuation crossed the auction block today. A 1989 Ferrari F40 'Competizione' with a well-documented ownership history, legitimate racing chops, and a bunch of spare parts that could be another race car was offered for sale through Broad Arrow Auctions. Part of Lot 212 of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este Auction, the converted F40 was estimated to fetch between $2.6 million and $3.1 million by the time bidding closed. Chassis number 80369 was a standard left-hand drive, European-spec F40 when it was purchased new as a gift from a father to his son. The vehicle, still in street clothes, was sold five years later to video game pioneer Ian Hetherington. The late Hetherington ran British gaming institutions Psygnosis and Evolution Studios, responsible for beloved PlayStation racing games including Wipeout , Destruction Derby , and MotorStorm . So, it should be no surprise that he had an affinity for real-life racing, participating in many club events. Hetherington considered selling the Ferrari just three years after buying it, but had a change of heart. Or perhaps it was an epiphany. Either way, he commissioned Martin Shaw of Specialised Cars of Manchester to rebuild the F40 into a '90s-spec factory Le Mans racer. Broad Arrow Auctions For performance mods, the stock F40's 2.9-liter V8 was given new turbochargers, a free-flow exhaust system, customized intercoolers, an updated suspension, upgraded brakes, and a competition fuel system. The output is 648 horsepower and 563 lb-ft of torque. The finishing touches to make the F40 look the part of a factory-built Ferrari race car included fixed headlights, larger brake cooling ducts, an expansive front splitter, and an unmistakable rear wing. The conversion project took nearly two years to complete, and in February 1999, Hetherington sold the now track-ready F40 to Shaw. Wasting little time, Shaw entered the F40 into the 2000 British GT Championship. The newly minted #16 race car was driven by Stuart Bowler, Ian Flux, and, oh, hello again, Mr. Hetherington. The F40 competed against newer vehicles in the GT class, and although it wasn't a podium finisher from the get-go, it was still impressive in the speed category. The homemade Competizione returned fast times as more laps were driven. Unfortunately, DNFs and other reliability issues prevented Shaw's SCS Motorsport team from taking advantage of the F40's full performance potential. According to the auction listing, the F40 wasn't involved in any major accidents during its racing career. Also notable is that only 27 known F40 road cars have been transformed into competition racers by private owners. Included in the sale is an extensive parts package that includes a front nose, rear deck, a spare engine block, three sets of wheels, and more bits to build a copycat. Just need to source another F40 chassis, if you're so inclined. Beverly Braga has enjoyed an eventful career as a Swiss Army knife, having held roles as an after-school teacher, film critic, PR manager, transcriber, and video producer – to name a few. She is currently a communications consultant and freelance writer whose work has appeared in numerous outlets covering automotive, entertainment, lifestyle, and food & beverage. Beverly grew up in Hawaii but roots for Washington, D.C., sports teams.
Time of India
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Rumors Suggest Classic PS3 Game Series Could Return
Image via Evolution Studios. Despite the dominance of modern gen titles on highly powerful consoles, old titles still have special places in our hearts. For example, the gaming world right now might be obsessed with high-end PS5 titles like God of War, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Helldivers 2 and many more. But our heart still yearns for classic PlayStation titles like MediEvil, Sly Cooper, Infamous, and many more. Operation Sindoor 'Pakistan army moving its troops in forward areas': Key takeaways from govt briefing 'Pak used drones, long-range weapons, jets to attack India's military sites' 'Attempted malicious misinformation campaign': Govt calls out Pakistan's propaganda However, Sony might have heard these requests and is probably bringing one of the most highly anticipated OG franchises back in action, which once rocked the PS3 and PS Vita. Motorstorm might be making a comeback Sony is reportedly working on the Motorstorm franchise. | Image via Evolution Studios. In recent times, Sony has inclined a lot in bringing back OG titles which have been dormant for years. For example, at the start of this year, Sony teamed up with Bandai Namco to release the remastered version of the classic PS Vita action RPG title, Freedom War. Sony also brought back the highly popular Killzone franchise to a certain extent when the company released some crossover content in Helldivers 2. As everything stands, it seems now it's time for the PS3 classic, Motorstorm. The Motorstorm series actually opened a new chapter in the racing genre by introducing hardcore off-road racing. Smaller vehicles like dirt bikes and the like were the main focus of the majority of all-terrain racing games at the time, such as MX vs. ATV. Despite all the love it got from the fans, there has been no installment from this franchise since 2012. However, that might change pretty soon. Stellar Entertainment, the development studio behind Horizon: Zero Dawn Remastered, is currently working on a AAA arcade racing game which will be based on Unreal Engine 5. Now, an eagle-eyed redditor spotted that a PlayStation XDEV employee shared a job listing on the official website of Stellar Entertainment. And this is how all the speculations began. It's believed that the racing game Stellar is working now is actually for PlayStation and might be a Motorstorm installment. However, all of these are just mere speculations, so these rumors should be taken as grains of salt. It's true that Sony holds multiple racing game franchises, like Gran Turismo, Driveclub, and many more. But this AAA title doesn't belong to these franchises as neither of them are based on Unreal Engine 5. So, there are high chances we might see the PS3 classic making a comeback. Read More: GTA 6 added on PlayStation 5 for wishlist
