If you're a fan of Formula One, you'll undoubtedly be aware of the changes to the sport which are due to take effect next year.
The biggest of these is the substitution of the 2.4-litre V8 engines currently used in the sport for a crop of new 1.6-litre turbocharged V6 units. By switching to smaller engines, the FIA hopes to keep costs down by improving fuel efficiency.
Needless to say, reactions to the move have been mixed. In one camp are those who herald the decision as a return to the bonkers turbocharged era of the late 1980s, when the cars were churning out almost 1,000bhp and the Prost-Senna rivalry was at its peak.
In the other camp are those who think that cutting costs in Formula One will dilute the excitement of the sport and that not only will the cars be slower (we'll have to wait and see whether this will be the case) but they won't sound as good either.
To give us an idea of what the new engines will sound like, Mercedes has released a video which captures the noise made by one of its development units at the firm's High Performance Powertrains (HPP) division in Brixworth, Northamptonshire.
As you can hear, the new V6 is an altogether less shouty affair than the current V8, revving to just 15,000 rpm rather than the 18,000 rpm attainable by the current units. Whether or not it's an improvement is a topic for debate; however, we tend to agree that F1 engines were more exciting when they had more cylinders -- the V12 Ferrari engines of the early- to mid-nineties, for example, made a particularly glorious sound.
So, what do you think of the sound of the new engine? Is it a match for the current V8s? Let us know by commenting below.
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