Earlier this year one of Formula 1′s worst kept secrets was confirmed when Paddy Lowe was despatched by McLaren to perfect his bonsai skills after he had the temerity to sign a new contract with Mercedes. McLaren were determined to stick to their guns and make Lowe sit out his contract and deny his move to Mercedes until after the 2013 F1 season.
Pleasingly, for the sanity of all concerned, word has come through from Mercedes that Lowe will be joining them officially on 3 June.
Continue reading →
Aston Martin is racing a very unique version of its four-door Rapide at the Nürburgring 24 hour race. It’s based on the Rapide S, due to debut very soon, and is powered by a hybrid hydrogen drivetrain. It’s the first racecar of its kind in the world.
The hybrid system comprises a twin turbo 6.0 litre V12 and four ultra-high strength carbon fibre tanks storing a combined total of 3.5kg of hydrogen at a pressure of 350bar. Two tanks are placed near the driver and two are placed in the boot.
During qualifying CEO Dr Ulrich Bez became the first person to complete a zero emissions lap under competitive conditions.
“We exceeded our already very ambitious target of completing a full lap of the Nürburgring and went on to cover 40 km in race conditions—nearly two laps—before the car automatically and smoothly switched to gasoline power,” commented Bez.
At the time of writing the Hydrogen Rapide S, wearing number 100 in honour of Aston Matrin’s centenary year, is placed 146th outright having completed 21 laps with a best time of 10:02.574.
Continue reading →
The 41st Nürburgring 24 hour race is about to start. Head on over to AUSringers for coverage. If you’d like to watch and listen the race online click HERE.
As well as AUSringers, where we’ll be keeping an eye on the progress of all the Australian and New Zealand drivers, you can keep an eye on the AUSmotive twitter feed for updates. The hashtag to follow for broader coverage is #N24h.
How good does this look! This is the Aston Martin CC100 Speedster Concept, a birthday present to itself to celebrate the marque’s 100th birthday.
It’s powered by a 6.0 V12 and has been inspired by Aston’s past racing cars, including the Le Mans winning DBR1. Befitting of Aston Martin’s recent pedigree at the Nürburgring 24 hour race the CC100 Speedsteer made its debut today ahead of the 41st running of the endurance epic.
Dr Ulrich Bez, Aston Martin CEO, said: “This car is more, even, than a simple ‘birthday present’ to ourselves: it shows that the soul of Aston Martin—the thing that differentiates us from all the other car makers out there—is as powerful as ever and I very much hope that everyone who catches a glimpse of it at the Nürburgring today enjoys seeing it.”
If we were there Dr Bez we’d very much enjoy seeing the CC100. As it is seeing these pics is a great start. Happy birthday!
Continue reading →
Here’s the follow up from Porsche on their 918 Spyder hybrid hypercar after the preview given by motoring journos last week.
Things have changed since Porsche last gave an official preview in September last year. You can download the latest tech specs from Porsche, and read the embellished press release, after the break. Before you do here’s a quick snapshot of the key figures.
- Engine power (combined): 657kW/887hp (up from 795hp)
- V8 engine: 447kW/608hp (up from 580hp)
- Electric power: 115kW rear; 95kW front (up from 95kW; 85kW)
- Maximum revs: 9150rpm (up from 9000rpm)
- Maximum torque: 800Nm+ combined; 530Nm V8 engine (up from 780Nm; 500Nm)
- Kerb weight: 1640kg (down from 1700kg)
- 0–100km/h: 2.8s (down from 3.0s)
- 0–200km/h: 7.9s (down from 9.0s)
- 0–300km/h: 23.0s (down from 27.0s)
- Consumption (NEDC): 3.3l/100km (up from 3.0l/100km)
- CO2 emissions: 79g/km (up from 70g/km)
- Pure electric range: 30km (up from 25km)
Of course, none of these changes/improvements have been made in response to the more powerful and faster competition in the shape of the LaFerrari or the McLaren P1. No, not at all.
Continue reading →
Crawford Performance in the US has worked its magic on the Subaru BRZee. They’re the guys who prepped Ken Block’s Gymkhana I & II WRXs. After they finished laughing at the meagre stock figures produced by the blue Toybaru they put things right to the tune of 430hp/500ft-lb (320kW/680Nm). Nice.
Matt Farah from Drive went along and sampled the car to see what it was like. We’d like to have learnt a lot more about the details of the engine rebuild and perhaps some decent performance stats as well. But overall if you like the BRZ, you’ll enjoy this clip.
Continue reading →
A BMW M5 driven by Johan Schwartz has set a new world record for the longest sustained drift. A couple of years back Mercedes once held this record with a paltry distance of just under 3km. Schwartz has upped the ante to a staggering 82.5km (51.278 miles)!
The record was set at the BMW Peformance Centre in South Carolina and raised $20,000 in donations for BMW’s Charity Pro-Am golf tournament.
Schwartz bettered the previous best mark of 76.8km (47.71 miles) set in Abu Dhabi earlier this year. Video of the loooooooongest drift can be seen after the break.
Continue reading →
Mercedes-Benz has released its latest flagship model, the all-new S Class (W222). Every iteration of the S Class brings with it a fearsome task of living up to the best car in the world tag that many, including Mercedes themselves, expect it to reach.
Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars said this at the car’s launch: “Rather than being about safety or aesthetics, power or efficiency, comfort or dynamism, our aspirations were ‘the best or nothing’ in every respect. No other car stands for the Mercedes-Benz brand promise more than the S-Class.”
At launch the S Class comes with the choice of four engines, all of which meet the latest Euro 6 emission standards:
- S 400 HYBRID (225kW/370Nm 3498cc V6 + 20kW/250Nm electric motor)
- S 500 (335kW/700Nm 4663cc V8 twin turbo)
- S 350 BlueTEC (190kW/600Nm 2687cc V6 turbo diesel)
- S 300 BlueTEC HYBRID (150kW/500Nm 2143cc 4 cylinder diesel + 20kW/250Nm electric motor)
An S 500 plug-in hybrid will follow with the promise of a sub 4.0l/100km fuel consumption rating.
As you’d expect the S Class is chock full of driver aids and electronic gubbins. There’s too many to mention, but a few highlights include: ‘Road surface scan’ suspension, which reads the road ahead for bumps and prepares the suspension accordingly; ‘First class rear’ seating; two large high-res TFT displays, one for the dash cluster, the other for navigation and infotainment; climate control with an ‘active perfuming system’; and the S Class is the first car in the world to feature full LED lighting throughout.
Most of all, though, for a large luxury saloon the latest S Class looks quite good. Its proportions are sound and aside from the large front grille we think Mercedes has penned a stylish, if subdued, S Class that the dictators of the world will gladly continue to call their own.
There’s much more to learn about the S Class and you can get a good introduction with the videos, pictures and press material after the break. If you really want to get to know the new S Class then make sure you download the full press kit which has over 100 pages of information.
Continue reading →
With the confirmation of Honda’s return to Formula 1, we bring you a handful of images from the previous McLaren-Honda partnership where they enjoyed great success together.
In the years 1988–92 McLaren-Honda started 80 grands prix. They were on pole 53 times and won 44 races. A total of eight world championships were collected as well. One for Alain Prost (1989), three for Ayrton Senna (1988, 1990, 1991) and four constructors’ titles for the team (1988, 1989, 1990, 1991).
Continue reading →
Spare a thought for, or perhaps have a chuckle at, this Maserati Quattroporte owner in China who was so frustrated by the service from his Maserati dealership that he felt compelled to hire four feeble henchmen to smash his Italian thoroughbread to pieces with sledgehammers in protest.
The owner, identified only by his surname, Wang, explained: “I hope foreign luxury car producers acknowledge clearly that Chinese consumers are entitled to get the service that is commensurate with the brand.”
It’s understood Wang’s complaints included the Maserati dealer in Qingdao charging him for repairs, including new parts, even though used parts were used. Wang also claims the dealer scratched his car, to further add insult to injury.
In response the Qingdao dealer took to Chinese social media: “We deeply regret that before the two sides could reach a result via negotiation, the vehicle owner… smashed the world famous car in public… to cause a sensation.”
Wang bought his Maserati in 2011 for 2.6 million yuan (AU$430,000).
[Source: Channel NewsAsia]
Continue reading →
The widely tipped news that Honda would return to Formula 1 to reunite with McLaren in 2015 has been confirmed today.
Honda left F1 at the end of the 2008 season with little success at the time and global financial pressures forcing their hand. It’s great to see them back in F1 and they’ll be hoping their glory days with McLaren, when Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna seemingly won races at will, can be rekindled.
No contract length has been given in the official press releases below, other than to say this is a “multi-year deal”.
Takanobu Ito, President and CEO of Honda said the switch to 1.6 litre turbocharged V6 engines, coming into place next year, has attracted Honda’s return: “We have the greatest respect for the FIA’s decision to introduce these new regulations that are both highly challenging but also attractive to manufacturers that pursue environmental technologies and to Formula One Group, which has developed F1 into a high value, top car racing category supported by enthusiastic fans.
Martin Whitmarsh, McLaren Group CEO, is also keen to reignite the flame both companies have enjoyed in the past: “The names of McLaren and Honda are synonymous with success in Formula 1, and, for everyone who works for both companies, the weight of our past achievements together lies heavily on our shoulders. But it’s a mark of the ambition and resolve we both share that we want once again to take McLaren-Honda to the very pinnacle of Formula 1 success. Together we have a great legacy – and we’re utterly committed to maintaining it.
Whitmarsh also commented briefly on McLaren’s relationship with Mercedes-Benz, which will continue in 2014: “It’s appropriate to recognise that until the end of 2014 we’ll maintain a full commitment to our existing and long-standing partner, Mercedes-Benz, for which we retain the utmost respect and with whom we intend to continue to work diligently and professionally.”
Full statements from McLaren and Honda can be read after the break. There’s a video from today’s announcement too, with Martin Whitmarsh’s speech taking place about 5:44 into the 12 minute clip.
Continue reading →
To all those who have rushed out and bought a BMW M135i, our hearts go out to you. We’re sorry. To BMW, however, we’re thankful. We think it’s wonderful they have acknowledged their sins and offered this very stylish looking—and you don’t know how relieved we are to say that—M Performance 2 Series for its penance.
This is, we’re told, an undisguised M235i, sure it will cost a bit more than the M135i, but what price does one put on one’s own dignity? If nothing else the pleasingly restyled front end may make its way onto future 1 Series models for those buyers who like some spice with their hatchbacks.
Other giveaways that this is the M235i include the gaping front air intakes, the silver wing mirrors, M brakes and M badge on the side fender.
Bimmerpost has the scoop on the pics, so follow the link below for more.
[Source: Bimmerpost | Thanks to Dmitry for the tip]
Continue reading →
Expressions of interest for the sale of the Nürburgring officially opened earlier in the week. Speculation suggests Hyundai and Volkswagen may be interested in buying themselves a nice playground. Head on over to AUSringers for more coverage.
The next version of Sony Playstation’s volume selling driving simulator game, Gran Turismo 6, was previewed at a press gathering at Silverstone yesterday. The official word is GT6 will be in stores in time for “the holiday season.” That translates roughly to our spring, we expect, so September some time.
Set to feature over 1200 cars and 33 tracks, including Mount Panorama, it will be the biggest and most complex iteration of Gran Turismo yet.
In their own blog Sony says:
GT6 for PlayStation 3 will see many enhancements, improvements and additions to the game. bringing new levels of authenticity to ‘the Real Driving Simulator’. Features revealed today include stunning new tracks and cars and a much over-hauled user interface. There’s also a new engine which will improve game operation. Meanwhile we are set for expanded connectivity with other devices and increased social and community functions.
[Source: Playstation]
The rumours of a McLaren–Honda reunification aren’t new, but an official announcement could be made as soon as today.
Japanese media have increased their coverage of Honda’s return to F1 in recent days and it’s expected Chief Executive Takanobu will release a statement confirming a new deal with McLaren to commence in 2015, one year after the introduction of the new 1.6 litre V6 turbocharged engine regulations.
An unnamed source said: “That incubator aspect of the sport makes Honda’s participation worthwhile.”
McLaren has an engine deal with Mercedes-Benz that is locked in place until the end of next season. With Mercedes likely to field engines for a number of customer teams in 2014 there should be no issues with supplying McLaren even if a new deal with Honda is confirmed.
[Source: Reuters F1 | Pic: Cahier Archive]
UPDATE: Honda’s confirmation been announced. We’ll bring their official press release when we can.
