Month: March 2009

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Formula 1 Honda

Ross Brawn buys Honda Racing F1 Team

Ross Brawn buys Honda Racing F1 Team
Brawn GP car debuts at Silverstone on Friday

The newest team in Formula One will be called Brawn GP. As expected, Ross Brawn has taken over the Honda Racing F1 Team, which announced its withdrawal from Formula One last December. Official statements from both Honda and Brawn GP confirming today’s news can be read after the jump.

The announcement from Brawn GP also confirms that former Honda drivers Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello will retain their seats in the salvaged team.

“I am delighted that Jenson Button and Rubens Barichello will form our race driver line-up for the 2009 season. The vast experience and knowledge that both drivers bring to our team will prove invaluable as we aim to get up to speed in the shortest possible time to be ready for the first race of the season,” said Brawn.

The team will continue to operate from the Brackley base used by Honda. Brawn GP will run Mercedes-Benz FO108W customer engines. The first car, labelled BGP001 is understood to be a modified Honda RA109 chassis.

Brawn GP must now begin to cram as much testing in as possible before the opening race in Melbourne at the end of this month. The team will have just two testing periods—Barcelona (9-12 March) and Jerez (15-17 March)—before lining up on the grid at the Australian Grand Prix on 29 March.

For more on Brawn GP, check out their official website, which is expected to be updated regularly over the coming days.

UPDATE: Image added above showing Jenson Button rolling out BGP001 at Silverstone on Friday.

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Motor Shows Renault

Geneva 2009 – Renault Megane RS

Renault Megane RS

Renault, ever the ones to make something fresh and out of the box, have done it again with this new Mégane RS revealed at the Geneva Motor Show. Its coupe form is something to behold and looks fantastic.

With 184kW lurking under the bonnet it is sure to make the most of the lithe and nimble chassis le chaps at Renault Sport have no doubt bestowed on this car. The power is provided by a 2-litre turbo four, which is fitted with a twin-scroll snail providing up to 80% of its boost from 1900rpm. Peak torque of 340Nm is reached at 3000rpm.

Tres cool! More pics after the jump.

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Motor Shows News

Geneva 2009 – Like a tiger

Frazer-Nash Namir at 2009 Geneva Motor Show

This wild looking thing—the Frazer-Nash Namir—has its roots back in 1920s England would you believe. The Namir, arabic for Tiger, apparently, has been revived by Italdesign-Giugiaro. Frazer-Nash was a sports and racing car manufacturer which made cars from the 1920s–1950s and also had links with BMW and Porsche.

The car has been styled by Fabrizio Giugiaro, and built at the company’s Turin design and engineering centre. It has a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis with honeycomb panels. But, the really cool thing about this car is that is has around 370bhp and can get to 100km/h in a mere 3.5 seconds, or, if you dare, 0-200km/h in 10.4 seconds. Must have a pretty special engine to put down those numbers, right?

Well, here’s the thing, it’s as crazy under the bonnet as it is on the outside. The Namir is powered by a hybrid powertrain, which combines an 814cc endothermic rotary engine with four electric motors with an equivalent output of 370hp. And, being a hybrid, the car can travel for 39km on a litre of fuel, emitting less than 60g/km of CO2.

The rotary engine runs on petrol and acts as a generator that charges the lithium polymer power cells, and a 50-litre fuel tank capacity gives a total autonomy of almost 2,000km. “It was an interesting and profitable collaboration that resulted in a unique vehicle with very exciting performance levels in terms of speed and pick-up, above all in terms of low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions,” said Fabrizio Giugiaro.

As nice postscript to this project, the original Frazer-Nash company has bona fide DNA in this 21st century supercar, despite not making a car since the 1950s. A successor firm to the original manufacturer has played a major role in the project—Frazer-Nash Research is now part of the Kamkorp group and specialises in developing electric drivetrains for hybrid cars and mass transit systems.

Categories
News

Nissan GT-R – Safety Car to V8 Supercars

Nissan GT-R Safety Car

This is all the V8 Supercar field will see of the Nissan GT-R when it makes its Safety Car debut in Adelaide on 14 March. Today, Nissan released a series of images showing how the car will look. Seeing the GT-R around Australian racetracks is sure to keep the GT-R, and the Nissan brand, in the public spotlight.

Nissan Australia Managing Director, Dan Thompson is excited at the prospect of a Nissan heading the field, “Australian Touring Cars have enjoyed immense popularity through the years and Nissan is delighted to become a corporate partner from this season,” he said.

“As most Australian race fans know, Nissan has enjoyed a very successful track record in the past and this year we are very excited at again being part of the support action.”

Who could forget the last time Godzilla won at Bathurst!

In other GT-R news, as confirmed in the MIMS 2009 Nissan 370Z article, Nissan will be sending a GT-R with factory support back to the Nürburgring Nordschleife in April, presumably to better their current best lap of 7:29.03.

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Honda Hyundai Kia Lotus Motor Shows Suzuki Toyota

MIMS 2009 – Best of the rest

2009 Melbourne International Motor Show

Here is one last wrap up of images from the media day at the 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show.

There’s pics from Honda (Insight, Civic Type R), Hyundai (i10 Blue, i30 Blue, Genesis Coupé), Kia (Soul), Lotus (Europa SE), Suzuki (Alto), Toyota (fully sik RAV4, fully sik Yaris, Hybrid Camry) and a few other bits and pieces, including the AutoHorizon FR-1, a charity-based project helping young kids.

So, what was the media day like? I have to say I was a bit nervous attending with a room full of battle-hardened journos around me. However, it was not really an issue and it was pretty cool moving around from stand to stand with nobody looking at me funny when I went up to various cars and opened them up, taking photos or just generally pushing and prodding around. Certainly a bit different, and better, than attending the show as a member of the general public.

Personally, I didn’t make the most of the networking opportunities on offer. Something I’m usually not good at, so I guess I’ll need to work on that.

Overall, though, it was a fun and valuable learning experience. It’s interesting seeing how many different ways there are to pull a cover off a car. Or not! My flight time meant I missed the presentations from Ford, Holden and Toyota, so maybe I missed a few new and innovative sheet pulling techniques!

Full marks to the catering, too, the Asian style lunch provided was very tasty, and after a few hours following Glenn Ridge around from presentation to presentation I was pretty damn hungry.

It was a long day, getting up at 4:30am to catch a plane from Canberra to Melbourne and not getting back to the hotel until 5pm. Before turning around and going back to the show as a casual observer with my wife.

I hope the coverage on AUSmotive has been interesting for all the readers out there and the audio clips provided on a few of the posts have brought you a bit closer to the action.

See you in Sydney in October 2010!

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Categories
Formula 1 Honda News

Barichello gets ready for 2009 F1 season

Rubens Barichello

In surprising news, Rubens Barichello is set to keep his seat with the team-formerly-known-as-Honda and is planning to line up on the grid for the 2009 Formula One season. Bruno Senna, nephew of triple world champ Ayrton, was tipped to replace Barichello and isn’t taking this latest news too well. At least, that’s what the Telegraph in the UK reckons.

Uncertainty has surrounded the ex-Honda factory team since news of its demise broke in December. Now, it looks as though the team is set to be taken over by team management in Ross Brawn and Nick Fry. Apparently, Honda just needs to rubber stamp the buyout and F1’s newest team will be confirmed.

The Brawn-Fry team will use Mercedes-Benz customer engines and, with just a few weeks to go until the season opener in Melbourne, they are understandably quite keen to undertake some testing. It is believed they could take to the track as soon as this Friday with some track time at Silverstone.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

Categories
Audi Motor Shows

Geneva 2009 – Audi TT RS (due in Australia early 2010)

Audi TT RS

After teasing us with details in the lead up to Geneva, Audi has now published more details about the TT RS. Power from the slightly oddball, but delightfully sounding, 5-cylinder is rated at 340PS (250kW). There is 450Nm of torque available from just 1600rpm, ensuring there will be plenty of mid-range poke.

Audi claims the Coupé can reach 100km/h in 4.6 seconds (add 0.1 for the Roadster). Top speed is initially limited to 155mph (250km/h) but can be raised to 174mph (280km/h) for a fee. Not sure what that’s about, but details will no doubt be confirmed closer to the car’s European delivery, starting from June 2009.

An RS4 style Sport button, fitted near the gear shift, gives the exhaust and extra growl, while also improving throttle response. I’ve never really understood why these Sport buttons exist. Surely, Mr TT RS is going to want his five-pot growling as angrily as it can every time he turns the key (apologies to Ms TT RS who I am sure feels the same way).

As usual, more after the jump. To hear that exhaust note one more time…

[audio:http://www.ausmotive.com/audio/TT-RS-drives-off.mp3]

UPDATE 6 March: More pics of the TT RS on public view can be seen at the TT Forum—there’s interesting detail pics on offer, showing undertray, exhaust, interior and engine bay.

UPDATE 8 March: The TT RS is due for Australian release before the end of March 2010.

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Categories
Aston Martin Motor Shows

Geneva 2009 – Aston Martin One-77

Aston Martin One-77

Aston Martin has lifted the wraps off the One-77 at the Geneva Motor Show. The One-77 is a new take on Aston’s familiar, and gorgeous, silhouette.

Giving a two-finger salute to the Global Financial Crisis, the One-77 is powered by a stonking 7.3 litre V12 which Aston are confident will produce more than 700bhp. A dry sump also allows the engine to be fitted 100mm lower to the ground, contributing towards a more optimum centre of gravity.

Power gets to the road via rear rubber measuring 335/30ZR20, and is controlled with a strengthened 6-speed sequential manual box.

The carbon-fibre monocoque chassis helps give the car great rigidity, but also aids weight reduction, with the One-77 said to tip the scales at under 1500kg. Sure, that’s not especially light, but with 700+ horses at the ready, you don’t have to be Einstein to calculate that this car will be fast. Very fast! Claims of a v-max exceeding 320km/h and being capable of accelerating from rest to 100km/h in 3.5 seconds are being made by Aston Martin.

For the finishing touch, the One-77 is a car tailored to each buyer. Aston Martin technicians will tweak the suspension to suit individual customers.

Full press release, along with five more images, after the jump.

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Mazda Motor Shows

Geneva 2009: Mazda3 MPS image gallery

2009 Mazda3 MPS

Mazda have teased us with images and video of the Mazda3 MPS. Now, as part of their Geneva Auto Salon program, they have gone the whole nine yards and released a full suite of images and comprehensive details of their hottest hatch.

Peak power from the 2.3 litre turbo four cylinder, at 191kW, is no great leap forward from the previous model. Same goes for the 380Nm peak torque. Visually, though, the Mazda3 has a fresh look that takes the car forward. The somewhat controversial smiling face actually looks much better in person than in pictures, and that massive air intake on the bonnet helps to give the MPS a character all of its own.

Torque steer was always one of the pitfalls of the previous gen Mazda3 MPS. With more than 250bhp being sent to the front wheels, is it any wonder? No surprise, then, that the Mazda boffins have fiddled around a bit to make improvements in the new model. Things such as tweaks to the driveshafts, a torque sensing limited slip diff and torque supression system should help to give the 18″ front wheels a fighting chance.

There’s plenty of images and text after the jump to keep you busy for a bit. As always, click on each pic to load a wallpaper sized 2000x1320px super image.

UPDATE 4 March: Don’t forget, Melbourne readers can see the new Mazda3 MPS for themselves from today onwards at the Melbourne International Motor Show. This marks the worldwide public debut for the car, pretty cool, huh!

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Categories
Volkswagen

The new Volkswagen Polo

The new Volkswagen Polo

Volkswagen have released images of its new fifth generation Polo ahead of its reveal at the Geneva Auto Salon. Visually, at least, this is a big step forward for what is fast becoming a baby Golf. The exterior looks better than the outgoing model, although, perhaps the rear tail light treatment lets the new car down a bit.

However, it is inside where the biggest advances have been made. The new Polo interior is Golf-like in its level of appointment and detail, and you can see this car attracting a number of new buyers to the Volkswagen brand.

Volkswagen has pushed the safety aspect of the new Polo with ESP standard across the range. The car has been designed, from the ground up, with the 5-star NCAP criteria in mind, which has recently been made more difficult to achieve.

Usual TSI and TDI four cylinder engine offerings will be available in the new Polo, including a 77kW 1.2 TSI turbo powered petrol engine that uses just 5.5 litres of fuel per 100km, and emits a low 129g of CO2 per kilometre. Bettering those figures, and by some margin, is the BlueMotion Polo, equipped with a 66kW 1.6l TDI, which uses a meagre 3.8 litres of diesel per 100km with a CO2 figure of 96g/km. Volkswagen claim this is the most efficient five-seat diesel powered car in the world.

Continuing Volkswagen’s faith in dual clutch transmission technology the new Polo will a offer 7-speed DSG option.

Production of the new Polo starts this month with a European market release scheduled for June. And, judging by these new pics, the Polo GTI guess looks pretty close to the mark, as well.

UPDATE: Volkswagen Australia is saying the new Polo should be on our shores in early 2010.

UPDATE 6 April 2010: Over 25 new images added at end of article.

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Categories
Motor Shows

Geneva Auto Salon reminder

Geneva Motor Show, 5-15 March 2009The 79th Geneva International Motor Show starts this week and if you can’t be there you needn’t miss a thing. Each day from 10am (8pm AEDT) an internet television channel will have footage of all the latest from the show. Programming has begun, so bookmark the page now: www.salon-auto.tv.

The show runs from 5-15 March, however the web-TV channel will run for four extra days (2-16 March), covering events in the lead up and conclusion to the show.

As is to be expected, there are a host of manufacturers revealing new models in Geneva, including Aston Martin, Audi, BMW, Mazda, Renault and Porsche. There is also some speculation that a new hot Golf R20T could be revealed. If not, then expect the all new Golf GTI to be revealed at the very least.

A full list of model premieres is available on the show’s official website.

Categories
Motor Shows Volkswagen

MIMS 2009 – Volkswagen

Volkswagen at the Melbourne International Motor Show 2009

Volkswagen sprung something of a surprise by showing their Pickup concept at the Melbourne International Motor Show. There were rumours this model would be on display, but nothing was confirmed until the morning of the show. Sometimes referred to as the Robust, this product will feature in Australian showrooms in future. Although, no schedules have been confirmed as yet.

The Volkswagen Pickup has a genuine 1-tonne payload and with its beefy looks and European style it is sure to find an audience in the Australian marketplace. Just how much share it can gain in its segment remains to be seen, but Volkswagen are confident it will sell well down under.

The stylish Passat CC was also spoken of in glowing terms by Jutta Dierks, Volkswagen Australia CEO. But it was the new Golf in which she focused her presentation.

Making its official Australian debut, of course, the new Mk6 Golf received a nifty video intro going through the previous five generations of the car. Over 26 million Golfs have been sold since 1974 and I can’t see the Mk6 slowing progress greatly, either.

There’s been so much coverage of this model on AUSmotive that consideration was given to temporarily altering the site banner to Golfmotive, in a nod to the renaming of Wolfsburg at the launch of the Mk5 Golf a few years ago. On that basis, follow the links below for everything you need to know about Volkswagen’s most important model.

Sadly, there was nothing mentioned about the new Golf GTI, however, internet speculation is rife that the production version of the sporty Golf will be revealed in full during the Geneva Motor Show which starts tomorrow.

New Golf – Related reading

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