According to Autocar McLaren Automotive will announce its future plans at 9:30pm tonight (AEDT). It is understood a production ready MP4-12C road car will be on show. Lewis Hamilton will also be in attendance to flash his pearly whites and tell us how great this new road car is. You can watch the streamed event live via the Autocar website on the link below.
[Source: Autocar]
The Audi R8 Spyder—who could say no to that 525hp V10 sitting behind your ears? Well, you can see for yourself after the break that the chaps at Evo magazine would be more than willing to join the queue for the roofless R8.
Now, as most readers will know, Evo sets a very high standard for their reviews. They are generally acknowledged as providing some of the better reviews in the motoring landscape. That being the case, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below on how you think the opportunity to review the R8 Spyder was handled.
The latest issue of Winding Road has what might appear to be an odd comparo, the Audi S4 up against the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo MR Touring. In an Australian context comparing the Audi S4 and the closest match here, the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, would seem something of an odd couple. After all, before statutory charges and final taxes, the S4 kicks off at $115,000, while the Evo (with dual clutch transmission) starts at $74,390.
On paper, though, comparing the 245kW S4 with the likely nimbler 217kW Evo starts to make a lot more sense. So, would you be better off buying the Evo and pocketing a Golf GTI with the change, or pooling your resources and getting the S4? You’ll need to read the article, of course, for the full run down, but here is a teaser for you:
“Where the Audi whispers soft messages about road an environment, the Evo stands on a ladder and hollers them at you while you’re sleeping.”
Want to hear the killer punch? US pricing on these cars, as tested is US$54,075 for the S4 and US$41,710 for the Evo. That’s around $58,500 compared to $45,200 on current exchange rates. Hmm, apart from reeling in horror at the blood sucking prices we’re paying in this country, you can now see why Winding Road pitted these two cars against each other.
Before you read the article, let us know in the comments section below which car you think will come out on top.
[Source: Winding Road]
Volkswagen have announced the formation of a new performance division; titled Volkswagen R GmbH. The company will be based in Warmenau, a few kilometres from VW’s Wolfsburg headquarters. Today’s news confirms speculation which first came to light in late January.
With over 350 staff assigned to the program Volkswagen R will assume responsibility for existing models such as the Golf R and Scirocco R as well as the R Line and Volkswagen Exclusive range of cosmetic enhancements (generally not available in Australia).
The scope of Volkswagen R appears to closely mirror quattro GmbH’s role for stablemate Audi. So let’s hope we see a few more cars adorned with R badging and the associated performance upgrades. Australian customers should get their first look at the 188kW Golf R in a few months when it goes on local sale.
Audi have recently released a couple of animated clips showcasing their latest quattro technologies. So, if you want to know how all those mechanical bits and pieces work, and why they work, then Audi is ready to send you back to school.
Set aside 10 minutes or so and you’ll find two clips for you after the jump. The clips feature the crown-gear centre differential from the new RS5, as well as explaining torque vectoring, available on the RS5 and also via the sports differential on models such as the S4.
If this sort of stuff turns you on, make sure you follow the links to previous RS5 and S4 articles which give you access to Audi’s press guff on the various technologies discussed in the clips below.
Lexus, in partnership with Gazoo Racing, will return to the Nürburgring 24 hour race this year (13–16 May) with production versions of the LF-A supercar.
The cars will be driven by a mix of Japanese and German drivers, including Toyota master test driver Hiromu Naruse, Takayuki Kinoshita, Akira Ida, Juichi Wakisaka, Armin Hahne, Jochen Krumbach and Andre Lotterer. The driving talent has a great mix of GT racing and proven experience at the N24.
Powered by a 552hp V10 the LF-A certainly isn’t lacking for performance. Indeed, in road-going trim Lexus claim their supercar can reach 100km/h in 3.7 seconds, and is able to exceed 200mph (320km/h+).
Last year Gazoo Racing entered two pre-production models in the 24 hour enduro. They’ll be hoping for better success in 2010 with encouraging, if not spectacular, results achieved in the 2009 race. Only one of the LF-As finished the event, placing fourth in class (from five finishers) and 14th overall, some 41 laps behind the winning Manthey Racing Porsche 911 RSR. The second LF-A managed to complete 106 laps and almost 22 and a half hours of competition before withdrawing from the event.
More after the break.
A number of sources are currently suggesting Series 15 will premiere on UK screens in July. BBC’s scheduling of Top Gear during Germany 2006 shows it is unlikely they will air Top Gear while the World Cup is underway. The final of South Africa 2010 is on Sunday 11 July. This all points to a possible return for Top Gear on Sunday 18 July.
Meanwhile, speculation is building that Channel Nine plans to revive Top Gear Australia with a six episode series to air during 2010. There’s nothing official just yet, so watch this space.
UPDATE 7 June: The boys will be back on UK screens from 27 June.
Following a series of leaked images over the weekend BMW have released official pics of their new 5 Series Touring, which will have its full public reveal at Leipzig in early April. Regular readers will know AUSmotive approves of all Euro wagons, and this new 5 Series is no different. It’s a nice evolution of the F10 5 Series saloon, and while I was a big fan of the previous generation 5 Series, the new models are starting to grow on me.
The 5 Series Touring is due in Australia in October September, and surprisingly BMW Australia have given us a tip on the expected engine line up at launch. It is stated in the press release (available below) that Australian customers will have the choice of two models, 520d and 535i. The 520d is powered by a 135kw four cylinder diesel engine, while the 535i gets the 225kW twin turbo 3.0 litre straight six also found in the Z4, among others. All engines meet EU5 emissions standards. Both models will be available with an 8 speed automatic transmission, although local pricing and specs won’t be confirmed until closer to the launch date.
As expected you can achieve a multitude of layout and boot opening arrangements. The rear window can be opened to offer quick access to the rear luggage compartment. Plus, there is an auto open/close function for gaining full access to the rear compartment. In its regular format the cargo space offered by the latest estate from Munich is 560 litres, which can be expanded to a maximum of 1670 litres. Instead of the more common 60:40 or 50:50 split folding rear seats this wagon provides a 40:20:40 set up. Which is also a hint that the rear bench is really best suited to two adults and a lap dog. If you need to fit five adults in your 5 Series Touring then make sure you bags the front seats first, as it might get a bit squishy in the back.
Like the saloon, the 5 Series Touring shares many components with the up scale 7 Series and all roll off the Dingolfing production facility. Further detail and a number of pics (you can click on each to load a 2000px super image) can be found after the jump. There’s also a brief intro courtesy of BMW’s YouTube channel.
UPDATE 3 August: BMW Australia have announced list pricing for the 5 Series Touring, which is now due in September:
Yesterday I spent the morning behind the wheel of BMW’s current Z4 offerings. It was a brief taster provided by local dealership Rolfe Classic BMW. The deal was pretty simple, get existing and prospective customers in small groups to take the Z4 range out for a leisurely drive. We would stop at various points on the drive to swap cars and ensure that everyone got time in each model.
There are currently three options in the Australian Z4 range—all with inline six cylinder engines—the entry level 150kW sDrive23i, mid-range 190kW sDrive30i and the top spec 225kW twin-turbo sDrive35i. In May 2010 the range will have a new hero model, the 250kW sDrive35is.
This was by no means an exhaustive test, but it was a very nice way to spend a lovely Saturday morning. Thoughts on each of the cars can be read below.
The Clipsal 500 is currently underway in Adelaide. It’s one of the country’s biggest race meets and as well as the V8 Supercars there is a host of support categories. Series like the MINI Challenge and the Australian GT Championship are two of the higher profile categories.
As we know, motorsport is often filled with a lot of ups and downs. For Chris Wootton (pictured above), he got a bit of both when he blew a fuse and rolled his MINI at the chicane just after the start–finish line. He wasn’t the only one to short circuit at that corner, though. Sadly, Mark Eddy in his newly delivered Audi R8 LMS and Tony Quinn, in his Mosler MT900 GT3, also tasted concrete.
You can see all these incidents, and more, in the clip after the break. Fortunately none of the drivers were hurt in any of the accidents. There’s some beautiful machinery that’s been damaged and best wishes to the crews and team owners for a speedy return to competition.
[via V8TVNews | Thanks to Avril for the tip]
Clash Production make some damn nice post-production videos of motorsport scenes. One such production is their Titan Movie project, which has been orbiting the blogosphere for a while now. So far, there’s been only been a couple of preview clips released, and a lot of the footage features racing from the Nürburgring.
However, until recently, most of the footage released had only featured action from the Grand Prix track at the Ring. Having a racing film showcasing the Nürburgring without having any action from the Nordschleife makes about as much sense as the Aston Martin Cygnet. It’d be little more than trading off the name for cynical and ulterior motives. It’s a good thing, then, that Clash have put things right with their latest teaser of Titan Movie which includes snippets of footage from the 2009 Nürburgring 24 hour race. There’s still not a lot from the Nordschleife, but we now have hope that there will be more to come.
You can see that, and the other clips after the jump. Enjoy!
The Pagani Zonda R isn’t new, but this clip by Runimation Studios is. And it’s very, very good. To see how this epic farewell Zonda makes the most of its 551kW/709Nm 6.0 litre V12 make sure you take the jump below and turn your sound up to eleven.
[Thanks to Tiaan for the tip]