Archive for July, 2010

MINI and Prodrive ready to announce WRC entry

// Posted in MINI, WRC

News has emerged that an announcement from MINI and Prodrive confirming a WRC entry is imminent. As the rendering above shows the rally car will be based on MINI’s new four-door Countryman model and will derive its engine from the 1.6 litre John Cooper Works range. It is expected the announcement will be made before [...]

Goodwood FoS: Porsche 911 GT2 RS explained

The fabulous 620bhp Porsche 911 GT2 RS made its public debut at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed. In this video (available below) Andreas Preuninger, Manager of High Performance Vehicles for Porsche, talks us through some of the things that make the GT2 RS so special. [via The German Car Blog]

Abarth Punto EVO photo gallery

// Posted in Fiat

The Abarth Punto EVO has just gone on sale in the UK. It is powered by a 1.4 litre turbo four with “MultiAir technology”. The feisty Punto can punt its way to 100km/h in 7.9 seconds. Peak power from the Punto EVO engine is 165bhp (123kW), which is complemented by 250Nm of torque from 2250rpm. [...]

Ferrari 458 Italia lights my fire

The gentleman you see above got a bit of a fright when he saw the rear arch of his Ferrari 458 Italia in flames while driving through the streets of Paris. No danger of the captain going down with the ship here, though. Monsiuer Italia legged it leaving his poor 458 to a firey end. [...]

How close can a Cayenne get to a 911?

Ever considered how a Porsche Cayenne Turbo would go against a 911 Carerra 4S around a test track? No, neither have I, to be honest. That said, the Cayenne and its ilk are behemoths that tend to defy the laws of physics by being quite capable handlers. But can a big truck like this really [...]

X factor by 4

// Posted in BMW

Sales of the oddball X6 have exceeded BMW’s wildest dreams. Expecting to sell around 20,000 models per year the X6, can you believe it, has already sold 80,000 units worldwide since its launch in 2008. Indeed, the model is on track to achieve 100,000 sales by year’s end. Perhaps it is no surprise then that [...]

Toyota TF109 seen with x-ray vision

This nifty little image of the Toyota TF109 gives a great example of how drivers, somehow, squeeze into a modern day Formula One car. Clearly, man plays second fiddle to the form and function of the machine here. Click on the image for a larger view. [Source: motorcentral]

Drive Thru: Volkswagen Golf R

Details of the all-paw Golf R first came to light in September last year. Since then there’s been a sense of anticipation building here at AUSmotive HQ. On paper, Volkswagen’s 188kW hero puts forward a compelling case. As with any car the final judgement can only be revealed through first hand experience. First, a quick [...]

A pax lap inside the BMW 1 Series M Coupé

// Posted in BMW

Since last week’s news of the BMW 1 Series M Coupé emerged a number of videos from the Ascari track event have made their way on to YouTube. Journalists were offered passenger laps inside the 1M development prototype and one of the better clips is this one featuring Chris Harris from Evo. Harris had the [...]

Tally ho, we’re off to the show!

The organisers of the Salon Privé motor show, the UK’s Luxury Super Car Event and Concours d’Elégance, have just revealed their latest poster. Given the show actually starts next week you might think its a bit late. Fear not, tickets for the exclusive event have already been sold out. The other half shall have to [...]

Ferrari 458 Challenge announced

// Posted in Ferrari

The Ferrari 458 Challenge, the latest Maranello road car to racecar transformation, has just been revealed at the Annual Dealer Meeting. Of course, the Challenge version is heavily based on the already mighty 458 Italia, which has been drawing praise the world over since its launch. To make the 458 that little bit better on [...]

Burnout fatigue

The folks over at Inside Line bring us this Burnout Super Test featuring the Volkswagen Golf GTI and the Mazda3 MPS. Why they bothered is anyone’s guess. Perhaps the presenter should have said his last line to camera at the start of the clip and saved everyone the hassle. Still, nobody got hurt and so [...]

Citroën Survolt electrifies Le Mans

It is Bastille Day today, after all. So what better way for this humble blog to celebrate than with these new images of the Citroën Survolt lapping around the famous Le Mans circuit. The Survolt is an all-electric beast offering 224kW and a zero to one hundred time under five seconds. Perhaps more impressively the [...]

918 Spyder set to become most expensive Porsche ever

The Porsche 918 Spyder now has around 2000 expressions of interest. Last we heard the count was at 900 or so, just 100 short of the minimum number Porsche required to build the hybrid brute; offering a 500bhp 3.4 litre V8 and a 230bhp electric motor. Now that it looks more likely than not that [...]

Ayrton Senna – The movie

It seems the quest to make a buck from the movie game has extended its reach to the life of Ayrton Senna. Late last year Senna was voted the best driver in the history of Formula One. It was no mug punter poll, either; voting was only open to current and ex-F1 pilots. So, I [...]