Month: September 2010

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MINI

MINI to reveal new design concept ahead of Paris

MINI concept

The Paris Motor Show is just three weeks away now. As usual, manufacturers will begin filtering through news, teasing us about all the the fancy shiny products they will have on show. MINI, however, will be going one better by revealing whatever it is underneath these covers in an exclusive preview to be held in London on 23 September.

Even better, if you are a UK resident you could be there. Check out the MINI Facebook page for more details on that.

As to the car that might be under wraps, well, it’s a bit hard to tell really. It’s clearly not a Coupé Concept based model. The biggest hint appears to be given at the front. Take a look at the headlights. A little bit Countryman? Could it be a JCW Countryman, perhaps?

UPDATE 11 September: Hmm, perhaps that first image has thrown us off the scent. The Facebook page has been updated with a sketch that indicates it could be MINI’s first attempt at making a scooter. Yes, seriously! See MotoringFile for more.

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Bentley

The new Bentley Continental GT, now in video

Bentley Continental GT

Following the release of images of the new Continental GT from Bentley you can now feast your eyes on a new video clip. Despite ending somewhat abruptly the footage has a great blend of imagery featuring production and design techniques interwoven with the big GT driving around the Ascari race track.

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Categories
News

Ferrari Virtual Academy

Ferrari Virtual Academy

Reckon you know your way around a computer game? Then the Ferrari Virtual Academy is for you. Ferrari reckon their engineers, in conjunction with Fernando Alonso, Felipe Massa and Giancarlo Fisichella, have created a simulator that is just like driving their F10 Formula One car, well, virtually.

The simulator is available for download now and can be purchased in two stages. The first stage (€14.90) gets you the basic set-up along with the Fiorano circuit. The second stage (€9.90) adds the Mugello and Nürburgring circuits.

Once you’re experiencing just what it is like to be an F1 superstar you can register your times and take part in an international tournament. As usual Mac users will have to stick to playing with Photoshop, this seems to be a PC-only experience.

More after the break.

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Top Gear

Jeremy Clarkson talks about the Ben Collins fallout

Jeremy Clarkson

As well all know Ben Collins was The Stig. The fallout from Collins’ decision to out himself has been massive. For one it’s cost him his job. But it also looks like it has cost him a few friendships, as well.

Jeremy Clarkson was interviewed by internet-only TV station WitneyTV. It’s a low budget community-based outfit covering news in the West Oxfordshire region of England. Now, though, they are reaching a worldwide audience.

Here’s a few quotes from the interview:

“It was a shock. It was horrible, actually. I liked him. He came around to my house, and had drinks, and all that time he was writing a book.”

“TopGear is damaged, but not out.”

“If you’re watching this children, greed is bad.”

“Put it this way, he’s history, as far as we’re concerned. He’s sacked.”

You can see a trailer for the interview after the break, or follow this link for the full interview (Episode #17, fast forward to the 27 minute mark).

[Thanks to Richard for the tip]

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Categories
Opel Vauxhall

Vauxhall GTC hot hatch concept

Vauxhall GTC Concept

Okay, the Holden Cruze hatchback is not a bad looking car. But the current model Astra looks better. As it currently stands there are no plans from Holden to bring the current Astra down under. That’s a shame, really, because it means we probably won’t get to see this new GTC hot hatch on our shores.

The pics here are of the concept model that will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show in a bit over two weeks from now. Concept model or not, this car looks almost production ready. Save, perhaps, for the 21″ wheels.

It looks quite smart, too. Vauxhall/Opel have not confirmed any specs just yet, apart from a few details on suspension and that it will be powered by a 2.0 litre turbocharged four cylinder.

More after the jump.

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Categories
Formula 1

FIA confirms 2011 F1 calendar

Formula One

The list of races for the 2011 Formula One season was released by the FIA overnight. There will be 20 races in all, making next year’s calendar the longest in F1 history. Some of the details revealed in the leak following the Hungarian GP have proved to be off the mark.

Bahrain will again host the season opener (13 March), with the Australian Grand Prix to follow a fortnight later (27 March). The order of events then continues to loosely follow what we’ve seen to date in 2010.

Four back-to-back races have been confirmed: Malaysia–China (April), Spain–Monaco (May), Germany–Hungary (July) and Japan–Korea (October).

There have been 19 races scheduled this year, all maintain their GP status into next year. The new race for 2011 is the inaugural Indian Grand Prix (30 October), it will be the third last race on the calendar. Following that race will be a trip to Abu Dhabi (13 November), before Brazil once again hosts the season finale (27 November).

So, 20 races, hey—is this starting to become a few too many? No in-season testing. Reduced number of engines. Ever-tightened budgets. Yet, more races, meaning more television revenue coming in to the sport. Hmm, is there something not quite right about this?

A full list is available after the break.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber drives virtual lap of Monza

Mark Webber, Red Bull Racing

Mark has dried himself off after a rain-soaked race at Spa and is now ready to tear through the forest at Monza ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix. He’s also on the lookout for leaping tifosi, beautiful food and a lot of history. Check it out after the break.

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Categories
Bentley

The new Bentley Continental GT

Bentley Continental GT

Back in 2003 Bentley launched a new Continental GT. It was one of the first models to emerge under Volkswagen ownership. It was a great looking car. It had a big, demanding presence, while having some of the nicest curves in the game. That’s a picture of it above. Looks great, doesn’t it. Well, as it happens, that is actually the new Continental GT. Yep, it’s a brand spanker.

So the gentlefolk at Crewe have taken the evolution path, then. And why not, this new Continental GT looks fantastic. To be fair, the car looks even more svelte than before. The iconic crease lines over the wheel arches are what gives this grand tourer its classic shape, perfectly complemented by the well crafted roofline.

The GT is still powered by a 6.0 litre W12. Manufacturing improvements now see that lump producing 423kW (575 PS) and 700Nm. The GT still looks big, so it should come as no surprise, then, that she tips the scales at 2320kg. Despite that, when coupled with a new ZF 6-speed auto and Volkwagen Group’s Torsen all-wheel drive system, the GT can reach 100km/h in 4.6 seconds. That’s a couple of tenths quicker than a BMW M3. If you keep your right foot buried into the floor, you’ll reach 160km.h in 10.2 seconds.

Continuing the bold statements made by this car is the fuel consumption. It’s very bold, actually. The overall combined rating is 16.5l/100km. But I guess sir won’t be too fussed by trivial matters of his Bentley’s fuel consumption.

Coming in late 2011 is a high-output, high-efficiency V8. That sounds suspiciously like the terms used to describe the engine in the Audi RS5. Coming up after the break are more pics and an extensive press release with thanks to the Bentley PR department.

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Categories
Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

VIDEO: Karun Chandok previews new Korean GP circuit

Karun Chandock

The inaugural Korean Formula One Grand Prix is just a few weeks away (22–24 October) and rumours are abound that the track won’t be ready in time. Red Bull Racing took an RB5 and a lonely F1 driver to the Korean International Circuit last weekend to see how things are going.

At 5.6 kilometres in length and with 18 corners the new track is sure to keep drivers busy. The first sector will be very fast, suiting the likes of McLaren. While the final two sectors are technical and will reward cars with string downforce, such as Red Bull. So, there’s a bit there for the two teams at the head of the championship race.

After completing a few laps Karun Chandok reckons, “The track’s got a good mix of corners and I think we’ll see a lot of overtaking in the first sector – there are long straights into slow hairpins. The straight after turn one and two is really long, so we may see some good slip streaming there, like in Shanghai. From turn seven onwards, there’s a fast section of flowing corners all the way back to the start-finish line – so I think the Red Bull Racing guys will be happy in sectors two and three.”

Video footage from Chandok’s test run can be seen after the break.

[Source: Formula1.com | Pics: Red Bull Racing/Getty Images]

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Categories
Formula 1

Art imitates life

F1 2010 (video game)

One of those pics above is a screen grab from the soon-to-be-released F1 2010 video game, the other was filmed during the 2008 Monaco Grand Prix. Watch the video below to see which is which.

[Thanks to Wes for the tip]

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Categories
Holden

New Holden hatch ready to Cruze into Paris

Chevrolet Cruze

This rather stylish looking hatchback is a Holden Cruze. It will have its first public reveal in a few weeks on the Chevrolet stand at the Paris Motor Show. The car has been designed and built by Holden’s Port Melbourne design studio.

The Cruze will be made in Australia and is set to roll off local production lines towards the end of next year. It’s no Astra, but it’s still a pretty handy looking piece of kit. Thankfully, the Holden version won’t share that unfortunate Chevrolet nose.

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Holden Hyundai Kia Mazda Subaru Suzuki Toyota VFACTS reports

New vehicle sales report – August 2010

FCAI banner

Official VFACTS data released by the FCAI states 82,122 new vehicles were sold in August, up 12.1% on the same month in 2009. Toyota, Holden and Ford retain the top-three positions on the sales charts.

Press releases from FCAI and various manufacturers are available after the break.

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