The official unveiling of the New Stratos project is almost upon us. Already Autocar and Evo have filed initial drive reports. Below are a few of their thoughts, but make sure you follow the links at the end to get the full picture. Autocar: “The nimble handling and eager speed make an immediate impact, but [...]

It’s the classic German duel—Audi v BMW—and Autocar has been kind enough to play out the latest fight for us. It’s the 331kW 4.2 litre RS5 up against the 309kW 4.0 litre M3. Will the extra power and quattro all-wheel drive in the Audi give it an edge over the benchmark rear-wheel drive M3? There’s [...]

On the weekend, some 13,500kms apart, the greatest assets of Red Bull Racing were at “home” spreading the word of Formula One. In German capital of Berlin the 2010 F1 World Champion, Sebastien Vettel, was living it large in front of the Brandenburg Gate. While, in sunny Australia, our F1 high priest Mark Webber and [...]

The Audi voiceover man is back; as lifeless as ever too. This time he is talking about the RS3 hyper hatch. There’s lots of facts and fugures, but, sadly, no driving footage. No 2.5 litre barking its way through a scenic European mountain pass. A bit of a let down, really. Hopefully there is more [...]

Last week we told you the Audi quattro concept was spotted in Malibu, west of Los Angeles. Now, we can see what they were up to. Audi has released new footage of the concept car and a Ur-Quattro driving along the Pacific Coast Highway. Interspersed with vision of the quattro concept in front of a [...]

Aston Martin Racing has updated its successful V8 Vantage-based GT4 racer ahead of the 2011 season. A new aero package, revised ECU mapping and a new Bosch ABS/traction control setting developed with race data headline the improvements. But, really, it’s an Aston and with slick marketing pics like these it’s the beauty of the Vantage’s [...]

Just weeks after announcing the racing TT RS, Audi will extend its customer motorsport program further with the TT GT4 developed by quattro GmbH. Due for sale in 2012 the TT GT4 was launched at the DTM round in Shanghai on the weekend. Powered by a 250kW TFSI engine, the car will be priced from [...]

Lotus F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen was representing Team Finland in the Race of Champions last weekend. Things didn’t quite go to plan when he was racing rally ace Sebastien Loeb at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS. Apparently a suspension failure and a jammed throttle caused him to lose control and smash through the [...]

This weekend saw the annual running of the Race of Champions in Düsseldorf, Germany. As part of the exhibition event former rally star Michèle Mouton took to the track in an Audi Quattro S1. As you can see things didn’t quite go to plan for the only woman to win a round of the WRC. [...]

With one round to go, defending series champ Paul Stokell picked a good time to bag his first Round win at the Gold Coast last month. That puts him very much within striking distance of Chris Alajajian, who has led the 2010 MINI Challenge all year. Alajajian did manage to win Race 1 on the [...]

Young Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo (left) will take another step towards an F1 career with Scuderia Toro Rosso in 2011. The 21-year-old will drive in the Friday practice sessions at all 20 races next year. Jaime Alguersuari and Sebastien Buemi (right) have already been confirmed as Toro Rosso’s drivers for next season and they will [...]

Volkswagen Australia Managing Directo, Anke Koeckler, has lifted the hopes of local Scirocco fans by virtually confirming the car could be a surprise arrival in 2011. Speaking to media at the launch of the Polo GTI Koeckler said, “It’s an amazing car, and I love this car as well—that’s why I’m working on that. “It’s [...]

In disappointing, but perhaps unsurprising news, BMW Australia today announced the MINI Challenge series would not continue beyond the current season. Originally set up in 2008 with a five-year commitment commercial realities have influenced BMW Australia’s position. MINI national manager, David Woollcott, explains, “Motorsport is becoming increasingly expensive and, together with a contraction in the [...]

Volkswagen Australia has just released pricing and specifications for its newest hot hatch, the Polo GTI. There’s good news, too, as the pre-delivery list pricing comes in under $30K and both 3-door ($27,790) and 5-door ($28,990) versions are available. Standard equipment includes a 132kW twincharged 1.4 litre engine, a 7-speed DSG transmission, an XDL electronic [...]

The love it or hate it MINI Countryman now has one less reason to hate it. It’s performance at the latest round of Euro NCAP testing saw the not-so-MINI awarded a 5-star crash rating. The Countryman scored 84% for the Adult Occupant category, 83% for Child Occupant, 63% for Pedestrian and 71% for Safety Assist. [...]