Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo was given the keys to the New Stratos and figured the Fiorano test track was a pretty good place for a drive. He liked it so much he decided to autograph it.
Dario Benuzzi, long-term Ferrari test driver, also had a play and suggested a few tweaks ahead of the car’s imminent launch at Paul Ricard.
You can see a video after the break, or read more by following the link below.
[Source: New Stratos]
You’re looking at the strongest link yet to confirmed engine spec for the upcoming BMW 1 Series M Coupé. You need to focus on the bottom three lines in the lower right hand corner of the pic. The information comes via a 1addicts reader and he believes it to be the real deal. The key letters and numbers are the N54B3OTO engine code and 250kW. It also appears as if BMW internally refer to the 1M as “Pyrat”.
A peak power figure of 250kW (340hp) is no real surprise, but it’s still nice to see a quasi-legitimate confirmation. What is very interesting is the last line on that pic which lists an N54B3OTO engine code with a power figure of 332kW (approx 450hp), and with a US country code. Hmm, what does this mean?
Well, it would be no real surprise if the next model M3 returns to an inline six cylinder engine, and if it did then a 332kW turbocharged spec would be about right. However, with the current M3 V8 only packing a 309kW punch it would be a huge surprise to see a massive 332kW wallop in a 1 Series.
[Source: 1addicts]
The propeller heads at Stanford University said they could do it. And now they have. “It”, of course, is the none too difficult task of sending a car up the daunting Pikes Peak International Hill Climb without a driver on board. Giving the motoring world a new term—drive-by-wireless—the autonomous Audi TTS managed to complete the 20 kilometre course without a hitch.
Unfortunately, there was a glitch of sorts when a helicopter tracking the Audi’s ascent crashed and the pilot ended up in hospital. Thankfully the pilot is now doing well and the story of the little TTS that could is being told.
There’s a couple of brief vids after the break to make you go, “Oh wow, how did they do that!”
[Source: engadget | Thanks to Tim for the tip]
Oprah Winfrey has revealed the profile of Volkswagen’s new New Beetle. Of course, who else! Well, what do you think? It looks a bit old skool 911, if you squint your eyes, hold breath and think of flowers in your hair in San Francisco.
Apparently the stunt is all part of Oprah’s goodbye tour in which she will be giving a fleet of 275 Beetles away to audience members. Due for release in 2012, or possibly late in 2011, the New Beetle is scheduled for production at Puebla, Mexico from around September next year.
There has been previous speculation that VW will reveal their new “icon” at the Detroit Auto Show in January. However, this rumour was quashed by Volkswagen of America boss, Jonathon Browning, when he confirmed that Oprah had been granted an early preview of the New Beetle. He went on to say that the public wouldn’t get to see the car until their Spring in 2011 (our Autumn).
We’ve spared you the video of Oprah’s audience hooting and hollering, but if you must, follow the source link below to the see the drama for yourself.
[Source: Autoblog]
It’s official, at last! Audi has just released confirmed specs on the RS3 Sportback quattro. It is powered by the same 250kW 2.5 litre inline five cylinder found in the TT RS. Even the peak torque figure of 450Nm is the same. At this stage, though, it looks like the RS3 will only be fitted with a 7-speed S tronic; there is no mention of a manual box in the initial press release.
An aggressive front spoiler sets the tone for what is quite a hot looking hot hatch. Large 19″ alloys set off the car very well, too. They feature a slightly staggered formation, with 235/35 tyres up front and 225/35 at the rear (that’s not a typo). She’s a bit of a porker, though, at 1575kg it’s just as well Audi used carbon fiber reinforced plastic for the flared front guards, as the weight of the RS3 is nearing obesity for what is still a mid-size hatch.
Being an RS model this hyper-hatch features a “S” button which, among other things, opens an exhaust flap to release more of that awesome five-pot growl. It also enables the driver to completely disengage the ESP system.
Performance is up there, as you’d expect, and Audi claim a rapid 0-100km/h time of just 4.6 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 250km/h. Given the RS3’s numbers—performance and weight—its overall fuel consumption figure of 9.1l/100km is quite respectable.
Five exterior colors are available, but in the material released to date Audi are being shy with the details. We can probably make a well-educated guess, though. Red will feature, obviously, along with our guesses of white, silver, black and Audi’s signature RS metallic blue.
Inside is mostly what you’d expect from the familiar 8P A3 donor range. There is the new addition of “Aluminium Race” inlays, but the RS sport bucket seats in the press pics are an option. So, too, is the red contrast stitching. Silver contrast stitching will be standard fare.
There’s no mention of the car having a limited production run of 2700 vehicles as has been speculated. But it has been confirmed the RS3 will be released early next year with a European base price of €49,900. We expect Australian buyers will be doing well if they can drive away for less than $100K when the car finds its way down under.
All in all the RS3 Sportback looks the goods. Many, including us here at AUSmotive, will lament the lack of Coupé and manual transmission options. It’s unlikely that information is being held back, either.
Audi’s initial press information is available after the break, along with all 40 images released to date (click on the pics to launch 2000px super sizing).
Remember the competition BMW was running where the prize was one of 12 places at an exclusive 1 Series M Coupé prototype test drive event? Sounded pretty good, didn’t it. Well that event took place a few days ago. You can see a brief promo video from BMW after the break.
However, perhaps of more interest is a first-hand account of what this goose-pimple inducing 1M Coupé is like to drive. The chap on the left of frame above was one of the lucky few. He goes by the name of Woland’s Advocate on the 1addicts forum.
Here’s a taste of what he had to say, “The engine is astonishingly flexible with bags of torque to spare, so even at motorway speeds, strong effortless acceleration is available without shifting down from sixth. But when shifting is this slick, that would be a pity, especially given the engine’s epic mid-range punch. The gearshift’s throw has been shortened and the box on the car I tried was largely slick and intuitive—you can lightly flick it between gears with speed and precision.”
Follow the link below to get the whole story, it’s quite a good read.
[Source: 1addicts]
UPDATE: You can read another review from a 1addicts user HERE.
Check out this crazy thing, it’s called the Mercedes-Benz BIOME. We’re half expecting it to be some sort of joke. Read the press guff after the break and you’ll see why.
Truth is, the BIOME was created as an entry into the LA Design Challenge and it is a stunning looking creation. But the explanation of how it works and how it draws its power, well—honestly, you just can’t make this stuff up—it’s extraordinary. Who knows, maybe one day the joke will be on us.
Oh, the winner of the LA Design Challenge was the Cadillac Aera, an equally hair-brained concept powered by fiction.
The Lotus position seems to have worsened for the Lotus Racing F1 team with an Autosport article claiming Proton-owned Group Lotus is now unwilling to work with 1 Malaysia Racing Team, otherwise known as Lotus Racing.
Technical boss Mike Gascoyne is perplexed at the stance from Group Lotus, “We don’t really understand why Group Lotus don’t want to support us in doing that job for them. We’ve brought great value to the brand and the shareholders invested something like £80 million into the brand and the development of the team, and we’re a little bit failing to understand why Group Lotus seem to want to try to kick us out.”
Group Lotus wants to cast its motorsport arm wider than F1, something which Gascoyne can’t understand, “Because they seem to want to do every racing series that there is, and for a loss-making car company, that seems to be slightly perplexing. But if that’s what they want to do, good luck to them.”
Unless some very big hatchets are buried soon the future of Lotus Racing as we know it looks increasingly likely to be operating under a different name. With a new Renault engine deal and gearboxes supplied by Red Bull Tony Fernandes and his merry men are keen to get ready fir the 2011 season. Gascoyne added, “We’ll be firing the car up on 25 January in readiness for the first test in February.”
[Source: Autosport]
The Porsche 911 GT2 RS is the most powerful road car the team from Stuttgart has ever made. Its 620bhp sent Chris Harris into overdrive and all 500 examples have already been sold. With all the hype Fifth Gear’s Jason Plato thought it would be nice to celebrate his BTCC success by thrashing the newest “widow maker” around Silverstone.
Plato currently rates the Ferrari 458 Italia as the best new supercar money can buy. Is the GT2 RS about to knock the Fezza off its perch?
It’s been a couple of years since there was a decent rumour suggesting the Volkswagen Microbus was on the way back. But, thanks to AutoExpress we can, once again, start to think how we’d all look with flowers in our hair.
We probably won’t see anything new until 2012, or even later, but Klaus Bischoff, Head of Volkswagen Design said, “I would not be doing my job at Volkswagen properly if I was not thinking of bringing back the Camper.”
Elaborating further Bischoff went on to say, “The key question is ‘what sort of car should we build?’ It could be a traditional MPV, with a conventional interior, or we could be much bolder, designing a more flexible, versatile machine – perhaps one that is closer in spirit to the original model. It is not yet decided.”
The original 2001 concept still looks as good today as it did back then. Sadly it was money issues that put a stop to the rebirth of the “Kombi” back in 2005; with any luck the project won’t stall a second time around.
[Source: AutoExpress]
Here is some rare archival footage of Ayrton Senna undergoing his first tests in Formula One back in 1983 when he was dominating in British Formula Three. Senna’s F3 dominance was creating headlines and he was granted testing opportunities with several teams, including Williams, McLaren and Toleman.
With driving contracts already in place at Williams and McLaren it was with Ted Toleman’s team that Senna made his F1 debut in 1984. Senna’s words at the end of this clip proved true, when he claimed podium finishes at Britain and Portugal.
Senna would go on to secure three World Championships with McLaren (1988, 1990, 1991) before, fatefully, suffering a life-ending accident in a Williams at Imola in 1994.
[via Motorsport Retro]
Earlier this month a new website called Save Team Lotus was launched. If you’ve been keeping up to speed on this sorry tale you won’t be surprised to learn of the new site. If not, you’d better read on to see what all the fuss is about.
Lotus is Lotus right? The people who made the famous Formula One cars of old are the same folks that made the road cars? Nope. It wasn’t then, and it most certainly isn’t now.
While it’s true that Colin Chapman was the driving force behind both companies, it is also true that Team Lotus (the F1 team) and Group Lotus (the road car manufacturer) were, and still are, separate entities. A move originally taken by Chapman to protect the road car manufacturer from the racing team in case of any damages brought about by insurance or accident claims.
Fast forward to 1994 and Team Lotus was forced into administration. The left over bits, including the rights to the Team Lotus name, were purchased by David Hunt and his business partner. Hunt was involved with Team Lotus prior to their demise and this, along with the fact he is the brother of 1976 World Champion James Hunt, has given him a great respect for Team Lotus history.
In 1996 the Malaysian auto maker Proton purchased Lotus under the assumption they were getting the road car outfit and the former F1 team as well. As it turned out, for reasons just explained, Proton’s purchase didn’t include any of the race team’s assets or intellectual property. Worse, Proton only discovered their position on the day their takeover was announced.