Day: 27 February 2011

Categories
Fiat

Abarth 500 esseesse en route to Australia

Abarth 500 esseesse

More than two years have passed since the Abarth 500 was released in Europe but the car, in its hottest essesse form, has now been confirmed for Australia.

The news emerged a couple of weeks back and demand for the fiery 117kW/230Nm pocket rocket has been very strong with the first shipment already selling out.

“While we are amazed by the demand for the Abarth 500 Esseesse, it isn’t a huge surprise,” says Andrei Zaitzev, General Manager for Abarth in Australia.

“The Abarth 500’s Australian arrival was delayed by demand in Europe, which meant that there was already pent-up demand here. The announcement that we would launch with the rare, high performance Esseesse version sent an extra rush of people to our dealerships wanting to be amongst the first on the road in an Abarth 500.”

Let’s hope the sting in the tail for those who have already expressed an interest to buy isn’t an overinflated price tag!

A note at the end of the press release says we’re not allowed to call the Abarth 500 a Fiat, but what the hey, we’re going to file this under the Fiat category anyway.

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Categories
BMW

BMW M5 might have a manual box after all

According to BMW specialist website BimmerFile the new M5 won’t be fitted with a conventional automatic transmission. It’s only a bit over a week ago that fears emerged the F10-based M5 might be fitted exclusively with an 8-speed slushbox.

Thankfully, the rumour has since been put to bed with BimmerFile quoting a BMW exec flatly denying the M5 will be fitted with an automatic box.

So, what transmission will the M5 have? It’s quite likely that BMW will adapt one of its DCT transmissions and the possibility of a trad manual self-shifter also remains. Bravo!

[Source: BimmerFile]

Categories
Formula 1 Motorsports News

Stencil art adds street cred to motorsport icons

Xander Walker's Street Spirit stencil art

Street cred comes to the world of motorsport in the guise of stencil art from artist Xander Walker and his Street spirit series. Featured above is Nigel Mansell’s 1992 Williams FW14. Also in Walker’s portfolio are a couple of Ayrton Senna’s F1 cars, along with some classic GT racers and more.

The works are limited, very well priced and for sale now via Etsy. We’ve got a couple on the way and are hoping Walker might create another Williams work for us, the FW07 that Alan Jones piloted to the 1980 world championship.

[via Autoblog]

UPDATE: A video from the artist has been added below.

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Categories
Ferrari

Ferrari FF launch comes and goes without fanfare

Ferrari FF launch

Earlier this week the launch of the Ferrari FF promised much. It took place in the wee hours of Thursday morning (AEDT) and we expected to awake to a new raft of images from the Ferrari press machine. Alas, we got to see Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa in a suit and a few FF models on a stage.

There was a brief statement from Ferrari declaring the event a “great success” but not much else. I guess they’re saving the best for Geneva.

If you’ve got an hour to spare you can watch a replay of the launch over at the Ferrari website. It’s worth a look, but a word of warning, the audio of the live English translation might drive you barmy. In fact, save yourself the bother and make do with a few minutes of YouTube goodness after the break. Who knew the FF would be this season’s must have accessory in the alps!

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Categories
Lamborghini

Lambo leaks continue with new Aventador pics

Lamborghini Aventador

The leaked material on the Lamborghini Aventador continues with new shots of its interior as well as photos taken at the part-built Lambo stand from the halls of the Geneva Motor Show.

We can see that Lamborghini has taken the art of origami car manufacture to a new level. Thankfully, only Lambo can get away with madness like this. The Aventador is aggressive, frightening and stylish all at the same time. When you start thinking of its 700hp 6.5 litre V12 and the F1-inspired suspension you start to get, well, a wee bit excited at just how ballistic this car could be.

For what it’s worth we’ll have official details from Lamborghini once they’ve been released. Although, there’s not much left to tell, really.

[Source: Autogespot & GTspirit]

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Categories
News

Celebrate the launch of AUSmotive 2.0

2010 Brazilian Grand Prix

Today we have taken the wraps off AUSmotive 2.0. If you fear change, you can relax, because we’ve taken AUSmotive 1.0 and smoothed out its rough edges. The new site is cleaner, better organised and has also been optimised for iPhones, iPads and other mobile devices.

AUSmotive 2.0 owes a huge debt of gratitude to Derek Mack, a regular reader of the site, who has ensured the transition looks as good as it operates.

The new site has been tested on numerous browsers and devices, but as most know it’s only in the true test, full operation, that all the bugs are exposed. So, if you notice anything that doesn’t look quite right then please let us know in the comments section below, or by using our new contact form.

Of course, if you like the site even more than you did before then why not tell all your mates about it. AUSmotive is the place for your daily automotive fix and you can stay in touch with the site via Facebook and twitter as well; there’s no excuse for missing the latest we have to offer!