Archive for April, 2011

Sebastien Ogier wins Rally Jordan

Citroën works driver Sebastien Ogier has backed up his victory in Portugal by winning Rally Jordan on the weekend. It was a nail biting finish in the end and Ogier’s winning margin of just 0.2 seconds over Ford’s Jari-Matti Latvala is the closest in WRC history. World champ Sebastien Loeb had to make do with [...]

2011 Chinese Grand Prix – Post-race press conference

Lewis Hamilton has finally broken the early season dominance of Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull Racing to post a first race win for McLaren at today’s Chinese Grand Prix. It was a race for the ages thanks to a mix of tyre strategies that kept everyone guessing right to the chequered flag. Vettel ran a [...]

BMW 1M Coupé begins to make its mark

// Posted in BMW

The highly anticipated BMW 1 Series M Coupé is starting to find its way into the garages of some very chuffed new owners. Australian buyers have to wait until June for their own 1M experience, but those on the waiting list will be encouraged by a couple of stories that have come our way via [...]

Volkswagen to announce WRC plans next month

Autosport brings word that Volkswagen are set to announce their intention to enter the World Rally Championship in 2012. It is understood Volkswagen had hoped to launch their new program ahead of Rally Portugal, however, final sign off was not achieved in time. It is now expected VW will confirm their WRC entry prior to [...]

2011 Chinese Grand Prix – Post-qualifying press conference

Sebastian Vettel can do no wrong, it would seem, as he claimed a third pole position for the year with alarming ease. His Red Bull Racing teammate, Mark Webber, can do nothing right. Meanwhile, McLaren pair Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton are left to fight over Vettel’s scraps. The 2010 world champion saved his best [...]

Left four and a half after crest!

It’s a tough gig being a navigator in a competitive rally. Especially if your driver misses a call. Thankfully, in this footage from Targa Tasmania, driver Kym Illman and navigator Kirrilee Gentleman were not injured and we can indulge a few lighthearted moments. Although, let’s hope Kirrilee is wearing a HANS device when she next [...]

Peugeot previews SxC concept

// Posted in Peugeot

In a further sign the Chinese market is becoming increasingly important to the world’s car manufacturers another concept model has been previewed ahead of Auto Shanghai. This time it’s Peugeot wanting to cash in early with this pretty cool looking SxC concept. Indeed, Peugeot say they want to launch at least one new model per [...]

2012 Audi Q3 photo gallery

// Posted in Audi

Audi has published photos and information about its new Q3 ahead of Auto Shanghai (21–28 April). What we see is an altogether predictable result with a few tweaks here and there for good measure. That’s not to say the latest wannabe SUV is a bad thing. On the contrary, we think it looks quite smart. [...]

New intel on the Porsche 918 Spyder

// Posted in Porsche

World Car Fans brings word of some leaked info regarding the Porsche 918 Spyder. Details include a preview of the colour palette, which will consist of Carrara White, Black, Platinum Silver Metallic and Basalt Black. More interesting, though, is news of the 918′s operating modes which are activated by a dial on the steering wheel. [...]

Aston Martin previews new V12 Vantage GT3

Aston Martin has just released this teaser image of a new V12 Vantage GT3. It will replace the company’s race going DBRS9 and is set for a competition debut in 2012. The Vantage GT3 will take a regular V12 Vantage and up the ante by adding a race-spec Xtrac semi-automatic transmission along with race-tuned ABS [...]

Audi R8 GT Spyder due in 2012

// Posted in Audi

Audi has plans to add an R8 GT Spyder to its supercar platform. Based on the 412kW 5.2 litre V10 hardtop R8 GT, which was limited to just 333 examples, the Spyder version will go on European sale early next year following a preview at Le Mans in June and a full reveal in Frankfurt [...]

MINI Ray is the one for you

// Posted in MINI

Last week the MINI Ray was launched in Australia. It’s the cheapest MINI you can buy and has a list price of $25,500. First launched in Europe back in 2009 the MINI Ray is based on the MINI One, currently not sold in Australia. Featuring a 72kW/153Nm 1.6 litre engine., the Ray has a combined [...]

New vehicle sales report – March 2011

March was another month without much fanfare as far as vehicle sales go. The official press release from FCAI is very matter of fact. In real terms, though, the numbers don’t seem too bad. A total of 93,984 sales were registered, a drop of just under 1% compared to March 2010. FCAI Chief Executive Andrew [...]