We bring you the rather intriguing news that Mikko Hirvonen will be racing alongside Sebastien Loeb at the Citroën WRC team in 2012. Hirvonen leaves Ford after six years with a record of 14 wins and twice being runner up to Loeb in the championship (2009 and 2011). Hirvonen switching camps isn’t the real story [...]
Porsche has added to its Panamera range at the LA Motor Show by revealing the GTS. Sitting between the range-topping Turbo and 4S, it is powered by the company’s familiar normally aspirated 4.8 litre V8. For the GTS the engine has been given a bit of a tweak and now produces 430hp (316kW) and 520Nm, [...]
Volkswagen has brought its Beetle R Concept along to the LA Motor Show. We first saw this car at the Frankfurt show back in September. Since then not a lot has changed; some fancy new computer generated pics, plus they have also given us a reasonable look inside. Racing style bucket seats, familiar to the [...]
After teasing us a couple of weeks ago Subaru has now officially revealed its BRZ Concept-STI. And we’re pleased to say they have made a fine looking car as well; something Subaru hasn’t been to adept at in recent years. For the moment, though, Subaru is keeping major technical detail for the Tokyo Motor Show [...]
Building work at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas has been suspended indefinitely and the future of the 2012 United States Grand Prix is now in serious doubt. Bernie Ecclestone raised concerns over the event on the weekend. When asked about the future of the USGP he replied, “I don’t know. We’re trying. [...]
Just in case you haven’t forgotten all about the snore fest that was Lewis Hamilton’s redemption here’s 90-odd pics to help you relive the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. There’s a nice mix of day and night shots, with a few colourful sunset shots in between. Actually a few of the shots illstrate well the undulations [...]
Official word of Allan Simonsen’s new lap record at Bathurst has come through from Ateco Automotive, importers of Ferrari into Australia, confirming the new benchmark of 2:04.956 set in the 458 GT3. Simonsen, who will race a Ferrari 458 GT3 at the Bathurst 12 Hour next year, said afterwards, “This car is damn fast! Given [...]
The track-only Ferrari 599XX is already pretty damn awesome. It has a raucous V12 good for 540kW and can lap the Ring in less than 7 minutes. What, then, do we make of this new Evolution version? What has Ferrari done to make it better than the regular XX? There’ll be more power, obviously. There’s [...]
This just about the most awesome DIY drag car we’ve seen. Clearly, being an old skool Volkswagen Golf, it gets a big tick here at AUSmotive HQ. But it’s more that this innocent and humble looking Mk2 is hiding a 16 valve 1.8 litre engine with a monster Garrett GTX4202R turbo bolted on. How does [...]
This short video of a BMW F32 4 Series is the first we’ve seen of the new 3 Series-based coupé. You don’t get much in the way of sound and you certainly don’t get much in the way of excitement, it’s just a car with stacks of camouflage being driven sedately in regular traffic. But [...]
Here’s some excellent video of a truly great Audi Quattro S1 replica from Bulgaria. The back to the future rally weapon was made by ProSpeed from a road going Quattro donor car and is said to be good for 770hp. We approve. Bulgarian hillclimb champ Niki Zlatkov is at the wheel and provides us with [...]
A Ferrari 458 Italia GT3, similar to the one pictured above, broke the lap record at Mount Panorama during the Sprint Bathurst event held on the weekend. Danish driver and endurance specialist Allan Simonsen set a fastest lap of 2:04.956, some 1.85 seconds faster than Craig Lowndes’ previous record time of 2:06.801. Formula One driver [...]
In the end it was good fortune that handed Sebastien Loeb his eighth WRC title. Loeb was forced out of Wales Rally GB following a low-impact collision with a tourist on a non-competitive stage. Thankfully, for Loeb, his closest rival, Ford driver Mikko Hirvonen, had already retired from the event. “It’s proof that a rally [...]
Ford began the Wales Rally GB with high hopes, Mikko Hirvonen was still a mathematical chance to win the championship. Alas, an accident and the subsequent damage forced Hirvonen out at the end of Day 2. That handed the 2011 WRC drivers’ title to Sebastien Loeb. Ironically a bizarre accident on a liaison stage with [...]
Well there’s something you don’t see every day; a Formula One podium with no Red Bull drivers present. It’s been 19 races since that last happened (2010 Korean GP). Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton, tortured soul, apparently, has given his life new meaning by winning the 2011 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. As can sometimes be the case [...]