Chris Harris has just filed this new video review of the McLaren MP4-12C. He gave us a teaser a couple of weeks ago after driving the car in Portugal at its official launch. But now he’s driven the car in the UK on familiar roads and, importantly, on a familiar, albeit very wet, track.
Those lucky enough to buy a 12C look like they will be getting something very special indeed.
The 90 second verdict vids provided by Autocar are generally pretty good value. Here’s one on the Audi A7 Sportback, which, is quite a smart looking 4-door “coupé” thingy.
Thisreviewisquitegoodtoojustdon’texpectthereviewertohavetimetotakeabreath.
The model tested is a 3.0 TFSI quattro and it gets a respectable 4 stars. Shouldn’t be too long until we start to see these in Australia.
The 4motion versions of the new dual-cab Volkswagen Amarok have been awarded a 5 star safety rating by local authority ANCAP. Scoring 32.99 points from a maximum total of 37 the Amarok is the first ute in its class to earn a 5 star rating.
You can read the short press statement from Volkswagen Australia after the break. Or, for more detail, read the full report which is available on the ANCAP website.
Hilton Holloway from Autocar reckons the new Audi Quattro has the potential to be the best handling Audi ever. At least that was his conclusion after he scored an unexpected drive in a prototype version recently.
It’s been a few months since we last had an update on the 21st century Audi Quattro. Last time out a couple of the Euro mags spent some time behind the converted concept car. The signs were pretty positive, too.
The car driven by Holloway looks like any old A5 coupé, but under the bonnet is that famous inline five cylinder engine. Still very much a work in progress, the 400hp test mule tips the scales at around 1400kg, some 100kg over the supposed target weight. Although, Audi is yet to give the car the green light. Many will also be pleased to learn the development car is fitted with a traditional 6-speed manual.
Here’s what Holloway thought, after his brief test drive around a closed circuit, “This prototype is fast, fluid and extremely well-balanced. The performance, as you might expect, is vivid. The car did not betray the fact it has a longitudinal engine hanging out ahead of the front wheels, instead it felt utterly neutral and utterly unstickable. It is also glorious light, agile and enthusiastic.”
Impressive. So, does he reckon Audi will build it? He seems certain, “As soon as the Audi board members try this prototype, the Quattro concept will be heading for the showroom.”
[Source: Autocar]
The adjustable rear wing is one of the hot topics for the 2011 Formula One season. We’ve seen a couple of videos of the wing in action, thanks to Sauber and Red Bull Racing. Now, Lotus Renault GP talk us through some of the finer points.
James Allison, LRGP Technical Director, explains the theory behind the movable rear wings, “If you allow the rear wing to reduce its angle, you lose drag, rather like an f-duct system last year. So if two cars are racing each other, the car that has adjusted its rear wing angle will be able to go faster down a straight than the car that hasn’t.”
Allison adds, “All the drivers will be free to reduce their rear wing angle during free practice and qualifying as often as they like, but in a race there will be restrictions on its use.
“The regulations will only allow it to be used when a chasing car is within one second of the car ahead. So if a driver can get within this threshold time, his car will be granted permission to use the moveable wing on one designated straight during the lap. Furthermore, the teams and the FIA have tried to design a system that only gives just enough assistance to a trailing car to make an overtaking manÅ“uvre just possible. Nobody wants to have a system that makes overtaking a formality.”
It will be really interesting to see how this new aspect of F1 works this year. Follow the source link below for more detail.
[Source: Lotus Renault GP | Pic: LRGP/LAT]
More Lamborghini Aventador shots have surfaced thanks to the magazine industry. This time the pics have been sent in to Jalopnik, and you can access slightly larger pics via Facebook.
Following this week’s earlier leak these new images have raised the bar and, really, we only need to see what the inside looks like to really ruin Lamborghini’s party. With one week to go before Geneva kicks off, who will get there first; the motoring media or Lamborghini?
[Source: Jalopnik]
AT&T Williams F1 has just shown off its new 2011 livery via a live webcast. Here’s a few pics from the show. The launch was relatively low key and consisted mainly of Sam Michael, Technical Director, discussing changes about the car and its “tight rear end.”
Only two questions from the floor were asked by the media; about the strength of the car’s rear suspension and the team’s expected tyre wear. Michael responded with the dexterity of a politician by saying a lot but not actually giving anything away.
The prominence of the Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) sponsorship probably explains why Michael was at pains to point out the natural talent possessed by rookie Venezuelan driver Pastor Maldonado. We’re sure Nico Hülkenberg is appreciative of that talent, too.
And that’s really about it. Oh, they’ve got a fancy chef with a couple of Michelin stars to help Sir Frank wine and dine corporate guests. There’s also the new livery that’s, well, not quite as striking as the test livery first seen on the FW33 earlier this month.
Quite a few comments via twitter mentioned the new car’s resemblance to former Rothmans livery of Williams’ glory years. It’s hard to disagree with those sentiments; we just wish they stuck with all over navy blue look from the test scheme.
[Pics: Williams/LAT]
James Allen, far better suited to life away from the microphone, gives us a great insight into the new Pirelli tyres on his website. If you’ve been following the pre-season testing so far you’ll know the new Pirelli tyres wear much quicker than the Bridgestone tyres that have been used in previous years.
Indeed, the Bridgestones were almost too good, too reliable. A wonderful trait for the marketers at Bridgestone, but not so great for the spectacle of Formula One.
Well, that’s all about to change. Based on current information we can expect large discrepancies in lap times on the Pirellis for each driver and this looks like being further amplified between the soft and hard compound tyres.
So, while the lack of refuelling and very reliable tyre performance made pit stop strategy quite predictable in 2010, we can probably expect times of total chaos in pit lane this year. According to Allen we could see as many four tyre stops per race, such is the drop off in lap times as the tyres wear.
Check out Allen’s website via the link below for the skinny.
[Source: JamesAllenonF1 | Pic: Pirelli | Thanks to Sean for the tip]
Over at the official Lotus Renault GP website they’ve given a brief rundown on how the Kinetic Energy Recovery System, otherwise known as KERS, will be applied to their R31 racecar.
First introduced in the 2009 season, where only a handful of teams ran the system, KERS makes a comeback in 2011 and while still not compulsory for all teams to use, a change in regulations should make it more attractive for teams to adopt. As LRGP explains, “The minimum weight of the cars has been increased from 620kg to 640kg – a move that should encourage most teams to run with KERS since the trade-off between extra weight and extra horsepower has been significantly reduced.”
Essentially the setup allows for an extra boost of up to 60kW for around 7 seconds per lap. Interestingly, LRGP say using KERS during qualifying should provide the biggest advantage because the refuelling ban during races has made it harder to use pit strategy to improve track position. That is, the higher up the grid you can start, the better you’re likely to finish. Which is kind of obvious, but we also get their point. However, we can only assume they’ve been missing the feedback on the rapid degradation of the new Pirelli tyres (more on that later).
Overall, the article is good intro to KERS if you missed it the first time around in 2009.
[Source: Lotus Renault GP | Pic: LRGP/LAT]
Aston Martin has managed to find another model lurking in the shadows of the DB9 and has created the “new” 6.0 litre V12 powered Virage. The model is available to order now in coupé and Volante convertible body styles. Although, pricing won’t be confirmed until the car’s official debut at Geneva next week.
Seeing as the DB9 is one of the world’s most beautiful car designs we can forgive Aston for further developing and exploiting every last drop from its VH platform.
Perhaps Ulrich Bez says it best, “100 years of automotive history has demonstrated that evolution delivers the best solutions in time.
“So it is with Virage; it is the next level of evolution in our VH architecture strategy and it does everything with the perfection that you would expect today. It is the perfect balance of opposites.”
More after the break.
Cast your mind back to post-war Australia and the creation of the Holden 48-215. It’s the car that heralded a new Australian automotive era and it launched a lifetime of childhood memories for generations as the Holden brand took hold in the nation’s psyche.
So it is with great respect that we honour Jack Rawnsley who passed away earlier this week. The 99-year-old was the sole survivor of the 48-215 project and with him Holden loses a part of its soul.
May he rest in peace.
MINI has firmly drawn on its 1959 roots with this promo clip on the new Rocketman Concept. It’s quite a smart and well made video, too. It will be very interesting to see how well the Rocketman makes its transition from concept into road car. Assuming, of course, BMW has the common sense to actually build the car.
There’s a bonus Rocketman vid after the break as well, with thanks to our friends at MotoringFile.