On a nice sunny day in the nation’s capital the Treasury car park hosted the annual Shannons German Auto Display (formerly Autofest). Normally we’d be involved in the thick of it here at AUSmotive, but other events have conspired against us. In the end it turned out to be good day to check out the camera on our new iPhone 5. We hope you enjoy the pics.
A trio of barely disguised prototype 991 Porsche 911s have just been spied in Spain. Two of them appear to be the next-generation 911 GT3. The front splitter, centre-exit exhaust and rear wing being the most obvious styling cues.
It looks as though the new GT3 will run 245/35/20s up front and 305/40/20s at the back. Apparently all three test cars were fitted with PDK transmissions, featuring paddle shifters on their steering wheels. Please, Porsche, don’t make the GT3 a PDK only option.
According to the Porsche engineers, who were kind enough to chat to the photofrapher, the GT3 mules were running regular steel brakes with six-pot calipers at the front and four-pots at the rear.
The test posse were testing on local roads before heading to the Circuito Calafat for some track action.
So, any guesses as to what the third model 911 in the fleet might be—a Carrera GTS perhaps? Maybe not.
[Source: Collaverglas via GT Spirit | Thanks to Paul for the tip]
A quick glance over at the Stone Brothers Racing facebook page gives an insight into some of the least appealing aspects of V8 Supercars. For this author anyway. Here’s a sample of the comments from the Blue oval extremists, reacting to the news Stone Brothers will partner with Erebus Motorsport in Mercedes E Class AMG bodies from 2013:
[LANGUAGE WARNING]
Wayne Williams i hope you fucks cop shit at Bathurst . and i hope FPR and DJR continue on with Ford and seriously embaress you lot next year. and realise there is no room on the Mountain for the fans who support Mercedes or Nissan. this is still our Battle Ground.
Phil Claxton Oh well, might as well unlike now…thats one flag we wont be waving at Bathurst, thanks for the heads up. At least we wont waste any money in your merch shop. Pity your drivers are in the same boat….Boatpeople eh! Bye
Paul Berryman Very disappointed as im sure alot of ford / SBR fans will are. All I can say is….. WHY? . I think V8 supercars should be just Holden and Ford and the other makes should stay in the production class. They had different manufacturers in the 80s with BMW , Volvo, Nissan and VW , where did they all go? I say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.
Wayne Williams looks like DJR and FPR have gained some very loyal supporters tonite, after the bullshit that was dealt out to them today. So i guess you are right in that it is all about surviving in business, and from now on the sales of supporter gear at FPR and DJR will skyrocket making there business survive. I hope Betty Klimenko gets greedy and ends up screwing the Stones Bro. over just like the Swarzkoft/DJR fiasco.
Wayne Williams TRUST NO ONE!!!!!
Nickole Prior Loyal supporter for 15 years. Now broken tonight. 🙁
And paul they are losing $$$ as it costs to much to take a family now a days to see a race. The v8s need to stop trying to be like f1.
Tamaoho Charles Lee Christensen-Oketopa I’m a Kiwi, and a STAUNCH FORD FAN… have enjoyed watching our Top Driver and Team do so well… I really hope their is a reason to watch next year…as I will only support FORD…NO EXCEPTIONS…R.I.P SBR…
Tamaoho Charles Lee Christensen-Oketopa All I care about is that lil blue oval, it sucks when your a fan of a driver and team for years, then they switch teams….Death before Dishonour…
John Vogl at least kelly brothers give plenty of notice but you pricks just let hard working people buy your merchendise throwing there money away all year fuckin shit house
McLaren’s excellent mid-season form has continued into the far east with Lewis Hamilton (1:46.362) claiming pole position under the lights at the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix. On a blistering lap he managed to escape harm after brushing the wall on the way to his third pole position from the last four races and the 24th of his career.
Sebastian Vettel had been looking good to fulfill Red Bull’s promise of greater success in the fly away races by topping the time sheets in all three Free Practice sessions. In the end P3 (1:46.905) was the best the dual world champion could manage, with a sizeable gap of five tenths back to Lewis.
Splitting the two front runners was the unlikely Pastor Maldonado for Williams (1:46.804). The Venezuelan is prone to moments of raw pace, but his sometimes arguable racecraft may strike fear into Hamilton and Vettel when the lights go out to start the race.
The top six is rounded out by Jenson Button (McLaren, 1:46.939), Fernando Alonso (Ferrari, 1:47.216) and Paul di Resta (Force India, 1:47.241).
Mark Webber (1:47.475) put his Red Bull into P7, but is under investigation for impeding Timo Glock (Marussia) in Q1. Any penalty would surely frustrate the Australian immensely.
The usual Toro Rosso qualifying result of Daniel Ricciardo being one place ahead of his teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne, has come to fruition once again. They’ll start from P15 and P16 respectively.
And before we bring you the transcript from the first three qualifiers we can’t let it go unmentioned that Pedro de la Rosa (HRT, 1:53.355) will drop five places from the last spot on the grid due an early gearbox change. We wonder, in order to give this penalty any merit, should Charlie Whiting hold Pedro on the line for a cheeky second or so at the start?
[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
UPDATE: Good news for Webber, with Autosport reporting the stewards let him off with a reprimand.
Here’s something for Volkswagen Group fans, the all-new Audi S3. This car will set the tone for a few other models to follow, most notably the next Golf R. Now featuring an EA888-based engine the latest S3 is good for 221kW, up from 195kW (or 188kW in Australian-spec). Torque has been increased by 30Nm to a new total of 380Nm, available from 1800–5500rpm.
We’ll never see the three-door S3 in Australia, but we will get the S3 Sportback. The three-door will go on sale in Europe early next year and the five-door Sportback model will follow in the second quarter of 2013. By our calculations we could see the S3 Sportback in Australia as early as the third quarter; yet to be confirmed by Audi Australia, of course.
With an optional 6-speed S tronic transmission Audi reckons it can hit 100km/h in only 5.1 seconds. If you insist on changing gears yourself you’ll need 5.4 seconds to reach triple figures. But here comes the sweetener, claimed fuel consumption on the combined cycle is 7.0l/100km for the manual and 6.9l/100km for the double-clutch jobbie. Assuming the S3 Sportback can match those numbers, that should be enough to scrape the S3 under the Australian Government’s Luxury Car Tax threshold.
The new S3 rides on the same sized 7.5″ width rims as the old model and the 225/40/18 sized tyres are also the same. However, handling should benefit from the front axle being moved 52mm forward and the 148kg engine, 5kg less than before, being angled back towards the bulkhead by 12 degrees.
That’s all due to the now ubiquitous MQB platform. The modular architecture has also helped contribute to a weight loss of 60kg over the old S3, but at 1395kg it’s still not going to be the lightest hot hatch going around. Of course, some of the weight is due to the quattro all-wheel drive system. The provided press text is light on for detail in this regard, but it sounds as though the quattro system used is very similar to the Haldex IV system used in the 8P S3.
A sophisticated suspension system should ensure handling improvements for the new S3, helped along in no small terms by the optional Audi magnetic ride as standard equipment. A total of three different tunes, also affecting throttle response and steering, can be chosen from the Audi drive select programs. The S3 also sits 25mm lower compared to its garden variety 8V A3 siblings.
You certainly couldn’t say Audi has brought anything radical to the table with its third-generation S3. But we do think think this clear case of minor improvements over the previous model will make for very pleasing car to drive. We can’t wait until the S3 Sportback lands down under so we can sample it for ourselves.
There’s another 30-odd pics for you after the break, along with Audi’s introductory press release. If they add anything new when the car debuts in Paris we’ll be sure to share it with you.
UPDATE: Audi’s 10 minute promo video for the new S3 has been added below.
This is the new Jaguar F-Type. The image was leaked yesterday and today Jag has released an official teaser video before the car is presented to the world in Paris next week.
The F-Type convertible will go on sale in the first half of 2013 and a coupé model will follow in 2014. It’s an important new release for Jaguar as global brand director, Adrian Hallmark, explains: “The unveiling of the F-type in Paris will be a truly significant day in Jaguar’s history as it will mark the company’s return to the sports car market, a market it originally helped to create.
“As its sporting forebears did in their era, the F-type will break new ground by delivering stunning sports car performance while vividly demonstrating Jaguar’s cutting-edge engineering technologies and world-class design excellence. The next step in Jaguar’s sporting bloodline is about to become reality.â€
Check out the preview video after the break, which includes footage from Jaguar’s proving ground in the UK as well as action from the Nürburgring and Nardo. The engine note from the 5.0 supercharged V8 is pretty special too.
Chris Harris has celebrated the imminent arrival of Mercedes-Benz into the V8 Supercars category by power sliding his way through a review of the CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake.
His sub-140 character review on twitter makes for a good introduction: “AMG Shooting Brake concept perfect for a bloke with several children, a dog and a healthy addiction to velocity. Me. Want.”
Ahead of its debut in Paris next week Audi has released pictures and information for its new A3 Sportback, codenamed 8V. Based on the three-door A3, first seen at Geneva in March, the Sportback has made good use of its MQB platform and rides on a wheelbase which has been extended by 35mm. Overall the wheelbase is 58mm longer than the previous 8P Sportback.
As is often the way with teutonic styling the look of the new Sportback is very much a case of evolution from the model it replaces. Generally speaking we really like the way the new A3 looks and nothing has changed with the addition of the Sportback to the range. The few nips and tucks applied by Audi’s designers have resulted in a small, but noticeable progression, that is more modern and should help keep the A3 at the top of the entry-level prestige market.
Audi has managed to reduce weight across the Sportback range by as much as 90kg compared to the old model. In real terms, a Sportback with 1.4 TFSI tips the scales at 1205kg.
The A3 Sportback is presented here in S-Line trim and when you get inside the addition of a thick steering wheel with perforated leather should be a nice improvement from the previous gen. We’re not entirely sure the cross stitching on the seats is the world’s best decision, but reckon we’ll need to see it in person before making a final judgement.
With the rear seats up the Sportback offers 380 litres of luggage space, which expands to 1220 litres when the seats have been folded down.
As well as the improved interior space offered by the MQB architecture, handling should be enhanced now that the front axle has been pushed forward by 40mm. All engines are mounted in the usual front-wheel drive transverse fashion, but have been tilted backwards by 12° with the exhaust facing the bulkhead. A better balanced chassis being the aim here.
Of course, much of the rest of the Sportback is sourced from the A3 hatchback and you can read more detail on the Sportback in Audi’s press release below. We’ll also be back to add more pictures.
The A3 Sportback will hit European dealerships in February next year and we expect the Australian launch won’t be too far behind.
UPDATE: Additional text from Audi Australia has been added at the end of the press release. Mid-2013 is the word for the first local deliveries.
UPDATE 21 Sep: A new video and 39 extra pics have been added below.
How good does this teaser image for the Peugeot 208 Type R5 rally car look! Based on the road going 208, the Type R5 features a 280hp 1.6 litre turbo four cylinder, all-wheel drive and a 1200kg kerb weight. It will be officially unveiled in Paris next week.
You’ll be seeing the 208 Type R5 competing from mid-2013 and it is eligible for categories like the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, European Rally Championship and National Championships.
We can’t wait to see more from Peugeot Sport and we’ll bring you more pics once they come to hand.