Those of you keen on the Mk7 Golf GTI will have probably already been to check out the car. If you haven’t you can arm yourself with more info courtesy of this brochure (2.5mb PDF) detailing all the specs for the Australian market.
The brochure complements the material we’ve already published on Australian specification GTIs, including pricing and the local press kit.
Mark Webber’s F1 farewell tour finally has a highlight after he claimed pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix this afternoon. It’s the first time he’s out qualified Sebastian Vettel this year and is the twelfth pole position of his career.
Webber (1:30.915) was the only driver to lap the much loved Suzuka circuit under 1:31 and he was almost two tenths quicker than Vettel (1:31.089). For a change it was Vettel who struggled today with a KERS issue, which first arose during the morning practice session and reappeared during Q3.
It was a fact acknowledged by Mark in the post-race press conference. “Sebastian had a problem in qualifying, so a little bit of a hollow pole position if you like, because he still did a phenomenal lap, but I’m happy to be on pole,” Mark said. “You’ve got to grab the opportunities when you can and still put the laps in.”
It’s clear that Mark and all the other drivers love Suzuka and it would be a great result if Webber is able to convert his pole into a race win. The good news for Mark is that a Red Bull driver has been on pole for the last four starts at Suzuka and he has gone on to win the race three times. The bad news is “he” is Sebastian Vettel, who will be doing his best to get into the first corner ahead of Mark and control the race.
Lewis Hamilton (1:31.253) has been on the pace all weekend for Mercedes AMG and he will line up on the second row, with a resurgent Romain Grosjean (1:31.365).
Speaking of resurgent, Felipe Massa (1:31.378) has out qualified Fernando Alonso (1:31.665) again and the soon-to-be unemployed Brazilian will start from P5. Nico Rosberg (1:31.397) will line up from P6.
It was not a good day for Toro Rosso, Daniel Ricciardo (1:32.485) will start from P16. Although, he had better luck than Jean-Eric Vergne (1:33.357) who was forced out of Q1 after his rear brakes caught on fire.
“That wasn’t a good session for us,” Daniel said. “Which is disappointing as yesterday was one of the best Fridays we have had in a while.
“The wind has played a bit of a part today, but we definitely should have been further up than that. I would have liked a better result of course, but we will have to see what we can do in the race.”
The full transcript of the post-quali press conference featuring the first three drivers can be read after the break.
[Pics: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Sad news in the world of Formula 1 with confirmation former Marussia test driver Maria de Vilotta passed away on Friday. The 33-year-old was found dead in a hotel room in Seville, Spain.
“I can confirm that her death was due to natural causes. The family has been informed,” said Dr Joaquin Lucena Romero, head of forensic services at the Institute for Legal Medicine.
In July last year de Villota was involved in a serious accident while testing for Marussia at Duxford Aerodrome in England. She lost her right as a result of her injuries, making her first public appearance three months later.
The Marussia F1 Team issued a brief statement, which reads: “It is with great sadness that we learned a short time ago of the news that Maria de Villota has passed away.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Maria’s family and friends at this very difficult time.â€
An obiturary can read at the Autosport website.
[Source: BBC]
In this brief video you will see a Mk7 Golf GTI with Performance Pack and DSG going from go to go! For a hot hatch the new GTI pulls pretty strongly to about 200km/h at which point the fuel needle begins to move almost as quickly as the indicated speed.
Of course, we’re showing you this video because you’d never be silly enough to try this yourself. Would you?
Porsche is readying us all for the launch of the new Macan SUV with a dedicated microsite, which includes a new teaser image and two new sketches.
Of the new Macan, Porsche says:
Build a compact SUV? No, we’d rather think outside the box.
We’ve built what we always build: a Sports Car. Five doors, five seats and yet intimate with the road; boasting plenty of space for hobbies, leisure and sport. But no room for compromise. Compact, concentrated and intensive, but still powerful. Practical but never ordinary.
There’s also a teaser video showing a couple of prototypes on the company’s Weissach test track, as well as carving it up on some sand dunes. We hate to admit it, but we think Porsche is about to make the SUV very cool!
The official launch of the Macan is scheduled for the LA Auto Show on 20 November (although we expect details will be released a day or two earlier).
In a nciely choreographed piece of timing Mario Muth is back with another in-depth interview, this time it’s F1 royalty with Murray Walker the man in front of the camera. Yesterday, of course, was Murray’s 90th birthday.
The interview goes for almost an hour, at this stage we’re only half way through and already Murray has touched on how he got started in commentary, his relationship with James Hunt and what he really thinks of Murrayisms.
You’ll enjoy this.
Renault Australia is shouting from the rooftops that its latest hot hatch, the Clio RS 200 EDC, will be on sale locally in December. Even better, for fans of feisty frogs, the hot Clio will be priced from $28,790 (Sport chassis).
The Cup chassis will also be offered for sale, although, full pricing details are yet to be announced. A sub-$30K price point just shows how competitive the performance hatchback market has become.
“Australia is currently the second highest selling country in the world for the award-winning Megane RS 265 and we are confident that the new Clio RS 200 EDC will bring more people to the Renault Sport family than ever before,” said Justin Hocevar, Managing Director Renault Australia.
“We have a highly competitive entry price for the new Clio RS and have already received strong demand for the latest Renault Sport vehicle in the Australia market.”
Full specs on the 147kW/240Nm RS 200 EDC can be read HERE and Renault Australia’s press release about the arrival of the car is available below.
Unless I’m very much mistaken today is Murray Walker‘s 90th birthday. And yes I am very much mistaken, because the commentary legend’s birthday was yesterday. But with the time difference between Australia and Europe I’m sure you can forgive us.
When I began following Formula 1 in the mid-1980s Murray Walker’s enthusiasm behind the microphone was definitely part of what attracted me to the category. His faux pas were well known, and indeed well loved.
To celebrate Murray’s birthday there’s a selection of videos to help us remember what makes him so great.
[Pic: Getty Images]
In his latest video Chris Harris shows us how he used his Ferrari 512 TR to buy some bread. As you can see, he even hams it up in a white linen suit to complete the Miami Vice look. Explaining his lack of talking, Harris notes: “When a car looks and sounds as good as this, you don’t need to talk.”
London is well known for many things, its black cabs just one of the iconic images from the English capital. More broadly, England is also known for its sun-deprived citizens emigrating to Australia in the search for sun, surf and a better lifestyle. Well, now even the London Taxi is getting on the act and heading down under.
A fleet of 98 Black cabs (TX4s) is heading to Perth—where else—as part of a four-year trial. A further 200 London Taxis are planned to be sent to Australia, too, and so we don’t get them confused the Aussie-bound London Taxis will be wearing white zinc cream to protect them from the sun.
“They’re white, which is probably better in a hot climate, but they are also specifically hot-climate vehicles. They have different ventilation to make sure they don’t overheat,” a spokeswoman for The London Taxi Company told the ABC.
The Western Australian Government is subsidising the rollout of the London Taxis and Victoria could be next, as Evan Simeon, Chief Executive of The London Taxi Company (Aust) Limited explains: “Perth drivers will receive a government-funded package, which in return for vehicle and usage data, will see them reimbursed for the normal weekly licence fee of AUS$200 for the first four years of ownership. This basically means that they will recoup most of the total cost of the vehicle.
“Victoria has already announced that they will provide a subsidy of AUS$20,000 per vehicle for the first fifty permit holders, so we hope that we’ll be able to bring a bit of London to South-East Australia too.”
More detail can be found after the break.
[Source: London Taxi Company | Pic (above): AFP/Getty Images]
Former McLaren F1 driver and 1974 World Champion, Emerson Fittipaldi, gives us a fascinating insight into the 1976 Japanese Grand Prix courtesy of a blog shared on the McLaren website. Of course, the season-ending race at Fuji Speedway has become the focus of mainstream attention thanks to Ron Howard’s F1 movie Rush.
The conditions for that race, the first Formula 1 Grand Prix in Asia, were appalling as Fittipaldi explains:
On race day, though, everything we’d learned over the past few days became irrelevant as the heavens opened. Never before or since, in my entire racing career, have I known rain quite as fierce. The circuit was totally flooded, its flat wide asphalt covered in lakes of sitting water. It was patently unsafe. In those days we used to do a morning warm-up on race day—and the accidents that marred the Fuji warm-up made it very clear that the rain had made the circuit quite undriveable.
Fittipaldi goes on to share his thoughts over the decision to start the race, even though conditions had not improved after a 90-minute delay. He also discusses many other aspects about his F1 career and gives a big vote of confidence to Rush as well. We recommend you take the time to read his words (follow the source link below).
[Source: McLaren]
Bimmerpost brings word of the specifications for the forthcoming F22 BMW 2 Series Coupé, notably the M235i. Also included are specs for the 220i and 220d.
The data came via the BMW South Africa website which means we can take it as being accurate. Here’s the key stats, and after the break you can see screen grabs.
BMW M235i
Power/torque: 240kW @ 5800rpm / 450Nm @ 1300–4500rpm
Engine: 2979cc six cylinder turbo (N55B30O0)
Weight (unladen): 1455kg (manual), 1470kg (auto)
0–100km/h: 5.0s (manual), 4.8s (auto)
0–1000m: 23.8s
BMW 220i
Power/torque: 135kW @ 5000rpm / 270Nm @ 1250–4500rpm
Engine: 1997cc four cylinder turbo (N20B20U0)
Weight (unladen): 1350kg (manual), 1365kg (auto)
0–100km/h: 7.0s
0–1000m: 27.3s (manual), 27.7s (auto)
BMW 220d
Power/torque: 135kW @ 4000rpm / 380Nm @ 1750–2750rpm
Engine: 1995cc four cylinder diesel (N47D20O1)
Weight (unladen): 1375kg (manual), 1390kg (auto)
0–100km/h: 7.2s (manual), 7.1s (auto)
0–1000m: 27.5s (manual), 27.4s (auto)
For those playing at home they’ll been keen to note a small 5kW increase for the M235i compared with the M135i, which brings a very slight performance benefit too, shaving 0.1s off the claimed 0-100km/h times.
[Source: Bimmerpost | Thanks to John for the tip]