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Audi WEC

Remember, Allan McNish is one lucky guy!

Allan McNish crash

Racing cars for a living means you’re automatically a lucky guy. But as we know, motorsport is dangerous and that fact was highlighted in spectacular fashion when Allan McNish crashed out of the 2011 24 Hours of Le Mans in dramatic style.

We’re glad McNish was able to walk away from that wreckage totally unharmed. We’re also glad he managed to win Le Mans before he retired to finally erase any feelings of regret which may have been lingering since 2011.

You can relive the video of McNish’s accident after the break.

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Audi WEC

Allan McNish retires from competitive motorsport

Allan McNish

Reigning Le Mans winner Allan McNish has announced he will be retiring from motorsport. The Audi factory driver, who also shared the 2013 World Endurance Championship, with teammates Loïc Duval and Tom Kristensen, turns 44 on 29 December and said the time is right.

“I found the ideal moment for myself to bring an end to my LMP sports-prototype racing with Audi,” explained McNish. “Together with my teammates Tom Kristensen and Loïc Duval I finished my most successful season in the sports car.

“Having also won the Le Mans 24 Hours, I can’t wish for more than what we’ve achieved this year. I can look back on a fantastic career that has left no aims unfinished and I’m looking forward to new challenges the future holds for me.”

McNish won Le Mans three times: 1998 (Porsche GT1-98), 2010 (Audi R10 TDI) and 2013 (Audi R18 e-tron quattro).

The likeable Scot, who raced in F1 with Toyota in 2002, goes with the blessing of Audi Motorsport and the best wishes of all motor racing fans.

“We appreciate and respect Allan’s decision to retire at the pinnacle of his career,” said Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport. “At the same time, this is a parting that is particularly difficult for us. All of us are well aware of Allan’s racing successes.

“We regret that Allan will no longer be contesting any races for us but are happy that he will continue to be associated with Audi Sport and the Audi brand.”

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Renault

Renault Clio RS 200 EDC – Australian pricing & specs

Renault Clio RS 200 EDC

The new Clio RS 200 EDC is now on Australian shores. Renault Australia told us back in October that entry level pricing was going to be $28,790. Hurrah, we all said; that’s quite cheap!

Of course, that price is for the Sport option and the Clio RS is available in four trims in total. There’s the basic Sport model and the sharpened Cup chassis, as we’ve come to expect from Renault. The Cup is 15% stiffer and 3mm lower (make sure you measure it to be absolutely certain).

In addition to that both the Sport and Cup can be bought in Trophy spec, which nets you leather seats, auto climate control, rear parking sensors, a rear view camera and 18″ alloys.

Quantify all that in dollars and in its most expensive form—Cup Trophy—the Clio is priced from $36,790. Add your taxes etc and it’s starting to push the friendship a little.

Remember, too, that Renault, in its wisdom, has joined the rush for fuel efficiency and replaced the screaming normally aspirated engine with a 1.6 litre turbo. We can only hope the recipe for the hot Clio’s handling hasn’t been changed and that Renault Sport has found a way to ensure not one single kilowatt from the 147 on offer is wasted.

Rightly so, hot Renaults have a bit of a cult following and we wonder if the ingredients of the Clio RS have been changed too much. While the tech boffins will like the exclusive “choice” of a 6-speed “Efficient Double Clutch” transmission we reckon the purists would prefer if Renault saved some cash and gave them the choice of a proper gear box and a three-door layout.

All hot hatches should be three doors. It’s like that and that’s the way it is!

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BMW Motorsports

BMW Motorsport opens M235i Racing order book

BMW M235i Racing

BMW Motorsport has made order documents available for the track-only M235i Racing. With that comes new images (renders) of the car in its finished form. It looks good. Do want!

If you’d like to buy yourself one and race it in the appropriate categories overseas you’ll need to pony up 25% of the €59,500 asking price with your order. Spare rims cost €1480 per set. Pretty straightforward stuff really.

Basic technical data can be read below.

[Source: BMW Motorsport]

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Mercedes-Benz

2014 Mercedes-Benz C Class revealed

2014 Mercedes-Benz C Class

This is the new Mercedes-Benz C Class. And we reckon it looks pretty good. On the outside the proportions look pleasing and the styling is unmistakably Mercedes without being too staid.

Actually, if you take the best parts of the flagship S Class and the best parts of the rather droopy, yet more dramatically styled CLA, and mix them together you get the W205 C Class.

Inside there’s still a bit too much grandpa for us, although the look is certainly helped with the red and black interior shown in the C250 (the silver car) compared with the beige overkill in the C300 BlueTEC Hybrid (the blue car).

According to Benz the new C Class has increased in almost every dimension. It now rides on a wheelbase 80mm longer compared with the previous C Class. It’s also 95mm longer, 40mm wider and its boot capacity has grown to 480 litres. Yet, this has all been done with a weight reduction of around 100kg. Fuel consumption has been cut by 25% as well.

Despite showing a C250 and a C300 BlueTEC in the press images the initial launch will feature entry-levels models including a diesel powered C220 BlueTEC and two petrol-powered models in the C200 and C180. There is the promise of greater things to come, of course. And that’s before AMG gets busy.

More images and details from Mercedes-Benz can be found after the break.

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Formula 1

Every F1 car from 1950–2013

All Formula 1 cars from 1950-2013

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a poster that had a picture of every Formula 1 car from 1950 right through to 2013? What, like the image above?

Actually, the thumbnail pic above starts with the 1977 Shadow DN8 and finishes with the 2013 Marussia MR02. If you follow the source link below, or click on the image above it will take to a link with the full size image, showing all 607 cars. It’s a 15mb file so it may take a while to load, but it’s worth the wait.

[Source: miniracingonline (15mb file) | Thanks to Charlie for the tip]

Categories
Bathurst 12 Hour BMW

Vita4One Racing added to capacity Bathurst 12hr field

BMW at the 2012 Nurburgring 24 hour race

GT racing specialists Vita4One Racing will field two BMW Z3 GT3s in the 2014 Bathurst 12 hour (7–9 February). They will form part of the capacity 55 car field in what shapes as being one of the best 12 hours yet in the GT era.

The GT3-outright (Class A) field includes reigning Bathurst 12 Hour champions Erebus Motorsport (Mercedes Benz SLS AMG) and 2012 winners Phoenix Racing (Audi R8 LMS Ultra), Australian GT Champions VIP Petfoods Racing (Porsche GT3 Cup R), reigning Spa 24-hour champions HTP Motorsport (Mercedes Benz SLS AMG) a factory-entered Nissan GTR NISMO GT3 and also current-specification GT cars from Ferrari, Lamborghini and Chevrolet.

Vita4One racing, based in Olpe, Germany, won the FIA GT Championship every year between 2006 and 2009 and were world champions in 2010, then running the famous Maserati MC12. Following a brief stint with Ferrari the team switched to BMW Motorsport Z4M GT3s at the beginning of the 2012 season and continues to operate the cars to this day.

Read more, including the full field of entries, using the source link below.

[Source: Bathurst 12 hour]

Categories
Porsche

2014 Porsche 911 Targa drawings leaked

991 Porsche 911 Targa drawing

New drawings have emerged showing the 991 911 Targa. As you can see the Targa returns to an old skool look with the silver rollover hoop and dramatically curved rear window. Most notably, removable roof panels are back, after the 997 had what amounted to an oversized sunroof.

There has been talk in the past that the Targa would feature an electrically operated roof. We’re not really sure how that would work; based on these drawings it seems the only option would be for the roof panels to be removed by hand.

The 911 Targa is expected to be revealed at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

[Source: MSN]

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Porsche WEC

Porsche names its LMP1 car the 919 hybrid

Porsche 919 hybrid event

Porsche held its annual Night of Champions event over the weekend and with that came the news its 2014 LMP1 racecar will be called the 919 hybrid.

Also, as expected, 33-year-old Marc Lieb and 24-year-old Brendon Hartley were named as the final two drivers to form the six-man squad charged with the responsibility of returning Porsche to the LMP1 category.

Porsche 919 hybrid driver line up

Wolfgang Hatz, Board Member for Research and Development at Porsche AG, stated: “We are very proud of our strong international driver line-up. Three of the six drivers come from our own Porsche driver squad, two were even Porsche juniors. This is something we are particularly proud of.

“The vehicle name 919 hybrid follows on from the tradition of the Le Mans-winning 917, but it is also with a view to the 918 Spyder, and acknowledges the company’s embarkation into the hybrid future.

“Maximum efficiency in energy consumption is the directive of the new WEC regulations for the works-entered class 1 prototypes – and that is also the direction for the automobile future.”

It’s not known publicly yet which drivers will share the two 919 hybrids, but looking at the lineup of the six should Porsche decide to go with height that could see Mark Webber share his car with Marc Lieb and Brendon Hartley. Which would leave the other 919 with a crew of Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Neel Jani. You’d be happy with that if you were Porsche, you’d think.

In other news Porsche now has a 51% stake in Manthey Racing, a team which has celebrated success at circuits around the globe, notably including 24 hour endurance race victories at Le Mans and the Nürburgring.

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Audi

2014 Audi S3 Sportback – Australian pricing & specs

2013 Audi S3 Sportback

We’ve known for several months that Audi Australia will be pricing the new S3 Sportback from $59,900. That’s a huge price drop compared with the outgoing 8P model which was over $70K list in its final form, with much less equipment than the new model too. And now the all-new S3 Sportback is here, in showrooms across the country and ready for delivery.

After initially thinking the 206kW/380Nm S3 would struggle against more powerful and faster competition from BMW and Mercedes-Benz we’ve discovered through anecdotal evidence that plenty of buyers are seeing value in the new S3.

We lament that Australia won’t be getting the S3 in three-door form and that a 6-speed manual is a “no-cost” option. And losing 15kW due to Australia’s designation as a “hot climate” country seems a bit annoying when BMW and Mercedes don’t cobble their performance products. But we can’t really argue with the S3’s performance and standard equipment wrapped up in a sub-$60K list price.

Full details from Audi can be found after the break, including Australian press info.

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Categories
Formula 1

Adrian Sutil keeps the dream alive with Sauber

2013 Brazilian Grand Prix

Adrian Sutil’s shaky grip on a Formula 1 career has tightened overnight with confirmation he’ll be racing for the Sauber F1 Team in 2014.

It will be the 30-year-old German’s seventh year in F1 after making his debut with Spyker in 2007 and two spells in its subsequent guise as Force India, interrupted with a year off after he flirted with a bit of ultra violence.

Monisha Kaltenborn, Sauber’s Team Principal, insists they are delighted to secure their man. “We are pleased, that we were able to sign Adrian, particularly as we have been wanting to work together with him for a while.” she said.

“Adrian had already visited the factory at the end of September to have a look at the infrastructure. Adrian is not only very fast, but also brings a lot of experience, which is very important looking at the new regulations for next year. We welcome Adrian to the Sauber F1 Team and look forward to a successful collaboration.”

Obviously, Sutil is relieved to remain in motorsport’s premier category. “I’ve been in contact with Monisha for a while and she always gave me the feeling my qualities are valued,” he said. “After six good years driving for Force India, with a lot of highlights, it’s now time to embark on a new challenge.

“I am determined to do my part in order to have a successful future together with the Sauber F1 Team. The long and successful tradition in motorsport, combined with an impressive factory and one of the best wind tunnels in F1, have been fascinating me for a long time.”

The future of Esteban Gutiérrez remains uncertain as Sauber confirms it is yet to decide on its second driver for 2014.

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Ford WRC

Robert Kubica secures full-time WRC drive for 2014

Robert Kubica

Robert Kubica said he wouldn’t return to rallying next year unless he could score a drive in a WRC car for all 13 races. And true to his word that’s exactly what he’ll be doing. The 29-year-old will be racing in a Ford Fiesta RS WRC prepared by M-Sport and carrying the branding of his long-time backer, the Polish oil company Lotos.

“I am really glad that I will participate in all 13 rounds of the World Rally Championship with the Fiesta RS WRC,” Robert said. “The support of my partner, Lotos Group, combined with the knowledge and experience of M-Sport will create a solid foundation for my further development and I am looking forward to gathering valuable experience on the WRC stages.”

It’s fair to say Kubica’s single WRC outing at Wales Rally GB with Citroën was a bit of a disaster, but winning five out of his seven races on the way to collecting the WRC2 championship proves he has the talent to forge a meaningful career in the sport.

“You only have to look at the way Robert prepared for the 2013 season to see what it all means to him,” said M-Sport owner Malcolm Wilson. “He has a desire and a hunger which you don’t see in many drivers and I truly believe that M-Sport can offer him all the right tools to move forward in rallying.”

We’d love nothing more than to see Kubica standing on the WRC podium next year. We also hope his participation in the WRC helps boost the profile and interest in what is one of motorsport’s most interesting and exciting categories.

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