Categories
Ferrari Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber talks taxi rides

Mark Webber aboard the Alonso Taxi

Mark Webber has taken to twitter to share his views on being reprimanded for his post-race taxi ride at the Singapore Grand Prix. It’s fair to say he doesn’t agree with the ruling.

Earlier today Autosport reported: “Not only did Webber not have permission from the marshals to enter the track at Turn 7, but he was in fact explicitly told by track officials not to do so.”

However, Webber refutes that allegation in his tweets, which you can read after the break. Mark also shared a photo of Derek Warwick, one of the stewards for the Singapore race, hitching a ride aboard Gerhard Berger’s Ferrari.

According to the official report Mark was reprimanded for failing to have permission to enter the track. Alonso was reprimanded for stopping in an unsafe place. And it’d be hard to argue the middle of Turn 7, partially obscured on entry, was not an unsafe place to stop.

That’s to say the taxi ride itself was not subject of the stewards’ inquiry. Anyway, in true F1 fashion a mountain is being made out of a molehill. While having sympathy for Mark—it did make great television—it’s his accumulation of three reprimands that has unfortunately dictated the penalty he has been handed down.

It’s probably best for everyone if they just move on.

Categories
BMW

New BMW M3/M4 promises more than 317kW

BMW Concept M4

We’ve already been given a visual preview of the new BMW M4 and now Bimmerpost is promising an unofficial preview of the much awaited technical details. So far they say we can expect the F80 M3/F82 M4 to have more than 425hp (317kW) and over 370lb-ft (500Nm) of torque.

For comparison, the old E92 M3 produced 309kW/400Nm from its 4.0 litre normally aspirated V8. So far we only know the new M3/M4 will be powered by a turbocharged inline six cylinder, probably of 3.0 litre capacity. Exact specs remain unknown.

Apparently we’re going to be impressed by the new model’s weight, or lack thereof. For now though, wait is all we have. Hopefully we’ll know more very soon.

[Source: Bimmerpost]

UPDATE 25 September: Here’s the official word from BMW.

Categories
Porsche

Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet revealed

Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet

If you put a 911 Turbo and a 911 Cabriolet together you get a missed opportunity. Oh, you also get a 911 Turbo Cabriolet, of course. And speaking of missed opportunities, Porsche doesn’t do them with its 911, so that’s why they’ve just given us an all-new 911 Turbo Cabriolet.

Why anyone would actually want a 383kW 911 hairdresser’s car is anyone’s guess, but it’s a free world and all that. Perhaps they don’t, they might want the 412kW Turbo S version, and good luck to them.

We’d just stick to a GT3 and perhaps a Boxster, too, if we were that desperate to the feel the wind rush past where our hair used to be.

For those of you do want a roofless 911 Turbo there’s more pics and a couple of press releases waiting for you after the break. There’s a video as well, but even Porsche understands the pointlessness of it all; there’s as much air time for the hard top models as there is for the cabrios.

Australian buyers will have to wait until the second quarter of 2014 to get their hands on one of these and you’ll need the best part of $390K for the regular model and over $460K for the Turbo S. Yes, really! And that’s without on road costs.

Categories
Alfa Romeo Video

Chris Harris plays with the Alfa Romeo 4C

Alfa Romeo 4C

As you know the Alfa Romeo 4C was launched last week. Alfa did this by inviting a bunch of motoring hacks to Italy and threw them a set of keys. Initial thoughts via Top Gear were less flattering than perhaps we wanted. So what did Chris Harris think?

Well, we’ll let you watch the video of course, suffice to say he thinks the basic ingredients are right: “There’s something about a light, mid-engined, car that just feels right, isn’t there.”

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Alfa Romeo Audi BMW Chevrolet Citroen Ferrari Infiniti Jaguar Lamborghini Mercedes-Benz Motor Shows Nissan Porsche Rolls-Royce Seat Skoda Subaru Tesla Volkswagen

2013 Frankfurt Motor Show in pictures

2013 Frankfurt Motor Show

The lights have been turned off at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show and the mammoth task of dismantling the huge displays has begun. To recap what you may have missed here’s a selection of 120+ pics reminding you what was on show.

Categories
Motorsports Porsche Video

Take me to the river

Porsche 964 911

Left 3, 100, then into barrier and drop me in the water!

We’re guessing that’s not the actual pace notes read out to amateur racer Harry Kleinjan in the moments leading up to this spectacular accident. And, thankfully, we can joke about it because both driver and navigator escaped without harm.

The incident happened in the Hellendoorn Rally held in the Netherlands on the weekend. You can see before and after footage after the jump!

[Source: autoblog.nl (translated) | Thanks to Paul & John for the tips]

Categories
Ford News

Want to live out your Mad Max fantasy?

1974 Ford Falcon XB Coupe 'V8 Interceptor'

If you’re a fan of the Mad Max trilogy—let’s face it, who isn’t—we’re guessing you have a broad grin on your face right about now.

Up for sale in England is this 1974 Ford Falcon XB GT Coupe V8 Interceptor. It’s understood to be one of six cars used in the filming of the movies. The attention to detail is first class and for £79,995 (AU$136,000) this car can be yours. But you don’t have long, the seller says the car will be withdrawn from sale by 1 October.

Some research tends to indicate there may have been only one V8 Interceptor with that car being sold by its UK owner in 2011 to the Dezer Collection in Miami. You can read more about that theory on the Mad Max Movies website (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4).

Either way, we don’t see any reason why the buyer of this car shouldn’t don some black leather and start chasing the Nightrider!

[Source: Pemberton Cars & EDP24 | Thanks to Dale for the tip]

Categories
Ferrari Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Webber’s free ride costs him 10 places

2013 Singapore Grand Prix

Following his frustrating final lap retirement from the Singapore Grand Prix, Mark Webber hitched a ride back to pitlane on Fernando Alonso’s Ferrari. At times he looked a little precarious on the F138’s sidepod and it was a sight race stewards were not too happy with.

Officially both Webber and Alonso were reprimanded for the incident, but as this was Mark’s third official talking to for the year he will have a 10-place grid penalty kicks for the next race, the Korean Grand Prix.

Mark was actually charged with entering the track on foot without permission from marshals. Pedantic, or a good reminder in track safety for Mark? Video of the incident, available here, shows it was probably the latter.

[Source: Formula1.com | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

UPDATE: Video and a few relevant tweets from F1 journos added below.

UPDATE #2: CCTV from the Marina Bay circuit showing Mark running onto the track can be viewed after the break.

Categories
Ferrari Formula 1 Lotus Red Bull Racing

2013 Singapore GP: Post-race press conference

2013 Singapore Grand Prix

After winning the Singapore Grand Prix with ease Sebastian Vettel faced many questions about his lead in the championship and was once again asked if he dislikes being booed.

Fernando Alonso was praised for his never say die attitude and Kimi Raikkonen’s sore back became a pain in the neck, such was the amount of questioning he suffered.

As we know the two Australian drivers had races they’d rather forget. Daniel Ricciardo crashed out before half-way and Mark Webber’s engine failed on the final lap.

“I think I did pretty much everything I could today,” Mark said. “We had pace in the car when we needed, we managed the tyres and made a very good undercut on Nico, I was really happy with that lap. Then six laps from the end, the guys were getting worried about the car.

“So, yeah, it’s annoying but someone’s had a tougher day than me somewhere and that’s the way it goes. I was having to short shift, but then, unlike Monza, we started to lose a lot of power. We were just trying to get home at that point but then on the last lap we caught fire.”

Daniel wasn’t looking for excuses to his early race exit. “The crash was my error, trying to make up for lost ground,” he said. “At the start, my car just seemed to sit there without moving off the line. It was very frustrating to lose so many places right away. I think I went down five places from ninth on the grid to fourteenth.

“In the second stint, my engineer came on the radio and said ‘the pace is good, keep pushing.’ I was aware that for the pace we had, we were not doing too badly and maybe at the end I was just trying to get too much out of it and made that mistake. It’s a delicate corner with not much run-off and I went too deep into the apex. I then braked a bit harder, locked a wheel and went into the wall. It’s not a mistake I’m used to making. I will learn from this.

The full transcript of the post-race press conference featuring the first three drivers can be read after the break.

[Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Categories
Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Sebastian Vettel wins 2013 Singapore GP

Sebastian Vettel, Red Bull Racing

Sebastian Vettel toyed with his peers on the way to a 32 second victory in tonight’s Singapore Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver was challenged off the line by Nico Rosberg (Mercedes) and lost the lead for a few seconds. After that, though, Vettel totally outclassed the rest of the field.

The demanding streets of Marina Bay often serve up a Safety Car or two and such intervention was desperately needed to brig Sebastian back to the pack. Inevitably the Safety Car was out but it was of no consequence to Vettel. From the restart he quickly re-established his lead and cruised to victory.

Perhaps the stories of the day were found in the minor podium positions. As is customary and indeed expected Fernando Alonso (Ferrari) shot off the line from P7 and found himself in P3 once the field settled down. Quickly in to take advantage of the Safety Car on Lap 25 Alonso was able to make his tyres last until the end of the race and with that he earned a secure second place.

Kimi Raikkonen (Lotus) followed Alonso’s strategy and overcame his troublesome back to fight his way to P3 from all the way down in P13. A great drive from the 33-year-old Finn.

The Aussies had a forgettable day. Daniel Ricciardo (Toro Rosso) was the man responsible for the Safety Car after he locked up and sent himself into the wall.

The lengthy Safety Car period did throw pit stop strategies all over the place and while many drivers came in for new tyres, Webber, Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) all stayed out on track. When the trio inevitably came in for fresh tyres they had some work to do, but fresh rubber on which to do it.

Webber had his eyes set on P3 and managed to work his way from eighth into fourth and he looked to have the speed to challenge Raikkonen. Alas, as soon as Mark found his way to P4 he was getting messages from his team to short shift. It wasn’t long before he saw the two Mercedes AMGs sail past, and then Felipe Massa (Ferrari) as well. Webber crossed the line to start the final lap, his car sounding terribly off note and it was no surprise to see his engine let go before he could complete the lap.

Once again Webber had to suffer the frustration of a mechanical failure while his teammate racked up yet another grand prix win, the 32nd of Vettel’s career. The young German’s dominance since the mid-season break has made a fourth world title look increasingly likely.

Categories
Peugeot

Peugeot 308 GTi spied

Peugeot 308 GTi

Peugeot is continuing to revive its GTi range with the 308 model soon set to join its smaller 208 GTi sibling. Spied recently for the first time, if you think the 308 GTi looks a little bland fear not, it’s expected model-specific styling cues will be added to the car before its expected launch in 2014.

Of course, Peugeot has its wild looking 308 R Concept on show in Frankfurt right now and we reckon the GTi will be a watered down version of that car. The concept car boasts a healthy 200kW (270hp) from its 1.6 litre four-pot turbo. Don’t expect those numbers in the GTi, best you wind back your expectations to somewhere around 147kW (200hp).

Although, given the 208 GTi already offers up 147kW we’ll forgive you if you think Peugeot would be nice enough to give the bigger car bigger power!

[Source: World Car Fans | Pic: Automedia | Thanks to Stu for the tip]

Categories
Porsche

A brief history of the Porsche 911 Turbo

Porsche 911 Turbo

With its all-new 911 Turbo enjoying the limelight at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show Porsche has taken the opportunity to bring us up to speed on the history of its iconic Turbo range.

The first 911 Turbo was released in 1974 under the watch of Ernst Fuhrmann (Porsche chairman 1972–80). In the press release below it’s stated: “Fuhrmann insisted the character of the Turbo – quiet, relentless, enormous power – lent itself to a true high performance GT with every creature comfort Porsche could conjure, and at a premium price tag. This ‘turbo template’ has been followed for every generation of 911 Turbo since.”

Porsche 911 Turbo

  • 1974 – (930) 3.0 litre, 190kW
  • 1977 – (930) 3.3 litre, 220kW
  • 1990 – (964) 3.6 litre, 235kW
  • 1995 – (993) 3.6 litre, 300kW (all-wheel drive introduced)
  • 2000 – (996) 3.6 litre, 309kW (twin-turbo and water cooling introduced)
  • 2006 – (997) 3.6 litre, 353kW
  • 2013 – (991) 3.8 litre, 383kW