Porsche has set up a dedicated microsite for the new 911 Targa which features a slider allowing you to open the roof. There’s more, of course, but it’s doing the roof thing that’s the best fun.
We’ve got a couple of other videos too which show the 911 Targa in action.
Chris Harris from Drive spends a few minutes looking back at the history of Audi’s quattro brand, which started out in the world of rallying before coming to life on public roads with models such as the legendary Ur Quattro and the devastatingly quick RS2 Avant.
Bugatti president Dr Wolfgang Schreiber has revealed there are no longer plans to turn the 2009 Galibier concept into a production model. Further, there will be no four-door Bugatti at all. Buyers at the extreme top end of the market are too thick, apparently.
“We have talked many, many times about the Galibier, but this car will not come because … it would confuse our customers,” Schreiber told Top Gear. “Everyone knows that Bugatti is the ultimate super sportscar. It’s easier for current owners, and others who are interested, to understand if we do something similar to the Veyron [next]. And that is what we will do. There will not be a four-door Bugatti.”
That’s an extraordinary assertion, we think, for Schreiber to make. Really, he expects us to believe buyers would be confused if the luxury carmaker produced a sportscar and a super saloon? Wow!
In addition to the death of the Galibier concept, the seemingly endless supply of new special edition Veyrons is also over.
“We will not produce a ‘SuperVeyron’ or Veyron Plus, definitely,” Schreiber said, who was formerly Bugatti’s Technical Director. “There will be no more power. 1200PS is enough for the chapter of Veyron and its derivatives.”
If you’re bemoaning your fate because you thought your chance to buy a new Veyron was over, fear not. There’s still 43 empty spaces on the Veyron’s order book. It’ll have to be a roadster and you’ll have to get your order in before the end of 2015. Don’t be the one who misses out!
[Source: Top Gear]
As you know Aston Martin celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2013. The CC100 Speedster concept was a fitting tribute to the brand’s style and racing heritage. But there was so much more to Aston’s party celebrations. After the break you’ll find a brief highlights video showing some of the fun they enjoyed throughout the year.
Of course, Aston Martin also suffered an unthinkable low last year, during the 24 Hours of Le Mans when popular GT racer Allan Simonsen was killed at the wheel of a V8 Vantage. We think it would have been appropriate to acknowledge that in some way in this video. Alas, they chose otherwise.
The Volkswagen Golf VII has been awarded the annual Wheels Car of the Year award. It’s the third win for Volkswagen’s venerable Golf, following wins for the Mk1 in 1976 and the Mk6 in 2009.
Car of the Year judges spoke very enthusiastically about the latest Golf. Wheels Editor Glenn Butler said: “Volkswagen seems almost to have set out to create a car to excel in every one of the five Wheels Car of the Year criteria. And, quite simply, the Golf has aced it.”
While long-time Wheels contributor John Carey stated: “From the smallest, thoughtful details to the biggest basics, this is a car that never falters. Its breadth of talent, it’s almost annoyingly persistent perfectionism and its unrelenting satisfaction make it something truly rare… a car for all reasons.
“This is one of the most worthy Wheels Car of the Year winners ever.”
It’s a welcome PR win for Volkswagen Australia who bungled its handing of the fallout from the Melissa Ryan case badly. The 32-year-old was killed while driving her Mk5 Golf GTI following a crash with a B-double semi trailer on Melbourne’s Monash Freeway, with claims her car inexplicably lost power and caused the accident.
Subsequent media coverage from Fairfax Media was highly critical of Volkswagen with many readers reporting concerns over the reliability of their VWs. Notably, DSG transmissions, diesel engines and 1.4 litre TFSI engines found in Mk6 Golfs. Ryan’s car was a 6-speed manual Mk5 Golf GTI powered by a 2.0 litre petrol engine, a fact often skimmed over by Fairfax and certainly missed by most of its readers.
The Victorian Coroner found Ryan’s car was not at fault and did not contribute to her death. However, Volkswagen Australia suffered in the eyes of the public and did not handle the criticism well at all in the early stages of the Fairfax campaign.
The sale of the Nürburgring hasn’t exactly gone to plan. Almost a year after it went on sale it still doesn’t have a buyer. But that could all be about to change after Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone confirmed he has made a bid for the track.
“We made an offer and we now wait for it to be accepted,” Ecclestone revealed to German publications Handeslblatt and Wirtschaftwoche.
“We believe that we can do more than anyone else for the circuit. There could be a decision as early as in the coming weeks.”
It’s understood Ecclestone’s motivation is to help keep Formula 1 in Germany on a long-term basis. Currently, and due to financial pressures, the German Grand Prix alternates between the Nürburgring and Hockenheim from one year to the next.
It’s unclear what Eccelstone’s plan would be for the 20.8km Nordschleife but it would appear that his bid includes an offer for all sale items, including the Nordschleife and the failed NüroDisney complex.
Officials handling the bid remain tight lipped saying only: “We do not comment on any specific bidders. But everybody who has an interesting offer is warmly welcome.
“We’re in the final stages of the process and want to conclude it in Q1, so that the new owner(s) can start the season in April.”
German auto club ADAC reportedly made a low ball bid of €30–40m for the racetracks only, and not the troublesome entertainment facilities, which was rejected. Last November a €275m bid for the full Nürburgring complex was reported, but that bid appears to have stalled.
In December, Save the Ring protesters, led by Sabine Schmitz, rallied to ask for the sale of the Ring to be stopped in a bid to keep the facilities out of private ownership and in public hands.
[Source: Reuters | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]
Mercedes-Benz makes much of the fact its A45 AMG features the most powerful four-cylinder production engine in the world. But that’s all about to change with word Volkswagen is set to trump the output of the hand-built AMG motor.
The 2.0 litre turbo in the A45 AMG produces 265kW/450Nm and the lab coats from Wolfsburg reckon they can better that with their warmed over 2.0 litre four-pot aiming for a minimum of 283kW (380hp). Volkswagen R engineers also reckon they can push towards 500Nm of torque.
An unnamed VW source claims: “It’s going to be a very fast car. Because it will be able to use all of its torque in first gear, it’s going to get to 100km/h in the very low four-second bracket.”
The A45 AMG limits torque in the first three gears to help protect its dual-clutch transmission. The new Volkswagen engine, able to be fitted to any of the group’s MQB-based cars, will be mated to an all-wheel drive system and specially developed 6-speed DSG which can cope with the predicted torque in all gears.
The engine is “based on an old generation engine block, so it’s cheaper to make than the AMG motor, too, and a lot less complex,” the source added. “It will move the game on again.”
Sounds like fun and games, and that’s just around the Audi and Volkswagen boardrooms as the two stablemates fight over who gets first dibs. Audi thinks its new TT would be a good fit, while Volkswagen has its sights set on the new Scirocco featuring the engine, which should be developed and ready to rumble late next year.
A preview of the engine may come in a concept car later this year, at September’s Paris Motor Show perhaps.
Naturally, Mercedes won’t take any challenge to its power crown lying down, with speculation an A45 AMG Black Series could boast a mighty 300kW.
This is going to be fun!
[Source: motoring.com.au | Thanks Richard to for the tip]
Porsche factory driver Timo Bernhard takes a few minutes to give us a brief overview of the safety features for the LMP1 category and, of course, the his new car Porsche 919 hybrid.
This video will tell you how much of a car nerd you are. It shows some of the processes involved in building a new F56 MINI. The clip runs for 12 minutes and if you really are a car geek you’ll watch it non-stop and enjoy every moment of it, quietly saying to yourself from time to time, “That’s pretty cool.”
This very funky looking creation is a Toyota. A Toyota! You’ll find no signs of beige or Camry in this, the FT-1 concept car. It’s so much of a concept car that it’s little more than a three-dimensional model and the only way you can experience it for yourself is in the two-dimensional world of Gran Turismo 6.
Toyota has thrown in lots of emotive names into the melting pot—including 2000GT, 86, Celica, MR2 and Supra—but given us nothing other than to say “FT” stands for Future Toyota. There’s no word at all on what engine powers the FT-1 and not being gamers here perhaps GT6 users can fill us in.
Conceived over a two-year period by Toyota’s Calty Design Research studio in California, chief desginer Alex Shen said: “The FT-1 is a dream-project for a designer and car enthusiast like myself. Our team was heavily influenced by Toyota’s sports car past, especially Celica and Supra, and we sought to capture some of that history.
“It is an aggressive, track-focused sports car concept with a presence that has been amplified for shock and awe.”
In reality the best we can hope for is that the FT-1 is the first sign of a Supra revival and that if so they don’t so a Subaru and completely waste this very appealing and dramatic concept model.
Following last week’s early preview here’s the official info on the all-new Subaru WRX STi. We now know it will be powered by a 2.5 litre boxer engine with peak power of 227kW at 6000rpm, while the maximum torque of 392Nm is achieved at 4000rpm.
There’s no performance figures given as yet—not even 0–100km/h times—but we do thank Subaru for releasing this car with a 6-speed manual and making no mention at all of a self-shifting transmission.
So actually, aside from the 20-odd photos we don’t have a lot of detailed information from Subaru just yet. What info we do have can be found after the break, including the US release explaining the 1000 Launch Edition models which will be sold in the States. Detailed Australian info will be coming in the later months, apparently.
We’ve been disappointed by the look of the WRX and while the STi and its more purposeful look does alleviate some of our concerns we’re still none the wiser as to why Subaru made such a gorgeous looking concept model and then screwed up the plans and threw them in the bin.
Those good ol’ boys at Chevrolet didn’t just stop with the road going version of the Corvette Z06. No siree, they kept the pedal to the metal and developed this all-new C7.R racecar.
And when Corvette goes racing you better stop and take notice because they do it bloody well. Since 1999 they’ve dominated the American Le Mans Series, with 90 race wins and 10 championships.
In 2014 the ALMS category has merged with the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series to form the Tudor United Sportscar Championship. The C7.R will debut in this series at the opening race, the Daytona 24 hour race on 25–26 January.
Race regulations prohibit the use of the 6.2 litre supercharged V8 from the production Z06. Instead the C7.R will use the drivetrain from the championship winning C6.R; a 5.5 litre normally aspirated V8 based on Chevy’s noted small block hardware.
A brief introduction video of the C7.R presented by Jim Campbell, vice president of Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, can be seen after the break.