The Richard Burns Foundation has released a poignant video remembering the life of the 2001 WRC champion. It’s been produced to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Burns’ title win and to promote the ‘Paint it Orange’ campaign which endeavours to improve the circumstances of others facing neurological injury and illness.
You can support ‘Paint it Orange’ by purchasing a souvenir t-shirt, with all proceeds going to the Richard Burns Foundation.
Jason White’s Lamborghini Gallardo is a crowd favourite on the Australian tarmac rally scene. Always competitive and always spitting a few flames out the back. But it’s not very often that he wins a rally while his car is genuinely on fire. That’s exactly what happened on the weekend when he took out the 2011 Targa High Country event held in the Victorian snowfields.
Video of the White Hot flaming Lamborghini can be seen after the break.
Evo magazine has assembled 10 of the world’s best performance cars to try and establish which one they think was the best to hit the market in 2011. Following a few phone calls, 10 turned into 11 when they added the just released BMW M5 to the list. As you would. The results of eCOTY 2011 are out there, but we won’t give that away just yet in case you’re waiting for the mag.
In the meantime here’s the list of cars gathered at the mercy of some heavy right feet. Highlight videos from Chris Harris on each can also be seen after the break. He was banned from driving the Ferrari, thanks to his rant against the Prancing Horse earlier this year, but managed to find way to get by.
The Lotus v Lotus naming saga has come to an end of sorts, with confirmation the FIA has approved three team name changes in Formula One for the 2012 season.
Team Lotus will change its name to Caterham, and follows the takeover of the British sportscar firm by the Tony Fernandes led Team Lotus Enterprise. Lotus Cars CEO Dany Bahar gets his way by turning Lotus-Renault into simply Lotus. And Richard Branson loses his naming rights with Virgin switching to Marussia, thereby acknowledging the financial support given by the Russian auto maker.
Porsche has updated its grand daddy of 911 racing cars, the 911 GT3 RSR. Compared to the 2011 model the new RSR has a new and radical body kit to suit its increased 48mm width. Power from the normally aspirated 4.0 litre flat six has increased slightly to 338kW (460hp). All small steps, but it’s hard to improve on perfection.
The 2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR will be tearing up racetracks all over the globe. It’s now suitable for “LM” GTE regulations and can be raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours, the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Le Mans Series, the American Le Mans Series as well as the International GT Open and many other events.
Wouldn’t it be great to see one or two here for the Bathurst 12 hour. Well, all you need is the required racing license, a decent expenses budget and around $640,000 (€480,000) and you’ll be on your way.
Following the recent release of information from MINI for their new Roadster here’s a more extensive photo gallery of images. Remember, simply click on a pic to load its 2000px wallpaper-friendly version.
The only real changes from the 2009 concept model are now seeing how the manual roof system works and the removal of the rather twee secondary dial on the steering column next to the rev counter.
What we are left is a very smart looking convertible/roadster, call it what you will. There’s another 50 images for you after the break. When the concept was revealed the Roadster look won a few fans; two years on, tell us what you think now.
Australia remains on track to achieve one million new vehicle sales according to FCAI chief executive Ian Chalmers. VFACTS figures state 85,196 new vehicles were sold in October, a rise of 5.3 per cent on the same month last year.
“Manufacturers are reporting a steady increase in demand, placing the industry in a strong position to reach our target of one million sales for the calendar year,†Mr Chalmers said.
“So far this year 837,324 new vehicles have been sold. While this is 2.8 per cent fewer than for the same period in 2010, last month’s figures are the best October sales result since 2007 and suggest a return to pre-GFC sales volumes.â€
Toyota holds a comfortable margin as the country’s highest selling brand, followed by Holden in its familiar second place. Hyundai has this month stolen the role as Australia’s third best seller from the usual Ford–Mazda scrap.
Toyota’s strength last month results from finding the Corolla and Hilux as the country’s two highest selling cars. Volkswagen finds itself in the headlines with the Golf claiming third place on the sales charts.
We expect more manufacturers will release their brag sheets on Monday; we’ll add them to the happy messages from Holden and Toyota as they arrive.
The reignition of Kimi Raikkonen’s Formula One career is now well underway with confirmation he is being considered by Williams F1.
Toto Wolff, a “significant shareholder” in Williams, told Kronen Zeitung, “Yes, it’s true. The Kimi Raikkonen file is on the table. The story is not for show, we are negotiating seriously, but it is only one of several options. There will be a strategic decision.”
Wolff also confirmed interest in young racers Jules Bianchi and Valtteri Bottas. Although, he did mention they may be better suited to a Friday practice role with the team.
Perhaps comments from Adam Parr, Williams CEO, made at the Indian Grand Prix tell us it is Kimi that they really, really want.
“I think everybody knows that Kimi is one of the most talented drivers who has been in Formula One in recent years,” he told the BBC.
“From what we can all see he’s very hungry to come back in, and I think having a world champion in your midst of course energises people. So all the points you made would be very relevant to a team that was thinking about what it was doing.”
[Source: ESPN F1]
Here’s a sneak peek inside the next-generation Audi A3. Surprisingly there’s a hint of A1 there with its vents and radio controls. The ever important cupholders are an improvement over the current 8P series as well.
Moving down the centre console it looks like the new A3 will feature a start button (not so well placed for RHD) and a large iDrive-like control knob for the pop-up screen at the top of the dash.
These pics seem to match the official looking sketches that emerged in April. While those sketches may have hit a home run, it seems nobody is clear when the next A3 will launch. Previous wisdom suggested it would be some time next year; reports now indicate it may be pushed back until 2013.
Mind, given how finished the interior seems to be, we won’t be surprised at all to see Audi launch the next A3 in 2012.
[Source: Motor Authority]
That’s Alexander Rossi, not Valentino. Team Lotus has announced the 20-year-old Caterham Team AirAsia GP2 driver will drive their F1 car at the young driver test in Abu Dhabi (15–17 November).
The young American says, “I am very excited to finally announce I will be competing in Abu Dhabi with Caterham Team AirAsia and will have the chance to put more F1 miles on my CV with Team Lotus. After the positive GP2 tests in Jerez and Barcelona I feel we have a good chance of a strong result in the GP2 races and I will definitely be going into the weekend fully focused and motivated for a race win.
“For the F1 test I will be looking to learn as much as possible, do the best job I can and soak up every minute, in and out of the car.”
[Source: Team Lotus]
After yesterday’s unofficial video of the Polo R WRC testing in Germany, Volkswagen has given us the official word. Success was the main one thrown about.
Two-time WRC champion Carlos Sainz was the first person to drive the Polo R WRC in anger. “I immensely enjoy being involved in the development and testing of the new Polo R WRC – and having the privilege of driving the first kilometres is naturally a great honour,†said Sainz.
“The car is still in an early stage but already feels very good. For the whole team, whether engineers, mechanics or drivers, it’s very important to get to know the first real car as early as possible and to test and continue to develop it.â€
Volkswagen aren’t planning to enter the WRC until 2013 and Kris Nissen, Motorsport Director, gives a rough outline of the team’s plans, “The first Polo represents a preliminary stage of the subsequent rally car and during the upcoming months will serve as a test vehicle for various components such as engines, gearboxes or suspension parts. The findings obtained in these tests will be directly fed into the first thorough-bred Polo R WRC.
“Next year we’ll be running an extensive testing programme on tarmac, gravel, mud and snow in order to prepare ourselves for the 2013 season as best we can.â€
There’s more after the break, including pics, quotes and an official highlights video from Volkswagen Motorsport.
If you’re a fan of the Volkswagen Scirocco R then your ship has come in; literally. Volkswagen Australia sent out an email yesterday advising prospective customers that the first officially imported Scirocco R models have arrived and now they’ve posted an image gallery to prove it.
Prices and specs for Australian delivered Scirocco R models were announced by Volkswagen in September. As a quick reminder you’ll need $47,490 for a 6-speed manual and $49,990 if you want a 6-speed DSG. Of course, you’ll also need to add taxes and associated on road costs to those manufacturer’s list prices.
Here at AUSmotive we’ve been big fans of the Scirocco ever since it was first launched in 2008. Indeed, we even suggested you get in touch with VW Aus to see if they could get a wriggle on for the sexy coupé.
Well, it’s taken over three years, but the Scirocco is here and we can’t wait to drive it!