Author: Liam

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Audi Motorsports

Audi R8 LMS at the Nürburgring 24 hour race

Audi R8 LMS

Audi Motorsport went to the Nürburgring 24 hour race this year with high hopes. Four new R8 LMS GT3 category racers were entered with some of the sport’s biggest names at the wheel. To subject the new racecars to such a tough test was a big commitment.

This commitment almost paid the most handsome dividends with the #99 Phoenix Racing entry coming close to posting a maiden victory. It lead the race for almost 17 hours before a drive shaft problem with five hours to go saw them lose valuable time. Despite this, the car was still able to finish strongly in fifth position overall.

However, so well placed were the big R8s that the #97 Abt Sportline car was able to claim an impressive podium finish, coming home in second position, behind Nürburgring 24 hour race specialists Manthey Racing. Running in the SP9 GT3 class the Abt Sportline machine, driven by Christian Abt, Jean-François Hemroulle, Pierre Kaffer and Lucas Luhr, finished two laps ahead of its nearest rival, a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car, to win its class. In doing so, they completed 154 laps, which broke the previous distance record for laps completed in the 24 hour race by three laps. They were on the lead lap nearing race end, too, before a cunning tactical move saw the winning Manthey car squeeze in one more lap.

The #98 and #100 cars suffered some issues throughout the race, but were still able to finish in good form, crossing the line in positions 12 and 23 respectively. When you consider the #100 car suffered its problems very early on in the race, to finish in the top 25 after coming back from 166th was a great result.

Head of Audi Motorsport, Dr Wolfgang Ullrich, was well pleased with the outcome, “For the Audi R8 LMS, this race was a final test under extreme conditions on the world’s longest race track. We were able to show that our new GT3 sports car is absolutely competitive for customer sport. And the number 97 Audi R8 LMS ran without the slightest problems despite the incredibly high speed. We’re going to analyze the problems that occurred on the other three vehicles and feed the findings into the final version of the R8 LMS to be delivered to customers starting this fall. We know that we’ve got a very good base.”

Another huge image gallery of over 80 images can be viewed at AUSringers.com, along with press statements from all the teams. For an excellent summary of all Audis competing at the Nürburgring 24 hour race this year check out Fourtitude.com.

UPDATE: For an extra special treat, Audi R8 LMS fans should click here.

Categories
Motorsports Volkswagen

Race Sciroccos show class at Nürburgring 24 hour

Vlokswagen Sciroccos at Nurburgring 24 hour race

The Volkswagen Motorsport program enjoyed more success at the Nürburgring 24 hour over the weekend with class wins for the Scirocco in the SP3T and AT categories.

The #118 petrol powered Scirocco R came home in 15th outright presenting drivers Jimmy Johansson, Florian Gruber, Nicki Thiim and Martin Karlhofer a third consecutive SP3T class win for Volkswagen.

Running on natural gas the #115 Scirocco GT24-CNG also topped its class. Although, it is worth noting the only two cars in the AT category were the GT24-CNG cars. Best to focus on the outright placing of the #115 car, then, which was 17th overall and ahead of other notable entries, including the factory backed Aston Martin V12 Vantage.

As you would expect the Volkswagen publicity machine has been in full swing and to view a massive photo gallery and driver quotes check out AUSringers.com.

Categories
Top Gear Australia

Top Gear Australia – Series 2, Episode 3

Top Gear Australia - Series 2, Episode 3

After tonight’s episode I think we can say Top Gear Australia has found second gear. This was easily one of their best episodes and probably the best episode to date. The chemistry with the hosts was smooth, natural and the forced behaviour of earlier episodes was pleasantly absent. I have to again compliment the production crew for their camera work and post-production. They’ve been the stars of Series 2 so far, but the on air talent is starting to catch up.

Warren’s piece with the Maserati GTS was well delivered. Sitting in the back with a champagne flute while The Stig thrashed the Italian sportscar around Oran Park was first class revhead entertainment.

The ute piece with Warren and Steve contained some good natured banter and the guys seemed to be genuinely having fun. Of course, the recipe of cutting up a couple of old bangers to make them something they’re not is nothing new. But if the recipe has the right ingredients, it’s still worth doing. Well done lads, you got it just right with this one.

A regular Top Gear segment formula seems to be stunt car training and James Morrison handled this very well. In both senses. His car handling skills were quite handy, and he seemed comfortable in front of the camera, even when his car was almost at right angles to the road.

Anh Do was the guest and apart from his CONSTANT SHOUTING AT THE AUDIENCE he was good value. A good mix of humour and drama mixed in. Warren’s interviewing seems to be improving here.

So, a smooth, almost slick and thoroughly enjoyable episode tonight. Let’s hope this wasn’t a fluke.

Continue reading “Top Gear Australia – Series 2, Episode 3”
Categories
Volkswagen

Estate of mind

Volkswagen Golf Estate

Volkswagen Germany have released pics of the new Golf Estate, or Variant, depending on what you want to call it. This is a facelift of the existing model and the externally the front end has been given a makeover to fit the Golf VI look. Equipment and specifications have also been given the once over to bring the model in line with the new Golf.

The rear tail light treatment and boot detailing aren’t the most successful design to come from Volkswagen. If you’d like a closer look, make sure you click the pictures to load a 2000px super image.

Everything else is, by and large, standard Golf fare. Although the massive sunroof is unique to the Estate, of course.

It is unlikely that the Golf Estate will be sold in Australia, however, there is a school of thought that this model gives a few hints as to the makeup of the next model Jetta.

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Categories
Nissan

Nissan GT-R sets new Nürburgring record

R35 Nissan GT-R

Back in April a factory assault on the Nürburgring Nordschleife saw the Nissan GT-R set a new fastest lap. The new time, set late in the month, was an impressive 7 minutes 26.70 seconds. This marked a slight improvement over their earlier effort in mid-April.

However, the press statement announcing this grand news was only released about a week ago. So I decided to wait until the middle of the Nürburgring 24 hour race to post up the news. I thought that would be the best way to get something related to the GT-R online while the N24 action was underway.

You see, I am guessing that I am probably not the only one that finds the absence of the headline chasing GT-R at the Ring this weekend a little bit “interesting”. Gun shy perhaps?

Continue reading “Nissan GT-R sets new Nürburgring record”
Categories
Audi

Audi S4 charges down under

Audi S4 - V6 Supercharged

The facelifted Audi S4 has just been launched in Australia. The good news for Audi fans is you can now have 245kW and, if you’re prepared to drive like a nanna, you can use as little as 9.4 litres of fuel for every 100 kilometres travelled. If you do choose to push on you can sprint to 100km/h in just 5.3 seconds.

The previous model S4 was a nasty fuel guzzling V8, Audi is now saving the world by stuffing a supercharged V6 into the S4. Just to keep us on our toes the 3.0 V6 is badged as a TFSI. This used to mean the car was turbocharged, but clearly Audi doesn’t employ enough acronym thinkers as they’ve stuck with TFSI for the supercharged model and well, we’ll just have to know the difference. Made even trickier by the V6T badges on the front quarter panel.

Driving all four wheels via the quattro system is a new 7-speed double clutch S tronic transmission. The detailed press release explains this new gearbox in some detail and can be downloaded after the jump.

To go with the 245kW of power there is a more than handy 440Nm of torque. And you can have all this, plus Sat Nav and plenty of other standard Audi fruit, for just $118,900. If you want to show off to your mates at how much you are not affected by all this financial nonsense then Audi has obliged by offering plenty of options for you to tick, as well. They include adaptive cruise control, Audi side assist (for safer lane changes), Audi park assist (to make reverse parking a breeze), and many more.

A large image gallery and Audi Australia press release, including technical specs, are available after the jump. No word from Audi Australia yet on the arrival of the S4 Avant.

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Categories
Motorsports

2009 Nürburgring 24 hour race

2009 Nurburgring 24 hour, 21-24 May

The Nürburgring 24 hour race takes place this weekend and AUSringers will be doing its best to give you a trackside view. Well, as best as can be done from the other side of the planet here in Australia!

For a list of Australians taking part in the race, click here. The times listed below are local German times and a reminder to Australian readers on the eastern seaboard that we are eight hours ahead.

Nürburgring 24-hour race schedule

Saturday, 23 May
14:30–15:20hrs Starting grid formation
16:00hrs Race start (00:00 24 May AEST)

Sunday, 24 May
16:00hrs Race finish (00:00 25 May AEST)

A full timetable can be downloaded from the official race website.

Categories
Audi

Audi launches S3 Sportback S tronic

Audi S3 Sportback S tronic

Last year Audi broadened the appeal of its pocket rocket S3 by adding a five door Sportback model. This appeal has been widened further with the addition of the Sportback S tronic. This is a 6 speed double clutch transmission, as first introduced to Australia in the Mk5 Golf GTI.

Gear changes are lightning quick in the S tronic and in manual mode the driver can choose to change gears using the gear shift or the metal steering wheel mounted paddles.

The regular S3 is quoted as covering the 0-100km/h sprint in 5.8 seconds. S tronic reduces that, by two-tenths of a second, to 5.6 seconds. Fuel consumption also reduces slightly and is rated under 8.5l/100km. Also impressive for a car of this class and performance is the CO2 emissions figure of 195g/km.

Base model pricing for the Sportback is $68,310 and the S tronic options is $2700, which brings the base price up to $71,010.

At this stage Audi Australia has no plans to introduce the S tronic on the 3 door Coupé.

More pics, technical data and Audi’s press release after the jump.

Continue reading “Audi launches S3 Sportback S tronic”
Categories
Rolls-Royce

Shock news – luxury car manufacturer set to increase workforce by 50 per cent

Rolls-Royce will be adding 150 new jobs

Following a 20 per cent growth in sales during 2008 Rolls-Royce has announced it will be adding to its workforce with more than 150 new jobs on offer.

The new roles are required to assist the production of the Rolls-Royce Ghost. The Ghost will be built on its own dedicated assembly line, although it will share paint, wood and leather workshops with the Phantom series of cars. Production will begin in the next few months with deliveries scheduled for early 2010.

Once the positions are filled the company will have a skills base of 900 workers, 400 of which will have been employed in the last two years. If you’re interested in a new job, then read the press release below to see how you can apply.

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Categories
News

GPS fail?

Is the GPS network about to fail?

Looks like I picked a bad week to option Sat Nav in my new car. A report on Gizmodo suggests the GPS network is in danger of failing. Sure, the blue screen of death might be a bit extreme, but poor maintenance of the system by the US Air Force could see ubiquitous GPS devices become less accurate.

Of course, such a heavy reliance on the GPS network should ensure any long term effects are minimised. A new satellite is due for launch later this year and the current system could piggy back with the European Union’s ‘Galileo’ network which is due for implementation in 2013.

[Source: Gizmodo via Jalopnik]

Categories
Volkswagen

Golf GTI & Polo ‘Wörthersee 09’ concepts

VW Golf GTI 'Worthersee 09'
VW Polo 'Worthersee 09'

Volkswagen will be premiering Golf GTI and Polo ‘Wörthersee 09’ concepts at the Austrian meet this weekend. The Golf GTI model is a new take on the regular car, while the Polo gives a few clues to how a Polo GTI might look.

Mechanically the Golf GTI ‘Wörthersee 09’ is identical to the regular Golf GTI, but it stands out from the pack due to its Firespark Metallic paint work and flashes of red adorned throughout the interior. The special 19″ black alloys also make a bold statement.

The Polo ‘Wörthersee 09’ is fitted with a rather tame 63kW 1.4 litre engine, so let’s do what Volkswagen have done and just ignore that aspect. The show car is painted in Flash Red and features twin black stripes along with 18″ ‘Budapest’ wheels.

Further Wörthersee goodies from Volkswagen include a SonyEricsson T700 GTI Edition mobile phone and the “Bobsy G2-3 pro GTI-Design” child seat. Yes, seriously.

Further detail and a few extra pics available after the jump.

Continue reading “Golf GTI & Polo ‘Wörthersee 09’ concepts”
Categories
Volkswagen

Volkswagen Scirocco R – official details

Volkswagen Scirocco R

Full details of the Scirocco R, based heavily on last year’s Studie R show car, have now been released. A quick snapshot reveals the Scirocco R will have 195kW/350Nm and will, somewhat disappointingly, be driven through the front wheels only. Let’s hope Volkswagen’s Haldex 4MOTION system is being reserved for the über GTI.

While the engine is effectively shared with the Audi S3, perhaps it is FWD that is responsible for the 0-100km/h time being almost a second slower than Audi’s quoted time, with the ‘Rocco covering the sprint in 6.5 seconds (6.4 for DSG).

That’s the crucial info out of the way. The material provided by Volkswagen is comprehensive, so rather than giving an overview here, why don’t you follow the jump and take in the extra pics and press release.

UPDATE 18 October: Three new pics added after the jump.

Continue reading “Volkswagen Scirocco R – official details”