Category: News

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News Top Gear

Top Gear LIVE – tests loyalty to the extreme?

Oh what a ripoff?!

When I saw a trio of F360s pirouetting on the concrete at Top Gear LIVE last weekend I thought to myself, “wow, that’s pretty impressive risking so much exotica like that.”

Turns out that I, and the tens of thousands of others who attended the show, may have been duped. According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald a fan who got a closer look at the “Ferraris” backstage claims they were, in fact, replicas.

The anonymous fan told SMH, “When they came out on stage I thought something doesn’t look right and something doesn’t sound right. Then when I saw them backstage they had their engine covers up and the engines were definitely not Ferrari engines.”

This would explain why the music was so loud that it drowned out the engine noise. Listening to a Toyota or Peugeot engine at high revs just doesn’t sound the same does it.

There is a company in the UK that makes Ferrari and Lamborghini replica kits based on humble donor cars such as the Toyota MR2 and Peuegot 406 Copué. Might be worth checking to see if they have filled any orders for the BBC in recent times.

Source: SMH (Thanks to Mick for the tip.)

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News Volkswagen

Is the Scirocco R20T heading down under?

Volkswagen Scirocco Studie R

This is the Scirocco Studie R, as revealed at the 2008 Bologna Motor Show. It gives 200kW a serious nudge and is loosely based on the GT24 racecar that won its class in last year’s Nürburgring 24 hour race. And it could be heading to Australia.

According to a news report on GoAuto, Volkswagen Australia can see a spot in its line up for the range topping Scirocco. If so, the Studie R, likely to be badged as the Scirocco R20T, would slot in above the GTI.

Currently, one in four Golfs sold in Australia is a GTI and Jutta Dierks, Volkswagen Australia’s managing director, is keen to protect the GTI’s niche. The regular Scirocco has been considered for Australia, but Volkswagen Australia wants to market it under the GTI. In other markets the GTI and entry level Sciroccos are similarly priced, so the fact Volkswagen Australia has been able to get the fatherland to play ball is no surprise. The falling Australian dollar is also conspiring against the Scirocco. Dierks has not given up hope of bringing the entry level Scirocco to Australia, but such an outcome remains unlikely.

So that brings Volkswagen Australia back to the Studie R. There are still some hurdles still to cross, though. At this stage nothing concrete has been said about the Studie R being made for right-hand drive markets. However, you’d expect such a car to sell like hot cakes in the UK, so it is reasonable to expect a version suitable for Australian import will exist at some point in the future.

Let’s hope so, because, potentially, the only thing holding back the Studie R from becoming a future classic is a Volkswagen rubber stamp.

If you would like to see the Scirocco on Australian roads, then why not send a message of support to Volkswagen Australia via their Contact Us page.

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Audi BMW Ford Holden Honda Hyundai Kia Mercedes-Benz MINI Mitsubishi News Nissan Toyota

Automotive industry supports Bushfire Appeal

Victorian Bushfires

Following the lead of Mercedes-Benz, two more manufacturers have donated cash towards the Victorian Bushfire Appeal.

Honda Australia, through its Honda Foundation, has pledged $200,000 to the cause. Joining Honda in today’s announcement is Nissan Australia and Nissan Motor Co. in Japan who will be offering a combined donation of $100,000.

Nissan Australia will also match donations made by its employees to the Australian Red Cross or Salvation Army. The company has also committed to a 100 vehicle loan fleet, allowing affected members of the public to apply for a free loan car, for a period of up to six months.

These announcements are a fantastic show of support and one would expect more manufacturers to follow in these very generous footsteps.

Where available, press statements from manufacturers are included after the jump.

UPDATE: Audi has made a “significant contribution” towards the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation which made a $1,000,000 donation earlier today.

Toyota has donated $100,000 to the Cricket Australia Bushfire Appeal. Ford also donated a Mondeo XR5 Turbo for auction, with all proceeds going to the appeal.

UPDATE 11 Feb: V8 Supercars have donated $100,000. (Source: The Australian)

BMW Group Australia has chipped in $100,000 plus other support.

UPDATE 12 Feb: News just in that Mitsubishi have donated $100,000 to the Appeal.

Holden has also come forward with a $152,000 (US$100,000) donation, via its GM Foundation, and a fleet of 300 loan cars available to bushfire victims for periods of 3-12 months. In addition to these pledges, Holden dealers nationawide have raised a further $200,000. (Source: news.com.au)

Update 13 Feb: The Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group announced last night that it is donating $300,000 towards the 2009 Victorian Bushfire Fund to assist individuals and communities affected by the devastating fires.

Image: sourced from The Boston Globe

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Mercedes-Benz News

Mercedes-Benz contributes to Victorian Bushfire Appeal

Victorian Bushfires

The devastating bushfires in Victoria over the weekend have so far claimed over 170 lives and left almost 4000 homeless. The loss of life was previously unimaginable and thoughts and condolences go out to those who have lost family members and friends.

For those unaffacted it is sometimes difficult to know what, if anything, one can do to assist. I spent a lot of today listening to the radio commentary and it was mentioned several times that two of the best things people can do to help are to donate blood or make a financial contribution to the relief fund.

Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific did just that by putting the financial crisis into perspective when it offered an initial contribution of $107,000 to the relief effort. This includes donations of $1000 from each of the board’s seven directors. In addition, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services will also offer support to its customers (contact number in press release below).

If you are able, I urge you to follow suit and make a donation. You can do this by donating directly to the Red Cross, or by following the suggestions on ABC Radio’s Melbourne website.

Image: sourced from The Boston Globe

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Carmageddon Motorsports News Porsche

Australian Carrera Cup series fails to launch in 2009

Australian Carrera Cup series cancelled 2009

On Thursday it was announced the Australian 2009 Porsche Carrera Cup season would be cancelled due to a lack of cars to fill the grid.

Porsche Cars Australia managing director, Michael Winkler, said “to enter the season without a robust grid of cars is simply not viable for all the major stakeholders. Motorsport is an integral part of Porsche’s activities in Australia so this decision is not taken lightly.

“We have already spoken with the Confederation of Australian Motorsport (CAMS) as the governing body of Australian motorsport and will proactively work with them to ensure existing owners of 997 GT3 Cup Cars are given the opportunity to race in other categories.”

There was an eight round program scheduled for 2009, with the first race planned for the Clipsal 500 later next month.

This news is a real sign of the global financial crisis biting hard at home. It will be interesting to see if those teams with financial backing are able to find alternate series to race in. It will also be interesting to see if the Carrera Cup will return in 2010, or indeed, at all in the near future.

Source: cupcar.com.au – image courtesy of cupcar.com.au (Thanks to Richard for the tip.)

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News Renault

Renault Clio III enters phase 2

Renault Clio III Phase 2 GT

Renault have just revealed images of the updated Renault Clio III. The Phase 2 update, including the all new GT model in these pics, will be revealed in full at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show next month.

The first iteration of the Clio III was a much greater design success than the previous model, which was a bit of a mish mash it has to be said. Looking at these new pics of the updated Clio III, it seems as though Renault is returning to that mish mash look, with the squared off grille being at odds with the rest of the car.

Oddly, even though images of the Phase 2 update have been revealed in GT model form, there is nothing else available at this stage confirming  engine or performance specs. For there is one thing certain, it doesn’t matter what the Clio looks like, it is a damn fun car to drive.

The other notable feature with the upgrade s the Carminat TomTom GPS navigation system. The fully integrated screen will cost less than £500 (AU$1100) and promises to be easy to update.

Although, judging by the lateness with which the first Clio III arrived in Australia, and then only in Renaultsport guise, it is unlikely we’ll be seeing this Phase 2 Clio III in Australia any time soon.

More pics and press material after the jump.

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Carmageddon Mitsubishi Motorsports News

Mitsubishi waves goodbye to Dakar

Mitsubishi Lancer Dakar09

The Global Financial Crisis has claimed its latest motorsport scalp with Mitsubishi quitting its Dakar Rally program. The withdrawal goes further and brings an end to Mitsubishi’s involvement in all cross-country rally events.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation says the global economy has forced them to tighten their belts.

Brief statement below.

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BMW News

Chris Bangle signs off at BMW

Chris Bangle

After 17 years with BMW, Chris Bangle has handed in his resignation. According to the press statement below, 52-year-old Bangle will be pursuing personal “design-related endeavours beyond the auto industry”.

The vacant Director of BMW Group Design position will be filled by 44-year-old Adrian van Hooydonk, with immediate effect. Van Hooydonk has been Bangle’s right-hand man since 2004 and has been with BMW since 1992, including a five year stint with BMW subsidiary DesignworksUSA.

Bangle’s “flame” inspired designs have polarised opinions and whipped enthusiasts into a lather who are either staunchly for or against his results. However, design should challenge convention. And good design should change convention. Chris Bangle has done both.

Of course, it is fair to say that not all results released under Bangle’s tenure as BMW’s Head of Design have been successes, the original E65 7 Series being one example. However, other examples, such as the E60 5 Series and the E85 Z4, leave behind an enduring legacy of sharp modernism that will influence the industry for some time, even if other designers may not admit as much.

Chris Bangle has helped to bring commentary on design, and therefore appreciation of design, to a broader, more mainstream audience. Despite some failures along the way, he deserves respect, acknowledgement and gratitude for doing so.

Source: BimmerFile

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Motor Shows News

Australian International Motor Show – A tale of two cities

Organisers of the Sydney and Melbourne motor shows have just announced plans for a new joint venture that will see a single major annual motor show alternating between the two cities. The agreement will commence from 2010 with the first show under the new arrangement to be held in Sydney. It is expected the 2010 Sydney show will be held in mid-October.

The 2009 Melbourne International Motor Show will go ahead as planned and starts later this month (27 February-9 March).

The announcement of the new plans confirms that there will be no motor show in Sydney in 2009. However, there are already signs of progession for the 2010 event.

Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive, Andrew McKellar says, “We are already making plans for Sydney in 2010 and are confident that under the new agreement, it will be an exciting and well-supported show.

“The new model is viable and sustainable and takes into account the views of the many vehicle brands who considered the proliferation of motor shows in Australia as being too costly.”

Full press statement after the jump.

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Audi News

Audi’s 2009 Super Bowl commercial

The 2009 NFL Super Bowl has been run and one and in true American fashion the event is as much about the razzle dazzle as it is about the athletes. Part of the razzle dazzle centres around the hype created by the round of television commercials that premiere during the game.

Here is Audi’s one minute ad called The Chase promoting their supercharged A6. It features Jason Statham behind the wheel (or Handsome Rob for fans of The Italian Job remake). He takes an historic path progressing through recent decades driving other prestige marques before, you guessed it, finally getting away from the baddies in his shiny new Audi A6.

It’s probably not quite up there with Audi’s 2008 Super Bowl commercial which was a parody of the famous horse head scene from The Godfather. That ad, along with a behind the scenes promo for this year’s ad can be seen after the jump.

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News Porsche

Porsche opens new museum in Stuttgart

Porsche Museum, Stuttgart

Yesterday the new Porsche Museum opened its doors to the public for the first time. As you can see it is an architecturally stunning building, but just wait until you see what is on the inside!

Construction began in 2005 and the official opening took place last Wednesday with Chairman of the Board of Porsche AG, Dr Wendelin Wiedeking, declaring “This is our new business card on the Porscheplatz. At this meeting point, we welcome our international customers as well as numerous people from all over the world who themselves may not drive a Porsche but are nonetheless fascinated by our sportscars. We will not only use the museum as an exhibition, but also as a communication platform – as a permanent, integral part of the ongoing dialogue which Porsche conducts with the public.”

It costs around AU$16 to get in and is sure to entertain tourists and owners alike. During the construction phase Porsche was getting 80,000 customers per year to their temporary exhibition space which could only display 20 exhibits. Now, with space for 280 cars, one might suggest that their expectations for 200,000 visitors per year will be easily surpassed.

For more information about the museum check out the official website. Or you can just take a squiz at the location on Google Maps.

An extensive image gallery, starting with construction pics, and Porsche’s official press release after the jump.

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News Volkswagen

Welcome to the real world

Late last year Volkswagen UK released a new ad (shown above) to promote the upcoming Golf VI. Called The Fight, the ad features a tagline “sometimes the only one you have to beat is yourself”. The tag is supported by a cinematic fight scene, with the lead character fighting against clones of himself inside a Volkswagen factory and is reminiscent of The Matrix and other action films.

As an television commercial it is catchy, well made and makes a clever connection to the Golf sitting at the top of its class. However, in the real world, people are complaining that the ad encourages children to fight. No, this isn’t a joke. According to an article on guardian.co.uk 115 complaints have been sent in to the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority. The ASA will have to decide if the ad promotes excessive violence that could be copied by children.

In terms of “excessive violence” the ad is pretty tame, and, at worst, you could only imagine the ASA would rule that the ad can only be shown after the UK’s 9pm watershed. By which time little Johnny and Jane have no doubt seen worse “violence” in regular programming in any case. One thing is certain, ad agency DDB London and Volkswagen UK are no doubt loving the extra publicity.

Source: guardian.co.uk (Thanks to Mav for the tip.)