Categories
Formula 1 News

Blue is the colour, F1 is the game!

Sauber teams up with Chelsea FC

Two things we like very much here at AUSmotive are F1 and Chelsea FC. Now, thanks to a new deal with Sauber Motorsport, the two have become interlinked. Why, we’re not so sure, but who are we to argue.

Keen observers will have noticed the Saubers running “Out of the Blue” and “True Blue” signage on their cars at the Chinese GP and Bahrain GP respectively. That gave us the first clue that a new deal was on the horizon. With the mystery now revealed, the Sauber C31s will proudly boast the Chelsea FC logo from next weekend at the Spanish GP. In return the Sauber F1 Team logo will be displayed at Stamford Bridge during Chelsea games.

Apart from the PR fluff, the two teams hope to share and contrast their sport science knowledge. Of course, exposure to a wider audience should benefit both parties, especially Chelsea with F1’s global reach.

“A partnership like this between Formula One and Football has never existed before in this form, yet there are numerous commonalities and possible synergies. In either case we are talking about team sport at the highest – and international – level,” explained Monisha Kaltenborn, CEO of the Sauber F1 Team.

“The Sauber F1 Team and Chelsea FC are dealing with many of the same sporting and commercial topics and we want to strengthen each other in these areas. We are looking forward to exploiting these opportunities, and we congratulate Chelsea on making it to the final of the Champions League.”

So do we. Go Blues!

Continue reading “Blue is the colour, F1 is the game!”
Categories
MINI

MINI Countryman Coupé says g’day

MINI Countryman Coupe

For the first time we bring you pics of the MINI Countryman Coupé in testing. You’ll remember it’s based on the 2010 Paceman concept and is, as the name now suggests, a tw0-door version of the Countryman crossover.

It’s expected the Countryman Coupé will make an appearance at the Paris Motor Show in September. Despite our usual disdain for most things SUV, we do make a few rare exceptions, and we think this model might just make the list. Although, the regular four-door Countryman will certainly win out in the practicality stakes.

Of course, you can’t see too much with the crazy black and yellow camouflage, but make sure you concentrate on the rear lights on the image below. You’ll see they take an altogether new form for MINI, appearing to be wider than they are tall and also intrude through into the rear hatch.

[Source: Autocar]

Continue reading “MINI Countryman Coupé says g’day”
Categories
Motor Shows News

2012 AIMS dates confirmed

Mazda at AIMS 2011

We received an email on Wednesday confirming the media day for the 2012 Australian International Motor Show, to be held in Sydney this year, will go for a full day. That’ll be on Thursday 18 October and gives the manufacturers more time to impress hacks like us.

More importantly, the motor show won’t open to the public until the following day, so they’ll also have overnight to rearrange their stands. You’ll then have 10 full days to check out the show for yourself.

“We have received positive feedback from exhibitors on the decision to keep the Thursday exclusively for media and industry,” Show Director, Russ Tyrie said.

“Many are taking advantage of the change conducting multiple on-stand launches and presentations for staff, dealers and key customers during the afternoon.

“Furthermore, this decision also provides the general public with the added benefit of having an extra full day on the Friday to enjoy the Show.”

Continue reading “2012 AIMS dates confirmed”
Categories
Nissan

Nissan announces limited Juke-R production

Nissan Juke R, Desert Nemesis

Aha, now Nissan’s Desert Nemesis flick makes a bit more sense. Nissan has just confirmed they will build a limited number of Juke-Rs, with the first three cars to be delivered some time around August.

Nissan has also said two of the first cars to be built will be heading to “a high-profile and well-respected member of Dubai society.” While they haven’t named names, you’d reckon Salah Salahuddin, featured in Desert Nemesis, would be a safe bet.

The original concept was based on the MY10 GT-R, but the real-deal Juke-R will be based on the more powerful MY12 spec. Nissan hasn’t put a cap on the number of Juke-Rs they will make, saying instead there will be a “very limited run on build-to-order basis.”

Gareth Dunsmore, Marketing Product Manager for the Juke, said: “The Juke-R was originally intended as a one-off concept to marry two of Nissan’s most innovative models. But the reaction we had to the car in Dubai was amazing—people were making offers for the original on the street!

“With such a strong reaction, and with three genuine offers on the table, we decided we had to make the car a reality. We can’t let down enthusiasts who are this keen to add to their collection of cars. The Juke-R has become something of a phenomenon and I’m enormously proud of the impact it has had. There will be more news to come on Juke later in the year.”

So, the Juke-R then. Ugly as sin, crazy as batshit and utterly pointless. And yet, we cannot applaud Nissan enough for turning the über-crossover into a road-going reality. Even if you’ll need a jaw-dropping US$600K to play.

Continue reading “Nissan announces limited Juke-R production”
Categories
BMW Motorsports

BMW M3 DTM pitstop practice

BMW M3 DTM pitstop

Many of our readers are very happy that BMW Motorsport brought the M3 back to its roots—DTM racing. So we figured, in addition to our picture gallery from Round 1 of the 2012 series at Hockenheim, you’ll enjoy this series of pics and a couple of videos show the BMW M3 DTM during pitstop practice.

All of the pics can be viewed as 2000px super images, and if you like what you see then follow the Flickr link below for more.

[Source: Castrol Edge | Pics: Flickr]

Continue reading “BMW M3 DTM pitstop practice”
Categories
Nissan Video

VIDEO: The Nissan Juke-R “Desert Nemesis”

Nissan Juke-R

Following yesterday’s preview, here is the full version of the Desert Nemesis short film, featuring the Nissan Juke-R. It runs for about six minutes and the official intro reads:

The film, which is reminiscent of the ‘Need for Speed’ movies, Desert Nemesis follows GT Academy winner Lucas Ordóñez as he takes the one-off Juke-R to the streets of Dubai to take part in a street race against some of the world’s most famous and thrilling sports cars.

A bit like the Juke-R itself we’re not entirely sure if this film has been a worthwhile exercise. As a meaningless journey where the destination is to have a lot of fun and thrash some very nice cars, though, it’s first class.

Continue reading “VIDEO: The Nissan Juke-R “Desert Nemesis””
Categories
Formula 1 Lotus

Grosjean remains Mugello maestro

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E20, Mugello

On the final day of testing in Mugello Lotus driver Romain Grosjean repeated his efforts from Day 2 and remained the fastest man around the free flowing 5.245km circuit.

Grosjean’s time was set in the afternoon session and the mark of 1:21.035 was the best time recorded over the three days. Fastest in the morning session overnight was Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. That was enough to keep him second fastest on the day, ahead of Fernando Alonso in the Ferrari and young Aussie Daniel Ricciardo for Torro Rosso.

Reflecting on the day Grosjean appreciated the opportunity Mugello presented and is looking ahead to next weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix.

“It was another nice day today so I have been lucky with the weather here. We continued to work on the car and have gained more valuable data. We made a big change to the car at lunchtime and everything went according to plan,” Grosjean said.

“Mugello puts high demands on the driver so it’s been a very good experience for me—and quite a workout! We were conducting a specific programme of evaluating components, so to be quick relative to our opposition even when we were not looking specifically to try to top the times is satisfying. I’m happy at the progress we’ve made here in Italy and looking forward to seeing how well this translates into lap time when we get to Barcelona.”

A full list of times and more pics from Lotus can be seen after the break.

[Pics: Lotus F1 Team/LAT Photographic]

Continue reading “Grosjean remains Mugello maestro”
Categories
Safety Issues

The impossible texting and driving test

Dont text and drive

Bravo to the Belgian authorities who came up with this anti-driving test. It’s a wonderful example of the dangers of inattention while driving. It needn’t be something obvious like texting and driving, either, the lessons learnt here are wide ranging.

Thankfully, no driving instructors were harmed in the making of this film. Enjoy it, have a laugh, and make sure you keep your eyes and mind on the road and traffic ahead when you’re behind the wheel.

[Thanks to Tim for the tip]

Continue reading “The impossible texting and driving test”
Categories
BMW Mercedes-Benz Porsche Video

Jealous, much

Chris Harris drives BMW M3 GTS, Mercedes C63 AMG Black and Porsche GT3 RS 4 litre

Chris Harris has just filed a video that must remind him, and certainly us, what a lucky sod he is sometimes. Never mind he has awoken his own Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 from its winter slumber to take part in this three-piece fantasy; the other two cars are just as fine and just as desirable. Well, almost.

The BMW M3 GTS indulges in some ultra violence with its bright clockwork orange paintwork, while the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series is not backing away from the dark side of the force with a matt black exterior.

Look, like us, you could probably save yourself from the bother and take the RS 4.0, leave the other two behind, and just be done with it. After all, it will be the one genuinely true icon from the three cars assembled. But, life is about the journey, not the destination, and so of course we’d grab the opportunity to test all three on road and empty race track.

We doubt you’ll have your opinions altered with this video, but we think you’ll enjoy the ride. We’re just jealous we weren’t there to experience it too!

Continue reading “Jealous, much”
Categories
Formula 1 Lotus

Grosjean and Kobayashi share Mugello moment

Romain Grosjean, Lotus E20, Mugello

Clear and sunny conditions greeted the F1 teams in Mugello overnight and to celebrate the positive change two drivers headed the lap charts at day’s end. The resurgence of Lotus (nee Renault) continued when Romain Grosjean set a time of 1:21.603 early in the morning session. He stayed top until close to the end when Sauber driver Kamui Kobayashi matched his time. Amazing.

Sebastian Vettel (+0.2s) and Mark Webber (+0.3s) were next quickest in their Red Bulls. Mark drove in the morning before the RBR team made changes to the car for Vettel’s afternoon run. The day also brought the absolute shock news that Felipe Massa set a faster time than Ferrari teammate Fernando Alonso!

What’s that? Oh, Fernando didn’t drive today. That explains it then.

After the day’s proceedings Grosjean enthused: “It’s always good to end the day on top, but we have to remember that in testing lap times mean very little. Having said that, the car felt great and I was very comfortable from the start. This test gives us an opportunity to try things that we wouldn’t have time to do during a race weekend, so hopefully it’ll help us to keep pushing forward. We’ve done a lot of setup work today, and for sure we’ll need to take some time to look through all the data and analyse what we need to focus on tomorrow, but it’s a good baseline for the final day.”

A full list of times and more pics from Lotus can be seen after the break.

[Pics: Lotus F1 Team/LAT Photographic]

Continue reading “Grosjean and Kobayashi share Mugello moment”
Categories
Nissan

Nissan Juke-R “Desert Nemesis” preview

Nissan Europe has sent in a couple of preview clips for a new short film featuring the equal parts awesome and oddball Juke-R. The flick, titled Desert Nemesis, was filmed back in February when the Juke-R was showing a trio of supercars what its GT-R drivetrain can do on the streets of Dubai. Here’s a few words about the film:

To follow up on the footage of the Nissan Juke-R racing supercars in Dubai, Nissan has produced a short film directed by Award-winning film director, Rob Kaplan that is shot in incredible high definition using state of the art camera technology. The story of the film is that Gran Turismo gamer-turned-professional race driver, Lucus Ordonez is challenged to race the Nissan Juke-R against Salah Salahuddin’s supercar collection.

Check out the previews, and a clip of the original race in Dubai, after the break.

Continue reading “Nissan Juke-R “Desert Nemesis” preview”
Categories
Accessories & Tech BMW Random wallpapers

BMW 750Li rolling on 22″ three-piece wheels

BMW 750Li with 22" D2FORGED FMS-09 wheels

The friendly folk from D2FORGED have been in touch to share with us some wallpapers of a BMW 750Li rolling on some pretty damn nice 22″ FMS-09 wheels. The wheels are three-piece and feature brushed aluminium centres with polished chrome lips.

There’s nine more pics after the break and all you need to do to get your 1920x1280px versions is to click on each image as you go.

UPDATE: Our mistake, these wheels are three-piece, not two-piece as first stated.

Continue reading “BMW 750Li rolling on 22″ three-piece wheels”