In 2014 there were 19 grands prix and we bring you the 19 best photos from our F1 in pictures series. Don’t agree with our selections; then click through the headings below and relive the season for yourself and let us know which pics you like and why.
Following on from our Best of 2014 WEC gallery, we’ve trawled through our 2014 WRC image archive and picked out the best 13 pics from the 13 rallies.
And here they are!
In the 2014 WEC season the three main LMP1 teams all got something they wanted. Toyota won the drivers’ and manufacturers’ championships. Audi won yet another Le Mans and Porsche found its way to the top step of the podium in the final race of their return to the top flight.
Now you can get something from the WEC year too by taking a look at our gallery of the best images brought to you right here on AUSmotive.
We trust you’ll like looking back at the season that’s gone and make sure to click the headings if you’d like a recap of each race.
Stay tuned for a similar look back at the 2014 WRC and F1 seasons.
For just the third time in Australia’s history we bought over 1.1 million new vehicles in a calendar year. Despite this, all states—expect New South Wales—sold fewer vehicles compared with 2013 and total sales across the country dropped 2.0% to 1,111,224; down from last year’s record high sales mark of 1,136,227.
The irrepressible march of the SUV continues with almost half of all sales now being represented by the SUV/light commercial sector (550,303 sales). Deliveries of new passenger cars dropped to 531,596; down 34,808 sales compared with 2013. Heavy commercial vehicles remained consistent at 31,325 sales; a slight drop of 371 sales compared with the previous year.
Two small passenger cars did fight it out for the best selling model of the year, with the Toyota Corolla (43,735) hanging on to its number one status from 2013, narrowly edging out the Mazda3 (43,313).
Light commercials include models such as the Toyota HiLux (38,126), Ford Ranger (26,619) and the Mitsubishi Triton (24,256). All three were in the top 10 selling models of 2014. The best selling SUV was the Mazda CX-5 (21,571).
Reinforcing the demand for SUVs were models just outside the top 10, including the Toyota RAV4 (18,160 sales, +6.9%), the Jeep Grand Cherokee (16,582, +28.2%) and the Toyota Prado (16,112, +10.6%).
Meanwhile the Holden Cruze (18,554, -24.0%) and Nissan Navara (16,080, -33.3%) could not repeat their strong performances of 2013, dropping out of the top 10 in 2014. They were replaced by the Mazda CX-5 (+7.2%) and the Volkswagen Golf (19,178, +10.6%).
When looking at the top 10 selling brands for the year almost all registered a decline in sales compared with 2013; only Hyundai (+3.2%) and Subaru (+0.8%) managed minor increases.
Toyota (203,501, -5.2%) easily retained its best selling position in 2014, ahead of Holden (106,092, -5.3%) and Mazda (103,144, -2.4%).
Marques outside the top 10 performing well against their 2013 sales include Isuzu Ute (16,674, +63.3%), Fiat (5,758, +49.4%), Renault (10,014 +42.7%), and They-bought-a-Jeep (30,408 +37.2%).
German prestige brands also had a good time of it last year, increasing sales across the board. Porsche (2,812 +47.6%) saw the largest increase in percentage terms, followed by Audi (19,227, +20.1%), Mercedes (31,895, +15.8%) and BMW (22,722, +10.7%).
Business sales dropped 6.6% in 2014, while government (+3.4%) and rental (+2.3%) purchases increased. Private sales remained largely stagnant, registering a small increase of 0.5%.
M-Sport will be tackling the 2015 WRC season with one of the most youngest driver line ups in the field. Elfyn Evans returns to follow his rookie season with M-Sport and will be joined by Estonian Ott Tanak.
Both drivers have shown good pace on the WRC stage, but neither has much experience. Maybe that’s why Malcolm Wilson has decided the 2015 livery should hark back to Hannu Mikkola’s 1979 Ford Escort RS 1800 MKII and the later 1989 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth of Colin McRae.
You’ll get your first chance to the the new-look 2015 Fiesta, along with all the other WRC machines when Rallye Monte Carlo kicks off on 22 January.
If you’re missing Formula 1 action during the off season here’s video from the Hungarian Grand Prix that will allow you to cram in four times the action in one go.
Starting from top right and moving in a clockwise direction we’ve got Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Sergio Perez and Marcus Ericsson. The footage was filmed during qualifying and it’s no surprise to see who was fastest.
[via WTF1]
The current Aston Martin Vantage (VH platform) has been with us for 10 years now. It’s still one of the best looking cars around. But there’s still life in the old dog yet!
Later this year, at the Geneva Motor Show to be precise (5–15 March), Aston will launch the road-going Vantage GT3. Cool and fast. Very fast!
Firm details are scarce at this stage but expect the road-going model to be based on the racecar version of the Vantage GT3. That means you can start drooling over a 600hp V12 engine, a stripped out interior and a rather extreme body kit.
To help you with that drooling Aston has released a short video teaser (see below).
Bruce Thomson is an all round good guy. We know this because he hits our inbox from time to time with some seriously cool automotive drawings. Over the last few days he’s been sharing with the world a few illustrations showing how he would like the F1 cars of 2015 to look.
So far he’s given us the Ferrari F15, McLaren MP4-30, the Mercedes AMG W06 and the Red Bull Racing RB11.
If you follow those links then you’ll be treated to much larger versions of these images where you can further appreciate the detail.
Even better, there’s the promise of a Lotus and Williams concept to follow. Keep up the great work Bruce!
UPDATE 11 January: Now with Williams FW37 and Lotus E23 concepts.
In a move that’s almost as crap as the headline above and that should surprise noone the FIA has quietly removed the Korean Grand Prix from the 2015 F1 calendar.
That leaves us with a 20-race season, with the proviso that the previously published 21-race season should trigger a clause allowing drivers to have access to five engine units in 2015, instead of four as originally planned when the new engine regulations were launched.
In relation to engine allowances the sporting regs state: “This number will be increased to five if the number of Events in the Championship, as originally scheduled, exceeds 20.â€
According to the BBC, the FIA came under pressure from Renault and Red Bull to add the extra race to the calendar. By signing off on the 21-race calendar last month it would appear that the teams, or at least Red Bull, will be happy to have more engine units to play with.
However, there is a recently discovered loophole in the regs that will allow all engine manufacturers, except Honda, to stagger engine improvements throughout the season. Honda will have to comply with rules as applied to engine makers in 2014 and therefore must finalise its engine by the end of February.
Pretty daft, huh?
Back to realiuty for a moment; you can see the revised 2015 calendar after the break.
The Porsche 911 is a great car. A 911 GT3 sits pretty close to the top of our we just won lotto list. But let’s face it, it’s only due to the sheer bloody mindedness and excellence of Porsche’s engineers that a car with its engine over its arse is any good.
In some respects the Cayman is inherently a better car than a 911. The mid-engined layout of the Cayman provides a pure driving experience. The handling is predictable and neutral. And a flat six engine right behind your ears is plain awesome.
Of course, a Cayman is not actually better than a 911. For marketing a number of reasons Porsche can’t let that happen.
But that could be about to change. The car above is the Cayman GT4 and it’s going to be a rip snorter. It will head the Cayman model range and will bring the Cayman closer to the 911 than it’s ever been before.
As well as the more obvious changes to the bodywork, including a more aggressive front splitter and bigger side air intakes, the GT4 will boast more power, less weight and even more finely tuned suspension.
Cast your bets as to the type of engine the GT4 will have—a normally aspirated flat six with 3.4–3.8 litre capacity or maybe even a brand new turbocharged four cylinder unit—just pencil in around 300kW (400hp).
You know you want it!
[Source: Carscoops | Thanks to Tiaan for the tip]
We thank Instagrammer johan9ff for bringing the world an early glimpse of what appears to be a production-ready Porsche 911 GT3 RS.
We know the RS will feature a PDK transmission but engine specs are still unclear. Those air intakes on the rear wheel arches would indicate the engine is turbocharged. However, previous video evidence tends to suggest otherwise.
You can also see the dip in the bonnet and roof, as previewed in patent drawings back in August last year. Those drawings give you an idea of what to expect to see at the rear of the car, too.
Just hurry up Porsche, and release details of your latest RS weapon!
[Pics: Instagram | Thanks to John for the tip]
As you can see we’ve enjoyed a quiet break here at AUSmotive HQ and it’s a bit remiss to be starting the year with an update that’s well over a month old. That said, here’s a gallery of images from the final WEC race of the 2014 season.
It will be remembered for a few reasons. First, it was the maiden win for Porsche since their return to the LMP1 category. Their progress in 2015 will be well worth watching.
Second, it was the final race for Audi’s Tom Kristensen, who, thanks to his incredible nine wins at La Sarthe is known as ‘Mr Le Mans’. Kristensen’s #1 Audi R18 finished third and it was great to see him on the podium in his farewell appearance.
Finally, Mark Webber had a very big shunt towards the end of the race, which subsequently ended under yellow flag conditions. Thankfully, Mark escaped with nothing more than a “stinking headache”.