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BMW

New BMW 4 Series coupé rendered

BMW F32 4 Series coupé rendering

The clever clogs from Wild Speed have produced a series of renderings of what they think the new BMW 4 Series coupé (F32) will look like. Of course, expected styling cues from the new F30 3 Series are all there and, also unsurprisingly, the mid-sized 4er looks a bit like a mini-me version of the 6er coupé.

Imagine the above kit with an M bodykit and a silky smooth high powered six cylinder engine and you’re looking at the proper ‘M3’, which will now be called an M4. In a few years time it will all make sense we suppose.

[Source: F30post]

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Caterham Formula 1 Lotus

Joint statement on the Lotus position

2011 German Grand Prix

The two warring Lotus factions have issued a joint statement that proves everyone really does live happily ever after. In the public eye, at least. We expect behind closed doors there have been many toys thrown out of cots.

Apparently the two parties signed off an agreement in the last week or so with the terms to remain confidential.

Stick with us, this next bit might get a bit confusing. The brands ‘Lotus’ and ‘Team Lotus’ will be reunited under the Group Lotus banner. As previously reported, the former owners of the Team Lotus brand, 1Malaysia Team Racing, will become known as the Caterham F1 Team.

In 2012 we expect Lotus will continue with the black and gold livery and Caterham F1 has declared its intention to maintain its green and yellow colours.

The loving words of the joint statement can be read in full after the break. We suggest you imagine Dany Bahar, Group Lotus CEO, and Tomy Fernandes,  1Malaysia Team Racing owner, in a passionate embrace as you read the fairy tale below.

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Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupé Black Series – Australian pricing & specs

Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series

Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz.
My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends.

And Lord, can it please be a $245,000 C63 AMG Coupé Black Series? There’s only 32 coming to Australia and I kind of need to know now if you can help or else I will probably miss out.

Do you think he’ll help? I’ve got until April next year to get the money. That’s about five months away. Maybe I could save the cash myself, it’s only about $1700 a day.

Yes, we are big fans of the C63 Coupé AMG Black here at AUSmotive and we reckon a fair number of you will be as well. It has to be one of the best looking and most aggressively styled cars to come out of a German factory ever. With 380kW of normally aspirated 6.3 litre V8 fury it will go like stink as well.

Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Mr Horst von Sanden is very confident he will have no trouble shifting the C63 AMG Black from his showrooms.

“In Australia we have offered two AMG Black Series models in the past and they were very quickly snapped up by AMG aficionados who recognised their unique character and scarcity,” said von Sanden.

“The C 63 AMG Coupe Black Series will be limited to a total of 35 units for Australia and New Zealand. Obviously we wanted to get more but, the global customer demand for this latest Black Series has seen our allocation limited… and we already have a double figure order bank.”

More from Mercedes-Benz Australia after the break, including basic specification. Start saving!

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Formula 1 News

‘Rush’ filming on location at Nürburgring

'Rush' filming, November 2011

Ron Howard and his merry men have recently been spotted shooting scenes for the upcoming movie Rush. The latest motorsport story to hit the silver screen will focus on the epic Niki Lauda–James Hunt battle from the 1976 Formula One season.

Pistonspy has a great selection of images of the old skool Grand Prix cars circulating on the old course; follow the source link for more. Awesome!

[Source: Pistonspy]

Categories
BMW

BMW F80 M3 has a day out at the Nürburgring

Bimmerpost brings us some video of the next-gen BMW M3 undergoing testing at the Nürburgring. Although a fair portion of the clip shows the sedan and coupé prototypes on regular public roads as the cars make the short transit between the Nordschleife and BMW’s test facility in the village of Nürburg.

We think we know the F80M will be powered by a six cylinder engine (it certainly sounds this way). But we don’t know if it will be a straight six or a V6. We think we know the engine will be turbocharged. But we don’t know if there will be one, two or even three turbos.

We’re also not sure if the turbo(s) will be a traditional configuration or a fancy new electronic gizmo, or perhaps a combination of both technologies.

So, as you can see there’s a lot of speculation happening with the new M3 at the moment. Also, don’t forget a change in BMW model naming means the M3 will be a sedan and the more traditional coupé will be badged as an M4.

All should become much clearer when the M3 sedan debuts in concept form at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show next March. We think.

[Source: Bimmerpost]

Categories
Nissan

Nissan GT-R – MY12 specs released

MY12 Nissan GT-R

It looks just like the old one, but Nissan is adamant they have made changes to their flagship GT-R model. First, the big news, a reversing camera is now standard!

Of more merit is a 20PS power increase, taking the peak figure up to 550PS (404kW). Twenty seems to be the magic number, too, as torque has also been given a 20Nm boost, now topping out at 632Nm. Coupled with revisions to intake efficiency, exhaust valve cooling and a few other tweaks Nissan reckon low-mid range engine response has been significantly improved.

The transmission is smoother thanks to some minor mechanical tweaks and the use of a specially developed competition-based oil. Of particular note to Australian buyers is word that RHD models will have a tailored suspension setup. As well as the driver the propeller shaft for the front wheels is on the right side of the car. Nissan compensates for this by having different spring rates for the left and right side as well as changing the installation method for the rear suspension arms.

So, do these changes make a jot of difference? According to Car magazine, they do: “The engine’s response is cleaner, there’s a new appetite to the way it revs to the limiter, the chassis is more fluid and the four-wheel drive system works with more subtlety and there’s less pitch under braking.” Job well done, it seems.

As with previous model year updates Nissan Australia is planning for a March release. Manufacturer’s list pricing has been confirmed at $170,800 retail price. Although, the MY12 GT-R will go on sale in Japan later this month. More detail from Nissan is available after the break.

UPDATE: Short promo video added below.

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Motorsports WRC

Remembering Richard Burns

Richard Burns and Robert Reid

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.

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Lamborghini Motorsports

Flaming Lamborghini wins Targa High Country

Jason White, Lamborghini Gallardo

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.

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Aston Martin BMW Ferrari Jaguar Lamborghini Lotus McLaren Porsche Renault

evo Car of the Year videos

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.

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Caterham Formula 1 Lotus Renault

Hello F1, meet Caterham, Lotus and Marussia

2011 Japanese Grand Prix

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.

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Motorsports Porsche

2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

2012 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR

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.

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Categories
MINI

2012 MINI Roadster photo gallery

MINI Roadster

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.

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