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Audi Green Machines

Audi says 1+1 equals ‘urban concept’

Audi urban concept

Audi has just released these sketch drawings of what they call the ‘urban concept’. Basically they’ve taken the Volkswagen XL1 and given it a personality. It looks pretty cool too, don’t you think.

The issue of whether a 1+1 seater electric powered city car is a genuinely practical proposition is another question altogether. Then there’s the free-standing wheels. They look great, but not sure they would make it into final production.

The ‘urban concept’ is powered by a pair of e-tron motors, one for each axle we assume. We also assume we’ll be seeing more of this car at Frankfurt next month.

Residents of Berlin were given a very brief preview of the car during a film shoot in Potsdamer Platz on the weekend. You can see a couple of YouTube clips after the break. It’s actually quite helpful to see the car in a real-world context. It’s not quite as small as you might think.

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BMW

BMW 1M smiles for the camera

BMW 1 Series M Coupe

After having two drives of the BMW 1M we can safely say we are big fans of the car. We know lots of you are fans, as well. BMW Australia is keen to try and secure more cars for local sale, but so far nothing has been confirmed. For now, if you don’t have a confirmed order, you’ll just have to make do with a few pics from Facebook.

Categories
Audi

2012 Audi A3 prototype spied

2012 Audi A3 prototype

Your looking at a prototype model of the next-generation Audi A3 which has just been spotted in Argentina. So far details have been pretty fluid on what to expect from the four-ringed Golf. We’ve seen a few sketches, some amateur renderings and even an official concept model. Until now, though, we’ve not seen anything real.

The pic shows a few obvious cosmetic changes to the front end with a revised bonnet, grille and lighting treatments. LED daytime running lights look like they could be moving out of the headlight cluster down where we’ve become accustomed to seeing foglights. Aside from that it’s a clear progression from the A3 we’re seeing on the streets today.

The development model seen above is a three-door and while we have seen three-door A3s kick off the new range in Australia in the past, don’t expect that to be the case third time around. If Australia does get a three-door it’s likely to be the available as an S3 only. It is understood Australia will get the full complement of five-door models.

[Source: Kilometer Magazine]

Categories
Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren

Hunt–Lauda contest to be made into F1 film

James Hunt

Academy Award winning movie director Ron Howard is in the early stages of bringing Formula One to film. This won’t be a documentary in the style of Senna, rather a big budget production with all the Hollywood trimmings. The movie will centre around the 1976 Formula One season.

That year saw an epic battle between loveable larrikin James Hunt and austere Austrian Niki Lauda. It was the year Lauda had his horrific crash at the Nürburgring Nordschleife and signalled the end of F1 races at the ‘Green Hell’.

Prior to the crash Lauda had already notched up five wins for the year and was fast heading towards his second world championship. Despite missing just two races as a result of his injuries the courageous Lauda would not win another race for the year.

In the latter stages of 1976, including the German Grand Prix, Hunt won four races of his own, giving him six victories in all for the year. It was enough to give the Briton his only world title by the narrowest margin possible, just one point.

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Jaguar

Jaguar XF Estate bringing cool to 2012

Jaguar XF estate rendering

After driving the Jaguar XF last year we learnt the prestige buyer need not head straight for the established German marques. The XF has sent Jaguar on a new journey, managing to throw away its sometimes staid past in favour of a style and sophistication found only in Modern Britainâ„¢. News that an Estate version is on the way only heightens our appreciation for the car. As the astute reader knows station wagons set the intellectual apart from the hordes of SUV lemmings.

The only sad news is that we only have this rendered image to go on for now. While the XF Estate is due for launch next year, it’s not expected we’ll see an official concept or pre-production version anytime soon.

[Source: Car]

Categories
Lamborghini

Last goodbye for Gallardo at Frankfurt?

Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo

Last week Lamborghini told us they will be bringing a new “super sports car” to the Frankfurt Motor Show. They only teased us, of course, and the immediate speculation was the car in question could be a production version of the Sesto Elemento. A sub-1000kg 570hp beast revealed in concept form at last year’s Paris Motor Show.

Now, AutoExpress in the UK are saying they’ve been told the mystery model will be an extreme Gallardo honouring the machines used in the Super Trofeo one-make racing series.

Starting with a Gallardo LP560-4 as a base it’s reckoned Lambo will strip 110kg from the standard car’s weight. At 1300kg the model will be a further 40kg less than the ‘lightweight’ Superleggera.

Also expected to feature are a radically styled front splitter and rear wing. The final Gallardo will still source its power from the familiar 5.2 litre V10. Whether Lambo can find more than 570hp from the engine is unknown.

[Source: Auto Express]

Categories
Citroen WRC

Sebastien Loeb considering his WRC future

Sebastien Loeb - 2010 WRC winner

From one seven-time world champion to another, the official WRC website reports Sebastien Loeb is contemplating what car he might be driving in 2012 and beyond.

According to the 37-year-old Frenchman his current employer Citroën are willing, “They are waiting for me so I have to decide in the next week,” Loeb said in an interview Autosport magazine.

“I will decide whether I stay at Citroën or stay in the rally, but with somebody else or retire and do something else. One thing is sure, I will not stop driving.”

The Citroën–Loeb partnership has proven to be unbeatable, but how long can it go on? Would Loeb consider moving to a new team, such as Volkswagen, due to enter the WRC in 2013. If so he could retrace the early part of his career and help develop the Polo R WRC just as he did with Citroën.

“Yeah, for sure, it’s also an opportunity for me, maybe,” said Loeb.

Clearly, Citroën want Loeb to stay. And it seems as though team boss Oliver Quesnel will have an answer very soon.

[Source: WRC]

Categories
Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Michael Schumacher considering his F1 future

Michael Schumacher

When seven time world champion Michael Schumacher was considering a return to Formula One it set the motoring world alight. He would be returning to the team that had just won the constructors’ championship, after all. History tells us Schumacher finally signed a three-year deal with the newly formed Mercedes GP after they had taken over Brawn GP. Hope was spring eternally all over the place.

With the benefit of hindsight we can see that Schumi’s return hasn’t been what many hoped it would be. Sure, predictions of an eighth world title were probably always a little optimistic, but in 30 starts since his comeback Michael’s best results amount to a quartet of fourth place finishes. Three of which were in 2010.

Even though the German is signed up until the end of the 2012 season, it’s little surprise to learn that the 42-year-old is considering his future in the sport. In a recent interview with Italian publication Corriere dello Sport Schumacher gave a refreshingly honest account.

“I arrived at Mercedes with a specific task: not winning at all costs but to grow the team,” he said.

“If anything, I am the problem: it is a fact that I am a bit more relaxed than before and I do not know if my mindset is right for this team. At some point we will evaluate whether I continue or stop.”

If Michael does leave at the end of this season Force India’s Paul di Resta, former Mercedes DTM driver, is likely to top Ross Brawn’s wish list.

[Source: FoxSports]

Categories
BMW

Quick reference guide to BMW model codes

BMW 1 Series hatch (F20)

With the introduction of the new 5 Series and 1 Series model lines from BMW we’re seeing more examples of their new codename structure. Gone are the familiar model codes with an E prefix and in are codes starting with F.

The new 5er carries an F10 codename, while the new 1er is known as the F20. Although, it was the F01 7 Series that was the first to wear Fxx coding back in 2008.

BMW codenames aren’t the easiest things to remember at the best of times, so after the break there’s a full list of what we have seen and what we know is coming. It will be a very handy reference for the future, so make sure you file this entry away somewhere handy.

[Source: Car]

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Categories
Porsche

911 watch: Brown is the new black

A few days ago we brought you some more spy shots of the new Porsche 911, with a warning we might end up going slightly overboard on 911 material prior to its official launch.

There’s good news for you on two counts today, then, with this video showing the 911 in action. As is the norm, it seems, the car is pretty much undisguised, save for some stuck on graphics over the front and rear lights.

The other good bit of news is there is now less than 40 days to go until the 991 is revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show.

[Thanks to Jono for the tip]

Categories
Formula 1 News

Thursday 11 August: Australian release of ‘Senna’

A quick reminder for motor racing fans that the general release of the full length Ayrton Senna documentary is due to start around Australia this Thursday. Above is a new 30 second TVC posted to the official Senna movie YouTube account.

Already there have been a number of preview screenings across the country, including one on the Gold Coast hosted by speedcafe.com. After the break you can see more from that screening including interviews with Sir Jack Brabham and Mick Doohan. Also interviewed were Adrian Burgess and Martin Whitaker, both well known locally for their current involvement with V8 Supercars, but both had worked in F1 while Senna was at his peak.

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Categories
McLaren News Oh the humanity

‘Crashadder’ goes forth

Rowan Atkinson's crashed McLaren F1

More pics of Rowan Atkinson’s crashed McLaren F1 have emerged and, as you can see, they don’t make for pleasant viewing.

In some good news for the star of Blackadder and Mr Bean, he been released from hospital with no more than a broken shoulder blade. Looking at these images he can thank the strength of the McLaren’s carbon-fibre body shell for that; it could have been much worse.

Apparently Atkinson was driving home after filming for his new role in Johnny English Reborn. His agent Peter Bennett-Jones said, “He is shaken but not stirred. He will want the car repaired straight away.”

Best of luck with that.

[Source: The Sun | Thanks to Chris for the tip]

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