A few weeks ago Audi racked up its 10th Le Mans victory. That put the German marque second on the all-time list of winning manufacturers; six behind Porsche.
Stuttgart, it would seem, is not impressed with the inroads being made by Ingolstadt and Porsche has announced they are coming back to Le Mans to race for outright victory in the LMP1 category.
Giving themselves plenty of time to get things right, Porsche will be racing at La Sarthe again in 2014. Game on!
[Thanks to Charlie for the tip]
Fantastic news for Australian F1 fans with confirmation Daniel Ricciardo has landed an F1 race seat with Hispania Racing Team for the rest of 2011.
It’s expected Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan will make way for Ricciardo at HRT under a new agreement struck between the Spanish team and Red Bull. This will allow Red Bull to compare Ricciardo to Vitantonio Liuzzi who has driven for both Toro Rosso and Red Bull Racing in the past.
So far in 2011 Ricciardo has experienced F1 seat time in all Friday practice sessions for Toro Rosso. In the eight events completed the young West Australian, and 2009 British Formula 3 champ, has impressed to the point recent speculation has been rife Ricciardo might have displaced current Toro Rosso drivers Sebatien Buemi or Jaime Algeusuari before the year was out. Those two can rest easy, for now.
Ricciardo, who turns 22 today (1 July), is expected to have 10 races with HRT, starting with next weekend’s British Grand Prix, to establish his reputation in motorsport’s elite category. Assuming he performs well, it is thought he will get a drive with Toro Rosso or even Red Bull Racing in 2012.
Note: There are 11 F1 races remaining this year and it is understood Karthikeyan will be allowed to race in the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in late October.
The 2011 British Grand Prix is now shaping to be the first time two Australians have made an F1 starting grid since Alan Jones (Shadow-Ford) and Vern Schuppan (Surtees-Ford) started the 1977 Austrian GP. Incidentally, that race was Alan Jones’ maiden Grand Prix win.
The official announcement from HRT can be read below.
Audi will be revealing a new S tronic version of the TT RS at the Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne tomorrow. The new 7-speed double clutch transmission features a launch control function which Audi says can be used propel the TT RS to 100km/h in just 4.3 seconds.
To help kick off the S tronic Audi Australia will be offering 45 Limited Edition models with a few extra goodies thrown in for no extra charge. The freebies include a black exterior styling package (not pictured), Adaptive Headlights, 19″ Rotor five spoke alloys and more. In total the extras package thrown in amounts to $8,460 at regular retail prices.
Also of interest is the S tronic will offered at the same price as the 6-speed manual; $139,900 plus on roads etc. An increase of $6,200 on 2009 launch pricing.
From 2014 F1 cars will be powered by 1.6-litre V6 turbo engines with energy recovery systems. Confirmation of the news from the World Motor Sport Council follows protracted negotiations, hissy fits and threats of withdrawal from some F1 teams after an earlier four-cylinder engine proposal was presented. Ferrari were the most vocal opponents on that score.
It’s understood the new engine regulations will see revs capped at 12,000rpm. However, the teams are asking for that cap to be raised to 15,000rpm. They’re also hoping to defer changes to chassis regulations until 2014. At this stage those requests have not bee signed off.
[via Autosport]
The Gemini Investment Fund, already a Saab shareholder, has agreed to loan an extra €25 million to ensure Saab can remain solvent in the short term. This follows an earlier €30m loan from Gemini last month. The money has already been used to pay workers their wages for the month of June.
Saab’s production line is currently idle, although it is hoped they will resume manufacture in the next two weeks. However, it is likely ongoing negotiations with suppliers will need to be finalised before that can happen.
Further assisting Saab’s immediate fortunes is the order of 582 cars from an unnamed Chinese company who has agreed to pay the €13m invoice up front. Also, a €28m conditional property sale has been brokered.
You have to ask, though, will we be talking about Saab as an ongoing concern in 2021? Saab hasn’t made a profit for over 20 years and Swedish Automobile, nee Spyker, has never been in the black.
[Source: Reuters]
Nobuhiro ‘Monster’ Tajima has just powered his 680kW Suzuki SX4 and himself into the record books, becoming the first person to complete the famous Pikes Peak Hill Climb course in under 10 minutes.
Tajima covered the 19.9km journey, which starts at 2860m and finishes at 4300m, in 9 minutes 51.278 seconds. Not bad going for a bloke who is 60-years-old. Especially when you consider it is his sixth outright win in a row at Pikes Peak.
Okay, Pikes Peak may have lost a bit of its charm since Ari Vatanen’s Climb Dance days, with more tarmac paving the way. But ‘Monster’ should be given a pat on the back for setting the new mark, all the same.
More pics and, more importantly, video can be seen after the break.
German publication Auto Motor und Sport is telling the world Audi has signed off on an ‘S’ version of its small Q3 SUV. But instead of being powered by a 2.0 litre turbo like the S3, they reckon the Q3 S will get the 2.5 litre five cylinder TT RS engine. Although, it is expected to lose around 40PS from the RS spec, with peak power down to 300PS for the hot Q3.
With expectations already that BMW will stick an ‘M’ badge on the X1 we will have a nice little fight on our hands to see who’s SUV has the biggest, ahem. It’s been suggested the X1 M will steal the 1M engine and manage to lose some power in the process; 320PS is the number being spoken.
So, what do we think out there in the real world, isolated from slick marketing presentations; ‘S’ and ‘M’ badges on entry level SUVs. Too far?
[Source: Auto Motor und Sport & World Car Fans]
If you think the F10 BMW M5 is something you’d like to see in your garage, then use the presence of inner strength to download this brochure (3.2mb PDF) and peruse all the options. You’ll soon learn this executive saloon speaks the language of a sports car—fluently.
Although not English, apparently, as the following statement attests: ‘Always a compelling argument—pulling power’. Which is closely followed by: ‘The hard facts’. Lucky the car is sure to speak a language we all understand: horsepower!
[Source: 5post]
BMW Canada is back with more visual trickery to promote the 1 Series M Coupé. First it was powder puff concrete walls, this time it’s the world’s highest helipad. Looks like fun, don’t you think.
The Lamborghini Aventador will be on show at the motor show in Melbourne later this week. But, if you’re quick you might be able to get a sneak peek at the 515kW 6.5 litre V12 beast while on display at the Lamborghini Melbourne dealership. Press your nose up against the dealership window, or even walk in and see if your kid can reach the pedals. Either way, it’s sure to be an impressive sight. We can’t wait to see it for ourselves on Friday.
Meanwhile, back at Gotham City word on the street says that Bruce Wayne will be taking delivery of a new Aventador. Expect to see him prowling the roads in it when Batman: The Dark Knight Rises hits the silver screen.
[Thanks to Wayne for the pics]
Perhaps the most exciting stat to emerge from the 2011 European Grand Prix is that all 24 starters finished the race. That’s only the fourth time in history this has happened. Indeed, Narain Karthikeyan has his name etched into the record books for being the first ever F1 driver to finish 24th. To help relive this rare occurrence here’s 88 pics, featuring all 24 cars, for you to enjoy.
Skoda UK is building a one-off ‘Bonneville Special’ Octavia vRS to celebrate 10 years of the vRS brand. As its name suggests the heavily tuned speed racer will hit the salt flats at Bonneville during Speed Week in August.
The car will be entered in the 2.0 litre production category, which is odd, considering it will have a GTFO Garret turbo fitted, be high as a kite on 120 RON fuel and have its brain fried by REVO Technik. After all that it will be pumping out as much as 440kW. That’s well over double the usual power found in an Octavia vRS.
Robert Hazelwood from Å koda UK says “The 10-year relationship between the UK and the vRS badge has been extremely successful. This is a landmark anniversary and going to Bonneville is a fitting tribute. It’s also an ambitious project which might surprise a few people, but Å koda is all about engineering excellence and this car is pushing that to new limits.â€
Despite all that power, the aim is to break the 200mph barrier. A fairly modest goal for such a beast, you would think.