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Motor Shows Volkswagen

Detroit 2011: Volkswagen Passat (US market)

Volkswagen Passat (US market)

Bigger is better. At least that’s what Volkswagen is telling its North American audience after creating a unique Passat just for them. To clear any confusion the European Passat is our Passat and should be in Australian showrooms sometime after March. Meanwhile, the ‘mericans will have to wait until August to get their hands on their Passat.

The Euro Passat, revealed last September, is too slim for the Yanks. This New Midsize Sedan, then, gets 91mm added to its wheelbase, an extra 13mm to its girth and a whole lot more bland added to its styling. And that’s saying something; the Passat is hardly the most exciting model Volkswagen has ever produced.

If anything their Passat looks like an upsized Jetta. And, let’s face it, if it has been upsized, it must be better. That said, their Passat has also been produced to a price. Starting from US$20,000 their Passat is several thousand bucks cheaper than the old model. Partly helped by the fact their Passat will be made in the US at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant.

Actually, when you consider the current market rates, maybe the joke is on us. We can’t imagine getting our Passat on the roads here for anything less than about AU$45K.

More after the break. Including a really weird video—that fireball is straight from the Jeremy Clarkson school of daft marketing.

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Porsche

Porsche prepares 918 racecar for Detroit debut

Porsche 918 racecar teaser

Following the release of this teaser video it appears certain the world debut Porsche has planned for the Detroit Auto Show is a racing version of the 918 Spyder, which was first shown in hybrid form at Geneva last year.

It could well be that this 918 racecar employs hybrid technology, too, given the 911 Hybrid almost won the 2010 Nürburgring 24 hour race at its first attempt.

Check out the video teaser after the break.

[Thanks to Wayne for the tip.]

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Volkswagen

Has Volkswagen pulled a New Mediocre Stunt?

It's just a Passat folks!

Last week Volkswagen released a new teaser to let us know they would be unveiling a New Midsize Sedan at Detroit. Word has come through today that this car will be badged as the, wait for it, Passat. Yeah, that’s right, the same name it’s called everywhere else in the world.

So, we went and found a profile pic of the European Passat and placed it over Volkswagen’s teaser image and guess what—it’s a perfect fit!

Until official details are known (possibly later today) let’s give VW the benefit of the doubt and let them think we’re expecting some new details. But, at this stage, it’s looking like any differences between the US Passat and the real Passat are likely to be cosmetic only.

[Source: Autoblog]

UPDATE: Check out Motor Authority for a gallery of leaked images. It’s a super-sized Passat in Jetta clothing.

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MINI Motorsports

MINI All4 crashes out of Dakar

MINI All4 Racing

Word has come through via twitter that the MINI Countryman All4 has crashed out of the 2011 Dakar Rally. Ironically the race-ending incident happened during a test run on the rest day.

Despite suffering technical problems on the first day of racing and dropping to 78th, the MINI had been making good progress since then and had consolidated a top ten outright position.

It’s understood that while driver Guerlain Chicherit was kept under observation following head trauma, he was not hospitalised and no major injury was suffered.

UPDATE: Picture of the crashed MINI added—look at the state of it—courtesy of the Stage 7 Dakar update (see below).

[via MotoringFile]

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Audi

Audi officially confirms quattro for A1

Audi A1 quattro teaser

Audi has sent out a few odds and ends discussing its future plans for its quattro technology. Much of it is actually old information. However, despite senior staff being quoted as such, this is the first time Audi has sent out a press release confirming quattro will be available on the A1 platform.

Looking at the image above, previewed in a brief promo video shown after the break, the A1 quattro has a meaty look to it, as well. It could be an S1, or even an RS1, perhaps. The question remains, then, to how many A1-based models will quattro be fitted?

AUSmotive learned some time ago that the A1 had been approved for quattro, but then the whole S1-that-we-can’t-call-an-S1-because-it-doesn’t-have-quattro debacle happened. It wasn’t long, though, until new rumours emerged about an all-wheel drive A1 and now it looks like it’s as good as done.

Based on the info available to date the A1 will use a Haldex quattro system similar to the set up employed in the A3 platform. This means a predominantly front-wheel drive scenario with a hydraulic multi-plate clutch distributing torque to the rear, up to 100%, as required.

Check out the press release below for more info.

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Categories
Ferrari

Ferrari 599XX lights up the track

Ferrari 599XX

How amazing is this shot of a Ferrari 599XX in maximum attack mode! There’s no special story with this pic, and we don’t even have a decent wallpaper sized version. But what an image; Thomas Quintin, sir, you have excelled yourself.

[Source: Flickr]

Categories
Formula 1

Rainer Schlegelmilch: The F1 Photographer

The F1 Photographer

You may never have heard of the name Rainer Schlegelmilch. However, with almost 50 years spent photographing Formula One it’s a fair bet you’ve probably seen his work.

Last year the Proud Camden gallery in London held an exhibition of Rainer’s photos titled The Golden Age of Formula 1. There are some stunning images included, as you’d expect, and the frozen details transport you back to a much simpler time. Here’s a review of the exhibition from The Guardian.

German audiovisual producers Stereoscreen were able to spend some time with Schlegelmilch in his studio. More importantly for us, they were able to document this visit in the form of a five minute short film. Unfortunately the interview is only in German, but the visuals are enough to make this a very worthwhile clip; check it out after the break.

If you like what you see, then spend some time poking around Rainer Schlegelmilch’s official website. If you still want more, why not go to your favourite online bookstore and type “The Golden Age of Formula 1” into the search field. Our copy should be here in a few weeks.

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Categories
Ferrari

Ferrari 599 GTO arrives in Australia

Ferrari 599 GTO

The first of only 10 Ferrari 599 GTO examples to be delivered to Australia and New Zealand has arrived in Sydney. And doesn’t it look just a wee bit special in its matt black paint job. There’s plenty more pics after the break, too.

You can’t help but be swept away in a sweeping curve of desire when you look at this car. In true Ferrari tradition the car is powered by a V12, mounted underneath that long and slender bonnet. You know it will eat up the miles with embarrassing ease as well.

The raw numbers of the latest GTO are huge—500kW (670hp) and 620Nm from the 6.0 litre engine headline proceedings. They are ably supported by a 0–100km/h dash of just 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 335km/h. The 599 GTO is currently the fastest road car to lap the company’s famous Fiorano test track, with the bar lowered to 1 minute 24 seconds.

According to Kevin Wall, General Manager for Ferrari in Australia and New Zealand, “The Ferrari 599 GTO represents the pinnacle of Ferrari road cars in every area.”

Frankly, it’s hard to disagree.

The first person to leave AUSmotive some winning lotto numbers in the comments section below can have the first drive!

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Categories
News

Nowra racetrack revs up local council

Two days ago the South Coast Register reported on possible plans for a new racetrack just outside Nowra. The discussion came about following a push from CAMS to support the development.

Cr Greg Watson reckons it’s a great idea, “This is a major industry that could bring an enormous amount of wealth to the area and jobs. These opportunities only come along every so often.”

Today, though, Cr John Fergusson has sent the idea off into the armco when he claimed, “Eastern Creek continues to be burning a hole in NSW taxpayers’ pockets despite being centrally located in western Sydney, with a huge population base to support it.

“It’s difficult to contemplate that a high-cost, high-maintenance and seldom used facility (in Nowra) would have any economic justification.”

Despite the duelling councillors a committee has been formed to further investigate the idea.

So, with the Marulan Driver Training Centre and Wakefield Park facilities already within a two-hour drive of Sydney, would a Nowra-based circuit really make sense? Has the closure of the iconic Oran Park created a demand for a new facility in NSW? Is Eastern Creek really the white elephant that Cr Fergusson suggests? We’d love to hear your thoughts below.

[Source: South Coast Register | Thanks to Andrew for the tip]

Categories
Pagani

Unofficial Pagani C9 teasers

As the reveal of the new Pagani C9 “Huayra” draws closer a couple of Modena locals have been out and about with their video cameras. The captured footage isn’t great, we have to say, but you certainly see enough to know that the Zonda replacement is going to be a far prettier effort than Pagani’s original supercar.

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Categories
Bugatti

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport photo gallery

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

Recent reports suggest Bugatti will shelve sportscars for luxury saloons once the Veyron has reached the end of its production cycle. With that in mind, now seems a good time to pay homage to the all-conquering Veyron. So, over the last couple of days AUSmotive has raided the Bugatti press archive and come up with 75 images of the 431km/h Super Sport.

Not content with just pics, there’s a couple of bonus PDF downloads to be had after the break as well. There’s some great detail images included; let’s face it, this is probably as close as many of us will ever get to a Veyron. Enjoy!

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Audi BMW Ferrari Ford Holden Hyundai Kia Mazda Mitsubishi Subaru Suzuki Toyota VFACTS reports Volkswagen

New vehicle sales report – December 2010

FCAI banner

Congratulations Australia, for just the third time ever we have managed to send over 1 million new vehicles out the door. To be exact, 1,035,574 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles found new homes in 2010 and that represents an increase of almost 100,000 sales on 2009 figures.

“This is an exceptional outcome and is the second highest result on record and only the third time ever that the market exceeded more than one million sales,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.

“With continuing strong levels of vehicle affordability there is no reason why the new vehicle market won’t continue to perform better than other areas of the economy.”

Toyota was the highest selling marque in 2010, with 214,718 sales registered. Holden and Ford followed with 132,923 and 95,824 sales respectively.

Holden can claim still bragging rights, though, with the Commodore proving to be Australia’s most popular car for the fifteenth year in a row. Its 45,956 sales placed it ahead of the Toyota Corolla, on 41,632, and the Toyota Hilux, with an impressive 39,896 sales.

Meanwhile, a number of other marques are shouting from the rooftops about their new records set in 2010, including BMW, Hyundai, Mazda, Subaru, Suzuki and Volkswagen.

UPDATE 7 January: Audi, Kia and Mitsubishi have released their brag sheets today, too.

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