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BMW

VIDEO: BMW 1 Series M Coupé revealed in full

BMW 1M Coupe

The epic BMW tease of its 1 Series M Coupé has continued with the release of a new video to YouTube. For the first time, it shows images of the 1M without any covering or camouflage. We’ve captured a few still images from the clip and you can watch the 1 minute video for yourself after the break.

As you can see BMW has adorned this promo 1M with “Pirat” number plates, which was also referred to in the engine codes screen grab. We’re also given brief glimpses of M-specific detailing, such as the gills on the front guards and the rev counter on the dash. In broader 1 Series news, we’ve been given a preview of the new headlight design from the upcoming mid-cycle refresh, too.

And, in something of a surprise, it has also been revealed that Dr Kay Segler is The Stig! I bet nobody saw that coming.

We’ve been led down this merry 1 Series M Coupé road since 9 July, a full five months, and the end is almost nigh. The M-Power website promises more to come on Friday. So, what do we think so far?

[Thanks to Richard for the tip]

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Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Motorsport is dangerous

Michael Schumacher crash, 2010 Abu Dhabi GP

The “motorsport is dangerous” term is well known. It’s usually printed somewhere on the ticket to almost any motorsport event the world over, no matter if it is granting entry to a Formula One race or your local car club track day. The photo above perfectly illustrates the point and shows just how lucky Michael Schumacher was to walk away unharmed after Tonio Liuzzi parked his Force India on top of the Mercedes GP machine at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

[Thanks to Ryan for the tip | Photographer unknown, leave a comment if you know the source]

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Formula 1 Lotus Renault

The other Lotus Renault (Emerson Fittipaldi version)

Lotus Racing livery competition

Following last night’s (Group) Lotus Renault GP announcement here is an image showing what the (Team) Lotus Racing car might look like in 2011. So far as we can tell this is an entry into the Lotus Racing livery competition and it was published via twitter last Friday. The scheme has been based on Emerson Fittipaldi’s Lotus 72D which he drove on his way to the 1972 World Championship.

So far, then, this image looks better than the official rendering provided by the other Lotus team. We know we’re probably only getting half of the real story, but to us here at AUSmotive, we hope the Tony Fernandes backed team gets the rights to use the Team Lotus name and that its paintwork ends up looking the best.

There’s another pic after the break, just click on it to load a 3000px mega image.

[Thanks to Ryan for the tip]

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Formula 1 Lotus Renault

The world of F1 gets weirder with Lotus Renault GP

Lotus Renault GP

Formula One sometimes gains as much publicity for its off-track dramas as it does for its racing action. And here is a perfect example of that. The team formerly known as Renault F1, which was mostly owned by Luxembourg-based company Genii Capital, will now be known as Lotus Renault GP.

Oh, so Lotus Racing and Renault have merged, right? No, you need to go back and read The Lotus position article to get up speed. Basically the Proton controlled Group Lotus has signed on as major sponsor to the Renault team in a deal set to last until 2017. Muddying the waters further Renault has sold its ownership share back to Genii and will be involved solely as an engine supplier.

As you can see the Lotus Renault GP team has already given us an early glimpse of its planned racing livery for 2011, a great tribute to the famous John Player Special sponsored Lotus machines of the 1970s and 80s.

Are you sitting down, though, because things are about to get even more confusing. Despite Group Lotus now having direct involvement in F1 the other team known as Lotus Racing, headed by Tony Fernandes, is still planning to compete in the 2011 season as well. They will also have their engines supplied by Renault. And they have already announced they wish to race with gold and black livery too.

From a distance it all seems a bit tit for tat and all a bit unnecessary. At least Mike Gascoyne now knows why Group Lotus has been reluctant to talk to Lotus Racing.

If you’ve managed to keep up to speed with this article you’ve done well. On the surface it looks like we’ll be having two gold and black Lotus-named teams in Formula One next year. But, between now and the Bahrain Grand Prix in March expect quite a few lawyers to get a massive Christmas bonus.

Official press releases from Lotus Renault GP and Group Lotus are available after the break.

UPDATE: You can now click on the image above to view a 1780px version.

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BMW

Goose pimples at the ready, the 1M Coupé is almost here!

BMW 1 Series M Coupé

Hold on to your hats everyone the BMW 1M Coupé is coming soon. No, really! Word has come through from a BMW insider, via the 1addicts forum,  that a full reveal of the 1M Coupé will take place on late Friday morning Australian time. Don’t get too excited, though, it could simply be an image only reveal, with more news kept in store for 12 December when further 1 Series news is still anticipated. We’ll know soon anyway.

This is complemented by news finding its way to AUSmotive that BMW Australia has all but confirmed the 1M Coupé will be coming down under. Final details have been kept deliberately sketchy, but it is expected the baby M car will be in Australia by mid-2011.

We understand a limited number of 1M Coupés have been assigned to our market, around 100, and naturally BMW are urging all interested parties to get in contact with their preferred dealers to put in expressions of interest. There’s been no hint at all on pricing at this stage.

More news as it comes to hand.

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MINI Motorsports

MINI Countryman preparing for 2011 Dakar Rally

MINI Countryman

First it was the WRC, now it appears as though MINI is building a Countryman to take on the toughest rally of all, the 2011 Dakar in Argentina and Chile.

That’s the word according to German website BigBlogg anyway—and also evident from the spy video after the break. They say approval for the project was given by BMW back in June. Development has been undertaken in partnership with Magna Steyr and the first tests are scheduled for next week. Understandably, things are getting a bit anxious as the race start, on 1 January 2011, is just a few weeks away.

The Dakar racer is a step removed from the WRC weapon being developed by Prodrive. Proof of this is given by the twin-turbo diesel engine found under the bonnet of the Dakar machine. With 310hp and a very healthy 710Nm of torque on tap it’s sure to be a blast.

[via MotoringFile]

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Audi

Fourtitude takes a closer look at the Audi quattro concept

Audi quattro concept

US-based Audi specialist site Fourtitude has taken a closer look at the Audi quattro concept. Currently split over two parts it brings far too much detail to summarise here.

Part One is a background look at the car, discussing its heritage and its current form. Part Two is a drive report and is well worth a read.

Here’s a teaser, “We get just two quick runs up and down through the canyon, though that’s enough to get the general idea. The car is fast but in a more engaging way than most modern supercars. It makes us think a bit more, think about the revs, think about the future of performance, and think about what it’d take to convince Audi to produce the thing.”

Both articles are complemented by a great gallery of images and there’s even a couple of videos showcasing some of the quattro concept’s niftier features.

Fourtitude will be adding one more part to their coverage, which will focus on the possible likelihood of concept becoming reality.

[Source: Fourtitide]

Categories
Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Horner urges Webber to give bikes the cold shoulder

Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing

You’ve all probably heard the news that Mark Webber drove the last four races of the 2010 F1 season with a busted shoulder following yet another mountain bike accident. Now, his boss, Christian Horner says he should keep away from bikes altogether.

Webber sustained a broken leg and fractured shoulder in late 2008 after he collided with a car while competing in the Mark Webber Challenge in Tasmania. While Mark competed stoically during 2009, notching up two race wins, it took him at least half the season to regain full fitness.

Fast forward to October this year—just before the Japanese Grand Prix—and Webber made a quick trip home to Australia for some R&R to get refreshed for the last few races of the year. At least, that was the plan. For the first time since his 2008 accident, Mark climbed aboard a mountain bike. And crashed again. Another injured shoulder was the result. Webber kept the injury pretty much to himself and took a series of pain killing injections to see out the season.

News of Webber’s injury only emerged following the release of a new book from the Australian titled Up Front – 2010, A Season To Remember. Christian Horner has spoken to the UK’s Telegraph and expressed his ire at being kept in the dark, “I didn’t even know about the book, let alone the shoulder.

“It is obviously disappointing that Mark said nothing. It was an injury that did not appear to have any effect on his performance but all the same it would have been nice to know about it.”

Horner was asked if Red Bull Racing would insist Mark sticks to racing cars in 2011 and replied, “Our drivers have an obligation to make sure they are fit. It seems bikes don’t agree with Mark so maybe it would be better if he stayed away from them.”

Perhaps it’s good that Mark kept quiet about the injury; it would have only strengthened the mental belief of his closest competitors after all. However, you can’t help but think the ultimate result in the 2010 championship race could have been different if Mark was 100% fit.

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Lancia New Stratos

New Stratos – The performance

New Lancia Stratos

The performance figures of the New Stratos have just been published on the official website and join last week’s technical specs. So just how fast is a custom-built supercar that weighs less than 1250kg with 375kW on tap?

  • 0–100km/h: 3.3 seconds
  • 0–200km/h: 9.7 seconds
  • Top speed: 274km/h

Aside from quoting a power-to-weight ratio of less than 2.3kg/hp not much else is given away.

[Source: New Stratos]

Categories
BMW

BMW drags out 1M Coupé tease even more

BMW 1M Coupe at the 2010 Autosport awards

The world’s longest ever new car launch took another step at the recent Autosport awards when BMW revealed yet another 5cm2 of 1 Series M Coupé bodywork. This time it is the rear valance we are seeing uncovered, in full, for the first time. The pics have been added to the Closed Room of the M-Power.com website and show Dr Kay Segler and British racing driver Andy Priaulx uncovering a bit more skin.

Thankfully, we won’t need to endure too much more of these shenanagins as it is expected the 1 Series M Coupé will be revealed, in full, on 12 December (likely to be Monday 13 December Australian time).

More pics after the break, showing even less than the one above!

[Source: M-Power.com]

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MINI Challenge

Chris Alajajian wins the 2010 MINI Challenge

Chris Alajajian

Congratulations to Chris Alajajian who was crowned 2010 MINI Challenge champion at the series finale in Sydney on the weekend. Alajajian led the standings going into the round, but had to fend off 2009 defending champ Paul Stokell, who was within reach of claiming back-t0-back titles.

In the end victory in Race 1 for Alajajian meant a solid fifth place in Race 2 was enough to seal the deal. Speaking after the event Alajajian said, “Consistency this year was key and we didn’t put a foot wrong all year apart from at the Gold Coast, and this was a major factor in our success. The points system this year made racing really close and I think we have showcased the best season out of the three years this series has been run.”

Following BMW Australia’s recent announcement to end the series Alajajian will be the final MINI Challenge title holder and, along with Stokell, he joins 2008 winner Neil McFadyen on the Australian honour roll.

There’s more after the break and TV highlights will be added when available.

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Ford Motorsports Video

Ken Block Gymkhana Grid invitational

Ken Block v Tanner Foust

On the weekend Ken Block and his mates were living it up at the Gymkhana Grid invitational. The event even carried the name of the internet’s Sultan of Sideways. Promising to be a donut, rubber-burning fuelled festival of spin where “your mind will be blown the f@#! away” it looks like the lads had fun.

After the break you can see the promo clip advertising the event, followed by footage of the final race showing Ken Block and Tanner Foust ripping it up in a pair of Ford Fiestas.

[Thanks to Saad for the tip]

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