The wonderful Ferrari 458 Italia is a beautiful looking car. Especially before it has burnt to a crisp. Little wonder, then, that the 458 is the subject a new photoshoot over at My Car Portal. Dejan Sokolovski was the clever clogs behind the camera this time. Click the source link below for more.
[Source: My Car Portal]
Ben Collins has joined former Top Gear presenters Vicki-Butler Henderson and Tiff Needell at rival television program Fifth Gear.
Collins has been at a bit of a loose end since he outed himself and his Stig gig went belly up. He is now welcoming a new chance to perform “Stig-like” duties saying, “I’m delighted to be joining the Fifth Gear team.”
“I am looking forward to a new set of exciting challenges, apparently with and without the helmet,” he continued.
Series 18 of Fifth Gear will go to air later this year (later this week if twitter is to be believed) and The Artist Formerly Known As The Stig is expected to feature in at least five episodes.
Channel 5 exec, Steve Gowans, is excited too, “We’re delighted to have the Ben on board – it will be fascinating to see how he does in a head-to-head with Tiff and Jason [Plato] – the best drivers on TV.”
[Source: The Guardian | Pic: Tim Ireland/PA | Thanks to Richard for the tip]
Sad news this morning with word that the body of Uwe Gemballa, who had been missing since February, has been found shot dead in South Africa.
Gemballa, 54 at the time he went missing, was last believed to be in South Africa on business looking to set up a new dealership for his wildly tuned Porsche creations. At this stage no arrests have been made in the case.
Following his disappearance the Gemballa company was liquidated and shut down. It has since been re-opened by Andreas Schwarz and investor Steffen Korbach and is now operating as Gemballa GmbH.
[Source: autoweek]
A quick shout out to Sebastien Loeb and Daniel Elena who won their seventh consecutive World Rally Championship by claiming an outright win in the Rally of France on the weekend. It marks an amazing run of successes, which includes most titles, most successive titles, most wins, most wins in one season, most successive wins in one season, most consecutive wins on one event. That boy Loeb can drive!
For added emotion Loeb the event took in the town of Haguenau where Loeb was raised. Thousands of well-wishers surrounded the nearby liaison stages ensuring Loeb knew his success was being appreciated, “There were people everywhere on the road, and at the stage. It was rather moving,” he said.
There are still two rallies left on the 2010 calendar, but already the Citroën Racing team has given the all-conquering C4 WRC a fitting send off. Its replacement, the DS3 WRC, also made its public debut over the weekend at the latest world motor show, which is being held in Paris – where else!
Audi has today released new information confirming the availability of a new 7-speed S tronic dual clutch transmission on the 250kW TT RS. European deliveries of S tronic equipped cars start this month.
Compared to the 6-speed manual box you can expect a 0.3 second improvement for 0-100km/h times. By employing a tall seventh gear the new transmission brings with it added fuel saving benefits. The S tronic TT RS has a rated overall consumption figure of 8.5l/100km against Euro test data (0.7l/100km improvement).
Hmm, those numbers seem a tad high, but that’s what you get when you compare published figures for the Coupé to the figures given in the press release available below.
Australian availability and pricing has yet to be confirmed by Audi Australia. Expect local deliveries to commence in early 2011 and the extra price difference to be under $5000.
UPDATE 7 October: AUSmotive has been in touch with Audi Australia; at this stage there is no firm ETA regarding availability of the S tronic in the TT RS for the local market.
Tucked away on the Audi stand at the Paris Motor Show, almost out of sight, is this “Rallye” version of the Audi quattro concept. Firstly, it looks sensational and clearly harks back to the all conquering Quattro rally beasts of the 1980s.
Secondly, what does it mean? There’s is nothing apparent on the usual Audi press portals that explain anything about this car. In fact, this picture isn’t even an official Audi image.
Is it simply a homage and nothing else, or is this even more extroverted concept a hint of something new to come? WRC perhaps? Or is that simply too much wishful thinking?
If you see anything that offers more than this World Car Fans article, please post a link in the comments section below.
UPDATE 7 October: According to a response from a representative of Audi AG this car is nothing more than a scale model produced to illustrate what a Group B rally car might look like today if the category was still alive. I still want one!
Audi has released a brief clip showcasing their highlights from the Paris Motor Show. Of course, that means the e-tron Spyder and the quattro concept. In addition individual promo videos on both cars can also be seen.
Rupert Stadler, Chairman Audi AG, reckons the “e-tron” name will end up holding a similar significance for Audi as the term “quattro”. Will be interesting to see if that comes to fruition in the coming years.
The fifth and final installment from the Lotus surprise pack at Paris this year is this four door sports saloon, the Eterne. It’s the company’s answer to the Aston Martin Rapide. So much so they even dared to borrow the swooping detail along the window line leading into the C-pillar.
Throwing Chapman’s lightness mantra even further out the window the Eterne weighs in at 1800kg. Still, for a big cruisy GT that’s probably not too bad in this day and age. The 620PS 5.0 litre V8 form the Esprit gets another guernsey here and propels the Eterne to 100km/h in 4.0 seconds, with a top speed of 315km/h.
Contradicting himself slightly Dany Bahar says, “We truly believe that there is a market for the Eterne, there is nothing else like it out there both in terms of design, capacity and performance. The biggest difference between the Eterne and it’s class competitors is that it’s not an evolution of an existing two-door model, it’s a deliberate and considered stand-alone creation. It’s the ultimate four door sports car.â€
More pics, video and official press release are available after the break.
You’re looking at an all new model for the Lotus brand, it’s called the Elite. In the video below it is described as a “gentleman’s car”. Basically it’s a 2+2 grand tourer fitted with the same 620PS 5.0 litre V8 from the new Esprit.
Lotus CEO, Dany Bahar, says the company is moving with the times by providing a more luxurious sportscar. What he’s really doing is softening the blow made by the Elite’s 1650kg weight, which is starting to push the boundaries of Colin Champan‘s legacy of “simplify and add lightness”.
Bahar continues his defence accordingly, “Make no mistake, there’s a definite market requirement for the Elite – it’s the ultimate sports car feel with comfort and space. There will always be those who believe that Lotus should stick to small sports cars but we didn’t take the decision to design something like the Elite lightly, it’s based on months of careful research and planning.â€
The Elite continues the new visual language so clearly defined at Paris this year and it’s certainly no slouch. Able to reach 100km/h in 3.7 seconds before achieving a v-max of 315km/h the Elite is due to go on sale in the second half of 2014.
More pics, video and official press release are available after the break.
Continuing the Lotus revamp is this new Elise concept. The car is not due until 2015 so there’s a whole heap of spy shots, testing images and information to come. For now, though, we can tell you the car will be powered by a 320PS 2.0 litre four-cylinder engine and with a very light 1095kg to shift around the new Elise is sure to build on the current model’s razor sharp handling prowess.
Lotus say the new Elise do the 100km/h sprint in 4.3 seconds and will have a top speed of 270km/h. The interior pics supplied are just renderings at this stage, but you can see enough to know it’s the bare essentials only, albeit presented in a slightly more upmarket finish than the current Elise.
Lotus CEO, Dany Bahar, hopes the all-new model wll attract an all new generation to his brand, “The design of the Elise 2015 is perfect for the target market, it’s young, strong, confident, verging on ruthless, it mirrors the engineering and technology. It’s the next generation Elise for a new generation of Lotus drivers.â€
More pics, video and official press release are available after the break.
“The icon is back.” That’s how Lotus has titled their press release for the new Esprit. It’s only back in concept form right now, but Lotus says the car will be on sale in 2013. The new aggressive lines and sharp edges make a bold statement and position the Esprit right in the heart of supercar territory. A fact mentioned many times in the promo video below.
The Esprit will be powered by a 5.0 litre V8 producing an inspiring peak power figure of 620PS (456kW) and a very encouraging 720Nm of torque. Tipping the scales at 1450kg (roughly the same as a Golf R) the Esprit rockets to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds and can reach a top speed of 330km/h.
Lotus CEO, Dany Bahar, is pumped, “Not only does the Esprit look incredible but it has the performance to match. We’ve stuck to the Lotus core values of performance through lightweight and teamed them with future technology and exceptional engineering to ensure that the Esprit will be the leader of the pack. The design is aggressive, you have to see it to appreciate how low and wide the proportions are but it still retains a level of dignity, of class and most of all exclusivity. I’m very proud of this car.â€
More pics, video and official press release are available after the break.
Lotus has come to the Paris Motor Show, and it means business. In total they have presented five new concept cars. This is the new Elan. It’s due for release in 2013 and features a 450PS V6 engine with a 7 speed DCT. The car weighs 1295kg and can reach 100km/h in 3.5 seconds with a top speed of 310km/h.
It looks pretty good don’t you think? Inside, there’s a hint of Ferrari 458 Italia with the digital display and centre console design.
Lotus CEO, Dany Bahar, reckons they’re on to a winner, “If there was ever a car to make you drive the long way home, it’s the Elan. Perfect for both road and track, the Elan not only ticks all the boxes, it creates new ones too.â€
More details after the break.