McLaren Automotive are taking their new MP4-12C supercar on a North American road trip. They kicked off the tour at the recent Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The Governator was on hand to sign a few autographs. McLaren design chief Frank Stephenson was also on hand to show Arnie where the engine is.
Video and pics available after the break.
This burning Ferrari 458 Italia phenomenon is getting out of control. After the break you can see video of the sizzling 458 shown above, which was filmed in China.Apparently there have been four fire incidents involving the 458 Italia in the last two weeks.
Reported in the UK newspaper The Telegraph a Ferrari spokesman from Britain has said, “We are taking all the reports very seriously and are looking into them, but we are treating them all as separate incidents.”
With waiting lists approaching three years you’d be a bit pissed off if you already had one of these otherwise fantastic cars only to see it end up in a smouldering, useless mess.
[Source: Telegraph]
Back in January we showed how the new MINI Countryman compared against its regular Coupé sibling. Now, with thanks to Auto Motor und Sport, we can see how the Countryman stacks up alongside the BMW X1.
When you look at the image above the size of the two cars looks remarkably close. But how much of that is affected by the Countryman taking the foreground position, with the X1 behind? Take a look at the image after the jump and you’ll see that, indeed, Countryman and X1 are very close in size after all.
If you can read German, follow the link below and you’ll also get an idea as to how the cars compare on and off the road.
[Source: Auto Motor und Sport]
German publication Auto Motor und Sport currently has a promo previewing some of the cars that will be on show at the Paris Motor Show in a few weeks (2–17 October). Included in that preview is this image of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster. Until now we’ve only seen camouflaged prototypes in testing at the Nürburgring and the like.
Often the transition from tin top to soft top can result in a less than satisfying design. Based on this image, however, it would seem Mercedes has done quite well. The real test, of course, is seeing how the car looks with its roof down.
The engine specs from the 6.3 litre V8 found in the SLS AMG aren’t expected to change for the Roadster version. It will also be interesting to see how the dynamics of the soft top have been affected by its greater weight due to chassis strengthening.
[Source: Auto Motor und Sport]
Alfa Romeo has made 70 models in their 100 year history. 2010 just happens to be the centenary year of the famous Italian marque, so what better time to work out which car Alfa fans (that’s Alfisti to you and I) think is the best Alfa made to date. As the article title suggests the Giulia GTAm won the poll, with a narrow margin over the 8C Competizione. Voting was conducted via the Alfa Centenary website.
The Giulia GTAm, based on the 1750 GT Veloce, achieved notoriety in 1970 when it won the European Touring Car championship.
There’s more from Alfa after the break, including wallpaper sized pics of the first two cars and a list of the top nine cars.
The chaps over at My Car Portal have brought us another cracking set of images, this time of the Lancia Delta Integrale. The rally starlet was recently voted the hottest hatch of them all by UK readers of Autocar. So why not click on the image above and see the images for yourself.
Formula One’s mid-season break is almost over. That means it’s time for the Belgian Grand Prix. Mark is also back to tell us about Belgian sausages, rain and, of course, one of the best circuits on the F1 calendar. For a bird’s eye look at the Spa F1 circuit click here. The view from the Red Bull simulator can be seen after the break.
Let’s hope we see Webber leaping for joy late on Sunday night!
As most readers will be aware MINI and Prodrive recently announced a new partnership which is set to produce lovely little WRC racecar offspring. So, if you reckon the MINI Countryman is not all bad, plus you have a spare £346K (AU$600K) burning a hole in your pocket and you know how to flick a Scandinavian, or something like that, then head on over to MotoringFile and download the official brochure.
Volkswagen’s quest to grab the world’s biggest car maker title from Toyota has taken a new twist with news it wants to buy Alfa Romeo. It’s all a bit like shcoolyard secrets at the moment, though, with executives from Volkswagen and Fiat only willing to provide quotes on condition of anonymity.
Automotive News Europe says not one, but two Volkswagen employees have said they are “seriously interested” in purchasing Alfa Romeo. In reply the secret Fiat exec told ANE, “We have no intention at all of selling the brand to VW.”
Rumours of VW’s interest in the iconic Italian manufacturer emerged late last year. Indeed, in April Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn admitted he admired Alfa, but there were currently no plans to add another brand to the Volkswagen Group.
Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne reckons they can push Alfa Romeo into the premium segment and achieve 500,000 sales per year by 2014. Just 102,000 sales were registered in 2009. It’s certainly an ambitious target.
Credit Suisse motoring expert Arndt Ellinghorst thinks it may be too ambitious and says the might of the Volkswagen Group would be necessary, “Maybe Alfa could get to a half million unit sales a year, but only after the brand is sold to Volkswagen.”
Whatever the outcome of this latest motoring marriage something needs to be done to support Alfa Romeo. It is understood the maker has been costing Fiat €200–400 million per year in losses over the last decade.
Follow the source link below and to learn how some analysts think Volkswagen should add Alfa Romeo to its portfolio at the expense of the Seat brand.
[Source: Automotive News Europe]
BMW’s answer to the Audi TT RS—the 250kW Z4 sDrive35is—has arrived in Australia. BMW told us back in May that the hero model in the Z4 range was going to be priced from $129,990 and we also know most of the car’s other specs. Best take a look at the fantastic images supplied by BMW Australia, then. You can see them after the break; why don’t you recreate them yourself next time you’re driving along the Seacliff Bridge.
Mercedes-Benz has taken the cover off its new CLS four-door coupé, announcing the car will have its official reveal at the Paris Motor Show in October.
Four-door coupé, by definition, is a misnomer, of course, but in 2003 Mercedes was one of the first companies to reveal such a concept. After going on sale it did pretty well for Benz, too, achieving 170,000 sales worldwide.
This new model, then, will it live up to the expectations set by the first generation CLS? Does it manage to maintain that slaoon/coupé look?
In profile things look okay up front, but when you get to the rear, especially the point where wheel arch meets door, well, things do start getting a bit complicated, don’t they. It’s a bit hard to tell from the dramatically lit photos if this is a bad complicated, or a good complicated. It’s a bit easier to be more certain about the rear light assembly. It’s ghastly!
Full details are avilable after the break, along with more images—all accessible in 2000px super image sizing, too, just click on the pics for the larger versions.
I’d love to hear what you think of this “new design icon” from Mercedes. Have they hit the spot, or got it horribly wrong?
Media reports from around the globe are reviving old rumours that Ben Collins is The Stig. Speculation on the true identity of the famous Top Gear test driver was thrown into the spotlight last week when it was revealed the man inside the white race suit wanted to out himself, only to be silenced by BBC lawyers.
Now it would appear others have done the dirty work for him. Details from the financial records of Collins Autosport were published in The Sunday Times on the weekend and revealed a sharp boost in income back in 2003 for “driving services provided for the BBC, mainly in the Top Gear programme.”
The timing is in line with the Black Stig’s replacement, following the revelation that former F1 driver Perry McCarthy was the original Stig. McCarthy is understood to have been sacked by the BBC once he revealed his true identity in his autobiography Flat out, flat broke.
Rumours of Collins’ identity first emerged following Richard Hammond’s serious crash in September 2006 when he was named in the accident report.
A tradesman also shed light on the matter some time back after doing some work at Collins’ house and seeing The Stig’s driving suit and gloves hanging up inside the home in a display cabinet.
It has been reported The Stig earns up to AU$17,000 per episode for his services to Top Gear. However, the unconfirmed driver is believed to want a larger slice of the revenue derived by Stig merchandising sold by the BBC.
[Source: Telegraph | Pic: Collins Autosport | Thanks to Sean for the tip]