Mercedes-Benz have sent out this new commercial telling us that its the “best or nothing” for the three-pointed star. Click on the image above to launch the ad. It’s not a bad little piece, what do you think?
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New Volkswagen Jetta images revealed
Images of the new Volkswagen Jetta have appeared on the Auto Express website ahead of the official launch. Previous versions of the Jetta (also known as the Bora during the late 90s-early 2000s) have been Golfs with a boot somewhat crudely stuck on the back. This new model, though, as you can see, has been given a bit more loving from the Volkswagen design department.
The Jetta has been heavily inspired by the New Compact Coupé, which is a good thing, because that show car revealed in Detroit earlier this year is a fine looking motor car. Overall, the length of the new design has increased by 90mm which affords greater interior room, but also allows the exterior design to be a more cohesive result.
Economical engine choices are the order of the day, at initial launch anyway. A frugal 1.2 litre petrol engine kicks off the range and is joined by two more petrol units, as well as two diesel engines.
With any luck the chums down at Volkswagen R GmbH might have a bit of a fiddle about the Volkswagen Group parts bin. I think most readers here have the required imagination to start thinking Haldex IV all-wheel drive, coupled with over 250 of Volkswagen finest horsepowers.
Official details of the Jetta will be posted as they come to hand.
[Source: Auto Express]
Audi clinched an historic ninth Le Mans victory yesterday. They now join Ferrari at second position on the list of all-time Le Mans winners. Porsche tops the list with 16 wins.
Amazingly, Audi’s tally of nine wins have all come since the year 2000. In fact, since their first victory, Audi have won Le Mans every year with the exception of 2003 (Bentley) and 2009 (Peugeot). For Audi drivers Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard and Mike Rockenfeller this win marks their first Le Mans title.
Audi’s success this year was built on reliability. For most of the weekend they were chasing the tails of the Peugeot 908 machines. Indeed, the four 908s in the field all qualified ahead of the R15s from Audi and for much of the race a back-to-back Peugeot victory seemed a formality. But one by one the factory Peugeots succumbed to mechanical issues.
In contrast the Audi Sport Team Joest cars ran like clockwork and were able to make the most of their opponents short comings by making a clean sweep of the podium. The only minor blip came on Saturday when Tom Kristensen was at the wheel of the #7 R15. He got caught up in an incident with the troubled BMW Art Car and was forced into the pits for repair work. The #7 car lost three laps in pitlane and such was the consistency of the winning #9 and second place #8 Audis that the lead #7 machine had no chance of gaining back lost time.
The winning #9 car covered 397 laps which equates to a total distance covered of 5,410 kilometers. This is a new mark and breaks the previous distance record set by the winning Porsche 917 back in 1971.
After the break you can see a full press release from Audi, including driver quotes. Also available is a picture gallery with over 40 images for you to enjoy. A full race report is available at Autosport.
Round 3 of the MINI v Porsche challenge, driven by MINI USA President, Jim McDowell has been launched. What started as a fun piece of usual MINI cheekiness is fast becoming a MINI USA President looking desperate and trying just a bit too hard. After being knocked back by Porsche, the video below is, apparently, the best Jim could come back with.
The new Volkswagen Golf R is being rolled out across Australian dealerships this weekend. The thirst for more information on the car is high. While pricing and specifications have been announced that may not be enough for some R fans. After the jump you can read the full and detailed press release for the Golf R sent out by Volkswagen Australia.
Here’s an interesting video comparison from Autocar. On hand is the awesome Audi R8 V10 being pestered by a (UK market only) buzzing Honda Type R Mugen. Now, at £40K the Mugen is no shortcut to cheap thrills by any means. But asking it to keep up with the £100K R8 is a pointless exercise, isn’t it?
Well watch the video to find out. I guess the real point here is, if you had access to both of these cars and a twisty road, you’d most likely want a piece of the action too. A cracking car is a cracking car, doesn’t matter what company it keeps.
[via The German Car Blog]
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The European: I just don’t want one
When I arrived in Australia, I saw a land of milk and honey. A land full of sun-kissed blondes and brunettes, sand and sun. I had landed in Bondi in the middle of December after a trip to Thailand which deviated as far from the conscientious traveller as you can imagine. Eat Thai food? You’re kidding. We watched James Bond in Siam Square after having eaten at Hungry Jacks and at McDonalds and ingratiated ourselves with every local within 500m of the Kho Sahn Road and no further for fear of missing out on happy hour.
Australia looked to be just more of the same boozing and sitting on the beach and I loved it the moment I saw it. My mate Chris, as big an automotive tragic as me, was immediately taken by the cars here. We would cross four lanes of traffic to see what would now qualify merely as “a shitbox”. But, to us at the time, it was like landing on another planet and discovering squirrels with two heads. Every so often a bogan would roll past in a VN Commodore with enough modifications to make Max Rockatansky’s Interceptor look like an OAP special and, having been raised on one litre French hatchbacks, we would stop and drool. Yeah, I know.
Official pricing and specifications for the 188kW Golf R have now been released by Volkswagen. These confirm most of the things we already knew, or suspected were correct.
This includes the leaked list pricing which emerged earlier this week: three door manual $48,490; three door DSG $50,990; five door manual $49,990 and five door DSG $52,490. That is very good pricing indeed and we expect Volkswagen Australia will sell a lot of these cars.
To put these prices into perspective the cheapest Audi S3 available in Australia, a three door manual, has a list price of $68,000. There are some equipment differences in standard spec between the two cars, but nowhere near enough to equate for the almost $20,000 premium asked for by Audi. Especially when you consider the cars share essentially the same chassis, engine and all-wheel drive systems. In the UK, for example, the Golf R is actually priced higher than the S3. This not only proves that comparing prices with other countries can be a worthless exercise, but it puts into context what a performance bargain the Golf R has become in Australia.
Rather than go over the finer details again, just go straight to the press release after the jump. Technical specs can also be downloaded below.
All you need to do now is work what colour you want. Your choices are Candy White, Reflex Silver metallic (pictured), United Grey metallic, Rising Blue metallic (AUSmotive’s tip) and Deep Black pearl effect. More pics of the Golf R can be viewed here.
Porsche have declined the invitation to a race from MINI USA President Jim McDowell with a wonderfully succinct reply.
The response took the form of an open letter written by Detlev Von Platen, President and CEO of Porsche Cars North America. In his letter, available in full below, he states, “Porsche doesn’t race for fame, stunts or publicity. We race to challenge ourselves; we race to push sports car technology; we race to translate every win on the track to our cars on the road.”
Von Platen didn’t miss a second opportunity to remind McDowell that Porsche’s racing history is proud and grows with many major events each year, “While your challenge seems like a fun and lighthearted campaign, we’ll stick to racing the way we have over the decades. We welcome you at Sebring, Le Mans, Daytona or any other sanctioned race where there is more at stake than T-shirts and valet parking spaces.”
An invitation of his own was issued by Von Platen when he included a link to a Porsche advertisement that highlights its racing pedigree. The ad has been featured on AUSmotive before and can be seen again after the jump.
So, for now, at least, the MINI v Porsche party is over. Although, given MINI’s cheeky marketing prowess they’ll likely have a new tack ready to tack in this battle of wits which aims, if nothing else, to put the MINI name alongside Porsche in a new way to create brand association.
[Source: Autoblog]
UPDATE: MotoringFile brings us news that MINI USA are getting ready to flog a dead horse.
Success at Le Mans demands efficiency and Audi have revised their R15 TDI prototype to improve its economy and maintain its power levels, despite new regulations. With eight wins in the last 10 years Audi would have come away from La Sarthe disappointed last year with just a third place finish.
This will be thelast outing for the R15 at Le Mans with new regulations forcing smaller more efficient engines from 2011 onwards. Proving there is no such thing as a rest in motorsport Audi have already begun work on their new R18 racer.
There’s still the small matter of the 2010 race to go first and Tom Kristensen, the most successful driver ever at Le Mans, is very happy with his new R15 plus machine, “Audi has made an important step from the R15 to the R15 plus. The ‘plus’ says that the R15 TDI has been updated in all areas in terms of efficiency and performance. Take the headlights for example. That may sound trivial but in a 24-hour race they’re extremely important.
“And obviously there’s the efficiency of the engine, which has become more powerful but uses less fuel now. Aerodynamics has been improved to generate enough downforce in the turns but without too much aerodynamic drag on the straights.
“The interaction between the suspension and the Michelin tires has been optimized too. Simply everything has been scrutinized and optimized so that the ‘plus’ will help us achieve our big aim at Le Mans.”
An extensive press release follows along with 25 images of the Audi Sport team in preparation. To close out the article there’s a new release from Audi where the drivers talk about various sections of the famous La Sarthe circuit.
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Ferrari 458 Italia arrives in Australia
Brisvegas is the lucky city to have Australia’s first Ferrari 458 Italia. The car was air-freighted to Queensland from Maranello.
“Australian deliveries have started a little earlier than planned because the interest in this remarkable car has been so great that the car has been air freighted to Australia,” explains Kevin Wall, General Manager for Ferrari in Australia and New Zealand. “Even before it was announced we have had Australian clients expressing interest in the 458 Italia and, once its specification was announced, revealing it to be, even by Ferrari standards, a technical tour de force, interest has climbed dramatically and shows no sign of slowing.”The 458 will be familiar to most readers. But in case you’ve forgotten what the car is all about here’s a reminder. It has a 4.5 litre V8 engine which produces 419kW. With a kerb weight of 1380kg the 458 the driver, if they so choose, can plant their right foot and mximise the performance of the 7 speed dual-clutch transmission for a mere 3.4 seconds to propel the car to 100km/h.
Of course, the 458 Italia is about more than outright acceleration, though, as Kevin Wall was quick to point out, “Ferrari’s definition of ‘the fastest’ is not measured in the crude terms of top speed or its ability to reach 100 kmh in the lowest possible time.
“This is why Ferrari measure ‘the fastest’ in terms of the quickest lap time around its notoriously difficult Fiorano test track, which is, essentially, made up of all most difficult corners in Formula One. If a car is the fastest here, then it is, truly, the fastest in the real world.”
So there you have it. According to Car Advice the Australian asking price for the 458 begins at $526,950. I suspect, like me, looking at and dreaming about a 458 Italia is about as close as you’re ever likely to get to owning one. Best make do with the images and extensive press release after the jump. Then make sure you buy a lotto ticket for this Saturday’s draw. Good luck—if you win make sure you throw AUSmotive the keys!
Hey, what you talkin’ about Lance?! Young Master Stroll is just eleven years old, but that hasn’t stopped the Maranello team from signing this kid to the Ferrari Driver Academy.
Unsurprisingly the little tacker is pumped at this news, “For me it’s a dream that’s become a reality, an incredible feeling, the best in the world in fact,” said Lance. “I am very excited at the idea of being part of the Ferrari Driver Academy. In the past few months, I was at Maranello, where I met Stefano Domenicali and Luca Baldisseri and also some of my new ‘fellow students.’ This summer I will be going back to take part in some courses.”
Apparently Lance is a dab hand at go karting and Ferrari hope they have the next Lewis Hamilton on their hands. Meanwhile, spare a thought for Nicole Scherzinger who now has to consider her future with old man Hamilton. Surely it would be better look to be jumping around like a prat in a Ferrari garage. She’d fit right in with Felipe’s dad, for a start.
Anyway, Ferrari are so excited about this news that there’s not one, but two press releases after the jump.