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Ferrari Formula 1 McLaren Mercedes-Benz Red Bull Racing

2010 Chinese Grand Prix in pictures

2010 Chinese GP

Rain in Shanghai ensured qualifying form was tipped upside down at yesterday’s 2010 Chinese Grand Prix. Jenson Button furthered his reputation as a rain master by winning his second wet race of the year. Teammate Lewis Hamilton was close behind as they crossed the line. MercedesGP driver Nico Rosberg continued his dominance over Michael Schumahcer to finish on the podium for the second race in succession.

Red Bull Racing have had a driver start from pole position every race this year. Unfortunately for them it hasn’t led to a race win for the pole man. Shanghai was no different, with both Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso getting past Sebastien Vettel off the line. Although, Alonso did jump the start and was forced to pit for a stop-go penalty. It was strategy and tyre choice, though, that undid Red Bull’s qualifying supremacy. Both drivers finished well below expectations—Vettel unable to follow his Malaysian GP victory with a podium and he finished in sixth, Webber further behind in eighth.

Four races in to the 2010 Formula One season and what do we make of Michael Schumacher’s comeback? It’s not gone to script, has it. Rosberg is to be commended for leading the way for MercedesGP so far in 2010. And while Schumacher has shown moments of raw pace, he is yet to string together the consistency required to see him challenging for a podium finish. Rosberg out qualified Schumi here in China, which means, for the first time, Schumacher has been out qualified by his teammate for four races in succession.

Quotes from drivers and team principals are now available on Formula1.com. You can also enjoy a total of 50 images from the Chinese GP here on AUSmotive, check them out below.

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BMW Volkswagen

Would you buy a GTI over an M3?

Edmunds, Golf GTI v BMW M3

Michael Jordan would. Not that Michael Jordan, no, the Michael Jordan from Edmunds Inside Line. In fact, MJ not only reckons the current Golf GTI is better than the BMW M3, he says it is twice as good!

It’s true, this is what he said, “This is some great car. It’s not that it’s less than half the price as an M3; it’s that it’s more than twice as good as an M3.”

There is some method to his madness, though, “I’m tired of driving 4,000-pound sedans masquerading as coupes. Most of my disappointment in the BMW 1 Series has to do with its unwillingness to embrace a new personality as a light car rather than simply perpetuate the old 3 Series template.”

Jordan continues, “For me, the Volkswagen GTI is the kind of M3 that I prefer, less like a V8-powered truck and more like the Whispering Bomb.”

I can see where he is coming from, and the price gap is exacerbated to greater extremes here in Australia, but if presented with the choice of a GTI and an M3, budget aside, the M3 would get my vote. Read the full article and let us know what you think.

[Source: Edmunds Inside Line | Thanks to Adam for the tip]

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Alfa Romeo Ferrari Fiat Lamborghini Lancia

Auto Italia 2010

Auto Italia, Canberra, April 2010

It was a perfect autumn day in Canberra today. Ideal weather for the annual Auto Italia car show, then. Every year Italian car owners and enthusiasts gather in the nation’s capital to show off their shining metal and this year the lawns adjacent to the National Library of Australia provided the ideal setting.

Of course, cars are much more than shiny metal, and the perfect example of this are marques like Alfa Romeo, de Tomaso, Fiat, Ferrari, Lancia, Lamborghini and Maserati. All were represented at Auto Italia 2010 today. Indeed, this year the featured marque for the Italian show was Alfa Romeo in honour of Alfa’s 100th anniversary. Alfa owners obliged by showcasing some truly beautiful cars, some incredibly rare, all incredibly cherished.

You can catch a glimpse of today’s show by checking out the photos after the jump. More info on Auto Italia in Canberra can be found at their official website.

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Formula 1

The wheels have fallen off

Sebastien Buemi, Chinese GP practice 2010

Toro Rosso driver Sebastien Buemi got the shock of his life during Free Practice 1 at the Chinese Grand Prix on Friday. As you can see from the image above the wheels literally fell off his Formula One car in a spectacular incident. Luckily the only damage was to the car and Buemi did not suffer any injuries.

Speaking after the crash he said, “There’s not much to say about what happened in FP1. I braked, the wheels came off and that was it. Physically, I was fine though.”

Fine, yes, but not happy, “But I have to say, I am extremely disappointed that, once again, through no fault of my own, I have been unable to run for almost all of the three hours available. I will have to try and catch up on Saturday morning and we will be relying on Jaime’s data from today to see which way to go.”

A bit surly perhaps? The team’s Technical Director, Giorgio Ascanelli, explained fixing the cause of Buemi’s accident was straightforward, “Sebastien’s accident this morning was down to a technical problem on the right hand upright, which proved simple to identify once we got the car back. We have resolved the problem, which the many laps completed by Jaime this afternoon confirms.”

If you have not seen any vision of the incident, you can see a video clip below. Like the cat, I expect you will be amazed, too.

Meanwhile, Red Bull Racing duo have once again hogged the front row all to themselves with Sebastien Vettel snatching a last gasp pole position from Australia’s Mark Webber in yesterday’s final qualifying session. Best of luck to both for this afternoon’s race.

[Thanks to Chris for the tip]

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News

Another look at Robbie Maddison’s Corinth Canal jump

Robbie Maddison

Last week Robbie Maddison jumped “the most dangerous” stunt of his career when he jumped across the Corinth Canal in Greece. You can relive the stunt in a new video below, which includes some behind the scenes footage with Maddison.

For the statisticians Robbie’s jump was 85m (278ft) across and at his highest point Maddison was almost 100m above the water below. And he made it look so easy!

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Ferrari

Ferrari 599 GTO world premiere

Ferrari 599 GTO

Ferrari’s newest hypercar, the 599 GTO, was given its maiden showing in Modena recently. The event was held at the Military Academy’s Ducal Palace and Ferrari’s top brass were in attendance—including Chairman Luca di Montezemolo, Vice Chairman Piero Ferrari and CEO Amedeo Felisa.

After the formalities and speeches three 599 GTOs were driven inside the Academy. At the wheel were ex-F1 drivers Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella, as well as long time Ferrari test driver Dario Benuzzi.

You can see some video highlights of the event after the jump. You can also play around at configure your own 599 GTO on the Ferrari website. But don’t get too attached to your creation, the entire production run of 599 vehicles has already sold out. Damn, missed by that much!

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Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG hits the skids

Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG

There’s nothing too sophisticated about this clip. Okay, it is very well produced and the influence of Top Gear is evident, but essentially it is a big German saloon with way too much power sliding around on a wet track. Sounds like fun, don’t you think. Especially when that big saloon is the Benz E 63 AMG.

Sure, 386kW might be overdoing things a little, especially in this context. But, as the saying goes, I never met a horsepower I didn’t like. Take the jump, enjoy the clip and don’t do any skids on the way home.

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Bugatti

Bugatti Veyron documentary – part 2

Bugatti Veyron documentary

This is the second and final part of the Bugatti Veyron doco. As noted in part 1, the Veyron provides some epic numbers, but it also brings with it some horrific over expenses, too. How does $17,000 for a set of replacement tyres grab you? It’s okay, though, because your tyres should be good for around 10,000 kilometres. Maybe.

Another interesting tidbit is the fact that every Veyron is driven for 500km prior to delivery. That would be sure to raise the ire of those new car buyers who throw tantrums if their car has more than 20km when they drive it off the showroom floor!

The final two clips can be seen after the jump. Enjoy.

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Bugatti

Bugatti Veyron documentary – part 1

Bugatti Veyron documentary

The Bugatti Veyron is an engineering masterstroke made simply because it could be. Or perhaps it is a vulgar exercise in excess at the expense of financial discretion. The only certainty is that the Veyron polarises opinions.

Indeed, McLaren Automotive boss Ron Dennis reckons the big Bugatti is “pig ugly”. Dennis didn’t stop there, either, calling the Veyron a “piece of junk”.

Whichever side of the fence you sit it is hard to be anything other than staggered by the car’s numbers. In less than five seconds the 16.4 litre W16 powered Veyron can accelerate from rest to 100km/h and come to a complete stop again. That is astonishing, no other way to describe it, really.

After the break is the first of a two part piece on the Veyron as shown on National Geographic Channel’s Man Made program.

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Audi

2010 Audi RS5

Audi RS5

The international media launch of the Audi RS5 took place in Spain today and while AUSmotive wasn’t in attendance we can bring you the latest images from Audi’s press archives. There’s 75 of the blighters for you after the break, all accessible as 2000px super size images. An extensive press release from Audi should keep you busy, as well.

In case you needed reminding the RS5 is powered by a naturally aspirated high rev 4.2-litre V8 FSI. The RS5 produces peak power of 331kW (450PS) at 8250rpm, with maximum torque of 430Nm available from 4000-6000rpm. Coupled with a specially reinforced 7-speed S tronic transmission the RS5 is able to accelerate to 100km/h in 4.6 seconds. This is the first of Audi’s RS models to be fitted with a double clutch transmission. At this stage, there is still no word on a manual gearbox option.

The RS5 will be available in a total of eight colors: Ibis White, Suzuka Gray, Monza Silver, Misano Red, Sepang Blue, Daytona Gray, Phantom Black and custom blended Panther Black reserved for Audi’s high-performance machines.

Naturally the RS5 features a quattro all-wheel drive system. There’s some new trickery hidden inside the RS5 quattro, too. Including a crown-gear centre differential with torque vectoring and an optional sport differential. You can get more of an insight into those systems through a couple of YouTube clips—available here.

For now, though, feast your eyes on some very tasty images thanks to Audi. When you’re done here check out Top Gear’s coverage of today’s launch.

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BMW

New BMW 5 Series – Australian pricing

BMW 5 Series

The new F10 BMW 5 Series will go on sale in Australia this June. At initial launch there will be a four-pronged model line up, consisting of six cylinder 528i and 535i models, as well as a V8 powered 550i. A four cylinder turbo diesel 520d will join the range in September. Those wanting more space from their 5 Series will have to hold on a bit longer for the October release of the Touring version.

Manufacturer’s list pricing starts at $83,300 for the 520d; $99,900 for the 528i; $128,900 for the 535i and tops out at $178,900 for the 550i. More detail is available below in BMW Australia’s press release, and they have also included this handy spec comparison PDF (60kb) which highlights the increase in spec of the new 5er over the outgoing E60 version.

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Subaru

Impreza STI sedan sighted at Nurburgring

Subaru Impreza STi sedan

One of the great things about living and working in Nürburg is getting to see what the manufacturers are up to during their test sessions at the famous Nordschleife. Dale from Bridge to Gantry, and also RSR Nürburg, doesn’t like to waste such opportunities. As well as his BMW ‘M1’ sighting, he also saw this Subaru Impreza STI sedan throwing its hat into the Ring, so to speak.

Apparently the driver was lapping with plenty of aggression, and interestingly, in the video clip below was also tailing an Audi TT RS. A coincidence, or something more?

[Source: Bridge to Gantry]

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