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BMW

BMW ‘M1’ spotted during Nürburgring testing

BMW 'M1' spy shot

Another possible ‘M1’ prototype has been spotted in testing, this time at the Nürburgring. Devlopment of the widebody 1 Series seems well underway and this sighting follows last week’s ‘M1’ appearance.

The prototype captured in the images here were taken during an industry testing session at the Ring, so we can be fairly certain this is a BMW test mule, and not some crazy guy who has stuck a few bits of plastic on his car to be cool.

The fact the widebody kit only appears on the rear of the car tends to indicate BMW’s M engineers are developing the rear axle components, which are expected to be sourced from the current M3.

Apparently the test driver was pushing pretty hard and with thanks to Bridge to Gantry you can see another pic and brief video after the break.

[Source: Bridge to Gantry]

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Green Machines MINI

MINI E goes green around Green Hell

MINI E Race

A specially prepared 150kW electric powered MINI has just lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under 10 minutes. The MINI E Race is based on the MINI E road car which was first announced in October 2008.

Modifications to the standard MINI E include the addition of a roll cage, KW Variant 3 suspension, MINI Challenge inspired front spoiler and rear valance, along with an optimised ECU program and race tuned ABS. As well as the add-on bits MINI was able to reduce the overall weight of the car by more than 200kg.

At the hands of racing driver Thomas Jäger the MINI E Race lapped the Ring in 9:51.45 achieving a top speed of 187km/h.

Jäger, the 2006 MINI Challenge champion said, “The power of the electric motor has an incredible effect, as you can access its full reserves of torque at all times. Another element of this fascinating experience is the lack of noise from the drivetrain. All in all, that was certainly the cleanest and quietest race lap I’ve ever driven.”

With the MINI E Race being a full electric vehicle this is the first car to complete a lap of the 20.8km Nordschleife circuit in race-like conditions with zero emissions. This is a great first from BMW, although there are currently no plans to enter the electric MINI in any competitive races just yet.

More pics and further detail after the break, including a brief promo video.

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Formula 1 Red Bull Racing

Mark Webber drives virtual lap of Shanghai

Mark Webber drives virtual lap of Shanghai

Here is the latest installment in the Red Bull Racing Grand Prix previews for the 2010 season. This time Webber is driving the Shanghai circuit in the Red Bull simulator. At the Chinese Grand Prix Mark thinks of millions of people, a nightmare drive to the the track and a fantastic circuit.

At last year’s Chinese GP Red Bull Racing achieved its first pole position, first race win and first one-two race result. Here’s hoping the team can repeat those efforts, with Webber out in front, of course.

Check the full video of Mark’s Shanghai preview after the break.

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Audi

Audi Centre Canberra acknowledged for excellence

Audi Centre Canberra

The Audi Mark of Excellence awards were held earlier this month and Audi Centre Canberra was named the Metropolitan Dealer of the Year for 2009. This is the third major award for the Canberra dealership after winning the Provincial category for 2007 and 2008. Audi Centre Canberra happens to be my local dealership and after adding one sale to their tally last year I can say that Richard and his team do a great job servicing the Canberra region.

Audi Centre Townsville took out the Provincial award for 2009, a great boon for the dealership after opening a new showroom just over 12 months ago.

Further details after the jump.

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BMW

BMW prototype Z2 spied in California

BMW Z2 spied

Around this time last year rumours were growing of a BMW Z2 based on the next generation 1 Series. This spy shot, captured in Laguna Beach, California, appears to confirm those rumours were on the money.

Note the soft top roof, which would be used, partly, to keep weight down. Surprisingly, in this day and age of electronic gadgets, there’s a chance the roof could be manually operated, too. Reports of the Z2 weighing in under 1000kg are about, and that would be a major feat if BMW could pull it off.

Speculation remains uncertain about the timing for production. Earlier reports have suggested the Z2 could be ready to roll as soon as next year, but the latest word indicates we might be waiting until 2013 before a Z2 rolls off a production line. Although, World Car Fans reckon we could see a concept car at the Paris Motor Show in October this year.

Expect the latest range of BMW four cylinder engines to find their way into most Z2s. It’s likely the range will include electric, hybrid and diesel versions, as well. The powerplant from 150kW MINI E could make a nice fit, for example.

There’s been a few renderings and illustrations around for a while now, but the example shown below is one of the more attractive to surface. Let’s hope we don’t have too long to wait for some official word out of Munich.

[Source: World Car Fans | Spy pic: moniteurautomobile.be | Rendering: World Car Fans]

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Audi

Autocar drives the Audi RS5

Audi RS5

Autocar is one of the first publications to get their hands on Audi’s new RS5. With a revised 4.2 litre V8 sourced from Ingolstadt’s famed RS4 and a svelte coupé body can the RS5 match the rave reviews of its sedan and wagon siblings? Here’s a grab of what reviewer Jamie Corstorphine had to say:

“Is the RS5 a car you would drive with no destination in mind? Like almost every other Audi, it feels like a piece of heavy machinery, one with deep reserves of engineering capability, but it is also one of the rare Audis that also has a fluidity and delicacy to it. I’d stop short of saying it would be a car I would choose to take on a track day, but for a non-stop return trip from London to the top of Scotland, there are few cars I would be happier to be in.”

Follow the link below for the full review.

[Source: Autocar]

Categories
BMW Holden Hyundai News Subaru Suzuki Toyota VFACTS reports

New vehicle sales report – March 2010

FCAI banner

March was another strong month for Australian vehicle sales. So much so that the 94,744 sales recorded represented a new monthly record for March, an increase of 352 sales over the previous high set in 2007. Compared to last month sales increased by 12,525 units.

While all vehicle segments fared well, the SUV sector continued its upward trend, increasing by 44%. Passenger car sales were up by more than 23%, while both the light and heavy commercial segments also posted healthy increases.

Toyota and Holden continue their reign as the country’s top two selling marques, with 21.4% and 12.4% market share respectively. Meanwhile, Ford fought back from last month’s drop recovering from fifth on the sales charts to finish ahead of Hyundai and Mazda in third place with 8.5% market share.

However, there was still good news for Hyundai as the i30 was the country’s best selling small car during March. The first time the i30 has achieved such a result.

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Categories
Formula 1 News

For sale: 1980 Williams FW07 driven by Alan Jones

Williams FW07/04

This coming weekend Sothebys Australia will be auctioning off a unique piece of Australian motorsport history when they put Alan Jones’ ex-Formula One car under the hammer. Built in 1979 and raced in the same year, as well as Jones’ 1980 championship winning year, the Williams FW07 is expected to sell for close to one million dollars.

The FW07, designed by Patrick Head, was recognised for its aerodynamic ground effects and was good enough to bring Williams the first of its nine F1 constructors titles and first F1 drivers championship. The car up for auction is chassis number 4 (FW07/04) and was used by Jones to win the 1979 German, Austrian and Candian Grands Prix, as well as the 1980 Argentine Grand Prix.

FW07/04 saw an end to its competitive life after it was crashed in testing during the 1980 season. Jones has recounted it was the only time in an F1 car that he feared for his life after the front wheel broke loose and brushed his helmet as it flew over the car.

After its crash FW07/04 was rebuilt for show car purposes and includes a replica Ford-Cosworth DFV engine. The car was sold in 1981 and found its new home at the York Motor Museum in Western Australia.

The car is now available to purchase for the first time since its original sale and James Nicholls from Sothebys hopes there is strong interest in Lot #130, “It’s difficult to tell as this is such a specialist car—we certainly think it will be in the high hundreds of thousands, it could be $700,000 or higher than that. With the (Formula One) race in Melbourne bringing people into the country we’re hoping people are aware of the car, it’s a very prestigious car, a ground-breaking car driven by Alan Jones so it’s pretty significant here and internationally.”

[Source: Sothebys Australia | via carsguide | Pics: Sothebys Australia]

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Categories
Motorsports Porsche

Hey this Hybrid thing might just work

Porsche 911 GT3R Hybrid

Earlier this year when news broke about the Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid there were a few sceptics around suggesting the car would be a triumph of marketing over substance. That may yet prove to be the case, but, for now, Porsche’s working Hybrid experiment is showing good early signs.

In a four hour endurance race at the Nürburgring on the weekend the GT3 R Hybrid finished third, behind the current Nürburgring 24 hour champions from Manthey Racing and an Audi R8 LMS. That’s some good company for a car like this to be keeping in its first season of racing.

The secret to the Hydbrid’s good showing was its ability to stay out on track longer. Most cars pitted three times during the race, the Hybrid just twice.

Works driver Joerg Bergmeister said, “The hybrid system clearly helped us to save fuel. Moreover, it’s a great feeling to have those extra 120 kW from the electric motors when you accelerate out of the corners.”

Categories
Aston Martin

Rapide ready for Nurburgring 24 hour race

Aston Martin Rapide

Aston Martin’s new four-door saloon, the Rapide, will be racing at this year’s Nürburgring 24 hour race. As usual Aston’s CEO Dr Ulrich Bez will be at the wheel of the Rapide for the race, despite having the choice of the Vantage V12 as well.

The Rapide will hit the track as close to production trim as possible and Dr Bez explains this is a great test for his machines, “This race represents the ultimate final engineering durability test for any sports car – it subjects the car to the toughest possible assessment under public scrutiny.”

Aston has a pretty handy record at the 24 hour race, winning out the SP8 class for the last two years. Good luck to them adding a new car to their honour board in 2010.

Full press release available after the jump.

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Volkswagen

Volkswagen Golf VII rendering

VW Golf VII rendering

The current Golf VI is not even two years old yet, but renderings and speculation for the new Golf VII are already building. Dutch website Autointernationaal is the latest to throw their hat in the ring, and here’s a round up of what they’re saying.

Continuing the evolution theme so well mastered by the Golf it is understood Volkswagen design chief Walter de’Silva has said the next generation Golf will draw heavily on the original Mk1 from the 1970s, as well as the Mk4 which originally debuted in the late 1990s.

The new engine range will feature a mix of turbo-diesel, petrol, hybrid and electric options. It is expected the new Golf will grow in width and length, but overall height will be reduced. We should start seeing official appearances from the next-gen Golf in 2012 prior to the MkVII entering the market in 2013.

[Source: Eurocar Blog | via Autointernationaal]

Categories
MINI Challenge

2010 MINI Challenge – Round 1, Adelaide

MINI Challenge, Rd1, Adelaide

The Australian MINI Challenge has been underway since mid-March, and the 2010 version is showing mixed signs. On the plus side the series has two title sponsors in Hertz and Pizza Capers. On the down side there are only six confirmed races, with the Gold Coast SuperGP only pencilled in at this stage. As yet there are no confirmed slots for live television coverage either.

Round 1 action was part of the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide and a highlights package went to air nationally yesterday afternoon. Paul Stokell is back to defend his 2009 title and Chris Alajajian looks to be his main threat in 2010.

You may recall the series got of to a spectacular start during Friday practice when emerging racer Chris Wootton made a MINI Challenge debut he would rather forget. I’m sure things will only improve for Chris throughout the rest of the year.

Over the rest of the weekend the racing in Adelaide was some of the best seen yet in the MINI Challenge. Although, there was a lot of contact between the cars and a lot of damage suffered as a consequence. As exciting as that is to watch from the comfort of one’s lounge room it must make for extreme discomfort in the hip pockets of the drivers and team managers.

Chris Alajajian managed to fight his way to top spot on the podium in Round 1 to get his 2010 campaign off to a great start. You can see video and pictures of the action after the break. Once you’ve watched the footage see if you agree with me in thinking the MINI Challenge organisers may not be so quick to invite Robbie Maddison back for a third appearance in the Uber-star car.

[Pics: Spherix]

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