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Volkswagen

Volkswagen Polo GTI breaks cover ahead of Geneva

Volkswagen Polo GTI

Volkswagen have released three images of its new Polo GTI ahead of next month’s Geneva Auto Salon. As expected, the latest baby GTI will be powered by a 1.4 litre twincharge engine, which has a supercharger providing low down boost before a turbo chimes in to keep the smile on your dial up to redline.

The headline stats of the TSI powerplant are, peak power of 180PS (132kW) with 184ft/lb (250Nm) of torque. Tipping the scales at a modern day lightweight 1184kg the Polo GTI can accelerate to 100km/h in 6.9 seconds. This is achieved, in part, thanks to a 7-speed DSG transmission and and electronic XDS differential, similar to the system found in the Golf GTI.

Aside from all that, the new Polo GTI looks fantastic. There’s been a huge step in interior layout and refinement over the underrated model it replaces and the new exterior styling of the regular Polo has been enahnced by LED daytime lighting and a subtle body kit.

The Polo GTI promises to be one cracker of a hot hatch. A press release from Volkswagen UK is below and when we hear from Volkswagen Australia you’ll be able to read it here.

UPDATE: Volkswagen Australia have confirmed with AUSmotive that the Polo GTI will be on sale locally before the end of 2010. No news on pricing or final specs at this stage.

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BMW

BMW M3 Competition Package

BMW M3 Competition Package

BMW have just announced a new Competition Package that can be added as an option when ordering a new M3. For BMW, pricing is quite inexpensive really, at just £3,315 (AU$5,820). Nothing official from BMW Australia just yet, but you’ll read it here when it’s available.

For your extra cash you get restyled and lighter 19″ alloy wheels, a 10mm suspension drop and re-mapped settings for the Dynamic Stability Control and  Electronic Damper Control which offer “a more enthusiastic driving style“.

The Competition Package will be available for the 2011 model year, which, according to the release below, starts from late March production.

Also being introduced for MY11 is an Auto Start-Stop function. It will be available right across the M3 range and with both manual and DCT transmissions. This brings minor improvements to fuel efficiency and list of revised figures has been provided by BMW.

Included with the release of the M3 Competition Package are a few images of some carbon fibre add-ons, although nothing is said about these in the release below. It would appear these are some extra money-grabbing options that can be added to your M3 to help individualise it from your neighbour’s M3.

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Porsche

The “lightweight” Panamera

Porsche Panamera V6

Porsche have taken the Panamera one step further by releasing a new “lightweight” version. It’s not sure if lightweight refers to lite, as in the car only has a 220kW V6 engine. Or are is Porsche actually being serious and trying to fool you by referring to the car’s 1730kg kerb weight as light. I think it’s the latter.

To be fair the V6 engine does drop 30kg over the normally aspirated V8 found in the Panamera at its original launch. But let’s not get too carried away here, this is no stripped out GT3-style model.

The 3.6-litre V6 has a 90° cylinder angle and in addition to its 220kW peak power there is 400Nm of torque on offer. It will be dropped into two models, badged as the Panamera and Panamera 4. Fuel consumption in the two-wheel drive model is a respectable 9.3l/100km, while the all-wheel drive variant adds 0.3l/100km to that figure. Similarly, the Panamera 4 yields a small 7g/km CO2 emissions penalty over the 213g/km figure of the rear-wheel drive.

Standard fitment of Porsche’s dual-clutch PDK transmission and Auto Stop Start technology help the new entry-level Panamera achieve these figures.

Beijing will host the premiere of the V6 in late April and the car will be on sale in Europeans markets shortly after.

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Formula 1

F1 pre-season: Jerez test #2 schedule

Scuderia Toro Rosso - Sebastien Buemi, Jerez 2010

Tomorrow night (Australian time) the F1 circus returns to Jerez for the third of four sanctioned pre-season test windows. There will be four days of testing and as with the previous sessions the teams generally run one driver per day. The schedule of who will be driving when is available below.

A reminder that you can get the latest news from testing as it happens by subscribing to the AUSmotive F1 list on  twitter.

Fernando Alonso topped the time sheets at the first session in Valenica, while Jaime Alguersuari (pictured above) was on the pace in Jerez. Alguersuari posted the second best time last week, behind Lewis Hamilton who was able the most of the infrequent dry weather available on the last day of testing. The teams encountered mostly wet weather last week and the forecast for this week is pretty ugly as well. Let’s hope there’s dry weather in Barcelona for the final test window, which starts 25 February.

This week will be the first official test program for the new Lotus-Cosworth T127.

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MINI

MINI UK announces Countryman pricing

2010 MINI Countryman

MINI have just announced UK pricing of the Countryman range. While these numbers won’t directly translate to the Australian market, it will give an idea as to where we can expect the Countryman to sit in MINI Australia’s hierarchy.

Prices have been released as OTR figures and a two-wheel drive Countryman Cooper S is priced at £20,810. For comparison a 6 speed manual Cooper S hatch will set you back £17,015 OTR. The two-wheel drive Countryman Cooper D is priced at £18,810, the regular hatch version £15,185.

At initial launch MINI’s new ALL4 all-wheel drive system will only be available in either Cooper S or Cooper D spec. The ALL4 Cooper S will cost a further £1,220 or an extra £1,065 if you take the diesel option.

So, there you have it, expect the Countryman to be somewhere between 5-10K more than their regular hatch counterparts when they land in Australia. If you tick the ALL4 option box you’ll probably pay $2000 for the privilege. Hmm, this is starting to add up isn’t it.

A full list of UK prices and specifications is shown below.

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Peugeot

The “5 by Peugeot” Concept Car – 508 preview

5 by Peugeot Concept Car

Peugeot have just released images of this new Concept Car. Peugeot are pushing it as a “new luxury saloon driving experience”. Its full title is rather clumsy—5 by Peugeot Concept Car—but just look at it. There’s nothing clumsy about the exterior. It is a very, very good looking car. Nothing revolutionary in terms of overall shape or concept, but a beautifully executed design.

Okay, perhaps the bonnet and rear lights might be a bit fussy. And, yes, LED headlamps are becoming over played (get used to that), but given the rest of the detailing on the car, it’s easy to excuse those frivolous moments. When you’re going through the images below make sure you take the time to appreciate the side profile of the glasshouse. The way the B-pillar has been hidden behind the windows is a wonderful piece of design. If, in fact there is a B-pillar, being a concept car you’re never quite sure what is beneath under the skin.

Peugeot’s press release makes no comment about the Geneva Motor Show, but we will see more of this car then. After making such a grand statement with the exterior one can only hope they have created an interior to match.

The 5 by Peugeot is powered by the company’s Hybrid4 technology, also seen in the RCZ concept, which is a mix of electric and diesel power. Good for 200bhp and CO2 emissions under 100g/km the car is driven by all four wheels.

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Audi

Audi RS5 to debut at Geneva. Promise!

Audi RS5

Yes, okay, any post speculating on the debut of the Audi RS5 is going to look a little bit foolish given the previous prediction of an Essen debut failed to materialise. However, if we take a look back to 2008 we can see that AUSmotive is not the first site to go hard with an RS5 tip and get it wrong.

Anyway, the new word I have been given is the RS5 will be revealed at the Geneva Auto Salon next month. The show is open to the public from 4–14 March, so if this latest mail is correct, we should know for sure in a around two weeks, as Audi will most likely release details to the assembled media a day or so prior to the public opening.

All other details should remain as reported last October. So, expect the RS5 to be powered by a normally aspirated V8, labelled 4.2 FSI HDZ. The 4163cc engine should be good for 330kW (450PS) and at initial launch the car will be offered with a 7 speed S tronic transmission only. The RS5 should be good for a 4.6 second 0-100km/h sprint.

As good as the RS5 should be, this new model may come at the cost of the über RS4. AUSmotive understands there are no plans at Ingolstadt to build an RS4 on the B8 platform. I really hope that information is wrong. The RS4 can trace its roots back to Audi’s first RS model, the RS2 Estate. For that reason, the RS4 should never die.

UPDATE:  There’s a small chance we may hear of concrete RS5 info in around one week from now. Watch this space!

Categories
Volkswagen

2010 Golf Wagon – Australian pricing

2010 VW Golf Wagon

Volkswagen Australia have just released an Estate version to their volume selling Golf range. Known in Australia as the Golf Wagon, it will be initially offered in two model lines—Trendline and Comfortline.

Entry level pricing, before those nasty delivery and government charges, starts at $26,990. That gets you a 90kW 1.4 TSI Trendline with 6 speed manual. The top of the range model, 103kW 2.0 TDI Comfortline with 6 speed DSG, is priced from $36,490. The usual range of options is also available and a list of prices is available below.

Four engines will be available for those wanting the maximum 1495 litres of cargo space the Golf Wagon provides. Two 1.4 TSI engines, with either 90kW or 118kW are complemented by a 77kW 1.6TDI and a 103kW 2.0 TDI. The full gamut of Volkswagen transmissions is on offer, including 5 and 6 speed manuals in addition to 6 and 7 speed DSG offerings. At a basic level you can choose a manual or DSG with all engine choices, the numbers of cogs you get depends on the engine choice.

This is the first time we have seen a Golf Estate/Variant/Wagon in Australia and it remains to be seen how successful this addition to the Golf line up will be. I know one thing, though, they’d sell a lot more of them if they bothered to get Volkswagen to design the rear of the car. Instead, it looks like they just picked up some 1990s Honda Accord tail lights, stuck them on the back and thought, that should do it. When the rest of the Volkswagen range is, generally, so expertly styled—and of particular note here is the Passat Wagon—one has to wonder just how on earth they came to this conclusion.

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Bathurst 12 Hour BMW

BMW takes out the Bathurst 12 hour

2010 Bathurst 12 hour

The Eastern Creek International Karts BMW 335i driven by Garry Holt, Paul Morris and John Bowe has won a dramatic 2010 Armor All Bathurst 12 hour race. They completed 202 laps in all and finished 3.3 seconds ahead of the East Holiday Parks Mitsubishi EVO IX. It was the second win at the event for Garry Holt and his team who also won the 2007 race.

However, the official winning margin only tells part of the story. The 2010 race was marred by heavy rain which caused a lengthy stint of around three hours behind the Safety Car. Also delaying the race, just as the Safety Car was about to pull in, was a freak incident where a massive gum tree fell and blocked Conrod Straight just after Forrest’s Elbow.

Eric Bana’s Mitusbishi EVO X was also involved in a nasty accident while co-driver Paul Hill was at the wheel. Hill had clipped the wall approaching Reid Park and came to a rest in the middle of the track. An unsighted Dean Herridge, in a Subaru Impreza WRX STi, drove into the back of Hill’s car ending the race for both teams.

There were eight Safety Car periods in all, the last of which caused the race to end under the control of race stewards. Providing some consolation the Safety Car pulled in before the last corner allowing drivers to cross the line at their own pace.

A list of top 10 finishers can be seen below, full results are available on the Natsoft website.

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Formula 1 Lotus

VIDEO: Lotus T127 launch & shakedown

Lotus Cosworth T127

Lotus Racing have provided some behind the scenes footage of the launch of their new Lotus Cosworth T127. There’s three clips in all and they can be seen below. The first Lotus in Formula One since the mid 90s was first revealed on Friday. It will be driven by Heikki Kovalainen and Jarno Trulli.

For more on Lotus Racing make sure you bookmark their website.

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Categories
Bathurst 12 Hour

Can’t see the Forrest for the trees

2010 Bathurst 12 hour

Major disaster has been avoided at the Armor All Bathurst 12 hour race today after a massive gum tree fell over and blocked the track just after Forrest’s Elbow. It was around 1pm when the incident happened and the race was being held under Safety Car conditions due to consistent heavy rain.

The Safety Car period lasted almost three hours, due mostly to the inclement conditions. Ironically, conditions around the track were at the best they had been for quite some time when the tree came down. Thankfully some very quick work from race organisers and local SES volunteers had the track cleared and ready for racing in around 15-20 minutes.

Of course, with the race still being run, albeit behind the Safety Car, the field was on course at the time. Therefore they all came to a halt along the top of the mountain while the track was being cleared. Some images captured from the live stream can be seen below.

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News

MINI 50 Camden: Inside Mission Control

MINI 50 Camden - Mission Control

The special edition MINI 50 Camden released last year features an exclusive “Mission Control” system. While the name sounds comprehensive, it’s essentially a novelty addition that plays pre-recorded message in response to driver inputs, for example, turning the car on or off, switching on the Sport button and so on.

A brief clip of the system in action has been posted to YouTube by MotoringFile and you can watch that clip below. AutoWeek also has a rather amusing review of the Camden with the Mission Control system in full operation. You can also see that footage after the jump.

On the hand the Mission Control feature is fun and light-hearted, on the other hand, it is annoying and downright naff. The best feature, perhaps, is that Mission Control can be switched off.

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