Nissan will be hoping this is the view the new FIA GT1 field sees in 2010 after announcing four new GT-Rs will be taking part in the upcoming season. Nismo have signed agreements with UK-based Sumo Power GT and Swiss Racing Team, based in, well Switzerland. Each team will run a two car operation with Nismo offering tech support.
Other details are pretty scant at the moment, so you’ll just have to make do with these pics that make the GT-R’s backside even bigger—but so much naughtier!
Those of you who follow The European may have been wondering where I’ve been these last few weeks. Some speculated that I went to ground for suggesting Audi designers as lazy and had been stalked by some polo-necked hitmen sent out to crush my fingers in the tight and visually arresting shutlines of a new A8. Except there aren’t any on the A8, so I’d have been fine.
Truth is, it’s Christmas-ish and frankly I couldn’t be arsed to write a bloody thing. The weather has been miserable in Sydney but rather than take to my ageing Thinkpad and bash the keys until something resembling an article ended up on the screen in front of me, I took my ageing Thinkpad and bashed the keys until I found something interesting on Youtube instead. Given I have addictively low levels of brow, I tend to end up watching the sort of crap that doesn’t even get you a KFC voucher from Australia’s Funniest Home Videos. Whether you know when you’ve hit rock bottom is a matter of debate but it was somewhere between watching the french version of Avril Lavignes ‘Girlfriend’ (hey hey you you, je n’aime pas ta copine, no way no way, tu as besoin d’une nouvelle) and discovering (late) a notorious video known casually as ‘2 girls 1 cup’. Either way, I knew I had officially exhausted web 2.0, which lead me to something to called a ‘book’ which lead to something more visually stimulating and known as a ‘magazine’.
Come December 24th, with the door to our other business firmly locked, my partner and I follow the star all the way to the nearest newsagent and pay our respects to the new born January issues of a variety of glossy monthlies. Played out in Newslink is the alternative ending of the global finacial crisis where we end up weighed down with booty in an orgy of spending. Hers, being mainly local titles with bylines like ‘Why We Don’t Need Men’ next to ‘How To Satisfy Your Man’ invariably comes in for less than twenty bucks. Mine however takes the financial might usually reserved to rescuing British banks as it composes ten airfreight issues of whichever car mags take my fancy (all of them).
Carlos Sainz has avenged his disappointment from last year’s Dakar Rally on the way to headlining a clean sweep of the podium for the diesel powered Volkswagen Race Touraegs. It is the first time Volkswagen have claimed a one-two-three finish at the Dakar and follows their one-two result from the 2009 race.
Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz (#303) finished 2 minutes 12 seconds ahead of Nasser Al-Attiyah and Timo Gottschalk (#306). Third place was taken by Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford (#305). Last year’s winners Giniel de Villiers and Dirk von Zitzewitz (#300) finished seventh.
Volkswagen Motorsport Director Kris Nissen was understandably elated with the unprecedented success for his team, “Three weeks ago a highly motivated Volkswagen team came with the goal of successfully defending the ‘Dakar’ title won last year. Volkswagen has achieved something historical with this one-two-three.”
Sainz, who can now add the Dakar crown to his two World Rally Championship titles, said “I have fulfilled a dream by winning the ‘Dakar’. An enormous weight has fallen from my shoulders particularly as the fight for victory was extremely hard both physically and enormously exhausting mentally.
“Everything ran perfectly for me: My co-driver Lucas Cruz did an excellent job, from the technical side the Race Touareg ran like clockwork and the entire Volkswagen squad worked tirelessly for the win. Thank you for this.”
It’s the first time an all-Spanish crew has won the event and Cruz was over the moon with the win, “After so much pressure over the last few days it goes without saying that I’m incredibly happy on the day of my first ‘Dakar’ victory. I think we have beaten tough competitors and also one of the hardest ‘Dakar’s’ ever.
“Carlos approached his job throughout the entire event patiently, concentrated but also with great tenacity. He is a great champion, it’s fantastic to win with him.”
A huge image gallery from the Volkswagen Motorsport team can bee seen after the jump, along with extensive press releases including quotes from all Race Touareg driving crews.
Mark Webber has spent some time on the off-season trying his hand as a motoring hack. At least, that’s how it’s been presented in UK daily newspaper the Telegraph. Given the icy conditions it was little more than a bit of hit and giggle really. But, if you’re a hot hatch fan then of course you’ll want to know what he thought of the Volkswagen Golf GTI, Renaultsport Megane 250 and Ford Focus RS.
When asked if the hot hatch genre was respected back home Mark’s reply would have gone down well at the recent Summernats festival, “Nah mate. Anything less than five litres ain’t big back home.”
For the full text follow the link below. Images of the test trio, without the snow, can be seen after the jump. Click on the pics to load 2000px wallpaper-friendly versions.
[Source & main pic: Telegraph.co.uk | Thanks to Rick for the tip]
It’s now approaching three years since the Top Gear Polar Special first went to air and the company behind the cars from the episode are giving you the opportunity to fill Jeremy Clarkson’s shoes. Reykjavik-based Arctic Trucks Experience are now offering a variety of self-drive tours around Iceland. You can choose from daily trips, 2-5 day tours and longer tailored expeditions, all experience the amazing terrain and scenery that Iceland has to offer.
If you reckon the GFC is a minor inconvenience then you really should go to Iceland and do one of these tours. The poor buggers there got absolutely smashed by the financial doom and they need all the help they can get! Check out arctictrucks-experience.com for more.
No, it’s not the Ferris Bueller car, but, to quote Yello, it’s “even more beautiful”. This is a 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Cabriolet Pininfarina. It’s a stupidly long name for a car, but just look at it! Do 1960s cabrios get any better?
There were only six short wheelbase 400 Superamerica Cabrio Pininfarinas ever made. Pretty rare, huh. This one is the last one ever built. But you probably knew that because of the covered headlights, right? Yeah, I know, it’s the only one of the six made to have that feature. One of a kind, then.
This example has been fully restored and it recently took home some silverware at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concors D’Elegance. It has full documentation, including original books and tools. Under the bonnet is a 3.0 litre V12, good for a solid 240bhp. That’s still not bad by today’s standards.
Well, if you like this car you’re in luck—it could be yours! It will be up for auction in Monaco on 1 May. RM Auctions have got the gig, so you better start saving your pennies as this beauty is expected to sell for five million bucks. Back in the day this particular car was even used by Ferrari for their Geneva and New York Motor Shows. So it comes with good provenance, too. Go on, you know you want to.
The tenure of SBS TV as the home of Top Gear in Australia will cross the line on Monday evening. The final episode via SBS will air at 7:30pm and is one from the vault—the final episode of Season 4—which originally aired in August 2004.
It’s a great snapshot showing how far the show has come. Even with four seasons behind it history has shown the Top Gear journey has been taken to a whole new level, with even higher production values and an ever increasing ambition apparent in following years.
However, this ending doesn’t mean the end of Top Gear on Australian screens. You will probably remember Channel Nine have come in and thrown their weight around to secure the rights from SBS.
Fancy the odd track day? Got a lazy $500K burning a hole in your pocket? Reckon you could show that old man Michael Schumacher a thing or two? Then Porsche have the right car for you. It’s the 911 GT3 R and it made its worldwide debut yesterday.
In exchange for your half million dollars and a few pleasantries Porsche will hand you a 1200kg dedicated racing machine all ready to take part in your local FIA GT3 racing series. You also get 480bhp from your 4.0 litre flat six and lots of buttons to push on your alcantara covered steering wheel. Nice!
Such a pedigree racer like this deserves a famous racetrack location for a debut don’t you think? Silvertsone? Nah, a bit flat—good, but not really worthy. Spa? Yeah, not a bad suggestion, It is one of the world’s most respected tracks after all. But I’m not sure it ticks all the right boxes. The Nürburgring? Yes, perfect. It scores points for being in Germany, of course, but you’re also likely to see one or two taking part in the what has to be the world’s best 24-hour race. Forget Le Mans, that’s rubbish, the Nürburgring 24 hour race is where your balls are really tested. Just imagine circling the famous Nordschleife in the wee hours of the morning, in driving rain, with 200,000 mind altered Germans cheering you on—sounds like a barrel of laughs!
Sorry, I digress, the location for the worldwide debut of the Porsche 911 GT3 R, then? A big shed in middle England. Well the Autosport International show in Birmingham to be precise. Doesn’t really seem fitting, does it.
Loads more after the break, although, sadly, Porsche PR are pretty light on with pictures of this purebred racer.
True to their word Audi have delivered the A5 Sportback into local showrooms with a two-pronged offensive. Kicking off the A5 Sportback range down under is a 2.0 TFSI equipped model with a manufacturer’s list price of $78,400. This will be partnered with a 3.0 V6 TDI priced from $89,100.
If that seems a little high to you, maybe standard fitment of a quattro all-wheel drive system and a 7-speed S tronic transmission will ease the pain. Other goodies thrown in include full leather seats with electric adjustment, MMI navigation and xenon headlights with LED daytime driving lights.
The other standard feature, which mustn’t be forgotten, is a great looking car, with a handy rear hatch and comfortable seating for four.
Tipping the scales at 1500kg the A5 Sportback isn’t a lightweight by any means, but its performance is quite brisk really. The 2.0 TFSI offers 155kW with a helpful 350Nm of torque and can get to 100km/h in 6.6 seconds. To give that figure some sort of context, that is quicker than a Golf GTI, which shares a similar turbocharged four cyclinder engine. However, in a sign of the times, it is the diesel that sets the performance benchmark in the Sportback range. The 0-100 dash is over in 6.1 seconds, thanks to the TDI’s 500Nm maximium torque and 176kW peak power.
Impressively, both engines are on the start of their flat torque curves from a low 1500rpm, with the TDI staying on its plateau until 3000rpm, while the TFSI keeps puffing strong until 4200rpm. So tractability and low down urge should be a strong point in both offerings.
Those wanting that little bit more performance, and with around $50K more to spend over the V6 TDI, will have to wait for the S5 Sportback, which is due in Australia by mid-year. With the excellent 245kW 3.0-litre supercharged engine from the S4 this car is sure to keep both fashionistas and revheads equally satisfied.
A full list of specifications is outlined below in Audi’s presser, along with tech specs in PDF format available for download. Heaps of pics, too, of course.
Rumours are getting stronger that the Mini-e-tron revealed in Detroit this week is a thinly disguised preview of the upcoming Audi R4 mid-engine sportscar. US blog InsideLine claim they have been told as much by sources within Audi.
The underpinnings of such a car would likely be shared across the Volkswagen group’s range, including its own Concept BlueSport and even the next generation Porsche Boxster and Cayman.
In regards to the Detroit showcar Audi e-tron, you would expect a lot of the concept to get lost in production, such as the aluminium carbon-fibre composite body, but an electric powered engine option could stay. Speculation also suggests that the snarling five-pot turbo from the Audi TT RS could find its way under the R4’s skin—yes please!
How or where the R4 would slot into the Audi range with the company’s iconic TT is uncertain at this stage, but Autoblog reckon an entry-level R4 could fit under the TT. Hard to see that happening, but stranger things have happened.
[Source: InsideLine & Autoblog | Thanks to Wayne for the tip]
That headline sounds less than flattering, but if you watch Vicki Butler-Henderson’s Fifth Gear Web TV review of the Porsche Panamera Turbo you will see she loves the thing.
I’m still not convinced of the Panamera’s styling, outside or inside, but, apparently the sensation from the driving position is a very good one. Ultimately, that’s all that matters. And with a six month waiting list for the Turbo taxi it looks like Porsche have given the market what it wants.
Enjoy the clip after the jump.
[via German Car Blog]
Audi released another e-tron model at NAIAS early yesterday morning. Rather awkwardly its title is “Detroit showcar Audi e-tron”. Maybe they were too busy cramming to get the concept car made in time for the show to bother coming up with a catchy model name.
Perhaps they should have called it the Mini-e-tron, okay that might not be brilliant either, but it’s a damn site better than the full title, so that’s what I’ll stick with. Given this new e-tron is some 220mm shorter than the R8 based e-tron shown at Frankfurt last year the Mini tag seems approriate, too. The short, stubby design is one that may draw envious looks as this is a very nice looking car. Part e-tron, part Aston Martin Vantage and part toy car, it does have some extraordinarily appealing details, such as the shoulder line over the rear wheel, as shown perfectly in the image above.
The changes don’t stop with the cosmetic, either. The Mini-e-tron is rear wheel drive only, and as such has two electric motors as opposed to its bigger brother’s four engines, one at each wheel.
A 399kg battery unit sits behind the seats, but in front of the rear wheels. Even with this near central location the Mini-e-tron’s weight distribution is still biased to the rear at 40:60. Mind, Audi say this “ensures perfect balance”.
It’s no surprise that there’s lots of gadgets in this car, and some of the smartest are the LED headlamps. To help save energy the lamps cover most forward lighting duties. Through the use of specially designed sensors they can automatically raise and lower their high beam at night, they can adjust their intensity to suit varying weather conditions—such as fog or rain—and, through the use of on-board navigation, they can also anticipate the driver’s intended course and illuminate corners before the driver starts turning the steering wheel. That’s kinda cool, I have to say.
Almost as cool as sitting at home entering your desired traffic route on your smartphone, then linking it with your car so that your nav system is right to go as soon as you hop in the driver’s seat. Things like stereo preferences and other in-car settings can be changed remotely with a paired smartphone as well.
Taking the smartphone connection further, the interior does away with a bunch of messy dials and switches in favour of an iPhone-like touch screen and additional scroll pad.
Maximum power on supply from the two engines is 150kW, and through the use of an aluminium and carbon-fibre composite chassis overall weight of the Mini-e-tron is 1350kg. “If necessary” the driver can propel the car from rest to 100km/h in 5.9 seconds. Not too shabby at all, really. With a lighter right foot you can expect to travel up to 250km.
As always, there’s a whole lot more for you after the jump.