Categories
Formula 1 Mercedes-Benz

Brawn set to go around the Benz

BrawnGP to accept Mercedes-Benz buyout

As the day passes the news gets bigger for BrawnGP. While nothing in F1 is ever certain, the Button to McLaren move looks to be gathering momentum. With Rubens Barichello’s step to Williams already confirmed, BrawnGP will need a new pairing to defend their constructor’s title.

That title defence looks set for a massive boost, too, with reports suggesting Mercedes-Benz are prepared to purchase a massive 75% stake in the team. It is understood that this deal has already been signed off by the two parties. Expect an announcement to confirm the move sometime in the next week, possibly as soon as the next 24 hours (or now!).

Leading the charge behind the wheel for Brawn in 2010 will be Nico Rosberg and Nick Heidfeld according to a report at Planet F1.

Mercedes-Benz owns a 40% share of the McLaren F1 team, so it will be fun to watch how that relationship continues if the German giant buys in to BrawnGP in such a big way.

Then there’s the possibility of two top dogs at McLaren, in Hamilton and Button. Martin Whitmarsh looks set to be a very busy boy in 2010 with egos to massage on all sides of the garage.

[Source: Planet F1 | Thanks to Chris for the tip]

UPDATE: Breaking news—BrawnGP have been taken over by Mercedes and will race in 2010 as Mercedes Grand Prix. A full statement, as posted on the BrawnGP website, can be read below.

Continue reading “Brawn set to go around the Benz”
Categories
Top Gear

Top Gear – Series 14 teasers

Mercedes-Benz SLS

Now that Episode 1 of Top Gear‘s fourteenth season is locked away in the vault, Andy Wilman has given a preview of what is in store for the rest of the series.

Wilman has given brief outlines of the six remaining episodes and it looks like there might be a week off, with the final ep for the season to air in January next year.

Obviously the Mercedes-Benz SLS in the image above is a bit of a giveaway, but if you’d prefer to keep the rest a secret, then don’t follow the jump.

Continue reading “Top Gear – Series 14 teasers”
Categories
Formula 1 News

Dude, where’s my car?

Schumacher's 1994 Benetton-Ford

The eBay auction for Michael Schumacher’s 1994 B194 Benetton-Ford was due to end in a few hours. You may recall the bidding last week was as high as €2.6 million (AU$4.2m), but the listing on eBay.de has been down for over 24 hours now.

Hmm, it seems something is rotten in the state of Denmark. Or Canada (where the car was supposed to be), Germany (where the auction was being hosted), or even England (read on Macduff)!

It appears as though the motoring world has been taken for a ride, with at least one report suggesting the original listing was a hoax. No doubt the old chestnut “the fullness of time” shall reveal all on that one.

However, all is not lost. A new eBay listing, this time from the UK, has popped up offering, yes, you guessed it, a 1994 Benetton-Ford F1 car. Chassis B194-05 comes with a signed certificate of authenticity declaring the car was driven by Schumacher and JJ Lehto. Indeed, the car is said have won 46 of Schumacher’s 92 points in his maiden Championship year. This included wins at San Marino, Canada, Monaco and France.

Mind, that letter of authenticity is signed by Pat Symonds, which is hardly the most credible name going in F1 at the minute. That said, this listing does look legit, with a purpose-built website to advertise the sale: benetton-auction.dinao.com

So, if you really do want to get yourself your very own F1 car, then the current bidding is at £1.8 million (AU$3.2m). The auction is due to end on Sunday evening.

[Source: eBay.co.uk]

UPDATE 19 November: There were two bids at the time of writing this article. These have now been removed and the starting price is at £1,150,000 with a note saying “reserve not met”. Start saving kids there less than four days to go.

UPDATE 22 November: I just checked out the eBay ad to how the sale went and it looks like the car didn’t attract a single bid.

Continue reading “Dude, where’s my car?”
Categories
Formula 1

What does this Button do?

Jenson Button

Jenson Button, 2009 Formula One World Champion, is trying to work who he wants to do his Sunday driving with in 2010. Under usual circumstances you’d reckon you might stick with the guys at BrawnGP, who pretty much served a drivers title to you on a silver platter, in part due to a very, very well prepared car.

But, this is F1 and so is anything but normal. Rumours were sent into overdrive on Friday when Button toured McLaren’s factory at Woking in Surrey. McLaren’s F1 boss, Martin Whitmarsh, played tour guide, adding further spice.

Like a lot of other BrawnGP employees Button signed over his services in 2009 for bugger all money (well, bugger all for F1, anyway). Now, as the reigning champ, he reckons he should get a bit more. Trouble is, it seems BrawnGP think he is asking for a lot more.

Unsurprisingly Button’s manager, Richard Goddard, reckons his client’s claims are fair and reasonable, “As I’ve said many times before, Jenson wants to drive a car which is capable of winning the next world championship.

“We’ve been talking about possible terms for 2010 with Brawn for months and we’re not being difficult or unreasonably expensive in our demands for Jenson. In fact we’ve given up quite a lot of negotiating ground in our discussions with them.”

However, more recent news suggests that maybe McLaren weren’t as forthcoming as first thought, as Goddard has since gone into arse covering mode, “Jenson has the utmost respect for boss Ross Brawn and the team.

“Talks have certainly not broken down. He has been incredibly loyal to the team for many years which is why the decision is so hard.”

Hmm, contract negotiations through the media. Don’t you just love it!

[Source: guardian.co.uk | World Car Fans | Pic: BrawnGP]

Categories
Porsche

King for a day

If you’re not a captain of industry then the closest you may get to a Porsche is through one of their driving schools. Currently Porsche UK is running a competition for a chance to take part in their Porsche 911 Evolution III drive day.

The YouTube clip above shows what’s in store with a good mix of old and new skool love—starting with a 1986 G Series, flirting with a 1994 993, before finishing with a 2009 997.2 model.

Australian readers need not fret, they too can get in on this gig by checking out the Porsche Sport Driving School in Queensland.

Categories
Top Gear

Happy Top Gear Day

Eric Bana

As you will most likely be aware Series 14 of Top Gear premieres on UK screens tonight. Kicking the season off is an appearance by Australia’s own Eric Bana. According to Top Gear’s Transmission blog Eric was a popular guest, “You can always tell the really sound people amongst TG guests by how much they hang around after their interview.

“Suffice to say that the Top Gear team thinks Bana is a bloody good bloke because he was there until the end, watching the rest of the show and then enjoying some of the aftershow Terrible Buffet in the production office.

“In fact, he was still there talking diffs, carbs and the higher language of muscle cars with Hammond when most people were making their excuses and leaving.”

Without giving too much away the first episode will also include the film shot on the Transfagarasan road in Romania. Set to be a classic clip, for sure, the lads take on the road’s seemingly never ending corners in a Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder, an Aston Martin DBS Volante and a Ferrari California. With plenty of tunnels on this route, there’s certain to be some supreme aural delights, as well.

Season 14 of Top Gear is the first to be broadcast in high definition. That means we can expect the show’s brilliant production standards to be showcased at an even higher level.

If my memory serves, this series will be an seven episode run with the final episode likely to air on 27 December. For more of a teaser of what is to come this series, check out this previous AUSmotive post.

[Pic: Eric Bana Online]

Categories
Bugatti Oh the humanity

Dumb & Dumber

Bugatti Veyron - Pretty sure that's a Lambo dude

You’ll remember yesterday’s sad story of the Bugatti Veyron taking a dip. Amazingly, the incident has been captured on video and can be seen below after the jump.

Adding some humour to the tragedy is the expert commentary provided by the guys behind the camera. Let’s call them Lloyd and Harry:

Lloyd: [murmurs] That will be mine one day.
Harry: What is it?
Lloyd: Pretty sure that’s a Lambo dude.
Lloyd: [screaming] Oh, oh he’s … oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!

Oh, and, erm, no sign of the “pelican” either, haha.

[Source: Jalopnik]

Continue reading “Dumb & Dumber”
Categories
The European Volkswagen

The European: Chopper read

AUSmotive.com - The European
Volkswagen Golf GTI - XDL

I went to buy a bike this week. Having realised I was starting to look like the bloke off those government adverts who gets progressively fatter as he ages, I figured it would only be a matter of time before I started looking like that big bopper with the cravat off Masterchef.

And I don’t do cravats.

So with the excuses of the last few months a fading memory I ventured into the unknown world of bike buying. It would appear that since the days of the Raleigh Chopper, things have changed. The Chopper pushed the envelope with a selection of three gears—slow, faster and fastest. Modern bikes come with a minimum of twenty one. Slow, bit faster, bit faster again, bit faster, touch faster—you get the gist. Where the Chopper had used the same steel as the Sydney Harbour Bridge, new bikes were taking the same stuff NASA are using to take machines to Mars and forming it into aerodynamic beasts designed to win you both a Tour stage and the girl on the podium.

What does all this mean? Well, the new bikes are faster, lighter, stronger and more reliable.

Does this help me? Well not exactly. See, if the bike is lighter and therefore supposedly better, then although I may reach my destination faster, I won’t actually be dropping more weight. What I really need, is the fat bastard spec Chopper, which hasn’t been made since about 1984, to make me really work for my kilometres.

Continue reading “The European: Chopper read”
Categories
Porsche

Sounds great

Porsche Evolution III @ Silverstone

Reckon you can tell one Porsche from another? Well, here’s your chance to prove yourself against your mates with this neat competition from Porsche UK.

Simply, you need to follow this link, then listen to the audio of the cars. Answer a few mutliple choice questions and, if you live in the UK, you could be in with a chance to be fanging the three cars pictured above around Silverstone.

Sounds good, doesn’t it!

Continue reading “Sounds great”
Categories
Video

Rise of the machines

If you were a bit of a rendering geek, you lived in Azerbaijan, and you had a bit of time to kill, what do you think you might get up to? Well, assuming you had a spare 110 days to watch a progress bar move across your screen, I’d say you might produce this.

Where will CGI take us in the years to come? Truly amazing!

Check out the Pantural YouTube channel for more.

[via TopGear]

Categories
McLaren

Inside look: Developing the McLaren MP4-12C

McLaren MP4-12C

McLaren Automotive have released new video footage of its latest supercar, the MP4-12C, being developed. Blah, blah, blah … watch the vid after the jump, and if you’re interested there’s a press release to go with.

Apparently there’s more videos to come, too. Which is a good thing, because it’s kinda cool being given an arcmchair ride during the creation of the MP4-12C.

Oh, is it just me, or is it a bit weird that the car is in full camo gear, given that official images have already been released?

Continue reading “Inside look: Developing the McLaren MP4-12C”
Categories
Bugatti Oh the humanity

In the drink

Bugatti Veyron gets that sinking feeling

Now kids, this is why you shouldn’t talk on your mobile phone while driving, okay.

It has been reported the anonymous owner of this Bugatti Veyron was having a yak on his phone when a pelican flew in front of the car’s windscreen. Startled by Mr Percival‘s fly-by, the driver dropped his phone, filled his pants then put his hypercar in the drink after losing control and hurtling into this saltwater lagoon in Galveston County, Texas.

I’m guessing the plank’s first words after the incident were quite a lot stronger than, “Oops! Did I just do that?”

The astonishing Veyron has as many admirers as it does detractors. For every person that gets off on the car’s engineering prowess is another one who claims the car is too heavy and too pointless.

The latter, then, who probably think the car is better suited as a boat, will enjoy the description of the car’s final moment given in Galveston County’s local rag, “The Veyron’s powerful engine gurgled like an outboard motor for about 15 minutes before it died.”

You can see an unexciting, but still very sad video of the Veyron being towed out of the lagoon after the jump.

[Source: Galveston County Daily News]

Continue reading “In the drink”