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Motorsports Nissan

Matthew Simmons wins 2015 GT Academy

Matthew Simmons, 2015 GT Academy winner

Matthew Simmons is Australia’s latest high-achiever in the international motorsport arena. The 26-year-old has just topped a field of 30 finalists to win the 2015 GT Academy, which will land him a race seat with Nissan in the Dubai 24 Hour race in January next year.

Simmons’ started the final race of the International Camp from pole position and was fighting for the lead until his 370Z suffered mechanical problems and he dropped off the pace. He was still in the running for the overall win, however and was over the moon when he named the winner.

“I genuinely can’t believe it. I’m on top of the world,” Simmons said. “Unfortunately a mechanical problem took the race out of my hands, but that’s motorsport and you can’t hide that, and I think in the early stages of the race I really showed the potential of what I can do.

“The wait on the podium was killing me, but when Rob said my name I had to do a double take. I can’t believe he said it, and I’m now a racing driver!

“My journey has been massive in the last 18 months to here. I’ve had so many people supporting my dream, and they’ve given me so much confidence and made me believe I could achieve what I’ve wanted for so long—to become a racing car driver.

“The GT Academy program is amazing. You can really tell the driver development program trains you to become an athlete, and they teach you all the aspects, so by the time you reach that pinnacle and you’re at Dubai 24 Hours, you’re ready to take on the world.”

All the best to Matt, we look forward to following his career. He has some lofty shoes to fill, with Nismo’s GT Academy team winning the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour and former GT Academy alumni Jann Mardenborough and Lucas Ordonez mixing with the world’s best in LMP1 at Le Mans.

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Categories
Porsche

2015 Porsche Boxster Spyder in detail

2015 Porsche Boxster Spyder

Porsche had the indecency to release the new Boxster Spyder while I was in Germany, so here’s a bit of a catch up. After the break there’s a host of videos, a big gallery of photos and the official press kit.

The roof on the 981 Spyder is still made from lightweight fabric and it’s still manual. While the roof still a bit cumbersome to operate, it now remains attached to the car at all times, which is a big improvement on the 987 Spyder.

A quick run down of the key stats before you sink your teeth into the full details.

2015 Porsche Boxster Spyder

  • Engine: 3.8 litre flat six
  • Power: 276kW @ 6700rpm
  • Torque: 420Nm @ 6000rpm
  • Transmission: 6-speed manual
  • Wheels: 20×8.5″ (front), 20×10″ (rear)
  • Tyres: 235/35 ZR20 (front), 265/35 ZR20 (rear)
  • Weight: 1315kg
  • 0–100km/h: 4.5 seconds
  • 0–200km/h: 14.8 seconds
  • 1/4 mile: 12.7 seconds
  • Top speed: 290km/h
  • Roof: Manually-operated lightweight fabric
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Categories
Ferrari News Top Gear

Chris Evans to get richer at Goodwood Revival

Ferrari 275 GTS Spyder

The new host of Top Gear, Chris Evans, will reach new heights of knobbery after he auctions off a lazy 13 cars from his very impressive collection at the Goodwood Revival. Six Ferraris headline the list, joined by a trio of Jags, a Mercedes, a Fiat, a Daimler and a Chitty Chitty Bang Bang replica.

Included in the list is this gorgeous Ferrari 275 GTS Spyder (pictured). We’d quite like it, but despite our ongoing efforts to win OzLotto we don’t have the required £1.6 million to secure the deal.

The full list of Evans’ inventory is listed below, including the predicted sale prices:

  • Ferrari 275 GTS Spyder – £1.3–1.6 million
  • Ferrari 250 GT Lusso Berlinetta – £1.4–1.8 million
  • Ferrari 365GT S/4 ‘Daytona’ Spyder – £2.3–2.6 million
  • Ferrari 275GTB/6C ‘Alloy’ Berlinetta – £2.6–2.9 million
  • Ferrari 250GT SWB Berlinetta recreation – £500,000–600,000
  • Ferrari 328 GTS – £100,000–130,000
  • Jaguar XK150 FHC – £55,000–65,000
  • Jaguar XK120 ‘Alloy’ Roadster – £325,000–375,000
  • Jaguar XKSS Recreation – £325,000–375,000
  • Mercedes-Benz 280SL ‘Pagoda’ Convertible – £100,000–130,000
  • Fiat 126 Abarth Replica – £10,000–15,000
  • Daimler Dart SP250 Police Car – £50,000–60,000
  • Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Replica – £250,000–350,000

Bonhams will be handling the auction duties and you can see the full catalogue HERE.

[Source: Goodwood]

Categories
Land Rover Random wallpapers

Old skool Land Rover goodness

Land Rover Series I

Land Rover will be celebrating 67 years of production at this year’s Goodwood Revival (11–13 September). To do that they’ll be rocking the show with a display of Series I and Defender models.

Included in the mirth will be ‘The Defender 2,000,000’, which as you might have already guessed, is the 2 millionth Defender to be built. It will be sold at auction with the proceeds going to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Born Free Foundation.

As good as all that is, we just wanted to share with you these 2560px mega images with you because, well, the Landie Series I and Defender are just about the coolest off-road vehicles ever made.

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Categories
Mercedes-Benz Video

VIDEO: Bernd Schneider tames the Mountain

Bernd Schneider, Mercedes-AMG GT S, Mount Panorama

Bernd Schneider is a Bathurst 12 Hour winner and Mercedes AMG brand ambassador. Recently he was in Bathurst for an AMG drive day. Once the snow had melted, this is what happened when he was given the keys to an AMG GT S and sent out on an empty Mount Panorama circuit.

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Categories
Lamborghini Video

The marvellous Miura

Lamborghini Miura

Dennis Varni is a pretty interesting guy. Prominent in the US hot rod scene he also discovered European cars and has spent a lifetime building and collecting all things automotive. One of his prized pieces is this Lamborghini Miura.

Speaking to Petrolicious, Varni says of his Miura: “It’s highly collectable, it’s exciting, because it’s unusual, it’s small, it’s exotic—it’s still exotic today. And it was significant in its styling.”

We couldn’t agree more. Enjoy the video after the break.

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Categories
Nissan WEC

Nissan puts GT-R LM wacky racer on hold

2015 24 Hours of Le Mans

After its disastrous Le Mans campaign Nissan has officially put the competition return of its GT-R LM Nismo on hold. The WEC returns in just over two weeks for the 6 Hours of Nürburgring (30 August).

Shoichi Miyatani, President of NISMO, explains: “We are racers and we want to compete but we also want to be competitive.

“That is why we have chosen to continue our test programme and prepare the GT-R LM NISMO for the strong competition we face in the World Endurance Championship.

“When you innovate you don’t give up at the first hurdle. We are committed to overcoming this challenge.”

Nissan says it will continue testing “predominantly but not exclusively in the United States” and will provide updates on its developments and the return to competition in due course.

Nissan’s full statement can be read below.

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Categories
Audi

Entry-level Audi R8 now with turbo V6?

2015 Audi R8 V10

The free-revving and much loved 4.2 litre normally aspirated V8 is expected to be cut from the R8 range and replaced with a 2.9 litre twin-turbo V6. For now, the second-gen R8 has only been revealed with V10 power.

The move to a force-fed V6 for the entry-level model is being made partly for reduced emissions and possibly for tax reasons. For example, Chinese law applies heavy taxes to imported vehicles with engine capacities above 3.0 litres.

On the positive side, it’s predicted the 2.9 litre V6 could make around 335kW (450hp), up from the V8’s 308kW (414hp). And, we’ll always have the normally aspirated 5.2 litre V10 (pictured).

At the time of writing there is no date locked in for the Australian launch of the new R8, but you should expect to see it on local roads by mid-2016.

[Source: Car]

Categories
Ferrari

Ferrari Dino on the comeback trail

Ferrari Dino spied

The Dino 246 GT is one of the best looking sports coupés ever made. And now Ferrari is planning to revive the Dino name and this time it will be a fully fledged Ferrari model. The test mule above, using a heavily modified 488 GTB body, is believed to be one of the first sightings of the new Dino.

Like the original, the 21st century Dino will be powered by a V6 and peak power is predicted to be around 375kW (500hp). Expected to sit beneath the 488 the new Dino will weigh less and be more compact in size.

Sergio Marchionne, Fiat Chrysler boss, confirmed the Dino last month in an interview with UK newspaper the Telegraph: “It’s a when not an if. We know that it [Dino] is an underused resource, but that’s why we need to get it right.”

[Source: Car]

Categories
Audi Video Volkswagen

VIDEO: Audi RS3 v Volkswagen Golf R

Audi RS3 v Volkswagen Golf R

Should you buy the $80K Audi RS3 and get that lovely 270kW/465Nm in line five cylinder, or save your cash and buy its baby cousin, the $55K 206kW/380Nm Volkswagen Golf R? Dan Prosser from Evo is here to tell you what he thinks.

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Categories
Porsche

Facelifted Boxster ready to move up food chain

981.2 Porsche Boxster

Above you see a pretty good shot of the 981.2 Porsche Boxster. When it goes on sale in Australia mid-2016 it will move up the family food chain, demoting the hardtop Cayman to entry-level status.

Currently priced from $105,100 the 195kW/280Nm Boxster hits the market $1500 cheaper than the 202kW/290Nm Cayman ($106,600). The price gap increases to around $8000 for the more powerful S models.

The facelifted models will include the switch to downsized four-cylinder turbocharged engines, with the Cayman and Boxster to be fitted with a 2.0 litre and the S models to get a larger capacity 2.5 litre unit.

Once positioned above the Cayman, the convertible Boxster will also be the more powerful of the two, receiving modest power and torque increases compared with its fixed-roof sibling.

[Source: Motoring.com.au | Pic: Autocar | Thanks to John for the tip]

Categories
BMW

Johanna Quandt 1926–2015

BMW headquarters, Munich

Johanna Quandt, wife of Herbert Quandt and matriach of the family who owns 47% of BMW, passed away last week. She was 89.

She took a place on the BMW supervisory board in 1982, after her husband died in 1982 and held the role until her retirement in 1997.

She is survived by her two children, Stefan and Sussane. Johanna’s 16.7% shareholding will be passed down to her children. According to Car magazine that will leave Stefan with 26% of BMW’s shares, while Sussane will hold 21%.

The Quandt family helped protect BMW from a takeover bid from Daimler after WWII and have since played an integral role in the company’s fortunes. It’s worked pretty well for the Quandt’s too, who are one of the wealthiest families in Europe.

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