AUSmotive.com – Page 7 – Hanging on for dear life

“The Mustang is a happy car”

Post author By Liam
Post date 30 July, 2015
1 Comment on “The Mustang is a happy car”

When Chris Harris posts up a new video a lot of eyeballs will watch it. This is mostly because he’s very good at what he does. First and foremost he knows what he’s doing behind a steering wheel. He keeps the hoons happy with a bit of sideways action. He keeps the tech guys happy with great details.

With that said and despite Harris’ best efforts the Mustang holds no appeal to me at all. In this clip Chris spends a lot of time criticising aspects of the car and then loves it. I kind of understand what he means when he says, “the Mustang is a happy car”. And I also get that a car can be greater than the sum of its parts.

But I just can’t help thinking the best a Mustang could hope to be is a quick and sordid affair. For me, it could never be a long term relationship.

So, yeah, Chris Harris has a lot of influence in the car land. He even got me to watch 10 minutes of Mustang GT. Unless I’m watching Bullitt by chance, that’ll do me for another few years.

Tags Chris Harris, Mustang

Ferrari

Ferrari 488 Spider revealed

Post author By Liam
Post date 29 July, 2015

Ferrari has given us this single image of its new 488 Spider. Based on the 488 GTB, the new Spider will make its public debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show (17â€“27 September).

The 488 Spider uses the same 3.9 litre twin turbo V8 as the GTB, good for 492kW/760Nm. Just like the old 458 Spider, the new model features a retractable hard top roof. You’d better hold on to your toupÃ©e because this thing can match the 488 GTB on the way to 100km/h in three seconds flat. And it needs just 8.7 seconds to hit 200km/h, only 0.4s slower then the GTB.

Ferrari’s press release and a brief video can be seen below and you can also see more at the Ferrari website. For now, there’s no official image showing the 488 Spider with its roof up. You get a bit of a sneak peek with the unpainted bodywork in the videos on the website, but that’s all at this stage.

UPDATE: Huzzah, six new pics have been added below!

Tags 488, 488 Spider, Supercar

BMW

BMW Australia heavily discounts M3/M4 LCI models

Post author By Liam
Post date 29 July, 2015
8 Comments on BMW Australia heavily discounts M3/M4 LCI models

BMW Australia is now taking orders for M3 and M4 LCI (life-cycle impulse) models and has taken the knife to pricing, while adding additional standard features as well.

When originally launched down under list pricing for the F80 M3 was $156,900 and the F82 M4 was priced from $166,900. Those prices have now been reduced to $139,900 and $149,900 respectively. Meanwhile, the M4 convertible has also been discounted to $161,900.

Additional standard equipment includes items such as head-up display, adaptive LED headlights, internet connectivity, tyre pressure monitor, full leather merino upholstery and more.

Shawn Ticehurst, BMW Group Australia Head of Product and Market Planning, is very happy with this news.

“More value, more technology and more refinement. That is what we are delivering with this update to the BMW M3 and BMW M4,” Ticehurst said.

“The growth of the BMW M range has been a fantastic success story for our brand, particularly in 2015. And over the first seven months of this year, we have already surpassed our total sales result for 2014.”

We wonder how happy those buyers will be who paid an extra 15-large for lesser equipped M3s and M4s?

Funnily enough, the M3 and M4 are now priced just below the Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 range.

The facelifted models will be on sale locally from October. There’s more detail below.

Tags F80 M3, F82 M4, M3, M4

Volkswagen

Golf R400 production to be limited, due in 2017

Post author By Liam
Post date 29 July, 2015

Volkswagen Golf R400

Thanks to a story emerging from France we can expect the Golf R400/R420 to be based on the facelifted Golf VII. This means we could be waiting until 2017 to see Volkswagen’s hottest ever hot hatch.

It’s also suggested the R400 will be built in strictly limited numbers, although we’re not sure how many or how few there could be. Unsurprisingly pricing rumours are saying the R400 will be more expensive than the Audi RS3, which retails for around â‚¬53,000 in Germany. It’s going to be expensive, but very fast!

And we’re still no closer to solving the R400 v R420 riddle as to the car’s final peak power output. Or, for that matter, whether the car will boast a crazy 2.0 litre four-cylinder turbo or the growing talk of a mad as a hatter 2.5 litre five-pot.

[Source: L’Automobile Sportive via World Car Fans | Pic: BTG]

Tags Golf VII, hot hatch, R400

Porsche Video

VIDEO: I love the sound of GT3 RS in the morning

Post author By Liam
Post date 29 July, 2015

Here’s two videos from Evo on the Porsche 911 GT3 RS. The first is all about the emotion, the sound and the speed. The second is Henry Catchpole’s first impressions on the road. You’re going to have a smile on your face after watching these two.

And you’ll probably find yourself buying a lotto ticket or two as well.

[Thanks to Richard for the tip]

Tags 911 GT3 RS, 991 911, Evo magazine, Supercar

Citroen Video

Come as you are

Jeff Suhy one of the guys who helped bring the 1990s grunge phenomenon Nirvana into your world. He’s now pottering about in a delightful CitroÃ«n DS. In a small way, with this Petrolicious video, maybe Suhy is once again helping to spread the word of an equally influential icon.

The video’s YouTube description provides a great intro:

Whether it was the hydraulic suspension, the safety features (such as an engine that, on front impact, was designed to slide under the car instead of into the driver’s solar plexus), or the self-leveling headlights that turn with the front wheels, the Citroen DS was remarkably ahead of its time. Indeed, the car was a a true product of the Space Age, when auto manufacturers found themselves awash in technologies that they were itching to use in the wake of World War II. Citroen was ultimately rewarded handsomely for its innovative efforts, selling more than one million DSs over the model’s twenty-year-lifespan.

Tags Citroen DS, DS, Petrolicious

Motorsports News

Steve McQueen: The man and Le Mans

Post author By Liam
Post date 27 July, 2015
2 Comments on Steve McQueen: The man and Le Mans

Steve McQueen, racer and actor, was the king of cool and he’s the latest motorsport icon to be featured on the silver screen. Check out the trailer to Steve McQueen: The man and Le Mans after the break.

Steve McQueen: The man and Le Mans is the story of obsession, betrayal and ultimate vindication. It is the story of how one of the most volatile, charismatic stars of his generation, who seemingly lost so much he held dear in the pursuit of his dream, nevertheless followed it to the end.

Tags Le Mans, Steve McQueen

Ferrari Video

480 cylinders, 20.832km

Post author By Liam
Post date 24 July, 2015

Ferrari assembled 40 owners of the immensely desirable F12 berlinetta and took them to the NÃ¼rburgring Nordschleife for a private track day. It was the largest gathering of F12s in Germany.

These photos and brief video can’t really begin tell you how much fun that would have been. They can’t put you in the moment.

They can’t replicate the experience of first nervously exiting the TF gates and shooting towards the famous Bilstein bridge at Antoniusbuche. It can’t make you feel your heart flutter as you decide when to lift the accelerator at Quiddlebacher Hohe so you can make it around Flugplatz. Or the thrill and sensory delight of firing down FÃ¼chsrohre.

But they’re the best we’ve got. And hopefully those words helped more than the rather modest video from Ferrari. They took 40 F12s to the Ring and that’s all they could come up with?!

Tags F12 berlinetta, Nurburgring

Safety Issues

It can wait

Post author By Liam
Post date 24 July, 2015

US telecommunications provider has been running the “It can wait” campaign for five years. When the campaign first began it focused on the lives of real people affected by accidents caused while texting and driving.

To mark the campaign’s fifth anniversary AT&T has launched this long-form ad that is expertly filmed and reinforces the original message.

[Via: Creativity Online | Thanks to Stu for the tip]

Aston Martin Jaguar Video

A quick look at James Bond’s new DB10

Post author By Liam
Post date 23 July, 2015
2 Comments on A quick look at James Bond’s new DB10

The next James Bond movie, Spectre, is due for Australian release on 12 November. Here’s a quick look at the latest trailer, which also includes a few appearances from Bond’s new car, the Aston Marton DB10.

Also included is a behind the scenes look at the DB10 and its nemesis the stillborn Jaguar C-X75.

Tags CX75, DB10, James Bond

McLaren

“It just feels like a slightly baby P1”

Post author By Liam
Post date 22 July, 2015

This is the first video Chris Harris has given us in the new McLaren 675LT. In case you’ve forgotten the 675LT is the go fast(er) version of the 650S. It weighs 100kg less and has an extra 25 horsepower.

Harris hopes to get his backside back into a 675LT at a later date so that he can give us some more extensive thoughts other than “It’s fast!”

Tags 675LT, Chris Harris, Supercar

Accessories & Tech Jeep Video

VIDEO: They hacked a Jeep

Back in 2013 these two guys hacked a Toyota Prius while they were riding in the back seat. Now they’re back, and this time they’ve remotely hacked a Jeep Cherokee. They did this by attacking the car’s Uconnect system, which provides internet access.

They were able to control minor things such as radio volume and HVAC controls. They could play with the Jeep’s windscreen wipers and, worryingly, they could control the steering, the brakes and cut all engine power.

Watch the clip below and see Miller and Valasek play with their 1:1 remote control toy. All well and good unless you happen to be Andy Greenberg and thinking you’re actually in control of the car while you’re out on public roads.

“There are hundreds of thousands of cars that are vulnerable on the road right now,” Charlie Miller claims.

For their part Fiat Chrysler say they have released a free security patch that resolves any vulnerability but somewhat dismissively added: “Similar to a smartphone or tablet, vehicle software can require updates for improved security protection to reduce the potential risk of unauthorised and unlawful access to vehicle systems.”

[Source: Wired via ABC]

UPDATE: FCA Australia has just released a statement confirming the release of a new security patch. Furthermore, because Uconnect is not available outside the US, no locally sold cars are affected by this cybersecurity issue.

Tags Cherokee, computer hackers