We’re fairly certain is Lewis Hamilton is still over the moon at his first win for Mercedes-Benz, which he achieved at the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix. But we’re not so sure he’ll check into AUSmotive to relive his victory. So, it’s just as well you’re here to fill Lewis’ shoes.
For Porsche at the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed it was all about the iconic 911 and its 50th anniversary. Here’s another 50-odd images from the festivities showing the many cars Porsche had on show and in action.
Porsche was also the manufacturer charged with installing the annual sculpture in front of Goodwood House. It was a trio of 911 models being thrust into the air. Quite spectacular really.
See also: 2013 Goodwood FoS in pictures – gallery 1 & gallery 2
This is your second fix of images from the 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed. We start with McLaren and take you all the way to Vuhl, plus a few bonus pics at the end.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s final gallery which is a dedicated set of Porsche images.
It’s taken us a while to prepare, but here’s your first instalment in our 2013 Goodwood Festival of Speed image gallery. We’ve got more than 260 images in all which will be spread out over three galleries.
Presented in alphabetical order, this selection of photos starts with Alfa Romeo and ends with Lotus. And doesn’t that Alfa Romeo 4C just look sensational!
Stay tuned over the next two days for the remaining galleries to be posted.
Mazda has not long released info on the all-new Mazda3 sedan, which goes with last month’s debut of the hatchback model. So here’s a mega photo gallery for you featuring over 80 images of the sedan and hatch. The third-gen Mazda3 is sure to become another worldwide sales success for the independent manufacturer.
If the photos aren’t enough, then perhaps you might like to sink your teeth into the full press kit (13.5mb PDF), which tells you everything you need to know about the new Mazda3.
For example, the A-pillars have been pushed back by 100mm in a bid to improve forward visibility. Even the shape of the pillars was fine-tuned as a result of “eye point” studies carried out by Mazda.
The Mazda3 is a global product, so here’s the thoughts of three journos from three different continents who’ve driven pre-production models in the last week or so:
Autoblog (Steven Ewing): No one will confuse the steering for anything than an electronically assisted rack, but again, Mazda knows what it’s doing here. Every compliment we’ve ever given to the Mazda6 or CX-5 about its fantastic helm can be carried over here, with a rack that weights up nicely as you carry more speed and turn the wheels harder to the left or right, while still feeling effortless and light during slow-speed maneuvering.
Autocar (Matt Burt): There’s an overall sensation of lightness about the Mazda 3. That feeling is enhanced not only by the all-round slimming that comes with the SkyActiv tech, but also by the light touch to both the pedals and steering, and the slick precision of the short-throw six-speed manual gearbox.
Drive.com.au (Stephen Ottley): The suspension is well sorted. Although the ride felt soft at times – making it comfortable to drive around town – it still felt well balanced and taut in the switchback roads we encountered. We’ll reserve final judgement until we get it onto Australia’s less-than-perfect roads, but the initial impression is the new 3 is one of the most dynamically capable small cars.
Here we are with a bumper edition of F1 pics this week. There’s over 100 photos from the 2013 German Grand Prix for you below, there’s some really great images too. We hope you like them.
Here is the AUSmotive photo gallery from the Australian International Motor Show industry day. There are 128 photos in all and you can simply click on each thumbnail to access a 2000px super image.
Highlights include a couple of track specials in the form of the awesome Porsche 911 GT3 Cup and the rear-engined V6 Renault Megane Trophy. Others to look out for are the Toyota FT-86G concept, the Ford Focus RS, a trio of Lamborghini Gallardos and the highly desirable Audi R8 V10 Spyder, which looks great in all white.
Dedicated articles on the following cars can be access by clicking on the links below:
A big thank you to Daniel McKenna who joined the AUSmotive crew at AIMS and brought you many of the pictures you see here.
Good news for wannabe track day heroes, Mercedes-AMG GmbH are now taking orders for their SLS AMG GT3 racer. If you do want to kick sand in the faces of the Audi and Porsche kids you’ll need to cough up €334K plus taxes. That’s around half a million bucks in Aussie dollars. Deliveries are shceduled for February 2011.
As the model names suggests the SLS AMG GT3 is designed to meet regulations for FIA GT racing and we should see the Gullwing tearing up the track at the Nürburgring 24 hour race in 2011. Bravo!
Mercedes have been testing the car since June, with successful DTM star Bernd Schneider undertaking most of the test duties. The SLS AMG GT3 will make its racing debut in a VLN mini-enduro at the demanding Nürburgring Nordschleife in late September.
Peak power from the 6.3 litre V8 and final kerb weight will be confirmed by the FIA during the homolgation process in accordance with its “Balance of Performance” guidelines which are aimed at ensuring equality.
Uncle Norbert seems quite happy with his new toy, “This is an exciting and spectacular sports car for dedicated private teams and talented private drivers. AMG will work together with our tried-and-trusted sports and touring car partner HWA to put in place a motorsport customer department 
which will guarantee its motorsport customers hallmark Mercedes service.”
So far, it looks like demand will out strip supply in the early stages. So Norbert really is a happy chappy.
A big photo gallery (including more of that blinged up chrome SLS) and the full press release from Mercedes-Benz are all yours after the break.
Last week we learned Ford Australia will be importing 315 Focus RS models into Australia. They’re asking $60K plus on roads etc and Ford expect the RS to be here by October, or thereabouts. Word on the street is around half of the cars will be in the lairy Ultimate Green paint scheme, with the remainder split evenly between Performance Blue and Frozen White.
To help get Blue Oval fans in the mood a gallery of images featuring Ultimate Green and Performance Blue models can be seen after the break. If you want to see what the Frozen White looks like CLICK HERE.