Monthly Archives: July 2013
The letter i has become more contagious than the common cold. Everywhere you look the 9th letter of the alphabet appears to have attached itself. Is this primarily Apple’s doing? Maybe, but BMW’s new range of cars, i-cars obviously, aim to revolutionise the premium sector with machines that are both environmentally friendly and desirable. The Germans kick things off with the i3.
We have heard lots about this little urban warrior over the past few years, but now we get the official word along with our first look at the finished product. Using vast amounts of carbon fibre reinforced plastics, keeping weight down was a key objective for engineers. It is the first mass produced car with a monocoque made out of the stuff don’t you know! Powered by a centrally mounted 22-kilowatt battery that drives the rear wheels, the BMW i3 can get from 0-60MPH in 7 seconds and go onto a top speed of 93MPH. Range is often a big turn-off for potential electric car buyers, but BMW say that this model has a “real world range” of 80-100 miles. The i3 can also be specified with a two cylinder generator that extends the cars range. A charge to 80% battery capacity will take just 20 minutes.
A BMW i3 in the UK starts at £25,680 with a range extender model setting you back £2,000 more. However, BMW are also offering a very reasonable three year lease scheme that asks you to place a deposit of £2,995 and then 36 monthly payments of £369.
They are back! Returning from their summer break; Tyler Matt and Steve are back in action bringing you the latest news from the world of cars. This episode we talk Aston Martin CC100, Brabus S-Class and also Citroen’s contender for the WTCC. A round-up from WRC comes as standard as well as all the gossip from the 2013 Hungarian Grand Prix.
Enjoy!
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Aston Martin really do know how to do celebrations properly. Where from other manufacturers we might get a special edition model variant, Aston for their 100th Birthday have given the world everything from concept cars to ultra powerful production models. The CC100 concept was to be a single car that the company were going to keep in their museum as a gift to themselves, but a series of events have created a much more interesting outcome for this beauty.
The concept car itself has been sold to a private collector for the princely sum of £500,000. This car though a functioning machine is not road legal and was only ever designed for display. Another customer has now commissioned Aston Martin to build another CC100, but this one is to be certified as road legal. To be delivered later this year, it is good to see that this fantastic V12 supercar will be released into the wild.
Honda’s NSX of old was a legend in its own lifetime. The car that famously benefited from the inputs of Ayrton Senna put big supercar players back in their place and won the respect of the motoring fraternity. Fantastic to drive, easy to maintain and wonderfully understated, the fans have been waiting long enough for a successor…
We have seen the new NSX in concept form, but at the next IndyCar race the supercar will make its first rolling debut. This electric blue prototype will take to the track and give us our first look at the car in maximum attack mode. Powered by a mid-mounted V6 and supplemented by electric motors, the car sends power to all four wheels. This will no doubt be an interesting insight.
There is no denying that the Bugatti Veyron is one of the greatest technological master pieces of the past decade. A 250MPH, 1000BHP+ supercar for the road that has the tranquility of a Rolls-Royce? Yes please! However, Bugatti are beginning to wind down production of the legendary Veyron and in the process will produce some very special variants.
To be based upon the record breaking Grand Sport Vitesse model, Bugatti will build 6 special edition models celebrating people who have greatly contributed to the brands history. The first of these honors Jean-Pierre Wimille, a Bugatti racing driver who won Le Man in both 1937 and 1939. Finished in blue carbon, the car replicates Wimille’s racing colours. Other additions to this special edition include a unique interior and badging. The 1184BHP W16 engine remains untouched. Only 3 of these cars will be produced.
Did you know that the economic climate is a little sour at the moment? Even for big established brands these are though times. Though companies such as Aston Martin aren’t struggling, keeping costs down is always a good way to ensure there is money in the bank. The British brand has today signed a technical partnership with Mercedes AMG which could bare some rather interesting fruit.
The partnership will allow Aston Martin to use Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division and their resources to build unique V8’s for up and coming models. Don’t worry about the death of Aston’s legendary V12, we expect that to remain a staple for flagship cars. The agreement also gives Daimler AG 5% of non-voting shares in Aston Martin. Despite their now German connection, all Aston Martin sports car will still be manufactured in the UK. The press release states “Working with Mercedes-AMG in this way while, of course, remaining independent and preserving the unique character and style of Aston Martin that has been the mainstay of the company throughout its 100-year history, points to a very bright future for the company as it starts its second century in business.”
What does this all mean in reality? Well, let us just say that the next V8 Vantage should be quite an interesting car.
Citroen have dominated the World Rally Championship over the past decade winning 62 rallies and 8 championships. From the Xsara to the C4 and ultimately the DS3, the French team have ruled with an iron fist in this rough and tumble world, but now they are seeking a new challenge. Citroen are to enter the World Touring Car Championship in 2014, but the question is what car are they going to field? The answer is the C-Elysee WTTC racer.
To be piloted by star driver, Sebastian Loeb, the C-Elysee may be a model us Europeans are not familiar with. This saloon is predominantly sold in developing markets such as Latin America, China and Russia. Citroen are clearly hoping the cars appearance in this global series will boost the C-Elysee’s popularity. One of the key reasons for choosing this saloon over the hatchback profile of the DS3 is aerodynamics. A three box design allows for better airflow and more appropriate placement of a rear wing. The car is powered by a 1.6 litre turbocharged engine, also found in the DS3 WRC, and this produces 380BHP. All of the power is sent to the front wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox.
We are currently nine races into the 2013 Formula 1 motor racing season, which means the season is more or less at the halfway point – which can be an ideal time both to examine how things stand and for motor racing betting fans who haven’t put down outright bets on the winner to decide which driver they think will emerge on top. A lot of people will already have made their bets of course, but for those who are still trying to decide, which drivers are still in the frame to end up as the 2013 Formula 1 champion?
Well there isn’t much dispute when it comes to the favourites as defending champion Sebastian Vettel currently leads the standings by thirty four points from Fernando Alonso, which has also seen him earmarked as odds-on to win by the bookmakers – who have him at 1/4. Alonso is rated second by them at 9/2, which cannot be described as long odds, but realistically 1/4 makes Vettel an intimidating prospect to bet against. When you factor in his record of success and current points lead it will be a brave punter who defies those odds at this stage of the season, which means the more adventurous motor racing betting fan may actually find online casino games offer more excitement at the moment.
At www.luckynuggetcasino.com/au/online-pokies/ you have plenty such games to choose between, but one of the most unusual ones is the slots game 5 Reel Drive, which uses freeway races as a theme. This might all seem a little baffling to a British or European motor racing fan, as the reel icons here are very American – from the car models to the cops and hamburgers that populate the reels – but the overall effect has a pleasingly retro 1950s feel. Furthermore this is one slots game that really aims to maximise your chances of scoring a payout, with a wild icon (the road sign) taking the place of missing ones on your reel and a scatter (the cops) which will trigger automatic wins if you get three or more of them, so it’s a game that does its utmost to ensure you win.
The Formula One calendar is an ever changing battlefield on which the worlds best drivers fight it out to become world champion. Yes, the locations are often glamorous and are posters for motorsport in that nation, but when the visors come down these guys are at war no matter the setting. 2014 sees many big changes to F1 including new turbocharged V6 engines for the cars, but a bigger change is that Formula One will Return to Austria.
The race last run on the A1 Ring was in 2003, one year after Michael Schumacher’s infamous win, and since then Red Bull have taken ownership. Now known as the Red Bull Ring, the company announced that they have struck a deal with Bernie Ecclestone to host a race in the 2014 season. The track is to be enhanced and facilities modernised before the event. Red Bull owner, Dietrich Mateschitz, has longed for the race to return ever since it left his home country. The race was often criticised for being “out in the sticks” and a little run down. That is to change with the revamp of the circuit and the local area.
One of the age old questions faced by supercar manufactures has been how to strike that key balance between on-road driving comfort and all-out racing prowess. The rapier versus the bludgeon. When it comes to McLaren it would be grossly unfair to label such wonders of modern engineering such as the 12C GT3 and 12C GT Can-Am editions as mere bludgeons, however, essentially they are designed to be no more than podium poaching, champagne swigging, track gobbling monsters.
The latest edition to the 12C family is about a little bit more than that. Named the 12C GT Sprint, it should be noted that McLaren’s newest offering is still a track-only racer. However, the British company say that it is intended to bridge the gap between the road legal 12C and its all-out racing GT3 and GT Can-Am Edition siblings. It retains much of the tried and tested formula debuted on the road going variant, including the scintillating 616bhp 3.8 litre twin turbo V8 engine and seven speed twin clutch gearbox all housed within the now trademark lightweight carbon fibre MonoCell chassis.
The GT Sprint’s track credentials are underlined by a whole host of race-focused tweaks. For example, it features three unique handling settings affecting damping and ride stiffness, a tuned and recalibrated suspension package tailored to the car’s 40mm lower ride height, track-focused brakes and an on-board air jacking system for slicker tyre changes. The front grill, bumper and bonnet with radiator exit ducts are all directly derived from the 12C GT3 racer and inside the cabin the GT Sprint comes complete with rollcage and integrated fire extinguisher system. That said, a balance has been struck with comfort in mind, as the GT Sprint retains a lightweight version of the 12C’s air-conditioning system.
Further bespoke toys are available, such as a polycarbonate windscreen and carbon fibre rear wing and front splitter, but the base price for the 12C GT Sprint will be somewhere in the region of £200,000. The very first batch will break cover later this year with 20 models up for grabs.
