We love four-door convertibles, reciprocating saws and watching other people make bad decisions, so the video seen here is a bit like our perfect YouTube cocktail. In it, the owner of a slammed decides he’s had enough of living under the oppressive shadow of his sedan’s roof. While at StanceWars Belgium 2012, he decides to fire up a generator, plug in his trusty sawzall and go to town. Not surprisingly, the sheetmetal on the roof gives up quickly, and the whole extraction takes less than eight minutes from start to finish.
Hilariously enough, it starts raining just as the owner makes the final cut. How’s that for a sign from the universe? to check out the carnage… just be prepared for the painful sound of shredded metal.
While the Toyota TS030 Hybrid won’t be participating in this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium due to a , that didn’t stop the automaker from bringing the new endurance racer as a preview for what’s to come for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The TS030 even made time for a quick photoshoot at the infamous Masta Kink alongside the new Audi R18 e-tron Quattro, which happens to be making its race debut this weekend.
While both the Audi and Toyota employ hybrid powertrains, a first for endurance prototypes, each go about it in very different ways. The TS030 makes use of a naturally aspirated 3.4-liter V8 while the R18 e-tron Quattro uses a turbocharged diesel V6. Audi’s hybrid system powers the front wheels, hence the Quattro name, while Toyota has yet to announce whether it’s system will drive the front or rear wheels.
The closed cockpit racers make for quite an attractive couple, and we hope it’s a pairing that will form a lasting rivalry in the coming years.
While the Toyota TS030 Hybrid won’t be participating in this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium due to a , that didn’t stop the automaker from bringing the new endurance racer as a preview for what’s to come for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The TS030 even made time for a quick photoshoot at the infamous Masta Kink alongside the new Audi R18 e-tron Quattro, which happens to be making its race debut this weekend.
While both the Audi and Toyota employ hybrid powertrains, a first for endurance prototypes, each go about it in very different ways. The TS030 makes use of a naturally aspirated 3.4-liter V8 while the R18 e-tron Quattro uses a turbocharged diesel V6. Audi’s hybrid system powers the front wheels, hence the Quattro name, while Toyota has yet to announce whether it’s system will drive the front or rear wheels.
The closed cockpit racers make for quite an attractive couple, and we hope it’s a pairing that will form a lasting rivalry in the coming years.
A European group called wanted to showcase the dangers of texting while driving, and got ad agency Publicis to help them out. The result: a two-minute spot that put trainee drivers in Belgium with an instructor who said part of their driving test would be to avoid an obstacle while texting a random sentence that he’d dictate.
Since nothing beyond a cone or two was hurt in the making of this video, we’ll admit we laughed. That said, the message is clear.
to see it for yourself. And FYI, a driver training instructor in Belgium doesn’t need to wear a seat belt on a closed course… though maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
Arguably the biggest news of the for enthusiasts is the debut of the new SRT Viper. But as the high-performance arm of has pointed out, the street-legal Viper “isn’t the only high-performance snake making a triumphant return” here at Javitz.
No, Auburn Hills hasn’t missed a beat in releasing the new super-musclecar’s racing counterpart, the SRT Viper GTS-R, alongside the production version. Picking up where previous competition-spec Vipers left off – including three successive GTS class one-two victories at Le Mans, a landmark win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona and numerous international GT championships – the new Viper GTS-R is gearing up to take on the American Le Mans Series already this year.
Two of these bad boys will be fielded in ALMS, driven by Indy race winner Ryan Hunter-Reay, German driver and Rolex 24 veteran Dominik Farnbacher, Le Mans vet Marc Goossens of Belgium and Viper racer Kuno Wittmer of the great racing town of Montreal. But before these guys get to turn a wheel in anger, their new ride is on show here in New York, and we’ve got the gallery of high-resolution photos for your viewing pleasure. ( as well for more info in the press release.)
As a Formula One entity, Renault has gone from engine supplier to full manufacturer (having acquired the Benetton team back in 2000) and back to engine supplier (having all but completely divested the team now under the banner). The French automaker’s competition engine works also powers Caterham and Williams this season, but most importantly, the Red Bull Racing team that is returning once again as World Champions. So whereas previous Renaultsport special edition hot hatches celebrated the company’s own achievements, the latest celebrates Red Bull’s.
Named the Red Bull RB7 edition after last year’s car, the special Clio RS packs a 203-horsepower four mounted to the Cup chassis that would otherwise be an option. The body is painted matte black with yellow highlights, a tone-on-tone checkerboard roof, the requisite special badging and 18-inch wheels done up in a black finish and shod with the same Bridgestone rubber that kept the glued to the Nürburgring for its lap record.
Inside it’s got yellow Recaro buckets and the RS Monitor performance telematics system. The special edition will only be available, however, in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Spain. Details to be found in the press release after the jump with high-res images in the gallery above.
The is a historic rally held in the Ardennes Forest around Spa, Belgium, and it commemorates the actual Boucle de Spa rally races held for 37 years from 1953 to 1990. The drill is simple: lots of drivers plotting vintage machinery at various levels of anger through the trees.
Hundreds of cars run, some like the 308 you’d never think to choose for rallying, while others like the various Lancia, Ford and ducktail racers are just good to see on the road again. There’s over 11 minutes of high-def footage , and mercifully, the only soundtrack are the cries of exhausts that aren’t anywhere near street legal. Enjoy.
Few vehicles have received the kind of gradual, bit by bit roll-out that – intentionally or otherwise – the new Volvo V40 has. The Swedish premium hatchback has been the subject of teasers, spy shots and leaks aplenty – including two video clips and a batch of sixteen images that just yesterday – but they’ve all lead up to this, its full reveal. (Well, this and its official unveiling next week.)
Scandinavia’s answer to the and – and a potential replacement not only for the but also the and – the new V40 is shaping up as quite a looker, but now we’ve got the details to go with it. For starters, the V40 will be available with the cleanest diesel Volvo’s ever offered, anchored at the other end of the spectrum by a 254-horsepower turbo five good for a 6.7-second sprint to 62 mph. Not too shabby, and the entire range – whether mated to manual gearbox or automatic – is equipped with start-stop engine management and regenerative braking, ensuring that, whichever powertrain is selected, it’s running at optimal efficiency.
Being a , the V40 also incorporates the latest in safety features, including not only low-speed collision avoidance and pedestrian detection with full auto brake but the world’s first pedestrian airbag. Although Volvo hasn’t revealed whether its new entry-level model will make the transatlantic voyage to these shores, it is projecting that 85 percent of the 90,000 units it aims to sell annually will be delivered in Europe from its assembly plant in Ghent, Belgium – which doesn’t bode well for American availability.
Follow the jump for the full press release, scope out the fresh batch of eighteen images in the gallery above, see our for the video clips and watch this space for our live coverage starting this time next week from the floor of the .
Belgium has just launched a new campaign for the that allows participants to earn discounts for the vehicle based on their location. Smartphone users download the RAV4 Adventure Discount App, travel to a so-called adventurous location within Belgium and sign in with the application. The app then calculates a discount based on just how daring you are. While far-flung wilderness locations are an obvious choice for big discounts, Toyota has hinted there are plenty of adventurous spots in city locales as well.
The campaign seems pretty brilliant to us, though we have to wonder how many RAV4 buyers will be willing to cover hill and dale in pursuit of a few extra hundred euros off of their bottom line. So far, it appears the app and the discounts are only good in Belgium, though it wouldn’t surprise us if Toyota used a similar marketing ploy in other markets. to check out an ad for the app after the jump, complete with a mustachioed woodsman.
Do We Really Want Audi To Think This Small In America? Perhaps…
It is perhaps with all the speed of a mighty iceberg, but increasingly, more and more North American buyers appear willing to think smaller when pondering their next auto purchase. The other shoe, which still has largely yet to drop, is for automakers to convince consumers of the merits of a luxury subcompact, paying a price premium for a longer list of creature comforts, options and badge appeal. However small, this trend in the States is best represented by and its range, followed (with a few stumbles out of the gate) by the .
In Europe, however, there is already a well-defined tradition of premium minicars on which buyers happily lavish extra dollars, and there is no model quite so indulgent for the masses as the Audi A1. Through its first complete year of sales in 2011, the Bavarians built at their factory in Brussels, Belgium – and sold – nearly 120,000 A1 three-doors.
Now we’ve finally gotten the chance to drive an Audi A1 Sportback with five doors, a model first shown publicly at last October’s . The five-door model carries on with the basic A1 recipe of offering big things in small packages, and rather unusually, we think the model with more doors might actually look better this time. That may not seem altogether based on reason at first glance, since both the three- and five-door A1 designs have a length of 155.7 inches and a wheelbase of 97.2 inches. (Only the Fiat 500, , , and various two-door Mini models take up less parking space.)
If you live in the city, you know that the abundance of street lights are so bright that it’s difficult to see stars in the sky even on the clearest of nights. The situation out in the country couldn’t be any more different. The stars are gorgeous, but they’re not nearly bright enough to illuminate rural roads.
The good people of Belgium have a somewhat interesting festive solution to that problem. On a dark, curvy road in a rural area, an organization called Parents of Road Victims put over 5,000 Christmas lights to good use, and the result certainly appears to be very effective. to find out what recycled Christmas lights can mean for motorcycle safety.
DTM is one of Germany’s best-kept secrets. The series features (ostensibly) production-based touring cars piloted by a mix of up-and-coming talents and retired F1 drivers around some of Europe’s finest racing circuits. But the series won’t be a secret for long as a number of developments aim to up its profile.
First of all, with the 2011 season now complete, the German touring car championship is about to switch to a new formula that will see a new generation of racing coupes replace the older sedans. The new crop just made their track debut this weekend at Hockenheim for the DTM season finale, and we’ve put together a little gallery of high-res images for you to check out.
The 2012 field is also growing thanks to the arrival of , which is joining the series as of next season to take on and which have been dueling it out mono-e-mono for the past few seasons. Having only shown the new until now, BMW has finally showcased its new racer in full regalia, packing the marque’s signature striped white livery.
BMW is eager to leverage its new DTM program beyond Germany’s borders. This year’s calendar included races in Austria, Holland, England and Spain, in addition to those within Germany, and has in recent years raced in such locations as Italy, France, Belgium, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Turkey and even China. However, a closing gap in regulations between DTM and Japan’s Super GT series could soon see the two competing on common fields.
More intriguing, however, is a development BMW is keen to pursue that would see DTM come to the United States. Touring car racing – as distinct from stock cars – is not very popular in America, and the organizers of the German series have been working at filling that gap by pairing an American version of the series as support races for series like NASCAR, Grand-Am or IndyCar. Sources indicate the move could happen as soon as 2013 – in other words, the racing season after next. for press releases from Audi and BMW on the track debuts of their new racers.
is mulling a U.S. factory to offset some of its exposure to fluctuations in the dollar. One thing the automaker definitely will be doing is expanding its presence in the U.S., and a manufacturing facility would certainly make that way easier.
A U.S. Volvo plant would join factories in Sweden, Belgium and two plants in China. Volvo has been making a push on the Chinese market after sold the Swedish company to Geely last year.
This manufacturing push is part of the company’s initiative to double sales to 800,000 cars per year worldwide. The company also intends to invest $11 billion over the next five years, with the crosshairs squarely on the Chinese market.
embraced the social media movement early on, and it proved a successful tactic ahead of the launch of its then all-new . The automaker is once again taking to Facebook and Twitter, this time to keep hatchback fans in the loop of the production progress of the upcoming . Key folks involved in the development of the hot hatch are putting together video updates, which will then be offered up exclusively to the vehicles Facebook fans and Twitter followers.
Over 300,000 Facebook users have signed on to get updates on the car so far.
Ford’s director of global performance vehicles and motorsport business development, behind the wheel of a Focus ST as it takes on various driving conditions at the automaker’s Lommel test facility in Belgium. to see Capito explain his testing, and how the Lommel facility mimics roads from around the world. Also, head over to if you want to become a fan of the upcoming ST.
Everyone deserves a little break once in a while. But once that vacation is over, it’s time to get back to work.
For the Formula One circus, that break took the better part of a month, giving the drivers and their teams some much-needed R&R from the Hungarian Grand Prix that served as the eleventh of nineteen rounds the last weekend in July until this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix.
Now that they’re back in business, it was back to the thrilling season that’s unfolded so far and into the home stretch for the last two rounds in Europe before the show hits the road to races overseas. Follow the jump to find out how the race at Belgium’s indispensable Spa-Francorchamps circuit went down.
Belgian Grand Prix was a hard day at the Spa [spoilers]
Automobiles are getting smarter, and it’s possible that cars may be able to handle most of the driving duties in the not-too-distant future. Are motorists ready to enter that reality? The U.S. Department of Transportation is curious to find out, and tests are about to get underway to find out how much faith motorists can comfortably put in the hands of an autonomous vehicle.
Researchers for the DOT are heading out to the racetrack – not to post fast lap times, but to gauge driver and passenger reactions to safety equipment designed to intervene when necessary. The custom vehicles contain equipment that allows them to “talk” to each other. This relay of data lets one car know what the other is doing. If one car sees that it’s on a collision course with another, it can initiate a panic stop and avoid an accident. The DOT wants to find out how motorists react in situations where their cars jump in to save the day.
Testing will take place in cities around the country. The results of this research will be shared with , , , , , and . While testing in the States gets moving, automakers are conducting further testing elsewhere in the world. Automated cars are set to take over the streets of Frankfurt, while other driverless vehicles tackle racetracks in Belgium.
Our own Damon Lavrinc recently got a taste of the automated action when .
Are you ready for a world of automated vehicles? Sound off in Comments.
The moment of truth is upon McLaren this weekend. After rolling out its MP4-12C road car to positive reviews, the racing team turned automaker is turning itself back into a racing team with the new McLaren GT division and its MP4-12C GT3 – the first GT racer from the Woking, UK outfit since the celebrated F1 GTR.
After launching the new GT3, McLaren went back to the drawing board and came out with a series of updates based on their preliminary testing, and along the way, took 20 orders from a variety of independent racing teams for next year. That’s all well and good, but what really matters is whether or not the car can perform. And we’re about to find out this weekend when a trio of MP4-12C GT3s debut at the 24 Hours of Spa at the famous race track in Belgium.
Truth be told, this isn’t the first time the MP4-12C GT3 – try saving that three times fast – has driven at Spa, having joined the British GT Championship there earlier this month. The solitary entry placed 12th in the first race and a solid 4th in the second, but those results apparently didn’t count towards anything, as it was an exposition entry.
This time, however, McLaren GT will be back with three cars and ten drivers out to prove what the new car can do. One car will feature McLaren’s own factory test driver Chris Goodwin, another with Andrew Kirkaldy, head of the CRS racing team that formed the outfit together with McLaren, and a third with VonRyan Racing, one of the factory’s first customers. We’ll be keeping an eye out to see how they do. Follow the jump for the full press blast and scope out the high-res image gallery for a closer look at the machinery.
As we continue to pull the daily sheets from our Word of the Day calendar and accountants are busy counting the days of their fiscal calendars, the pencil pushers at and can rest easy for a moment because they just finished compiling the numbers for the second quarter.
Ford earned a net income of $2.4 billion in Q2, which is actually $201 million less than it had raked in by this time last year. The net income was affected by a reduction in staff, various dealership actions, pension settlements in Belgium and the move to . The automaker enters the rest of the year with $32.2 billion in liquid assets, which will come in handy as Ford looks to expand its market share around the globe.
Chrysler as gone in a different direction than Ford for the second quarter of 2011. Compared to Q2 last year, the automaker is up 30 percent with net income of $13.7 billion. Chrysler’s numbers should continue to grow as it releases new or redesigned models, and has owed to the United States and Canadian governments.
Ready to take a deeper dive into the quarterly earnings for both automakers? Click past the jump for the full financial reports.
TME Zaventem Proving Ground – Click above for high-res images
When we went by the European headquarters of in Zaventem, Belgium, to the then still under development, the Japanese automaker was in the middle of a vast expansion plan. A year later and after two years of construction, Toyota Motor Europe (TME) has completed its new test facility, and released details of all that it encompasses.
The new Zaventem Proving Ground includes a 0.8-mile banked oval, a 300-foot skidpad plus test roads to evaluate and fine-tune everything from ride comfort to brake performance.
All in all, the proving ground alone takes up 700,000 square and cost some $67 million to construct. The facility will allow Toyota to conduct much of its own R&D on-site at Zaventem, instead of booking time at the massive test track owned by in Lommel or a similar complex.
for the full press release and scope out the aerial shots of the new facility in the high-res image gallery.
Kia Belgium CEO Benoit Morrene takes a lie detector test – Click above to watch video
This may come as a shock, but most car buyers figure dealers and, by extension, manufacturers are up to something fishy when it comes to warranties. Belgium wanted to prove that there were no catches, strings or loopholes to the automaker’s transferrable seven-year bumper-to-bumper warranty (remember, this isn’t the same as Kia’s 10-year/100,000-mile warranty here in the U.S.), so they handed CEO Benoit Morrene over to Legal Connections – a company that specializes in polygraphs. Once Morrene was strapped to a lie detector, he was asked a number of questions on the details surrounding his company’s warranty. Not surprisingly, Morrene told the truth.
But that wasn’t enough for skeptics, so Kia Belgium repeated the exercise during a live webcast, displaying the real-time results of the polygraph at the same time. The public even got a shot at asking the executive their own questions about Kia vehicles and the warranty. Once again, Morrene told the truth. The whole stunt makes for some pretty compelling viewing. to check out the video for yourself.
