The Auto Blog .ru

Audi has claimed its first overall victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race with the R8 LMS Ultra finishing in both first and second place. The win comes after a slew of endurance race wins for Audi in the last 12 months including the Bathurst 12 Hour and the 24 hour races at Spa and Zolder.

The winning Phoenix Racing R8 LMS Ultra, driven by a German quartet of Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock, managed to complete 155 laps of the Green Hell free of technical issues or crashes, and finished over three and a half minutes ahead of the second place R8 run by Abt. A Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 claimed the final place on the podium.

“We are absolutely delighted about this long desired victory,” said Dieter Gass, Head of Racing Commitments at Audi Sport, after the race. “For three years the Audi R8 LMS was always the best GT3 car at the Nürburgring. Now we have taken overall victory in the fight with seven other brands.”

Scroll down to see the official announcement from Audi or view photos from the race in the high-res gallery above.

Continue reading Audi R8 LMS Ultra claims overall victory at Nürburgring 24 Hours

Audi R8 LMS Ultra claims overall victory at Nürburgring 24 Hours

The Fiat 500 in its various guises positively romps on its popularity, making special-edition hay with terrific frequency. This latest outing in the form of the Abarth 695 Maserati Edition follows a familiar trail, coming three years after the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari that debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.

That hatch had a tuned 1.4-liter turbo four putting out more than 180 horsepower, a variable exhaust system and paddle-shifting automated manual under its Ferrari 430 Scuderia-mimicking paint scheme. But aside from the paint, this one gets much the same treatment: 180-hp output, Abarth Competizione gearbox and dual mode exhaust.

It goes the GranTurismo route instead of hard-core sports car, though, using the convertible Abarth as a base and adding Pontevecchio Bordeaux paint with a gray top, sand-beige leather and black interior, Jaeger instrumentation, and 17-inch Maserati-style Neptune wheels and hexagonal tailpipes. Still, it gets even bigger Brembo brakes than the Ferrari version.

Just 499 will be made for “mainly” European markets, naturally, so the closest we’ll get to it is the high-res gallery above the the press release below.

Continue reading Abarth 695 Maserati Edition bows at Mille Miglia

Abarth 695 Maserati Edition bows at Mille Miglia

A lot of things go down when a high-profile company is in high-profile trouble – unlikely entities can arrive with unexpected sums of money and take the company in unpredicatble directions. Such was the case with DeLorean Motor Car – which is still in business in Texas – when the business, headquartered in Detroit and building cars in Ireland, was taken over by the Russian emigrant who founded discount retail stores Big Lots and Odd Lots.

Hemmings Blog has the tale of how Sol Shenk rescued a bankrupt DMC from the banks in 1982 after John Z. DeLorean’s arrest. Shenk already had experience in the specialty car business having bought the bankrupt hulk of Malcolm Bricklin’s car company and taken over the parts distribution business. Shenk set DMC and its inventory up in a Columbus, Ohio building on Dublin Avenue that had housed turn-of-the-century carmakers, hoping to make the most of a brand that still had clout.

Obviously, that didn’t happen. From his corn-belt HQ, Shenk was able to have more cars built in Ireland and sell most of them and the inventory, as well as offering a gold-plated DMC-12 for a Big Lots giveaway. But he couldn’t run the company and sell the cars at a profit, which led to him selling what remained and all the rights to the owners of the new Texas DeLorean Motor Company.

Said the VP of that company of the Columbus address, “When the BlueJackets [hockey team -ed.] came to Columbus, the Dublin Avenue address became much more expensive, and we moved all the inventory to a new facility in our hometown just outside Houston.” Head over to Hemmings to read the whole story.

The story of when DeLorean moved to Columbus, OH

Our own lensman Drew Phillips caught sight of this at Cars & Coffee in Irvine, California: the 2013 Hennessey Venom GT Spyder. This is the first time it’s been seen on our shores. The targa version of the Venom GT packs the same 1,200 horsepower as the coupe – which also debuted at C&C, one year ago – but adds $150,000 to the price.That means you’ll need $1.1 million for that wind-in-your-very-rich-hair feeling.

We still don’t have exact specs on the car beyond a very limited build and its “enhanced driving sensations,” but the high-res gallery of photos above should fill in enough blanks for now.

Hennessey Venom GT Spyder pops in at Cars & Coffee

According to the timing sheets for the Nürburgring 24-Hour race, the now-hybridized P4/5 Competizione set a lap time of 6:51 during qualifying. That would make it faster than the “Production-Derived Sports Car” record of 6:58.16 set by the Ferrari 599XX in 2010, and the fastest Ferrari-powered vehicle to ever run the ‘Ring.

In case you don’t remember, the 700-horsepower 599XX was also a purpose-built, track-only racer driven by a test driver. On the other hand, we don’t have specs on the P4/5 Competizione to compare, but that doesn’t make the achievement itself any less impressive. The only car ahead of the P4/5 Competizione in the not-street-legal category is the Pagani Zonda R, which rocked a 6:47.50. Glickenhaus himself told Jalopnik he thought the feat was “pretty cool” and that Ferrari was welcome to challenge it.

James Glickenhaus claims fastest lap by a Ferrari ever on the ‘Ring

The curtain is rolling back on Cars Land, which opens at Disney’s California Adventure next month. Mater himself makes appearances in a network commercial and the new microsite, and on the latter he’ll be happy to take you on a tour of some of the attractions at the live-action Radiator Springs, including a Racer’s test drive and Luigi’s Flying Tires.

You can watch the commercial below and click here to check out the microsite.

Continue reading Disney launches Cars Land microsite ahead of June 15 opening [w/video]

Disney launches Cars Land microsite ahead of June 15 opening [w/video]

Last year, the Monterey Motorsports Reunion announced that the Shelby Cobra would be the featured marque for 2012 in honor of the company’s 50th anniversary. It’s shaping up to be quite the celebration. Earlier this month it was announced that no fewer than 45 competition Cobras will be racing on the track come August, with owners from across the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Canada in attendance. In fact, demand to participate was so high that several entrants actually had to be turned away.

Shelby Cobras won’t just be on the track, though. The event expects at least 200 Cobras, real and replica, to gather in the infield car corral. Shelby and Ford Motor Company will also bring a collection of historic Cobras to display in the paddock. In other words, if you’re a Shelby Cobra fan then start making plans to attend right away.

You can read the official announcement from the Monterey Motorsports Reunion below.

Continue reading Record number of Shelby Cobras to take part in Monterey Motorsports Reunion

Record number of Shelby Cobras to take part in Monterey Motorsports Reunion

It takes a fast and agile car to keep pace with MotoGP racing bikes. Fortunately the BMW M division is up to the task, providing safety cars (or what we’d call pace cars on this side of the Atlantic) to the race organizers of the top-level motorcycle racing series.

The most recent vehicles to perform the duties have been the 1 Series M Coupe and the X6 M crossover, but now BMW is introducing a the new M6 coupe to the mix. It’ll debut in safety car guise as pictured above at the Nürburgring this weekend.

While it’s unclear whether any modifications have been made to the 552-horsepower twin-turbo V8, the M6 MotoGP safety car has been upgraded with new spoilers front and rear, special lighting equipment and BMW’s traditional blue, blue and red striping on a white body. And if we were betting men, we’d put our money on some upgrades to the brakes, suspension and tires, too.

BMW rolls out new M6 safety car for MotoGP

If you need to haul some stuff in a big hurry, you could do a lot worse than the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate wagon. It offers all the power of its coupe and sedan siblings, only with the added cargo space that so many European customers prefer over the betrunked versions. But if the stock 457 horsepower isn’t enough, the good folks over at Edo Competition are glad to help out with an upgrade of their own.

That upgrade, it turns out, is anything but negligible, pumping output up by nearly 150 horsepower to a stonking 600. Torque has also been boosted from 442 lb-ft stock to 501, where that extra single measure of twist makes all the difference.

The boost comes courtesy of new exhaust, headers, cats and filters, supplemented by 19-inch modular alloys riding on suitably low-profile Michelin rubber, with a slew of interior enhancements to make the Edo C63 feel all the more special.

The exterior, however, remains decidedly low-key – all the better for messing with the head of Porsche drivers on the Autobahn while hauling the whole family and all their gear. Check it out in the press release below and the high-res image gallery above.

Continue reading Edo Competition squeezes 600 HP into Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate

Edo Competition squeezes 600 HP into Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate

If you’ve got the cash to place on the hood (or nose cone, as it were), most any Formula One team will sell you one of their old race cars. After all, they’re not using them anymore, and it’s a good way to raise funds to develop next year’s car. But not McLaren. The team from Woking – one of the most successful in the series – doesn’t sell its old cars, though with 176 grand prix victories, twelve drivers’ championships and eight constructors’ titles, you can bet they’d fetch a pretty penny. Instead, it keeps them all warehoused at a facility, location undisclosed, simply called Unit 2.

The warehouse contains some 75 grand prix cars, an untold number of the team’s sports cars from other racing series (like Le Mans, Can-Am and Indy), and various road cars it’s produced over the years, like the legendary McLaren F1, the SLR it built for Mercedes-Benz, and the new MP4-12C. But while none of these cars are for sale, Unit 2 will soon be depleted of much of its stock.

Their destinations? The 35 global dealerships that McLaren Automotive has opened or will open by year’s end, like the one pictured above in Düsseldorf. Each showroom is to get a racing car to display alongside the road cars it has for sale, and many of them will be location-specific. The dealer in Monte Carlo, for example, will display the 1993 MP4-8 that Ayrton Senna drove to victory at the Monaco Grand Prix. The dealer in Brussels will reportedly display the 2004 MP4-19 with which Kimi Raikkonen won the 2004 Belgian Grand Prix. And the Philadelphia showroom will display the 1976 M26 that James Hunt piloted to victory at the US Grand Prix that year.

So if you want to see a piece of McLaren racing history, better call up your nearest dealership and find out when their show car is due to arrive. Just don’t go looking for Unit 2, because even if you can find it, chances are they won’t let you in.

McLaren dispersing top-secret Unit 2 collection to showrooms

We don’t need to tell you why rally racing – though awesome – is incredibly dangerous. As much as we love to watch turbocharged, all-wheel-drive Euro hatches being flung around on dirt, gravel, snow and tarmac, the fact that many of these races go through small towns and wooded trails leaves plenty of room for disaster.

Case in point: This Renault Clio racer went off course during the 2012 Mazowiecki Rally, leaving driver Patrick Osowiecki and navigator Maciej Wrona trapped upside-down in a lake. According to CarScoop, no race officials were near the scene of the accident, but some selfless spectators rushed in to attempt to free Osowiecki and Wrona from their racecar. Scroll down to watch the action unfold.

Continue reading Watch spectators rush to save lives of rally drivers trapped in capsized Renault

Watch spectators rush to save lives of rally drivers trapped in capsized Renault

Automakers are usually pretty decisive. They either build a car or they don’t. But Aston Martin has embarked down a bumpier road with Lagonda.

Aston bought the Lagonda marque way back in 1947, but after operating it as a separate brand for a few years, it let the brand peter out in the 1950s and 60s. The moniker was revived as a nameplate on a handful of Aston Martin sedans beginning in the 1970s, but that was pretty much the last we saw of it until the 2009 Geneva Motor Show.

That’s when the British automaker unveiled the rather unusual concept vehicle (pictured above) to revive the Lagonda name once again as a separate brand. It was meant to test the waters, and the response was not favorable. So it had appeared that AML was dropping the L from its initials and the entire project along with it. But as a stand-alone niche automaker looking to stay afloat in a rapidly amalgamating industry, Aston needs to produce more than front-engined, rear-drive, two-door GTs. And the Rapide sedan apparently isn’t going to be enough, so it looks as if that the Lagonda project could be back on the table.

According to Autocar, the real impetus, however, could be coming from emerging markets in Asia – particularly China, but also the Middle East and Russia. The timing for a high-end luxury crossover built by a company known for its exotic sports cars, however, could prove to be good timing or poor: Maserati, Lamborghini and Bentley are all entering the segment in the coming years, so if Aston wants to get a slice of that lucrative pie pioneered by Porsche, it had better get those wheels in motion.

Chinese demand could prompt Aston Martin to press on with Lagonda revival

The annual “Car Wars” report by Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy predicts that, despite their seizing of U.S. market share over the last few tumultuous years, Korean brands Hyundai and Kia will give it all back and then some to companies like Ford, General Motors and Toyota by 2016.

Murphy bases his predictions not on tea leaves or crystal balls, but rather the rate at which automakers launch new products. Ford will replace 26 percent of its product line over the next four years, a number that represents 46 percent of its volume, while General Motors will replace 25 percent and Toyota 24 percent. On account of these new product launches, Murphy says Ford can expect to add 0.8 percentage points of market share, General Motors will recover 0.5 points and Toyota will add another 0.3 points.

Other automakers that won’t be so aggressive in turning over their lineups with new models include Chrysler, Honda, Nissan and the European brands, which Murphy surmises will all remain flat in terms of market share.

Hyundai and Kia, meanwhile, will be introducing fewer new models than the rest and therefore, Murphy predicts, will see a 0.5 decline in U.S. market share.

Of course, these are all just predictions and can be blown to bits with the next unforeseen economic crisis or natural disaster, just like the last three years were. And there are other factors that might affect market share for each automaker during the next three years, including the availability of raw materials, exchange rates, union contracts, recalls and a million another minor things that might grow to become big things, not the least of which is consumers deciding they actually like all those new products being launched.

Car Wars report predicts Hyundai, Kia will lose market share

There are driving simulators and there are racing simulators. They tend to cross over, but what divides them are the types of cars and the types of roads used in the game. Drive racing cars on digitally recreated racing circuits and you’re looking at a racing sim. Street cars on public roads (whether simulated or replicated) and you’re playing a driving game. The Forza Motorsport franchise has always been more of a racing simulator than a driving game, but the minority of open roads that have appeared in the four iterations of the series so far are about to jump into their own game altogether with the launch of Forza Horizon.

Having made the initial announced back in March, Microsoft hand Turn 10 Studios have now released the box cover art and a single frame of in-game footage, both depicting the new SRT Viper on the open road. The cover, as you can see, shows a yellow Viper with black stripes speeding out of a mountain town, while the screenshot shows us a metallic Viper – like the one we saw at its unveiling in New York – on a desert highway in what looks like Carburator County from Pixar’s Cars.

About a year and a half (if you can believe it) since the launch of Forza 4, the arrival of Forza Horizon will surely come as welcome and eagerly anticipated by the legions of racing and gaming fans that have enjoyed the various iterations of the franchise until now. All we know about its release is that it’s coming sometime in the fall, but with the E3 gaming convention just a couple of weeks away, we should have more to bring you soon, so watch this space.

Forza Horizon coming this fall with hot Viper action on the open road

There was nary a peep of discontent about the looks of the Subaru Advanced Tourer concept revealed at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show. But when everyone was clamoring for Scooby to transfer the Advanced Tourer’s looks to a production vehicle, never once did people ask for that transfer to be foisted on the WRX. A report in Motor Trend, though, says that’s what’s happening: the concept “was actually an early look at the next-generation Subaru WRX.”

MT’s sources said the front end Advanced Tourer’s front end will go onto the WRX, with other aspects of the concept made more aggressive to suit the personality of Subaru’s rally-ready racer. And if the concept also presages the next WRX’s dimensions, then you can expect the next-generation sedan and hatchback to be larger (though in truth we don’t anticipate a big gain in footprint).

Notice the name “Impreza” hasn’t appeared anywhere in our discussion yet. Subaru is reportedly dropping the name in an attempt to get more ‘Likes’ for the WRX by making it more approachable, so the next model will relinquish its association with the Impreza line and be more performanced focused even as it is receives a better interior and is morphed into a “more-mature sporty grand tourer.” Engine choices are still being debated for the car due in 2015; the rumored options include 1.6-liter and 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinders and a hybrid version of the 1.6-liter.

Next Subaru WRX previewed by Advanced Tourer concept

Fiat, in an attempt to make its purchase of Chrysler more profitable, has been marketing rebadged Dodge and Chrysler models in Europe with mixed results.

Europeans apparently love the Fiat Freemont, known as a Dodge Journey here in the States. Fiat sold almost 6,500 of the crossovers over there in the first quarter and hopes to move 30,000 by year’s end. Sales were helped by Fiat’s large European dealer network as well as an MSRP lower than the model it replaced. Since the Journey is built in Mexico, it can be imported into Europe tariff-free, which helps keep the sticker price lower.

On the other hand, sales of the Lancia Thema (Chrysler 300) and Lancia Voyager (Dodge Grand Caravan) are not doing so well due to several factors. One is the limited reach of the Lancia brand outside Italy. Then there’s the 10 percent import tariff since they’re both built in Canada, a yearly 500 euro luxury tax (about $630 USD) on the Thema, and a limited advertising budget for the two cars.

Only 1,342 Voyagers were sold in Europe in the first quarter of this year, which means the 11,000 unit goal for the year will probably be missed. Lancia sold only 480 Themas during the same period, well short of the 2,500 Fiat had hoped to sell.

Rebadged Dodge, Chrysler model sales a mixed bag in Europe

You don’t hear too much about the Henrik Fisker-designed Artega GT, but its occasional appearances are always welcome. In this episode of Where’s Artega Now?, the folks at eGarage worked with Germany’s Christopher Kippenberger, who make a quadrocopter designed for capturing aerial footage.

A day was spent at Germany’s Blister Berg Drive Resort, essentially a German version’s of Spain’s Ascari Race Resort. One slight difference: Blister Ber’s track isn’t finished, so the Artega was left to drift it out over the construction site threading around haulers and front-end loaders.

Kippenberger’s quadrocopter is of his company’s design, meant to bring both Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and helicopter shots into the range of the enthusiast video shooter. At $5,000, it’s not cheap, but that’s a steal compared to other UAVs – and just pennies compared to a helicopter – and each unit is built-to-order.

But enough reading. Have a look at what it and the Artega GT can do in the video below.

Continue reading Watch this Artega GT blast around an unfinished track filmed with a quadrocopter

Watch this Artega GT blast around an unfinished track filmed with a quadrocopter

On Thursday night’s Autoline After Hours, SRT boss Ralph Gilles sat down with show hosts John McElroy and Peter DeLorenzo, along with Autoblog and AOL Autos staffers to talk all things Viper. Among the interesting tidbits disclosed about the 640-horsepower supercar are plans for a new dealer certification process designed to encourage the sort of purchasing, service and ownership experience that buyers of six-digit cars have come to expect.

According to Gilles:

“It’s going to be a qualified dealer situation… The ones who do the dealer training in terms of the tech. I want a tech. I want a display car. I want all these things. There’s going to be a list. It’s not going to be impossible, it’s just that someone has to put in the extra effort and say ‘I’m an SRT dealer.

Off the air, Gilles told Autoblog that Chrysler officials have already approached a number of dealers with a strong record of Viper and SRT sales to discuss how the certification process will work, gaining valuable feedback in the process. A document outlining the new certification program will go out to Dodge dealers next month.

Chrysler has yet to announce official pricing and the Viper won’t go on sale until sometime in the fourth quarter of the year, but that hasn’t stopped a queue of customer deposits from piling up. According to Gilles, one particularly strong Viper dealer already has around 90 such deposits in-hand. Considering that Viper sales averaged about 1,600 units in past years, that’s a substantial figure.

In other news, Chrysler officials have been making a big point of talking about the 2013 Viper’s newfound refinements, from reduced NVH to nicer interior materials and improved drivability thanks to the institution of technologies like stability control and traction control. Gilles says that great care has been taken to ensure the model’s core personality still shines through, but given that much of the Viper’s mystique is centered on its raw, leg-burning, hairy-knuckled persona, we couldn’t help but wonder aloud if the new model’s refinements have left room for a stripped-out hardcore version for Viper purists and racers. With raised eyebrows, arms gesturing wildly and stifling a smile, Gilles wryly said: “I love how you think. Next subject!”

To watch the Autoline After Hours episode in its entirety, scroll down.

Continue reading 2013 SRT Viper to require dealer certification; hardcore model planned? [w/video]

2013 SRT Viper to require dealer certification; hardcore model planned? [w/video]

Reigning MotoGP champion Casey Stoner is just 26 years old, but has been riding in the FIM series since 2001 when he joined the 125cc ranks. Five years later, the Australian was in the headlining formula series with Honda, the year after that, in 2007, he won the title astride a Ducati. Last year, Stoner won it again with Honda, and even battling an issue with his arm this year, he’s atop the standings and leading his rivals in practice sessions for this weekend’s French GP at Le Mans.

But Stoner used yesterday’s GP press conference to announce his retirement at the end of this year. The Australian says the sport had gone in a direction that doesn’t interest him and that he simply isn’t enjoying it enough to continue the sacrifices necessary to be competitive at the top level. Speculation is that he wants to spend time with his wife and daughter, and perhaps that he plans to drive in the Australian V8 Supercar series.

Fellow Aussie and MotoGP legen Mick Doohan said he doesn’t believe just yet that Stoner will actually ride off into farm life. Even so, the fact that the current World Champion is unhappy enough to publicly announce the end of his career is a shock to the MotoGP world. Have a look below for a video news report on Stoner’s announcement.

Continue reading MotoGP champ Casey Stoner stuns with retirement announcement [w/video]

MotoGP champ Casey Stoner stuns with retirement announcement [w/video]

No, that’s not a Mitsubishi i-MiEV in a fat suit, it’s the automaker’s brand-new all-electric race car, and it’s set to take on the 2012 Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb in July. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen an EV enter the Pike’s Peak challenge – Nissan commissioned a Leaf for battle last year, a car that set the bar for all future electric racers.

Mitsubishi says that its race car, dubbed i-MiEV Evolution, uses the same motor, drive battery and other major components as the standard, bean-shaped electric car that we haven’t quite grown to love. Aside from the additional bodywork, the chassis has clearly been lengthened and widened, and the race car now uses an all-wheel-drive configuration rather than the rear-wheel drive of the standard i-MiEV.

To give you an idea of just how big the racer is, a quick glance of Mitsubishi’s specs show that the i-MiEV Evolution’s dimensions are within a few inches of the stock Lancer Evolution. We wouldn’t be surprised if the all-wheel-drive system was sourced from the Lancer, as well.

Mitsubishi will also be bringing two more of its EVs to the Pike’s Peak event, including an i that has been updated with a more aerodynamic front bumper and new safety equipment, as well as a bone stock model. Scroll down for the official press blast.

Continue reading Mitsubishi previews bonkers i-MiEV Evolution for Pikes Peak

Mitsubishi previews bonkers i-MiEV Evolution for Pikes Peak