Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans – Click above for image gallery
Didn’t get close enough a look at the new yesterday? Well, get used to the idea. Because with 600 horsepower and only 81 examples scheduled to be built, you’re not likely to get a closer look anytime soon. But if you want to hear it straight from the proverbial lion’s mouth, well then you’ll want to talk to Don Panoz (video ).
Not only is Don the father of the Abruzzi, but as the founder of the American Le Mans Series, he is probably the American most familiar with the famous French endurance race and its offshoot series. In creating the Abruzzi, Panoz and company culled all of their expertise from racing and put it into a roadgoing chassis.
From what we we’ve gathered, here are the important highlights:
Two-day professional training course on Bugatti Le Mans circuit with purchase
Opportunity to drive full Le Mans circuit included with purchase
Price: 400,000 Euros (circa $480,000 USD)
Colors: blue, black pearl and red
We’ve got video of Panoz himself explaining the inspiration for the Abruzzi and all of its special technical details, as well as live shots of the car from its debut at Le Mans yesterday courtesy of our colleagues at Autoblog France.
2010 Jaguar XFR – click above for high-res image gallery
When our man Lieberman drove the earlier this year, he came to the conclusion that of all the models in the XF range, the mid-grade Supercharged with its 470-horsepower V8 was the one to have, if you’re buying. After all, at a relatively modest $68,000, it’s a sexy sleeper with enough high-powered thrills to keep you happy while still being everyday-drivable and easily tamed. We wholeheartedly agree with our dear Jonny in this conclusion, and if we had never experienced this top-rung XFR, we’d be perfectly thrilled with our purchase.
But we have driven the XFR – and now again in America – and asking us to overlook either experience when considering the XF range simply isn’t going to happen. The R makes too much of an impression.
Yes, the Supercharged may be the “just right” Goldilocks model in the XF lineup, but the XFR is Papa Bear. That ‘R’ badge will cost you an extra $12,000, which is undoubtedly a hefty sum to pay when you consider that it only produces 40 more horsepower than the Supercharged. Thus, it’s easy to write off the XFR as unnecessary or overzealous, but its sharper set of chops are able to handle so much more than lukewarm porridge. This car is a real honey, finances be damned! Follow the jump to find out why.
Gallery:
Photos by Steven J. Ewing / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.
Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans – Click above for high-res image gallery
As Le Mans week has begun in France, ALMS founder Don Panoz has revealed the new limited production Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans road car. From a design perspective, the Abruzzi clearly draws on the GTR-1 “Batmobile” racer of the late-1990s, Like the GTR-1, the Abruzzi is a front mid-engine design with an unspecified engine providing 600+ horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque mounted low and behind the front axle. Also following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Abruzzi has its radiators mounted in the rear with cooling air being drawn from a duct in the roof and along the rear side windows.
Uniquely, only 81 cars will be built over three years, each corresponding to a Le Mans race up until 2013, and all of the cars will be delivered at Le Mans. Each buyer will be given a driving course with the car on the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans and invited to the next race as a guest of Panoz and race organizer Automobile Club de l’Ouest where they will have the opportunity to drive their cars on the full circuit prior to the race. For the moment, at least, the Abruzzi is only being homologated to European road regulations. No pricing has been announced yet, but we’re pretty confident it won’t fit into most bloggers’ budgets.
Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans – Click above for high-res image gallery
As Le Mans week has begun in France, ALMS founder Don Panoz has revealed the new limited production Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans road car. From a design perspective, the Abruzzi clearly draws on the GTR-1 “Batmobile” racer of the late-1990s, Like the GTR-1, the Abruzzi is a front mid-engine design with an unspecified engine providing 600+ horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque mounted low and behind the front axle. Also following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Abruzzi has its radiators mounted in the rear with cooling air being drawn from a duct in the roof and along the rear side windows.
Uniquely, only 81 cars will be built over three years, each corresponding to a Le Mans race up until 2013, and all of the cars will be delivered at Le Mans. Each buyer will be given a driving course with the car on the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans and invited to the next race as a guest of Panoz and race organizer Automobile Club de l’Ouest where they will have the opportunity to drive their cars on the full circuit prior to the race. For the moment, at least, the Abruzzi is only being homologated to European road regulations. No pricing has been announced yet, but we’re pretty confident it won’t fit into most bloggers’ budgets.
As the action continues relentlessly in the premier venue of , round three took us to the land of champagne and baguette, as the lent the first glimpse of clarity into how the championship fight might turn out.
Straight out of the chutes, rider and international superstar Valentino Rossi converted a great start into an early lead, while Dani Pedrosa and points leader Jorge Lorenzo brought on the chase. The Yamahas were quickly one-two as Lorenzo passed Pedrosa and began to close the gap on Rossi. By lap seven, the points leader made his move for the front, only to see Rossi respond almost immediately to reclaim the lead. After ten loops, Lorenzo put a pass on that would stick, and was able to hold a convincing five-second lead as he passed the checkers, extending his overall points margin to nine ahead of Rossi, who repeated his . This also marked a third straight top finish for a Yamaha pilot in as many rounds, a feat that has not been repeated since 1980.
Behind the leaders, the battle to round out the top five was an intense one, using up the entire race to play out. During a dramatic final lap we saw Pedrosa surrender two positions in another battle of teammates, allowing Andrea Dovizioso to squeak by followed by the hard-charging Ducati topped by Nicky Hayden, who again carried the red team’s results. Casey Stoner struggled and was put out of the race early due to a turn-six crash that he would be unable to return from, begging the question of whether his mind has already ? Next stop: June 6th for all things Italian at Mugello and a chance for dethronement of the Yamahas. We can hardly wait!
Renault Zoe Z.E. concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
Any marketing person will tell you that coming up with the right name is one of the most difficult aspects of launching a new product. Big companies will spend millions of dollars researching names to make sure that they aren’t already trademarked or have strange or offensive meanings in other countries.
, however, has a slightly different problem with the name of one its upcoming electric vehicles. The Zoe Z.E. is a compact, urban commuter due to be launched in 2012. Renault is not an uncommon name in France, wit its namesake, Louis Renault having begun building cars in the late 19th century. Unfortunately for a certain Parisian woman, having both her first and last names associated with a new car is apparently just too much. Thus, according to Autocar, Zoe Renault is threatening to sue Automaker Renault unless it changes the name of its forthcoming EV.
While we can certainly sympathize with Ms. Renault, her complaint here seems to be a bit of a stretch. The automaker apparently chose the name Zoe because it means “life” in Greek. Unless automakers start using nothing but made up or alphanumeric names, there is bound to be someone, somewhere that will have an issue with just about every name. It’s time to get over it.
As Europe’s second largest automaker, it’s no great secret that France’s PSA has got the Group squarely in its sights. As if the on-track rivalry between Peugeot and in Le Mans racing weren’t enough, the Lion brand recently launched its offensive against the likes of the Vokswagen Scirocco and Audi TT in the form of the . Now the French are taking another shot, this time against the Volkswagen GTI with… their own GTi.
Not only is the name the same (save the discrepancy of the lower-case I), but the specs follow a similar formula as well: The VW packs a 2.0-liter turbocharged four with 200 horsepower. The Peugeot? A 1.6-liter turbocharged (and direct-injected) four with – you guessed it – 200 horsepower. Even torque is also on a (relatively) level playing field, with the Volks offering 207 lb-ft and the Pug 202. The heavier Peugeot, however, takes 7.7 seconds to get up to highway speed, compared to the seven seconds flat it takes the Volkswagen.
The engine in the 308 GTi – co-developed with – is the same that debuted on the RCZ, this time powering a five-door hatch and mated to a six-speed manual. There are other suspension, aerodynamic and trim upgrades to differentiate the 308 GTi from its bread-and-butter stablemates, more of which you can read about in the press release after the jump and view in the gallery below. The ultimate question is, after listening to its customers and doing an about-face on its plans to get out of the hot hatch game altogether, does the Peugeot deserve the GTi badge? Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
2010 Dodge Caliber – click above for high-res image gallery
Here in their homeland, the Dodge Caliber and Nitro can’t get much lovin’ from critics, but parent Chrysler has gone and kicked the two models right out of the UK altogether. Hitting up shows but a single vehicle, the Journey, for sale in Blighty. Even the seven-passenger MPV, seemingly well suited to the UK market, has been struggling to find buyers, and the model has had its lineup rejiggered with more standard equipment added to entice addtional prospects.
Try as it might, Chrysler just hasn’t been able to close enough sales of the Nitro and Caliber in the UK. Things must be slightly better on The Continent, as consumers can still find the two exiles available on Dodge’s websites for such far-flung locales as , , and our favorite, Italy’s . Company officials tell Autoblog that the “Caliber [is] still sold in most all continental European markets, Nitro [is] for sale in most major markets there.”
NASCAR Hall of Fame Opening Day – Click above for high-res image gallery
Even though you hear less and less about it with each evolution of the Car of Tomorrow and huge new ad deal, much of current allure is tied to the romance of good ol’ boys in (genuine) stock cars with big engines and even bigger personalities gunning around raggedy tracks for the win. Those pioneers of the sport have finally been honored with the opening of the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte, North Carolina.
From a total of 25 nominees, the inaugural class of inductees were Bill France, Sr., Bill France, Jr., Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt and Junior Johnson. They’re the first to hang in the 150,000-square foot hall along with 60 years of NASCAR exhibits, simulators, video screens and memorabilia, an institution that the city of Charlotte calls “the most technologically advanced Hall of Fame in all of professional sports.” Take that, Canton and Cooperstown!
1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Cabriolet Pininfarina SWB – Click above for high-res image gallery
Call it a sign that the recession is abating, or count it as an indicator that, for the extremely wealthy, the recession hardly ever crossed their minds. But any way you cut it, classic continue to fetch record prices at auction. And exceptional though it was, this past weekend’s Sporting Classics of Monaco event, held by Canadian firm RM Auctions, was no exception.
The event marked the first time that the venerable auction house – a growing force to be reckoned with on the classic car scene – held an event during the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique. Yet RM still managed to rake in a mind-blowing €33,235,917 ($45 million), matching the all-time record for single-day auction results, which RM itself set in Maranello in May 2007.
The headline results were boosted by the sale of a rare 1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Cabriolet Pininfarina SWB, which went for a high bid of €2,800,000 ($3.8 million), exceeding its estimate and fetching the highest price ever paid for such an example. Several other Ferraris went for seven-figure prices as well, including a 1957 250 GT Tour de France ($3.2M), a 1959 250 GT California Spyder ($2.8M), and a pair of mid-60s-era 275 GTBs that each fetched a million and change.
The rare Prancing Horses were joined by such other notable examples as a 1960 Birdcage ($3.3M), a 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C Zagato Spider ($1.2M), a Le Mans-spec ‘63 Shelby Cobra 289 ($1M) and a whole slew of classics. Follow the jump to delve further into the auction results, and check out the high-resolution images of the headline Superamerica in the gallery below.
1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II Krug Champagne panel van – Click above for high-res image gallery
We’ve seen some interesting conversions over the years, from and to and . But this one is surely toast of the town.
Commissioned in 1984 by Krug Champagne – one of the leading brands in the Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy group – this panel van/shooting brake is based on a 1979 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II. It’s got two seats up front for driver and passenger and a pair of refrigerators in the back. Adorned with special Krug livery in white and burgundy with acres of chrome, the attention to detail goes down all the way to the special cork keyfob which you can see in the gallery below.
It was sold by the vineyard a few years back, but has now been reacquired, returning to the House of Krug in Reims, Champagne-Ardenne, France, to serve as a museum piece.
1985 Renault R5 Turbo II – Click above for high-res image galler
Given how close everyone is to pulling a Fred Flintstone and yabadabadooing the hell out of the office for the weekend, allow us to provide you with a quick little diversion. Behold what could possibly be the most gorgeous example of a R5 Turbo II we’ve ever set our eyes upon. This sucker wears the same paint it bore from the factory, and with a scant 25,500 miles on the clock, it’s as close to new as anything from France, 1985 can get.
Inside, nearly everything is original save a few choice modifications. The stock steering wheel has been given up in favor of a suede Momo piece, and the factory buckets were swapped for a set of period thrones. They are the perfect shade of late ’70s brown, and we love them. The owner points out that unlike most R5s, both the dash and door panels were never cut for a stereo.
If you’re fretting over the fact that this car has had less than 1,000 miles put on the odometer ever year, don’t. The seller is the second owner, and claims this set of hips-with-wheels has been meticulously maintained by none other than the experts at Ron Tonkin Gran Turismo . You know, the oldest authorized Ferrari dealer in the States? Yeah. Those guys.
If you want it as badly as we do, get ready to fork over a serious chunk of change in a hurry. As we write this, there are less than two days left on the , and the starting bid of $47,500 has yet to be touched.
It seem like just a few days ago came forth stating that its use of . Now Green Car Advisor reports that Daimler, never willing to be a step behind, has also announced plans to increase its investment in the material. Daimler has enlisted the help of Toray Industries, a Japanese textile company, to help make carbon fiber body parts for vehicles beginning in 2012. The parts will reduce vehicle weight and help the company meet . The first Mercedes product to be adorned with carbon fiber will be the SL-Class.
Daimler choose Toray Industries due to its expertise in carbon fiber. Though not a common name to many, Toray is actually the dominant force in the industry, controlling 34 percent of the global market. This will be Toray’s first venture into making car parts out of carbon fiber. The company’s current automotive-related experiences with the material has been limited to supplying carbon fiber yarns to and various aftermarket companies. Daimler and Toray will work together on development of the carbon fiber reinforced plastic body parts and production will be carried out at a Toray facility in France.
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Photos copyright (C)2009 Chris Paukert / Weblogs, Inc.
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Despite getting nabbed for street racing, driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substance, the grandson of NASCAR founder is reportedly off the hook and back on the race track. A Florida judge dismissed the charges against J.C. France after it became apparent that the Daytona Beach officer that arrested the heir to the racing throne was actually outside of his jurisdiction. As a result, France is off scot free.
Last year, France was caught allegedly street racing in a 2007 against his half-brother and roommate Russel Van Richmond. After the charges were filed, France was suspended from racing in the -owned Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Daytona Prototype Series where he drives for the Brumos Porsche-Riley team.
For his transgressions, France has missed out on a grand total of four races. We can’t seem to tell whether this is a blatant example of the good ol’ boy system run amok or a painful reminder of just how inadequate the NASCAR drug testing system still is. Either way, we hope France takes some time to realize just how lucky he was to not have killed anyone last October or to have wound up behind bars with a lifetime ban from racing.
Bristol Speedway is among the most well-known tracks in America, and an all-time favorite of NASCAR fans. In fact, the track sold out 55 straight times beginning in 1982. But that streak came to an end in March, and the NASCAR news only gets more depressing from there. According to Time, NASCAR has seen its television audiences drop by a knee-wobbling 25 percent since 2005, and last year alone, attendance was down 10 percent.
So has NASCAR turned off its core audience – or has the economy put the hurt on the official sport of the south? Apparently the answer is a little of both, as Time reports that the struggling economy may be only part of the problem. A big issue could be that NASCAR isn’t the dangerous, crash-tastic, post-race fist fighting affair that it once was. NASCAR has encouraged its drivers to get a bit more confrontational in 2010 to help win back some fans, but even that idea seemed to backfire after Carl Edwards into Brad Keselowski back in March to settle a score. Drivers are also less likely to engage in reckless behavior due to the fact that many drivers are sponsored by wholesome, family-oriented brands like Tide and Cheerios.
To get NASCAR back into the hearts and minds of the American people, both the sport and its leader, Brian France (above), are looking to make changes. Among the changes, the left turn circuit is looking into are tweaking the way drivers earn points, shortening the length of races and even changing the formation of cars during cautions to encourage more passing. Whether you love NASCAR or you hate it, the Time article is a . NASCAR is even looking for fans to chime in with ways to improve the sport, so feel free to head into the comments to come up with ways to make the sport more interesting. And try to come up with something more clever than “mix in an occasional right turn.”
Michael Schumacher at the 2009 Race of Champions – Click above for high-res image gallery
Every Fall, the Race of Champions stands as the season’s final show-down between drivers from a wide variety of motorsport disciplines. But while the last few years have seen DTM champ Mattias Ekstrom and WRC czar Sebastien Loeb alternating for the individual crown, the Nations’ Cup has been won the past three years running by the German team of Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel. Against a backdrop of such international domination, it’s little wonder that the event is heading back to Germany this year.
Reach way back into RoC history, and you’ll discover that the second running of the event (after the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry outside Paris in 1988) was held in Deutschland, at nowhere less vaunted a location than the legendary Nürburgring. Since then, it was held in Barcelona and Madrid before moving to Grand Canary Island for over a decade, then back to the Parisian suburbs at the national Stade de France. The race was then held in London’s Wembley Stadium before being contested overseas for the first time at the olympic Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing. This year, however, the season-capping event heads back to Europe.
The 23rd Race of Champions will be contested on November 26-27 at the Esprit Arena in Düsseldorf, a 50,000-seat soccer venue, at which the necessary tracks will be constructed. Schumacher and Vettel will be back again to defend Germany’s honor in the Nations’ Cup as well as challenge for the individual title of Champion of Champions less than two weeks after both finish off the Formula One season in Abu Dhabi. Video and press release after the jump.
Volvo truck during crash testing – Click above for high-res image
New research has revealed that up to 50 percent of European truck drivers don’t buckle up when they hit the road. A study by CEASAR Research Institute discovered that use among truck drivers varies widely from country to country – from as little as 10 percent to better than 70 percent – it all averages out to the fact that around half of the long-haul drivers don’t use their belts.
The study also attempted to figure out why the usage rates were so low. Not surprisingly, there’s something of a stigma attached to strapping yourself into a big rig, with some drivers believing they’re safer in a large mass vehicle compared to a small passenger car. Even so, the CEASAR study claims that traffic fatalities among truck drivers could be decreased by as much as 40 percent if drivers simply took the time to click it.
Of the countries surveyed, France had the highest usage – 70 percent – thanks largely to the fact that the country has legislation on the books to encourage drivers to be safe. Driving without a seatbelt in France will net you points on your license. Too many points, and you’re walking to work. Hop the jump for the full press release.
Allan McNish in Audi R15+ – Click above for high-res image gallery
Despite winning in its debut at the 2009 12 Hours of Sebring, last year was not a stellar year for Audi’s Le Mans Prototype program. After a thorough reboot, Audi is trying again this year with the R15+ TDI. The heavily revised R15+ has been testing for two months and this weekend it is competing for the first time at Le Castellet in France for the first round of the Le Mans Series. In qualifying the Audi managed to get onto the front row alongside the first privately run Peugeot 908 fielded by Team Oreca. Follow the jump to find out what happened in the eight-hour race.
Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and Daimler AG chairman Dieter Zetsche sign the agreement
At a news conference in Brussels, Belgium this morning, AG and the Renault- alliance officially announced that the three automakers would collaborate on future products and that each would exchange shares in the other companies. The deal has been rumored for months, and Daimler has been looking for a partner to help spread the costs of small car development for years.
Under the new agreement, Daimler will hold a 3.1-percent stake in Renault and Nissan and the existing alliance partners will hold an identical stake in the German company. The partners will develop a combined platform that will be used as the basis for the next generations of the Twingo and cars, including a new four-seater. These new models will launch in 2013 and the current Smart factory in France will continue building the two-seat version. The new four-seater, along with the Twingo, will be built at a Renault factory in Slovenia. All three vehicles will be available from launch in gas, diesel and electric drive variants.
The automakers will also share powertrains for other models. Renault-Nissan will provide small gas and diesel engines to Daimler for use in its smaller cars, including presumably the next generation A, B and perhaps even C-Class models. Going the other way, Daimler will provide some of its engines to Nissan for use in models. The partners will also collaborate on light commercial vehicles, with Renault providing a new entry-level van to be sold as a Mercedes.
2011 Ford Focus RS500 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Well, that didn’t take long, did it? We knew the new would move fast, but not quite this fast. Powered by a 2.5-liter five-cylinder that produces 345 horsepower and 339 pound-feet of torque, ’s hottest hatch one-ups even the already bonkers with its piddly 305 horsepower and 325 lb-ft. Considering that the RS is capable of a 0-62 mile per hour sprint of under six seconds and a top speed of 163 mph, the RS500 should clock in around 5.6 seconds.
What we didn’t expect was the fact that the RS500 would sell so quickly. With their matte black paint, 19-inch wheels and all that performance on tap, we certainly expected them to be a hot commodity, but if Autocar is to be believed, the whole run of 500 units has already sold out – some 12 hours after the reveal. Sales will be spread out over 20 European markets, with the UK getting 101 units, Germany getting 55 cars, France receiving 50 and Belgium scoring 50 units, with Denmark, the Czech Republic and Greece getting five units each, while Ireland receives three.
The best part of the story is the fact that all 500 units are already spoken for, even before prices have been announced. Ford is said to be sorting through the letters of intent from customers to figure out dealer allocations. And don’t forget, the order books don’t formally open until May. With the regular RS trading above sticker on the used car market, we’re guessing there will be more than a few flippers in the initial owner group.
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Despite getting nabbed for street racing, driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substance, the grandson of 
