Automotive News

Filed under: Sports/GTs, Tokyo Motor Show, Supercars, Nissan

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On October 24, the latest chapter in Nissan’s storied GT-R history will officially kick off with the unveiling of the new Nissan GT-R at the Tokyo Motor Show. To help ramp up excitement (as if the barely-disguised prototypes snapped taking shots at Porsche’s Nurburgring records haven’t done that enough this week), the official Nissan GT-R website has been launched, and as you can see above, there’s a countdown clock available for download. To help keep you entertained as you (im)patiently await the big reveal in Japan, Nissan has clickable images of each iteration of the GT-R on the site which give you factoids to mull over in the meantime.

Autoblog will be in Tokyo to cover it all in person for you. 28 days to go, kids.

[Source: Nissan]

 

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For those unfamiliar with the DTM, it’s a European touring car series that sees major carmakers such as Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Opel compete against each other using race cars based on their regular production models. At the series’ most recent event in Barcelona, Audi motorsport boss Wolfgang Ullrich instructed all his drivers to park their cars midway though the race.

The reason behind the controversial decision was because of what Audi claims was rough treatment by several Mercedes-Benz drivers. During the race, a number of Audi drivers were bumped off the track by their Mercedes rivals. In one incident, Audi’s Martin Tomczyk took the lead before he was bumped off the track by two-time Formula 1 World Champion Mika Hakkinen. After attempting to restart, Tomczyk was forced to retire because of damage to his radiator. All remaining Audi drivers were then ordered to retire because of fears of further damage at the hands of Mercedes’ unscrupulous tactics.

The two Mercedes drivers involved were penalized for the incidents after the race with fines as well as a ten-place grid penalty at the championship finale in Hockenheim next month.

[Source: Speed TV]

Continue reading Audi calls unnecessary roughness on Mercedes in DTM racing

 

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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing

The X-Bow is a light weight roadster offering the kind of performance you’d get from a supercar for a fraction of the price. Little surprise then that demand for the new roadster has forced its manufacturer, Austrian motorbike specialist KTM, to build a new factory specifically to supply enough X-Bows to meet the growing list of customer orders.

Being KTM’s first attempt at building a sports car, no one predicted the surging demand the X-Bow has received. The company originally planned to build just 500 examples per year but ended up taking nearly 1,000 orders before the car even went on sale. It’s scheduled to arrive in early 2008 and will feature a price tag around the $55,000 mark.

For that money, customers will get a carbon fiber monocoque track special powered by a 220hp 2.0L TFSI engine sourced from Audi. It’s lightweight, minimalist design should allow it to accelerate from 0-60mph in under four seconds and reach a top speed in excess of 180mph. Not bad for $55K.

[Source: Autocar]

 

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Filed under: Gadgets, Etc., Ferrari

No, you read that right. A gated shifter. On a mobile phone. Not only that, but the box holding the high-priced handset even includes a valve from a Ferrari Formula One car. This is certainly the phone for the Ferrari fan with the problem spending money on the overpriced, outdated electronics.

As far as we can tell, at its very basics, the Vertu Ascenti Ferrari 60 is your everyday mobile phone. Despite being made of titanium, covered in Ferrari leather and held together with screws identical to those used by the Italian carmaker, it’s still nothing more than a mobile device for calling your mom. Yes, true, at the price Vertu probably wants for this thing, you’re calling your mom from one of your two Enzos, but, still, it’s a freakin’ phone that can’t even download songs at Starbucks.

And why the phone has a shifter is a complete mystery.

We can’t immediately determine how many thousands of dollars you’ll pay for the privilege of owning one of the 60 Ferrari 60 phones available, but you can bet it will be way more than anything available at your local T-Mobile shop. However, owners of the Ferrari 60 phone will enjoy not only a single F1 valve, but also Vertu’s service package that checks out the phone for free every six months including replacing the leather.

[Source: Sybarites]

 

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Filed under: Convertibles, Sports/GTs, Green

New Tesla Motors CEO Michael Marks sent out a letter to all their customers yesterday confirming both some good and bad news. The good news is that the efforts of Tesla’s engineers over the last several months have resulted in the recovery of most of the range that had been lost to weight increases and other engineering changes. The Roadster has now been validated on the EPA combined cycle with a range of 245 miles (252 city and 236 highway). Your mileage will of course vary. They have also made structural improvements and one of the validation prototypes has now passed the side impact test that caused problems for an earlier version.

On the downside, prospective buyers will have to wait longer for their cars. Tesla’s revised production schedule now has them only building a small number of production cars by the end of this year with the first fifty being delivered in the first quarter of 2008. Once production ramps up a bit they plan to turn out another 600 cars by the end of the 2008 model year. You can read Marks’ letter to buyers here.

 

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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, GM, UAW/Unions

Investors and industry pundits don’t believe the UAW strike will last long, proving their belief with a slight drop of $0.20 in GM’s stock price. Widespread belief is that GM could handle a two-week halt in production without devastation to its balance sheet and recovery plan. GM’s got three months of inventory on hand, and GM had planned to cut production by 10-percent in Q4 anyway. The only hitch could be with popular vehicles like the Enclave and Acadia, which typically spend just two weeks on dealer lots.

It’s estimated that Toyota, Honda, and Nissan have a $1,000 advantage per vehicle, and one commenter said that analysts are happy to see GM take a hard stance in light of the necessity of gaining on the Japanese three. Other analysts were, of course, varied in their take on the impact: while two weeks is seen as acceptable, according to one analyst, a four-week stoppage would cost GM $4 billion and send GM into bankruptcy. S&P, though, thinks GM has $32 billion in cash, and Moody’s thinks the company has enough to last four weeks.

The UAW doesn’t want to look like it’s shooting itself in the foot and GM in the head, but it does have its active members and retirees to worry about. GM, though, with a more global operation, has a much better position in terms of time, patience, and clout to wait for the deal it wants. As David Cole with the Center for Automotive Research said, “It’s unimaginable that it would be a long strike — absolutely unimaginable. The stakes are so high.”

[Source: Detroit News]

 

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Filed under: Etc., Bugatti, Volkswagen

The debate as to whether Bugatti was going to create a second model eventually led to former Bugatti head Thomas Bscher’s resignation. Bscher wanted another car, Martin Winterkorn, head of VW, said that a second car would remain nothing more than Bscher’s dream.

Somewhere, minds have changed. Although Bugatti isn’t meeting original sales projections, new Bugatti CEO Franz-Josef Paefgen assures the continuation and growth of the brand. Not only that, but it has been decided that the second model won’t be one priced in the thick-growth band of ultra luxury vehicles, around $150,000 to $200,000. No, it will be just as much, and be just as exclusive, as the current $1.4 million Bug. According to Paefgen, it will have “lifetime volumes in the hundreds.”

No one has any idea what such a vehicle will be. And if Bugatti keeps losing money in the amounts rumored, no one knows if VW won’t have another change of mind and shut it down. So until then, I guess we’ll just have to be happy with Veyron variations like the Pegaso, Pur Sang, and convertible.

[Source: The Car Connection]

 

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Filed under: Motorsports, Hatchbacks, Suzuki

A number of rumors began circulating the Web yesterday that contend Suzuki is in the process of building a homologation special out of its SX4 AWD hatch to take on the WRXs of the world. The idea was that Suzuki would enlist some of the technology derived from its WRC contender and it would form the basis of an “SX4 Sport,” likely packing a 200+ HP turbocharged motor, along with upgraded brakes and a suspension tuned by rally savant Nobuhiro Tajima.

We took all this with a grain of salt when it originally swirled around the ‘Net, and after some leg work by our friends over at Winding Road it turns out that the “Sport” is purely vaporware. According to a Suzuki spokesperson, the fact that the SX4 is already in production negates the need for a homologation version since the five-door hatch already satisfies the requirements for competition.

That all said, we’d still love to see Suzuki combine some of its rally-inspired tech with its motorcycle background, and with the new Subaru WRX and the rumored Ralliart version of the Mitsubishi Lancer coming to market, it would face some stiff competition for the hearts and minds of enthusiasts.

[Source: Winding Road]

 

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Coupes, Sports/GTs, Geneva Motor Show, Supercars, Maserati, Ferrari

It is official, at least from the pages of Car magazine: Ferrari’s we-aren’t-building-a-Dino Dino will appear at the Geneva Auto Show in March of ‘08. It arose from a stillborn Maserati that was to be a companion to the Granturismo. Maserati couldn’t afford to make it, so the project became the Dino.

Internally known as the F149, the Dino will be a comfy, front-engined GT with a retractable hardtop. Car doesn’t know what the Dino will look like, and oddly, they wonder if the Freitas exercise is an actual styling buck (don’t they read Autoblog?). We just hope it doesn’t look like Car’s rendering, which is the ’shroomed-out offspring of a 612 and 599 wearing cheesy aftermarket rims. Production is slated for next summer.

The next F430 will be all new, not a continuing evolution of the current body style that began with the 360. It will be smaller, faster, lighter, harder, and come as a hardtop only. Instead of more bore, it will get the small displacement, direct injection, turbocharged V8 that’s been rumored. Add to that some active aero, brake energy capture, pushrod suspension, and a ballistic valvetrain. It will bow in 2009 or 2010, for a hefty premium over the F430.

[Source: Car magazine]

 

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Filed under: Etc.

Tragedy struck off the set of the new Batman film, The Dark Knight, on Monday when a camera van collided with a tree killing one of the occupants. The crash took place during what’s being described as a “filming production exercise” where the Batmobile was being followed by an SUV while on a test track in Longcross.

While it’s unclear as to why the vehicle lost control, an investigation is currently underway by the Surrey Police and the Health and Safety Executive.

Warner Bros., the production company behind the new Batman flick, released a statement regarding the crash, which you can read excerpts of by following the “Read” link below.

Thanks for the tip, Sparky.

[Source: BBC News]

 

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