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Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta

17 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Ferrari's first sports racing cars rank among the historians biggest nightmare; the cars were a continually changing mix of engines, chassis and body styles. The car that is currently believed to be the oldest existing Ferrari chassis, s/n 002C, has been fitted with at least three different engines and as many bodies. At the end of 1948 Ferrari launched their first 'production' car and from then onward the history of Ferrari cars gets a little less complex. To commemorate the victory of a Ferrari 166 Sport in the Mille Miglia, the new competition car is dubbed 166 MM.

Technically the 166 MM was very similar to the first Ferraris, and shared the tubular frame that was characteristic for all of the company's sports cars of the 1940s and 1950s. Suspension was equally straightforward with wishbones at the front and a live rear axle at the rear. Where the early Ferraris really excelled was in the engine compartment, which housed the beautifully Gioacchino Colombo designed V12. In its ...

MINI Countryman JCW RX

17 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Prodrive has run its latest specification MINI RX for the first time.

Since its first outing with Britain's leading rallycrosser, Liam Doran, in the aborted Barcelona XGames rallycross event in May, Prodrive has significantly re-engineered the 1.6 litre engine with a new turbo and mechanical changes. At the same time, further weight savings have been made with the introduction of more carbon composite body panels. The MINI RX now has 50% more power and is around 10% lighter than in World Rally Car specification.

The car was driven by Prodrive WRC Team principal Dave Wilcock. Wilcock said: "It is now a completely different car. The acceleration is phenomenal. Despite all this additional power, we have managed to maintain the driveability in the engine, so that it is still fully controllable on the throttle. When combined with the inherent balance of the MINI WRC chassis and its ability to be driven so precisely, it should give the two litre cars something to think about."< ...

Volvo S60 V8 Supercar

17 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Volvo Car Group (Volvo Cars) announces it will have an official Volvo Polestar Racing team on the grid in the V8 Supercars Championship in 2014 and race the Volvo S60.

"I'm delighted to announce Volvos return to motorsport in Australia. Volvo has a rich motorsport heritage in this country, including winning Australia's most famous race, the Bathurst 1000, 15 years ago this coming October. As the first luxury car brand to enter an official factory team in the V8 Supercars Championship, we're determined to add to this heritage, while strengthening the presence of the S60 model line and the Volvo brand here in Australia," said Matt Braid, Volvo Car Australia Managing Director.

Volvo Car Australia will join forces with Volvo Car Group's global motorsport partner Polestar to create a partnership with the well-renowned V8 Supercars team Garry Rogers Motorsport, and form Volvo Polestar Racing Australia to compete in the championship.

The announcement is made a week after ...

BMW 435i Coupe

16 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

The all-new BMW 4 Series Coupe marks the beginning of a new era for coupes at BMW. Launched as the latest generation of BMW's sporty mid-size Coupe, the new BMW 4 Series Coupe embodies the very essence of dynamics and aesthetic appeal in the premium segment. The "4" in its title headlines this new product line for the Coupe and emphasizes not only its stand-out design, but that any way you look at it, the new 4 Series Coupe represents something more than its BMW 3 Series cousins - 3+1, if you will. At the same time, as a true BMW Coupe, the new nomenclature brings the new BMW 4 Series Coupe in line with the larger 6 Series and 8 Series Coupes.

The new BMW 4 Series Coupe will be offered as both a 428i, featuring BMW's award-winning TwinPower Turbo 2.0-liter 4-cylinder and as a 435i with the multi-award winning Twin Power Turbo 3.0-liter inline six. Both will be available with a standard 8-speed sport automatic or six-speed manual transmission. Both will also be offered with a cho ...

Morgan LMP2 Nissan

14 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of Morgan's famous Le Mans class win, the British company teamed up with French squad Oak Racing for a return to the legendary endurance race. As per the agreement, Oak Racing's existing LMP2 prototype would be fielded as Morgans from the start of the anniversary year by Oak Racing themselves and Conquest Endurance in the United States.

Virtually identical to the cars fielded by Oak in 2011, the Morgan LMP2 was again based on the Pescarolo 01 design that dates back to 2007. Like most contemporary Le Mans Prototypes, the Oak/Pescarolo/Morgan is built around a carbon fibre monocoque with double wishbone and push-rod suspension on all four corners. Over the years, the aerodynamics have evolved and at the start of the 2012, all new, more upright headlights were introduced.

At the Morgan LMP2's debut the engine of choice was the Judd HK V8. As per the LMP2 regulations, this was based on a production engine, in this case the BMW M3 V8. Among the ...

Porsche 962 CK6

14 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Established in the early 1960s by brothers Manfred and Erwin, Kremer Racing quickly emerged as one of the leading Porsche privateers. The team not only successfully raced Porsche products but also became famous for improving the existing designs, often with backdoor support. What started with fitting more aggressive camshafts on the 911 Carrera RSR, quickly evolved in building complete cars around bare shells supplied by Porsche. Among these was the Porsche 935 K3, which dominated GT racing in the late 1970s and even scored an outright victory at Le Mans in 1979.

By the early 1980s, sports car racing regulations were reshuffled and from 1982, the World Championship would be run for all-new Group C prototypes. With no customer version of the Porsche 956 Group C racer available yet at the start of the 1982 season, Kremer Racing went about building their own based on the earlier 936 design. Dubbed the CK5, the latest Kremer was, for a change, no match for Porsche's own car and as s ...

Zytek Z11SN Nissan

14 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

In an effort to reduce costs and make prototype racing more accessible, the LMP2 regulations were thoroughly revised ahead of the 2011 season. A maximum price was set for all of the car's major components and additionally it was stipulated that the engine had to be based on a production unit. One of the leading LMP2 chassis and engine manufacturers, Zytek Motorsport stepped up to the new challenge and revised the existing chassis design while also partnering with Nissan Motorsport (Nismo) to develop a new engine.

Dubbed the Z11SN, the new-for-2011 Zytek was clearly a development of the 07S originally introduced in 2007. In fact the first Z11SN actually used the same chassis as one of the existing cars. A conventional Le Mans Prototype, the Z11SN boasts a carbon-fibre monocoque chassis with double wishbone suspension at all four corners. The in-board mounted springs and dampers are actuated by push-rods. The aerodynamics package of the Z11SN was also an evolution of the early Zyt ...

Porsche LMP1

12 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

The new Porsche LMP1 sports prototype, which will compete in the sports car World Endurance Championship (WEC) and in the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 2014, successfully completed its first rollout today on the Porsche test track in Weissach. Before the eyes of the entire Board of Porsche AG, Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard took his new 'wheels' through its initial function check.

The LMP1 racer turned its first laps on the circuit several weeks earlier than originally planned. "We are well on schedule," says Fritz Enzinger, Head of LMP1. "Our newly formed team has worked with utmost concentration on getting this highly complex vehicle on the track as soon as possible. This allows us a few additional weeks for more testing and further development. From 2014, the regulations are primarily based on efficiency. This makes the competition amongst engineers more interesting and presents us with completely new challenges."

Since the decision in mid-2011 to return with the LMP1 r ...

Toyota Camatte57s

12 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Where better to unveil a car that's all about bringing the family together than a toy show? Toyota is presenting the Camatte57s, a sporty, open-top family-focused concept car, in the colourful surroundings of the Kids' Life Zone at this week's Tokyo Toy Show.

Toyota's new concept is about sharing ideas to build the ideal car, inspired by the fun generations of mums, dads and kids have had making things together. It believes involving youngsters in choosing the shape and look of a car will help these drivers of the future learn more about the fun aspects of motoring.

The Camatte57s builds on Toyota's original Camatte concept, shown last year, with a greater range of customisation opportunities that are even easier to apply.

The body is made up of 57 small, lightweight, detachable panels that can be finished in a wide choice of different colours and designs. The open top roadster body style adds to the fun factor and allows everyone on board to enjoy the colourful ex ...

Vencer Sarthe

12 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Vencer started with the development of a niche and completely new sports car. Internally this secret-project was better known as "#1". After approaching the end of the project we gave the car his final model-name "Sarthe".

The Vencer Sarthe is an exclusive hand-built 2-seater sports car. The basis of the car is a hybrid space frame chassis, made of high grade tubular steel, with chrome-molybdenum safety structure and rear sub-frame. The floor of the Sarthe consists an aluminium honeycomb structure. This combination of materials and techniques results in a lightweight, super strong and rigid chassis.

For a low total weight and optimum safety, the body panels are made of lightweight carbon. The moulds used for these parts are precisely CNC manufactured to ensure the highest possible surface quality and accurate measurements.

The 8-cylinder engine is placed behind the driver, in a mid-engine configuration. The engine is directly bolted onto the 6-speed transaxle gearb ...

VUHL 05

12 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Following the global announcement from VUHL Automotive in March, confirming it is embarking on the launch of an all-new road-legal lightweight supercar - the VUHL 05 - the company today releases exclusive new images of the car being tested at a secret location.

In addition, VUHL Automotive is proud to confirm that it has entered into a technical support arrangement with Michelin, and will be supported by the renowned tyre brand for the VUHL 05 global public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, from 11-14 July 2013.

The VUHL 05 arrives in the UK next month, in time for its world debut at Goodwood, fully equipped with Michelin tyres. Embodying the ultimate in automotive technology from around the world, the supercar's handling has been optimised in the UK, with further testing and development taking place, with assistance from Michelin in the U.S. and Europe, later this year. Car bodies will be fabricated in Canada with final assembly conducted by the advanced manufactu ...

Morgan LMP2 Judd

11 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Alpine M63

10 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

From his Renault dealership in Dieppe, France, Jean Rédélé campaigned Renaults and later his own Renault-engined Alpines since the early 1950s, so he was understandably upset when Renault entrusted the latest Gordini engines to René Bonnet for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1962. Bonnet's cars failed against the CD Panhards, which prompted Rédélé to once again state his case at Renault. This time he found a willing ear, and for 1963, he would also have access to the Gordini-tweaked engines.

The engine deal was not struck until November of 1962, leaving Rédélé precious few months to design and construct Alpine's first purpose-built racing car. Being primarily a car salesman, he needed help with both. Following a suggestion from a journalist friend, he asked Lotus designer Len Terry to create a set of drawings for the new Alpine Le Mans car. Terry had not been informed of some significant rule changes, so his original design had to be ...

Austin Healey Le Mans Sprite

10 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Soon after the Sprite was introduced, Austin Healey embarked on a competition program aimed specifically at the American market. The primary objective was to excel at Sebring where Austin Healey had recorded impressive results in the past. Accordingly, the competition cars are today commonly referred to as 'Sebring Sprites'. During the 1960s, the 24 Hours of Le Mans also became an objective and Austin Healey went to great lengths to create suitable racers based on the Sprite platform.

For 1965 an all-new aluminium body was introduced that was the result of extensive wind-tunnel testing. Sporting a sharp nose, slippery lines and a cut-off 'Kamm' tail, this was the shape found to be most suitable for the long straights at Le Mans. Four sizeable circular headlights were mounted under plexiglass covers fitted flush with the nose. Two large, adjustable flaps were fitted on the top and bottom of the nose to control the flow of fresh air to the radiator.

Underneath the slippery ...

Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa

10 Jun 2013 17:35:59 CST

Thanks to his test-driving and engineering skills, Giotto Bizzarrini was hired by Ferrari in 1957. Here he first fine-tuned existing models and eventually was given the responsibility to develop a new line of GT racers. He was busy developing the 250 GTO, when he together with a number of other key people left the company in the infamous 'palace revolution' of 1961. Together the defectors formed ATS to rival Ferrari in both sportscar and single seater racing, but due to conflicting opinions, Bizzarrini quickly left the new manufacturer. He then worked as a consultant for Count Volpi for whom he created the 'Breadvan' Ferrari and for Feruccio Lamborghini for whom he designed the V12 engine that would power Lamborghini sports cars for decades to come.

In 1962, he teamed up with Renzo Rivolta, who was turning his Iso company into a manufacturer of sports cars. Bizzarrini's first job was to help develop a sophisticated platform chassis for the 'Iso Rivolta' 2+2 coupe. He was then co ...