Today would have been Peter Brock’s 70th birthday, and what better way to remember him than to celebrate what he did best?
A lot of you will be familiar with this video, but it illustrates so well just what an immense talent he was behind the wheel.
It’s the closing laps of the 1987 Bathurst 1000, and Brock switches his VL Commodore on to slicks on a greasy track and proceeds to spend most of the next couple of laps driving in anything other than a straight line in a bid to catch the leading Texaco Sierras.
He would be unsuccessful on the day, but about nine months later the Sierras would be thrown out of the race, handing Brock his ninth Bathurst victory.
It’s an incredible display of car control, from a time when commitment and driving it ‘loose’ could still be the fastest way to drive a race car. If only it still was!
Happy Birthday Peter Brock, you’ll always be missed.
HERE’S our first official look at the McLaren 650S’s lanky little brother, the McLaren 675LT.
Lighter by 100kg, longer by just 37mm, pumping out more than 400kW per tonne, featuring new go-fast bits that push it from 0-100km/h in 2.9sec and past 200km/h just 5.0sec later, the “Longtail” becomes the most track-focused road car in the sports-car brand’s stable.
Top speed from the seven-speed dual-clutch auto-equipped 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 is 330 km/h.
“The 675LT is as fully track-focused as it is road legal with around a third of parts modified to suit this purpose compared with the 650S Coupe and Spider that continue in production alongside it,” McLaren said.
The 675LT features a redesigned front splitter featuring end-plates that provide even more downforce, and body panels wrought from carbonfibre, adding to the weight savings.
McLaren’s focus on shedding mass is so extreme that the 1230kg, 4546mm-long 675LT doesn’t even feature air-conditioning – although you can tick the box for it on the options panel.
Down the rear, the air brake is half as large again as the ones used on other Super Series cars, but lighter.
The dual titanium-tipped exhaust pipes, which poke out of a heavily aerodynamic rear with exposed bodywork, hide a system that is designed to optimise performance and cut another 1.1kg in weight.
Inside, the carbonfibre-shelled seats are lifted from the P1 supercar, and controls for the air-conditioning, if you option it, move from the console to the centrally mounted touchscreen.
McLaren is yet to announce pricing for the 675LT, but it should comfortably exceed the near-$500K for the less hardcore 650S.
Mansory has revealed its own take on the Lamborghini Huracan. And while that’s no surprise – the firm modifies everything from Bugattis to high-end golf carts – it is the unusually good job it’s done on the baby Bull that has our attention.
Providing a welcome change from the wince-inducing products Mansory are better known for, the Mansory Huracan’s bodykit retains much of the car’s sleekness whilst upping its menace. It includes a front and rear bumper, side skirts and rear wing that are, in typical Mansory fashion, all made from carbon fibre.
At the same time new forged 21 x 12.5-inch wheels have been stuffed under the rear guards while 20 x 9.0-inch wheels feature at the front end.
The accompanying 245mm-wide front and 325mm-wide rear tyres will certainly have their work cut out for them thanks to an all-new turbocharger kit Mansory has mated to the Huracan’s 5.2-litre V10. Unlike the usual force-fed Lamborghinis that frequent YouTube crash videos, the Mansory Huracan relies on one turbocharger instead of two for 625kW at 8200rpm and 780Nm at 5300rpm. Mansory says that translates to a 100km/h sprint in 2.9sec and 330km/h maximum speed.
Inside, the interior welcomes a new steering wheel, lashings of carbon fibre and ‘flawless’ leather skin.
Expect to see more of the car when it debuts at early next month at the Geneva Motor Show.
BRAD Jones Racing will pay homage to the life and achievements of media personality Geoff Paradise at the Clipsal 500, carrying a salute to him on the team’s Commodores in Adelaide this weekend.
Following the Clipsal race, the sign will be changed to In Memory Geoff Paradise for the remainder of the season.
The much admired and liked Paradise died tragically last week as a result of injuries sustained in a road crash near his Central Coast home.
Paradise, who created Street Machine, Fast Fours and Rotaries, and Performance Street Car among other titles, was also the man behind the memorable 1984 V8s ‘til ‘98 consumer-led campaign to save the locally made Holden bent eight from GM’s “economic rationalisation”.
More recently, Paradise was the public relations manager for the Daimler Truck and Bus division where he played a key role in the Freightliner sponsorship deal with BJR.
Paradise’s funeral is being held at Palmdale near the NSW central coast today.
PETER Brock was a man whose name and achievements still resonate with motorsport fans almost a decade after his untimely death in Western Australia. That year, 2006, was terrible: in quick succession, Australia tragically lost both wildlife crusader Steve Irwin and then, unthinkably, Brock – the King of the Mountain.
Brock was our hero: a man that stormed Mount Panorama, with nine Bathurst victories including two hat-tricks, and one that took on the world at Spa in the 1980s and even had a few cracks at Le Mans. He also won nine Sandown 500s – seven in a row – and proved no tar-baby in his rallycross XU-1 (nicknamed ‘The Beast’) by winning the 1979 Repco Around Australia Trail – a feat he claimed his biggest accomplishment.
Brock also spawned a thriving high-performance road car business – the Holden Dealer Team Special Vehicles operation out of Bertie Street, Port Melbourne. Building some of our most potent performance cars, it was the forerunner of today’s Holden Special Vehicles business following the infamous Energy Polarizer debacle that saw Brock officially split from Holden, ruining his business – and his reputation.
Today, the man would have turned 70. Scroll through our gallery of archived Wheels images as we say a sad “happy 70th” to arguably Australia’s biggest motoring legend.
Aston Martin has joined Ferrari and McLaren in offering a super-rare track-only hypercar for the world’s richest enthusiasts.
The sensationally-titled ‘Vulcan’ (P1 GTR doesn’t sound so sexy now, does it?) packs a naturally-aspirated 7.0-litre V12 with over 600kW.
It feeds power through a carbon fibre propshaft to a six-speed sequential transaxle manufacturer by Xtrac. Helping put the immense power to the ground are mammoth 345/30 rear slicks.
As you’d expect in such a track-focused machine, the suspension is fully adjustable, including Multimatic’s clever Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) dampers, which replaces the shims found in regular dampers for greater control and more precise tuning.
The Vulcan’s carbon fibre monocoque and bodyshell is also constructed by Multimatic, but despite complying with the most rigorous FIA safety requirements, it is not expected that the Vulcan will comply with any existing race series regulations.
In which case, somebody needs to organise a series for these track-only hypercars as soon as possible; imagine a grid full of LaFerrari XXs, P1 GTRs and Vulcans, maybe with a race-spec Pagani Huayra or Koenigsegg One:1 thrown in for good measure.
Just 24 of these ultra-Astons will be built, and while no price tag has currently been attached, it’s safe to assume it falls firmly into the category of “if you have to ask…”.
In exchange for their outrageous outlay, customers will also receive training from Aston Martin factory driver Darren Turner, both on and off track.
The Vulcan will make its public debut at next week’s Geneva Motor show, and we’ll bring you further details as soon as they come to light.
What’s faster than an AMG and could be coming to Holden showrooms? The Cadillac CTS-V: one of a smorgasbord of high-performance machinery that’s being lined up to replace Holden’s V8 Commodore range.
Whatever lands Down Under, it won’t match the once-in-a-generation benchmarks of the McLaren P1 or Le Ferrari – which we’ve put head-to-head in Italy for the ultimate hypercar fisticuffs.
La Ferrari too expensive? Join us on the streets of Melbourne in the seductive Alfa Romeo 4C that’s the start of the Italian maker’s comeback.
We also look at the Aussies that took over the Detroit Motor Show, while another Aussie – Mark Webber – is our guest columnist and typically doesn’t hold back.
FRONT engined. Rear drive. More than 600kW from a 7.0-litre V12. The track-tearing, bitumen blistering Aston Martin Vulcan has arrived.
The British luxury marque has revealed the look of what will become one of its most exclusive models – only 24 will be made – and the showpiece that hints at the design language of its next generation of ultra desirable, extremely eye-candy sports cars, including the DB10 that will star in the next installment of the James Bond movie franchise. It will be shown in the flesh at the 2015 Geneva motor show.
Featuring a “graduating scale of detailed power and dynamic performance adjustments” – you can read that as drive settings ranging from ‘scalded cat’ to ‘barely controlled nuclear fusion’ – the carbonfibre-bodied Vulcan sheds so much mass that it breaks the current power-to-weight limitations set by the World Endurance Championship.
“Comprising cutting edge engineering including that sourced from the brand’s successful GT racing campaign, the car features a carbon fibre monocoque and body constructed by Aston Martin’s long-term specialist body engineering and manufacturing partner Multimatic, integral limited-slip differential, magnesium torque tube with carbonfibre propeller shaft and Brembo racing calipers acting on carbon ceramic racing disc brakes which measure 380mm in diameter at the front and 360mm at the rear,” the carmaker said.
“Drive is channelled to the 345/30 x19 rear wheels and Michelin race specification tyres through a race-bred rear mid-mounted Xtrac six-speed sequential shift gearbox.
“Track-derived pushrod suspension with anti-dive geometry is complemented by Multimatic’s Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars front and rear, driver-adjustable anti-lock braking, and variable traction control.”
Vulcan buyers will be offered driver training that includes sitting in a driving simulator, and working up through Aston’s portfolio of cars including road-going versions of the Vantage V12 S, the One-77, and into track cars such as the Vantage GT4 at what Aston promises will be “on some of the world’s most famous and glamorous race circuits”.
Aston has promised that performance data, more in-depth technical details and presumably a jaw-dropping price will be released closer to the Vulcan’s track debut later this year.
NISSAN has teased a small European hatchback concept it calls the Sway, flagging that its future Micra replacement is shopping for a new look.
The concept, revealed in part overnight as a tease for the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, shows the concept wearing a more pronoucned V-Motion nose similar to the Sport Sedan Concept unveiled at last year’s Detroit motor show. The V-theme has already swept across the Nissan range, as seen on the 2014 Nissan Qashqai and will be incorporated in the grille of the Micra for its next Australian update, due in April 2015. The update will be limited to styling tweaks and equipement upgrades of the current Micra.
The Sway concept features signature LED daytime running lights sweeping across a compact headlight cluster, and the deep inverted trapezoid grille framed with what appear to be lower air intakes.
We know that the next-generation Nissan Micra is due in 2016 and will be manufactured in both India and France, as it will share its underpinnings with the current Renult Clio. The decision to move production to France was part of an agreement between Renault-Nissan and the French government to maximise capacity across its French plants, however it’s likely that the Australian market Micra will continue to be sourced from India.
The Micra is the company’s second-best selling car in Australia, behind the Pulsar, with Nissan leaning on its expansive SUV range for the bulk of its volume. Despite its segment plummeting a massive 30.8 per cent in 2014, the Micra was second in the micro-car class, outsold only by the Mitsubishi Mirage.
Want all the latest direct from the Geneva Motor Show? Wheels will have extensive coverage of the event from early next week.
Skoda has pulled the sheets off a newly enhanced version of its turbocharged RS sedan that promises to be the quickest Octavia yet.
Taking a leaf out of sister marque Volkswagen’s Golf GTI Performance, the new top-spec mid-sized front driver lifts power outputs and comes with number of light enhancements to keep the sheen on the RS halo.
The evergreen 2.0-litre turbo four has been massaged to lift the kilowatt count from the regular car’s 162 to 169kW, or 230 horsepower.
The RS 230 will also adopt the same electronically controlled differential as fitted to Volkswagen’s hottest front-driven hatch to improve drive and enhance dynamics.
While powertrain updates are fairly modest, it levels the Octavia RS’s on-paper performance abilities with that of the GTI Performance and improves acceleration for a 6.7sec 0-100km/h claim, making the RS 230 the quickest series-production Skoda yet.
While a full rundown of added features will be revealed at its Geneva show debut, the RS 230 also gets more purposeful seating, a lift in interior detailing and number of exterior styling tweaks separating it from regular RS stock.
On sale in Europe in June in either manual or twin-clutch transmission choices, it’s likely the RS 230 will land here by year’s end, though Skoda Australia is yet to confirm its addition to the local line-up.
