Jaguar has announced it will build the C-X75 hybrid supercar that debuted at last year’s Paris Motor Show. Only 250 will be built, and the handful that make it to Australia will cost buyers a staggering $2 million.
Initially, the car will be powered by a highly-strung forced-induction internal-combustion engine, which will use Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) flywheel hybrid technology straight from the Williams F1 team to power two electric motors: one on each axle. However, parent company Tata has recently bought into a company called Bladon Jets, and says it will “continue to develop the use of the micro-turbine technology that was showcased in the original concept C-X75.”Despite boasting green credentials, the C-X75 will be no slouch, rocketing to 100km/h in under 3.0sec and surpassing a top speed of 320km/h.The C-X75’s chassis will be constructed using the latest carbonfibre manufacturing processes, with production due to commence in the UK in 2013.
Australia’s very own supercar is set to make its debut, albeit in virtual form, at next month’s Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne.
The Joss JP1 is a near-production concept of the famous JT1 that set tongues wagging when it showed up at the same Melbourne Motor Show in 2004.Since then, it has been widely speculated that it will be powered by a 400kW version of Mercedes-Benz AMG’s all-new 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, which could catapult the home-grown rocket to 100km/h in under 3.0sec, and onto a top whack of around 350km/h.“We had an amazing reception for our JT1 prototype in Melbourne several years ago, but building a car business is very involved,” says JOSS technical honcho, and former F1 engineer, Matt Thomas.“So JOSS Developments has spent the last few years working on the business: building investment, working with our technical suppliers, and putting in place the right people so that when we launch JP1 the company will be geared up to deliver a great product to the market.”“[We’re] in a very good place at the moment. We now have significant investment and a team of technical partners – several of which will have JOSS components on our stand for everyone to see – the envy of the industry.”On its AIMS stand, JOSS Developments will show its evaluation mule and a wind tunnel model of the JP1 production model.
Mazda celebrated the 20th anniversary of the legendary 787B’s victory at Le Mans last weekend, taking the old girl back to the Circuit de la Sarthe for a demonstration run.
Briton Johnny Herbert, who was one of three drivers at the wheel during the Mazda’s 1991 victory, stretched its legs in front of a thrilled crowd.The 787B is powered by the R26B peripheral-ported quad-rotor engine, producing around 515kW at a stratospheric 9000rpm. Despite the peaky delivery, drivers had only five ratios to play with to keep the 830kg monster on the boil.Mazda elected to restore the 787B for its 20th anniversary celebrations, assembling a number of the race car’s original Mazdaspeed engineers to make up the crew.After the work was done, three former factory Mazda race drivers completed test runs at the Mine Proving Ground.The 787B (an evolution of the 787 raced in 1990) remains the only Japanese car to win the Le Mans 24 Hour race. Wankel engines were subsequently outlawed from the 1992 season. As a result, the 787B remains something of a cult figure among rotary enthusiasts.
Audi scored a surprise 1-2 victory at the 2014 Le Mans 24 Hour, the R18 e-tron quattro of Marcel Fassler/Andre Lotterer/Benoit Treluyer greeting the chequered flag in a formation finish with the sister car of Lucas Di Grassi/Marc Gene/Tom Kristensen.
The Toyota TS040 of Anthony Davidson/Nicholas Lapierre/Sebastien Buemi finished third, five laps behind the winner.
Despite lacking outright pace early in the event, the Audis outlasted the opposition to score the German marque’s 13th win from the last 15 runnings of the iconic French race. Pre-race favourites Toyota suffered an early blow when the TS040 of Anthony Davidson/Nicolas Lapierre/Sebastien Buemi was involved in an incident on the Mulsanne Straight during a sudden early-race downpour, which also forced the retirement of the Audi of Filipe Albuquerque/Marco Bonanomi/Oliver Jarvis.
The pole-sitting Toyota of Alexander Wurz/Stephane Sarrazin/Kazuki Nakajima led comfortably until an electrical fire ended its race in the fourteenth hour. Porsche, returning to Le Mans after a 16-year hiatus, suffered a number of mechanical problems with both cars, but the 919 Hybrid of Mark Webber/Brendon Hartley/Timo Bernhard found itself leading the race with two hours to go after both remaining Audis required lengthy pitstops for turbocharger replacements.
However, the fairytale finish was not to be, as first the Webber/Hartley/Bernhard car then the sister machine of Neel Jani/Romain Dumas/Marc Lieb was forced into retirement. This paved the way for Audi to secure a dominant 1-2, the sole remaining Toyota remarkably recovering to fill the final podium spot after running as low as 47th following its early crash.
Even more impressive was the Di Grassi/Gene/Kristensen Audi’s second placing, as the car was virtually destroyed in an accident during Wednesday practice. The crash forced Audi to draft in Marc Gene to replace the injured Loic Duval, while the team incredibly rebuilt the car overnight.
In the LMP2 category, the Ligier-Nissan of Alex Brundle/Jann Mardenborough/Mark Shulzhitskiy led for the majority of the race before engine problems late in the race dropped it out of contention, allowing the Zytek-Nissan of Oliver Turvey/Simon Dolan/Harry Tincknell to take victory.
The battle for GTE honours was a race highlight, the factory Aston Vantages and Chevrolet Corvettes dicing furiously with the lead Ferrari 458 of Giancarlo Fisichella/Gianmaria Bruni/Toni Vilander. As the Astons and Chevrolets fell by the wayside, the Ferrari cruised to a commanding win.
Over 263,000 spectators attended this year’s race, the largest attendance since the height of the Group C era in 1989. Thanks to victories in the opening two rounds, the third-placed Toyota team of Davidson/Lapierre/Buemi retain their lead in the World Endurance Championship ahead of the winning Audi of Fassler/Lotterer/Treluyer. The next round takes place in Austin, Texas at the Circuit of the Americas on September 20.
Race results
LMP1
1st – Marcel Fassler/Andre Lotterer/Benoit Treluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro)2nd – Lucas Di Grassi/Marc Gene/Tom Kristensen (Audi R18 e-tron quattro)
3rd – Anthony Davidson/Nicholas Lapierre/Sebastien Buemi (Toyota TS040 Hybrid)
LMP2
1st – Oliver Turvey/Simon Dolan/Harry Tincknell (Zytek-Nissan)
GTE Pro
1st – Giancarlo Fisichella/Gianmaria Bruni/Toni Vilander (Ferrari 458 GT2)
GTE Am
1st – David Heinemeier Hansson/Kristian Poulsen/Nicki Thiim (Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE)
Toyota appears poised to re-enter the World Rally Championship, with its Cologne-based motorsports arm currently testing and developing a Yaris-based WRC prototype.
Built to comply with the current era of regulations, the car has so far completed six days of testing to give the Toyota Motorsports Group (TMG) experience in running a modern world rally car under competitive conditions.Toyota president Akio Toyoda publicly stated a desire to return to WRC at this year’s Monte Carlo Rally, but TMG’s program does not yet have approval from Japan. A decision is expected by the end of 2014, however a TMG spokesman said that even if official approval is not given, it’s possible development will continue and cars at both WRC and WRC2 level will be offered to privateers.Regardless of whether or not the program receives official backing from Toyota, it’s unlikely a car will be seen on the stages until at least 2017, a year in which the WRC is expected to usher in a new era of regulations. Toyota last competed in the WRC in 1999, winning the manufacturer’s championship, while Neal Bates competed locally in a Corolla WRC until 2001.With Volkswagen recently extending its commitment to the WRC until 2019, Toyota’s involvement sets up the tantalising prospect of the world’s two largest car makers going head-to-head in the forest.
Story from the August issue of MOTOR magazine
They introduced F1 to modern turbocharger technology, won Le Mans, took a mid-engine rear-drive hot hatch into rallying, made one of the most famous and craziest vans of all time, brought light, dynamic front-drive naturally aspirated hot hatches back into fashion and then actually built a mid-engine V6-powered rear-drive production version of said hot hatch. They are Renault and we love these French madmen.
Their latest madcap venture is the Twin’Run concept car – a vehicle Renault claims will reinvent city cars as we know them as well as paying its dues to some of Renault’s craziest concept and production cars from the last 30 years. It was the newest of those machines, the insane Clio V6, which the Twin’Run draws most heavily on.
Like the limited-production Clio, the Twin’Run has a mid-mounted V6 engine that drives the rear wheels only. However, while the Clio used a production-ready shell, the Twin’Run sits on a custom tube-frame chassis made by French company Tork Engineering.
The blue and red bodywork stretched over the top of the custom frame is made up of composite glass-polyester panels, designed to evoke memories of the super-tough little Renault R5 Turbo and Maxi super-hatches that terrorised Group B rallying back in the 1980s. The headlights, door signage and those funky, super-slim LED driving lights (measuring just 25mm thick!) are all nods to the ’80s icon, though Twin’Run’s motorsport roots go much deeper than just aesthetics.
Rather than using any old V6 they had sitting around the factory, Renault installed a 236kW, 380Nm 3.5-litre V6 from a Megane Trophy race car. Coupled to a six-speed sequential gearbox, twin-plate clutch and limited-slip diff, the Twin’Run needs the race car-inspired double-wishbone suspension that uses lightweight aluminium construction and solid mounts. Renault chose to fit Ohlins coilover struts at each corner, with 22mm and 25mm swaybars (front and rear, respectively).
The race theme continues inside, with the roll cage left exposed, the fixed-back Sparco seats, high-mount gear-shifter and handbrake, Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel, door cards and dashboard, plus an aluminium pedal set designed for heel-toe driving. Twin’Run also features a 5.5-inch LCD screen behind the steering wheel in place of a regular dash, which shows all the vital signs.
Despite tipping the scales at a featherweight 950kg, Twin’Run features huge 356x32mm brake discs up front and 328x30mm discs in the rear, clamped by six-piston (front) and four-piston (rear) calipers. They hide behind 18×7.5-inch (front) and 18×8.5-inch (rear) wheels, shod in 205/40 and 245/35 Michelin rubber, front to rear.
The Twin’Run is claimed to do 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds, going on to a top speed of 250km/h. We’d love to see a production version, Renault!
The fastest Ferrari to officially be sold new in Australia has hit our shores, with the F12berlinetta going on sale. The 540kW V12 monster is seen by many at Ferrari as the most track-focused model they’ll sell Down Under, as the LaFerrari hybrid hypercar has not been confirmed for official importation to Oz. Check out our gallery of F12 pics!
When 515kW (690hp!) from your Lamborghini Aventador’s 6.5-litre V12 isn’t enough, and a top speed of 350km/h just isn’t up to the mark, German tuner Novitec has the answers. Known for its ability to extract maximum performance from Ferraris and Maseratis, the go-fast specialist has now set its sight on Sant’Agata Bolognese’s finest.
With the aim of “maximising form and function”, the Novitec Aventador features a carbonfibre aero package, wind tunnel tested to increase downforce and give the car a more “aggressive” appearance.
The big V12 has been revised with new engine management software and ultra-lightweight, free-flow exhaust. Final engine output is yet to be confirmed, but it should be enough to lower the car’s already outrageous 2.9sec time for the 0-100km/h sprint.
Suspension is upgraded the big bull wears custom 20 inch alloy rims. Inside, the cockpit can be optioned with a range of carbon elements.
Legendary German tuning house AC Schnitzer has taken BMW’s super-fast M6 range and gone bonkers with it, turning it into the ultimate Autobahn brawler!
While BMW thought 412kW and 680Nm is more than enough power under your right foot, AC Schnitzer boosted the M6’s twin-turbocharged V8 engine up to 456kW and 790Nm, along with lowering the suspension, changing the wheels (20-inch or 21-inch, your pick) and heaping on the styling changes with swathes of carbon fibre. These modifications are available to the general public in Germany on all M6 Coupe, Convertible or Gran Coupe variants.
As part of a co-ordinated global reveal, taking place simultaneously in Melbourne, London, Istanbul, New York and St Petersburg, Mazda has unveiled its next generation Mazda3 hatch, due to go on sale locally (with its sedan sibling) in the first quarter of next year.
Based on Mazda’s swoopy ‘Kodo’ design language, the new car’s wheelbase is 60mm longer, 40mm wider and 15mm lower than its predecessor. Speaking at the Melbourne launch, the head of Mazda’s Advanced Design Studio, Yasushi Nakamuta said the new 3 has been designed to express “the pent up energy of a hunting animal locked on its prey.”
The car will be offered initially with a choice of 2.0-litre and 2.5-litre petrol engines, using the Japanese maker’s ‘Skyactiv’ technology to reduce weight and maximise fuel-efficiency. Mazda says pricing and exact specification will be confirmed closer to the car’s on-sale date.
