NASCAR rivals Jeff Gordon and Clint Bowyer sparked a huge post-race pit brawl this week at the Phoenix International Raceway, after Gordon deliberately ran Bowyer into the wall during the AdvoCare 500.
“Things just escalated over the year and I’d just had it,” Gordon said afterwards. “Clint has run into me numerous times, wrecked me and he got into me on the back straightaway and pretty much ruined our day. I’ve had it, fed up with it and got him back.”
The all-in brawl initially started between Bowyer’s pit crew and Gordon. Then, Bowyer himself leapt from his car and made a long dramatic run over to the melee, but was restrained by officials before he could get involved.
NASCAR fined Gordon $100 000 for intentionally causing a wreck.
It may have been 110 less than the 440 redundancies first mooted four months ago, but Ford Australia still had to fire 212 employees today, on top of the 118 volunteer redundancies received since the call went out in July.
With over half of the 330 lost jobs split between Broadmeadows and its 87-year old Geelong facility, Ford says the cuts are essential as it strives to reduce manufacturing capacity by 30 per cent in line with falling demand for Falcon.
Though of little comfort to the sacked employees, Ford says the 110 saved positions are the result of its 51 per cent share acquisition of FPV Ford Performance Vehicles from former majority stakeholder Prodrive. Subsequently Ford is moving FPV’s facilities in-house from January.
Not content with sponsoring the London Olympics, BMW will now actually compete in the 2014 Winter Games with this – a specially designed two-man bobsled.
Sort of… the Bavarian firm is aiming “to leverage its world-class engineering and design expertise to answer longstanding equipment and innovation needs of the U.S. Bobsled Team”.
Although BMW bangs on about “lightweight materials, optimised aerodynamics and chassis dynamics” it mercifully resists the urge to mention Olympic Joy.
Speaking of not mentioning, the last time the US two-man team scored Olympic gold was at the 1936 Winter Games, held in BMW’s hometown… and organised by the Sports Office of the Third Reich.
Are you a well-heeled business scion who can’t bear being separated from your beloved Bentley while away for work? The St Regis hotel in New York has partnered with the upper-crust British car maker to meet the needs of an emerging and slightly worrying market that not only wants to own and drive a Bentley but live and sleep in one as well.
No, the St Regis hasn’t put beds in Bentleys, it has completely renovated one of its largest suites to mirror Bentley automobile interiors. For just $9,500 a night, the Bentley Suite will let you lay your head on a pillow of the finest Connolly leather. Okay, we made that last bit up.
The suite, which occupies 1700 square feet on the hotel’s 15th floor, includes a foyer, dining room, lounge, bedroom and bathroom. Rich wood finishings, cream leather walls (yes, really) and black leather floor tiles (that too) deliver that authentic Bentley touch, while floor to ceiling windows in the lounge let one gaze on one’s domain with superiority and just a touch of disdain.
The suite comes with your very own butler and exclusive use of the hotel’s chauffeur-driven Mulsanne.
No, the Ener-G-Force is not a drink that gives you wings, or a 1980s cartoon, but a glimpse of what a future G-Wagen military style SUV might look like.
Created for next week’s LA Show Design Challenge, which asked crayon wielders to come up with what a 2025 Highway Patrol Vehicle might look like, the annoyingly dubbed Ener-G-Force is a seven-seater crossover concept that might someday morph into Mercedes’ Range Rover-pummelling flagship. Maybe.
Despite the butch retro G-Wagen styling, there’s plenty of eco-imagineering executed within, including roof-mounted recycled water tanks for the fuel-cell tech, promising clean energy, high performance and 800km of range, while the side skirts house swappable battery packs.
Tell you what, if they actually build this we’ll eat all the tyres.
Well-heeled blokes who fancy the sight of themselves in racing boots and driving gloves and have a lazy million lying around, we bring you good news – the MP4 12C Can-Am!
Boasting around 470kW from a recalibrated 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8 (up from ‘just’ 441kW), it pays visual homage to the Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme racing high-flyers of the 1960s.
Accordingly the Can-Am sports a carbon fibre spoiler and dash, FIA-approved roll cage, seats with six-point harnesses, and 12C GT3 wheel (among other go-faster bits), even though it hasn’t been homologated for any existing competition series.
Sadly, only 30 will be made from March, and all in this stunning Kardashian Orange. None will be road-legal, either, but if you’ve got that much money, you probably own a race track.
In the December issue of Wheels, we uncork the champers and crack open the COTY vault to celebrate 50 years of the world’s longest-established new-car award. Join us, as we gaze nostalgically at the cars, the controversies, the characters and the crashes. Plus, why we stand by the Leyland P76, and where we stand on the Camira.
Back in the present, we bring you the nominees for COTY 2012, before looking to the future, with a peek under the bonnet at the high-tech, small-block Chevrolet V8 that will power the next chapter in Australian performance sedans.
All that, plus a mega-test of thirteen small cars, a three-car hot hatch shootout, and much more in Wheels December, on sale now!
Click here to download our digital edition
Yes, it’s as weird as it sounds. Usually conservative Mercedes-Benz has harnessed Japan’s anime culture to advertise its forthcoming A-class baby hatchback. The theme for this made-for-internet mini-feature is the hunt for a mythical noodle-truck. Watch it and be bewildered!
Download the Wheels digital edition!
So, you think Australia is the lucky country? Wait until you see how little Americans pay for some cars, and how much more they cost in Oz. It’s almost enough to make you want to move Stateside for good.
With Christmas nearing it’s time to decide what you’ll get that automotive tragic in your life. You know, the bloke who’d rather run full-race-length suspension trials on his Gran Turismo simulator instead of watching Clarke and co rip the Sud Efreekens apart with his mates down the booza.
How about a life-size Formula One simulator, complete with replica F1 car? For just $140 000 plus delivery, your loungeroom Lewis Hamilton could be the envy of his — well, he probably doesn’t have many friends, does he?
Buyers get to pick out the body colour and wheel rim colour on ordering, and then wait 12-18 weeks for engineers to turn up on their doorstep to install their machine, which includes three 23-inch monitors and a speaker tower. They’ll also teach you how to use the system, but they stop short of showing you the lines through Eau Rouge or the Mirabeau.
According to the manufacturer, FMCG International which has been making simulators since 1986, some clients use it as a full racing aid.
“Feedback from our clients has been amazing,” said FMCG CEO Michael Harvey, “from individuals using it at home to clients in USA using it as a full race training aid. Drivers are fully absorbed into the virtual environment created from sitting in our simulator. The large screens create a precise driving experience and drivers can choose from all the current F1 teams and tracks.”
As for the car itself, it’s said to be indistiguishable from the real thing. It’s made of carbon fibre and composites, and is fitted with Pirelli F1 tyres and AP Racing or Brembo racing brakes. So, grab an engine, ditch the screens and we’ll see you on the grid in Monaco, yes?
