We love any new Porsche here at Wheels, but the ones we’re most looking forward to in 2013 are these – the new 991 GT3 and Turbo. Always the expert at maintaining consumer interest with a series of sub-model launches, don’t expect to see either of these Porsches in Australia until at least April. Until then, though, we have this video of both cars being thrashed at the Nurburgring. Trust us, watch it.
But what do we know of these new hot Porsches? Well as tradition dictates the Turbo will have wider bodywork at the rear, huge air inlets on its hips and four-wheel-drive. Oh and did we mention two huge turbos fitted to Porsche’s iconic flat-six?
The GT3 meanwhile will be powered by Porsche’s naturally aspirated 3.8-litre six and produce around 340kW.
Stay tuned for more information on when these cars will hit Australian roads.
A car that drives itself!? Audi has just released its latest tech at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show, including a new ‘piloted driving system’. It drives the car in heavy traffic up to speeds of 60km/h, freeing the driver up for ‘other tasks’. So how does it do it? With radar of course. The system uses Audi’s adaptive cruise control technology, with two radar sensors, a wide-angle video camera, eight ultrasonic sensors and a laser scanner constantly monitoring the car’s surroundings. Driving isn’t the system’s only trick, though, with Audi including an ‘autonomous parking function’, which allows the driver to exit the vehicle and instruct the car to park itself via the key or a smartphone app.
How’s this for a brief: create an electric hypercar with the same level of ‘mechanical attraction’ as a Ferrari or Lamborghini. That’s the task set to a group of young design students in France, and this is what they’ve come up with.
Called the Bugatti Type Zero, this single-seater concept is based on the all-conquering Bugatti Type 35 of the 1920s.
But while the old charger was powered by a 2.0 -litre inline eight, this concept uses electrons for propulsion. Easily replaceable, Lithium-Air batteries line the car’s sidepods, while drive is provided by four electric motors – two on each axle. And as for the driver? A snug carbonfibre monocoque provides a unique central driving position, with an LCD display showing the car’s current charge.
No more promo girls! That’s the catch cry of the Belgian Government, which has embarked on a witch hunt to remove ‘provocatively dressed models’ from this week’s Brussels Motor Show.
Reuters reports Belgium’s equal opportunities minister Joelle Milquet has written to car makers around the globe, criticising their use of promo girls.
Apparently, her letter was prompted by reports of lewd behaviour from men at last year’s show.
This isn’t an isolated incident. Chinese authorities demanded a similar edict at the Chengdu Motor Show last year, while at the recent Summernat’s festival in Canberra a group of promo girls were allegedly molested by a mob of men. Such was the intensity of the attack, some of the women reportedly had clothing ripped off.
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Ten great gifts for motoring mums
Now this is the ultimate man cave!
A 67th floor waterfront condo is up for sale in Chicago, but it’s not the views that are the selling point. It’s the 12-car garage. Hidden behind two ordinary doors, this 2,700 square foot garage boasts a Ferrari-themed showroom and ‘entertainment space’, which includes four Ferraris, two Porsches and an Austin Healey. The room is heated for the cars’ comfort, and includes a bar ordained with motoring memorabilia. Sadly, the cars aren’t listed as being included in the condo’s sale – which is priced at $3.1 million. Happily, you can buy the garage separately, for the princely sum of $2.1 million.
The iconic Chevrolet Corvette is coming to Australian showrooms for the first time in its 60 year history.
After promising for decades, General Motors will finally build a right-hand-drive version of its all-new 2013 Vette, unveiled in Detroit today.
But don’t break out your cheque books just yet. The new car, which GM has adorned with the iconic ‘Stingray’ badge, won’t be on Australian roads for “a few years” according to GM CEO Dan Akerson.
Still, the new car looks like it’s worth the wait. A new Corvette appears once every 10 years, with GM keen to make this new model a truly global car. Revealed to the press at the Detroit Motor Show, the 2013 Corvette is the seventh generation of the famous sportscar.
Faster, lighter and longer than its predecessors, the new Corvette packs a huge, all-new 6.2-litre V8 engine which now features direct injection and variable valve timing, plus a new seven-speed gearbox that pre-empts the correct revs for quicker changes.
As always, power is huge, with the Vette’s 335kW making it the most powerful standard Corvette in history. 0-100km/h is dealt with in less than 4.0 seconds. It’s not all big engine and big power, though. A carbonfibre roof reduces weight while an active fuel management system provides improved fuel economy by shutting off four cylinders in certain situations. The steering too has changed, with the new rack said to be 500 percent stiffer.
And as for money? GM hasn’t revealed pricing of the new car, but said it would be in the range of the current Corvette, which retails at $50,000 USD for the base model. Expect to pay at least double that in Australia.
Do you demand the utmost luxury from your car? Do you also frequently drive across highly volatile war zones? Then this is the car for you. Specially customised by Lexani Motor Cars, this Toyota Sequoia has been turned into a luxurious mobile fortress.
Including features like a champagne bar, widescreen TV and mounted tablet computers, this Toyota can also drive over grenades, withstand 7.62x51mm rifle rounds and survive a landmine blast.
And the price? As you’d expect all this extra luxury and body armour isn’t cheap, with this Toyota costing around $230,000.
KA-POW! The iconic Batmobile, which famously appeared in the 1960s American television show, has sold for a whopping $4.4 million.
Sold at a classic car auction in Scottsdale Arizona last weekend, the original 19-foot long, bubble-topped car was purchased by Rick Champagne, a logistics company executive and long-time Batman fan.
It marks a princely windfall for the car’s previous owner, famed car customiser George Barris, who first bought the 1955 Lincoln Futura concept car for $1 from Ford.
Barris then transformed it into the Batmobile in just 15 days, with a budget of US$15,000, according to the car’s auction notes. Features include: bulletproof Plexiglas bubble windshields; a Bat Ray comprising two 450 Watt lasers; oil squirters and the Bat Phone.
But don’t expect to see the Batmobile fighting crime on the streets. Champagne plans to store his new purchase in his living room.
The official schedule for the first ever Top Gear Festival Sydney, to take place at Sydney Motorsport Park, Eastern Creek for one weekend only – Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th March, has been unveiled.
Jeremy Clarkson, James May and The Stig will be joined by Australian co-host Shane Jacobson and a host of international celebrities as they descend on the newly refurbished Sydney Motorsport Park with over 9 hours of live automotive mayhem each day across two race circuits and live action zones.
For the first time ever on a Sydney track the Red Bull Racing Formula One team together with Mark Webber will take pole position on the new and extended Circuit. As well as attempting to break the lap record they’ll be squaring off against reigning V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup and racing legend Craig Lowndes in The Ultimate Race: F1 Vs V8.
It will be a weekend of motoring firsts as Clarkson throws down the gauntlet to various forms of transport in Clarkson Vs, James May attempts to speed up the Express Postal service with help from a few MotoGP legends with the Postie Bike Challenge, and The Stig sets power lap times in some of the rarest supercars the country has ever seen. Alongside the opening round of 2013 racing for the Touring Car Masters series featuring John Bowe and Jim Richards, and Radical Australia Cup, a world renowned athlete will be taking on Clarkson in a 100m race and we will see if we can get a man to jump a Lamborghini at 100kph
Three celebrity teams will battle it out in the inaugural Tri-Nation’s Cup; a series of motoring challenges that risk life and limb, but ends in glory and possibly a small trophy for the winners. Australia wil be lead by Craig Lowndes, New Zealand skippered by Fabian Coulthard and the rest of the world captained by none other than The Stig. If that’s not enough we’ll be running myPlates Star in a Reasonably Priced Car challenge each day on the technical 1.8km myPlates South Circuit. Australian Socceroo Brett Emerton, Olympic Gold medalist Steve Hooker, cricketing legend and TV personality Michael Slater, Channel 9 reporters Roz Kelly and Emma Freedman and the Triple M Grill Team boys Matty Johns, Gus Worland and Mark Geyer are just a few of the celebrities who will test their limits behind the wheel of our reasonably priced car.
If it’s got wheels and an engine we’ll be pitching it into battles on track. Former F1 World Champion Alan Jones will be setting his 1980 Williams F1 car against Bathhurst legend Colin Bond in Alan Moffat’s 1977 Ford Falcon. Jamie Whincup will be taking on aerobatic pilot Matt Hall to settle which is faster round the track In the Car vs Plane Race. And we’ll be attempting to jet power Clarkson so he can drag race himself down the main straight…
Australia is only the second country in the world to host a Top Gear Festival, and it will only take place in Sydney. Across the Festival weekend the Yokohama Stunts & Jumps Zone will feature extreme stunt rider Matt Mingay, Showtime FMX with their own brand of insane freestyle motocross action, Jack Field and the Flair Action Riders, and Stunt Driving School offering visitors the chance for a white knuckle ride.
Sixteen of Australia’s finest drifters will also take to the myPlates South Circuit in the Just Cars Drifting sessions to tear it up and show the true extremes of drifting lead by Beau Yates, Luke Fink and Rob Whyte. World famous Deus Ex Machina will take to the track, with on-track parades daily to include their world famous creations.
The Variety Family Zone will be filled with fun and entertainment for the younger generation; Land Rover Discovery and freestyle trial bike will be showcasing their skills on the brutal Onsite Rental Group Off-Road Challenge; and there’s a wide range of delicious food and drink experiences, including cider gardens, all combining to create an unmissable weekend.
Jeremy Clarkson was quoted as saying, “it’s another chance for us whinging poms to get sunburnt and attacked by spiders” when Sydney was sighted as the perfect place to host the massive outdoor track festival.
Top Gear Live Creative Director, Rowland French, said “as usual we’ve made it as ambitious as humanly possible, and if we pull it off this will be our greatest festival yet. Nowhere else in the world allows petrolheads to witness Top Gear challenges from the comfort of their own piece of sun drenched grass. What could possibly go wrong, right?”
For more info head to www.topgearfestivalsydney.com.au
