A rare piece of motorsport history – Michael Schumacher’s 1991 Benetton B191 F1 car – has sold for an eye watering $330,500.
The car, in which Schumacher scored his first ever F1 points at the 1991 Italian GP, was scheduled to go under the hammer at the Nurburgring today, but has been prematurely snapped up in a private deal.
Offered in race-ready trim, including spare parts and wheels, it’s understood the car won’t be used for competitive racing but will instead go into a private collection in the Middle East.
It might be five weeks away, but car companies are already starting to tease their concepts for the Frankfurt Motor Show.
First cab off the rank is this – the new Infiniti Q30.
The Japanese brand’s hugely important foray into the compact luxury sector, think of it as a competitor for the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3.
To be built in the UK, it’ll share Mercedes-Benz’s front-wheel-drive architecture and is also the first Infinti to have been influenced from the ground up by the brand’s Director of Performance – F1 superstar Sebastian Vettel.
Got 30 grand to blow? Feeling impulsive and have a need for speed?
How about hiring a Bugatti Veyron for a day?
Yes, for ‘just’ 16,500 pounds ($28,230 AUD) UK firm Holders Vehicle Contracts will lend you the king of supercars for 24 hours.
But while that might sound expensive, think about it for a second.
Buying a Veyron outright is hideously expensive, not to mention prohibitive costs like insurance, servicing bills and general running costs.
Rent one, though, and those costs aren’t your worry. Instead it’ll just be you, the Veyron and the open road.
And if 24 hours doesn’t sound long enough, for just $77,000 you can have one for the whole weekend.
We just recommend you don’t crash it. You might end up paying a lot more in insurance premiums…
Peugeot’s most important hot-hatch in years, the 208 GTi, will start from $29,990 plus on roads.
That puts the French brand’s sporty new three-door above most of its key rivals, including the soon to arrive Fiesta ST ($25,990), Volkswagen Polo GTi ($27,790), Skoda Fabia RS ($27,990) and Citroen DS3 Sport ($29,990)
Only the Renault Clio Sport is more expensive at $36,490.
Factor performance and equipment into the equation, though, and the 208 GTi begins to make more sense.
With 147kW/275Nm available from its 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, the 208 is one of the most powerful models in its segment, with Peugeot claiming a 0-100km/h sprint of 6.8 seconds.
Just one drivetrain option is available, with every 208 GTi mated to a six-speed manual. Fuel consumption is rated at 5.9L/100km.
But it’s the way the 208 GTi feels that’s its strongest selling point. Not as hard or as focused as a Renault RS model, the little Pug strikes a nice compromise between performance and comfort.
The ride is firm yet compliant, allowing the 208 to cope well over broken surfaces with minimal loss of traction or kickback through the wheel.
Think of it as a well-sorted road car with capable track day potential.
But it’s not all positive. Letdowns include hard interior plastics on the doors and a compromised steering wheel position, which blocks the instrument panel almost entirely.
Standard equipment includes part-leather sports seats, a 7.0-inch touch-screen media unit with dual USB ports and satnav, as well as 17-inch alloys, auto headlights and wipers plus reverse parking sensors.
Now this is a traffic jam you’d almost want to be caught in.
Formed earlier this week in England, it’s the result of over 200 Supercars all converging on one place to take part in the annual Wilton House Supercar meet.
Headlined by four Pagani Zondas, three Ferrari Enzos and two Bugatti Veyrons, it’s not only being billed as the world’s most expensive jam, but it sounds pretty good too.
It seems we might have been duped.
Remember those ‘teaser’ images that Subaru revealed yesterday of the long awaited BRZ STi?
The ones that mysteriously appeared on the official STi website in Japan with the words ‘coming soon’?
Well after a very excited 24 hours in which the whole internet exploded, it turns out the car in the pictures mightn’t be the STi we’re all waiting for.
A new report from Japanese site 7tune.com claims the car pictured is in fact just a tS version of the BRZ, not the turbo-charged, hardcore STi variant.
The tS has no more power than the standard car, but has body mods and upgraded suspension – like the BRZ ‘S’ Subaru launched here in July.
Subaru Australia couldn’t confirm or deny the reports, nor shed any light on the specificant of any potential STi model, telling Wheels it is still waiting for a reply from Japan.
Stay tuned for more information.
Say what you want about New Zealanders, but they’re a resourceful bunch.
Take Kiwi Ivan Sentch for example.
Desperate to own a classic Aston Martin DB4, but not having a lazy $700,000 to buy one, Ivan isprinting one.
Yes, armed with $500 3D printer, Ivan, who is a programmer from Auckland, is painstakingly assembling a DB4 replica.
So far he’s printed about 72 percent of the parts needed at a cost of around $2000.
This isn’t his first project, either. Ivan’s last project was a Ferrari 250 GTO replica.
Nice.
A hotter, faster, more powerful Subaru BRZ is on its way!
Yes, in a move that is sure to send ripples of happiness throughout the motoring world, Subaru has confirmed* it will build a BRZ STi.
Well kind of…
While no official statement has been made, these teaser images of the BRZ have just appeared on STi’s official Japanese website with the words ‘Coming soon’.
That’s not an official confirmation, but unless STi is being a horrible tease, it’s pretty close.
Subaru Australia couldn’t confirm the car’s existence, telling Wheels it has had no information from STi and maintained the company’s flagship BRZ remains, for now at least, the recently launched ‘S’ model.
As you’d expect, given the shortage of information, there’s no word on specifications or what the finished car will look like.
Stay tuned for more details.
Toyota has shelved plans to build a convertible version of the Toyota 86, according to a new report.
While the model was never officially confirmed, the move to ditch the drop-top sports car comes as a surprise following the unveiling of a production-ready concept at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.
Industry journal Automotive News reports the convertible 86, and a possible turbocharged variant, have both been deemed not financially viable by Toyota.
Sad news for 86 fans, but if the report is true, it’s a move that will see Mazda, and its venerable MX-5, give a massive sigh of relief.
The rendering is fuzzy, but the car you see here is reportedly a new entry-level, cut-price Porsche 911.
Set to be officially unveiled at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show, this new model is called the Blue Edition and is expected to be a less powerful, less equipped version of the iconic 911.
Reports suggest it will be powered by a detuned version of Porsche’s 3.4-litre straight six developing 223kW/287Nm and will hit 0-100km/h in 5.4 seconds.
Mated to Porsche’s dual-clutch PDK transmission, fuel consumption is expected to be 6.4 L/100kmh while top speed will be 266km/h.
Pricing is yet to be confirmed, but just 911 ‘Blue Editions’ are tipped to be built at a price below the current base 911.
What do you think? Would you buy a cut-price 911? Or spend the cash on a Cayman instead?
