The Victorian government’s 18 month Parliamentary Inquiry into Motorcycle Safety (PIMS) conducted by the parliamentary road safety committee resulted in a 500+ page report and 64 recommendations.
Following intense lobbying from road safety advocates with assistance from Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, the Victorian government and VicRoads have agreed to support a filtering awareness campaign.
The lobby group referred to a European motorcycle accident study (MAIDS) that found lane filtering reduced rider crash rates by up to six times, eased congestion and increased driver and rider awareness of motorcycle safety.
John Voyage, road safety lawyer with Maurice Blackburn said rider safety advocates had worked tirelessly to present evidence the government couldn’t ignore.
“Filtering has proven to increase motorist awareness of riders on the road, leading to fewer collisions and serious injuries,” he said.
We’d love to see the classifieds ad for this car.
For sale: One ultra-rare, track-focused Ferrari FXX. One of only 30 built with just 900kms on the clock. Only one famous owner, Mr Michael Schumacher. Price? A very reasonable $3 million.
Yes, the car you see here is actually Michael Schumacher’s famous black FXX – built especially for him when he was still Ferrari’s golden child.
Driven at special promotion events, and of course at the Top Gear test track where it smashed the record with Schumacher at the wheel, the car is being offered for sale by an authorised Ferrari dealer in Sweden.
The only black FXX in existence, it boasts a heavily tuned V12 from Ferrari’s Enzo supercar producing 588kW and 0-100km/h time of 2.5 seconds.
But if $3 million is a little out of price range, don’t worry. The dealer is also selling Schumacher’s personal Enzo for a more reasonable $1.5 million.
It’s done slightly more mileage, though, with 8500km on the clock but does boast a number of famous signatures under its bonnet including Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo.
It might look like a Sci-Fi movie prop, but what you’re looking at is actually the world’s fastest electric car.
Called ZEOD RC (Zero Emissions On Demand Racing Car), Nissan has built this ground-breaking creation to race at next year’s Le Mans 24 Hours.
Based on the radical DeltaWing racer, the ZEOD RC uses the same lithium-ion batteries as the Nissan Leaf and should, unlike current hybrid Le Mans racers, be able to run solely on electric power.
With its narrow track, 700kg kerb weight and low rocket-like design, Nissan claims the ZEOD RC should hit around 300km/h.
The car will run under special dispensation in ‘Garage 56’ at next year’s Le Mans enduro, with Nissan to release more details as the event approaches.
Le Mans is one of the world’s toughest endurance races, but it’s also one of the most beautiful.
And with the 81st running of the iconic event taking place overnight, we thought it appropriate to share these breathtaking images and celebrate one of the fastest, most heartbreaking and rewarding races on the planet.
Enjoy.
The world’s most beautiful supercar (that’s official that is) the Aston Martin Vanquish, has gone topless.
And believe it or not, by removing its roof Aston has managed to make the new Vanquish Volante even more jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
Officially unveiled overnight, the Volante is Aston’s new flagship GT car, with its $510,040 price tag sitting it above the $472,840Vanquish coupe.
So what do you get for your extra cash?
No extra power sadly, with the Volante using the same 421kW/620Nm 6.0-litre V12 as its hardtop sibling.
That means a 0-100km/h sprint of 4.1 seconds and a top speed of 295km/h.
What you do get however, is a whole lot of engineering wizardry.
The Volante is Aston’s first convertible to boast a body made entirely from carbonfirbe, making it the stiffest open-top car ever produced by the British brand.
It’s also the first Aston to use a full height windscreen – meaning the glass meets the fabric roof with no ugly rubber seals.
The lightweight, triple-skin roof is also clever, taking just 14 seconds to fully retract.
No word yet on when the Volante will arrive in Australia, but deliveries are expected to begin in Europe later this year.
Holden will ask its workers to take pay cuts or voluntary redundancies as it looks to secure its manufacturing future in Australia.
Facing what Holden says are ‘unprecedented economic challenges’, the brand today announced it has opened discussions with its workers and unions to drastically reduce labour costs.
This will mean pay cuts and more redundancies for Holden’s extensive workforce.
Holden says it is yet to offer any proposal to its employees, yet early, unfounded media reports suggest the move could costs workers up to $200 a week, or more than $10,000 a year.
“This is about giving Holden employees a direct say in their future,” said Mike Devereux. “We can’t survive as a local manufacturer if we’re not competitive and we don’t reduce our costs.”
The announcement comes just months after Ford revealed it will cease local manufacturing in 2016.
Devereux said labour costs are Holden’s biggest economic ‘penalty’ and added the brand is looking to reach a ‘fair and reasonable agreement’ with its work force.
“Every single possible option is on the table,” said Devereux. “But I must state Holden is committed and remains committed to building cars here. But we also recognise there is a need to improve our competitiveness on a global scale.”
Holden says it costs $3750 more to build a General Motors car in Australia than anywhere else in the world – a figure it says needs to be drastically reduced.
Holden is hoping to reach a resolution with its workers and unions by August, in time for the Federal election.
Volvo and art. Not two words you’d expect to find in the same sentence, but this month Switzerland’s Zurich central train station became a temporary gallery for some very Volvo-related artistry.
This year’s Volvo Art Session which ran from June 7-9 called on artists from Europe to come up with a creation to tie in with the theme ‘Designed Around You’, oh and a 2014 Volvo XC 60 had to be incorporated into each artwork. No easy task given that the XC60 is a 1.8-tonne SUV.
Starting with a white XC60 with a blank canvas backdrop, the results though were impressive and only fleeting – when each art work was created it would then be painted over by the next artist. Before being erased each artwork was shot by Italian Photographer Francesco Carrozzini.
Volvo Art Session has been held for the past three years, this year’s event featured German graffiti ace DAIM, French-American team Koralie & Supakitch, Poland’s Etam Cru, Swiss designer Blanda Eggenschwiler, Canadians Lexr & Evoke and Germany’s Daniel Man.
Volvo Car Australia has announced it will become the fifth manufacturer to contest V8 Supercars – beginning at next year’s Clipsal 500.
In conjunction with its factory-aligned performance division Polestar, Volvo Oz has formed Volvo Polestar Racing and will enter the 2014 season tied to Garry Rogers Motorsport. The division will field two cars – both S60 sedans – running Volvo-developed V8 engines.
“Today is a very significant day,” said V8 Supercar Commission Chairman Mark Skaife. “It’s very positive for them [Volvo] to re-enter Australian motorsport … The Garry Rogers team will be a fully-fledged, factory-backed team”.
Volvo is no stranger to Aussie motorsport. In 1986, Robbie Francevic won the Australian Touring Car championship in a 240 Turbo, and in 1998, Volvo blitzed the field with a one-two finish at the Bathurst Super Tourer 1000. Given the enormity of its V8 Supercar ambition, Volvo hopes this venture will continue its history of motorsport success.
Factory funding will come entirely from Volvo Car Australia, with support from Volvo in Sweden. “Obviously, it’s about showcasing the S60 – bringing it to a wider audience than previously,” said Volvo Car Australia’s Managing Director, Matt Braid.
As for Garry Rogers Motorsport, it will be situation normal, except for the cars. “Everyone at my place [GRM] is so excited about it. Everyone knew we’d spoken to Chrysler and other people. … it won’t be an easy gig but we’re confident we can do the job.”
Volvo Oz boss Matt Braid is equally confident the S60s can succeed – “we’re very confident we’ll achieve results on the track.”
The engine the cars will use is believed to be a development of Volvo’s 4.4-litre V8 developed with Yamaha and once fitted to road cars like the XC90 and S80. “The engine will be a Volvo engine which Polestar are developing for us,” said Garry Rogers. As for when GRM will start testing cars, Rogers said “we would believe with our workforce that we will have a car to test late November/early December.”
With five makes on the grid at Clipsal 500 next February, the 2014 V8 Supercar season promises to be a scorcher.
Like a twisted necrophiliac Toyota has been promising to revive the iconic Supra for a while now.
But after years of teasing, the Japanese brand’s new head honcho has just given us the best indication yet that the Supra will return in 2015.
In fact, Toyota’s incoming chairman Takeshi Uchiyamada, says a new Supra is exactly the thing the company needs.
Speaking about the brand’s upcoming sportscar in partnership with BMW, Uchiyamada says Toyota needs a new ‘mid-sized’ car, adding that simply replicating the GT86 would be ‘futile’.
But despite his enthusiasm, Uchiyamada stressed the final decision would be up Toyota’s engineers, not him.
Still having the support of Toyota’s top brass can only be a good thing for Supra diehards…
It seems Porsche likes giving itself presents.
Not content with simply releasing a special edition car, the German company will celebrate the iconic 911’s 50th birthday with a ‘summer long’ exhibition at its Stuttgart museum.
Entitled ‘50 years of the Porsche 911’, the exhibition looks at the entire 911 range, with 40 models on display from the first 1963 model to the current seventh-generation 991 iteration.
Everyone is invited, with 911 owners, and those born in 1963, permitted free entry.
But in case you can’t make the trip, we’ve compiled a virtual sneak peak for your viewing pleasure.
