Thursday, September 30, 2010
Today has certainly been the day for new World Rally Championship cars. Not only were the Citroen DS3 WRC and Ford Fiesta RS WRC unveiled, but also the Mini Countryman WRC got its debut at the Paris Motor Show.
The car has been developed in partnership with Prodrive, no strangers to WRC success. Like the DS3 and Fiesta, Mini’s entry uses a 1.6 turbocharged engine, in accordance with the new FIA regulations for 2011. Developed by BMW Motorsport, it will transmit its power via an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox.
Mini has confirmed that it’ll be entering six out of the thirteen scheduled WRC rounds in 2011, before going on to campaign the full season in 2012. Prodrive will also be building customer cars for independent teams to use.
As expected, Kris Meeke has been named as the first driver who will compete for Prodrive in the Mini Countryman WRC. Meeke, from Northern Ireland, is the current Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. It’s rumoured that he could be joined at Mini by two-time WRC champion Marcus Grönholm.
Today has certainly been the day for new World Rally Championship cars. Not only were the Citroen DS3 WRC and Ford Fiesta RS WRC unveiled, but also the Mini Countryman WRC got its debut at the Paris Motor Show.
The car has been developed in partnership with Prodrive, no strangers to WRC success. Like the DS3 and Fiesta, Mini’s entry uses a 1.6 turbocharged engine, in accordance with the new FIA regulations for 2011. Developed by BMW Motorsport, it will transmit its power via an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox.
Mini has confirmed that it’ll be entering six out of the thirteen scheduled WRC rounds in 2011, before going on to campaign the full season in 2012. Prodrive will also be building customer cars for independent teams to use.
As expected, Kris Meeke has been named as the first driver who will compete for Prodrive in the Mini Countryman WRC. Meeke, from Northern Ireland, is the current Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion. It’s rumoured that he could be joined at Mini by two-time WRC champion Marcus Grönholm.
Hot on the heels of the Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Citroën has also today unveiled its 2011 World Rally Championship contender.
The DS3 WRC will have a huge reputation to live up to, seeing as its Xsara and C4 predecessors secured six driver’s titles (all with Sébastien Loeb at the wheel, and all won over consecutive years) and five constructor’s championships. And it looks very likely that Loeb and Citroën will be accomplishing both feats again this year, too.
In developing the new car, Citroën Racing has had to comply with the new 2011 FIA WRC regulations. The biggest change is the shift from 2.0 litre to 1.6 litre turbocharged engines but, with an eye on costs, components such as semi-automatic gearboxes and centre differentials are now banned, while others have to comply with strict cost and weight criteria.
The direct injection engines used in the DS3 WRC have been tuned to produce around 295 bhp (220 kW / 300 PS) and, under the revised rules, each one will be expected to last for up to six rallies. Transmission to the all-wheel drive system is via a fully manual six-speed sequential Sadev gearbox.
Converting the bodywork of the road-going DS3 to WRC specification has involved changing the bumpers and wings in order to reach the maximum permissible width of 1,820 mm. Aerodynamic down force is taken care of by a front splitter and a substantial rear spoiler.
Meanwhile, the door glass has been replaced with polycarbonate, and the doors themselves have been filled with foam to increase side impact protection. Naturally, there’s also a hefty internal roll cage, made from 40 metres of steel tubing.
The 2011 driver line-ups for either the Citroën Total World Rally Team or the Citroën Junior Team have yet to be confirmed.
Hot on the heels of the Ford Fiesta RS WRC, Citroën has also today unveiled its 2011 World Rally Championship contender.
The DS3 WRC will have a huge reputation to live up to, seeing as its Xsara and C4 predecessors secured six driver’s titles (all with Sébastien Loeb at the wheel, and all won over consecutive years) and five constructor’s championships. And it looks very likely that Loeb and Citroën will be accomplishing both feats again this year, too.
In developing the new car, Citroën Racing has had to comply with the new 2011 FIA WRC regulations. The biggest change is the shift from 2.0 litre to 1.6 litre turbocharged engines but, with an eye on costs, components such as semi-automatic gearboxes and centre differentials are now banned, while others have to comply with strict cost and weight criteria.
The direct injection engines used in the DS3 WRC have been tuned to produce around 295 bhp (220 kW / 300 PS) and, under the revised rules, each one will be expected to last for up to six rallies. Transmission to the all-wheel drive system is via a fully manual six-speed sequential Sadev gearbox.
Converting the bodywork of the road-going DS3 to WRC specification has involved changing the bumpers and wings in order to reach the maximum permissible width of 1,820 mm. Aerodynamic down force is taken care of by a front splitter and a substantial rear spoiler.
Meanwhile, the door glass has been replaced with polycarbonate, and the doors themselves have been filled with foam to increase side impact protection. Naturally, there’s also a hefty internal roll cage, made from 40 metres of steel tubing.
The 2011 driver line-ups for either the Citroën Total World Rally Team or the Citroën Junior Team have yet to be confirmed.
Ford has unveiled the Fiesta RS WRC, the car that it’ll be entering in next year’s World Rally Championship. Designed to comply with new regulations that come into force in 2011, power will come from a 1.6 litre turbo engine instead of a 2.0 litre unit as used by today’s WRC cars.
Like the Focus RS WRC that it replaces, the Fiesta RS WRC has been built by Ford of Europe and its partner M-Sport, which is run by BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson.
The car’s EcoBoost engine, which features direct petrol injection, was also developed by Ford and M-Sport, together with some input from French tuner Pipo Moteur.
This year’s driver line-up of Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala is set to continue unchanged, and both will get an opportunity to drive the Fiesta RS WRC during its first major test session. That’s due to take place on gravel roads in Spain at the beginning of October.
Ford has unveiled the Fiesta RS WRC, the car that it’ll be entering in next year’s World Rally Championship. Designed to comply with new regulations that come into force in 2011, power will come from a 1.6 litre turbo engine instead of a 2.0 litre unit as used by today’s WRC cars.
Like the Focus RS WRC that it replaces, the Fiesta RS WRC has been built by Ford of Europe and its partner M-Sport, which is run by BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team director Malcolm Wilson.
The car’s EcoBoost engine, which features direct petrol injection, was also developed by Ford and M-Sport, together with some input from French tuner Pipo Moteur.
This year’s driver line-up of Mikko Hirvonen and Jari-Matti Latvala is set to continue unchanged, and both will get an opportunity to drive the Fiesta RS WRC during its first major test session. That’s due to take place on gravel roads in Spain at the beginning of October.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
For the fourth time in five years, Aston Martin has been named the UK’s coolest brand in the CoolBrands survey. The 2010/11 poll, which sought the opinions of members of the public as well as a panel of experts, placed the British car maker ahead of brands such as BlackBerry, Google and Dom Perignon.
The other automotive companies that made it into the top twenty were Harley-Davidson (6th), Ferrari (9th) and Mini (16th).
Speaking of the award, Aston Martin CEO, Dr Ulrich Bez said, “Once you can define precisely why a brand is cool, then it no longer has the magic that earns it that label. There has to be an element of mystique, something that eludes definition. In order for a brand to have that quality, it needs people behind it with a passionate, creative vision who care for and nurture it.”
Quite right too. Let’s see if Aston Martin can retain the title after the Cygnet arrives.
The 2010/11 CoolBrands Top 20:
- Aston Martin (Automotive - Cars)
- iPhone (Technology - Telecommunications)
- iPod (Technology - General)
- Blackberry (Technology - Telecommunications)
- Bang & Olufsen (Technology - General)
- Harley-Davidson (Automotive - Motorbikes)
- Nintendo Wii (Leisure & Entertainment - Games & Toys)
- Google (Online)
- Ferrari (Automotive - Cars)
- Dom Perignon (Drinks - Champagne)
- BBC iPlayer (Online)
- Vivienne Westwood (Fashion - Designer)
- Apple (Technology - General)
- Tate Modern (Leisure & Entertainment - UK Attractions & The Arts)
- YouTube (Online)
- Mini (Automotive - Cars)
- Chanel (Fashion - Designer)
- Ray-Ban (Fashion - Accessories, Jewellery, Watches)
- Alexander McQueen (Fashion - Designer)
- Jimmy Choo (Fashion - Footwear)
For the fourth time in five years, Aston Martin has been named the UK’s coolest brand in the CoolBrands survey. The 2010/11 poll, which sought the opinions of members of the public as well as a panel of experts, placed the British car maker ahead of brands such as BlackBerry, Google and Dom Perignon.
The other automotive companies that made it into the top twenty were Harley-Davidson (6th), Ferrari (9th) and Mini (16th).
Speaking of the award, Aston Martin CEO, Dr Ulrich Bez said, “Once you can define precisely why a brand is cool, then it no longer has the magic that earns it that label. There has to be an element of mystique, something that eludes definition. In order for a brand to have that quality, it needs people behind it with a passionate, creative vision who care for and nurture it.”
Quite right too. Let’s see if Aston Martin can retain the title after the Cygnet arrives.
The 2010/11 CoolBrands Top 20:
- Aston Martin (Automotive - Cars)
- iPhone (Technology - Telecommunications)
- iPod (Technology - General)
- Blackberry (Technology - Telecommunications)
- Bang & Olufsen (Technology - General)
- Harley-Davidson (Automotive - Motorbikes)
- Nintendo Wii (Leisure & Entertainment - Games & Toys)
- Google (Online)
- Ferrari (Automotive - Cars)
- Dom Perignon (Drinks - Champagne)
- BBC iPlayer (Online)
- Vivienne Westwood (Fashion - Designer)
- Apple (Technology - General)
- Tate Modern (Leisure & Entertainment - UK Attractions & The Arts)
- YouTube (Online)
- Mini (Automotive - Cars)
- Chanel (Fashion - Designer)
- Ray-Ban (Fashion - Accessories, Jewellery, Watches)
- Alexander McQueen (Fashion - Designer)
- Jimmy Choo (Fashion - Footwear)
2011 Lamborghini Super Sport Cars Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Blancpain Edition
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