Showing blog posts for May 2011

Another Grand Prix, another victory for Sebastian Vettel, a couple of weeks ago I asked can anyone stop him? Well I can tell you that the Bookmakers Paddy Power have already started paying out people who betted on him winning the F1 Drivers Championship again at the beginning of the season. Vettel now has a huge 58 point lead over his nearest rival Lewis Hamilton.

The Audi A1 Clubsport Quattro is here! This little concept car will makes it debut at the Wortherseetour event in Germany this week, it has a 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged engine as well as huge 503bhp. The Quattro is pretty fast with 0-62mph in just 3.7 seconds and it accelerates from 50-75mph in fourth gear in just 2.4 seconds. Top speed will be limited to 155mph.

BMW's 328 is celebrating its 75th birthday this year so the German manufacturer have released the BMW 328 Hommage Concept. The car features a 3-litre turbocharged straight six engine, unfortunately no performance details have been released yet. It's stunning body is made from carbon fibre reinforced plastic and BMW have tried to keep the look of the original but with a 21st Century feel.

I'm delighted to tell you that our sister site Who Can Fix My Car is now live so if you're a mechanic looking for extra customers or just someone looking to get your car fixed please feel to check it out.

Ferrari have revealed the Superamerica 45, commisioned by New York collector Peter Kalikow it was designed and named to celebrate the 45th anniversary of his first Ferrari purchase. Few technical details have been released, it's finished in a colour called Blu Antille, has a chrome coloured front grille and interior comes with a mixture of Cuoio leather trim and Blu Scuro carbon fibre. The Italian car maker have said that the car is "a unique one-off" stopping any rumours that it might go into production.

Have a good week.

Not only that but the new Jaguar XKR has been designed by the same person who designed the Aston Martin DB9 so you know you are in good hands when it comes to the new Jaguars design quality. You can see the Aston influence in the XKRs appearance as soon as you set eyes on its beautifully sleek lines, wide tires and distinctive radiator grill, making this car truly a thing of automotive beauty. Whats more you can get this classic look for a fraction of the price of a DB9 but without having to compromise on looks.

But it’s not all sports cars that the new Jaguar range has to offer, there are some great family cars made by them as well. Take the Jaguar XJ for example. This reliable family car has been in production for over forty years and we can see why it has not lost its popularity, with its sturdy but elegant chassis, contemporary design and uncompromising luxury it is a dream for any family to own.

If you are wanting something in a convertible then look no further than the new Jaguar XKR portfolio. Again designed by the same team who brought you the DB9, this Jaguar is an open top version of the stunning XJR. You really will feel in the lap of luxury in this suave sporty Jag with everything from heated leather seats to touchscreen satellite navigation and even keyless entry. This new Jaguar is great for those hot summers days when all you want to do is get out on the open road with the wind blowing through your hair in a truly stunning piece of engineering brilliance.

Probably the best thing about owning a new Jaguar however is the peace of mind you get from knowing you are in one of the safest cars on the market. All new Jaguars come with air bags as standard (and not just driver and passenger air bags but thorax and curtain air bags too) which also include a seat occupant system that ensure that the air bags only go off when they are needed. There are also anti lock breaks, understeer control and traction control plus a whole host of other safety features to make sure you and your loved ones can be completely at ease when driving in your new Jaguar. So why look any further, if you’re thinking of getting a car then make sure its a Jaguar, you can’t go wrong.

We came across this video and thought you may like to know what a day in the life of an Audi Driver is like...

Nissan are to release a special Nissan 370Z GT Edition, to celebrate global success in GT racing and 40 years of Z in the UK. It features racing stripes down both sides, darker 19-inch RAYS alloys and 3 special paint finishes - Pearl White, Kuro Black and Black Rose. Other extras added to the car include a reversing camera that appears in the sat-nav screen and a new tyre pressure monitoring system, pricing starts at £35k and it is expected to appear in dealerships from June 1st.

Citroen is to recall over 20,000 C3 Picasso's after it was revealed on the BBC Watchdog programme that there is a 'remote possibility' of the passenger accidently applying the car's brakes. The problem can happen because of conversion from left-hand drive to right-hand drive. A cable in the passenger footwell can be pressed by the passenger, operating the braking system. Customers wanting further advice or information are asked to call the Citroen Contact Centre on 01753 475862, or email cuk_contactcentre@citroen.com.

Audi revealed their new Audi A6 Avant at an event in Berlin last week. The German car manufacturer have guaranteed more interior space and greater fuel efficiency than the in old A6, it weighs 70kg less and they also claim improvements in economy of up to 18 per cent. The Avant has 565 litres of boot space with the seats in place, but this can be maximised to 1680 litres when the rear seats are folded down. Top speed is 155mph and it is due to go on sale in the UK in late summer with prices starting at around £30k.

Have a good week!

The revival of the collaboration which has produced some of the most beautiful and sought-after cars in the world is the first project since the DB7 Zagato and will be based on the V12 Vantage. Not too many further details are known, but here is the basic specification of the Endurance Race car:

Body:

• Two door, two seat coupe body
• Bonded aluminium structure
• Bespoke steel roll cage
• Hand crafted Aluminium body

Around the same time, in the UK, the idea of a Porsche/Audi four-wheel-drive, estate car capable of sprinting 0-60 in less than 5 seconds seemed fairly alien - especially in its daring bright blue paintwork. Audi was trying to establish itself as a credible rival to BMW and Mercedes and this type of model had a niche following - only 180 right-hand-drive examples were shared between the UK, South Africa and New Zealand markets. There was nothing quite like it. Then, in 1999, BMW released the Z3 M Coupe: compact, mini-estate-coupe with a flat-backed rear, or "bread-van" styling. A bold design, again that was not to everyone's tastes. These were out-of-the-box cars with no real competitors; they stood out from the crowd and you knew their owners had wanted something special when placing their original orders.

Fast forward 12 years and the Shooting Brake is very much in fashion, in the UK as well as on the continent. Even Ferrari has acknowledged this trend by moulding its new 2+2 into a relatively compact, 4x4 estate. So, how has the interest come about? Well, here’s how I view it: 15 years ago, estate cars were usually driven by either tradesmen who wanted to van/family car cross-over – think step-ladders on a Montego Estate’s roof rack. Or, they were a common site in rural areas where you would usually see a couple of panting Labradors steaming up the back windows of a dark-green BMW estate. Practicality was higher up the agenda than style and performance for such cars. The Scimitar GTE built in the late 60s gave us a clue to what was coming, but it is only today that we are seeing real, sports-car performance married to this load-carrying format.

Audi have lead the way with fast estates, and the life-style angle has been a major driver: transporting la famille from your villa overlooking the Med, to your chalet in the Alps in a multi-faceted sports-wagon is just, plain cool. I would always imagine these drivers had left their Porsches or Ferraris behind for the weekend trip to the slopes. Today, these cars can be owned outright and in less glamorous surroundings whilst covering all needs effortlessly: sports-car, commuter, load-carrier, all-terrain conquering (just about) vehicles.

Furthermore, the significant advances achieved in producing high quality diesel engines, have helped separate out the petrol performance niche for the modern RS4s and C63 AMG Estates. For me, the executive saloon is all about commuting and long commutes invariably require oil-burners. Stroll around a German automaker’s showroom nowadays in the UK, and you will struggle to find any large petrol-engined saloons - they have fallen out of favour and the manufacturers have done a great job in disguising, what used to be, the unfashionable diesel versions. M Sport and S-Line packages provide pumped up body-kits, flared arches and bigger alloys, whilst in some cases concealing the tell-tale downward pointing diesel exhaust pipes. It speaks volumes that the new Audi RS4 being released next year will only be available in Avant (Estate) version – it’s as though the concept has gone full circle back to the RS2 which was also strictly Avant-only. Other manufacturers have taken note and are concentrating on crafting attractive designs for their estate versions. I spotted a new, black, 5 series M Sport estate in London last week – it really is a thing of beauty. In fact I would opt for the estate over the saloon every time. In previous incarnations, the 5 series estate was an after-thought, a bolt-on just to tick a box. Nowadays, you can see the Estate’s design has been executed with equal care as was employed to the saloon, underlined by the fact that they were launched into dealerships simultaneously.

So, it will be interesting to see if this trend continues away from the old-school super-saloon and towards the Sporting Brake. I hope Jaguar is reading this; I hear current sales of XJs are a little flat – what better way to make a statement in this space than introduce a modern-day Scimitar with a Jag V8, British styling, a low-slung stance and a big fat boot: modern-day E-type? Or perhaps Aston Martin could get there first!

Another week, another potential rival for the Bugatti Veyron, step forward the Jaguar C-X7, originally a concept car, Jaguar have decided to put it into production - starting 2013. The C-X7 has a top speed of 200mph, 0-60mph acceleration in under three seconds and 0-100mph in under six seconds! Only 250 will be made, costing a cool £700k.

Mercedes have revealed new pictures of their new SLS AMG Roaster.  It is due to be released to the world at September's Frankfurt Motor Show. Like the hard top it's fastest speed is limited to 197mph, unfortunately no other stats have been released but it should be able to reach 60mph in about 4.0 seconds. The Roaster will be available to buy from late Autumn with prices starting at £180K.

It's now 35 years since Volkswagen first brought out the legendary GTI, with that in mind the German company have made a special limited edition model appropriately named the Golf GTI Edition 35, no further details have been announced apart from it has 35 badges hidden around the car but it is expected to go on sale in the UK later this year.

We are only 4 races into the 2011 F1 Season but Sebastian Vettel is already 34 points clear of his nearest rival Lewis Hamilton, can the German be stopped or should bookies around the country already start paying out now? Let us know your thoughts.

Have a good week!

As you are probably aware Wednesday was Star Wars Day and it seemed that people couldn't get enough of saying 'May the fourth be with you!' so I thought start this week by sharing this brilliant new Volkswagen advert!

New York City has unveiled plans for their next generation of Yellow Cabs, the Taxi Van. Nissan surprisingly beat US car maker Ford and Turkish manufacturer Karsan Otomotiv to a 10-year contact to build new taxis for the city, which, is estimated to be worth more than a $1 billion. The 'Taxi of Tomorrow' is expected to appear in 2013.

Ford have revealed that they have already received over 20,000 orders for their new Focus Estate.  It's estimated the new car will contribute 15% of overall Ford sales in the UK. The Focus Estate is expected to appear in dealerships around the country from the end of this month.

Finally this week, do you fear that you're heading for a mid-life crisis and feel like treating yourself to a new car? If so than check out our article on the Renaultsport Megane 250 Cup. Have a good weekend.

Now, despite the onset of middle-age spread (it seemed to start when I was about 13) and feeling that I’m too old to go clubbing, I’m not really in the middle-aged bracket just yet, I’m only 32. This said however I’ve had an itch for the last 6 months, an urge I’m sure not too dissimilar to the “turning 45 and need an MX-5” urge, but it’s not a little 2-seater convertible I want, no it’s something altogether different…

I’ve been lucky over the last few years and have been privileged enough to have owned or driven some of the very best cars on the planet. A highlight on the ownership list, an E46 M3 in Laguna Seca blue, a car that I wish that I’d never sold and on the driven list, the Ferrari California at Maranello and the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560 at Silverstone. However, it’s not any of these supercars I want either…

No, what I’ve been craving is a hot hatch. Why? I have no idea, but I’ve found myself drawn to my local Vauxhall and Ford dealerships browsing VXRs and Focus RSs on a regular basis. The arrival of a new baby in March though hampered my research and as I result I thought that the solution to the price/performance/practicality equation was an Arden Blue Astra VXR. Great looks, good performance and familiar, my dad always owned Astras when I was a child, so without knowing the market I was searching for the right VXR, not an easy task in Northumberland where even SRi spec cars are rare.

The search didn’t prove fruitful but I was determined to get the car – the hot hatch itch needed scratching very quickly – that was until on Wednesday last week when I passed Benfield Renault in Newcastle and on the ramp out front was a hot hatch that I don’t think I’d ever seen before and…it was yellow! A quick u-turn later and having pushed the bus stop seen from The Inbetweeners to the back of my mind I was on the forecourt peering through the windows.

It turns out it was the new Renaultsport Megane, a car I’d never read anything about due to my new arrival. A quick explanation of what the car actually was and the difference in the various Renaultsport Megane models and I was up to speed. This was a Renaultsport Megane 250 Cup – the most “stripped out” version of the car. The guys at Benfield were extremely forthcoming and I was out for a test drive within minutes. Being the Cup, I was expecting an uncomfortable ride, however as we prowled through town it was surprisingly comfortable over the bumps and the interior way better than I’d expected. We then reached the dual carriageway, my first opportunity to squeeze the “go” pedal and I was shocked by how quickly the Megane took off and how planted on the road it was. My research into hot hatches was clearly flawed – this car should have been my number 1 choice from the beginning. I needed something to compare it with though, so Benfield put me into the Renaultsport Clio 200, not as quick but what an amazing engine note. The Clio was definitely a “boy-racer” car and not a car for someone with a young family (in my opinion), but the Megane felt much more of a “man-racer”. Something I could use every day and when I needed to fight off the onset of middle-aged-ness I could slip back into “boy-racer” mode with. I had decided. The Megane it was. 250 Cup in sport yellow, 18-inch black 5-spoke alloys with red Brembo callipers, perfect.

This was my first experience with Renault and first with Benfield and I have to say it has been a good one so far thanks to Anthony and Rikki who made the deal happen and accommodated my every request.

I will endeavour to regularly produce updates on my adventures with the Megane as I intend to put plenty of miles on the clock over the coming months!