Source: http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/05/30/2100156/rpm-celebrates-charlotte-success.html
Frank Armi Chuck Arnold Rene Arnoux Peter Arundell Alberto Ascari
Thursday, May 31, 2012
2013 Range Rover gets rendered
The 2013 Range Rover has been losing some of its camouflage, so the folks at PS-Garage whipped up some new renderings of the redesigned crossover.
Source: http://feeds.worldcarfans.com/~r/worldcarfans/Jxfz/~3/YypChY6s0fA/2013-range-rover-gets-rendered
Clemar Bucci Ronnie Bucknum Ivor Bueb Sebastien Buemi Luiz Bueno
How McLaren got back to the top
Amid the widespread astonishment at how Fernando Alonso has found himself leading the world championship after two races despite driving the worst car Ferrari have produced for nearly 20 years, it has been somewhat overlooked that McLaren are topping the constructors' championship.
Victory for Jenson Button in Australia, two third places for Lewis Hamilton and two front row lock-outs have demonstrated that the MP4-27 is not only the best-looking car on the grid, it is also the fastest.
This is quite a turnaround from the last three years, when McLaren have been off the pace at the start of the season, putting their title challenge on the back foot before it had started.
The man responsible for this turnaround is McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe, who is in charge of the team's design and engineering.
A likeable, down-to-earth character, Lowe says "relief" is the first emotion he feels as a result of this impressive achievement after three years of struggling in vain to keep up with Red Bull.
He says: "There is a lot of pressure - people going around saying what you need to do is deliver a car that is quickest at the first race, as though we hadn't thought of that, you know?
"You go and estimate what you think that involves with no certain knowledge and then you go and try to deliver it. It's tough."
McLaren driver Jenson Button tackles a rain-swept Malaysian Grand Prix. Photo: Getty
Ask Lowe how McLaren have ended up with the fastest car at the start of a season for the first time in four years, and he'll tell you there is no "magic".
In reality, there are several factors behind McLaren's ability to leapfrog Red Bull this year and stay ahead of everyone else.
McLaren had a successful winter that was not affected by reliability problems with the car, as had been the case in 2011. That meant they could spend pre-season perfecting what they had rather than, as Lowe puts it, "fighting fires".
Equally, Red Bull appear to have been more badly affected than most other teams by the banning of exhaust-blown diffusers, last year's must-have technology, which the world champions are widely believed to have exploited more effectively than any other team.
For McLaren, starting 2012 with the fastest car is the culmination of a three-year battle to return to the top that began with the disaster of 2009, when they started the season more than two seconds off the pace.
That was the result of Hamilton's intense title battle with Ferrari's Felipe Massa in 2008 - which deflected resource away from both team's new cars - as well as the introduction of the biggest regulation change for 25 years.
McLaren recovered well in 2009 to win a couple of races later in the season, once they had adopted the 'double diffuser' that caused controversy at the start of the year and led to Brawn's championship win.
In 2010 they moved forward, but were still only third fastest behind Red Bull and Ferrari; and in 2011 they leapfrogged Ferrari but were still behind Red Bull.
At the same time, there was a re-organisation of the technical department undertaken in 2010-11, which has taken time to settle down.
"We came out (in 2011) pretty much in the same place we had been at the end of 2010," Lowe says. "So Red Bull had made decent progress over the winter and so had we.
"You have got to do not only what your competitors have done over the winter but then a bit more and then some to generate a lead over them.
"But that is difficult when there aren't fundamental changes in the rules for the car.
"You'd need Red Bull to go on holiday for a month, and then if you were working to the same general output you'd catch them up, but obviously they don't do that so you've just got to push it."
The same thoughts were going through the minds of the bosses at Ferrari. But whereas Maranello responded by undertaking a major change in design philosophy - which has backfired, notwithstanding Alonso's win on Sunday - McLaren realised this would be a mistake.
"In general you are going to be reluctant to say: 'I need to tear this up'," Lowe says.
"Here and there we were quicker than a Red Bull and we were certainly close to them when we weren't.
"The car performance at that point, given also there is not a big regulation change, is a consequence of a great deal of hard work. So it's quite rash to throw that away in too many areas rather than just build on it and iterate further and further.
"That doesn't mean you're not constantly looking for new ideas and trying to make them work. (But) you have to make very sure that whatever change you make is going to be better."
Lowe's contention that there has been no miracle at McLaren, just good, solid development work, is backed up by the fact that other teams have clearly made even more progress compared to Red Bull than they have - such as Lotus and Williams.
In pointing this out, Lowe betrays the natural caution of the F1 engineer - an approach that is understandable when, as Malaysia proved, even having the outright fastest car is no guarantee you will win the race.
Hamilton stepped down from the bottom step of the podium on Sunday to tell the waiting media he needed to find more race pace to capitalise on his strong qualifying form.
Lowe's "new challenge", it seems, has already arrived.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/andrewbenson/2012/03/lowe_confident_of_mclaren_succ.html
Franco Comotti George Connor George Constantine John Cordts David Coulthard
Button Steps Up Pre Season Training With Lance Armstrong
Jenson Button teamed up with record breaking cyclist Lance Armstrong, as he continues to prepare for another Formula One season. The McLaren driver excitedly tweeted that he would be riding with Armstrong, the 7 time Tour de France winner, in Hawaii. Armstrong responded via Twitter “I hope he doesn’t ride as srong as he drives [...]
Source: http://f1fanatics.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/button-steps-up-pre-season-training-with-lance-armstrong/
Adri·n Campos John Cannon Eitel Cantoni Bill Cantrell Ivan Capelli
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
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Chevrolet’s release of the all new Camaro ZL1 at the 2011 Chicago Auto Show allowed them to reignite the muscle car wars that have been burning up the automotive websites for a good and long time. But before Chevrolet can shout out "Checkmate," Ford has answered the ZL1 with an update car of their own: the 2013 Shelby GT500. Recent spy shots have revealed that the company is already testing the 2013MY GT500 and it will be more powerful than ever.
The Camaro ZL1’s LSA 6.2L supercharged V-8 engine producing an estimated 550 HP and 550 lb.-ft. of torque is nothing to shake a stick at, but Ford has one-upped them once again. The Eaton M112 supercharger that is being housed in the current GT500’s V8 engine will be replaced with the more-efficient and quieter TVS unit. The V8 engine found in the 2013 model will also get modified and bumped up to 5.8L, all while producing up to 650HP and making it the most powerful, factory made Mustang ever! The game continues...Your move Chevrolet.
UPDATE 03/16/2012: Ford has announced prices for the new 2013 Shelby GT500. The base price is $54,200, but if you want to add the SVT Performance Package, it jumps up by another $3,495. This package includes: Torsen limited-slip differential, 19" forged-aluminum front wheels or 20" forged-aluminum rear wheels, Bilstein adjustable dampers, unique rear springs, a unique instrument cluster, and an SVT gear shift knob. A glass roof will add yet another $1,995, while an electronic package adds another $2,340.
UPDATE 05/08/2012: Ford has unveiled a pretty cool commercial for the Shelby GT500. The idea behind the commercial is pretty simple: Everyone has an Inner Mustang. Unleash yours! Of course, you’ll have to wait until Summer 2012 when the Mustang goes on sale!
More details on the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 after the jump.
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 8 May 2012 20:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/ford/2013-ford-mustang-shelby-gt500-ar106552.html
Harry Blanchard Michael Bleekemolen Alex Blignaut Trevor Blokdyk Mark Blundell
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Two-way tie as Predictions Championship closes up | Predictions Championship
Two-way tie as Predictions Championship closes up is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
How did you do in the Monaco Grand Prix round of the Predictions Championship? Find out here.
Two-way tie as Predictions Championship closes up is an original article from F1 Fanatic. If this article has been published anywhere other than F1 Fanatic it is an infringement of copyright.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/f1fanatic/~3/T6WjtUpVTGs/
Frank Dochnal Jose Dolhem Martin Donnelly Carlo Abate George Abecassis
Ferrari director ?disappointed? with performance level
Ferrari�Technical director Pat Fry has said that he doesn’t expect the team to start the 2012 season well. Who remembers the 1988 Austalian Grand Prix? Many have suggested that Ferrari need to hit the ground running to improve on last year, but Fry is in a rather�pessimistic�mood. Speaking at the end of a tough pre-season, [...]
Derek Daly Christian Danner Jorge Daponte Anthony Davidson Jimmy Davies
BMW Zagato coupe unveiled at 2012 Concorso d?Eleganza Villa d?Este [video]
Based on the Z4, the one-off model has a handcrafted aluminum body which is covered in exclusive Rosso Vivace paint. 
Alex Caffi John CampbellJones Adri·n Campos John Cannon Eitel Cantoni
57 Ford 2 Seater.............5/27
I am starting with a 57 Ford and cutting it down to a 2 seater...................................
Source: http://cs.scaleautomag.com/SCACS/forums/thread/1018205.aspx
Bob Bondurant Felice Bonetto Jo Bonnier Roberto Bonomi Juan Manuel Bordeu
Funny old world
There are some disadvantages for apartments with spectacular views on the Cote d’Azur. Getting to them is not necessarily easy. The place I was staying in Eze is beautiful but to get there you have to reverse up a pebbly path from a hairpin so tight that a car cannot make the turn. Last night [...]
Source: http://joesaward.wordpress.com/2012/05/28/funny-old-world-2/
Ray Crawford Alberto Crespo Antonio Creus Larry Crockett Tony Crook
Monday, May 28, 2012
What went wrong for the back of the grid?
It was another frustrating season at the back of the grid for F1?s relative new boys. Lotus, HRT and Virgin all in their sophomore seasons in Formula One all failed, again, to score points in 2011. So what went wrong last season and what does 2012 have in store. Lotus They?ve arguably been the best [...]
Jimmy Bryan Clemar Bucci Ronnie Bucknum Ivor Bueb Sebastien Buemi
COTA/Hellmund dispute rumbles on in Austin
The battle between the Circuit of the Amercas and Tavo Hellmund ? the original driving force behind the US GP in Austin ? continues to rumble on. COTA says that Hellmund committed himself and his companies to settling any disputes … Continue reading 
Source: http://adamcooperf1.com/2012/05/24/cotahellmund-dispute-rumbles-on-in-austin/
Marco Apicella M·rio de Ara˙jo Cabral Frank Armi Chuck Arnold Rene Arnoux
Video: Audi R8 GT Parade
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Audi only built 666 units (strange number, no?) for their Audi R8 GT Coupe and Spyder versions, so the chance of seeing one on the street is pretty rare. The chance of seeing a parade of them is even slimmer, if not impossible.
Then again, if you went to the Nurburgring 24 Hours race where Audi pushed its way to incredible results, you would have seen this aforementioned parade before the race even took place. Talk about some positive energy fueling the racers!
As a reminder, both versions are powered by the same 5.2 liter V10 engine that delivers a total of 560 HP and 398 lbs-ft of torque. The R8 GT Spyder will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds, while the R8 GT Coupe makes the sprint in 3.6 seconds. Top speeds are 196.97 mph and 198.8 mph, respectively.
Video: Audi R8 GT Parade originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 27 May 2012 23:00 EST.
Source: http://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/video-audi-r8-gt-parade-ar129924.html
Luiz Bueno Ian Burgess Luciano Burti Roberto Bussinello Jenson Button
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