Posted on 27th March, 2008 by Warren M
Filed in Mercedes | 1 Comment
After forty years of service with the company, chief Mercedes designer, Professor Peter Pfeiffer, will retire in 2008 at the age of 65. He headed the globally active design division of Mercedes-Benz since April 1999. In this capacity, he was responsible for designing the passenger cars and commercial vehicles of the Stuttgart automotive brand. Pfeiffer will be succeeded by Gorden Wagener (39), who currently heads the Strategic Advanced Design department and as such acts as the director of the Mercedes design studios in California and Japan.
Posted on 26th March, 2008 by Warren M
Filed in Seat | 1 Comment
On the eve of the new HiQ MSA British Touring Car Championship season, which kicks off at Brands Hatch on Sunday 30th March, SEAT is giving style-conscious car buyers the chance to stand out from the pit lane crowd with the launch of a new, race-bred Leon special edition.
How wiiiiiiide does this SL65 AMG Black Series look? With power coming from a tweaked version of the turbocharged 6.0L V12 available in the SL600, the SL65 AMG Black Series produces around 650bhp and 1000Nm of torque, meaning it goes as well as it looks. Top speed is expected to tip over the 200mph mark, while the sprint to 60mph is likely to take less than 4 seconds.
German publication - Autobild has been comparing Audi’s instant classic, the R8, with B&B’s unusual-looking TT 500. The 500bhp turbocharged V6-engined TT outshines its big brother in the sprint to 100km/h (62mph), hitting the magic number in just 4.1 seconds (R8 - 4.5). Top speed is the same story, with the ‘wannabe’ model reaching 308km/h (191mph), just edging the R8 at 301km/h (187mph).
Volkswagen is now offering its Golf Estate with permanent all-wheel drive. The 4Motion system is coupled to an economical yet high-torque turbodiesel generating 77 kW. This gives the Golf Estate TDI 4Motion, which is available with immediate effect, the best possible grip even on an uninterrupted blanket of snow. As a general rule, permanent all-wheel drive improves cornering forces even on a dry carriageway, thus making a positive contribution to active safety and driving pleasure.
OK, can you guess which car’s going to come out on top? The lightened Coupe with 360bhp, or the 300bhp skeleton-mobile that weighs around the same as that cheese and pickle sandwich that you’re going to be having for your lunch?
The 2009 Audi A4 Avant will feature the 2.0 TFSI, a new high-powered four-cylinder turbocharged engine that has 211 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque. The current A4 Avant offers 200 hp and 207 lb-ft of torque. The 2009 A4 Sedan will also offer drivers the 2.0 TFSI or the option of a 3.2 FSI V6, with 265 hp and the patented Audi Valvelift Technology (AVS).
Posted on 25th March, 2008 by Warren M
Filed in Porsche | 1 Comment
Here’s a pretty well-known Porsche that we wouldn’t mind owning. ‘Silver Bullet’ was built by Dune Bodyworks in Melbourne, Australia during the mid-90s, before finding it’s way over to the States.
Posted on 24th March, 2008 by Warren M
Filed in Audi | 2 Comments
Fans of the Audi A4 in India, are in luck. The Ingolstadt company is set to launch the saloon there in July. The model will initially be imported, but will carry the same price tag as that of a locally assembled car. Audi will absorb the price difference until it begins assembling the car in the country towards the end of the year.
Posted on 24th March, 2008 by Warren M
Filed in Bentley | 3 Comments
Rangers goalkeeper Allan McGregor was the victim of a vandalism attack on his Bentley Continental GT Speed, causing around £10,000 worth of damage. A corrosive liquid was poured over the player’s car, which was also daubed with graffiti.
Fuzzy-haired Yorkshireman, Jeremy Clarkson, has been reviewing Porsche’s Cayenne GTS for The Sunday Times. Even though he rates it as the best Cayenne yet, he still wouldn’t buy one, because it looks like it “drowned in Lake Ugly.”
“It doesn’t handle well for an off-roader. It handles well full stop. And it shifts too. The 4.8 litre V8, especially with the sport mode engaged, goes like stink and sounds much as I would imagine Brian Blessed might sound if he fell into a vat of boiling oil. It is the sound of glorious, unabated, wanton consumption. It is the sound of pure, unbridled hedonism.”
