Month: March 2013

  • BMW 3 Series PDM-1 by Prior Design

    Prior Design 3 Series
    Kamp-Lintfort styling specialist Prior Design has released a new set of images featuring its 1 Series M Coupe-inspired body program for the F30 BMW 3 Series model.

    Constructed from high quality Dura-Flex plastic, the PDM-1 aero package comprises of a front bumper with lip, side skirts, rear bumper and boot lid spoiler.

    The components are available to buy separately, with the bumpers priced at €699 each, the side skirts €329 and the rear spoiler €229.
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  • RUF 3800 S

    RUF 3800 S
    Pfaffenhausen auto manufacturer RUF has released initial details of its new 3800 S program to suit the current Porsche Boxster and Cayman models.

    Underneath the engine cover there’s a 3.8-litre flat-six motor, which develops (420 hp) and 450 Nm of torque and is mated to the Porsche Doppelkupplung (PDK) double-clutch transmission.

    Visually, RUF’s aero package includes a new front bumper with air outlet, lower spoiler and 991 light units, while the rear receives a vented bumper with large diffuser section and double-twin tailpipes. The car also wears a set of the company’s 19-inch forged light alloy wheels in high-gloss black.
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  • Volkswagen’s Ogier wins in Mexico

    Rally Mexico - Volkswagen Polo R WRC
    2013 is looking very bright for Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, following a successful weekend in Mexico giving Volkswagen’s Polo R WRC its second victory in three rallies, and its first on gravel.

    Ogier dominated the latest WRC round, which was made even easier after Mads Østberg had to retire from second place with electrical problems on Saturday. However, it wasn’t without its scares, namely a faulty sensor which took the Frenchman twenty minutes to repair and an issue with a gate that had closed on purpose by someone clearly trying to slow the Volkswagen driver down. Officials restored the forty seconds lost from stopping to open it after checking the car’s on-board video footage. A win on the bonus-points power stage and an outright win over the Citroen of Mikko Hirvonen – by over three minutes – gave Ogier a maximum score and a 44 point cushion between himself and Hirvonen and 31 points ahead of Loeb, who will only be competing in four rallies this year.

    Third place went to Ford’s Thierry Neuville, the first podium of his career, with ex-MINI works driver Dani Sordo finishing fourth for Citroen and Nasser Al-Attiyah rounding out the top five for Ford.

    In contrast, Jari-Matti Latvala was struck by incredible misfortune in the second Polo, hitting a giant rock just 300 metres into day two of the event. The Rally-2 regulation allowed Latvala and co-driver Miikka Anttila to rejoin the rally on Saturday, but they could do no better than 16th after being awarded a 50-minute penalty for the stages they did not complete. The crew’s only positive from the weekend was picking up a point from the bonus stage.

    “The start of the season is just amazing for us. We want to thank the team because the car was perfect again all weekend. Okay, just a small alarm this morning with a sensor but it was not a drama, and here we are again at the end with a perfect amount of points,” said a jubilant Ogier.
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  • Designing the new Porsche 911 GT3

    Porsche 911 GT3
    This new video from Porsche features Michael Mauer, the Head of Porsche’s Design Department, as he talks about the creation of the company’s stunning new 911 GT3 model, which débuted in Geneva last week.

    The 350 kW (475 hp) track weapon hits 100 km/h in just 3.5 seconds, 200 km/h in less than 12 seconds, and enjoys a top speed of 315 km/h (195 mph). It also eclipses the 997 GT2’s Nürburgring time.
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  • Nutty 736 horsepower Golf

    Boba Motoring Golf
    Germany’s Boba Motoring has released a few videos featuring cars that it has had a hand in building, most notably a 200 mph Golf Mk2. Apart from the Porsche alloys, this earlier generation model looks incredibly innocent, but is capable of travelling from 100 km/h to 200 km/h in just 5 seconds, albeit in a somewhat lively manner.

    Providing that performance is a 2.0-litre 16-valve engine, which is fed by a Garrett GTX3582R turbocharger unit and runs on Boba software. That package results in a 549 kW (736 hp) punch. Imagine how much fun it would be with all-wheel-drive?
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  • BMW Motorsport mirror conversion

    BMW Motorsport mirrors
    Palatine-based tuning specialist iND Distribution were approached by a customer who wanted a set of BMW M3 GTR mirrors on his road car, so clearly they obliged.

    Unfortunately, the carbon fibre mirrors, which are genuine BMW Motorsport parts, usually bolt directly to the door skin on the M3 GTR race car, meaning iND had to fabricate custom backing plates so they could be mounted where the factory units normally reside.

    The final product is a polyurethane plastic base plate which gives a OEM-like fit and appearance, and allows the conversion to take place.

    iND has announced that demand has led the company to mass produce the kit, but pricing is yet to be announced.
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