German Car Scene

Month: June 2013

  • Porsche LMP1 sports prototype surfaces

    Porsche LMP1 sports prototype
    Following on from the news that Porsche will be returning to World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2014, the company today revealed that the LMP1 sports prototype has completed its first rollout with Porsche works driver Timo Bernhard behind the wheel.

    Prepared at the Weissach Motorsport Centre outside of Stuttgart in new workshops and premises housing around 200 employees, the closed-cockpit machine turned its first laps on the circuit several weeks earlier than originally planned. “Our newly formed team has worked with utmost concentration on getting this highly complex vehicle on the track as soon as possible. This allows us a few additional weeks for more testing and further development,” commented Fritz Enzinger, Head of LMP1.

    “The engineers were able to start with a blank sheet of paper in the design of the new LMP1 car that was out here today on the Weissach race track for the first time. Hence, they were able to apply many new technologies within the framework of the regulations that will also benefit the customers of our road legal automobiles in the future. After all, there’s a race car in every Porsche,” said Porsche CEO Matthias Müller.

    “I’m very proud that I was the one to take our baby through its first paces today,” said Bernhard who will be joined by Romain Dumas to carry out the majority of the testing at various international circuits throughout this year.
    (more…)

  • Volkswagen Amarok edition announced

    Volkswagen Amarok edition
    Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles has announced a special version of its Amarok that boasts £3,400 of additional equipment at a £2,000 saving.

    Based on the Trendline specification vehicle, which already includes body-coloured bumpers and wheel arches, the Amarok edition gains a set of 18-inch Durban alloy wheels, exclusive decals, rear privacy glass, black side steps and styling bars across the load area. There’s also a protective coating for the load area and front and rear parking sensors, while the interior is treated to a five-inch colour touchscreen system with Bluetooth connectivity and satellite navigation.

    Power comes from the 2.0-litre BiTDI engine, developing 132 kW (180 hp) 420 Nm of torque, which comes with either a six-speed manual gearbox with selectable 4MOTION, or eight-speed automatic with permanent 4MOTION.

    Available in either Reflex Silver or Black, this UK special edition will be limited to just 300 examples with pre-VAT pricing starting at £22,495 for the manual transmission model and £24,225 for the automatic.

    [Source: Volkswagen UK]

  • Schmidt Revolution BMW 335i

    Schmidt Revolution BMW 335i
    Bad Segeberg-based wheel manufacturer Schmidt Revolution has revealed its Performance² BMW 3 Series program focusing on the 335i model.

    Visually, the company fits its own three-piece FS Line alloys to the 3 Series. Measuring 8.5 and 10 x 20 inches, the wheels, which feature marine grade Radinox stainless steel rims and wear 235/35 and 265/30 Continental 5P tyres, are priced at €6,499 a set.

    Two different levels of tune are available for the turbocharged 3.0-litre inline-six, which produces 228 kW (306 hp) and 400 Nm of torque in standard guise. For €799, Stage I yields 247 kW (336 hp) and 460 Nm, with Stage II developing 268 kW (365 hp) and 480 Nm for €1,399. A €399 titanium rear silencer can also be specified.

    Chassis upgrades include a Bilstein B12 kit with Eibach stabilizers for €1,999, while the IC-module and deprogramming of the Electronic Damper Control will relieve you of a further €1,500.
    (more…)

  • SEAT Leon Verde prototype revealed

    SEAT Leon Verde
    SEAT has announced details of a plug-in electric prototype based on the company’s Leon hatchback.

    A result of the four-year Cenit Verde (Green Zenith) research project, which was carried out with Spain’s Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness with the aim of introducing an electric vehicle in Spain, the Leon Verde is propelled by a 75 kW (101 hp) electric motor along with a 90 kW (121 hp) 1.4 TSI petrol engine mated to a 6-speed transmission adapted for hybrid driving.

    When the 8.8 kWh battery is fully charged an electric-only range of 50 kilometres is possible, but with the car’s 40-litre tank topped up that figure rises to 816 km (507 miles). On the road, the combined fuel consumption works out at a mere 1.6l/100 km (176.6 mpg) with CO2 emissions of just 36 g/km.

    As with Audi’s A1 e-tron, the Leon’s systems communicate with a smartphone app that allows the owners to manage such functions as battery status and energy consumption, along with reserve management for recharges. There’s also a Driving Cycle Predictor, which analyses and memorises the driving styles and routines of the driver before utilizing the information to optimize energy consumption.

    Finally, an innovative two-way charging system intelligently linked to the electricity grid means that the Leon can establish when the grid is experiencing low demand, and charge the car during those times only, using a lower tariff. The vehicle can also feed electricity back into the grid.
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  • When DTM champions meet

    BMW M3 drift
    Here’s what happened when BMW arranged a meeting between the current and 2011 DTM champions, Bruno Spengler and Martin Tomczyk, on a piece of unused tarmac.

    If you can look beyond the Top Gun undercurrent and the fact that there’s probably more chance of Lindsay Lohan seeing her thirtieth birthday than there is of those two drivers actually being Spengler and Tomcyk, then it’s quite enjoyable.

    Takes our breath away.
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  • XXX Performance Audi R8

    XXX Performance Audi R8
    Bochum tuning specialist XXX Performance has given last year’s Audi R8 demo car a pretty extensive makeover, and it’s safe to say that you won’t lose it in a car park. Even if you wanted to.

    As well as upgrading to LED head lights and taillights from the R8 V10 plus model, XXX also fits what it calls the GT-X650 wide-body package, but it looks like Prior Design’s PD GT850 kit to us. Components include a front fascia with integrated spoiler, wider ventilated fenders, skirts, sideblades, rear quarter panels, a roof scoop and vented rear bumper with diffuser.

    The H&R coilover set-up was modified to work in conjunction with an air ride system, allowing the Coupe to be slammed at the touch of a button over those humongous new rollers. Measuring 9 and 13 x 20-inches, and featuring blue centres to match the CFC chrome body wrap, the Forgiato GTR wheels wear 235/30 and 325/25 Hankook tyres.

    Lurking beneath the engine cover XXX has fitted a Capristo exhaust system with Bluetooth-controlled flap, a BMC carbon airbox and remapped the 5.2 FSI unit’s ECU software to see power rise from 391 kW (525 hp) to 485 kW (650 hp).

    It feels like our eyes have been violated. And not in a good way.
    (more…)