This new episode of DRIVE sees Chris Harris take to the road and track to compare Jaguar’s pretty F-Type with established machines from Porsche and Aston Martin.
The F-Type V8 S is propelled by a supercharged 5.0-litre V8 developing 364 kW (488 hp) and 625 Nm of torque, while the 3.8-litre flat-six engine in the 911 Carrera S produces 294 kW (400 hp) and 440 Nm. Finally, Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage Roadster has 313 kW (420 hp) and 470 Nm at its disposal thanks to a 4.7-litre V8 unit.
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Volkswagen Motorsport has agreed to freeze WRC car development in order to keep Citroen and M-Sport in the championship next season.
With Volkswagen’s Polo R WRC, the Ford Fiesta RS WRC and Citroën’s DS3 WRC reaching the end of their homologation cycle this year, the cost of developing a new car – around £3 million – would probably see M-Sport disappear from the competition.
Even though the Polo R WRC has dominated the series, securing four wins from six events, the team is currently working on an evolution version. However, Volkswagen’s decision to lobby the FIA to maintain the car’s current specification means that the upgraded vehicle won’t appear until 1015.
“We talked about what is best for the future and what’s the best to keep the level of entries up in the championship, and we found that the best way is to stay with the cars we have for this year,” said Jost Capito, Volkswagen Motorsport team principal.
M-Sport boss Malcolm Wilson added: “We are very grateful for this. As you can imagine for the likes of myself and Yves (Matton, Citroen team principal), it’s a real positive move. We know we can still be competitive next year without having to spend millions on development”.
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Following his brand’s recent invasion of Canada and Thailand, here’s some footage of Rauh-Welt Begriff founder Akira Nakai-San’s visit to Car Porn Racing in the Philippines to create the first Porsche 911s for RWB Manila – Victoria and Akira.
The Japanese chain-smoker flew to the company for six days to create these extreme machines, initially butchering the rear quarter panels and front fenders with an air saw before trial-fitting those cartoon-like arches. Both the 993 and 964 ride achieve that ground-scraping stance thanks to an AirRex air suspension system.
We can’t see many Porsche purists going down this route, but their visual impact can’t be denied.
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Porsche has released yet another 918 Spyder video, this time highlighting hot weather testing in the Valley of Fire outside Las Vegas, Nevada.
Porsche engineers have put almost one million miles on the prototype plug-in hybrid hypercars which will start at €633,000 when it becomes available towards the end of the year.
Propulsion comes via a combination of a 453 kW (608 hp) 4.6-litre V8 engine along with a 115 kW (154 hp) hybrid module at the rear along with a 95 kW (127 hp) electric motor driving the front wheels. With all systems go and the full 661 kW (887 hp) a its disposal, the Spyder can hit 100 km/h in 2.8 seconds and 200 km/h in 7.9s, while top speed is 340 km/h (211 mph).
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Walddorfhäslach aftermarket specialist JMS Tuning has released details of what it can provide for owners of the F30 BMW 3 Series.
For now, the only bodywork addition is a Racelook front spoiler with integrated diffuser priced at €299. JMS can also supply a KW Variant 1 inox-line coilover suspension kit for €1,218, which allows a drop in ride height of 55 mm at the front and 45 mm at the rear. For €2,599 the wheel and tyre package consists of Schmidt Revolution Gambit alloys measuring 8.5 and 10 x 20-inches. They come wrapped in 225/35 and 255/30 tyres.
If you’re looking for an increase in performance, the company can provide ECU upgrades, air filters, exhaust systems and adjustable software to eliminate the delay that can be found in electronic fly-by-wire pedals.
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Here’s a video from Motor Trend featuring racing driver Justin Bell and the Mercedes SLS AMG GT, which sees the pair visit some of the most iconic spots in Los Angeles before heading to the track to see how the hotter gullwing performs.
Propelling the GT is a tweaked version of the regular car’s 6.2-litre V8 that produces 435 kW (591 hp) and 650 Nm of torque, allowing a 3.7 second sprint to 100 km/h and limited top speed of 320 km/h.
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