Last night’s Fifth Gear saw Swedish rally legend Stig Blomqvist taking to a frozen lake in the Audi A1 quattro, as he attempted to give the show’s Jonny Smith a lesson in driving on the slippery stuff. Propelled by the company’s 2.0 TFSI engine, which produces 188 kW (256 hp) and 350 Nm (258 lb/ft), just 333 units of the high-powered baby hatchback will be produced. If you skip straight to Segment 2 you’ll only miss a minute or two of it.
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Author: admin
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Stig Blomqvist in the Audi A1 quattro
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Porsche 991 Turbo spotted
One of our readers, José Costa, was recently spending some time racing at the Nurburgring, when he pulled into the local gas station and came across this camouflaged Porsche 991 Turbo. We’ve seen other photos of this vehicle in the past, but this is the clearest interior shot to date.Said to début in Paris later this month, power is expected to from the 3.8-litre six-cylinder engine currently seen in the 997, but – if rumours turn out to be true – it will be fed by three turbochargers rather than two. This set-up is currently in use in BMW’s diesel-powered M Performance range to sharpen up low-end responsiveness. Time will tell.
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BMW M5 by Vilner
Sofia-based Vilner Studio has revealed one of its latest projects based on the popular v10-engined E60 BMW M5.Aside from the satin black HRE P40 Series alloy wheels, all the changes occur inside the cabin, with Vilner fitting an Alcantara rooflining before trimming the steering wheel, handbrake, seats and door panels in leather, with the latter two receiving large perforated sections. The interior is completed with carbon fibre elements on the dashboard sections, centre console and doors.
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Limited edition 760Li marks 25 years of BMW automobile 12-cylinders
BMW has announced details of a special edition 7 Series that marks a quarter of a century of 12-cylinder engines in its automobile range.Available only to customers in America, the “V-12 25 Years Edition” BMW 760Li uses a twin-turbo 6.0-litre powerplant that churns out 399 kW (535 hp) and 746 Nm (550 lb/ft) of torque, enough to propel this luxury barge to 100 km/h in just 4.5 seconds and onto a top speed of 209 km/h (130 mph) or 250 km/h (155 mph) when specified with the M Sport option.
Special features include exclusive badging throughout, the Shadowline exterior trim, 20-inch Individual alloy wheels, Champagne Merino leather with black piping, rear-seat entertainment package with iDrive, black floor mats and rear footrests with Champagne piping, Piano Black wood trim, leather-trimmed pillars and Alcantara-trimmed rooflining and parcel shelf.
A mere 15 examples will be built with pricing starting at $159,695.
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Audi RS 5 Coupe driven
In this new episode of Ignition, Motor Trend’s Carlos Lago heads over to Sonoma Raceway to drive Audi’s RS 5 Coupe around the racetrack, before taking the scenic route home to Los Angeles to see how it performs on a long, winding road trip. Powered by Audi’s 331 kW (450 hp) 4.2 FSI, the Coupe hits 100 km/h in just 4.6 seconds, while the limited top speed of 250 kmh (155 mph) can be raised to 280 km/h (174 mph) upon request.
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SEAT introduces Mii Auto
SEAT is following the Volkswagen up!’s lead by adding an automatic option to it Mii range.An automated version of the current five-speed manual transmission, the driver simply chooses from D (Drive), N (Neutral) or R (Reverse) and the gearbox selects the optimum gear for that particular situation. Alternatively, the cogs can be changed up or down – manually via the gear lever.
Weighing a mere three kilograms more than the Mii’s five-speed manual ‘box, the automatic uses electromechanical actuators to control the gate selection and disengage or engage the gears., while another motor controls the clutch mechanism.
Available in SE trim with the 55 kW (75 hp) 1.0-litre engine, the Mii Auto is a standalone model with a slightly improved consumption figure of 4.5 l/100 km compared to the manual’s 4.7 l/100 km. Standard equipment on the SE includes 14-inch ‘Silva’ alloy wheels, a leather steering wheel and gear knob, gloss white dashboard trim, heated electric mirrors, air con, electric front windows and electronic stability control. UK customers will need to part with £10,390 or £10,740 for either the three- or five-door model, and anyone ordering one before the end of this month gets a free Portable System touchscreen infotainment unit.
