Days after qualifying on pole at Spa,and then coming in a strong second place in the race right behind Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari during the race,rumors were stirring that Force India’s new hero,Fisichella,would be replace Luca Badoer for the last five races of the 2009 Formula 1 season. Luca,as you know,took on the second Ferrari car while Felippe Massa is out injured from his qualifying accident over a month ago. However,while a long time test driver,as a race driver Luca has struggled in the past two races,qualifying and coming in dead last. While the rumors were initially denied by Force India owner Vijay Mallya,it has now emerged that effective immediately,Fisi has been released from Force India as is headed to Ferrari to help them with the last five races,and then continue to serve as a reserve and test driver in the next season.
No really,I just said that. The Audi R8,when released,was already amazing. Then the V10 version came out,and it was awesome. Now Abt Sportline have taken that V10 and made it insane. Coming in at 600 bhp,this beast can be outfitted with Abt’s carbon fiber kit that will give you a new front spoiler,side sills,rear apron,rear wing,a very nice quad exhaust pipe setup,and 20″BR-type five spoke wheels. So pretty. (Found on Autoblog)
In preparation for the Frankfurt Motor Show,car news has kicked into high gear. The recently revealed Ferrari 458 Italia,the successor to Ferrari’s F430,now has an official video where the chairman of Pininfarina goes over the design elements incorporated in the 458. Niccccceeeeee. Interesting note though is that he refers to only two of the three rear pipes as exhuast pipes,and the center one just as a center pipe. Design over function Ferrari? (Found on Autoblog)
I am loving the new Maserati GranCabrio,Maserati’s first 4-seater convertible ever in Maserati’s history. Forgoing the current trend for hard-top roofs,Maserati has stuck with a good old-fashioned canvas roof,allowing it to save both weight and space for that amazing 4.7 litre from the GranTurismo S,mated to a ZF six-speed gearbox,this car is going to be amazing to hear. I can’t wait until Top Gear gets a hold of this for a review (maybe a race?).
Wired’s Autopia has put together a collection of 10 awesome car ads,one per manufacturer (i.e. VW only gets one ad,as does Audi,etc). And they’ve done a damn good job. Above is a collaboration effort between Shell and Ferrari (one of my favorites because not only does it involve historic F1 cars,but they cover some amazing drives including Hong Kong!),one of the 10 that they’ve listed. I highly encourage checking out all 10,as they are simply amazing (the Fiat one was hilarious). But there are so many other great car ads out there. So read on to watch some of my favorites that aren’t in Wired’s Top 10. (Found on Digg)
So a Porsche 911 is quite fast compared to most cars. Then you add on the GT3 and you have a really fast Porsche. Finally you tack on RS,and what you have is one ridiculously looking,and just as fast,Porsche. And that’s what you have with the new 2010 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. One ridiculously awesome Porsche. I love the grey blood-orange color combination:the grey body,with blood-orange wheels,air intakes,sideview mirrors and decals. This car is screaming the fact that it is a GT3 RS. It’s upped the ante with a 3.8 litre flat-six (vs 3.6 in the GT3),and 450 bhp (vs 435 in the GT3). It’s also tried to shed weight,what with the new carbon fiber rear wing mounted using aluminium supports,a titanium exhaust system,and an optional lithium battery to replace the lead acid battery,which by itself decreases weight by a nice 22 pounds. Priced at $132,800 for the U.S,the car is set to be available sometime in the spring of 2010. (Found on Autoblog)
Oh my. Cult supercar manufacturer,Noble,has just unleashed onto the world their latest creation,the M600. Weighing in at a meager 2810 lbs,this beast is powered by a 4.4 litre V8 mated with twin turbocharges,allowing drivers to set if they want to be using 450,550 or 650 bhp while driving (why provide this option beats me,I would never move it off 650!). This power propels the car in true supercar fashion,allowing it to do 0-60 in 3.0 seconds,100 mph in 6.5 seconds and continue on to a top speed of 255 mph. Lovely. And in true Noble tradition,it’s a driver’s driver car. This means none of the mushy automatic slush boxes,flappy paddles,or ESP and anti-lock brakes. Six-speed manual,with traction control you can completely deactivate,this car is a purebred supercar. (Found on Autoblog)
As a successor to the great Arnage,Bentley started from the ground up in designing the new Bentley Mulsanne. The new car is nearly a foot longer than the Flying Spur,and rides on a completely new chassis. Furthermore,the interior has been compeltely revamped (still trying to find a picture of it though) with a brand new steerign wheel,chrome thrown here and there on the dials,and even a joystick to control the screen. The headlights though,with their LED daytime running functionality,seem to make the entire car look a bit bug-eyed. Maybe I just need to see it in person. (Found on Autoblog)
