American car giants Dodge has organised the first-ever legal street racing, in Michigan. The 1/8th-mile drag strip ran on Woodward Avenue, a listed highway on the Automotive Heritage Trail, and saw more than 350 street-legal cars compete in high-powered drag racing for a total cash prize of $19,000. Fans also had the chance to be thrown around a drift course with professional drivers in modern Dodge Challengers and Vipers at an event which saw many a tyre ruined.
The Ford Fiesta is the UK’s best-selling car. That’s according to official figures released by the Society of Motoring, Manufacturing and Traders who revealed the new car market has grown by 2.5% in the last year. Ford’s Fiesta received 8,236 new car registrations this May - 2,507 sales, which is 1.3 percentage points ahead of its nearest rival. The new Fiesta with Ford’s 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine offers fuel-efficiency of up to 65.7 mpg and costs from £10,345 OTR.
Ever wondered how Goodwood owner and resident Lord March gets his breakfast? Well, to celebrate Ferrari’s attendance at the 2016 Goodwood Festival of Speed, a California T Handling Speciale - set to be showcased at this year’s Festival in late June - was driven by drift record holder Mauro Calo as he sped around the estate collecting the necessary ingredients for a good fry up. The Handling Speciale package adds a new stiffer suspension and modified gear-shifts for a sportier gear selection.. and it certainly seemed to help drift expert gather his groceries.
Falken Tyres enlisted the help of a drift school to put its products through an extreme test. Among the souped-up Japanese imports, one 18-year-old car enthusiast brought along his heavily modified Morris Marina shod with Falken Sincera tyres. Underneath the fading Green paint of the 900kg car lies a Ford Mondeo Zetec engine, Sierra gearbox and uprated suspension. Drift champion and Falken team driver James Deane enjoyed a slide in the old Marina but may just stick with his 750 horsepower Nissan.
BMW has revealed a beefy ‘2002 Hommage' concept car - paying tribute to the classic 2002 model first seen 50 years ago. The one-off was conceived for this years concours event at Villa d’Este and features a low slung sporting silhouette and, like the original model, is distinguished by just two single headlight units. Aerodynamic details include large spoilers front and rear, while huge moulded wheel arches house 20-inch light-alloy wheels, as well as recalling the Trans Am race variants of the classic 2002 turbo.
As headline sponsor of London’s Clerkenwell Design Week, Renault chose the event for the UK debut of its all-new Scenic which took centre stage in Spa Fields Park, forming part of a showcase of leading product design from around the world. The 5-seater Scenic features some unconventional MPV design cues, a two-tone colour scheme and huge 20-inch wheels fitted as standard across the range. A choice of petrol, diesel and Hybrid engines will be available when the Scenic goes on sale later this year. The Clerkenwell Design Week is open until 26 May.
The Infiniti Concept Vision GT made its first-ever appearance outside of China, at London’s Copper Box Arena. Its UK debut came at the launch of the new Sony Playstation 4 game - GT Sport - in which the car will star alongside other manufacturers supercar concepts. The design project went much further than hand sketching and digital refinement, to include thorough calculations of technical features such as aerodynamics and engine performance. GT Sport for the PS4 is released in November.
The new Sony PlayStation game ‘GT Sport’ was launched at London’s Copper Box Arena, to a wheel-spinning, tyre smoking fan-fare. Inviting a host of manufacturers to bring their specially made extreme concept cars, the floor was packed with dream machines - all of which feature in the new console game. A few privileged gamers were among the first to try out the new software, which was sanctioned by the FIA and built from the ground up to make global online competitions a reality. Speaking of reality, stunt drivers were on-hand outside to give guests a taste of real world racing.
MG has pulled the covers off its new SUV - the GS - at the London Motor Show. The British brand’s first SUV will be powered by an 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine and will be available in three different trim levels. The range-topping GS will also be available with the option of a DCT gearbox which promises to be more responsive, delivering a smoother ride. Pricing has yet to be confirmed but MG says it will be consistent with its other ‘affordable’ models.
Volkswagen will be celebrating 40 years of the the Golf GTI with a special Clubsport S edition, set to debut at the 35th GTI Meet in Wörthersee, Austria. It will be joined by the whole generation of Golf GTI models, from a mark 1 to the new GTI Touring car. The legions of VW fans will be able to get up close to the 310 PS GTI Clubsport S, which earlier this week broke the Nürburgring record for a front-wheel drive production car, completing a lap in 7:49.21.
Indian manufacturing giant Mahindra has entered the UK automotive market with its e2o electric car. Launched at London's Design Museum, the three-door hatchback has been created for urban commuting, and will be available in two trim levels. The city car includes 'connected’ features such as a smartphone app which allows you to control many of the cars functions remotely. With running costs from as low £10 a month for those travelling under 8,000 miles a year, prices for the e2o will start at £12,995 OTR.
The all-new Ford GT supercar was recently sent around a specially designed ‘Silverstone’ circuit.. in London. Loaded on the back of a Clear Idea transport truck, the World Endurance Championship race car completed the slowest lap ever at 2 hours 20 minutes as it admired landmarks on a route that started and finished at Southwark Underground station. The stunt marked the opening of order books for the ultra-high-performance GT as well as celebrating its debut season in the WEC which gets under way this weekend.
F1 driver Felipe Massa played Bond villain for the day in Mexico, driving a Jaguar C-X75 stunt car from the new film SPECTRE. Jaguar partnered with Williams Advanced Engineering on the production of the C-X75 and as such, both Williams F1 cars will carry the 007 SPECTRE logo at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix. Massa drove the car to celebrate F1's return to Mexico and the Americas Premiere of the new film which heavily features Mexico City in the opening scenes.
Jaguar unveiled its new F-Pace at the Frankfurt motor show with a gravity defying loop-the-loop stunt. Pro driver Terry Grant undertook two months of intensive training to ensure his body was prepared for the 6.5G he experienced when sending the lightweight SUV through the loop. The stunt also broke the Guinness World Record for largest ever ‘loop-the-loop’ in a car, measured on the diameter of the loop at 19.08 metres. A First Edition F-Pace is on sale now, limited in the UK to just 200 units, its priced at £65,275 OTR.
Senior UK car industry executives teamed up with Business Secretary Sajid Javid to give British-built cars a unique send-off to the Frankfurt Motor Show. The event coincided with news that total investment in the UK's automotive sector this year, has topped £2 billion, with more than 4,500 new jobs created. Among the 10 cars flying the British flag, the brand new Rolls-Royce Dawn was seen in public for the first time ahead of its Frankfurt world premiere.
Jeep has unveiled a pair of bespoke Renegades to mark its global partnership with the Montreux Jazz Festival. Created by Garage Italia Customs - the latest project of former Fiat Marketing Manager, Lapo Elkann – the cars are finished in nine coats of paint, based on the lacquered body of electric guitars, with guitar string graphics drawn across the bonnet and boot. On the inside, black denim fabric lines the cabin, offset with Dark Brown natural leather.
Jaguar's new F-Pace has made its first public appearance, as a support car for Chris Froome and Team Sky at the Tour de France. The prototype shed its hard camouflage - instead sporting a specially created wrap, hinting at the final design of the new SUV. Running on large alloy wheels, the new car also features two large tailpipes and red brake calipers. The new Jaguar F-Pace will be fully unveiled for a world debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
Jaguar returned once more for the 2015 Mille Miglia four-day event in Italy. The official Heritage team, piloted by famous faces from the world of motorsport, TV and music, headed to the start in Brescia with 9 classic Jags - ranging from C-type and D-types to an XK140 driven by musician Example and an XK120 Roadster driven by model Jodie Kidd and male model David Gandy. All nine cars ran smoothly throughout the gruelling four-day event with the Jaguar Heritage team finishing strongly in the Mille Miglia’s regularity trial rankings.
Salon Privé has released teaser footage showing what to expect at this years Luxury Supercar Show. Celebrating its tenth anniversary, ten supercars cars old and new were rolled out - from the Ferrari 330GTC to the Lamborghini Countach. With events at the show ranging from a classic car auction to the Concours d’Elégance - the current Hypercar Collection 'top 3’ were also on display – namely the McLaren P1, Ferrari LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder. Salon Privé runs from 3-5 September at Oxfordshire's Blenheim Palace.
Audi has revealed its TT clubsport turbo concept, which is set for a Worthersee festival debut. Austria's annual meeting for Volkswagen Group enthusiasts will get the first glimpse of the 'colossal' 600PS machine, which is powered by 2.5-litre engine and a 'close to production ready' electrically powered biturbo compressor - which revs up to maximum rpm rapidly, without delay. With 650Nm of torque on tap, 0 to 62 takes just 3.6 seconds and top speed comes in at of 192 mph.
