Auto News 5

Twin-turbo V8 power for new Mercedes G63 AMG, set for Beijing Motor Show debut

Audi has said that it has agreed to buy Italian motorcycle maker Ducati, adding the premium motorcycle brand to the VW Group's existing brand portfolio of passenger cars, trucks and ultra-luxury vehicles.

European unions are continuing to demand PSA Peugeot Citroen and General Motors provide them with further clarity on the proposed alliance.

Only days after announcing another expansion of its just-expanded Chongqing factory, Ford said its joint venture Changan Ford Mazda Automobile (CFMA) would build another in Hangzhou adding initial capacity of 250,000 units.

Abu Dhabi is to exit its investment in German premium carmaker Daimler, a German magazine reported on Thursday.

Abu Dhabi is to exit its investment in German premium carmaker Daimler, a German magazine reported today.

Ford is investing $760 million to build a fourth plant in China as part of its effort to catch up with rivals GM and VW in the world's largest auto market.

Volkswagen is bracing for a "very demanding year" as the European debt crisis continues and global economic growth slows, CEO Martin Winterkorn said.

First pictures have been released of the Mercedes Concept Style Coupe ahead of its debut at the Beijing Motor Show next week

First Look: Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe

Highly stylized concept previews the "baby CLS."

When it opened a new plant in Hungary to build the B-Class, Mercedes-Benz announced that the factory also would build a compact "four door coupe." That car is being previewed at the Beijing Motor Show by the Concept Style Coupe, which probably gives a strong indication of the new production car's design.

Photo Gallery: First Look: Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: First Look: Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe - Automobile Magazine

First Look: Mercedes-Benz Concept Style Coupe | Digg It | Add to del.icio.us

Hyundai aims to sell 152,000 revamped Santa Fe SUVs globally this year, as it seeks to hold off a surge from high-end foreign brands at home. The third-generation Santa Fe is Hyundai's sole model to be launched globally this year.

Hyundai aims to sell 152,000 revamped Santa Fe SUVs globally this year, as it seeks to hold off a surge from high-end foreign brands at home. The third-generation Santa Fe is Hyundai's sole model to be launched globally this year.

Ford, in a bid to catch up with GM and VW in the world's largest auto market, said it will build a $760 million assembly plant in Hangzhou, China. The project will help Ford double its manufacturing capacity in the country to 1.

A German union seeking a pay rise for 3.

Ferdinand Piech, who has added six brands during his two-decade tenure leading Volkswagen, is about to add another with the purchase of Ducati. This time he risks overreaching.

Ferdinand Piech, who has added six brands during his two-decade tenure leading Volkswagen, is about to add another with the purchase of Ducati. This time he risks overreaching.

From wrc.com

Dani Sordo has described a feeling of excitement after sampling a Ford Fiesta RS WRC for the first time during a test in the United Kingdom Wednesday.

Dani Sordo. (Photo: BP Ford Team)

Sordo has been drafted in to replace Jari-Matti Latvala on Rally Argentina next week.

Latvala sustained a broken collarbone when he fell while cross-country skiing and is unable to contest round five of the FIA World Rally Championship.

Sordo and co-driver Carlos del Barrio conducted considerable running during the test at Greystoke Forest in Cumbria, north-west England.

Photo: BP Ford Team

M-Sport, the company responsible for operating the Ford World Rally Team in the WRC, owns the venue, which it uses for regular development testing.

The Spaniards will spend today, Thursday, with engineers from the Ford team as they continue to adapt to their new surroundings following their temporary release by the rival Prodrive WRC Team.

Audi AG is acquiring the Italian sports motorcycle manufacturer Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A., which is registered in Bologna. The bid is contingent on authorization by competition authorities.

Photo: Audi

Supervisory boards at Audi and Volkswagen approved the acquisition April 18 in Hamburg. Joining Lamborghini and Italdesign, Audi will gain quite afoothold in Northern Italy.

“Ducati is known worldwide as a premium brand among motorcycle manufacturers and has a long tradition of building sporty motorcycles. It has great expertise in high-performance engines and lightweight construction, and is one of the world's most profitable motorcycle manufacturers. That makes Ducati an excellent fit for Audi,” said Rupert Stadler, chairman of the board of management of Audi AG.

A Montreal-based promoter is currently working on setting up a new motorsport series in Canada using one of the most advanced junior single seaters available on the market.

Auto123.com talked to Mark Tosa about his goal of organising the maiden Canadian Formula 3 Championship.

“Formula 3 is one of the oldest and undoubtedly most stable series in the world,” Tosa said.

(Photo: F3 Euroseries)

“A National Formula 3 series would propel Canada into a very elite global fraternity of F3 “franchises” which would be huge news for the motorsports media, fans, teams, drivers, sponsors, partners, and suppliers not only locally in our own market, but worldwide as well,” he added.

Tosa said he finds Eastern Canada the best place to start his series because of the huge popularity of the Grand Prix each year and the very knowledgeable fans.

He also said that a Formula 3 series would be far more viable that most spec series that disappeared in recent years such as the Formula Atlantic, Fran-Am and Formula BMW series.

“The Canadian series will be open to various chassis manufacturers, engine builders and tire manufacturers. This way if one decides to pull out of the sport, you can rely on other suppliers whom already manufacture Formula 3 equipment,” Tosa added.

(Photo: F3 Euroseries)

Tosa's main objective is to reduce the operation costs as much as possible.

“By focusing a race schedule within a small, 700-km radius around Montreal will help us reduce logistic costs that attract more teams and partners whom are concentrated within this region.,” Tosa told us.

“A typical race weekend would comprise in three hours of running with one free practice session, one qualifying session and the race. A full, proper racing team's budget to run one car for a race weekend would cost around $20,000 then an additional $10,000 to operate a second car. Races held at tracks with very close proximity like Circuit ICAR or Mont-Tremblant where one day travel times mean hotels may not be needed for staffing would drop this figure to a $15,000 weekend for all competitors,” he added.

Tosa added that an F3 car would not only be faster than most existing North American single seaters such as Atlantics, Star Mazdas, Formula Renaults and F2000s but would be sold at similar price levels, somewhere between $70,000 and $100,000.

Mark Tosa's F3 car. (Photo: F3 Canada)

Formula 3 cars are proper racing machines being designed in a wind tunnel, built around a full carbon fiber monocoque, generating high-downforce levels through wings and a diffuser. Tosa' own Formula 3 car is currently on display at Vortex Racing in Montreal. He intends to run his car at several road racing events this year so drivers and teams can appreciate the performance and technology of Formula 3.

The promoter indicated that he intends to run the first cars in the Formula Libre category in 2012 before setting up the Canadian F3 Championship one year later.

Click here to visit the web site of the series: www.formula3.ca.

Michael Waltrip Racing is doing an expansion - of sorts.

The race team announced this week that it will form an alliance with RAB Racing to field entries in the Nationwide. That will include one for extreme sports star, Travis Pastrana.

According to the announcement as part of the agreement, RAB Racing will acquire additional cars and receive technical and marketing support from MWR. Also, RAB Racing will change its current No. 09 number to the No. 99 starting at Richmond on April 27.

RAB Racing will field the No. 99 Boost Mobile/KMC Wheels Toyota Camry for 11-time, X-Games gold medalist Pastrana in seven 2012 NASCAR Nationwide races. RAB Racing will also field Nationwide Series entries for MWR in additional races. Pastrana was supposed to have made his debut last year, but, he was injured in late July's X-Games.



Photo: NASCAR

"We love the Nationwide Series because it is what started Michael Waltrip Racing behind my house years ago," said MWR co-owner Michael Waltrip. "As our organization has grown into three full time Sprint Cup teams, it has taken a lot of our focus and resources. We have been so impressed with what the Bentons and Brack Maggard have been able to do with RAB Racing that we believe this is the perfect relationship for both organizations. We can help RAB Racing in certain areas and they can continue to elevate themselves into one of the top Nationwide Series teams."

"This is the next step for our team, having an alliance with a top Sprint Cup organization," said RAB Racing co-owner Robby Benton. "We have a great core of people who believe in one another and this will help us grow in the future."

"Benton explained that running a one-car team for Kenny Wallace was not panning out in the financial sense. We operate in a sport in which it takes cubic dollars to exist," said Benton on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio's Sirius Speedway. "We went through the whole season last year with Kenny, and as a team, we're still behind Kenny 110%, to the point where it makes good business sense. Kenny, my father, (partner) Brack Maggard and myself felt that if we did what we did last year, we'd be building toward something. We made a conscious decision to invest in ourselves (and) with the (sponsorship) partners we had last year, we felt like we could move forward to (become) a fully funded, full-time program this season.

“Unfortunately, that hasn't worked out.”

Thus the new situation is a good fit for both organizations.

Waltrip said the alliance isn't limited to fielding cars for Pastrana.

"Whenever we have an opportunity to go Nationwide racing with any of our drivers, it will be in the No. 99 at RAB Racing," Waltrip said. "We'll add to the schedule here pretty soon with another announcement."