From GMM
Sahara Force India sent an observer to a 'filming day' conducted this week by world champions Red Bull.
Germany's
Auto Motor und Sport said Force India, the Silverstone based team, sent the observer because it suspects F1's dominant team may be exploiting a loophole in the strict testing ban.
Correspondent Michael Schmidt said that while teams are supposed to only run their cars for promotional and filming purposes, some teams including Sahara Force India suspect Red Bull might be testing new parts.
That suspicion was fuelled by the fact that, although ostensibly for filming, Red Bull usually runs all of its promotional test days at the same Rockingham circuit.
So Sahara Force India applied to be allowed to send an observer to Red Bull's latest Rockingham 'filming', which took place on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
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| Photo: Red Bull Racing |
Another suspicion is that Red Bull, who this year took a big step forward in the second half of the season, might have found a way around the 'factory shutdown' period.
Dr Helmut Marko rubbished that suggestion, insisting: "If we were better after the summer break, it's because although the factory was closed, our brains were not."
Wheels are the shoes of the car world. A smart pair of kicks can make an outfit, as a pair of wingtips can make a suit.
The right set of wheels, like many seen at the 2013 SEMA Show, dress up a car, giving it, in fact, the right attitude and overall look. Some brands do more. Some brands are the equivalent of the sexiest of high heels. The right set of high heels can make even the plainest of women look hot.
Some of the wheels on display at the 2013 SEMA Show could make a Plymouth Acclaim sexy enough to elope with. Thankfully, most are attached to desirable cars...
Former Ferrari team manager Nigel Stepney claims this week the Italian team knowingly cheated in order to win the first Grand Prix of 2007.
The Briton, who was a leading figure in that year's infamous "spygate" scandal, told
Racecar Engineering that the car driven by Kimi Raikkonen in Australia had an illegal moveable floor.
"I like to try to win on a fair basis but when I was there I disagreed with something that was going on within Ferrari," revealed Nigel Stepney, who now runs the sports car team JRM Racing.
"I thought it was not correct, and although I was wrong to discuss it [with a rival], winning until you get stopped was not the correct way. It went against the grain."
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| Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari F2007. (Photo: Ferrari) |
Knowing the issue, McLaren asked for clarifications from the FIA. The rear-wing was declared legal, but the floor wasn't.
Team principal Ron Dennis choose not to protest the result of the Australian Grand prix, won by Ferrari.
Interestingly, Kimi Raikkonen won the 2007 world championship by 1 point. If Ferrari would have been disqualified, the Fin would have lost 10 points and the title would have gone to Lewis Hamilton equals in point with Fernando Alonso.
Really, can the exotic car scene get any hotter? Well, apparently it can. Especially on the showroom floor at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. Just when you thought the Lamborghini Gallardo was hot out of the box, you spot a lightly modified oh-so-tastefully-done version at SEMA and your jaw drops that much further.
Exotics are always a crowd-pleaser, and when they're dressed to the modified nines at a show like the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, they're more than crowd-pleasing, they're show-stopping. From the bright yellow Forgiato Aventador sporting custom-built blue rims to MISHA Designs Porsche 911, the exotics were out in full force this year in Las Vegas, and we were there to capture them all.
Check out our gallery of 2013 SEMA Show exotics below. For more coverage, make sure you head over to
Auto123.TV for videos and more galleries.
Aiming to compete with the big U.S. and European luxury brands in the American market, Nissan launched the Infiniti brand on November 8th, 1989 with a network of 51 U.S. retailers.
Infiniti later expanded into Mexico, Canada, the Middle East, Russia, France (2008), and Spain (2008). China and Brazil will follow in 2014.
Originally, two models were available including the Q45 sedan and M30 coupe. Success came early, and in 2003 Infiniti made Car and Driver's "Ten Best Cars" (G35).
Infiniti was among the first car companies to introduce intelligent cruise control (2001), lane departure warning (2004), 360-degree view (2007), and blind spot monitoring.
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| Q45, 1989. (Photo: Infiniti) |
All right, boys and girls, this is it. This is the big one, the granddaddy, the Big Cheese. This is the one you fight the crowds to see, the one you make sure your iPhone battery is charged for. This is the showstopper at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas. This is the LB☆WORKS Ferrari 458, and it's absolutely stunning.
While some may consider it a JDM f-you to Italian design livery, we think it's an absolute homage to everything the 458 stands for. From the stance to the rear diffusers, this beast of a Ferrari is killer from any angle. Trust us; we've looked at it in every way imaginable at the 2013 SEMA Show.
LB☆WORKS' design guru, Miura-san took the Ferrari 458 to a level not thought possible, since the Italian house already pushed the boundaries of the 458's looks so much to begin with. But it's been done, and it's been done so very well. Screwed-on fender flares sumptuously hugging custom 20" Rotiform wheels, stylishly integrated carbon-fiber rear ducktail, and a front lip you just wanna lick; this LB☆WORKS Ferrari 458 is one for the history books.
Instead of drooling over static images, we want you to see this stunning work of modified art from the 2013 SEMA Show in all it's real-life glory, so check out the video below. And for more coverage of the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, make sure you head over to
Auto123.TV.
From press release
Alexander Wurz and Nicolas Lapierre of Toyota Racing set the pole position ahead of the 6 Hours of Shanghai, penultimate round of the World Endurance Championship.
The Austrian-French duo set a combined fastest average time of 1:48.013 in their No.7 Toyota TS030 Hybrid, ahead of No.1 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, driven in qualifying by Marcel Fässler and Benoit Tréluyer, the two hybrid-powered prototypes being separed by just 0.08 seconds.
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| Photo: Toyota Racing |
Third in LMP1 was the No.8 Toyota of Stéphane Sarrazin and Sébastien Buemi, its best average time being 1:48.694 - 0.68s from its sister car - followed by the No.2 Audi of Allan McNish and Tom Kristensen. The No.12 Rebellion Racing Lola-Toyota rounded out the top class, the LMP1 Privateer entry being driven in qualifying by Nicolas Prost and Mathias Beche.
In LMP2, the No.26 G-Drive Racing entry claimed pole position for the third time in four races, some margin ahead of the hard-charging No.24 OAK Racing and No.41 Greaves. Stefan Mucke and Darren Turner set the LMGTE Pro pole position in the no97 Aston Martin Racing Vantage V8, just 0.019s ahead of their teammates Bruno Senna and Richie Stanaway in the nr99 Vantage.
In LMGTE Am Christoffer Nygaard and Nicki Thiim posted the fastest 4-lap average of 2m05.903 in the nr95 Aston Martin Racing Vantage, just 0.015s ahead of the nr61 AF Corse Ferrari 458 Italia of Marco Cioci and Matt Griffin.
The 6 Hours of Shanghai will take place tomorrow morning at 11am (local).
Phew, we survived! The 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas is a wrap, and Team Auto123.com has made it out alive, and intact, thought we may have left some fluids back on the showroom floor... what with all the drooling and what-not (get your mind out of the gutter!).
What a show it's been this year in Las Vegas. We've seen it all from two wheels to four to six, well you get the idea. It's all here and we experienced it as best we could, and tried to keep you up to date and enjoying the madness right along with us. We hope you've liked the coverage so far.
As we come down from our 2013 SEMA Show high and gather all the thousands of photos and hours of video reels, we'll be putting together a few more galleries, some Top 10s and short videos for your viewing pleasure. Make sure you check back in the next few days. We weren't just partying it up with the car girls all week, we were working hard! We swear.
Don't forget to head on over to
Auto123.TV for all the 2013 SEMA Show coverage in one spot including photo galleries, videos and more.
It's been a wild ride and we're already looking forward to next year's show.
Exhibitors at the 2013 SEMA Show in Las Vegas are no fools: They know that having a hot car in their booth dramatically increases their chances of getting foot traffic.
However, those exhibitors with a little more coin know exactly how to further increase interest in their booths at the 2013 SEMA Show: with the help of scantily clad girls.
Judging by the amount of guys hovering around the SEMA girls, I'd say it was mission accomplished. Now, if only the guys remembered what the product they had stopped to look at actually was...
From GMM
Bernie Ecclestone's long reign at the top of formula one could end over an alleged multi-million 'bribe' paid to jailed German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky.
As the circumstances surrounding that payment are probed this week in London's high court, it emerged that more payments - which might also be described as 'bribes' - were paid by Ecclestone to well-known team bosses some years ago.
The court heard on Thursday that Eddie Jordan, now a BBC pundit, quadruple world champion Alain Prost, and the late Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw - all former F1 team owners - were each paid $10 million to sign the 1998 Concorde Agreement.
The money was reportedly paid straight from Ecclestone's Bambino family trust into the bosses' personal bank accounts, not to their respective F1 teams.
"They were paid to ensure that their teams did sign. Isn't that right?" the lawyer for German media company Constantin asked the F1 chief executive in court.
"Yes," Ecclestone agreed.
It also emerged on Thursday that, although Ecclestone claims he only paid Gribkowsky because he was threatening to tip off British tax authorities, Gribkowsky in fact felt physically threatened by the now 83-year-old.
Constantin's lawyer said Gribkowsky felt he was "under some sort of physical threat" from Ecclestone and had even consulted with Munich police.
Porsche will unveil three new models within the next two weeks, with the launches taking place at auto shows in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and Guangzhou.
First, Porsche will introduce the highly anticipated Macan compact SUV
in L.A. on November 19th. In the meantime, you can go to
www.porsche.com/macan to listen to the sound of the Macan.
The Porsche 911 Turbo and Turbo S Cabriolet will also be on display.
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| Porsche Panamera Turbo S. (Photo: Porsche) |
A few days later at the
Tokyo Auto Show, Porsche will unveil the Porsche Panamera Turbo S and Turbo S Executive -- hailed as the fastest, most powerful and most luxurious models in the Panamera range with 570 horsepower and a top speed of 310 km/h.
Meanwhile,
the Guangzhou Auto Show in China will feature the debut of the Porsche 918 Spyder (also planned for the L.A. event). With 887 horsepower on tap, this hybrid sports car sprints from 0-100 km/h in just 2.6 seconds while burning a mere 3.0L/100km.
Honda Canada is recalling 24,692 Odyssey minivans from 2007-2008 due to a defect in the Vehicle Stability Assist (VSA) system.
The brakes may apply unexpectedly while the Odyssey is being driven without the driver pressing on the brake pedal. If this were to occur, the brake lamps would also fail to illuminate. These issues could increase the risk of a crash.
Honda dealers will affect repairs.
Source: Transport Canada
The new Mercedes-Benz S 65 AMG will be launched simultaneously at the Tokyo and Los Angeles auto shows later this month. The car is scheduled to go on sale next spring. Pricing has yet to be determined.
Equipped with a twin-turbocharged AMG V12 engine rated at 630 horsepower, the Mercedes-Benz S 65 AMG uses an AMG Speedshift Plus 7G-TRONIC transmission to sprint from 0-100 km/h in 4.3 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited at 249 km/h.
Moreover, the Mercedes-Benz S 65 AMG comes standard with the AMG sports suspension based on MAGIC BODY CONTROL, which recognizes road surface undulations in advance, and a lithium-ion battery that replaces both the starter battery and the backup battery -- resulting in a weight saving of over 20 kilograms.
Inside, the Mercedes-Benz S 65 AMG boasts exclusive, diamond-patterned nappa leather, sports seats with AMG logos, a high-resolution TFT colour display, a Burmeister audio system, and a panoramic sunroof.
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| Mercedes S65 AMG. (Photo: Mercedes-Benz) |
Nissan will channel its Le Mans racing know-how at this month's Tokyo Motor Show with a new three-seat delta-winged concept car fit for city streets.
UAW Secretary-Treasurer Dennis Williams, a former welder and longtime union organizer who was instrumental in Barack Obama's 2008 victory in the Iowa caucuses when Obama was an Illinois senator, officially emerged Thursday as the front-runner to...
GM is extending to married same-sex employees the same health care insurance it offers to married opposite-sex employees.
Range Rovers, F-Types and XJs now have their own Hollywood agent.
Prices of used vehicles on average dropped in October from prior-month levels, but were higher than they were in October 2012, according to the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index released today.
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