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In an effort to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, Ford has just created a special edition of the 2014 Mustang GT. The car will be auctioned off at the Gathering of Eagles charity event on August 1st during the Ford-sponsored Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture Oshkosh 2013.

The exterior showcases a custom brilliant white paint with red and blue accents, as well as markings and logos, tying it to the Thunderbirds' F-16 Falcon aircraft. It rides on 22'' wheels.

Inside are a modified navigation screen, instrument cluster and rear seat-delete. The Recaro seats include embroidered Thunderbirds elements, while puddle lamps project the aircraft silhouette when the doors open. Brembo brakes, a modified suspension, and a supercharger complete the package.

All proceeds from the car donation and sale will benefit the EAA Young Eagles program, which has provided free introductory flights to more than 1.6 million young people since 1992.

Photo: Ford

General Motors and Honda today announced a partnership to develop next-generation fuel cell system and hydrogen storage technologies for 2020.

Takanobu Ito, president & CEO of Honda Motor Co. Ltd. said: “Among all zero-emission technologies, fuel cell electric vehicles have a definitive advantage with range and refuelling time that is as good as conventional gasoline cars. Honda and GM are eager to accelerate the market penetration of this ultimate clean mobility technology, and I am excited to form this collaboration to fuse our leading fuel cell technologies and create an advanced system that will be both more capable and more affordable.”

Both GM and Honda have quite a bit of experience in fuel cell development. The former has accumulated nearly 3 million miles of real-world driving in a fleet of 119 hydrogen-powered vehicles through the Project Driveway program, launched in 2007, while the latter began leasing of the FCX in 2002 and has deployed 85 units in the U.S. and Japan.

Honda plans to launch the future FCX Clarity in Japan and the United States in 2015, and then in Europe. GM will announce its fuel cell production plans at a later date.

Photo: General Motors

From Ferrari

The Scuderia Ferrari's Head of Engines, Luca Marmorini, explains the challenges of next year engines.

Instead of the current 2.4 litre naturally aspirated V8s, next year the engines will be 1.6 litre turbocharged with an energy recovery system built in. The energy recovery system will be powered off the exhaust and will deliver around an extra 160 horsepower for over 30 seconds each lap. The engines will have a rev limit of 15000 rpm and have to last for around 5000 kilometres as opposed to the current 2000. Added to significant changes on other areas of the car, it all goes to make for the biggest changes the sport has seen in decades.

“There is no one single aspect of the new project that is more critical than the next,” explained Luca Marmorini. “I'd say it's difficult in all 360 degrees. For example, the turbo is a new type which runs to 25,000 rpm and is definitely something absolutely new. Also the very complex electronics and management systems are a very big step forward, which means that engine management will be a very difficult challenge.”

Luca Marmorini. (Photo: Ferrari)

In the past, when racing at tracks that put the engines under a lot of pressure, it was customary for several drivers to retire with engine failure, but in recent times, we have almost taken for granted a level of reliability that is exceptional for a racing engine. That is down to the fact that current F1 engines have barely changed in the past few years, but next year, will be a different story. “We have to develop the power train in a short space of time and this means that reliability will be the factor that will decide the races in the early part of the season,” reckoned Marmorini. “In most cases people will locate their turbos in the central rear part of the engine and therefore near the electronics and the temperatures can reach a thousand degrees and that won't be an easy matter to deal with. Managing temperatures will be one of the main areas we will have to work on.”

Testing on the bench has been going on for some time now. “We already had a prototype running on the test bench towards the end of last year, while we are completing the one that will run in the actual car at the moment,” revealed Marmorini. “We have a very challenging plan to be ready in March. We can't afford any hiccough today and I am confident that we will be ready. We have been working for some time to have this car ready but it's a challenging task. Only at the first race next year will we see if we have done a good job.”

Another regulation that is exercising the minds of the scientists is that the fuel flow of these new power units must not exceed 100 kilos per hour and there are concerns this could mark a return to drivers having to save fuel rather than race. “Ferrari feels this could be a danger,” admitted Marmorini. “We like Formula 1 to consider efficiency, but we don't like Formula 1 to be a sport where you are cruising for 50% of the laps.”

At the moment, engine development is frozen but with the brand new 2014 project, there has to be a thaw. “With a completely new power unit, some sort of development from the first to the second year has to be done,” continued Ferrari's engine man. “The amount of modifications you can do will reduce each year, from a fair amount of modifications for the first year and then in the second and third years, the number of modifications will be reduced. By the third and fourth years we will come to a situation which is very similar to what we have right now.”

No discussion about an F1 engine can be complete without talking about horsepower, so Marmorini did just that. “When we defined these regulations with the FIA the idea was to have very similar horsepower to what we have today. A current F1 engine has around 750 horsepower, and you have 80 horsepower more from the KERS. Next year, with an engine having somewhere between 600 and 650 horsepower and an additional 160 horsepower coming from the ERS, if you add the two it's very similar to what you have today. Next year, whoever can handle the engine in a good way and be reliable will have good results. But it will be difficult to run the season without issues, considering we are talking about four to five thousand kilometres per unit which is almost double what we are doing right now.”

A jury in Virginia decided that Hyundai Motor should pay $14 million to a man who suffered traumatic brain damage in a car accident after the side airbags in his 2008 Hyundai Tiburon coupe failed to deploy.

Car dealers in the United States had a good year in 2012.

Ten years ago, we had the pleasure of putting the SLR through its paces. Even driving one in pre-spec form, we knew this

Tesla shares today surged to a record high after an analyst almost doubled her price target for the maker of electric cars and increased estimates of its 2013 deliveries.

2014 Porsche 911 Turbo and 1973 Porsche 911 Turbo

Celebrating six generations of Porsche's legendary car.

"Turbo" has become a household word in 2013, but it represented black magic in 1973.

Photo Gallery: 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo and 1973 Porsche 911 Turbo - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2014 Porsche 911 Turbo and 1973 Porsche 911 Turbo - Automobile Magazine

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Diversified auto supplier Federal-Mogul has sold its connecting rod and camshaft business to JD Norman Industries.

There are few cars that had such vastly different fortunes in Europe and America than the Renault 5, or the Le Car as it was known here.

General Motors has decided to deep-freeze a range-topping ultraluxury sedan it was developing for Cadillac, according to three people with knowledge of the companyand#8217;s plans.

2013 Land Rover Range Rover

Equally at home on American roads as in Morocco.

I was anxious to see if I liked the new, 2013 Range Rover here on American roads as much as I did last fall in Morocco, where I drove it through sand dunes, across rocky river beds, and along twisty, rutted mountain roads.

Photo Gallery: 2013 Land Rover Range Rover - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

Photo Gallery: 2013 Land Rover Range Rover - Editors' Notebook - Automobile Magazine

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It's a grim thought but every year the equivalent of the entire population of a small city is killed in traffic accidents in the EU alone. Consequently, there is a clear need for further improvements in traffic safety, specifically braking technologies. In this interview, Matthew Beecham talked with executives of Continental to find out how the company is playing its part to reduce the accident toll by pushing back the technical boundaries of electronic braking systems.

Toyota has a plan to sell 10m vehicles a year and will look to sell half of them in in emerging economies.

Hindustan Motors has signed an agreement with Isuzu Motors' Indian subsidiary to contract manufacture SUVs and pickup trucks in the country.

Audi says its Audi Matrix LED headlights will make their debut on the new A8, which is scheduled for market launch at the end of 2013.

TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. has recently started production of its electrically powered steering (EPS) belt drive system for the first time on a global vehicle platform launching in China.

At last, Glenn Brooks finds he has an answer to that question, "If you could only have one car?" Well, maybe.

Like the fabled water-burning carburetor, hydrogen

News 1 Jul, 2013

All-new MINI hatchback spied completely undisguised for the first time during photoshoot