The position will strengthen the future of the team and create a clear succession path for Williams. The team had planned to announce this new appointment before the start of the 2013 season, but following the death of Lady Virginia Williams earlier this month, it was decided by Frank and Claire to delay this announcement to afford the family privacy.
Claire Williams will take up her new position with immediate effect, whilst also retaining her Commercial Director role leading the marketing, communications and sponsorship functions of the business.
She will continue to be part of the Company's Board of Directors and will be supported by and work in collaboration with the full Board.
Meet the third and most powerful member of the completely redesigned Kia Forte lineup: The all-new two-door 2014 Forte Koup SX, which made its debut today at the New York Auto Show, boasts a 1.6L gasoline direct-injected (GDI) turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 201 horsepower and 195 lb-ft of torque.
A 173-horsepower, 2.0L Forte Koup EX is also available. Both models are scheduled to arrive in showrooms in the fourth quarter of 2013.
Lower, longer, and wider than its predecessor, with the flowing roofline of a genuine sports coupe, the 2014 Kia Forte Koup can be enhanced with LED positioning lights and taillights, while 18” wheels can replace the standard 17” units. A rear valance with available twin stainless steel exhaust tips maintains the car's sporty demeanour.
Meanwhile, the sharper cockpit gets premium materials and soft-touch points, large white-on-black gauges nestled deeply into the instrument cluster, along with a leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift knob.
The all-new, third-generation 2014 Toyota Highlander made its first public appearance today at the New York Auto Show.
The sophisticated, dynamic exterior design includes a progressive silhouette, a lower roofline for improved aerodynamics, and sculptured side panels, not to mention a redesigned front grille and rear liftgate. The latter offers one-touch power open/close and driver-selectable memory height settings.
Seating up to eight passengers, the new interior of the 2014 Toyota Highlander is quieter and features a soft-touch instrument panel, as well as a multimedia system with 6.1'' touchscreen. Elsewhere, access to the third row is now easier.
Buyers will have a choice of a 3.5L V6 engine with a new six-speed automatic transmission, or a V6-based hybrid powertrain that uses a high-torque electric motor for superior output and efficiency.
The 2014 Toyota Highlander will reach dealer showrooms early next year.
Actor Daniel Craig, best known for portraying James Bond on the big screen, yesterday drove the new Range Rover Sport in the streets of Manhattan as part of the vehicle's world debut at the New York Auto Show.
The Range Rover Sport ended its spectacular city tour at Moynihan Station on 8th Avenue, with a number of celebrities in attendance.
This redesigned 4x4 is Land Rover's fastest, most agile, and most technologically advanced ever, with a more luxurious interior in a 5+2 configuration.
The new Range Rover Sport will go on sale this fall in 169 countries around the globe.
Canadian driver Robert Wickens (Mercedes) emerged fastest at the end of the first of the four days of collective DTM testing staged in Barcelona, where the DRS has been tested for the first time on DTM cars.
At the end of the day, Wickens was fastest by a margin of 0,052 seconds over BMW driver, Martin Tomczyk, who completed the most laps : 170, for a total mileage of 506,09km.
DTM reigning champion, Canadian driver Bruno Spengler, had a very interesting first day aboard his M3 DTM.
"Being back behind the wheel was big fun, he said. You can feel increased pleasant anticipation of the season everywhere. The day of testing was okay - we successfully completed our scheduled programme. Of course, the new Hankook option tires and the DRS made for extra excitement.
"When it comes to the tires, we took a close look on the impact the new spec makes over a longer distance. And we learned a lot by doing so. The DRS quite obviously is big fun for a racing driver. You clearly feel that you can change up earlier and that the top speed on the straights is higher. That's something you have to accustom to and you have to focus on finding the limit lap by lap. Therefore, the tests here at Barcelona - and the ones in three weeks at Hockenheim too - are so important."
Most Formula 1 teams are working hard to fine-tune the exhausts of their engines to generate additional downforce and increase performance.
After the FIA regulated the positioning of exhaust tips, engineers started working on the shape of the surrounding bodywork.
Aerodynamicists worked on what is called the “Coanda effect.” It is described as the tendency of a fluid jet to be attracted to a nearby surface. The principle was named after Romanian aerodynamics pioneer, Henri Coanda.
In blue: the cold air that follows the sidepod, and in red, the hot air that follows the bodywork. (Photo: WRi2 / Graphics: Stéphane Faucompré)
Here is one simple example of the Coanda effect: Try to extinguish a candle, but first place a bottle in front of it. Although there is an obstacle between your mouth and the candle, you'll succeed. The Coanda effect allows the air coming from your mouth to stay attached to the curved surface of the bottle. Both streams will then reattach on the other side of the bottle, blowing out the candle.
In Formula 1, the Coanda effect is design to redirect exhaust gases to run through the rear diffuser with the intention of increasing downforce.
In this case, the hot gases follow the natural contour of the bodywork, directing them towards the trailing edge of the diffuser and producing an invisible seal made of hot air. This increases downforce from the diffuser, making the car run faster in the corners.
US based Grand-Am and IMSA announced yesterday during a press conference a formal license cooperation with Germany's ITR, the company behind the DTM, which means we are getting closer to an American version of the German touring car series.
Photo: DTM Media
The already existing ties between the DTM and the Japanese Super GT championship would make it a three-way cooperation.
In fact, the new championship, that could see the day in 2015, would run alongside the American United SportsCar Racing, but using the current DTM and Super GT platforms from Germany and Japan.
The list of the manufacturers involved mirror the international flavour of the series: on top of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Nissan and Toyota, Cadillac, Lincoln and Dodge have showed interest.
To welcome the US DTM initiative, Audi released a special photo of its A5 DTM. (Photo: Audi Motorsport)
Former Formula 1 driver and Minardi star driver Giancarlo Martini has died.
The news was reported late on Tuesday by Italian media sources and confirmed by Giancarlo Minardi, the former owner and boss of the Faenza based F1 team.
Minardi said Martini, whose nephew was the mid-90s Minardi driver Pierluigi Martini, was "a very generous and kind friend of mine".
Martini, 66, was also a driver himself, having raced some non-championship F1 races in the mid-70s in a Ferrari run privately by Minardi.
Minardi is quoted by Autosprint: "I have lost a friend with whom I shared more than just my passion for racing."
La Gazzetta dello Sport reported that Martini had been ill for some time.
Audi said Tuesday that it will bring a range of A3 models to the United States, including gasoline and diesel versions of the new A3 sedan, as well as a high-performance S3 sedan and a plug-in hybrid version of the five-door A3.
Audi said Tuesday that it will bring a range of A3 models to the United States, including gasoline and diesel versions of the new A3 sedan, as well as a high-performance S3 sedan and a plug-in hybrid version of the five-door A3.
The Range Rover Sport, redesigned for 2014 and slimming down like the rest of the brand's lineup, is shifting to an aluminum architecture and gaining a third row of seats. It is being unveiled at the New York auto show this week.
Audi released the first images of its A3 sedan, a new variant of its A3 compact line that will compete for young luxury buyers with the Mercedes-Benz CLA.
In the wake of bad publicity from inaccurate fuel-mileage ratings and other misleading marketing claims, the automotive industry has a trust problem with American consumers a top Toyota official said today.
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