Posts Tagged ‘2011’
Bimmerfest 2011 this Saturday
| May 13, 2011 2:57 am |The biggest gathering of BMWs anywhere – Bimmerfest is this Saturday at the Rosebowl in Pasadena, California.
From a post on bimmer forums:
KTLA is shooting LIVE footage here at the Rose Bowl this morning in preparation for Bimmerfest 2011 sponsored by HorsepowerFreaks. Some amazing cars have shown up and its just a tiny preview of what is to come tomorrow!
We have a new Art Car from one HUGE BMW enthusiast. The car has been under wraps for some time but is going to be shown off in all its glory for the 1st time tomorrow at the show. Stop by the special display area near the Bimmerfest tent to see it in person. You don’t want to miss this one!
You can check out more at the bimmerfest Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/Bimmerfest/ as well.
Grand Prix – Long Beach, CA
| April 13, 2011 2:21 am |The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is an open-wheel race held on a street circuit in Long Beach, California. The Long Beach Grand Prix is the longest running major “street” race held on the North American continent.
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
April 15-17, 2011
3000 Pacific Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90806-1356
(562) 981-2600
America’s #1 street race is a three-day festival of speed that features six races headlined by the IZOD IndyCar Series, plus concerts, a Lifestyle Expo. It started in 1975 as a Formula 5000 race on the streets of downtown, and became a Formula One event the following year. From 1984 to 2008 it was a CART/Champ Car event. Other popular events during the Grand Prix week include a Firestone Indy Lights race, an American Le Mans Series race, and the Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.
2011 Porsche Carrera GTS
| January 26, 2011 11:29 pm |It is not easy to find a gap in the Porsche 911 lineup, there are 19 variations of the car for sale in the U.S. right now, but product planners have identified one more (well, two if you count coupe and convertible separately). The chasm between the 385-hp Carrera S and the 435-hp GT3 was heretofore filled by the costly—$16,900—23-hp power pack, which combines modified cylinder heads, a special intake manifold with six vacuum-controlled tuning flaps (instead of the one flap of the regular Carrera S), and a sport exhaust system. The power pack also includes a carbon-fiber air-filter casing.
All of that—without the carbon-fiber air-filter gimmick but with unique bodywork—now comes in the Carrera GTS. Output is 408 hp, versus the 385 hp of the Carrera S. Maximum torque remains 310 lb-ft. Top speed for both coupe and convertible versions is 190 mph. With the Sport Chrono Plus package and PDK on board, Porsche says 0 to 60 mph should take four seconds flat. Based on our previous testing, that is likely a very conservative guess.
Combining stylistic elements from Porsche’s parts bin helps create a model more unique than a Carrera S with the power pack. Like the GT3 RS and Sport Classic, the GTS is rear-drive but uses the body of an all-wheel-drive 911, which is 1.7 inches wider. Black 19-inch RS Spyder wheels with a single, central lug nut are standard, and the rear rubber is a steamrolling 305 mm wide. The front end wears a specific, GT3-like air intake, and there is GTS script on the doors and trunklid. The panel between the dual exhaust pipes is painted black, a styling element that reminds of the mid-engine Carrera GT.
The interior is specific to the GTS, too. Porsche uses high-grip Alcantara for the seat inserts, shifter and hand-brake levers, and the steering-wheel wrap. The premium over the Carrera S is less than the cost of the power pack, or just about 12 grand. That puts the GTS’s sticker at $103,110 for a coupe or $112,900 for a convertible. At that point, though, we’d be tempted to check out the purest 911 of them all, the $113,150 GT3.
New Mercedes C63 AMG Affalterbach Edition – Canada Exclusive
| January 16, 2011 9:23 pm |Mercedes-Benz Canada announced the Canadian premiere of the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Affalterbach Edition at the Montreal International Auto Show. Exclusive to Canada, and limited to just 30 units, the C63 AMG Affalterbach Edition was designed in the AMG Performance Centre in Affalterbach, Germany and features unique styling cues and an impressive list of special equipment that have never been offered before on a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.
The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Affalterbach Edition is finished in highly distinctive designo MAGNO Allanite Grey paintwork, and its unique appearance is further distinguished by high-performance AMG brakes with red calipers, 19″ AMG multi-spoke alloy wheels in black, carbon-fibre mirror housings and a rear lip spoiler.
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2011 Lotus Exos T125
| December 30, 2010 1:09 am |The Lotus Exos T125 is an F1 race car in all but a few ways. The company’s building twenty five of ’em, selling each for a cool $1 million and forming a private racing league for the owners. Totally. Awesome. Think of the Lotus Exos program as the most brilliant F1 development strategy in history. Lotus is returning to F1, having announced their new F1-car and begun development testing already. The competition is fierce though, and development costs for the series are phenomenal, so what if there was a way to offset the cost and get some additional development while not breaking F1’s testing ban? That’s basically the Exos. Of course, that’s not the “official” story, but a wink’s as good as a nod.
The 1,433 lb Exos is an all carbon fiber F1-style race car fitted with a 650 HP Cosworth V8 with a blistering 10,300 RPM red line, an on-board starter, and a (get this!) 2,800-mile tear down schedule. That’s like sending the space shuttle up a half-dozen times before servicing it. As awesome as the machine is, the really slick part is the program surrounding it. Lotus will be forming the “Exos Club,” something that might be considered the greatest owner’s experience ever conceived.
The Exos Club’s perks read like every racing fantasy you’ve ever had. The owners will go through rigorous drivers training managed by a collection of engineers, race drivers, mechanics and physical trainers and physicians. The owner will be honed into a legitimate racing driver in not just the mental but the physical. Then, beginning in 2011, Lotus will put on five races for the owners across Europe.
2011 Audi Le Mans R18
| December 14, 2010 2:51 am |Audi has proven itself to be the dominant force in Le Mans prototype racing over the course of the past decade, but to stay on top, any team — regardless of past successes — needs to have some of the best equipment available. Audi hopes its new R18 LMP car, unveiled late last week, proves to be precisely that.
Audi’s new LMP car is still diesel-powered, but in order to comply with new FIA regulations, engineers had to dial back the displacement from the outgoing R15+. As a result, the R18 now uses a 3.7-liter turbo-diesel V-6, a far cry from the 5.5-liter TDI V-10s found in the R10, R15, and R15 Plus. Other driveline modifications include the gearbox; the R18 uses a six-speed sequential gearbox in lieu of last year’s five-cog unit.
A smaller engine does trigger a loss in power, but Audi’s team focused on ways on using every last ounce of energy packed within the R18. As a result, attention was focused on the car’s aerodynamics in order to help reduce drag and increase efficiency. Wind tunnel testing forced a number of changes, notably the enclosed cockpit — a feature we haven’t seen on Audi LMP cars since the 1999 R8C.
Overall, the R18 looks drastically different than the company’s previous LMP cars. Regulations required the new car to utilize equally-sized wheels in front and back, which in turn forced designers to add some very pronounced wheel arches. The FIA also forced Audi to adopt a large dorsal fin running along the top of the engine compartment, but the headlamps — which incorporate LED lighting and accent pipes — are certainly Audi-designed accoutrements.
The new R18 will make its competitive debut at the Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on May 8th. Audi plans to enter no less than three R18 s for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race on June 11th and 12th. In total, the new R18 will contend in six races for the 2011 season, including the Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta on October 1st.
2011 Porsche Cayman R
| November 19, 2010 2:19 pm |Porsche announced a few days ago it would bring their newest car to LA? Here it is! It’s called the Cayman R, with R standing for responsive and refined, and of course racing. The name pays tribute to the first Porsche with the “R” designation, the 911 R of 1967. It will go on sale in February 2011, at a price of $66,300.
What makes the difference between a standard Cayman and the R version? First the engine. The Cayman R is powered by a tuned-up 3.4-liter six-cylinder engine that develops 330 HP. The the sprint from 0 to 60 mph, now made in 4.9 seconds (or 4.7 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono packages) and the top speed of 175 mph with the manual gear box , or 174 mph with the PDK.
But that’s not all. With the new Cayman R, Porsche also focused on reducing the car’s weight. For that the company used only lightweight components and renounced any convenience equipment. There’s also a new set 19 inch light wheels. The result is a total weight of 2855 lbs and a power-to-weight ratio of 8.6 lb per horsepower.
For the exterior, the Cayman R gets a distinctive fixed rear spoiler, high-quality silver-painted wheels and numerous sporting highlights. Those highlights also consist of black-framed headlights , black exterior mirrors and the “PORSCHE” lettering on the side in contrasting black or silver, depending on the body color.