IAA 2011: Lotus Exige S with 350HP V6 & Rally-Spec Exige R-GT

Among the many world premieres at the Lotus stand in Frankfurt is the new Exige series and more specifically, the street-legal Exige S, and the competition Exige GT with which the British company plans to make its comeback to the world of rallying.The road-going Exige S somewhat deviates from Lotus' philosophy of making ultra-lightweight sports cars with small displacement engines as it brings in the Evora S' 3.5-liter supercharged V6 that produces 350-ponies.
While the new Exige S boasts an impressive 130HP increase over the previous model, it is also 145kg (310 pounds) heavier at 1,080kg (2,381 lbs).
The Exige S is fitted with high-performance Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires as standard and comes equipped with a Lotus DPM (Dynamic Performance Management) switch that allows the driver to change between three driving modes: Touring, Sport and DPM off.
As an option, Lotus offers the Race Pack that adds a fourth driving mode setting along with a Launch Control and a more hardcore suspension tuning.
Commenting on the Exige S, Group Lotus Chief Executive Officer Dany Bahar said: “Anyone who has ever driven an Exige will tell you that it’s not for the faint-hearted. The new Exige S skips a few rungs on the ladder to give the driver the ultimate Lotus experience. Quite simply you can’t get more Lotus than the Exige S.”
Joining the Exige S is the R-GT competition model that ill participate in the newly formed FIA GT category of the FIA Rally Championship on asphalt in Monte Carlo, Tour de Corse and San Remo.
The R-GT sports the V6 3.5-litre engine as the new road Exige S, but features changes to the gearbox and the restrictors on the engine in order to control the power.
“With the new R-GT rules in rally, it’s a very interesting time for us to return to the sport," said Lotus’ Director of Motorsport Claudio Berro.
"Naturally our approach this time around will be different to when we won the championship three decades ago, but I think our philosophy is definitely the same, we want to compete and ultimately we want to win. Our new rally car, the Exige R-GT is a dream come true for those who are passionate about GT racing – this will be their car,” Berro added.

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Video: Nissan GT-R Pwns Competition in Mega Drag Race with 11 Sports Cars

The latest Nissan GT-R has put another victory under its belt, this time in a drag race against ten of some of the world's most wanted sports cars at an empty airstrip.

The quarter-mile duel was organized by Motor Trend magazine. The eleven cars assembled were worth more than $1.5 million, and featured a combined 82 cylinders delivering over 5,000 horsepower and 4,000 lb-ft of torque.

The $89,950 and 530HP Nissan GT-R passed through the finish line first with a time of 11.2 seconds and an exit speed of 121.8mph (196km/h). It was followed by the $225,325 and 557HP Ferrari 458 Italia (11.3 seconds and 125.6mph or 202km/h) and the $198,600 and 560HP Audi R8 GT (11.5 seconds and 125.1mph or 201km/h).

The other cars that participated in the race were the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG, Lexus LFA, Corvette Z06, Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca, Porsche Cayman R, BMW 1-Series M Coupe and the Lotus Evora S (click on the image on your right to see the results).

Nissan, of course, was quick to issue a somewhatpompous press statement on the GT-R's win:

“We applaud Motor Trend’s editors for pulling off the automotive equivalent of the running of the bulls,” said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, Sales and Marketing, Nissan North America.

“Win or lose, it’s great fun and a great video – especially since we won. In all fairness, if we were running for pink slips, we would have had to bring at least two GT-Rs to match the cost of the competitors. We’ll settle for the title of baddest of the bad," he added.

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Formula 1 Results: 2011 Italian Grand Prix in Monza

The Italian GP that took place on Sunday at the Monza racetrack was nothing if not exciting. From the moment the red lights went off and the cars started accelerating, it was all drama. Although Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso was on the fourth place of the grid, he was able to beat both McLarens as well as pole man Sebastian Vettel and take the lead in turn one.
At the back, there was a huge crash when Tonio Liuzzi lost control of his HRT, spinning uncontrollably in the grass and then reentering the track, hitting the cars of Vitaly Petrov and Nico Rosberg, while Rubens Barrichello who was also involved managed to continue.
Naturally, the Tifosi went wild at the stands as a Ferrari was leading the race in Monza. But it didn't last for long, as Vettel was able to pass Alonso disappearing on the horizon and eventually cruising to another easy victory.
His Red Bull team-mate, Mark Webber, didn’t fare as well as he collided with the Ferrari of Felipe Massa, losing his car’s front wing and, a few seconds after, spinning off the track with terminal understeer and retiring.
The greatest spectacle however was the fight for third place between the Mercedes of Michael Schumacher and the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton. The German silenced all those who said that he should retire and delighted his fans, driving like the Formula 1 seven-times world champion that he is and keeping the younger Hamilton, who tried everything but couldn’t find a way past, behind for many laps.
This worked to the advantage of Jenson Button who closed in on the pair and after passing both, drove faultlessly to finish third. Hamilton eventually managed to pass Schumacher, who finished fifth, and even got close to Alonso, but run out of time as the race came to an end and never got close enough to challenge for third place.
Besides Vettel, who as we’ve said before has almost secured the title, and Schumacher who seems to have regained his form, Alonso was the one who benefited from the outcome of the last European GP for 2011, as he moved up to second place in the drivers’ standings.
The next Grand Prix will take place on Singapore on September 25.

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Formula 1 Qualifying Results

McLaren may have tried to secure some publicity by opening its only Italian showroom in Milan just before the local GP, but on the track, it was Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel who captured the spotlight with his 10th pole position of the year in Monza.

Vettel was almost half a second faster than Lewis Hamilton who beat his teammate, Jenson Button, by a mere 0.052 seconds. The Tifosi had to be content with Fernando Alonso’s fourth place –not a bad result, if you consider that he is one place ahead of the second Red Bull of Mark Webber.

Ferrari's Felipe Massa will start from sixth position, ahead of Renault’s Vitaly Petrov and the two Mercedes’ of Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg. Bruno Senna, nephew of the late Ayrton, completes the top ten of the starting grid with the second Renault.

The race, which is the last Grand Prix in Europe for 2011 since Formula 1 moves to Asia for the next five races before the season finale at Brazil, starts on Sunday at 12:00 GMT.

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Infiniti M35h Hybrid Against Webber in M37 at the 'Ring

Infiniti is stepping up the ante in its collaboration with the Red Bull Racing team by pitting the reigning Formula One World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, against his team-mate, Mark Webber, in a race with the firm's M37 and M35h saloons at the Nürburgring Nordschleife to mark the start of European sales of the hybrid model.
Sebastian Vettel drove the new M35h that mates a 306HP 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine to a dual-clutch transmission and a 68HP (50kW) electric motor for a combined system output of 364-ponies, resulting in a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 5.5 seconds and a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).
His Red Bull Racing teammate Mark Webber participated in the race in Infiniti's M37 S Premium that comes equipped with a 320-horsepower 3.7-liter V6 for a 0-62 mph in 6.2 seconds and an electronically limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).
While Infiniti won’t say who won the race around the 13 miles and 73 bends of the Nordschleife until the first press day of the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 13, the company notes that Webber was “blown away” by how responsive the M35h is, and that Vettel said the encounter between the two teammates was “good fun”.
Vettel, who is the Japanese firm's official Brand Ambassador, will be on hand at the Frankfurt auto show to reveal the new concept version of the FX50 that bears his name.

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BMW M3 GT Replica By CLP Automotive

German tuners have no problem taking their projects to the extreme. One such example is CLP Automotive's tuning proposal for the latest BMW M3 Coupe called the Interceptor that attempts to replicate the look and feel of the M3 GT racecar that recently participated in the 24 hours of Nürburgring where it finished in second place.CLP Automotive begins with a wide body kit that adds blistered front and rear wheel arches together with matching rocker panels and bumpers, a new hood with additional vents and a central dome, plus a large fixed rear wing.
The package is complemented with racing graphics and 19-inch alloy rims with central locking finished in white.
Inside, the tuner removes the rear seat bench and adds a roll cage and race-spec Recaro bucket seats together with orange-colored trim bits.
Under the sheetmetal, CLP Automotive borrowed a compressor system from G-Power and along with some other modifications including a Akrapovic titanium exhaust system, boosts output from 420HP to 600-horsepower. A Bilstein sport suspension is also included in the package.
The complete cost for the transformation is set at €69,000 (approx. US$97,500) – not including of course the price of the donor car.

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Video: Canadian Police Confiscate 13 Supercars after Youngsters Speed Race

Ocean’s 13 got away with stealing diamonds, earning millions of cash and ruining their adversary’s life. British Columbia’s 13, 12 young men and one woman, all under 21 years old, got away with racing each other, reaching speeds of over 125 mph (200 km/h) on a metro Vancouver highway with a $196 fine each.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced that the cars impounded had a combined value of $2 million. These are the supercars that were temporarily seized: 

2007 Ferrari 599

2010 Lamborghini Gallardo

2010 Lamborghini Gallardo

2009 Lamborghini Gallardo

2009 Audi R8

2012 Nissan GT-R

2010 Nissan GT-R

2010 Nissan GT-R

2010 Maserati Turismo

2010 Maserati Turismo

2011 Mercedes SL63

2011 Mercedes SLS

2005 Aston Martin DB9

According to a police report, two drivers would block traffic behind them by running side-by-side clearing the road ahead, while the rest would race each other.
“These drivers seemed to be looking for attention. Well, they definitely got the attention of the police” commented Lower Mainland District Regional Police Service spokeswoman, Cpl. Holly Marks.
However, the 13 offenders, of which only was the registered owner of the vehicle he was driving, will get away just with the ticket after being charged with “driving without reasonable consideration.” That’s because they didn’t actually get caught on the act, but the police acted on reports based from eye witnesses.
According to the Vancouver Star, if the police had been able to charge them with more sever offenses, they could have forfeited their vehicles!
Now, the young drivers will only have to pay the ticket and the costs of towing and storing their cars, which were impounded for seven days.
Guess when you drive a 599 Fiorano, a Gallardo or an SLS AMG, after this punishment you’ll just laugh your way to the impound yard…

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Video: New Honda Civic Hatch to Race in BTCC in 2012

We may be waiting for Honda to fully reveal the European market 2012 Civic hatchback, but the Japanese automaker announced today that the five-door model will compete in the 2012 British Touring Car Championship.
Team Dynamics, which has been a long time Honda partner, will prepare two fully works cars based on the new Civic with which it hopes to repeat 2010’s success of winning both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles.
“We are delighted to enter the new Civic in next year’s BTCC and hope to build on the success we’ve had with the current model”, said managing director of Honda UK, Dave Hodgetts. “We’ve made significant improvements to the new road car, and we’re confident they will make for a competitive car too.”
Honda also released the first in a line of four videos called “What Drives a Racing Team”. The video, which you can watch after the jump, shows the way the racing team works during the season.

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Gemballa Ventures Into Motorsports with McLaren MP4-12C GT

German based tuner Gemballa is known first and foremost for the personalisation of Porsche cars, something it has been doing for 30 years with notable examples including the Avalanche, based on the Porsche 911, the Tornado, based on the Cayenne, and the Mirage GT, based on the Porsche Carrera GT.

Now, the famous tuning company is venturing into motorsports with its newly formed racing division headed by Gemballa Supervisory Board director, Marco Marquardt.

Surprisingly, Gemballa Racing won't be using a Porsche for its motorsport debut as the company announced today that the new team will enter two McLaren MP4-12C GT3 cars in the 2012 motorsport season.

Team owner and GEMBALLA investor, Steffen Korbach explained: “We chose the McLaren MP4-12C GT3 because we think this car has the potential to be one of the season’s leaders. We have also put together a team of drivers and mechanics who are proven winners. Racing is in our blood! We want to win!”

The Gemballa Racing team will be managed by Sascha Bert, a former German kart champion, Formula 3 and FIA GT driver, who has stood on the winners' podium at the Nürburgring VLN 24-hour race amongst others. “Sascha Bert is an absolute pro, and is ideally qualified to manage our new racing team," said Korbach.

Gemballa's GT3 racecar is based on the recently launched McLaren MP4-12C supercar featuring a 3.8-litre, twin-turbocharged V8 engine, bespoke racing gearbox, carbon safety cell, race front splitter, large fixed rear wing, optimised air vents at the front and a racing diffuser at the rear.

The German company said it will released more details on on the GEMBALLA racing team, its partners and sponsors at a later date.

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