Filippo Preziosi who is the General Manager of Ducati Corse believes that the Borga-Panigale based manufacturer has made some forward movement with the GP 12 machine which will be the contender for this years MotoGP championship. Making use of the unrestricted testing, Ducati tester Franco Battaini has used three days at Jerez to develop the GP12 so that it can become competitive unlike last year where it was continually behind all other manufacturers. Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden will be testing this new developed version in a short while. This is the first time that Ducati will be using an aluminium twin spar Delta box frame, supposedly outsourced from British chassis specialist FTR. Ducati has no experience in building aluminium Delta box frames. It used to build trellis frames which were some times used as stressed members and sometimes not and then moved on to experimenting with carbon fibre, an experiment that almost destroyed Valentino Rossi’s career.
Yearly Archives: 2012
It is not just in Superbikes that Kawasaki is going well. Even the World Supersport effort which now managed by Lorenzini who moved from Superbikes to Supersport (as opposed to Provec who moved from Supersport to Superbikes) is showing promise. Lorenzini Kawasaki managed to lure ex-World Supersport Champion Kenan Sofuoglu from Moto2 back to World Supersport and the talented Turkish rider has been on the pace from the moment he got on to the Kawasaki ZX-6R. That Sheridan Morais is also going well portends good things for Kawasaki. However, unlike in World Superbikes where the manufacturer is desperately seeking to come out of a wilderness, Kawasaki has gone well in the World Supersport Championship even last year. Will this be the year when the good times will roll? Answers will start coming in from tomorrow.
Kawasaki seem to have become determined in their efforts to recapture glory in World Superbikes. The company has won only one World Championship when the Superbike engine capacity was restricted to 750 cc with Scot Russell as their rider. Though the company has won races on a regular basis for sometime when it shifted focus to MotoGP, it did not win races in MotoGP or in World Superbikes. But after having exited MotoGP, Kawasaki has been focussing on World Superbikes and in the pre-season tests, Tom Sykes had been setting good times. But during the Phillip Island practice sessions as run up to this weekend’s race, Sykes did well by being near the top position. In Q1 whoever his form was indifferent and he finished in fifth position but in Q2 he has gone back to the top of the timing sheets. It remains to be seen as to how he will perform in Super Pole. Whatever that position maybe, it seems that Kawasaki have a good bike on their hands. The change from Paul Bird Motorsport to the Spanish Provec team to manage their factory effort seems to be yielding some results for Kawasaki. But as the saying goes, it is early days yet.
Jeremy Clarkson, world’s most trusted keeper of secrets, let the proverbial cat out of the bag by mentioning that Land Rover is working on a 300 hp convertible version of the Evoque and went on to show the audience what it might look like ( Season 18, Episode 3).
Definitely a thing of beauty, the Evoque Convertible, if that is what it would be called. Just wondering though, any of the die hard MM540 fans in India willing to trade their ride for a new Evoque convertible? We doubt.
Source: ZerCustoms via autoblog
It started with that. A teaser announcing the debut of a new era of extreme V12 cars, and the most powerful Ferrari ever. In all probability a new front-engined, rear-drive V12 succeeding the 599. Official unveiling of the car is on February 29th, 2012.
GTSpirit.com has released a picture of what is probably the clearest picture of the new Ferrari F620 GT, as has autoblog
autoblog also reports that the F620 GT’s 6.3-liter V12 will produce 740 horsepower and 690 pound-feet of torque, making it the most powerful V12 ever made by Ferrari. Speculations are not limited to that, and there’s also talk of a 0 to 60 miles per hour time of 3.1 seconds and 100 mph in 8.3 seconds. It’s also supposed to be lighter, lower and shorter than the 599.
Fantastic.
Porsche has said that in rare cases an incorrectly locked headlight module can become detached in current 2011 and 2012 Cayenne models.
Approximately 100,000 units of the Cayenne model line are being reworked. Letters are being sent to owners of the affected vehicles and the workshop job takes approximately 45 minutes and is free of charge for the customer, as you would expect nothing less from Porsche.
While we do not yet have information on the details for the Cayennes sold in India, watch this space, we shall keep you posted.
This isn’t necessarily a ‘recall’ but primarily a quality measure by Porsche to ensure its customers are never left in the lurch. Let’s not forget the Cayenne has won the ‘OFF ROAD 2012’ award.
Mercedes-Benz, having recently showcased DICE, its new gesture control interface supported by augmented reality at the CES 2011, has taken the inevitable next step. Never before seen levels of integration of an iPhone with a car. Daimler’s in-house developed ‘Digital DriveStyle App’ works with the ‘Drive Kit Plus’ for the Apple iPhone and lets you access all the key content of the phone and view it on the in-vehicle display operate the device via the Controller on the center armrest.
What would be the point of iPhone integration without Siri? Mercedes-Benz went all the way and also engineered Siri integration into the system. Now if you buy the new A-Class after its debut at the Geneva Motor Show you can have Siri interacting with you through the audio system, even the entry-level Audio 20 System.
For the uninitiated, Siri is of course, Apple’s idea of a personal assistant. Siri can recognize natural speech patterns and can respond to your request with further questions if it needs more information to fulfill your request. This means, if you would like to play a playlist called ‘Rock mix’ all you have to say to Siri is ‘Play Rock mix’. SMS text messages can be dictated or read out, and emails sent and more.
The iPhone is connected through an interface developed by Mercedes-Benz Accessories GmbH. This allows content to be fed directly from the graphics output of the device to the display of the vehicle. While this is happening the iPhone is also charged.
The “Digital DriveStyle App” and the “Drive Kit Plus for the Apple iPhone” will be making their debut in the new A-Class, at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, and are also planned to be available from autumn 2012 for the B-, C- and E-Class.
Other highlights of the Digital DriveStyle App include:
Personalised internet radio by AUPEO! Personal Radio, which offers radio stations that compile an individual program for listeners and recommend similar music by genre or artists based on personal taste.
The advanced navigation software from Garmin, with internet-based real-time traffic information, online POI searches and 3D map display, all of which work even in combination with the entry-level multimedia system Audio 20
A socially interactive experience involving “sharing”, “posting” and the integration of music and other content from social networks including text-to-speech.
An intuitive ‘Car Finder’ which automatically stores the vehicle’s location. Pedestrian navigation makes it completely easy to find your way back to the car.
Four-time F1 champion Alain “The Professor” Prost is now Renault’s brand ambassador and will place all ‘his technical expertise, professionalism and renown at the service of Renault and its products’ says Renault. Prost will take part as a Renault driver in sports demonstrations and also as a representative at events organized or attended by Renault.
“Renault’s history is intimately linked to that of motorsport and I have a deep attachment to the brand, with which I achieved some of the greatest successes in my sporting career,Alain Prostsaid. I accepted this mission with pleasure and I intend to accomplish it with professionalism.””We are delighted that Alain Prost has accepted the role as our brand ambassador.Carlos Tavares, Chief Operating Officer said. As a four-time Formula 1 champion renowned the world over for his technical expertise, Alain is without a doubt one of the most demanding ‘customers’ that Renault has ever had! He is the best-qualified personality for talking about the progress made by Renault in the last few years on quality, technological innovation and performance.”
Alain Prost drove the Renault Duster on 23rd February at the Race Stars event in Moscow. The event marks the first appearance of Prost as an ambassador of the Renault brand. Does that mean we might see the gentleman in India for the launch of the Duster?
PS: Dear Senna fans, we understand you do not care two hoots about what Mr. Prost is upto, but hey, this IS the news section.
Renault was also kind enough to give us pictures from the last couple of decades and if you, have a thing for motor sport pictures from the past, as we do, then you will love these below.
1981 – Monza (Italy) – Formula One – Italian Grand Prix d’Italie: Alain Prost winner.
1976 – Alain Prost Formula Renault, Le Mans, France
1981 – Monza (Italy) – Formula One – Italian Grand Prix d’Italie: Alain Prost with Renault.
(Right) 1981 – Nogaro racing circuit (France) – Alain Prost and Bernard Dudot during Formula 1 tests.
1993 – Australian Grand Prix, Alain Prost
1982 – Brazilian Grand Prix, René Arnoux, Alain Prost and RE 30B
1993 – Sao Paulo (Brazil) – Formula One – Brazilian Grand Prix : Damon Hill and Alain Prost during the race.
1993 – Barcelona (Spain) – Formula One – Spanish Grand Prix – Damon Hill et Alain Prost with Williams-Renault (Alain Prost wins).
(Right)1993 – Imola (Italy) – Formula One – San Marino Grand Prix : Damon Hill and Alain Prost at the starting grid.
1983 – French Grand Prix, starting grid, Eddie Cheever and Alain Prost
Renault of France has started using the industrial waste from its plant at Sandouville to provide heating for the entire manufacturing plant at the same place. The benefits of this recycling are mind boggling. This produces the equivalent of 25,000 MWH of energy per annum while reducing the CO2 emissions by 4,500 tonnes!!! That is environment friendly indeed. Who says the auto manufacturers are irresponsible? Renault please start doing this in India as well instead of giving horrible electric cars like your partner Nissan’s Leaf. Please the Leaf out of Nissan’s product portfolio book and take one from your own efforts at Sandouville. Please.
Some of us here at Riot Engine are big fans of Chris Bangle. We were sad when Bangle left the auto industry and were sadder still when Adrian Van Hoydoonk’s designs hit the BMW showrooms. Gone was the flair and the edge that Bangle’s designs provided. But to be fair to Van Hoydoonk the 6 series convertible and coupe managed to excite our senses, as they did with most people. The new 3 series is also capable of that excitement. Now BMW has announced that the 6 series convertible and coupe will be available with the famed BMW xDrive and the inline six cylinder diesel engine. A good thing has got better. Now the question. When is this coming to India?