Suzuki takes the plunge..

 

..and thank god they have, at last a manufacturer has used the 'Subaru lesson' to boost the brands image. I'm talking about the World Rally Championship, Subaru entered with fairly boring but competitive cars.. today Subaru makes some of the most sought after sports cars, the Impreza has ruled the super car slayer £20k category for years. Suzuki struggles with its image and I have no doubt that a programme in the WRC will work wonders...as long as they make a car for the road that at least matches image and performance of the WRC car at a reasonable price. Other manufacturers that need to take the same steps is Skoda, they are so near...and the Redbull branded car running in the 2006 WRC will no doubt do the brand some good. 

Camaro

 


I have one request....make it! 

101EX - Rolls Royce's new Concept

 


Just like the 100EX except with a roof.. so not exactly sure just how creative and exciting this is but it looks good so I'll let them off. I hope they make this as its about time that platform gets a work out. The Phantom has been a succes albeit a slow one.. 

Lamborghini Mucrielago P640

 

What did they think they were doing…its so achingly cool and I can’t afford one!.. maybe its just the flat grey paint work..or the alloys but I seriously want one of these in my garage… more so than when the big Lambo first graced the pages of automobile glossies. I don’t know why but its just so bang upto date.. There hasn’t been much of an update externally so I think I will put my drooling down to the colour / alloys combo.. However Lambo have upped the engine to a whopping 6.5 ltr which now explodes 640hp down the drive shafts..all 4 of them…. When Audi bought Lamborghini all those years ago we all thought..oh dear Audi was going to rape the brand and Lambos were going to lose that Diablo touch.. but I have to say they have been doing an amazing job.. First the Muchie then the Gallardo.. now we are seeing interesting concepts of the Muira… what next?... something to go up against the Aston V8?.... Who knows.. If a big fan.. 

Evolution...

 


It takes a photo like this one to realise the true faith shown by Porsche in the original concept... respect! 

Porsche 997 GT3

 


GT3... Porsche has only used these three letters on two previous models, both based on the 996 model, both were an outstanding success. Following on from the RS models the GT3 carries forward the purest form of 911 to the race enthusiast, wealthy trackday and privateer GT teams across the globe. The current 997 GT3 has been racing for almost a year now, no doubt collecting test millage for the road going version so its no surprise that the figures have increased...dramaticaly!

The engine in the last model was known for its flexability, its strength and power, all from a relatively small block, 3.6 ltr delivering 380 bhp was not to be sniffed at and as such has held a position as one of the best power plants in the business. So to the 997 engine more of the same I guess...yup much more , the 997 GT3 uses the same 3.6 ltr flat 6 NA but 414bhp is now delivered.. this has to be one of the highest outputs / cyclinder NA of any road going engine, if not the highest..???

Vsually the 997 GT3 is slightly bolder than the outgoing model with some sportier detailing around its rump and nose, this bodes well as there were far to many 996 C2's running the areo kit to look like a GT3.. this however and thankfully is more difficult now.

I can't wait to see this car go through its paces, I have a feeling that Porsche wants to blast the F430 CS into next week when it comes to a head to head.. I honestly feel this is why the bhp has been upped by quite a margin..

Role on the FIA GT3 championship where we will see customer race versions battle it out with its exotic competitors and lets see it hammer those Italians on the test tracks of Top Gear and Autobild..

I'll take mine in orange please with heavy black strippes by the way.. 

Porsche finally launches the 997 Turbo

 

So much expectancy rests on the shoulders of this car.. it’s predecessor was the ultimate all rounder and has led the pack confidently in the face of steep competition from both Ferrari and Lamborghini. The new breeds from Italy, the F430 and Gallardo offer a phenomenal package but those who appreciate the less flashy business end of the supercar market know the Turbo is king.

The 997 Turbo ups the tempo with an increase in bhp, some further technical editions and an aggressive stance... is the Turbo still King?... 

Mercedes Benz CLS 55 IWC 

Morgan Aero Max 

Ford STA 

Porsche's new aerodynamic Cup kit 

Aston's Class win at Sebring 

The Mustang Shelby Cobra 

New Porsche GT3 Cup Cars 

Renault wins again..this time with Alonso

 

Photo Source: ITV-F1.co.uk


Alonso stormed round the circuit to snatch pole on Saturday, and from that position he started the race and produced a solid drive to win in front of Trulli in the Toyota. Toyota is at last looking like they have spent their millions in the right place, I'm sure Toyota HQ were getting a little annoyed at the lack of results but things are looking better.

The race was packed full of action, a huge contrast to Australia's race a few weekend ago. The Ferrari's yet again seem to be struggling and Shumi didn't seem to care much, just cruised round in a very uneventful race for him.

There were clashes, blow ups (poor BAR, it's just not happening this year so far)
and the man in the wars, Mark Webber had his car battered round, buy a Toyota and a Renault. The FIA has just blamed the incident on Fisi, and quite right as he made a move that was never going to work. Fisi knew this as did Webber as he pointed out in an interview, So why in the hell did Webber knowing that Fisi was going to slide wide, try to squeeze him from the outside? This only ended up with the side of his Williams caved in, was he surprised at the outcome? He should have been he placed his car right in the line of fire. He's an experienced driver, what was he thinking? Anyway if Fisi was to blame for making an irrational overtaking manouver then Webber was to blame for the accident, in my opinion.

Apart from Alonso and Trulli, Heidfeld dodged the clumsy drivers behind to collect a well earned 3rd.

McLaren yet again didn't have the pace that they had shown in testing, yes on one lap they were quick but with tyre problems and imbalances I think McLaren has produced a car that doesn't match upto the Renault best suites these new tyre regulations. The Renault's seem to be designed bottom up around understeer, hence the great drive out of corners and quick starts. This style seems to look after the rear tyres better than everybody else. Bahrain next and I expect Ferrari will bring the 2005 race car, they need too. AS

Maserati at the Geneva Motor Show

Maserati showed the new grand sport which looked very fine in bright red as did the MC12, one road going version and one racing version, the size of the car surprised me, its huge, long and wide. Very Impressive.

 


Photo by:AS

New XK

One of the stars of the show, its a stunning design that shares some lines with the more expensive Astons, but I'm sure Jaguar know this and will make sure that they use the similarities to boost sales of Jaguars in the USA its biggest market. The XK8 is looking very old and dated, the sooner they get this concept to production the better.

 

New Stratos?

This 'toy' like concept is based on the Lancia Stratos of the 1980's, you can see the shared design but actually it looks hidious in the metal. Shame really , I'm sure Lancia could do with some niche models to bring Lancia back to life.

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Lotus Exige

Lotus brought this fantastic looking little sports car the Exige MKII, It really stood out in bright Orange and with new engines sourced from Toyota I'm sure it goes as well as it looks.

 

Astra OPC

Oh, when will they drop the Vauxhall brand name, Opel had an impressive display at the show with the new Zafira spinning around on a stand and this the new OPC, due out later this year, its going to shake VW's boots when it offers huge performance and good equipment levels for far less than the hugely overpriced GTI.

 

Audi RS4

Anticipation was built up, but when seen in the flesh it doesn't stack up. What we have here is an A4 with an after market front spoiler and alloys from your 'blingest' Halfords dealer. The only part that impressed was the rear which showed the most body changes over the S4. The interior was nice, but that was only because of the steering wheel and excellent seats, Audi should have actually tried to make it different from the standard S4, make it really stand out, like the special addition it trully is, oh thats right its not going to be built in limited numbers as previously thought , they might as well have badged it S4+ and keep the RS4 for another day when they want somthing a little more special looking. Harsh, very possibly, The performance is likley to be awesome but I think people will feel short changed when they see in the flesh.

 

Range Rover Sport

Its a menacing looking beast, sitting very low and tough looking. BMW must be rushing to get the new X5 upto scratch because thes sports Range Rover is going to eat every sports SUV alive, I'm sure of it. Another cracker from Land Rover.

 

Mercedes SLK55 AMG 

Dodge Viper

Mercedes has struggled hugely recently with reports of huge losses, but at the show was the new ML, new CLS, new B-Class and new A-Class, spread out in a confusing mess, their layout wasn't the best. Chrysler did a better job of displaying the new Viper GTS.