Car Makes
It looks a lot like the outgoing model, but BMW says the fifth-generation 7 Series is all new.
The car, which will make its world premiere at the Paris motor show this fall, takes styling cues from the CS concept BMW showed in Shanghai in 2007, though the new 7 can best be described as evolutionary rather than revolutionary as the last generation was. (more…)
Suzuki Motor Corporation has developed a compact fuel cell vehicle based on the SX4 model and has received approval from Japan’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism to test it on public roads.
Suzuki has been developing fuel cell vehicles in partnership with General Motors (GM) since 2001. So far, it has tested three fuel cell mini vehicles on public roads with ministerial approval: the MR Wagon-FCV and Wagon R-FCV in October 2003 and the MR Wagon-FCV again in December 2004. (more…)
Mercedes-Benz will end its partnership with British sports car manufacturer McLaren when its current agreement expires next year.
The German automaker and the British sports car manufacturer built the SLR premium roadster together. (more…)
Honda customers can get behind the wheel of a Civic for as little as £5 a month thanks to a range of incentives tailor-made to meet their individual requirements.Honda’s sensational 50:50 offer (launched on Jazz earlier this year) is now available on all Civic models too, which means a new customer pays 50 per cent of the full list price, followed by 11 monthly payments of £5 at the ultra-low rate of 1.9 per cent APR. After this, customers can either make the second 50 per cent payment or upgrade to another brand new Civic. (more…)
Opel will showcase to the public for the first time at the British International Motor Show (July 23 – August 3) both the four-door notchback and five-door hatchback versions of its new flagship car, the Insignia. (more…)
The EB 16.4 Veyron Sang Noir is a special edition, created for the true automotive connoisseur. While its entirely black exterior may initially appear subdued, upon closer inspection it becomes clear that a select number of visual accents make this special Veyron just as vividly coloured as its brighter counterparts. (more…)
GKN Driveline’s high performance Torque Vectoring technology has made its world debut on the new BMW X6 ‘sports activity coupe’. GKN’s new technology is at the heart of BMW’s Dynamic Performance Control (DPC) system, which is being pioneered on the new, highly acclaimed, 4×4 vehicle. The company also supplies the latest front and rear side shafts for the X6. (more…)
For the company’s 50th anniversary in 1998, Porsche received the most gratifying of all jubilee presents in the form of victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours race, achieved by Laurent Aiello/Allan McNish/Stephane Ortelli.
Using a carbon-fibre chassis for the first time to provide weight and strength advantages, the 911 GT1/98 was an evolution of the GT1 concept that was started in 1996. The GT1 race car had a silhouette that was reminiscent of the road-going 911. However, in many other respects the 911 GT1/98 was very different to the road car which inspired it. For the 1996 and 1997 examples, the GT1 deployed the front end of the Type 993 911, but an entirely new front axle was developed for the 1998 edition. Double wishbones with pushrods and transverse coil springs are used for wheel control, damping and shock absorption. This suspension has considerable scope for adjustment, permitting optimum matching of the suspension responses to the characteristics of the race track. (more…)
With two wins at the Le Mans 24 Hours race already under its belt, you could be forgiven for expecting a race car to enjoy a well-earned retirement. However, the enduring design and speed of the 936 concept enabled the Porsche racing department at Weissach to further evolve the car such that it won the race once more in 1981. (more…)
The Porsche 936 was a two-seat prototype developed by the engineers in the Weissach racing department for the 1976 Group 6 World Championship – and it was rewarded with that year’s title and a remarkable trio of Le Mans wins.
Led by Norbert Singer, the team of Porsche engineers used the chassis concept that had been proven by the 917 and clothed it in new, open cockpit ‘Spyder’ bodywork. (more…)
Rule changes for the World Championship of Makes eliminated the stunning Porsche 917 during the early 1970s allowing the factory to develop the car for the open-top Canadian-American (CanAm) Championship in North America. Teams from McLaren, Lola and Chaparral were attracted to the 200 mile Sprint races of the formula and the rule book permitted almost anything, including free engine displacement and the use of turbochargers. Porsche used its new-found skills with forced induction to attach two exhaust-driven turbochargers to the flat-twelve engine of the 917. The result had a displacement of 5.4 litres and produced at least 1,100 bhp, making it one of the most powerful racing cars ever built. (more…)
A total of 59 examples of the Porsche 917 were built, 41 as short or long-tail coupes with naturally aspirated engines of up to 5.4-litres, and 18 as CanAm or InterSeries Spyder versions with 1,400bhp turbocharged engines. One model is slightly different; the 917/20, of which only a single example was ever built. (more…)