lundi 28 octobre 2013
Renet et Larrieu champions de France d’Enduro
Le championnat de France d’enduro s’est clôturé ce weekend à Vorey, consacrant deux pilotes du team Husaberg Michelin. Pierre Alexandre Renet et Loic Larrieu se sont en effet adjugés les titres E2 et Juniors, au terme d’une saison parfaite.
Les deux anciens crossmen ont du attendre jusqu’au premier des deux soirs de cette finale pour fêter leur titre de Champion de France, tant bien même ils avaient réussi jusque là un sans faute en remportant toutes les manches du championnat.
Vainqueurs une nouvelle fois samedi à Vorey, ils ont sur leur lancée gagné une nouvelle fois dimanche et remportent donc leur championnat avec la manière puisqu’ils ont marqué le maximum de points, soit 200 sur l’ensemble de la saison.
Après son titre de vice champion du Monde E2 et sa victoire aux ISDE avec le team France, Pierre Alexandre Renet reconduit donc son titre de champion de France et coiffe sa troisième couronne nationale pour sa dernière sortie officielle sur l’Husaberg. La firme Suédoise disparaît en effet de la scène après le rachat de Husqvarna par l’usine KTM, et c’est donc sur une Husqvarna que Renet s’alignera l’an prochain en Enduro aux côtés de Joakim Ljunggren, Thomas Oldrati, Mathias Bellino et Loic Larrieu.
Pour sa première saison en Enduro, Loic Larrieu réalise une excellente performance en décrochant le premier titre de sa jeune carrière. Cinquième du championnat du Monde Juniors et vainqueur lui aussi des ISDE, Loic défendra donc les couleurs Husqvarna dans cette catégorie l’an prochain.
VW’s second FIA title / Un second titre FIA pour VW
This weekend, Volkswagen claimed its second FIA-sanctioned title after securing the Cross Country Rally World Cup in 2005.
Volkswagen a décroché ce week-end son second titre reconnu par la Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) après avoir remporté la Coupe du monde de Cross-Country en 2005.
Volkswagen’s presence in motorsport dates back to 1966 and the creation of Formel Vee, a single-seater racing series for cars powered by a Beetle engine. In 1977, a Group 1 Golf GTi made its debut in the German Rally Championship, while a Golf GTi 1600 won the following year’s German Estering Cup (rallycross).
The brand’s first international success came in 1980 when a Volkswagen Type 183 Iltis took a surprise win on the Paris-Dakar in the hands of Sweden’s Freddy Kottulinsky. After an unsuccessful attempt at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb with a twin-engined (!) Golf, VW achieved its most prominent results in rallying and rally-raids. In 1986, for example, Kenneth Eriksson won the Group A world title driving a VW Golf GTi, but there was no prize for being the best manufacturer…
In 2003, Volkswagen returned to the Dakar with a ‘Tarek’ buggy, a prototype of the Race Touareg which made its debut one year later. In 2005, three wins (Rally Por Las Pampas, Rallye du Maroc and Rallye d’Orient) helped Volkswagen to secure the FIA Cross Country World Cup, its first international recompense.
The make went on to collect three straight Dakar wins before notching up its first WRC Manufacturers’ title thanks to its ninth win of 2013 today when Ogier and Latvala came first and second on the RallyRACC-Rally de Espana.
L’histoire de Volkswagen en motorsport n’a débuté qu’en 1966 avec la Formel Vee, une série qui réunissait des monoplaces dont la mécanique provenait de VW Coccinelle. En 1977, la VW Golf GTi Gr.1 s’est attaquée au Championnat d’Allemagne des Rallyes et l’année suivante, c’est une Golf GTi 1600 qui a remporté le Championnat d’Allemagne de Rallycross (appelé Estering Cup).
Mais la première grande victoire de VW sur la scène internationale date du Rallye Dakar 1980 où le Volkswagen Type 183 « Iltis » du Suédois Freddy Kottulinsky s’est imposé à la surprise générale. Malgré une tentative à Pikes Peak avec une Golf à double moteur (si si !!), c’est en Rallye et Rallye-Raid que Volkswagen a le plus brillé. En 1986, Kenneth Eriksson a remporté le titre mondial Gr.A sur une VW Golf GTi, mais il n’y avait pas de titre attribué aux constructeurs.
En 2003, Volkswagen est revenu sur le Dakar, 24 ans après son exploit, avec un buggy Tarek, qui était un prototype du Race Touareg apparu l’année suivante. En 2005, après trois victoires (Rally Por Las Pampas, Rallye du Maroc, Rally d’Orient), Vokswagen a remporté la Coupe du monde de Cross-Country FIA, sa première récompense internationale.
Après trois victoires consécutives au Rallye Dakar, Volkswagen vient de décrocher son premier titre mondial en WRC après une 9e victoire cette saison et un doublé Ogier-Latvala au RallyRACC-Rally de Espana 2013.
Custom Harley Davidson V-Rod
This V-Rod suffered from an accident in which collided with a car. The guys rebuilt the bike with little customization.
Custom Harley Davidson V-Rod Details:
Suspension parts from Ducati 916
Front brake Buell
Customize aluminum gas tank and rear fender
It is easier to stock V-Rod’ to 9 kg.
Front brake Buell
Customize aluminum gas tank and rear fender
It is easier to stock V-Rod’ to 9 kg.
from http://bikeglam.com
2014 Porsche Macan: official spy shots released
It seems like carmakers got so used to spy shots they’ve begun releasing their own ‘official sets’ of stolen images. What we have here is in fact a bunch of offcial images released by legendary German manufacturer Porsche and starring the upcoming 2014 Porsche Macan, a new SUV that share the same architecture with the Audi Q5 and will position itself right below the Cayenne. The model will be officially unveiled in November at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show.
Actually, mules of the Porsche Macan have been spotted around so many times in the past few months that they probably thought they could do a much better service to the cause by releasing their own pics, rather than crying over spilt milk. They even uploaded a few of them on their official facebook page, and since we are looking at clear pictures in high-res, talking about teasing images would feel a little out of place here.
The Porsche guys have been much more sketchy on the details concerning mechanics and performance figures: all we get to know for now is that the new baby Cayenne will boast a combined fuel consumption in accordance with EU 6 standards, 9.2-6.1 l/100km, and CO2 emission of 216-159 g/km. Which doesn’t say much, really, but we will surely get to know all the specs in a matter of weeks, if not days. However, rumor has it that it will eventually hit the markets with two twin-turbo V6 engine options: a 3.0- and 3.6-liter. We expect an 8-speed PDK automatic gearbox to be part of the mix as well, with a six-speed manual transmission option too. The Macan will show up in a Porsche dealership near you at some point in the first half of 2014.
via Worldcarfans
World's Fastest - Triumph 2013 Highlight Reel
2013 was another break out year for Triumph North America. Fielding formidable race bikes in AMA Road Racing, AMA Flat track, and FIM Land Speed Racing, as well as driving several of the biggest independent extreme motorcycling video productions of 2013. Triumph is aggressively taking strides to reclaim it's title of "World's Fastest."
BRING BACK THE TOUGE
Drifting is big and it’s clever, but there’s always been the back room boys, the ones who just want to have fun and explore the soul-surfing side of things. Fredrik Sørlie and his Cressida are well known on the Scandinavian scene and this film goes above and beyond the usual drift sequence. In it we get to see some touge action, but we get a look behind the scenes too. I love the grassroots nature of Fredrik’s car when put together with high production values like this… So sit back and celebrate the simple movement of sideways.
Oh and if you want to know more on the 2JZ-equipped Cressida, check back later this week when our full feature on Fredrik and his Toyota drops!
Mercedes-Benz SL 60 AMG: Days of thunder
Although summer has passed for another year, drop-top driving in the crisp autumnal sun is an experience not to be missed. As the evenings draw in, this rare 1996 Mercedes-Benz SL 60 AMG could have you making the most of that fast-fading light…
When the thunderous German V8 catches, all those post-summer blues instantly evaporate. Besides, the SL 60’s 381HP/580Nm is more than enough to outrun those sudden autumn showers. The enlarged 6-litre engine boasted some impressive performance figures – the 0-60mph sprint is dealt with in just 5.8sec while those brave enough to remove the car’s 155mph speed-limiter could manage around 185mph flat-out. Interestingly, insiders at the AMG skunkworks said that those figures were modest, and claimed the car was both quicker and more powerful than suggested at the time.
Should the giant-killing performance still not brighten your mood, perhaps the elegant, two-tone Designo leather interior will? The electronically adjustable heated seats will keep you toasty when the temperatures plummet, and when the weather does turn, the moody skies can still be admired through the panoramic glass roof. It’s a common misconception that convertibles cannot be enjoyed in the winter months. The (extremely rare) SL 60 AMG could be the perfect car for that dry, bright, autumnal morning blast.
The Mercedes-Benz SL 60 AMG shown here is for sale in the Classic Driver Marketplace.
Retro cars invade the newest of motorsports
Retro cars invade the newest of motorsports, and why they’re closer to the golden racing days of old than you might think.
In a time when so many once-thrilling racing disciplines now follow highly restrictive control formulas, the relatively new sport of Time-Attack breaks the mold and allows entrants a little more ambiguity when it comes to developing a competitive car. The result is a field of extreme machines reminiscent of a cross between Group B rally and the golden age of Cam-Am. Of course there are classes that each must adhere to, however these tend to focus and aero and substructure.
The idea of Time Attack is to run a flying lap faster than the rest of the field, essentially it’s a sport built around qualifying and whilst that might not be as exciting as door-to-door racing, some of the retro-cars that entrants have built for the purpose, certainly are.
These are our three favorites:
3. Lotus Espirit – KRB
Exposed rivets and raw sheet metal bring back memories of a time when going fast was all that mattered, and beauty rose as a byproduct of function. Low, fast, and crude, the KRB built Lotus Esprit is actually an ’84 Tiga C2 Prototype which features an Audi-sourced 4.2L quad cam V8 complete with twin turbos, generating around 900hp at the crank.
2. Metro 6R4 – 6R4.com
With tubular everything, classic-rally style aero and an original 2.8L V6 6R4 engine sporting twin turbochargers for a not-so-original 500 horsepower, Mark Pollard’s Metro 6R4 is truly bonkers! Word is that the engine is capable of increasing it’s power by a further 50% with increased boost pressure in “kill mode” – now doesn’t that just remind you of the turbo-era of yesteryear?
1. Audi Quattro – KRB
It’s no secret that here at Motorsport Retro we’ve a huge soft spot for the Audi S1, so you can only imagine our delight when we discovered KRB’s incredible re-interpretation of what a flat-out circuit incarnation of one may have looked like. It wears a body straight out of our wildest Group B dreams, and the fact that it sports a whopping 1061hp doesn’t hurt either! This is without a doubt, the coolest retro Time-Attack car anyone has built yet.
Watch it in action here, and pay special attention to how incredibly quickly it puts on speed just beyond the three-minute mark:
Photos credits:
via http://www.motorsportretro.com
Playboy's toys: Hef's choice from the Market
With such a passion for living the ‘fast life’, it’s little wonder Hugh Hefner has often displayed enthusiasm for cars. Based on those he’s previously owned – as well as his obvious appreciation of curvaceous bodywork – we make a selection from the Classic Driver Market through Hef’s eyes…
Apparently, Hef named his empire after the recently defunct Playboy Automobile Company – and his interest in American cars doesn’t end there, as the picture above attests. But he’s also a big Mercedes fan: he’s known to have owned a 300 SL Roadster, as well as a pair of 600 Pullmans. The latter, rather unsurprisingly, came complete with champagne coolers, central partitions, rear privacy curtains and reclining rear seats.
With an eye for voluptuous curves, Hef would perhaps be instinctively drawn to an E-type, or maybe a pretty Ferrari Dino. Then again, there’s every chance he’d let his eccentric side run wild by choosing this Zimmer (no giggling at the back please) Quicksilver, coincidentally of the same vintage as his wife, Crystal.
A playboy's picks from the Market
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