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Porsche boss Michael Macht is to leave the firm as part of a reshuffle arranged by its new owner Volkswagen.

I think we can universally agree that there is something extremely cool about police cars.

It's getting closer everyday; the official invasion of McLaren automobiles on U. S. shores.

Filed under: Motorsports, Classics, Performance, Ford, Lexus, Lotus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ferrari, UK, Racing

There are plenty of reasons to get excited about the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The annual shindig is a mecca for metal from all over the world - old and new. Motorsports events from across the go-fast spectrum make it onto the schedule and there's even plenty of auto-themed art to keep the masses entertained when they aren't huffing tire smoke. In a word, the event is bliss for anyone with even a passing interest in the automobile.

But the grand daddy of it all has to be the Hill Climb. At 1.16 miles, the course features nine turns, a looming stone wall and enough hay to feed all the cows in Wisconsin for a week. Last year brought out a rash of new high-dollar supercars, including the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and the Lexus LFA, and as a result, there were plenty of manufacturers on hand to show off their newest hardware. While we were lurking the grounds and looking at all the shiny conveyances, drivers were blasting across the grounds and recording their exploits. We've rounded up 10 of the best videos from the hill and arranged them in no particular order. Sure, some of them are more entertaining than others, but all of them are better than what you're doing at work, right? Hit the jump to get started.

Continue reading Video: Goodwood 2010 - Taking the hill

Video: Goodwood 2010 - Taking the hill originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Citroën, Electric

We thought the Citroën Survolt Concept was pretty cool when we first saw it at the Geneva Motor Show. We think it's much, much cooler now, though. Why? Perhaps because the crazy French automaker has seen fit to make the all-electric machine into a real race car that will hit the track at the Le Mans Classic on July 10th.

The electric racecar sports a full tube frame with a carbon fiber body and a completely flat underbody... which is all well and good, but the real news comes from the powertrain. Dual electric motors push out 300 horsepower from zero to 5,000 RPM. But it's the torque of electric motors that really impresses, and the Survolt reportedly has enough of it to dispatch the run to 60 miles per hour in under five seconds.

Power comes from two lithium ion battery packs that weigh in at over 300 pounds each and offer 31 kilowatts of energy storage. The Citroën Survolt can manage 124 miles per charge, which can be performed in two hours with a specific charger or in 10 hours using a normal 220-volt outlet. Check out our image gallery below and hit the jump for a short video and the complete press release.



[Source: Citroën]

Continue reading Citroën Survolt takes to the track at Le Mans Classic [w/video]

Citroën Survolt takes to the track at Le Mans Classic [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 7.6.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Motorsports, Racing

In the book Driving Ambition about the story of the McLaren F1, chapter 19 begins with the following:

It would have been easy for McLaren Cars to bask in the simple afterglow of its achievement, and initially a relatively somber programme of production and detail refinement to perfect the model was all that was envisaged. But not high performance car manufacturer can legitimately expect to build a world-beater, without one or two prominent and enthusiastic customers becoming keen to prove its products' capabilities 'in anger'. Although there had never - ever - been any expressed intention by the McLaren team at Genesis to produce anything other than a purebred road car, through the summer of 1994 - as we have seen - enthusiastic sporting-minded customers began to persuade the F1's manufacturers to change their minds. Despite many qualms, they did just that.

And that, friends, is why the McLaren F1 GTR is so impressive. The F1 road car wasn't built just to homologate for racing. The motorsports program was an afterthought, one that won the 1995 24 Hours of Le Mans outright on McLaren's first attempt as well as finishing third, fourth and fifth. You're looking at the winning car, driven by J.J. Lehto, Yannick Dalmas and Masanori Sekiya, which was displayed by McLaren at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. Enjoy the gallery below.



Photos by Drew Phillips / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Goodwood 2010: Le Mans-winning McLaren F1 GTR makes an appearance originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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India needs to work fast to save its rivers; otherwise the Ganga and Yamuna could soon pass into mythology.

Filed under: Aftermarket, Budget, Minivan/Van, Performance, Chevrolet, Humor, Design/Style

Oh, eBay Motors, you never cease to astound us. Where else could we possibly dig up a Chevrolet Astro Van that's been built for drag racing and converted to have a passing resemblance to a Lamborghini Gallardo? Yup, you're looking at the Astroghini. If you're thinking it looks a lot like a product of "Pimp My Ride" and an acid bender, you're not far off. The, um, creation was built for a new show on The Discovery Channel called "Ultimate Car Build Off," and aside from an overdose of Raging Bull influence, the van boasts a turbocharged 4.3-liter V6 with 200,000 miles that's just waiting to go supernova.

If the prospect of a throttle-body fuel-injection V6 under boost isn't enough to make you weary, the fact that the vehicle now wears an automatic wet nitrous system should. We'd give it about three full-throttle passes before chunks start flying.The show managed to lower the Astro's roofline by a full eight inches, and as such, the rear doors don't open, the side windows are plexiglass and there's zero interior. That turbo? Yeah, it sits in the passenger floorboard.

The good news is that the Astroghini wears a laundry list of go fast parts, so if you're looking to snag a deal on a boat load of aftermarket goodies, this may just be your chance. You can check out the auction here.



[Source: eBay Motors]

eBay Find of the Day: Behold... it's the Astroghini! originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Chrysler, Fiat

When Fiat and Chrysler merged, it was assumed that Fiat and Chrysler-branded products would be sharing a common showroom floor. Well, you know what happens when you assume. The Detroit Bureau reports that when Fiat-badged vehicles arrive Stateside at the end of the year they will be sold in an all-new showroom bereft of any manner of Chrysler product. The news reportedly comes from none other than Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, who adds that a total of 200 Fiat stores will come online in an undetermined time.

While Chrysler dealers are likely a bit upset that they won't have Fiat products to sell in their dealerships, they will reportedly get first dibs to claim one of the 200 stand-alone stores. And those dealerships must be equipped with both sales and service departments as well. The first Fiat to enter the Fiat-exclusive showroom will be the diminutive 500, which has been very well-received overseas. And more product is undoubtedly also on the way, as the 500 alone is not a big enough carrot to warrant buying a new dealership.

Opening 200 new dealerships will not be cheap, as a new full-service dealer can cost $1 million or more. There are also the costs associated with marketing a new brand in the U.S., which will likely cost well over $100 million. Since Fiat vehicles haven't been available here in States in a couple decades, the folks in Turin, Italy will likely have a lot of work to do to spread the word. Those who actually remember the Fiat brand in the U.S. market will likely need the most convincing, as horrible quality woes were a main factor in the brands failure.



[Source: The Detroit Bureau]

Report: Chrysler to set up separate Fiat dealers originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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