One could argue that Wolfgang Durheimer has the best job in the world as he runs two of the most prestigious and recognizable car companies in the world; Bentley and Bugatti. As we’re sure you know, both of these companies fall under the Volkswagen brand, but if Automotive News Europe is to be believed, changes are afoot within the mega-company.
Prior to being in charge of Bugatti and Bentley, Durheimer was Porsche’s development chief, and ANE believes that in a re-shuffle of Audi’s management board to reduce the age of its seven-board members, Durheimer will leave his current positions and take up the role as Audi’s development chief. He is said to be superseding Michael Dick, aged 60, in the role.
A selection of other positions throughout the Audi brand are expected to be replaced also, such as the brand’s sales chief and purchasing managers to again reduce the average age of the firm’s management board.
We’re not sure as to why Audi and Volkswagen are so keen to have young board members, as employees should be solely chosen on their abilities rather than their ages, but it’s likely Audi believes some of its current board members are losing their grasp on the ever-changing automotive industry, and perhaps believes bringing some youth to the team will help.
In saying that however, the new members aren’t exactly youthful as Durheimer is 53 and will be replacing a man just 7 years his senior, while Luca de Meo is 44 and expected to replace Audi’s sales chief, 60-year-old Peter Schwartzenbauer. As a result of this switch-up, the position as CEO of Bentley and Bugatti will be up for grabs but it’s unclear who’ll be promoted to that position in the near future.
The tiny brand promised that its unnamed supercar would debut at the event and also promised some performance statistics simply out of this world. First and foremost, it predicted it could extract 2,801HP and 2,580lb-ft of torque from an eight-rotor engine which could launch the car from 0-62 mph in less than 1 second and onto a top speed of over 280 mph.
Prior to RSC releasing details about its halo-car, it also announced that it was developing a 1,184 horsepower car dubbed the Predator GT and unsurprisingly, no further news has been released about that car either. It too promised to lay down some extremely impressive performance times, but nothing in comparison to what RSC supposedly had up its sleeve.
Just a few months ago, if you headed over to RSC’s official website, it took you straight to all of their proposed supercar plans and broke down detailed information about each one of them. Now however, the brand’s website is simply blacked-out with some contact information and without a single hyperlink in sight.
Now we don’t know about you, but this has all the tell-tale signs of a car company too ambitious for its own good, which has eventually gone bust. We were always doubtful if RSC could really walk-the-walk rather than just talk-the-talk, but it seems likely we’ll never see its near-3000 horsepower hypercar, which is a shame.
When you put Ken Block and Motley Crue legend Tommy Lee in the same room, you can expect that something crazy is about to go down. And true to their respective reputations, a lot of things did go down...and up again...and sideways...and, well, you get the idea.
The two icons of their respective industries decided to do a little seat swap with Lee getting to ride shotgun on Block’s MWRT Ford Fiesta Gymkhana World Tour Car and Block getting a seat on Lee’s "unique" - to say the least - 360-degree Drum Roller Coaster.
The ensuing video prepared by Monster Energy shows us exactly how the whole seat swap transpired, complete with shots of Lee getting his shriek on as Block went all Gymkhana on him and Block getting the treat of watching Lee do his drum solo upside down.
Trust us, we’re not making these things up. Check out the video and watch how the two managed to put new meaning to the phrase "bro-tastic!"
The name Carroll Shelby may not be quite as familiar to new automotive enthusiasts as it is for older generations, but his creations are no stranger to anyone that follows and loves performance automobiles. Mr. Shelby was not only a genius when it came to building high-performance American muscle, but he was also an accomplished racecar driver.
Carroll managed to parlay his racing roots into a partnership with Ford that spanned over 50 years. However, that partnership almost never happened, as his first choice in partners was Chevrolet. Imagine that, a “Shelby Camaro” or “Shelby Corvette,” it just doesn’t quite sound as good as "Shelby Mustang,” does it?
Carroll Shelby lived a full life, as he graced this world with 89 years of his presence and nearly 60 of those years he was providing us gearheads with examples of his automotive skill, be it winning races or designing hot rods. Carroll Shelby will be missed dearly by everyone in the automotive world, but we are not here to mourn the passing of this legend. Nope, we feel that the right way to send off this legend is by celebrating his long and legendary life.
Click past the jump to read the complete life history of Mr. Carroll Shelby
There’s no better way to mark the end of production for the most extreme Ferrari 599 ever built then to give it a kickass special edition, and Ferrari is doing just that with the 599XX Evolution. The new Evolution package boasts of aerodynamic advancements, as well as a boost in power, and will be available to clients participating in the track-based research and development program for the 2012-2013 seasons.
The new 599XX Evolution features improved chassis dynamics thanks to an active aerodynamic package integrated with the vehicles’ electronic control systems and the adoption of new Pirelli tires. The new aero package uses an active rear wing that features two flaps, with profiles similar to those used in Formula 1, which rotate electronically to adjust the downforce between the front and rear axles in function of vehicle speed and the maneuver being effected.
The most impressive feature, however, is the addition of an extra 50 HP for the 599XX’s 6.3L V12 engine. This addition brings the 599XX’s total power up to 750 HP at 7000 rpm and 516 lb-ft of torque. Helping the engine along is a weight reduction of 77 lbs compared to the standard model.
UPDATE 12/02/2011: Thanks to Marchettino, we now have a video of the 599XX Evo when it debuted at the 2011 Bologna Motor Show. Hit the jump to check it out!
UPDATE 05/13/2012: Ferrari has just dropped a new set of images featuring the 599XX at the opening round to the European Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli at Monza. Its next stop will be at California’s Laguna Seca circuit, a few miles from the attractions of Monterey, which will host the third Ferrari Racing Days of the season on May 20, 2012.
After Porsche recently released its sale and revenue figures for the first quarter of 2012, Ferrari has also joined in by proudly releasing its figures with all the crucial numbers going up also, suggesting that economies across the globe are beginning to make their way out of the Global Financial Crisis of late 2008 and 2009.
In just the first three months of this year, Ferrari managed to deliver 1,733 new vehicles to its ever-expanding dealership network, and sales in the United Kingdom led the pack achieving a 31% rise of sales this time last year. In a similar vein, sales in the U.S. were up by 16%, Germany up by 12% and unsurprisingly sales in the Middle East also grew by 23%.
What’s more exciting is the fact that all new cars ordered from Ferrari this year have all been completely custom, with buyers now offered the chance to personalize their machines to a whole new level with the Tailor Made programme. It’s important to note at this stage also, that the recently launched F12 Berlinetta played no role in this sale spikes as deliveries of it won’t begin until the second half of the year.
In line with this impressive sale figures, Ferrari managed to rake in 42.1 million Euros of profit, a dramatic increase of 17.2% from last year prompting Ferrari’s chairman, Luca di Montezemolo to state, "After an extraordinary 2011, starting the year with all the economic indicators on the rise is very satisfying indeed. We have a complete new model range brimming with technological innovations, and which deliver significant reductions in fuel consumption and emissions, down by 30 per cent on average." He continued: "At the end of the year, we’ll also be unveiling the new Enzo, a limited series model and our first ever hybrid car."
Now have a look at that last sentence very closely. We already knew Ferrari was planning to unveil the new Enzo late this year, with new hybrid technology also being previewed, but as for the new ‘limited series model’, we simply have no idea what that could be.
Sure, Lotus may be facing some incredibly tough times at the moment, but there’s no question that in the good times, the relatively small British marque produced some of the finest sports cars in the market. In fact, the Lotus Elise is often the benchmark for handling which others aim to replicate, and the Elise’s twin brother the Exige is no exception to that rule.
Not only has the Exige been transformed from its very first-generation, gaining power, weight, speed, and size, it still manages to maintain that unique Lotus flavor, and this is a point which is evident in the following review conducted by Chris Harris for the Drive network.
Before you check out the video, remember that while it’s an extreme version of the regular Exige, it’s nothing compared to the range-topping Evora GTE which is actually the most powerful production car ever produced by Lotus. That being said, the Exige S is still an extremely capable sports car with its supercharged 3.5-liter V6 engine delivering no less than 350HP.
Combine that with extremely sticky Pirelli P Zero Corsa tires and an overall weight of just over 2,200 pounds, and you have one of the finest sports cars on the market.
Here’s hoping that Lotus can sort itself out over the coming months as we can’t foresee a future without Lotus being an integral part of it.
The top model Mini from the last generation was the JCW GP - a special edition with just 2,000 units. Now it seems history is about to repeat itself as Mini is testing a new GP version for the current generation Mini Cooper. Our spy photographers have caught the prototype just outside the Nürburgring as it makes the customary rounds at the famous German track.
Just like the old GP version, the new Cooper JCW GP will be distinguished by a new front bumper/spoiler, a huge rear diffuser that was inspired by the Challenge race car, and a massive spoiler at the back end of the roof. The car will also get a new set of wheels combined with a lowered suspension.
The new Mini Cooper S JCW GP is rumored to deliver somewhere around 220 HP. It will also be lighter compared to a standard model, so expect it to be the pocket rocket all Mini fans have been waiting for.
An official debut for the Mini Copper JCW GP will be made later in 2012.
If we were writing about a motorcycle, then this story would not be as incredible as the one we are about to tell you, but James "Ski" Smith attempted to do something a little more extraordinary then hopping on a motorcycle for a fast lap. Smith flipped his Fox bodied Mustang up onto a 2 wheeled SKI and tried to complete a lap around the famous Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey California.
The first thing we have to mention is that no one should try this at home, or their local streets. It takes a tremendous amount of skill to drive a car on two wheels for that length of time and, to make his attempt even more difficult, James Smith had never actually been around the race course before this stunt. Imagine how difficult it was to go on a maiden lap on two wheels!
Check out the video to see what it’s like lapping Laguna Seca on two wheels with the use of the onboard camera and the view from the car alongside it! Enjoy!
Up until this point, we’ve only been able to show you a couple of low-quality teasers of the Pagani Zonda 760 RS, a car which defines what a supercar should be all about as it’s the most powerful car ever produced up until now. However, today we have something very, very special for you.
Not only have a few incredible pictures of the car been officially released, Pagani owner and Evo Magazine owner Harry Metcalfe was lucky enough to drive this one-off piece of automotive art on some incredible Italian country roads.
The video is yet another one of the Evo Diaries series and is undoubtedly the most exquisite one they have ever done. The test begins off with Harry following the 760 RS in one of just a couple Zonda prototypes, which has evolved since the very first 6.0-liter V-12 up until its current 7.3-liter spec very similar to the unit fitted to the Cinque.
Despite the incredible prototype being extremely unique by itself, the 760 RS is something else entirely. Harry confirms that it cost the Chilean owner 1.6 million pounds or the equivalent of $2.5 ‘Benjamins.’ Nope, your eyes are not tricking you, that is in fact twice the price of the Huayra, and Metcalfe points out that the 760 RS is a very similar car to the Porsche 911 GT3 RS, while the Huayra could be considered as an extreme 911 Turbo.
Metcalfe goes on to confirm in the final seconds of the video that Lewis Hamilton did in fact purchase a 760 dubbed the ‘760 LH’ just like we reported, so hopefully some photos of that will be released in due course.
