No Polo R to protect Audi S1 sales

Picture courtesy of Ausmotive and Motor Authority

This is old news but I thought I should put it up in light of my coverage of the Polo GTI and other Volkswagen vehicles.

There was a rumour that Volkswagen’s new R GmbH department was working on an R version of the new Polo but while speaking at the launch of the new Polo GTI (19 May 2010), Volkswagen’s technical chief, Dr. Ernst Linder, said that the company has ruled out doing a hyper-performance version of the super-mini.

“I would say there have been some ideas about [Polo R], but more in the press than the company itself because we have our GTI and within our company Audi has an S1,” Linder said. “The S1 topped our GTI and to put a car above both, we think we’ll not have the volume to make it interesting. It would be too small amount of cars we can sell like this.

The new Audi S1 will be powered by the same 1.4L turbocharged and supercharged engine used in the Polo GTI.

Thats the bad news. Now the good news is that Linder confirmed a Jetta R was in the works . So if you are in the market for a sports sedan, well this might be it. The Volkswagen Jetta R is rumored to use the same 2.0litre turbo and all-wheel-drive system from the Golf R.

Evo journalist escapes fiery death at the Nürburgring 24 hour race

Evo Magazine's journalist Richard Green had escaped unhurt when his car caught fire during the Nürburgring 24 hour race that was held last week. His car on the other hand, a Lotus Exige, burned to the ground and became a pile of molten slag.

Watch Green's amazing escape from certain death which starts from part 2.23 of the video, when the Exige first caught fire in the rear and the flames slowly started spreading to the passenger section of the car. Scary stuff!

Golf R description on Forza3 website is wrong!

Anyone notice the Golf R description on Forza3 site is wrong....

"Supercharger with a turbocharger" ??

Right...

Megan Fox will not star in Transformers 3

Megan Fox has reportedly been dropped from the up-coming Transformers 3 cast.


Deadline claims "Paramount won't be picking up Megan Fox's option on Transformers 3 -- and that it was 'ultimately' director Michael Bay's decision (he gets his revenge for her remark comparing him to 'Hitler')". So technically she was given the boot for her past verbal spat with the Transformers director.

The site also states that the script is being rewritten now to give Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) a new love interest. Nothing is known about the character, except that she will likely be extremely hot and feisty.

Fox, 24, has seen her star rise and fall in just a short period of time. She burst onto the big screen with her role as Mikaela Banes, a.k.a. hot chick bent over the engine of a Camaro, in 2007's Transformers. She followed that with the flop "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" before appearing in "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen". "Jennifer's Body", also did not hit it off with movie-goers, and her upcoming Jonah Hex doesn't exactly have the greatest buzz surrounding it.

Only time will tell as to whether Megan Fox is able to prove to the world that she's a legitimate actress, or if she'll serve as a cautionary tale for other hot female stars whose outspokeness and diva-like behavior, ruined their once glittering careers.

Autocar UK takes the new Polo GTI for a proper spin

Autocar UK is one of the first few magazines to drive the all-new Polo GTI. It sports a 132kW engine, a super-quick 7-speed DSG and weighing in only at 1200kg - this baby GTI clearly has the necessary ingredients to make for a hot little hatch but whats the initial verdict?

“There’s enough ground-covering pace – grip levels are par for the course and traction is very good thanks to an electronic differential lock. The steering, though, for all its accuracy, delivers little back to the driver and there’s little adjustability in the chassis.

The Polo will only ever partly allow disengagement of its stability control and even on the road it’s easy to trouble it. The GTI rolls a bit, grips, reaches its limit, the tyres squeal so you know about it, the body is a bit unsettled, an ESP light flashes, then you just sit it out until the corner ends and you head off again. Competent, but very sterile.”

I think they are being overly critical here - this was the same criticism that the MK6 Golf GTI copped from journalists when it was first released. I reckon if one were to mod the car with some nice performance bits (remap, suspension etc), you'll have one heck of a track / weekend car. Rumour has it that the car will retail at around the RM150k price range when launched in November and this will just blow away the competition (Alfa Romeo's Mito).

Anyway, I will reserve judgement till the car arrives on Malaysian shores. In the meantime, you can watch the video review below or have a read of the text version by clicking on this link.

£15 million pounds for a 47 year old car!

Chris Evans, a British Radio 2 DJ has bought what's thought to be the world's most expensive car according to Evo.

"Chris Evans has finally realised his dream by agreeing to a private deal (via RM Auctions) to buy a 1963 Ferrari GTO previously owned by a Japanese collector since 1996.

Having sold his 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spyder (for £1.75M) and his Ferrari 250GT SWB Berlinetta (£2.25M) at the RM Auctions sale held in Monaco on the 1st May, he has been negotiating, behind the scenes, to buy a privately owned 1963 250GTO, finally agreeing a deal on the car speculated to be for around £15M.

This particular 1963 250 GTO is later Series II version (so slightly different to the famous Series I 250GTO owned by Nick Mason) with the 3-litre V12 engine producing 302bhp@7500rpm, a claimed top speed of 174mph and comes with an excellent racing pedigree. Chris Evans now intends to use his new car extensively in various classic car events throughout Europe".

He should have kept the LWB, which he bought for over five million quid (£5,089,280 to be precise). The car was previously owned by Hollywood actor James Coburn and the Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful cars in the world. Selling it on for £1.75M means he made a loss but hey, being a radio DJ / broadcasting mogul and making a fortune buying then selling Virgin radio, means he can pretty much afford it.

BMW M3 GTS laping the Nurburgring - M Power at its best

The car is so flat going through the corners and the engine doesn't even sound strained.

The BMW M3 GTS is powered by a 4.4-litre V8 unit that develops 450 horsepower (331 kW) and 440Nm of torque. The car has gone on a diet, shedding 190 Kg, when compared to the regular M3 Coupe which weighs 1,680 kg. You add in improved aerodynamics and you've got a lovely example of German engineering.

Golf R - Manual versus DSG - which is faster?

Interesting video by Autocar UK. They seek to find out which is faster - a Golf R with a conventional manual gearbox or one that is equipped with Volkswagen Group's Direct-Shift Gearbox (DSG)?

Like? Duh!

This is technically a no brainer as the DSG has been known to shift faster than a human being and more importantly, every shift it makes, is a perfect shift (oh and did I mention that the DSG is great in the fuel efficiency department as well?).

I've had the pleasure of driving a MK5 Golf GTI, then a MK5 Golf R32 and now a Audi Q5 2.0TFSI Quattro - all of which came with with the dual clutch transmission, so from my own personal experience, the DSG is all that it's cut out to be.

Anyway, very crude testing methods and horrible wet roads but the results speak for themselves and it is an entertaining video.

[Thanks to Liam from Ausmotive for bringing the video to my attention]

Spotted a BMW 5 series on fire on the LDP earlier today

Picture taken by a friend this morning on her way to work. No idea on cause of the fire but owner/driver was on the side of the road, watching his car burn...