Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss

As Limited Editions go the Mercedes SLR Stirling Moss is pretty spactacular! 200 kilos lighter than the SLR it is a special version of the Stirling Moss harks back to the era of the 300SLR and Sir Stirlings Mille Miglia victory. Whilst its appearance harks back to the golden age of road racing the technology is ery cutting edge. With the current SLR as a starting point there is now doubt that the owners of the 75 Sitrling Moss editions are going to benefit from breath taking performance:~ 0-62mph in 3.5 seconds with a top speed of over 210mph all with the wind rushing round and through the driver's hair.
The SLR Stirling Moss will start production once the current run of standrad SLRs is concluded in the second third of 2009, strictly limited to a production run of 75 it reamins to be seen whether the worldwide economic crisis will leave enough people with the finances avialble to pucrhcase this £600,000 plus supercar.

New (old) Porsche Estate.....

A mere 18 years after the original 10 DP Motorsport {link} dp44 cargos were produced the final 5 are entering production. Based on a Porsche 944 with some Volkswagen derived parts added the dp44 Cargo retained the handling of the 944 whilst becoming a reasonably practical estate car, all finished to the excellent quality standards associated with DP (the same company who made the road legal version of Porsche's ubiquitous 956/962 race car).
Suitable for any (roofed) 944 the conversion uses various VW Passat derived parts that result in a very smart, almost manufacturer appearance and (more importantly) a proper 4 seater 944 with boot space too. The latest production models will be fitted with coilover suspension, 993 turbo brakes and 18" wheels as standard thereby improving their road performance over the original production models.
The dp44 is still a great drive, the majority of extra bodywork being high quality glassfibre. The 944 (and follow on 968) was an acclaimed performance coupé and when the dp44 rear conversion is fitted to a 944 S2 its sprigthly performance is still enjoyable nearly 20 years after its orginal conception.
Cost (excluding donor car) for the conversion are around £16,000 but with the production run planned to stop at 5 demand is expected to outstrip supply considerably!

Volkswagen Scirocco Studie R

Volkswagen used this month's Bologna Motor Show to give a very serious glimpse of what the R20 Scirocco will look like. Based on the, very successful, Scirocco GT24 racing car (pictured below) the Studie R benefits from an impressive power hike over the range topping GT, offering an impressive 266PS.
To cope with the extra power the Studie R has 4-pot front brake calipers protected from the tarmac by 5 spoke, heavily detailed 19" wheels. The suspension has also been adapted to handle the extra performance of the Studie R.
Styling is more aggressive in a definite nod to the GT24 as well as practical performance requirements. A deep front bumper/spoiler combination provides extra cooling air as well as combating lift whilst the rear roof spoiler also combats lift but less subtly!
The interior's acres of carbon fibre was more for the Bologna show, than any production model, as were the red and green details on the show car's white exterior (including the Italian tricolore and Bologna 08 for those who weren't sure where they saw the car.....)

4WD for the VW Golf 6

Volkswagen {link} are offering a 4Motion version of the Golf 6 (hatchback and Estate) right from the outset. normally VW have launched four-wheel-drive models much later into the model life, many times waiting until high performance models require a 4WD system to cope with the extra power on offer. This time VW have decided that a 2 litre TDI 4Motion model will be available as of now in Germany and a few other European countries - whether this model appears in other markets depends largely on importer decisions which may not bode too well for the UK
Whether the new Golf Plus Cross (pictured below) will get a 4Motion model remains to be seen.

BMW M3 GT2

As Audi withdraw from the ALMS and Porsche take a sabbatical BMW increase their involvement! Having formed a partnership with Rahal Letterman Racing {link} in America BMW are preparing for their first full season of ALMS competition with the latest M3.
The project was launched at the Chicago Motorshow in February this year and has now completed over 1000 miles of testing at various circuits in America. The new M3s will face stiff opposition from European manufacturers Ferrari and Porsche plus various American manufacturers like Chevrolet, Dodge, Ford and Panoz.
The 2009 ALMS GT2 championship looks likely to be the most interesting and hotly contested for a while with BMW and Rahal Letterman Racing aiming to be in the mix right from the start.

The first round of the ALMS {link} is the Mobil Twelve Hours of Sebring {link} on March 21 2009.

Insignia by Steinmetz

Steinmetz {link} have debuted their tuning package for the new Opel (Vauxhall) Insignia and it looks stunning! Whilst offering nothing revolutionary the Steinmetz package certainly adds more style to the standard car.
By lowering the Insignia and fitting some highly attractive 20" wheels (available in either white or anthracite with polished spokes and rim) Steinmetz have made the Opel (or Vauxhall) look more purposeful and dramatic immediately. Add on the deep front spoiler and large black badgeless grille and the end result is most impressive.
Along the side of the Insignia Steinmetz have opted for subtle but effective styling touches, using pinstripes to great effect.
The rear of the Steimetz Insignia benefits from a new twin pipe (left and right) exhaust back box which offers better sound quality, a little extra performance and a far sportier appearance.
With the insignia being such a new car tuners have had little time to develop a complete package for the car and Steinmetz are exactly the same. Expect them to add new products for the Insignia for many months to come.

2008 DTM final standings

Driver Championship

1. Scheider 75

2. Di Resta 71

3. Ekström 56

4. Green 52

5. Spengler 38

6. Schneider 34

7. Tomczyk 32

8. Kristensen 27

9. Paffett 13

10. Prémat 10

Team Championship

1. Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG Mercedes 109

2. Audi Sport Team Abt 102

3. Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline 88

4. Salzgitter/Original-Teile AMG Mercedes 86

5. Audi Sport Team Phoenix 15

Mini Crossman - a Mini for a proper mini adventure!

The Mini Crossman model is now undergoing road evaluation and testing. Having been displayed at a few recent motorshows the SUV version of the Mini Clubman is now entering the final stages of preproduction with its debut in dealerships due in 2010.
Offering extra ground clearance (somewhere between 6 and 8cm) the Mini Crossman will be a genuine four-weel-drive unlike many of the other small SUVs available in the current market.
It will also differentiate itself from every other mini {link} by having 4 passenger doors, an improvement on the 3 fitted to the current Clubman range, it will keep the twin opening rear doors that have proven to be so popular with Clubman buyers. In anither break from (new) Mini tradition this model range will not be produced in Oxfordshire, England rather it will have a production line at reknown off-road and four-wheel-drive builders Steyr in Austria.
There will be no new engines for the Crossman, it will use a selection of those already fitted to the current Mini range.

Porsche 911 & Boxster

The iconic Porsche 911 receives yet another makeover in 2011 with subtle modifications and refinements prevailing. For example the rear arches are slightly re-profiled, the door mirrors move from the window onto the actual doors themselves and the headlamps are slightly more sloped. As with every manufacturer Porsche {link} have improved emissions and reduced fuel consumption on the new 6 cylinder engines although there is nothing radically new to them nor to the PDK seven speed auto gearbox or manual six speed unit.
The turbo and GT versions of the new 911 will follow much later, as they always do _ more than likely late in 2012 for the Turbo with GT2/3 versions 8-10 months apart.

Once the Porsche showrooms have filled with the new 911 in 2012 the familiar (and recently updated) Boxster platform (Boxster and Cayman) receives an update. This time the update is more radical than that of the 911, although only in a mechanical sense as bodywork restyling remains subtle and minor. The new Boxster platform will see a small, turbocharged 4 cylinder engine make an appearance for the first time. Producing around 200-225PS the new engine will be fitted to entry level Boxsters in an attempt to improve their environmental status and impact. To aide the 4 cylinder Boxsters with performance weight saving measures are being developed, whether these will transfer over to the larger engined versions has yet to be seen.

Due before the 2012 update are two versions on the current platform; an RS performance orientated model and a 'top-chopped' Spyder model.

The new 4 cylinder entry level model on the Boxster platform could be seen as a move back towards the co-operation with Volkswagen on the 914 of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Wheter a cheaper version could be restyled to fit the Volkswagen brand a la Touareg/Cayenne remains to be seen.

Porsche RS Spyder

After a tremendous season in 2008 there will be fewer Porsche RS Spyders competing in 2009. The works Penske {link} Spyders that won the Drivers, Manufacturers and Team LMP2 championships in the ALMS in 2008 will not be racing in 2009. Penske will instead be racing in the Grand-Am Rolex Series {link} using Porsche engines - continuing a relationship between the American team and German manufacturer that started in 1972!
Porsche has yet to decide whether to step up to the LMP1 class, to continue developing the ultra successful Spyder or whether it is best to support customer teams in LMP2 and GT classes - especially now that Audi have drastically reduced their involvement in both the ALMS and LMS series.
A Porsche/Penske challenge on LMP2 at Le Mans has not been totally discounted, neither have any firm commitments been made. The organisers of Le Mans have offered Penske two starting places but that is all that is certain at present.

Audi R15

Audi will defend its Le Mans{link} title with a new endurance LMP1 diesel competition car. Head of Audi Motorsport Dr Wolfgang Ullrich commented "The step from R10 to R15 is significantly larger than it was from the R8 to the R10." Despite having a lighter, more compact TDI engine the R15 will, unfortunately, have a more limited campaign than either the R8 (petrol powered) or R10 (TDI).
Due to the global economic crisis/uncertainty Audi have withdrawn from both the ALMS {link} and LMS {link} series leaving the R15 to contest Sebring and Le Mans in 2009. Where that leaves the Champion team who ran the ALMS Audi effort is, at present, somewhat unclear.