Carlsson SL CK63 RS

For those who find the SL 63 AMG a little slow and mundane Mercedes tuner Carlsson {link} have the answer, their SL CK63 RS.
Minor yet effective tuning results in a 600PS cabriolet that sprint from 0-62mph in an impressive 4.1 seconds and reaches a top speed of a remarkable 200mph! To cope with the extra 75PS the brakes and suspension receive upgrades with carbon pads and huge discs (398mm front & 330mm rear) providing the stopping power whilst the electronically controlled 30mm lowering of the suspension keeps traction at the highest level. 20 inch wheels (9½” wide at the front and a staggering 11” wide at the rear) are clothed in ultra low profile tyres and have the task of finally transmitting the 705Nm of torque produced by the engines onto the road.
There are not many 600PS cabriolets in the world and the Carlsson SL CK63 RS is a fine example of the art of tuning. Subtle body alterations (front bumper, side skirts and rear diffuser) provide aerodynamic aide as well as nice styling and as with everything on the car form and function are in harmony.
A Carlsson SL CK63 RS in Carlsson’s owm Stealth titanium graphite paint (virtually matt black) costs £270,000 including full interior details such as alcantara, velour mats and sports pedals. Carlsson will happily convert customer’s SL 63 AMGs to any desired spec.

WTCC, getting better for BMW

After an undeniably bad start to the World Touring Car Championship {link} in Brazil BMW's fortunes improved dramatically (and surprisingly) in Mexico for rounds 3 & 4.

Round 3 saw 3 BMWs in the top 5 after a most impressive qualifying saw BMW lockout the front row of the grid. Augusto Farfus finished 2 overall with former WTCC champion Andy Priaulx (who set the fastest race lap) in third and Jorg Muller 5th.

Round 4 once again saw 3 BMWs in the top 5 with Priaulx this time finishing 2nd/ Farfus finished 4th overall and Sergio Hernandez rounded out the top 5. Fastest race lap this time went to Jorg Muller in his BMW capping a far better weekend for the Bavarian manufacturer.

Augusto Farfus heads off to rounds 5 & 6 in Marrakesh, Morocco 3rd in the championship a mere 10 points behind the joint leaders. With the coming circuits expected to be more favourable to the front-engined rear wheel drive BMW 320si E90s.

Formula 1 2009

The 2009 Formula 1 championship starts this coming weekend in Australia. By Sunday afternoon the world will know if BMW are running a KERS system for the whole season, if McLaren's poor winter testing performances have been sandbagging or not, whether the combination of Mercedes power and a Ross Brawn chassis is really as fast as it seems.

Winter testing times imply that McLaren {link} have struggled to find speed in their MP4-24 with team boss Martin Whitmarsh publicly acknowledging the fact. Melbourne and the opening race will give a far more accurate picture to every team's performance and McLaren will have nowhere to hide. Their car will either prove to be as slow as some believe it to be or they will be challenging for outright victory as most expect.

Mercedes engines are powering 3 teams this year and dramatically it is not McLaren who have been the fastest of the 3. New team Brawn GP {link} have shocked the F1 world with their, frankly, stunning pace in winter testing. Whether they are able to carry this into the actual 2009 season remains to be seen but things are looking good for F1's newest team. One possible blot on the landscape for Brawn GP is controversy surrounding their diffuser, which some teams 9including Red Bull) deem to be too large. Expect this debate to rumble with protests being a possibility in Melbourne.....

The final team using Mercedes engines in Formula 1 are Force India {link}. Winter testing has been reasonably successful for the team although they have not had the impact that Brawn GP have. Force India's main focus is to challenge for mid-field places as they continue their development as a F1 team.

BMW Sauber {link} have had a very successful winter testing and are expected to seriously challenge not only for outright race wins but also for the championship too. One of the few teams that have really embraced the KERS idea it remains a little uncertain as to whether they will use a form of KERS in Melbourne. The benefits and drawbacks of KERS have yet to be fully seen in an actual F1 race meaning there will be even more interest in the Bavarian-Swiss team than normal.

Melbourne should prove to be a very interesting and action packed Formula 1 weekend, with so many questions to be answered the only safe bet is the old adage when the flag drops the BS stops!

Sebring 12 hours

Audi {link} were celebrating the debut win of the R15 on Sunday as it won the Sebring 12 hours. The new car was relatively untested making the win hugely impressive. Even more remarkable was that this year's Sebring race covered the greatest distance at the highest average speed ever, thus the Audi R15 truly had a baptism of fire.

The other German car debuting at the Sebring 12 hours was far less successful. BMW's E92 M3s showed great pace in spurts but both Rahal Letterman Racing {link} cars retired before 6 hours of racing has passed.

They were not the only GT2 cars to suffer at Sebring as the expected Porsche challenge never really got started with not one of the Stuttgart marque making it into the top 3 in GT2.

BMW struggle in WTCC

The first 2 races of the FIA World Touring Car Championship saw BMW struggle against the diesel powered SEATs.

Held at the Brazilian Curitiba circuit BMW were left fighting for places in the lower half of the top 10 in race one. Highest placed BMW driver was Augusto Farfus in a disappointing 6th overall, Sergio Hernandez finished 7th with former WTCC champion Andy Priaulx coming home a un-impressed 9th overall.

Despite having pole and 2 on the grid for race 2 BMW were unable to keep those positions and slumped down to 5th, 6th and 7th. Once again Andy Priaulx struggled home a disappointing and un-impressive 9th overall.

Worse for BMW is that the next 2 rounds in the WTCC are being held at Puebla, Mexico and the high altitude, tight, twisty circuit is expected to give the TDI SEATs an even greater performance advantage.

Audi A5 Cabriolet

The Audi A5 Cabriolet model range are ready for the European dealerships, delivers start May 2009 with the UK a few months behind.

Top of the range is the S5 Cabrio offering 333PS from its turbocharged V6 (which is available only in the Cabrio S5) below which sit a comprehensive range of both petrol and diesel models including a 240PS 3 litre V6 TDI and a 3.2 litre 265PS petrol. Whilst the large, powerful engines are available right from the model introduction the lower power 2 litre and 1800 TFSI engines will follow on a few months after launch.

New to the A5 and S5 cabriolet are the LED rear lights, separating it styling wise from the roofed version. The S5 version comes with the now traditional aluminium mirror covers, deeper front spoiler and S badging.
Safety and practicality were watch words during the A5 and S5 cabriolet development, the end result is that head airbags and a hidden roll bar are standard. Split, folding rear seats allow large and awkward items to be carried even with the roof down. The Audi A5 and S5 Cabriolet offer 2 hood options; a normal hood or a heavier, more sound-proofed version for those who want a quieter cabrio experience!

A Quattro version using both diesel and petrol V6s are available. Prices start around £30000 for the entry model.

Opel & Vauxhall to stop building cabriolets?

With both companies in a state of turmoil it appears that Opel (and Vauxhall) may be calling time on their range of cabriolets. The Opel Astra Twin Top, GT and Tigra plus the Vauxhall Astra Twin Top and Tigra have not sold in numbers high enough to justify them as part of the struggling car groups model range.

Problems with the complex solid roof on the Astra and Tigra have not helped sales, nor has the lack of price advantage. Sales have seemingly started to stagnate and with the global economic downturn in full swing the Opel and Vauxhall cabriolets may be high profile victims of restructuring and cost savings.

Porsche Cayenne Diesel

Porsche have broken one of their own greatest taboos, they now produce a diesel car. Having made tractors many, many years ago Porsche eshewed from diesel technology implying it lacked the performance and desirability required for engines in their performance cars. All that has now changed.....

The new diesel Cayenne uses a 3 litre V6 turbocharged engine producing a reasonable 240PS and 550Nm of torque. These figures are not overly impressive although the do translate into sprightly (yet not stunning) performance at lower speeds. As the speeds increase the burden placed on the (relatively) small engine becomes clear and acceleration tails off drastically as 90-100mph is reached.

The diesel Cayenne is a breakthrough for Porsche, it will (hopefully) encourage the comapny to embrace heavy oil technology more and for that reason alone this Cayenne should be praised. As a diesel SUV the Cayenne falls a little short, offering lower levels of performance compared to competitors from Audi, BMW, Mercedes and even Volkswagen.

Those looking for a more frugal Cayenne will find the diesel model offers a reasonable alternative, it could be a little better though.

Sebring 12 Hours

Audi and BMW start their racing seasons this weekend at Sebring International Raceway in the Sebring 12 hours {link}. The ALMS opening round sees the cream of American sportscar racing battle it out round the oldest road course race track in America.

Despite not entering the ALMS this year (citing the economic downturn) Audi are hoping to continue the winning tradition started by the ultra-successful R8 and R10 TDI. Times from testing have shown the R15 to be the fastest car in its class and overall by well over half a second. With the R15 TDI only expected to appear at Sebring and Le Mans the pressure is on Audi to win both of the classic endurance sparts car events.

BMW have entered a brace of E92 M3s run by the Rahal Letterman team into GT2. Whilst they were trailing the Flying Lizard Porsche 997 GT3 RSR after the first test day there pace was impressive. Both Flying Lizard and Rahal Letterman are expected to complete the whole ALMS championship so the BMW v Porsche battle is expected to be played out throughout the year.

The most powerful SUV in world.

This month's Geneva Motorshow saw 2 claims for the world's most powerful SUV. First Brabus {link} unleashed their 700PS twin turbo G V12 S (based on the Mercedes G Class) then Mansory {link} unveiled their 710PS Chopster (based on the Porsche Cayenne.)!! Whilst the Chopster has a higher power figure its turbocharged V8 offers a mere 900Nm of torque compared to the G V12 S and its 1320Nm of torque!

The power and torque of both Über-SUVs endows them with performance that leaves all bar the hottest of hatches realing in their wake, unfortunately they both also come with very high price tags too!

Audi A4 Allroad

Audi gave the A4 Allroad its debut at the recent Geneva Motorshow. Following the ethos of the A6 Allroad the Audi A4 Allroad offers extra ground clearance compared to the standard A4 estate. Engine choice is limited to 1 petrol and diesel options, none of which are exactly frugal. Standard specification is good and the A4 Allroad is exoected to sell as well as the A6 if not a little better, whilst never likely to become a large volume seller Audi expect to sell enough units to fully justify the development costs.

Prices start at around £32000 and deliveries are due with German dealers at the beginning of the summer.

Opel / Vauxhall Ampera

Opel / Vauxhall launched the Ampera at this month's Geneva Motorshow. Far from being a show stopping concept the Ampera is scheduled for a 2012 launch - if the two companies survive the current economic turmoil they find themselves in!

Designed to offer a range of over 300 miles the Ampera is a revolutionary 5 seat electric car although it does have an internal combustion engine to charge the battery / provide electricity when the battery is depleted. Using battery power along the Ampera's range is a mere 40 miles but with boosts from the motor this streches more than 300 miles.

The battery can be charged at home or work using 'normal' electricity (i.e. 240 volt standard main power) ensuring the Ampera is practical and user friendly. As this is written the battery packs designed for the Ampera are being tested to destruction by Opel and Vauxhall engineers who are aiming to ensure that no spraks fly regarding the reliability of the Ampera.....

Volkswagen Golf R20

Volkswagen have seemingly opted to scrap the sweet sounding top preforming V6 powered Golf R32 replacing it with a 2 litre turbocharged 4 cylinder Golf known as the R20.

It may have a smaller model number but the R20 will out perform the R32 in all areas. Volkswagen will continue the Golf R tradition by making the 270PS direct injection R20 four wheel drive.

Performance is expected to be better than any of the current hot hatch range, including the new Ford Focus RS, with pricing being exceptionally competitive.

Audi R15.

Audi is readying the all new R15 TDI LMP1 race car in preparation for its assault on the Mobil 1 12 hours of Sebring (21st March 2009) and then the Le Mans 24 hours.

First pictures of the new car clearly show how R15 is a new car, carrying very little over from the R10. The new V10 TDI engine produces 600PS and around 1050Nm of torque whilst remaining efficient, compact and light weight.

Lotec Sirius

2009 sees the launch of a revised Lotec Sirius. Not the most well known of supercars the Sirius is made in south Germany by tuning and Motosport company Lotec {link}.
Originally introduced in the first half of 2004 (pictured below) the Sirius is a supercar of note, weighing in at just under 1300kgs with power of between 1000 and 1200PS depending on turbo settings. A twin turbo (KKK K27s) 6 litre Mercedes V12 provided the power whilst a six speed gearbox and limited slip differential deliver the power to the rear wheels. Torque figures are equally as impressive as the PS figures with between 1100 and 1320Nm available from 3400rpm.
The 2009 Sirius sports a more refined carbon body over its steel space frame chassis with styling similarities to the McLaren GTR. A Mercedes engine is once again to be used but expect power figures to be a little lower than the outgoing model. prices and delivery times are still a little vague at present but the plunging € could mean any British buyer may have to pay between £450000 and £800000 for a Lotec Sirius.