Lorinser C350.

Swabian tuner Lorinser {link} have subtly and suitably modified the Mercedes C350 improving performance and aesthetics with great attention to detail.

Lorinser's styling is muted yet still impressive with a new front spoiler, side skirts and rear bumper all adding to the appearance of the C class. The rear bumper allows the special Lorinser exhausts to exit with no issues regarding bodywork fouling. Complimenting the body styling as well as improving handling is a sports suspension kit that lowers the C class 10mm all round, when used in conjunction with Lorinser's 19" wheels the improvements to poise and appearance are marked.

As with most German tuners Lorinser are not purely about show, they endow their chosen cars with 'go' too! By altering the camshafts and engine management Lorinser are able to raise the power of the normally aspirated V6 from 272PS to a more impressive and equally usable 305PS. An increase in torque is also delivered by the tuning kit. Whilst power and torque figures rise fuel consumption should in fact reduce thanks to clever programming of the ECU.

9ff Porsche GT2.

Porsche tuner 9ff {link} have turned their attention to the GT2 with impressive results. Using traditional tuning techniques in conjuction with modified electronics 9ff have been able to improve the performance of the GT2 considerably.

Whilst a standard Porsche GT2 offers a more than adequate 530PS 9ff's GT2 offers up to a stunning 910PS with a similar increase in torque. Combine all the extra power and torque with a new exhaust system, radically improved suspension and braking and 9ff's GT2 becomes and extremely capable and stunningly fast track day car, it is also a fiendishly fast road car!

Mercedes E class.

Mercedes {link} will debut the E class Estate at this year's Frankfurt Motorshow. Sales of the E class T (as the estate is to be known) will commence directly after the show. Specification and costs are to be widely similar to the current saloon.

At the show Mercedes will also allow the motoring public a first glance at the E class cabrio. This is the new incarnation of the CLK and will, once again, use a material (rather than metal) folding roof. Styling will be dictated by the current E class model with a deep A pillar ensuring that around 50% of the door opening is covered by the windscreen.

Specification and pricing of the E class cabrio are not yet set and could well be swayed by how the current economic crisis develops. Engines will, naturally, include both diesel and petrol variants with range topping turbo versions expected. An AMG E class cabrio will follow in early 2010.

Bahrain Grand Prix.

Jenson Button and his Mercedes powered Brawn GP car were victorious for the 3rd time this season. Button dominated the Bahrain Grand Prix and took an impressive victory from the second row of the starting grid. The other Brawn GP car of Rubens Barrichello finished down in 5th place behind a rejuvenated Lewis Hamilton in the ever improving McLaren Mercedes. These three drivers were the high points for the Stuttgart engine builders as Hamilton's Mclaren Mercedes team mate suffered a frustrating event finally crossing the line in a less than impressive 12th overall. The Force Indias of Fisichella and Sutil struggled in the hot and dry conditions and finished 15th and 16th.

BMW suffered an even worse fate and ended up with Nick Heidfeld the last car running (19th overall) and Robert Kubica circulating just in front of his team mate in 18th position. The Bavarian-Swiss team suffered a horrible weekend and are hoping that a return to European circuits will revitalise their waning fortunes!

1. Button Brawn GP / Mercedes
2. Vettel Red Bull / Renault
3. Trulli Toyota
4. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes
5. Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes
6. Glock Toyota
7. Raikkonen Ferrari
8. Alonso Renault
9. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
10. Piquet Renault
11. Webber Red Bull / Renault
12. Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes
13. Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari
14. Massa Ferrari
15. Fisichella Force India / Mercedes
16. Sutil Force India/Mercedes
17. Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari
18. Kubica BMW Sauber
19. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
Retired Nakajima Williams / Toyota

Passat ends Prius’ reign!

Volkswagen {link} have scored an impressive environmental victory over Toyota and the Prius. Seen as THE green car the Toyota Prius has just been beaten to the title of most environmental car by the Volkswagen Passat 1.4TSI EcoFuel. The Passat outperformed the Prius on economy and emissions in the ADAC’s Eco Test 2009 making it the leanest and most environmentally friendly car available in Germany.
With over 900 cars tested the result really is significant as is the fact that the winning car is not an electro-hybrid. In fact the EcoFuel concept could shake the electro-hybrid concept to its very core.
By using both a supercharger and turbocharger (as seen on petrol TSI engines) Volkswagen have been able to produce an exceptionally clean engine that runs on natural gas but offers petrol performance. The VW Passat EcoFuel offers a 0-62 time of just under 10 seconds with a top speed of around 130mph. Using gas alone it has a range of over 270 miles which can be extended to a total of around 550 miles by using petrol.
Volkswagen have proved the EcoFuel concept is environmentally excellent and are expected to introduce it into their smaller (and lighter) models quickly. An EcoFuel Jetta should offer even better driving and environmental performance than the larger Passat, the Prius’ time appears to be passing and passing quickly.

Current Formula 1 standings.

Drivers Championship

1. Jenson Button Brawn GP / Mercedes 21
2. Rubens Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes 15
3. Sebastian Vettel Red Bull / Renault 10
4. Timo Glock Toyota 10
5. Mark Webber Red Bull / Renault 9½
6. Jarno Trulli Toyota 8½
7. Nick Heidfeld BMW Sauber 4
8. Fernando Alonso Renault 4
9. Heikki Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes 4
10. Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes 4
11. Nico Rosberg Williams / Toyota 3½
12. Sebastien Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari 3
13. Sebastien Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari 1
14. Adrian Sutil Force India / Mercedes 0
15. Felipe Massa Ferrari 0
16. Kimi Raikkonen Ferrari 0
17. Giancarlo Fisichella Force India / Mercedes 0
18. Kazuki Nakajima Williams / Toyota 0
19. Robert Kubica BMW Sauber 0
20. Nelson Piquet Jr Renault 0

Teams Championship

1. Brawn GP / Mercedes 36
2. Red Bull / Renault 19½
3. Toyota 18½
4. McLaren / Mercedes 8
5. Toro Rosso / Ferrari 4
6. Renault 4
7. BMW Sauber 4
8. Williams-Toyota 3½
9. Force India-Mercedes 0
10. Ferrari 0

Chinese Grand Prix.

The second wet race of this year's Formula 1 World Championship saw the first non-Mercedes powered team to claim victory with Red Bull eclipsing Brawn GP and securing an impressive 1st and 2nd overall. Championship leader Jenson Button finished 3rd with Rubens Barrichello finishing 4th in the second Brawn GP car.

Mclaren Mercedes saw their fortunes improve with their drivers rounding out the top 6, Kovalainen taking 5th whilst a mistake-prone Hamilton finished 6th.

Force India driver Adrian Sutil had a very strong showing running as high a 6th before fate intervened and an aquaplaning moment threw his car nose first into the tyre wall. Sutil was unhurt but it was a big blow to the third team using Mercedes engines.

BMW had a trying race with neither car showing the performance expected from the Swiss / Bavarian racers. Heidfeld struggled home in 12th with Kubica finishing an eventful race in 13th overall. That Kubica finished at all was testament to how well BMW build their F1 cars, a coming together between the Pole and Toyota's Jarno Trulli saw Kubica launched skywards in a shower of shattered carbon fibre bodyparts.

Force India's Fisichella finished just behind Kubica in 14th place, a disappointing result after Sutil's excellent, yet unrewarded, drive.

1. Vettel Red Bull / Renault
2. Webber Red Bull / Renault
3. Button Brawn GP / Mercedes
4. Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes
5. Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes
6. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes
7. Glock Toyota
8. Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari
9. Alonso Renault
10. Raikkonen Ferrari
11. Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari
12. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
13. Kubica BMW Sauber
14. Fisichella Force India / Mercedes
15. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
16. Piquet Renault
17. Sutil Force India/Mercedes
Retired Nakajima Williams / Toyota
Retired Massa Ferrari
Retired Trulli Toyota

Opel / Vauxhall Astra.

September 2009 sees the launch (all being well) of the latest incarnation of the Opel / Vauxhall Astra.

Taking design elements from the well received Insignia the new Astra aims to build upon the reputation forged by the current model. The modern yet functional design is pleasing on the eye but still distinctive in an age of bland cars.

The new Astra hatchback has grown some 15cms in length compared to the outgoing model whilst the estate, to be known as the Sports Tourer, is 20cms longer. All new Astras will benefit from a higher specification as standard along with a range of new (to the Astra) features including four wheel drive, adaptive damping, and electronic parking brake.

Motivation will be supplied by a range of new and current engines including a 1.4 petrol in both turbocharged and non-turbocharged form plus a wide selection of diesel engines including the ever popular 1700 turbo. The new 1.4 non-turbo engine will offer exceptionally low emissions and make use of a start-stop system.

A new sports variant is designed to compete directly against Volkswagen's popular relaunched Scirocco and will be known as the GTC is Europe and (more than likely) the VXR in the UK.

Prices have yet to be announced but there is not expected to be much variance from the current model.

British Formula 3.

The first 2 rounds of this year's British Formula 3 {link} series saw returnee Volkswagen {link} win both races. After an absence of over 15 years Volkswagen engines were powering British F3 cars once again last weekend with unexpectedly impressive results.

Series front runners Carlin Motorsport {link} switched from Mercedes power over the winter and were rewarded with victory in both races as Australian Daniel Ricciardo dominated both rounds. Volkswagen's other British team T Sport {link} has a slightly less successful debut with the Wolfsburg's company engines, struggling for outright pace with their best placed driver finishing in the bottom half of the top 10 on both occasions.

Malaysian Grand Prix.

The Malaysian Grand Prix was red-flagged because torrential rain made driving conditions excessively dangerous. After a long break the final results proved more than favourable for Mercedes and offered a ray of hope to BMW.

Once again the team showing all the speed were Brawn GP with their Mercedes engines, so it was no surprise to see Jenson Button on the top step of the podium after a commanding drive. Two wins from two races is a remarkable result from the team that didn't exist 2 months ago! Rubens Barrichello finished a disappointed 5th overall keeping Brawn GP on top of the manufacturer standings too.

Nick Heidfeld drove a canny and unremarkable race to finish second overall and offer his team encouragement after they saw Robert Kubica retire with engine failure after just one lap.

McLaren Mercedes continue to struggle and Lewis Hamilton was finally classified 7th overall after the heavens opened, his team mate Heikki Kovalainen retired on the first lap (just as he did in Australia).

Force India struggled with the varying conditions and heavy rain ultimately being the final classified finishers down in 17th and 18th positions.

1. Button Brawn GP / Mercedes
2. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
3. Glock Toyota
4. Trulli Toyota
5. Barrichello Brawn GP / Mercedes
6. Webber Red Bull / Renault
7. Hamilton McLaren Mercedes
8. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
9. Massa Ferrari
10. Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari
11. Alonso Renault
12 Nakajima Williams / Toyota
13. Piquet Renault
14. Raikkonen Ferrari
15. Vettel Red Bull / Renault
16. Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari
17. Sutil Force India/Mercedes
18. Fisichella Force India / Mercedes
Retired Kubica BMW Sauber
Retired Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes

Audi R15 at Le Mans.

Audi {link} have confirmed their driver line up for the Le Mans 24 hour race. The nine drivers are Alexandre Premat, Allan McNish, Lucas Luhr, Marco Werner, Mike Rockenfeller, Rinaldo Capello, Romain Dumas, Timo Bernhard and Tom Kristensen. All have plenty of endurance racing experience including Le Mans and Sebring.

Revised Australian Grand Prix result.

After a bit or rule breaking by McLaren and Lewis Hamilton the FIA have seen fit to disqualify Hamilton from last weekend's race. The revised results now read as follows:~

1. Button Brawn GP
2. Barrichello Brawn GP
3. Trulli Toyota
4. Glock Toyota
5. Alonso Renault
6. Rosberg Williams / Toyota
7. Buemi Toro Rosso / Ferrari
8. Bourdais Toro Rosso / Ferrari
9. Sutil Force India/Mercedes
10. Heidfeld BMW Sauber
11. Fisichella Force India / Mercedes
12. Webber Red Bull / Renault
13. Vettel Red Bull / Renault
14. Kubica BMW Sauber
15. Raikkonen Ferrari

Retired Massa Ferrari
Retired Piquet Renault
Retired Nakajima Williams / Toyota
Retired Kovalainen McLaren Mercedes

Disqualified Hamilton McLaren Mercedes

Hamann BMW X6 Tycoon

Hamann {link} have a reputation for extreme makeovers in the tuning world and their BMW X6 Tycoon is no exception! The first thing that strikes you about the Hamann Tycoon is the styling, the Tycoon a wide body BMW X6 sitting some 6cms wider than a standard X6. To give the X6 the Tycoon treatment Hamann have replaced the front wings, fitted rear wheel arch extensions, added a rear diffuser, added a front spoiler bumper combination with LED driving lights, fitted a roof spoiler and cover the engine bay in a new carbon bonnet.
The Hamann Tycoon is lowered approximately 40mm despite having 11x23” wheels fitted to the front and 12x23” wheels fitted to the rear; all 4 wheels are covered by 315/25 tyres. The wheels have spacers fitted to ensure they fill the extra wide Tycoon arches perfectly.
Not only does the exterior of the Hamann Tycoon benefit from a styling makeover there are touches added to the interior too including deluxe mats in the foot wells and boot, aluminium pedals, carbon dash inserts, sports airbag steering wheel plus a speedometer that goes up to 300km/h (approx 186mph).
With engine tuning available on all petrol and diesel variants the driver of a Hamann Tycoon can have tuning upgrades of up to 360PS (35i) or just have the speed limiter removed from the range topping 50i.
The Hamann Tycoon is no shrinking violet, there is very little subtle about the styling of X6 and yet it does not look too over-the-top. The lines, grilles, vents and bulges all add aggression to the styling of BMW’s sport SUV and yet it does not look like (to coin a phrase) a chip-shop-racer. Certainly it will not be to everyone’s taste but the Hamann Tycoon is impressively built with excellent, quality products as befits anything from the Hamann stable.

B&B VW Eos

B&B {link} have created a highly impressive and exceptionally powerful version of the Volkswagen Eos to complete their range of tuning options for VW’s ever popular cabriolet.
By turbo-charging the 3.2 litre V6 Eos B&B have been able to extract a staggering 500PS and 650Nm of torque giving a claimed 0-62mph time of 4.2 seconds and a top speed (according to B&B) of 190mph, making this particular Eos exceptionally fast indeed! Naturally B&B haven’t just bolted a turbo on to the V6 and hoped for the best, the engine tuning is careful, considered and to the highest specification and includes items such a forged pistons, fuel pump, inlet manifold, exhaust system, engine management, hoses, etc.
To compliment the extensive engine modifications B&B’s 3.2 turbo Eos come with the choice of 6 pot brake callipers, braided flexible hoses and adjustable coilover suspension. These upgrades help keep the Eos as driver friendly as possible whilst allowing the sheer power of the engine to be transmitted safely to the tarmac.
In conjunction with the extreme engine package the B&B VW Eos comes with a more subtle styling kit including side skirts, front and rear spoilers and a rear valance. There are also a range of wheels available in 8x18”, 8½x18” and 8½x19”.
All of the brake, suspension, styling and wheels options are available to fit any VW Eos and B&B offer a complete range of (more mundane) engine tuning kits for all Eos models. Their 3.2 V6 turbo just happens to be the ultimate performance Eos currently available!

Australian Grand Prix

The first round of the 2009 Formula 1 World Championship {link} proved to be tremendous for Mercedes and disaterous for BMW.

Brawn GP scored a dramatic first and second overall in their maiden GP whilst a time penalty after the racing had finished promoted McLaren to 3rd overall.

The weekend was dominated by the new Brawn GP team with Jenson Button out performing Rubens Barrichello throughout the weekend and taking a deserved and impressive victory. Barrichello required a little bit of luck and fortune to recover from a poor start to claim second overall.

Lewis Hamilton benefited from a selection of crashes and bumps to claim fourth position on the road, this then became third once Jarno Trulli was penalised for overtaking when yellow flags were being shown.

Mercedes engines thus powered the top 3 cars in Australia which seemed exceptionally unlikely given that the McLarens quailified 14th and 15th and Force India (the other team using Mercedes engines) qualified 18th and 19th.

BMW's event ended with a poor showing in the final results but with encouraging signs of performance, especially from Robert Kubica who qualified 4th but was taken out of the race by a rampant Red Bull!

The teams now move on to Malaysia for next weekend's Malaysian Grand Prix {link} with Brawn GP and Mercedes hoping to continue their excellent form.