Pic of the Week - 05/25/2010

For the first time in decades Lotus is back at the Indy 500!!!
Pictured here is Takuma Sato prior to qualifying.

Formula One Back in the US

Formula One World Championship Limited and Formula One Administration Limited (together, the F1 Commercial Rights Holder) and Full Throttle Productions, LP, promoter of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™, announce that a historic agreement has been reached for Austin, Texas to serve as the host city of the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™ for years 2012 through 2021. The race will be held at a purpose built Formula 1 track facility.

Bernie Ecclestone, President and CEO of the Formula One Group stated: “For the first time in the history of Formula One in the United States, a world-class facility will be purpose-built to host the event. It was thirty years ago that the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™ was last held on a purpose-built permanent road course circuit in Watkins Glen, NY (1961-1980), which enjoyed great success. Since then, Formula One has been hosted by Long Beach, Las Vegas, Detroit, Dallas and Phoenix all on temporary street circuits. Indianapolis joined the ranks of host cities in 2000 when they added a road course inside the famed oval. Lewis Hamilton won the last Formula 1 United States Grand Prix™ in 2007, signaling the end to eight years at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This however, will be the first time a facility is constructed from the ground up specifically for Formula One in the US.”


Text as seen at Formula1.com

458 Italia Challenge Car?

The first images of a potential 458 Italia Challenge car have been snapped in Maranello. Notice the subtle difference between the picture above and the 458 Italia street car. Single lug light wight wheels, Lexan Window, tow hooks, hood pins, etc. The extremely potent 458 should make for a truly fantastic race car. Which means the future of the single make Ferrari Challenge series should remain very interesting for years to come.

Aston Martin Success at Nurburgring 24hrs

The factory-entered Rapide, appearing in near standard-guise, just as the production car version starts to reach customers around the world, lodged a claim for one of the stand-out performers of the race having run faultlessly for the whole 24-hours. Enjoying consistent running at the hands of drivers Aston Martin CEO, Dr Ulrich Bez, journalist, Matthew Marsh, the company’s Nürburgring Test Centre Director, Wolfgang Schuhbauer and engineering manager, Chris Porritt, the Rapide rose from a qualifying position of 79th overall (8th in class) to take 34th overall and 2nd in class.

After taking the wheel for the final stint in the Rapide, Aston Martin Chief Executive, Dr Ulrich Bez said: “Our main objective was to come here with our new four-door Rapide, just as we would with any of our sports cars and prove its ability and reliability in what I strongly believe is the toughest race in the world. The car we ran in this race featured some weight savings, a standard production six-speed automatic gearbox, standard engine and FIA approved safety modifications. We have succeeded in what we set out to achieve."

Other Aston Martin Highlights from Nurburgring Race
· Aston Martin takes double class podium at Nürburgring 24-hour race 2010
· V12 Vantage with new aerodynamic enhancements runs into problems after 17 faultless hours, but makes dramatic recovery to take third in class
· Majority of customer entries finish the 24-hour race
· Mathol Racing V8 Vantage records a SP10 class victory

Qualifying - Monaco Grand Prix

An interesting morning warm-up saw Fernando Alonso slip up and stuff his car into the wall at Massenet. The damage was enough for the Spaniard to miss the afternoon qualifying. His mechanics will work through the evening in order to get the Ferrari ready for tomorrow's race. The uncharacteristic mistake means that Alonso will start from Pit Lane at a track that is notoriously difficult for overtaking.

Both Ferraris had been quick all weekend and Felipe Massa was able to bring his Ferrari to the 3 stage of qualifying. With a lap of 1:14.283 the crafty Brazilian finds himself 4th on the grid 0.457 seconds behind Australian Mark Webber who qualified on the pole.

Qualifying Results
1) Mark Webber.....1:13.826
2) Robert Kubica.....1:14.120
3) Sebastian Vettel.....1:14.227
4) Felipe Massa.....1:14.283
5) Lewis Hamilton.....1:14.432
6) Nico Rosberg.....1:14.544

Pic of the Week - 05/13/2010

The latest Pic of the Week update is a day late but never a dollar short! A birds eye view of the track and it Uber-Glamorous surroundings taken at this years Formula 1 GP of Monaco!

CONFIRMED: V12 Vantage Coming to America

The collective prays of the American Ultra Luxury Performance Car buying public have been answered. Aston Martin has officially announced that it will offer, in limited quantities, one of its fiercest cars for the North American market.

Based on the hugely successful V8 Vantage, the V12 Vantage features a 6.0 liter V12 engine producing 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS), and 420 lb ft (570 Nm) of torque with a top speed of 190 mph (305 km/h) and a 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 4.1 seconds.

In addition to this announcement Aston has also confirmed that the car will be available as an ultra-cool Carbon Black Edition. The Carbon Black is currently offered on the DBS Coupes and Convertibles. James Bond eat your heart out!

Pic of the Week - 05/05/2010

A 2008 gathering of Ferrari F40's in Japan. That's a lot

of sexy red heads.

Ferrari a Preferred Brand for "Gen Y"

Ferrari topped the list of preferred brands for “Gen Y” men in a new international study that looked at the next generation of prestige consumers.

The study, done by New York-based L2, surveyed 450 Gen Y high-earning men and women from 45 countries and measured brands in six industry categories.

“Gen Y goodwill is arguably the closest thing to a crystal ball for predicting a brand’s long-term prospects,” said Scott Galloway, an associate professor of marketing who founded the study. “Just as Boomers drove the luxury sector for the last 20 years, brands that resonate with Gen Y, whose purchasing power will surpass that of Boomers by 2017, will be the new icons of prestige.” Cars dominated among men surveyed, taking eight of the top ten slots


Text as seen at "Canadian Driver"