Ferrari SF15-T revealed

Ferrari have officially unveiled the SF15-T, the car the Italian team hope will return them to winning ways in 2015. 

The new machine, which will be driven by Ferrari’s all-world champion line-up of Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, is noticeably different in appearance to last year’s underwhelming F14 T, which became the first Ferrari since 1993 not to score a Grand Prix victory.

“Last year we had an unacceptably large gap in our performance,” technical director James Allison told Ferrari's website. “We’ve tried to make sure that the weaknesses that we felt were particularly noticeable on the ‘14 car were put right for the ‘15 car.”

Like other 2015 cars, the most obvious change from last year is at the front where a long flat nose has been introducued in response to recent rule changes. However, Allison says the rear of the SF15-T received similar attention: “The back of the car is something that is noticeably different from the 2014 car. We have been successful in pulling the bodywork much tighter to all the stuff underneath the skin. That’s been done from a lot of work, not just in the wind tunnel, but also in the design part of the company to try to find radiator designs that were fundamentally more efficient. 

“For every square centimetre of radiator we’re able to extract more cooling this year than last and therefore were able to close the car down at the back as a consequence.”

Another crucial area of development for the Scuderia over the winter was on their power unit, which struggled against the might of Mercedes in 2014.

“We had a number of issues with last year’s power unit,” explained Allison. “Early on in the season the power delivery was not particularly sophisticated so it was tough for the drivers to get the throttle response they wanted. That improved a lot during the season and we’ve taken it a step further for the SF15-T. 

“A definite weakness of last year’s car was that the amount of electrical energy we were able to recover from the turbo was not really good enough for producing competitive power levels during the race. That’s an area where we’ve tried to change the architecture of the engine to make it a better compromise between qualifying and racing performance. 

“And then plain simple horsepower. Enormous amounts of work has gone into all aspects of our combustion efficiency to try to make sure that in this fuel limited formula where every team is only allowed to burn the same amount of fuel, that every single compression stroke, every single ignition stroke is extracting the maximum amount of horsepower and putting it on the road.”

Maurizio Arrivabene, whose appointment as team principal in November was one of a number of key staffing changes at Ferrari over the winter, was full of praise for the new machine.

“Enzo Ferrari said a long time ago that the best car is the winning car. Last year we had an ugly car and it was a non-winning car. I like the car this year in terms of aesthetics. I don’t know about the performance (but) it’s really sexy."

Arrivabene had previously stated that Ferrari’s objective for 2015 should be to win at least two races, and the Italian sees no reason to change that goal.

“I am just realistic,” he said. “Nobody has the magic to change things when things are unchangeable. The car was ready in December and we applied certain modifications that in our opinion are quite interesting. I don’t want to say that we are going to win the world championship but for sure we are committed to win at least two races.

“The work to do is to enhance the team spirit, the passion that was a little bit lost in the past few years and to work together very hard with one objective: to win as much as possible.”

The SF15-T is expected to make its track debut at the start of pre-season testing in Spain this Sunday.

source: formula1.com

Mercedes W06 2015 F1 car completes shakedown at Silverstone

Mercedes has provided a glimpse of what its new Formula 1 car looks like, after a shakedown at Silverstone on Thursday and released the first proper images of the car

The team elected to run a systems check in Britain before sending it to the first test at Jerez in Spain this weekend, where it will be officially launched on Sunday.

Nico Rosberg was drafted in for driving duties.

Teaser videos posted by the team on Twitter offered the first look at the new car, and it later issued a side-on shot showing the revised livery.

Although the images are not entirely clear, it is possible to ascertain some initial details.

Revised Acura NSX showcased at NAIAS

Acura unleashed its new NSX on America's most significant auto show in Detroit on Monday with improvements that make it faster, bigger and even more in-your-face.

The NSX is the sports car that stunned the automotive world 25 years ago by showing that a Japanese maker could compete with the Ferraris of the world in creating an exotic, sexy and uncompromising car.

It has got a new engine, a twin-turbocharged six-cylinder powerplant, coupled with three electric motors. The new engine was larger and gulped more air, requiring significant changes to the original concept. NSX will come with a nine-speed dual clutch transmission.

NSX that goes into production in Ohio will be 3 inches longer and an inch wider. It has larger air ducts, especially behind the doors, to suck more air into the intercoolers for those two turbos.

2016 Chevrolet Volt unveiled

Chevrolet has unveiled its next generation Volt at Detroit's North American International Auto Show.

It has an all new design, more sleeker and its electric-only range has increased about a dozen miles to 50. At that point, a gas engine kicks in, which offers a total range of more than 400 miles before a fill-up and recharge are necessary. 

The engine is a new 1.5-liter unit that takes regular gas and delivers a combined fuel economy of 41 mpg when in use. Charging comes in 4.5 hours connected to a 240-volt source.

The Volt carries on the Chevy tradition of a two-screen dash. One for the instrument cluster and the other in the center stack, but both seem better and more useful. 

Remote start, heated seats, Bluetooth connectivity, and integrated LTE round out Chevrolet's usual list of tech and comfort features.

Pricing hasn't been announced, but it'll be in dealerships in the second half of 2015 as a 2016 model.

McRae inspired Fiesta RS WRC livery

M-SPORT HAS UNVEILED A STUNNING LIVERY FOR ITS FIA WORLD RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP-CHALLENGING FORD FIESTAS WHICH IS INSPIRED BY FORMER CHAMPIONS COLIN MCRAE AND HANNU MIKKOLA

Elfyn Evans and Ott Tänak will pilot Fiesta RS WRCs sporting a design that brings a modern look to famous colour schemes from over 25 years ago.

The livery is influenced by Mikkola’s famous Eaton Yale Escort RS1800, in which he won Britain’s Lombard RAC Rally in 1979, and the Sierra RS Cosworth which McRae drove in 1989.

M-Sport, which will retain support from Castrol and Michelin, will display the car at the Autosport International show in Birmingham this weekend. The livery will be seen in competition for the first time at Rallye Monte-Carlo (22 - 25 January).

Team principal Malcolm Wilson said the design delivered a fresh and exciting look whilst celebrating Ford’s long-standing presence in WRC.

“Throughout history Ford cars have produced some of the most striking colour schemes which became firm favourites around the globe,” he said.

“It’s great to see some of these iconic liveries reflected in our 2015 car – a modern twist tailoring the design to our young and ambitious team.”

*Source- www.wrc.com

F1 : Ferrari to stick with pull rod in 2015

Image shows the push rod suspension in the F150 (2011) & pull rod suspension in the F2012 (2012)

Ferrari is sticking with its unique pull-rod front suspension layout for a fourth consecutive season

Ferrari has been using the pull rod suspension since 2012, which had not previously been seen at the front of a F1 car since Minardi in 2001.

A pullrod layout can mean a lower nose, suspension and centre of gravity, but it is also known to be difficult to tune and less responsive to setup changes.

There are two main disadvantages to front pull-rod suspension. One is that the the upper wishbone must transmit more load, some of which would otherwise have been carried by the push-rod. 

The second disadvantage is it takes longer tune a pull-rod. This is important given the limited testing time in F1 today. Teams need to rapidly tune spring and damper settings and if the components are hidden away this is trickier and potentially reduces valuable track time.

Raikkonen had a season to forget last year and had been constantly complaining about the lack of precision at the front, which is a characteristic of pull rod suspension.

Caterham and Marussia to say goodbye to F1?

Both Marussia & Caterham have got very less time if they are to take any part in 2015

With just 26 days until the winter test season begins in Spain, neither of the two have committed to running at Jerez at the start of February.

“Talks with interested parties continue,” Caterham administrator Henry Shinners told the BBC, “but if a buyer is not found before the test, we will not put up the money to go.”

The team has arranged to be allowed to run its 2014 car and engine this year, but Shinners warned that any rescue deal would need to be in place within a “few weeks”.

“I wouldn’t rule anything out,” he said, “but if we reach the first race in the same position, the chances of saving the team are virtually nil.”

Marussia, whose crucial team equipment has been auctioned in a bid to pay back creditors, staff are laid off and even the Banbury headquarters could be sold to the new American 2016 team Haas are in an even worse situation.

Their only hope now is that an eleventh-hour investor might step in so that millions in official prize-money for finishing the 2014 season in ninth place can be unlocked.

“There’s still a slim hope,” team boss John Booth told the Yorkshire Post, “but it’s getting extremely late. We’ve got two weeks to complete something by. So there’s still a chance. We are talking to investors and they are positive talks.”

Force India to launch 2015 F1 car on January 21

Force India have become the first team to set a formal date for the launch of their new car. After weeks of vague timelines being given by most of the teams for the launches of their new car, Force India have become the first to set a date in stone. January 21 will see the new VJM08 revealed by drivers Nico Hulkenberg & Sergio Perez.
The launch was set to take place ‘somewhere in Mexico’, and that somewhere has been revealed as Souyama Museum in Mexico City.
Mexico has risen to prominence again in Formula 1 in the last few seasons, as drivers such as Perez & Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez have made a name for themselves, while 2015 sees a return to the South American country’s Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the Mexican GP at the start of November.
Most teams are expected to launch immediately prior to running during testing, around January 31/February 1st, but other dates being speculated are a Ferrari launch on January 24th, and a Toro Rosso launch on January 31.

WRC : No transmission of performance data

In recent years, thanks to improvements in mobile data and timing systems, WRC drivers have been able to monitor their rivals’ speed during a live stage via a stream of data messages sent from their team. By receiving splits, which were taken from the official timing system, drivers could speed up or ease off if necessary - modifying their strategy on the go.

It was a handy tool, and far superior to the old system that involved team personnel lurking on the roadside with stopwatches and pit boards. But from 2015 the drivers will have to do without it. At its meeting in December, the FIA World Motor Sport Council decided that ‘from 2015, the transmission of performance data or information to or from a competing car, not in relation with safety, is forbidden during special stages to help promote greater competition.’

So, although the live split times will continue to be available to teams (and wrc.com users) the drivers will have to rely on their intuition alone to judge their speed. And that’s going to make the familiar Sunday driver quote “I’m just keeping an eye on the pace of the guy behind” a thing of the past. And that’s great news.


*Source - www.wrc.com

F1 : The Driver's Numbers for 2015

The 18 drivers who will be racing with when the 2015 F1 season gets underway in Australia have confirmed their car numbers. The reigning world champion has the option of adopting the number one or continuing to use his career number. But Hamilton has opted to continue with his number 44.

Mercedes 

Lewis Hamilton - 44

Nico Rosberg - 6

 Red Bull

Daniel Ricciardo - 3

Daniil Kvyat - 26

Williams

Valteri Bottas - 77

Felipe Massa - 19

Ferrari

Sebastian Vettel - 5 

Kimi Raikkonen - 7

McLaren

Fernando Alonso - 14

Jenson Button - 22

Force India

Nico Hulkenberg - 27

Sergio Perez - 11

Toro Rosso

Max Verstappen  - 33

Carlos Sainz Jr. - 55

Lotus

Romain Grosjean - 8

Pastor Maldonado - 13

Sauber

Marcus Ericsson - 9

Felipe Nasr - 12

WRC : Ogier tests Volkswagen Polo R WRC for Rallye Monte-Carlo 2015

SEBASTIEN OGIER TESTING VOLKSWAGEN POLO R WRC FOR RALLYE MONTE-CARLO 2015

Ogier tests the new Polo R WRC for the 2015 season

Watch Sebastien Ogier testing Volkswagen Polo R WRC for WRC Rallye Monte-Carlo 2015.

Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003 2015

The Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus SCG 003 promises to be an entirely new type of car. It's a lightweight, modular race and road car that could redefine how we look at modern race cars. 

 Not only is he making a Le Mans car for the street that can go from road car to race car, he's shared his latest plans for the engine and chassis design in our comments. And that includes a modular architecture that can swap between a twin-turbo V6 and a twin-turbo V12.

Glickenhaus' plans to drive the SCG 003 to Le Mans, convert it, race it, then swap it back into a road car before catching a bite in Paris, he's disclosed what power plants he envisions for both legs.

The road legal SCG 003 will use a twin-turbocharged V12 with a street-worthy gearbox. When the time comes to race, that will be swapped out with a twin-turbo'd V6.

Glickenhaus says "We are offering pure road and pure race versions, as well as separate road-to-race and race-to-road conversion kits. The car is strong enough and modular so that the race roll cage can be unbolted and the race wing, race seats, race splitter, and race diffuser can easily be swapped back and forth as desired with road seats, a road wing, and road diffuser. The road version still has front and rear roll hoops."

When a forum member asked about the specific plans, Glickenhaus responded:

That's exactly what we hope to do in 2016. We'll set off from our factory in Turin with SCG 003 in road-legal configuration and drive her to Le Mans. Hopefully along the way, car clubs will escort us. In the pits, we will convert her to the race version and compete in the 24 Hours. At the race's conclusion, we'll reconvert her to road-legal condition and drive to Paris for dinner. We hope to do this at several other major endurance races as well, like NY to Daytona. For that, we may need to fit snow tires. 

Both Le Mans and Daytona have let the DeltaWing race. Why not us? 

2015 Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Pirelli Edition

Lamborghini has announced production of an exclusive new special series, the Aventador LP700-4 Pirelli Edition, created to celebrate the long and ongoing history of collaboration with prestigious Italian tire manufacturer Pirelli. The partnership began back in 1963, the year the House of the Raging Bull was established, and since then all Lamborghini cars have been equipped with Pirelli tires. The two firms share not only their Italian origins but also, and above all, a constant quest for technological innovation.

The new Aventador Pirelli Edition, available in Coupé and Roadster versions, will be produced in a special series and is available to order now from dealers, for delivery early summer 2015. The super sports car maintains all its unique technical features, first and foremost the carbon fiber monocoque, the V12 engine, pushrod suspensions and the permanent all-wheel drive, which underlie the Aventador's global success. The special Pirelli series is enhanced by exclusive equipment specifically designed by the Lamborghini Centro Stile.

The exterior sports a two-tone color scheme in two options. The first is matte black for the roof, the pillars, the rearview mirrors, the engine hood, and the front, rear, side and moving air intakes, in contrast with six glossy finishes for the rest of the body (Giallo Spica, Rosso Mars, Bianco Isis, Nero Aldebaran, Grigio Liqueo, and Grigio Ater). The second option is glossy black for the upper parts of the car and the air intakes, in contrast with four matte finishes for the rest of the exterior (Bianco Canopus, Nero Nemesis, Grigio Adamas, and Grigio Titans).

Another distinctive element of the body is a thin red stripe that runs along the roof and the engine hood, the rearview mirrors, and the outer profiles of the air intakes, a stylistic feature designed to evoke the unmistakable Pirelli branding. The Pirelli logo, once again in red, is visible at the start of the two roof lines and on the tires.

Standard equipment for the exterior also includes the transparent engine hood, the engine compartment in carbon, glossy black Dione 20"/21"rims, P Zero tires with red logo and red calipers (yellow only in the case of the Rosso Mars exterior).

The interiors of the Aventador Pirelli Edition are upholstered with black Alcantara with red contrast stitching. The red stripe on the body is also repeated on the inside, running along the interior ceiling and the seats, which feature the Lamborghini and Pirelli crests embroidered in red. Leather inserts adorn the door panels and the seat sides. And finally, to underscore its exclusiveness, each car will have a "Pirelli special series" plaque inside.

The plucky powertrain providing 515 kW (700 hp) at 8.250 U/min combined with the ultra-fast ISR transmission enables top-level performance for the Pirelli model: 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in just 2.9 seconds and top speed reaching 350 km/h.

Lamborghini and Pirelli for more than 50 years

The collaboration between Lamborghini and Pirelli dates back to 1963, the year in which Ferruccio Lamborghini turned to Pirelli to supply the tires for the first car of his newly established automotive company: the 350 GTV, presented as a prototype at the Turin Motor Show the same year.

Both this model and the street version presented the following year at the Geneva Motor Show, the 350 GT, sported Pirelli Cinturato HS tires, specifically developed at the time to equip sports cars that were already capable of reaching a top speed of 240 km/h. The abbreviation HS stood for High Speed, indicating the tire's ability to withstand the high speeds of the newly developed super sports cars of the '60s.

The year 1966 marked the definitive confirmation of the Lamborghini brand, with the introduction of the legendary Miura. Entering the Pirelli catalogue of 1967 --- along with the Lamborghini 350 GT and 400 GT - the latest member of the Sant'Agata Bolognese family was equipped with a new generation of Cinturato HS tires: the CN72, in the 205 VR 15 size. From the traditional tread pattern of the classic Cinturato CA67, the new tire brought a quieter and more comfortable design and was adopted as original equipment for all the subsequent Lamborghini models, including the Espada, which appeared in 1968. A few years later, when Lamborghini requested for the Miura a lower profile "Series 70", i.e. a tire with a much lower sidewall with respect to the width of the tread, designed to considerably improve cornering, Pirelli introduced the new Cinturato CN73 size 225/70 VR 15. This paved the way for the "low profile" tire that led to the Pirelli P7, chosen in 1971 as original equipment for the Lamborghini's new super sports car, the Countach, which dominated the entire decade of the '70s. Once again it was Lamborghini who christened on the road another new product in the Pirelli family. In 1988 the Countach "Anniversary" version - launched to mark the company's 25th anniversary - was one of the first supercars to be equipped with the new Pirelli P Zero tires.

But the partnership between Pirelli and Lamborghini has not been limited to technological aspects alone. Pirelli advertisements have often featured the supercars of the House of the Raging Bull. The Lamborghini Countach Anniversary, for example, was used in a series of Pirelli advertising campaigns aimed at the American and Southeast Asian markets, just like the Miura had starred in a campaign in 1970 for high-prestige original equipment with the eloquent title: "The Miura chose Pirelli Cinturato".

Meanwhile, between 1986 and 1988 Lamborghini produced the super-off-road vehicle LM002. For this precursor to modern luxury SUVs, Pirelli specially designed the Scorpion range of tires, with innovative features such as the use of Kevlar in the ply structure and run-flat construction. The LM002 participated in the 1988 Paris-Dakar Rally, marking the beginning of the Lamborghini/Pirelli duo in racing. The sporting collaboration between the two houses is still going strong, and Pirelli is the exclusive supplier of the one make series Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo.

1990 marked the arrival of the Lamborghini Diablo, built in 3000 units, all equipped with Pirelli PZero tires, while the early 2000s were dominated by the Murciélago (2002) and the Gallardo (2003), both fitted with PZero Rosso tires. In 2007, the Lamborghini Gallardo starred in the Pirelli film "Mission Zero" with Uma Thurman, and the same model launched Pirelli's Winter Sottozero II tire on the snows of Zermatt in 2008. In perusing this intensive album of memories, the images of today could not be left out, which continue to show Pirelli technology and safety side by side with the supercars of the House of the Raging Bull. The Veneno, a dream car created to celebrate Lamborghini's 50th anniversary, features specially developed Pirelli tires bearing a red logo that brings to mind the PZero Formula One tires. And then there's the latest entry, the Huracán, fitted with specially developed P Zero tires bearing a specific marking on the tire with the letter "L".

*Source - www.netcarshow.com

Jean-Eric Vergne to race for Andretti in Uruguay

Jean-Eric Vergne will take part in the next Formula E race in Uruguay as he starts to carve a career outside Formula One.

Vergne was ditched by Toro Rosso at the end of this year to make way for rookies Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz in 2015. This weekend he will drive for the Andretti Formula E team at the Punta del Este ePrix and he is already setting his sights high.

"It's not often that you get to race at this time of the year," Vergne said. "I am really looking forward to this opportunity, especially given its location in a place like Punta del Este. Although I have no experience in this new series, I am excited about the prospect of racing in Formula E, and racing for such a prestigious team as Andretti. As always, the main objective of the weekend is to stay out front and finish the year on a high note. The weekend will be a little like a journey into the unknown, but it is a journey that I am thoroughly looking forward to!"

Vergne is one of 11 ex-F1 drivers in the Formula E field this weekend and team boss Michael Andretti believes it shows the high status the series has reached in its inaugural year.

"We're really happy to put JEV in the car for Punta del Este," said Andretti. "He has great talent and we think he'll pair well with our team for competitive results. I also think having interest and participation from respected F1 drivers shows great strength and the true potential for Formula E as a series and world championship."