http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/ Discuss website related issues en Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:53:08 GMT vBulletin 1 http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/images/blue/misc/rss.jpg http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/ http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40528-coopers-rise-power-fifty-years-ago-years-championship-winning-brawn.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:13:43 GMT On December 12th 1959 Jack Brabham pushed his Cooper T51 across the line at Sebring for a fourth place finish in the United States Grand Prix. That gave the Australian enough points to win his first World Championship. It also secured the Constructor's Championship for the Cooper team. History was written that day as it was the first World Championship for a mid-engined car as well as the first time a customer engine beat major manufacturers the likes of Ferrari and Maserati. Cooper's revolution had immediate effect as no other front-engined machine ever won the championship again. The T51 represented the fourth evolution of the single seater introduced halfway trough 1956. The lack of a proper engine prevented the team to compete in Formula 1 on a relatively level playing field until 1959. This was finally made possible by the arrival of a 2.5 litre version of the Climax engine, which proved to be the final piece of the puzzle. Today we celebrate Cooper's revolution and Brabham's heroic efforts at Sebring with a detailed look at the highly influential Cooper T51 Climax.
This year's Formula 1 season also saw a new team take home the trophies at their first attempt. News of a Mercedes-Benz take-over earlier this week also means it was Brawn GP's only attempt. Their Mercedes-Benz engined BGP001 propelled Jenson Button to six wins in the opening seven races. Rubens Barrichello added two more victories during the team's fairytale season. For most of the pre-season, it looked like there would be no team at all after Honda had announced its withdrawal from Formula 1 at the end of 2008. Team principal Ross Brawn eventually found enough funding to take over the team and just a few weeks ahead of the first Grand Prix the BGP001 was rolled out. It immediately impressed during testing and Button and Barrichello caused a major upset by finishing first and second at the team's debut. The BGP001 was the big star of the most surprising Formula 1 season in many years. As a 'Silver Arrow', Brawn will enter the 2010 season with two new drivers as Barrichello and Button will move to Williams and McLaren respectively next year. It will be very interesting if the impressive form can be maintained.

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2009 Brawn GP BGP001 Mercedes - Images, Specifications and Information

1959 Cooper T51 Climax - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40528-coopers-rise-power-fifty-years-ago-years-championship-winning-brawn.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40513-ferrari-f40-lm-mercedes-benz-clk-lm-two-1970-f1-cars.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:21:29 GMT Although the Ferrari F40 LM was developed by Michelotto in the late 1980s, it was not seriously raced in Europe until half a decade later. The arrival of the GT1 class and the BPR Championship finally provided the racing F40 with a podium to shine on. Its closest competition was the brand new... Although the Ferrari F40 LM was developed by Michelotto in the late 1980s, it was not seriously raced in Europe until half a decade later. The arrival of the GT1 class and the BPR Championship finally provided the racing F40 with a podium to shine on. Its closest competition was the brand new McLaren F1 GTR but the Ferrari nevertheless proved hugely competitive. One of our feature cars won a BPR race in 1995 and finished 12th at Le Mans. For 1996 Michelotto developed an even wilder 'GTE' version of the F40, which was even more competitive and often outpaced the McLarens. A year later both the Ferrari and McLaren faced purpose-built racing cars from Porsche and Mercedes-Benz and gradually lost touch. The ultimate development of these GT1 machines was the Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM that was used in the second half of the 1998 season. Although it failed at Le Mans, the V8-engined racer won all subsequent rounds of the FIA GT Championship. It very effectively killed off the GT1 class that very briefly saw the world's finest supercars go head-to-head. Both the F40 LM and CLK-LM are pictured earlier this year during the Modena Trackdays.
In 2010 four new teams look set to join Formula 1, which is in part made possible by the readily available Cosworth V8 engine. It is a repeat of the 1970 season when a host of new manufacturers tried their luck at Formula 1 with a car built around the Cosworth DFV engine. The most successful of these was March, who aimed at selling their new 701 at customers. Among them was Ken Tyrrell, who entered his Marches for World Champion Jackie Stewart. The Scot scored three pole positions and won one race in 'his' 701 before switching to the first Tyrrell. Our extensive gallery features four of eleven 701s built, including the example used by Stewart. A little less fortunate was DeTomaso's efforts with the Dallara built and Frank Williams run 505. The car was too heavy and Williams' lead driver Piers Courage suffered a fatal crash. One of the surviving chassis has recently been fully restored by Hall & Hall and was driven up the hill at the most recent Festivals of Speed. For 1971 Williams switched to a March 701, which is also featured in our article.

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1970 DeTomaso 505 F1 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information

1989 - 1994 Ferrari F40 LM - Images, Specifications and Information

1970 - 1971 March 701 Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information

1998 Mercedes-Benz CLK-LM - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40513-ferrari-f40-lm-mercedes-benz-clk-lm-two-1970-f1-cars.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40498-mclarens-last-can-am-car-porsches-sole-works-challenger-1973-a.html Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:18:23 GMT Although officially known as the Canadian American Challenge Cup, the Can-Am series was known for years as the 'Bruce and Denny Show'. That was a reference to the absolute domination by Team McLaren and its drivers Bruce McLaren and Denny Hulme. The arrival of Porsche's turbocharged 917/10K in 1972 finally brought an end to five seasons of domination. Clearly 'outresourced', McLaren did not go down without a proper fight. Gordon Cuppock developed the M20, which was the first all new McLaren Can-Am car since 1968. Following contemporary F1 design, it featured side-mounted radiators, focusing all the weight around the centre of gravity of the car. In pre-season testing the M20 shattered all its predecessors' lap records. Very light and relatively nimble, the new McLaren at times managed to keep up with the turbocharged Porsche 917s, which had an additional 200 bhp on tap. Early in the season Denny managed to score two wins with the M20 but he could not challenge George Follmer for the remainder of the year. McLaren withdrew from Can-Am at the end of the year. Two years after Denny's last win, an M20 fittingly took Can-Am's final win. Earlier this year we caught up with one of the three M20s built for Team McLaren in 1972.
With McLaren gone in 1973, the sole remaining challenger for the all conquering Roger Penske entered Porsches was the Shadow team. During previous seasons, the all-black machines only really stood out due to their unusual designs, which always looked fantastic on pape. By employing British designer Tony Southgate some much needed convention arrived at the Don Nicholls run team. Southgate's first Can-Am design for Shadow was the DN2. In an attempt to match the Porsche's for power our feature car is fitted with a twin-turbocharged version of Chevrolet's big block engine. Sadly it never was close to reliable and the naturally aspirated version was blasted out of the water by the latest Porsches. With turbos virtually banned, Shadow won all but one race in 1974 with the DN4, which was a development of the DN2.

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1972 McLaren M20 Chevrolet - Images, Specifications and Information

1973 Shadow DN2 Chevrolet Turbo - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40498-mclarens-last-can-am-car-porsches-sole-works-challenger-1973-a.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40482-first-alfa-romeo-grand-prix-racer-gordini-reborn-first-look-new-volvo-s60.html Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:26:57 GMT During the 1924 French Grand Prix the Bugatti Type 35 made its international racing debut. Although it would go on to become the most successful racing car ever constructed, it was thoroughly outpaced by the equally new Alfa Romeo P2. The two Alfa Romeos looked set to take a one-two win in the... During the 1924 French Grand Prix the Bugatti Type 35 made its international racing debut. Although it would go on to become the most successful racing car ever constructed, it was thoroughly outpaced by the equally new Alfa Romeo P2. The two Alfa Romeos looked set to take a one-two win in the world-class field until Antonio Ascari's engine broke with three laps to go. His team-mate Giuseppe Campari held on to record Alfa Romeo's first win in a major Grand Prix. The P2 continued to dominate and Alfa Romeo became the very first World Champion in 1925. Although no longer eligible for the international events, the Grand Prix car was raced for several more seasons, scoring a further ten wins. The crowning win came in 1930 when Achille Varzi added the Targa Florio to the Alfa Romeo's tally. Responsible for the design of the brilliant racer was Vittorio Jano, who had been lured from rivals Fiat by a young Enzo Ferrari. The P2 used a twin-cam, supercharged straight-eight engine installed in a very light but sturdy frame. Today two examples still exist and we have taken a closer look at the Grand Prix version that is still owned by Alfa Romeo.
The Alfa Romeo P2 feature also serves as the introduction of our heavily revised 'Major Wins' section in the cars' spec tables. As you'll be able to see you can click on the years and races to get the results for that season or event over the years respectively. It is still very much a work in progress and the results' database is still growing rapidly.
Both Volvo and Renault revealed teasers this week of upcoming models. The clearest are the first pictures of the all new Volvo S60, which is set to debut during next year's Geneva Motor Show. On the 25th of this month Renault will revive the legendary Gordini brand with the introduction of the Twingo Gordini RS. The picture supplied only reveals the wheels but rest assured, the car will be bright blue. A Gordini version of the Clio and Megane will follow in due time.
At the recent SEMA Show, American tuner Lingenfelter had a go at bringing back another legendary machine; the Pontiac Trans Am. Using a 2010 Camaro as a donor they created the 455 T/A Concept. Its retro looks are backed up by a 655 bhp V8.

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1924 - 1925 Alfa Romeo P2 - Images, Specifications and Information

2009 Lingenfelter 455 T/A Concept - Images, Specifications and Information

2010 Renault Twingo Gordini RS - Images, Specifications and Information

2010 Volvo S60 - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40482-first-alfa-romeo-grand-prix-racer-gordini-reborn-first-look-new-volvo-s60.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40468-sir-stirlings-osca-australias-skelta-cars-come-europe-bmws-x6-hybrid.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:54:59 GMT Every year, all major events celebrate a wide variety of anniversaries. This year was no exception as the 80th birthday of Sir Stirling Moss was celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. At the Goodwood Revival Meeting, he was honoured with a parade of 80 cars he piloted during his highly... Every year, all major events celebrate a wide variety of anniversaries. This year was no exception as the 80th birthday of Sir Stirling Moss was celebrated on both sides of the Atlantic. At the Goodwood Revival Meeting, he was honoured with a parade of 80 cars he piloted during his highly successful career. Sir Stirling is still racing himself and at the Revival he campaigned his recently acquired OSCA FS 372 Morelli Spider. This is very fitting as Moss recorded one of his greatest victories, the 1954 Sebring 12 Hours, in an OSCA against competition propelled by engines many times the size of the diminutive OSCA 'four'. The FS 372 is of a slightly later vintage and represents the ultimate development of the four-cylinder OSCA sports racers. Only five were built and at least one was fitted with 'desmodromic' valve actuation. Moss' car is currently also fitted an engine of this type. Beautifully prepared by Hall & Hall, the small OSCA was raced in Sir Stirling's laid-back style at several events this year, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans support event and during the Goodwood Revival. The FS 372 is pictured at both these occasions.
In recent years Australian racing saw the arrival of the unusually styled Skelta sports cars. It is now Europe's turn to welcome the Skelta G-Force and Spyder. The track-oriented machines are built from lightweight materials around a sturdy chrome-molybdenum spaceframe. The styling is dictated by aerodynamics and creates 200kg of downforce at 90mph. There is a choice of engines between a supercharged Honda S2000 'four' and an exceptionally light Hartley V8 that produces well in excess of 400 bhp.
BMW today revealed the first details of the ActiveHybrid X6. Its twin-turbo V8 engine and two electric motors produce a combined 485 bhp and 780 Nm of torque. When only a fraction of that power is required the 'Sports Activity Coupé' can also run on the two electric motors alone. The ActiveHybrid can accelerate to 60 mph in just 5.6 seconds but still gets a decent mileage and relatively low CO2 emissions.

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2009 BMW ActiveHybrid X6 - Images, Specifications and Information

1957 - 1958 OSCA FS 372 Morelli Spider - Images, Specifications and Information

2009 Skelta Spyder - Images, Specifications and Information

2009 Skelta G-Force - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40468-sir-stirlings-osca-australias-skelta-cars-come-europe-bmws-x6-hybrid.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40452-new-lightweight-specials-porsche-bmw.html Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:52:02 GMT At next month's Los Angeles Motor Show, Porsche will reveal this Boxster Spyder. Based on the current Boxster S model, the new Spyder is a tribute to Porsche's legendary racing cars from the 1950s like the 550 RS Spyder from 1955 or the 718 RS 60 Spyder built five years later. The most obvious visual change on the 2010 Spyder is the rear deck, which sports two bumps instead of the fold-down roof found on the regular production model. In the spirit of the early racing cars, a very rudimentary cloth roof can be used but it only offers minimal weather protection. The interior is equipped with the bare minimum and includes racing touches like the straps to open the doors. Performance is also up compared to the standard Boxster courtesy of a considerable drop in the weight and an additional 10 bhp from the direct injection flat six. The Boxster Spyder will be available from February 2010.
BMW also revealed the first details of a special, lightweight edition of one of their current models today. Dubbed the M3 GTS, the new BMW is even more extreme than the aforementioned Porsche. The GTS features a completely stripped interior, a larger and more powerful engine and an aggressive body-kit. The most fundamental change is the introduction of a 4.4 litre version of the highly acclaimed M3 V8. It produces 450 bhp, which is transferred to the rear wheels through a seven-speed, dual-clutch gearbox. Weight is down to 1490 kg or 3285 lbs. According to BMW the car is suited for use on the road but can also be campaigned on track, in 'Clubsport' events. The M3 GTS may also serve to homologate new bits for the M3 GTR GT2 racer that is expected to feature more prominently on the world's racing tracks in 2010.

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2010 BMW E92 M3 GTS - Images, Specifications and Information

2010 Porsche Boxster Spyder - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40452-new-lightweight-specials-porsche-bmw.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40440-chevrolet-dodge-ford-highlights-sema-two-updated-classics.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:45:50 GMT Yesterday the annual aftermarket extravaganza, the Speciality Equipment Manufacturers Association Show (SEMA Show), opened its doors in Las Vegas, Nevada. The major manufacturers traditionally also have a strong presence on the floor to showcase their aftermarket bits on specifically created show... Yesterday the annual aftermarket extravaganza, the Speciality Equipment Manufacturers Association Show (SEMA Show), opened its doors in Las Vegas, Nevada. The major manufacturers traditionally also have a strong presence on the floor to showcase their aftermarket bits on specifically created show cars. Although slightly more modest, the big three were once again well represented in Las Vegas. Today we take a look at three of their best offerings.
General Motors brought out various Camaro based concepts. Our favourite was this Camaro Jay Leno Concept, built for the Late Night Talk Show Host it is named after. It is powered by a twin-turbocharged version of the direct injection V6 found in the base model. The turbos have lifted the power to a commendable 425 bhp but the engine is nevertheless capable of very frugal driving. Needless to say, it also sports a more aggressive body-kit.
Both Ford and Chrysler presented drag-racing inspired machinery. The special Mustang FR500 Cobra Jet on display provides a preview of the upcoming 50-car production run of the Mustang drag-racers. It is less likely that the Dodge Moper Challenger 1320 will make to the quarter-mile or 1320 feet strips.
Every time we go out to visit events we expand our archives with more photography and quite often we get new opportunities to shoot cars that have already been featured on Ultimatecarpage.com. This week we have updated our features on two great cars with some of the new material. The first is the Lancia D24, which one of the great sports racers of its day. It was particularly successful in the great road races, taking the outright victory in the Carrera Panamericana, Targa Florio and Mille Miglia. The pictured example is one of two survivors and the only one in private hands. Where the Lancia was the last of the line, the M19A brought McLaren back to their winning ways in 1972. We first saw Denny Hulme's South African Grand Prix winner at the 2006 Monaco Historic Grand Prix where it was damaged in an accident. Fortunately, it was fully repaired two years later so we had another opportunity to shoot the successful Formula 1 racer.

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2009 Chevrolet Camaro Jay Leno Concept - Images, Specifications and Information

2009 Dodge Mopar Challenger 1320 - Images, Specifications and Information

2010 Ford Mustang FR500 Cobra Jet - Images, Specifications and Information

1953 - 1954 Lancia D24 Sport Pinin Farina Spyder - Images, Specifications and Information

1971 McLaren M19A Cosworth - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40440-chevrolet-dodge-ford-highlights-sema-two-updated-classics.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40431-1956-world-sportscar-championship-winning-ferraris.html Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:14:43 GMT During the mid-1950s Ferrari experimented with a wide variety of engines in the company's sports racer, including straight fours and sixes. For the Italian manufacturer's assault on the 1956 World Championship, Ferrari settled on using virtually identical four and twelve cylinder engined machines. Both cars shared the exact same chassis and a similarly styled, Scaglietti built aluminium body.
The more successful of the two was the V12-engined 290 MM, which was driven to a debut victory in the Mille Miglia by Eugenio Castellotti. The great Juan Manuel Fangio finished fourth behind two of the four cylinder engined cars in another 290 MM. Later in the year Phil Hill and Maurice Trintignant added a second win to the 290 MM's tally in only its third major race. The final World Championship win for the 3.5 litre sports racer came early in 1957 during the Buenos Aires 1000 km race. Three examples were originally built and one of the four cylinder engined cars was later converted to V12 specification. All three cars that have survived are featured in our detailed article. Among them are the cars driven to victory in the Mille Miglia and the Buenos Aires 1000 km.
The sister 860 Monza had an equally impressive first outing, with a one-two victory in the 1956 Sebring 12 Hours. During the remainder of the season, the big fours supported Ferrari's chase for the championship with valuable podium finishes. With three very convincing wins in the five rounds, Ferrari was deservedly crowned World Champion at the end of the 1956 season. We caught up with the Sebring winning example some years ago at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este where we snapped this 12-shot gallery.

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1956 Ferrari 860 Monza - Images, Specifications and Information

1956 Ferrari 290 MM Scaglietti Spyder - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40431-1956-world-sportscar-championship-winning-ferraris.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40417-first-ever-abarth-limited-edition-callaway-camaro.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:59:47 GMT Today Abarth is best known for the modified Fiat models but amidst modifying other manufacturers cars, the Italian tuning expert also built complete cars. The very first was this 205 Vignale Berlinetta, which was driven to a debut class victory in the 1950 Coppa InterEuropa at Monza. The small... Today Abarth is best known for the modified Fiat models but amidst modifying other manufacturers cars, the Italian tuning expert also built complete cars. The very first was this 205 Vignale Berlinetta, which was driven to a debut class victory in the 1950 Coppa InterEuropa at Monza. The small coupe combined Fiat mechanicals with a bespoke platform chassis and a Giovanni Michelotti penned Vignale body. Two cars were raced in the major Italian events in 1950 with mixed success. After a third example was built early in 1950, Abarth withdrew from racing and concentrated on the hugely popular tuning kits. Quite unusual for cars of this era, all three have survived. The first was fully restored in the 1980s and has been a regular at shows ever since. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed the second made its debut after a thorough restoration to rectify numerous modifications made during its long racing career. We expect to see the third car in the very near future in restored condition as well. For now we have a compiled an 18-shot gallery of the first two to illustrate the model's general history and a detailed look at the individual chassis.
Leading NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports celebrates it 25th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, Callaway Cars have produced a limited edition Hendrick Motorsports 25th Anniversary Camaro. Based on the stock Camaro SS, it features an Eaton supercharger that boosts the power to a hefty 582 bhp. The modified Camaro can accelerate to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds and is capable of completing the quarter-mile in under 12 seconds. The first of 25 examples will be shown next week during the SEMA Show.

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1950 - 1951 Abarth 205 Vignale Berlinetta - Images, Specifications and Information

2009 Callaway Camaro Hendrick Motorsports 25th Anniversary - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40417-first-ever-abarth-limited-edition-callaway-camaro.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40406-two-alfa-romeo-engined-racing-cars-mixed-success-very-clean-scirocco-racer.html Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:20:56 GMT During the 1930s the eight-cylinder engined Alfa Romeos won all major races in Europe multiple times. Especially on home turf, in the grueling Mille Miglia Alfa Romeo was nearly unbeatable. An 8C 2300 scored its first win in the 1000 mile race in 1932 and an 8C 2900B claimed victory as late as... During the 1930s the eight-cylinder engined Alfa Romeos won all major races in Europe multiple times. Especially on home turf, in the grueling Mille Miglia Alfa Romeo was nearly unbeatable. An 8C 2300 scored its first win in the 1000 mile race in 1932 and an 8C 2900B claimed victory as late as 1947. There are two distinct generations of the 8C model, the second of which was the 8C 2900 launched in 1936 with an enlarged engine and independent suspension. For that year's Mille Miglia, the Scuderia Ferrari team entered four examples of the new version. This 8C 2900A Botticella Spider was driven to victory by Antonio Brivio. At the end of the season it was renumbered and sold as a road car. A new racing car with the same chassis number was built for the 1937 edition and won again. So much to the historians' delight two different 8C 2900As with the same number won the 1936 and 1937 Mille Miglias. Simon Moore, the foremost historian of 8C Alfas, revealed the full history of the featured example and accordingly it was restored back to its Mille Miglia winning configuration.
During the 1970s Alfa Romeo's racing record was a little more varied but the Italian manufacturer did manage to win the 1975 World Sportscar Championship in great style with the 33 TT/12 Spider, powered by a three-litre flat-12. A year later that same engine was supplied exclusively by Bernie Ecclestone's Brabham Formula 1 team. The purpose built BT45 did not prove quite as successful. Its similarly engined successor did manage to win two Grands Prix. Only very few Brabhams of the 'Bernie era' have made it into private hands but at least one of the BT45s has. Fully prepared for historic racing, the Alfa engined Brabham was captured by us during the 2008 Monaco Historic Grand Prix.
During this weekend's season finale of the DTM championship Volkswagen launched the all new Scirocco Cup. Replacing the existing Polo Cup, it will be used in a one-make series to support the DTM races from 2010 onwards. Running on compressed natural gas, Volkswagen claim it is one of the cleanest racing cars out there today.

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1936 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A Botticella Spider - Images, Specifications and Information

1976 - 1977 Brabham BT45 Alfa Romeo - Images, Specifications and Information

2010 Volkswagen Scirocco Cup - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40406-two-alfa-romeo-engined-racing-cars-mixed-success-very-clean-scirocco-racer.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40402-2009-fia-gt-zolder-report-slideshow.html Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:54:30 GMT Yesterday the 13th FIA GT Championship came to a close at the Belgian Zolder track. In a weekend with ever changing weather the GT1 and GT2 drivers' titles were decided. It was a very close battle between Maserati and Corvette in the top class and the umpteenth encounter between Ferrari and Porsche in GT2. The exciting showdown was not only the final race of the season but also the last FIA GT race held in this form. Next year a new generation of GT1 cars will race in a new World Championship, while GT2 machinery will fight in a European Championship. Two cars built to the 2010 regulations already took part in several of this year's races in preparation for the World Championship. At Zolder both the Nissan Nismo GT-R and the Matech-Ford GT1 took to the track.
As a warm-up the spectators were also treated to two rounds of the European GT3 championship, which incorporated the Belgian GT championship. After a huge pile-up at the previous race, the entry was down but there were still plenty of spectacular GT races to enjoy. Among them were the latest additions to the grid like the Alpina B6 GT3, Audi R8 LMS and Morgan Aero SuperSports. Fortunately there were no repeats of the Paul Ricard accidents despite the ever changing weather conditions.
Although we have only rarely reported on the FIA GT Championship, we could not bare to miss the 132nd and final race in the great GT racing series. We braved the weather to capture all the excitement and intrigue in a full report and a 100-shot gallery.

2009 Zolder FIA GT report and slideshow ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40402-2009-fia-gt-zolder-report-slideshow.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40385-last-victorious-penske-turbocharged-f1-racer-mopar-challenger-sema.html Fri, 23 Oct 2009 09:29:05 GMT For many years years Roger Penske's team successfully campaigned Indycar racers of their own design while almost the entire field used customer chassis. It very often gave Team Penske an edge but in the second half of the 1990s, the package of the Penske chassis, Mercedes-Benz engine and Goodyear tyres gradually lost its edge. There was a brief return to form in 1997 when Canadian Paul Tracy scored three consecutive victories in the Penske PC26. His third win was Team Penske's 99th but it would take several seasons and a switch to a Reynard chassis for Penske to score his 100th win in Indycar racing. In recent years the chassis used by Tracy to score that 99th win, at St. Louis, was fully restored by Paul Morgan's Dawn Treader Performance. Last year Tracy was reunited with 'his' PC26 during the Goodwood Festival of Speed. This gave us the opportunity to take a closer look at the last victorious Penske.
At this year's Festival of Speed our attention was grabbed by this Beatrice-Lola THL1 Hart. Funded by the Beatrice food company and headed by Carl Haas, the project combined an all-star team of designers and drivers but yielded little results. Various former McLaren employees were involved and also a young Ross Brawn, while 1980 World Champion Alan Jones was signed to drive the red, white and blue cars. The THL1 debuted in 1985 and used a Hart engine in anticipation of an all new Ford V6. Before the project could flourish, Beatrice ended its support and the cars were not raced after 1986. The Beatrice-Lola we saw has been fully restored and has since been raced several times in historic events.
Early next month, the SEMA show will spice up Las Vegas once again. One of the stars on the Chrysler booth will no doubt be this Mopar Challenger. Powered by the legendary 426 HEMI engine, it is dubbed the '1320' in reference to the number of feet that make up the quarter-mile.

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1985 Beatrice-Lola THL1 Hart - Images, Specifications and Information

2009 Dodge Mopar Challenger 1320 - Images, Specifications and Information

1997 Penske PC26 Mercedes - Images, Specifications and Information

2009 Honda Civic Type R Mugen - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40385-last-victorious-penske-turbocharged-f1-racer-mopar-challenger-sema.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40373-tokyo-motor-show-lexus-lfa-finally-revealed-very-dark-lotus-exige.html Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:29:27 GMT Earlier today the Tokyo Motor Show opened its doors to the international media. Not surprisingly, all eyes were on the long anticipated Lexus LFA. The V10 engined supercar was first shown in Concept form at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Since then the car has been... Earlier today the Tokyo Motor Show opened its doors to the international media. Not surprisingly, all eyes were on the long anticipated Lexus LFA.
The V10 engined supercar was first shown in Concept form at the 2005 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Since then the car has been subjected to a very public developed program, which included several outings in the grueling Nürburgring 24 Hours event. This very thorough process has resulted in the LFA launched this morning in the Japanese capital.
While most concept cars are toned down ahead of entering production, the Lexus designers have taken the styling one step further by including many striking cues like the air-intakes on the c-pillar. The boldly styled machine is constructed completely from lightweight and very strong carbon fibre composite plastics. Power comes from a 4.8 litre, naturally aspirated V10 engine that was jointly developed with Yamaha and produces just over 550 bhp and 480 Nm of torque. This is transferred to the road through a paddle-operated six speed gearbox. To give the LFA a near perfect weight-balance, the radiators have been mounted in the very tail of the car.
Production of the Lexus LFA is limited to just 500 examples. A Roadster version of the concept was shown last year but it is not known whether that will be produced as well.
The Tokyo Show is dominated by Japanese manufacturers but there are some notable exceptions; this year Lotus is one. The British manufacturer has just revealed the very dark Exige Scura. Production of this model is limited to just 35 examples world-wide. It is based on the Exige S but has been further lightened and comes with the most powerful version of the Toyota sourced engine.

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2009 Lexus LFA - Images, Specifications and Information

2009 Lotus Exige Scura - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40373-tokyo-motor-show-lexus-lfa-finally-revealed-very-dark-lotus-exige.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40365-bmw-v12-lmr-mercedes-benz-best-worst-1999-le-mans.html Mon, 19 Oct 2009 14:51:28 GMT With factory efforts from Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan and Toyota, the 24 Hours of Le Mans had one of its strongest fields in 1999. Mercedes-Benz and Toyota brought closed cars, BMW and Nissan open prototypes and at the company's first attempt Audi sampled both options. At the end of the race BMW and Mercedes-Benz had to share the headlines but for two very different reasons. In the tenth anniversary year we take a look at both cars and find out why.
The V12 LMR BMW brought to Le Mans was developed jointly with their future Formula 1 partner Williams. It featured an evolution of the V12 engine that had already won Le Mans outright in the back of the McLaren F1 GTR a few years earlier. The team arrived in France fresh off a win in the grueling Sebring 12 Hours, so they were well prepared. The car was not the absolute quickest in the field but managed to stay in the wake of the leaders despite being able to run as much as two laps longer between stops. The #17 example piloted by the likes of Lehto and Kristensen look set to clinch the win until a stuck throttle caused a big crash in the Porsche Curves. Fortunately the second car was also in contention and scored BMW's first outright win at Le Mans. The winning car was at Goodwood earlier this year to mark the 10th anniversary of the win.
The real story of the 1999 Le Mans, however, was the Mercedes-Benz CLR. The low-drag coupe had some serious aero-problems that cause the car to flip on the long straights once in qualifying and again in the warm-up. Despite the obvious design flaws the Mercedes-Benz team risked its driver, the marshals, the spectators and public humiliation by allowing the two surviving cars to start. The inevitable happened and on live television Peter Dumbreck's CLR took off and flew into the trees. It's a miracle nobody got hurt in any of the accidents. The other car was withdrawn and that was the end of Mercedes-Benz at Le Mans. The video of Dumbreck's aerobatics is still very popular on Youtube. It was long believed that the only CLR left was quietly crushed in attempt to wipe the 1999 Le Mans from memory in Stuttgart. So we were very surprised to see it earlier in year and actually running on a track during the Modena Trackdays. Even more baffling is the fact that the car was actually sold to a customer. We captured every detail of CLR chassis 003 during this very rare and welcome opportunity.

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1999 BMW V12 LMR - Images, Specifications and Information

1999 Mercedes-Benz CLR - Images, Specifications and Information ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40365-bmw-v12-lmr-mercedes-benz-best-worst-1999-le-mans.html http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40359-striking-veritas-rs-iii-finally-revealed-last-imsa-gtp-racer.html Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:08:10 GMT Originally launched as a concept car almost a decade ago, the reborn Veritas was destined to become yet another one-off. That changed last year when the rights were bought by Michael Trick's Vermot AG. He picked up the development work and recently the production Veritas RS III was launched to much acclaim. Like its original namesakes, it uses a BMW sourced drive-train. To be more specific, the V10 engine and SMG 7-Speed gearbox that are also found in the BMW M5 and M6. A six-speed manual will be an option. The 507 bhp V10 is installed in a lightweight space-frame chassis, which is clothed in a '1+1' body. There is a room for a passenger but just like on many 1950s sports racers, the passenger area can also be covered to improve the airflow. Thanks to its light weight, the aggressively styled Veritas can accelerate to 60 mph or 100 km/h in just over 3 seconds. The top speed is an equally impressive 216 mph or 347 km/h. The hand-built sports car takes 8 weeks to complete and the company expects to deliver the first cars in January of 2010.
In the early 1990s some of the fastest racing cars ever competed in the IMSA GTP Championship. Thanks to highly sophisticated ground-effects aerodynamics and immensely powerful turbocharged engines, they set a pace that has not been matched since on some of the tracks. Amidst the American built Japanese power-houses Nissan and Toyota, the TWR Jaguar team managed to score quite a few victories with adapted Group C designs in 1989 and 1990. For 1991 TWR developed the XJR-16, which was the company's first and as it would turn out to be only purpose-built GTP racer. Compared to the earlier twin-turbo, V6 engined Jaguars, it featured a revised rear-end and an innovative twin-tier rear wing. In the hands of Davy Jones, the XJR-16 had a perfect debut with a pole position and a victory. It would win another three times but sadly the program was abandoned before the XJR-16 could be fully developed.
The car scored one of its four wins at Laguna Seca in July of 1991. To complement the XJR-16 feature, our friend and GTP nut Marshall Pruett has just uploaded videos of four other GTP races at Laguna Seca on his fabulous website GrandTouringPrototype.com.

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1991 Jaguar XJR-16 - Images, Specifications and Information

2009 Veritas RS III - Images, Specifications and Information

Grand Touring Prototype - GrandTouringPrototype.com ]]> Website discussion Wouter Melissen http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/forum/website-discussion/40359-striking-veritas-rs-iii-finally-revealed-last-imsa-gtp-racer.html