Car News

Donkervoort Racing ready to race in the 24 Hours of Dubai with special 24-Hours edition of the D8 GT

Lelystad, 8 December 2009 – After obtaining the vice-championship in the FIA GT4 European Cup and the guest race in the Dutch GT4, Donkervoort Racing will participate in the 24 Hours of Dubai in January of 2010. This will be the very first 24-hour race for the Donkervoort D8 GT, which was introduced in 2007 and has been racing since 2008. With the brand new and specially developed 24-hour edition of the D8 GT, famous Dutch race car driver Peter Kox and European GT4 driver Nico Pronk (CH), Stéphane Wintenberger (F) and Denis Donkervoort (NL) will race in this challenging long-distance race on January 14, 15 and 16 at the ultra-modern Dubai Autodrome.


New developments
All developments and experiences gained during the FIA GT4 European Cup are incorporated into the brand new Donkervoort D8GT(4) 2010. The brake- as well as the fuel system have, among others, been adjusted. However, the adapted hybrid chassis/body with carbon fiber sandwich panels combined with the existing tubular frame construction maybe is the most noteworthy adjustment. Furthermore, the aerodynamics underneath the car were further improved for extra down force. It has resulted in a new rear-diffuser, which has influenced the entire look of the rear of the car at the same time. All in all, these technical innovations have attributed to high expectations for the Donkervoort Racing team for the upcoming 24-hour race in Dubai.


Donkervoort Events
Naturally, Donkervoort Events will also use this special occasion to offer its customers a variety of additional attractive possibilities during and directly after this 24-hour event.

This exciting race-event offers a unique opportunity for Donkervoort-drivers as well as Donkervoort Events customers. Solely as a Donkervoort-supporter or combined with other business objectives, these guests will cheer on the Donkervoort race team and get an exclusive 'inside' look during the race with among others a Meet & Greet with Peter Kox, listening along with the on-board radio contact during the race and access to the Donkervoort VIP Lounge.


But the stay-at-homes are not forgotten either. For in the months of February, March and April the Donkervoort 24 Hour Experience will be offered in the factory in Lelystad (in a limited number). Accompanied by Dutch TV-presenter Bert van den Dool, groups as well as companies will be provided an exclusive look behind the scenes of Donkervoort during the races. Through film-, photo- and on-board footage, but also through live-interviews with one of the race drivers and the head of engineering of Donkervoort Racing, guests will get a unique on the excitement, atmosphere and experiences during the 24 Hours of Dubai 2010.


Source:Donkervoort

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NOT INSIDE – BUT OUTSIDE.

Thanks Pamela Anderson all world whales now can be sure about their penises. Nobody will cut them to make car seats.

Regarding that Whales make an ocean summit were they make a decision to make WHALE-THANKS-GIVING-CAR.

And they order to make this car to DARTZ – team which shocked whales with seats idea.

Of course this is just joke, but after SAVE the WALES wave DARTZ make a decision to make own SAVE the WALES show car.


This car was made from the same kevlar fiber we use for our car bulletproofing – so we can tell that whale on hood is also bulletproof.

Our guys work two weeks around the clock to make this show car, we stopped some works with our RED DIAMOND (which is already booked) as we are funny people – and sometimes stop to make serious things, making some funny things instead. We are not serious professionals in fish world – all we know that caviar is good with Vodka – but we think this hood whale is a copy of Blue Wale – which have biggest penis on planet Earth.


We will be happy to present this car to Pam Am – she can use it.... like she want's :-) .

But more we dreaming to make a photosession with our Luxury Tank and Pam, under motto

I'D RATHER DRIVE NAKED THAN ON WHALE PENIS :-) )))).......

We can make this session at Top Marques Monaco 2010 or Cannes Festival 2010 were we also are planning to present this car – and of course present Pam WHALEWATCH car after photosession!

- Leonard F. Yankelovich
via:autoblog

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The new Continental Supersports, the first Bentley to use FlexFuel technology which enables it to run on E85 biofuel, gasoline or any combination of these two fuels, has further underlined its green credentials by meeting the 85% recyclability standard (95% for recoverability) demanded of all the Bentley Continental range.
In May 2009 Bentley received the official recycling pre-certification (in accordance with the EU Directive 2005/64/EG) from the German Motor Transport Authority (KBA) - thereby becoming one of the first luxury car manufacturers to attain this standard.


Type approval then followed from TÜV, the independent testing and certification service supplier, and now, with the addition of the Continental Supersports to this certification, the entire Bentley Continental range meets this exacting standard. The certificate, which is only awarded after detailed independent scrutiny of the car, assures the fact that virtually all the Continental's materials can be reused or reprocessed by other industries.
The Crewe-built Supercar, which is now arriving in Bentley showrooms, is the most extreme production car in the company's 90-year history. Capable of reaching 204 mph (329km/h), it is also the lightest road-going Bentley having shed some 110kg through a broad programme of weight reduction involving the innovative use of new materials such as carbon ceramics and carbon fibre.


The achievement of this certification is testament to the endeavours of the Bentley engineering team as Dr. Arno Homburg, Head of Whole vehicle Development at Bentley Motors said:
"Producing the fastest Bentley was a challenge in itself. However, we were equally determined not to sacrifice any environmental aspect in pursuit of this goal. The result is the paradox that the most extreme Bentley ever, is also the greenest".
The Supersports is the first iteration of the environmental strategy Bentley launched at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008. Powered by gasoline, E85 biofuel or any combination of these two fuels, the Supersports can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 70% on a well-to-wheel basis.


It is one element of a broader Bentley strategy which will see by 2012 the company's average fleet CO2 emissions reduced by 15% and the introduction of a new powertrain that will by itself deliver a 40% reduction in fuel consumption. This programme is also supported at the Bentley factory where the use of gas, electricity and water have all been reduced significantly despite Bentley achieving record levels of production in recent years.


A genuine two-seater, the Supersports takes Bentley into new market sectors. It has received an overwhelmingly positive media reaction and is now attracting keen customer interest. Its Flexfuel capability ensures that is fuelled for the future and, with this latest recyclability certification, customers can be assured that every effort has been taken to consider the environmental impact of all components over the entire life of the car. As Dr Homburg adds:
"It is part of our responsibility as a car maker to contribute to environmental improvements and with Supersports you can see an evolution of this thinking. Even though Bentleys last a very long time - nearly 70% of all cars ever made are still on the road or in collections - we have still sought to ensure any environmental impact is minimised. The wide use of natural materials such as wood and leather and the craftsmanship inherent in their use naturally favours us here."
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Aston Martin is readying a range of personalisation options for the V8 Vantage range for 2010. Last night our spies in the Midlands snapped these shots of a metallic blue Aston Vantage near the Gaydon HQ, showing off some of the model year changes due for the Vantage.


It turns out it was a 2010 MY test unit. Changes made include a magnum silver bonnet, new optional 10-spoke forged 19-inch alloy wheels with diamond turned and silver finish, and clear rear lights. The interior can be specified with new optional lightweight seats with kevlar and carbon fibre construction. Weight savings from these amount to 17kg (37 lbs). There is also an optional 1,000W B&O hi-fi system to suit every musical taste.


The blue car we scooped is registered as a V8 with the regular 4.7-litre lump, not the 6.0-litre bent 12 in the V12 Vantage. Yet its slightly confused dress sense, mixing styling cues from V8 and V12, was what caught our photographer's attention in the first place. It is, apparently, an engineering hack and not totally representative of the finished car revealed in the first official picture.


Through transmission ratio alterations and software remapping the 2010 V8 Vantage is said to emit an average of 315g/km in C02 gases, down from 328g/km. With the Sportshift gearbox that figure drops even further to 300g/km.
Source:carmagazine

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The premium quality, South African designed and built Millennium 7 sports car is to be made available to more enthusiasts in the future. This will follow a decision by the main driver of the project, Chris Carstens, to put it on more of a business footing than has been the situation up to now, where production has been very limited and all the cars have vastly different specifications.
The Millennium 7 is yet another take on the original Lotus 7, designed and built by the legendary Colin Chapman in England in 1957. This relatively simple, but highly effective design is probably the most copied car of all time.
Records show that more than 90 companies around the world have built variations on the Lotus 7 theme. Several companies and individuals in South Africa have been involved in these projects over the years, with varying degrees of success; a high point is the fact that many locally-made Lotus 7 replicas have found their way to foreign countries as exports.
This Millennium 7 project is the result of a number of people in the SA aircraft industry living their dream by producing a purpose-built two-seater sports car on a Brentwood Park smallholding, north of Kempton Park. Aeronautical engineer Chris Carstens and his long-time friend, Kobus van der Walt, of SAA Technical, both of Kempton Park, are the driving forces behind this project, which has been under development for the past six years.


Chris, who heads up Safair Technical, has been involved in building aircraft, sports cars and even a trike over the years and the Millennium 7 was the result of a request by Kobus to design and build him a special sports car and they hit on the idea of building a Lotus 7 replica for the 21st century.
Chris and Kobus then attracted seven like-minded people from the aeronautical world to join their team, which is housed in a novel, metal aircraft hanger "tunnel" factory on the smallholding. Interest in the car is so high that Chris is already planning to erect a second, conventional factory alongside it to handle increased production.
South African-born Alastair Gibson, formerly the chief mechanic at Honda F1, is a personal friend of Chris and Kobus and has been an enthusiastic supporter of the project, as well as providing valuable input in the design and build.
Automotive service providers in the Kempton Park area are also involved in the Millennium 7 project, providing skills such as spray painting, machining, laser cutting of metal panels and exhaust fabrication.


So far about 20 cars have been built or are in the process of being built.
There is already sereious interest from Australia and a sample car is being sent there for homologation by the authorities. This could lead to exports to other lucrative markets, such as the United Kingdom and Japan, in the future.
The Millennium 7 uses a complex space frame of CR12 cold rolled square tubing covered by aluminium stressed skin panels to increase stiffness. Bodywork, which is made by DAW, is of glass fibre and weighs less than 40kg. The cockpit is far larger than the original Lotus 7 to accommodate the larger build of South Africans.
A complete car with a four-cylinder Toyota engine weighs in the region of 700kg, assuring stunning performance without the need for a very powerful engine.
One area where the Millennium 7 differs from most other Lotus 7 replicas is in the rake of the windscreen, with it having a much steeper rake at 55 degrees and the screen itself is mounted in beautifully made carbon fibre A-posts.


An unusual feature of the car, which has been designed and engineered by Chris, are the partially enclosed front wheel fenders that are inspired by aircraft wheel covers - called "pants" in aero speak - and the "hub caps" on current F1 cars. The support strut still has to have a big hole cut in it and a carbon fibre scoop fitted to duct in cooling air. These fenders are among the more obvious of the many aerodynamic features integral with the design, which has evolved considerably over the years.
Front and rear suspension is independent by means of wishbones and shock absorbers with coil springs. No anti-roll bars are fitted. The Millennium 7 team even makes its own shock absorbers. The front wishbones are cast chrome moly and the rear ones are fabricated from tubing. All welding is to aircraft standards and the aeronautical background of the team members ensures very high quality for all elements that make up the car.
The Millennium 7 can be supplied as a do-it-yourself kit at a target price of about R150 000, while the aim is to provide a limited number of ready-to-drive cars to a customer's specification in the foreseeable future.
The kit will include the frame, alloy double skin panelling, bodywork, front and rear suspension, fuel tank, brakes, brake tubing, pedal box and master cylinders, steering system and a basic wiring harness. To these must be added: engine, gearbox, differential, drive shafts, radiator, steering wheel, instrumentation, wheels and tyres.


Many makes and types of engine can be fitted to the Millennium 7, although Toyota and Ford power units are the most popular - some having superchargers or turbochargers. One enthusiast fitted one of the early model cars with a turbocharged Mazda RX8 rotary engine. It is a real flyer!
A variety of gearboxes have been fitted, but all the cars use the rear differential from the E30 BMW 3-series, with its drive shafts.
The front and rear disc brakes come from the same BMW source but now the local ATE team has shown enthusiasm for the project and is making up custom, aluminium four-pot front callipers for the front and a special set up for the rear.
Chris Carstens has also had an approach from supercar enthusiast, Jose de Campos, of African Hoe, who is interested in making forgings for the front wishbones instead of the current method of casting them in chrome moly.
Chris and his team is now looking at restructuring the company so there can be a dedicated operation for making up the kits and assembling cars to a fairly standard specification.
A number of new, 2-litre Ford Focus Duratec engines have been obtained, with the intention of using them in a so-called "standard car" paired with a Ford Type 9 gearbox. These units have the advantage of affordable spare parts that are readily available, with plenty of scope for modifying them for higher performance.


There would then be a special area where cars or kits would be made to suit other makes of power train and for builds with special requirements, as well as an R&D facility. The intention is to have the new business model finalised early in the New Year
The show car that was displayed at the Zwartkops circuit in December is fitted with a modified 1600 20-valve Toyota engine matched to a Toyota T50 gearbox.
Engine management is by GoTech, with a Stack digital display to show speed, distance, revs, temperatures, pressures and the like. Steering wheel is a Sparco with quick-release system. Seats are Cobra, specially widened to fit the broader torso of a South African. .
Seat belts are from Schroth, while the wheels - 17 inch for the road and 15 inch for the track - are from Compomotive in Italy. Tyres are Dunlop. All these high-tech items were supplied by ATS Motor Sport Supplies, in Roodepoort.
The show car can also be changed quickly into a track day car with the fitting of a bolt-on chrome-moly roll cage and 15" lightweight Compomotives shod with Dunlop semi-slicks. A special luggage boot lid is fitted to clear one of the roll cage tubes.
"We are delighted at the response to our invitation for motor enthusiasts to come and view the latest version of the Millennium 7 and are looking forward to this becoming another iconic local sports car brand," commented Chris Carstens.
ENQUIRIES TO:
Roger Houghton
e-mail: houghtonr[at]mwebbiz.co.za
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