Thursday, 6 February 2014

Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme (2014) first official pictures | Road ...

Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme (2014) first official <b>pictures</b> | Road <b>...</b>

Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme (2014) first official <b>pictures</b> | Road <b>...</b>

Posted: 30 Jan 2014 04:50 AM PST

Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme (2014) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew

First Official Pictures

30 January 2014 12:50

Meet the Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme â€" the most hardcore hot hatch ever to wear the Astra badge. Inspired by the Astra Cup racing car, it’s essentially an Astra with ‘Speciale’ or ‘GT3’ treatment applied to it, in the vein of Ferrari and Porsche’s fire-breathing specials.

Expect less weight, less refinement â€" and a lot more on-track performance. It’s something of a thank you treat to the UK for consistently being VXR’s biggest market since its 2004 debut (PR speak for, ‘We can flog more of these’).

So is the Vauxhall Astra VXR Extreme road-legal, or only for the track?

This super-Astra is road legal. And it should be a monster wherever it’s driven. Vauxhall has dipped into the carbonfibre toy box, treating the VXR Extreme to carbon side skirts with aerodynamic winglets, a carbonfibre roof spoiler and rear wing, and even carbon wheels, wrapped in sticky Hankook rubber.

Meanwhile, there’s a new rear diffuser with what appears to be a high-performance heat-treated exhaust system, sporting four pipes instead of the standard Astra VXR’s trapezoidal twins. The VXR Extreme appears to have a lower ride height than the regular VXR’s, too.

>> Click here for CAR's review of the Vauxhall Astra VXR hot hatch

Inside, there’s a roll-cage, racing seats and six-point harnesses. It’s a proper racetrack-refugee â€" here’s hoping the planned production run doesn’t go soft and ditch the racey bits.

Any word on power outputs?

Nothing besides a hint that the Extreme’s engine could be even more powerful than the ordinary VXR. Vauxhall’s teasing press material states ‘the Extreme the street-legal race sibling to the current Astra VXR, which in standard form already produces 276bhp and 295lb ft’.

VW Polo facelift (2014) first official <b>pictures</b> <b>...</b> - <b>Car</b> Magazine

Posted: 28 Jan 2014 02:00 AM PST

By Ollie Kew

First Official Pictures

28 January 2014 10:00

Subtle facelift hides bigger changes underneath

This is the new VW Polo to face-off the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa. The irony in this car arriving stems from the trouble that the German maker has faced in the US â€" where VW board members have blamed long model cycles with minor facelifts such as this â€" as the reason why sales fell and its North America boss stepped down late last year. At least the new Polo brings some welcome changes under that barely-changed sheetmetal.

Is the VW Polo’s facelift an early April fool?

Apparently not, though on the outside, only some new colours, alloy wheel designs and remoulded bumpers set the Polo apart. LED headlights make their debut in the supermini class on board the new Polo, but they’re only destined for the high-end models, so expect most of the Polos you see on the roads from spring 2014 to be packing yellowy old halogens.

Where’s the imagination and innovation from cars like the VW XL1 or Design Vision GTI?

Some of it has ended up under the bonnet. Later in 2014, you’ll be able the first petrol ‘Bluemotion’ VW (they’ve all been diesel up until now) â€" a 0.9-litre turbo triple making 89bhp, and good for 69mpg. The diesel-drinking Polo Bluemotion has seen economy bumped from 83mpg to 88.2mpg, and now emits 82g/km of CO2, down from 88g.

Meanwhile, three-pot 1.0-litre engines from the Up city car appear in the petrol family, and the 1.2-litre diesel makes way for a 1.4-litre with better fuel economy and more torque. Excited yet? No? Okay then. At least the Polo GTI hot hatch has been tickled from 178bhp to 189bhp.

Any interesting tech?

Features once preserved for luxury limousines are now available in the Polo. Radar-guided cruise control for one, and automatic city braking for another. You can also spec adaptive dampers to soften or stiffen the ride, and the Polo also has a new electrically assisted power steering that saves energy and, according to VW, improves handling over the outgoing model.

Lifting the Polo’s rather sombre cabin is a new family of infotainment options. Remember how the VW Group bases all of its family hatchbacks on one modular platform (MQB)? Well, now VW is going modular with in-car entertainment too. Seriously!

‘Modular Entertainment Systems’ mean buyers can choose between one of four interfaces, ranging from a  5in monochrome display to an 8.5in screen able to show a full colour reversing camera display. Smartphone connectivity has been enhanced too, as have the already impressive trim materials. Oh, and there’s the downright perfect steering wheel from the Mk7 Golf, complete with myriad button functions. Less feel-good inside than a Mini or Citroen DS3, sure, but we’ll bet the farm on it still being a quality benchmark.

Any word on prices?

Only from the home German market so far, where VW has confirmed the entry-level Polo will cost exactly the same as the outgoing model.

That bodes well for UK buyers not being fleeced for the sake of some new chrome trim and wheels â€" the current Polo ranges from £10,770 to £20,350. Sales kick off in the second quarter of 2014.

>> Is VW right to be so conservative with the new Polo’s visual makeover? Are the comprehensive engine changes enough to tempt you away from a new Mini or Fiesta Ecoboost? Add your comments below

McLaren MP4-29: First <b>pictures</b> - F1 Fanatic

Posted: 24 Jan 2014 03:55 AM PST

Following a difficult season the McLaren MP4-29 needs to deliver in 2014. Here are the first pictures of McLaren's new contender.

"We've never had such significant new regulations before," said McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale. "Reacting to them, and managing those changes, while still pushing the performance limits, has been an extremely tough job."

Neale said the team have taken a "pragmatic" approach to the new regulations. "We know that the need for consistency initially outweighs the need for performance – the winter tests won't be about chasing set-up or refining the car; the envelope of performance is likely to be so wide, and so relatively unknown, that the winter – and to some extent the opening races – will be about understanding the operational boundaries of the car as best we can."

"This year, more than ever, will come down to a development race," he added. "I don't necessarily think you can expect the car that wins the opening race to be the car that leads the championship charge, something we've often seen in the past."

"No, it will be all about a team's ability to react and respond. We already have an update package that we're readying for race one, and we're discovering new things in the [wind] tunnel, or in CFD, all the time. Once we start track testing, I think you'll see an intense throughput of ideas and concepts – that's the nitty-gritty that will win or lose the world championship."

2014 McLaren MP4-29 and 2013 McLaren MP4-28 comparison

McLaren MP4-28 (2013) and MP4-29 (2014), profile

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<b>Cars</b> coming to the 2014 Indian <b>Auto</b> Expo: In <b>Pictures</b>! Slide 1

Posted: 31 Jan 2014 10:58 PM PST

If you haven't read our extensive coverage yet on the cars coming to the 2014 Indian Auto Expo, here's a pictorial presentation of concepts, new cars and facelifts, pretty much everything significant, coming to the fairground. The Show begins on 7th February

Look at Paris Hilton&#39;s f**king amazing pink <b>car</b>. It&#39;s so f <b>...</b> - Holy Moly!

Posted: 06 Feb 2014 03:06 AM PST

In those days Pointless Celebrities had a different meaning
Thu, 06/02/2014 - 11:06 by Tim Chipping

Who remembers the early part of the 21st Century, eh? Mad wasn't it? Everyone had iPods. And low rise jeans. And listened to Britney Spears. Mad. But they had proper celebrities in them days. People like Paris Hilton who just walked around all day with a tiny monkey in her hair. And she kissed a man's John Thomas on a video. You younger kids probably don't even know what a video is. Anyway, Paris Hilton is still alive. And she's got a fucking amazing pink car. Look at it. It's so fucking pink. And she's wearing a pink dress to match the fucking amazing pink car.

If we had lots of money handed to us for doing nothing, we'd get a pink car and a pink dress and just drive about in our pink car and pink dress going, "Look at me I'm in a pink car and a pink dress. La, la, la. I will never be unhappy again."

Instead, we're sitting in a flat overlooking a Homebase, typing this in our pants because of the Tube strike.

Social mobility is a lie.

P.S.
This is weird.
Paris Hilton manages to change hair colour between shots.

Brunette.

Paris Hilton

Blonde.

Paris Hilton

Yes we do know it's a trick of the light.

God. You people.

&#39;Fast and Furious&#39; actor Paul Walker dies in <b>car</b> crash - NBC News

Posted: 03 Feb 2014 12:00 AM PST

Dan Watson / Santa Clarita Valley Signal

Firefighters hose down the remains of a red 2005 Porsche Carrera GT following a crash in Valencia, Calif., which killed actor Paul Walker and a friend.

Actor Paul Walker, the 40-year-old star of the "Fast & Furious" movie franchise, was killed in a single-car crash in California on Saturday. 

"We appreciate your patience as we too are stunned and saddened beyond belief by this news," according to a post on his official Facebook page.

Walker was a passenger in a friend's car. They had just attended a charity event for his organization Reach Out Worldwide, the post said. "Both lost their lives," it added.

"Sadly I must confirm that Paul did pass away today in a car accident," Walker's representative Ame Van Iden told NBC News.

A fiery crash took place north of Los Angeles in the community of Valencia. 

Authorities responded to the wreck at about 3:30 p.m. local time (6:30 p.m. ET), the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station told NBCLosAngeles.com. 

The vehicle was engulfed in flames and extinguished by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, KNBC reported. Authorities found two people inside the vehicle after the fire was put out, officials said.

Andre Penner / AP file

Actor Paul Walker was killed in a car crash after leaving a charity event on Saturday.

Both of its occupants were pronounced dead at the scene, KNBC reported. 

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

At the time of his death, Walker was working on the latest "Fast & Furious" movie.

The "Fast & Furious" franchise is a series of action films depicting street racing.

A statement released late Saturday by Universal Pictures read: "All of us at Universal are heartbroken. Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the FAST AND FURIOUS films, and to countless fans. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul's family."

NBC News and Universal Pictures are properties of NBCUniversal.

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First published February 3 2014, 4:40 PM
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