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Alberto Crespo Antonio Creus Larry Crockett Tony Crook Art Cross

It was something of a surprise to see Vitaly Petrov at the Pirelli media event in Abu Dhabi, leading to speculation that the Russian may end up being the Pirelli test driver in 2012. Petrov is believed to also be talking to Caterham with a view to take over from Jarno Trulli, although the Italian has no intention of ending his F1 career.

When asked if Petrov might become the Pirelli test driver, Pirelli’s F1 boss Paul Hembery dodged the question.

John Cannon Eitel Cantoni Bill Cantrell Ivan Capelli Piero Carini

Justin Wilson says the fractured vertebrae he suffered during an IZOD IndyCar Series practice session in August at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course is but a distant ? albeit painful ? memory.

The IZOD IndyCar Series race winner will return to competition this weekend in the 50th anniversary Rolex 24 at Daytona. Wilson will co-drive the No. 60 LiveOn.com Daytona Prototype (ABOVE) with AJ Allmendinger, Oswaldo Negri and John Pew.

“It was a long six months. It was frustrating; you want to get back in the car,” said Wilson, who was announced late Wednesday as the driver for Dale Coyne Racing. The Briton was recently cleared to drive this season by IndyCar medical officials.

Wilson says he’s fit for the rigors of multiple driving stints on the 2.56-mile, 12-turn circuit in the Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian car.

“To take it easy; that was the only prescription,” he said of the recovery and rehabilitation. “About five weeks they said I could start to swim and I just built that up, and at about 12 weeks I added cycling. I was fortunate that there was no surgery so that made life a lot easier. I just had to concentrate on getting the movement and strength back and make sure I don’t damage anything in the meantime.”

Michael Shank Racing’s best finish in the event (second place) came in 2006 with Wilson, Allmendinger, Negri and Mark Patterson co-driving. Of course, drivers and the team principal believe they have a great opportunity to climb one step on the podium.

“The key is working out some of the changes we made and making sure we really understand and know what we’re doing,” Wilson added. “The conditions change so much. Obviously, the middle of the night is much colder than the middle of the day so it’s just getting a good handle on that so we can attack in every condition and situation and I think we’ve made some good changes on the car that allow us to do that.”

A second Michael Shank Racing with Curb/Agajanian Daytona Prototype entry will be co-driven by Firestone Indy Lights drivers Gustavo Yacaman and Jorge Goncalvez, plus Michael McDowell and Felipe Nasr.

“We’re as ready as we can be and we’re eager to get going,” said Shank, whose MSR Indy team is also expected on the grid of the IZOD IndyCar Series season opener March 25 in St. Petersburg, Fla. “I’m very proud of the effort this whole team has put in, and I’m very excited about our chances this year. We’ve got an exciting lineup of guys, and we know that this race will be as much about performance as it will be about patience.”

Other IZOD IndyCar Series drivers competing in the Daytona Prototype class include Scott Dixon and Dario Franchitti in the No. 02 Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates car, Ryan Briscoe in the No. 10 SunTrust Racing car and Paul Tracy in the No. 77 Doran Racing entry.

“It’s a fun weekend,” said Franchitti, the four-time IZOD IndyCar Series champion. “You try not to take it too seriously ? then you take it seriously when you get into the car.”

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Adolf Brudes Martin Brundle Gianmaria Bruni Jimmy Bryan Clemar Bucci

Posted on 01.25.2012 17:00 by Simona Filed under: Mclaren | Supercars / Exotic cars | roadster | future cars | McLaren MP4-12C | Cars | Car News

Now that McLaren has solved the problems associated with the MP4-12C Coupe, it’s time to focus our attention to the Spyder version due to be unveiled later in 2012. British magazine, CAR, was lucky enough to get ahold of the first images of the vehicle without any camouflage or decoy body panels. As seen in this image, the MP4-12C SPyder is as gorgeous as its coupe brother and will be offered with a folding metal roof – just like its competitor, the Ferrari 458 Italia Spyder.

The McLaren MP4-12C Spyder’s three-piece roof will open and close in about 17 seconds and will operate at speeds of up to 5 mph. The rest of the car will be identical to the coupe version: it will be powered by a V8 engine with an output of 592 HP and 442 lb-ft of torque. However, performance figures won’t be similar because the Spyder will be heavier, so no one should expect the same 205 mph top speed.

First Undisguised Images of the McLaren MP4-12C Spyder Surface originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 17:00 EST.

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Top Speed

Skip Barber Paolo Barilla Rubens Barrichello Michael Bartels Edgar Barth

Posted on 01.25.2012 18:00 by Simona Filed under: Abt Sportsline Audi | sedan | luxury cars | sports cars | Audi A4 | Audi S4 | car tuning | Cars | Car Reviews | Audi

The facelift version of the Audi A4 is on sale in Europe and will go on sale in the USA in the summer of 2012. In this short time, the model has already received a number of significant upgrades, but German tuner, ABT Sportsline, is adding another one to the faster version of the A4, the S4. Their package, called the AS4, includes a series of exterior upgrades and some serious engine boosts to allow the A4 to excel.

The exterior changes were made to improve the car’s aerodynamics and were kept to a minimum. These changes include a new air dam, new side sills and wing inserts, aerofoils, rear apron inserts, a two-pipe exhaust system, and, of course, a new set of alloy wheels.

Under the hoods of the different versions of the A4, the most impressive changes were made for the S4. The Audi S4’s 3.0 L TFSI V6 engine was pumped up to 435 HP from the standard 333 HP. The top speed limiter has also been removed, providing the luxury sedan with a top speed of 175 mph, while the 0 to 60 mph sprint is made in 4.8 seconds. The 3.0 TDI engine has also been increased from 245 HP to 282 HP, while the tiny four-cylinder version, the 2.0 TFSI, goes from 211 HP to 275 HP.

Audi A4/S4 by ABT Sportsline originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 18:00 EST.

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Top Speed

Ronnie Bucknum Ivor Bueb Sebastien Buemi Luiz Bueno Ian Burgess

Posted on 01.24.2012 18:00 by Simona Filed under: Jaguar | sedan | luxury cars | Jaguar XF | special editions | Cars | Car Reviews | Jaguar

After revealing the XJ Sport and Speed at the end of 2011, Jaguar has added two more special editions to their lineup, this time for the XF. The SE Business and Sport Editions can now be ordered on the British market, with prices starting at £31,500 ($ 49,000 at the current exchange rates) and £34,950 ($ 54,400 at the current rates) respectively.

The Jaguar XF SE Business version is based on the recently launched 163 HP 2.2 Diesel XF and adds a satellite navigation system complete with a seven inch touchscreen and HDD mapping. Next to these features, the model will be offered with intelligent start stop, a 400W sound system with DAB digital radio, leather and suedecloth seats, and bi-Xenon headlights.

The Jaguar XF SE Sport edition is based on the 190 HP 2.2 Diesel model and is distinguished by a full aerodynamic pack that includes a revised front bumper, a black grille element, side sill extensions, a subtle rear boot lid spoiler, and a black rear valance. The interior gets half leather suedecloth seats, a bond grain trim, and dove contrast stitch. The center console was dressed up with Piano black trim with ’Sport’ decals and the pedals in stainless steel. Practical additions include a heated front windscreen and front seats, a front parking aid plus a reversing camera, and 60/40 folding rear seats.

Jaguar XF SE Business & Sport Edition originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 24 January 2012 18:00 EST.

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Top Speed

Kenny Acheson Andrea de Adamich Philippe Adams Walt Ader Kurt Adolff

Honda delivered a 2013 Fit EV battery-electric vehicle to the city of Torrance today as one of the first major steps in the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program, a prelude to the retail market launch of the Fit EV with customers in California and Oregon this summer.

The delivery was marked by a ceremony at the Torrance City Hall, at which a key to the Fit EV was presented to Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto by Steve Center, vice president of the Environmental Business Development Office at American Honda.

“This is an exciting day as we take another important step toward Honda’s comprehensive vision for reducing CO2 emissions while at the same time advancing our relationship with the city of Torrance,” said Steve Center. “Honda has a long history with electric vehicles starting with the introduction of our first battery-electric car, the EV Plus, nearly 15 years ago. With Honda’s extensive experience and the real-world feedback from the city of Torrance, we will be even more prepared for the further customer adoption of electric vehicles.”

Over the past year, Honda and the city of Torrance have worked together to gather input from Torrance residents about potential recharging station locations and jointly participated in numerous public awareness events with a Fit EV test vehicle. Honda and the city will continue to further these initiatives while also studying local government fleet usage of an electrified vehicle. The city of Torrance will also receive a Honda plug-in hybrid for additional testing at a later date.  

“Today, in our partnership with Honda and their continuing efforts in renewable technologies, we will be driving into a more sustainable future,” said city of Torrance Mayor Frank Scotto.

Honda unveiled the 2013 Fit EV at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show and announced plans to begin leasing the 123 city-mile per charge (76 mile range combined adjusted city/highway)(1) battery-electric commuter vehicle to its U.S. customers in the summer of 2012.  Equipped with a 20 kWh lithium-ion battery and 92 kW coaxial electric motor, the Fit EV battery can be fully recharged in as little as 3 hours when connected to a 240-volt circuit.  

Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program
As part of the Honda Electric Vehicle Demonstration Program, Honda will test the Fit EV with Google Inc. and Stanford University, in addition to the City of Torrance, California. Each program participant will provide Honda with real-world feedback on the Fit EV. Individually, each participant will use the Fit EV to further initiatives such as research into human behavior and various usages like personal, fleet and car-sharing.

Honda Environmental Leadership
In addition to the Fit EV, Honda is a leader in the development of leading-edge technologies to improve fuel efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions.  Honda has led the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) rankings of overall vehicle environmental performance since 2000, and a Honda vehicle has topped the list of America’s greenest vehicles, from the America Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), for eleven consecutive years.

In 2006, Honda became the first automaker to announce voluntary CO2 emissions reduction targets for its global fleet of automobile, powersports and power equipment products and its global network of manufacturing plants. Today, the company is striving for even greater reductions in CO2 emissions that contribute to global climate change, while also working to minimize waste, water use and the total environmental footprint of its operations worldwide.

Worldcarfans

Alberto Colombo Erik Comas Franco Comotti George Connor George Constantine

The blurry screencap shown above is of a driver in morning traffic on Pennsylvania’s I-81, in mid-jump, hurtling down the snowy median. The man who captured the video, Shawn Lucas, thought the driver was trying to evade police, but it turns out the 61-year-old woman behind the wheel of the Kia was likely having a diabetic emergency.

Before this video was taken, she had driven onto and stopped on the median, and other drivers pulled over to play Good Samaritan and push her off. While they were pushing, she sped off again, which is when Lucas began to record her (he apparently was unaware of the driver’s medical condition).

A fire chief described the condition as “your eyes are open, you’re wide awake, but you don’t realize what’s going on around you.” Luckily, no one was hurt and her wild ride came to end when she plowed into an embankment. Follow the jump to see the report from WHTM news as well as Lucas’ original footage (fair warning, there’s explicit language).

Autoblog

Sebastien Buemi Luiz Bueno Ian Burgess Luciano Burti Roberto Bussinello

Pirelli’s 2012 F1 tyre range

Pirelli will supply softer tyres in 2012 in a bid to further improve the standard of racing in Formula 1.

The tyre manufacturer revealed its 2012 F1 tyre range on Wednesday, including new soft, medium and hard tyre compounds. The super-soft compound remains unchanged, but all four dry-weather tyres will have a different construction in 2012 with a squarer profile.

Pirelli will also introduce a new wet-weather tyre. The intermediate tyre remains unchanged but the colours used to distinguish them will be revised ? the intermediate tyre now has green colouring and the wet-weather tyre uses blue.

The dry-weather tyres will retain their 2011 colouring: red for super-soft, yellow for soft, white for medium and silver for hard.

According to Pirelli the banning of exhaust-blown diffusers has influenced their choice of tyres for 2012: ?This new measure, which should result in a reduction of aerodynamic downforce acting on each tyre, requires a wider and more even contact patch.

?This objective has been met by having a less rounded shoulder on each tyre and using softer compounds, which produce better grip and more extreme performance.?

Pirelli added they intend to reduce the performance gap between the compounds from the 1.2-1.8 seconds seen last year to 0.6-0.8 seconds.

The new tyres will make their first appearance at the start of F1 testing at Jerez on February 7th.

Pirelli president and CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera said: ?After the positive experience of last year, the teams asked us to continue providing tyres with the characteristics that contributed to spectacular races in 2011.

?And this is what we have done, optimising the compounds and profiles in order to guarantee even better and more stable performance, combined with the deliberate degradation that characterised the P Zero range from 2011.

?We?re expecting unpredictable races, with a wide range of strategies and a number of pit stops: all factors that both competitors and spectators greatly enjoyed last year. The development work on the new compounds took place throughout the 2011 season, thanks to the impressive learning curve and reaction times from our engineers, who are ready to continue those evolutions during the season ahead.?

More information on the 2012 F1 season.

2012 F1 season

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Image © Pirelli

F1 Fanatic – The Formula 1 Blog

Jimmy Daywalt JeanDenis Deletraz Patrick Depailler Pedro Diniz Duke Dinsmore

GTPlanet

Peter Collins Bernard Collomb Alberto Colombo Erik Comas Franco Comotti