



The French firm's replacement for the multi-championship winning C4 WRC fully complies with the new FIA regulations with power coming from a 300hp 1.6-litre direct-injection turbocharged engine. The car also gets a four-wheel-drive system that incorporates a six-gear sequential gearbox and front and rear mechanical differentials.
"The DS3 WRC is designed to limit the budgets required to compete in the WRC", said Citroën in a statement. "The new FIA rules ban costly materials such as titanium and carbon-fibre, and standardise certain parts like the turbocharger and limit the changes that can be made to the vehicle during its lifetime. Rally nevertheless remains a great testing ground for driving new advances in vehicle technology."
The new DS3 WRC will make racing debut at the Rally Sweden in February 2011. The French firm has already confirmed two teams of the next racing season, Sébastien Loeb / Daniel Elena and Sébastien Ogier / Julien Ingrassia.
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In the red corner, and behind the wheel of the Citroen Survolt is Le Mans / Touring Car racer Vanina Ickx, daughter of six times Le Mans winner and F1 driver Jacky Ickx.
The carbon fibre bodied Survolt features a tubular chasis and twin electric motors. With 220 kw (30o-horsepower) from 0 to 5,000 rpm, the Lotus Elise-sized Survolt can reach 100 km/h (62 mph) in under five seconds. It has a top speed of 260 km/h (162 mph) and an estimated range of 200 km (124 miles) from its twin 31kw lithium ion batteries.
In the blue corner, and piloting the Agni Z2 is the fastest woman around the Isle of Man TT (Tourist Trophy) course and championship leader in the 2010 TTXGP clean emissions motorcycle race, Jenny Tinmouth.
The Agni Z2 comes with eighty small battery packs and a 50 kw (65-horsepower) electric motor offering a 0 - 100 km/h (0 - 62 mph) sprint time of just 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 209 km/h (130 mph).
Below are pictures and video of the friendly race, as the two racy women took their electric vehicles around the Thruxton Circuit as part of a joint publicity showing.
By Tristan Hankins
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The Prodrive developed and built World Rallying Championship version of the Mini Countryman is powered by a 1.6-litre, four-cylinder turbo-charged engine from BMW Motorsport to comply with the new Super2000 regulations. Like the road-going model, it also gets four-wheel drive.
According to MINI, the Countryman WRC will be ready to compete at selected rounds of the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) before completing the full series in 2012.
Hat tip to Rafael!
The automaker said work on the new chassis and powerplant has been progressing for several months at Aston Martin Racing's headquarters in Banbury, UK and the first of a limited number of six cars will hit the tarmac in early 2011.
Aston Martin Chairman, David Richards said:
"Having won the GT category twice at Le Mans in 2007 and 2008 and the Le Mans Series outright in 2009, we still want to achieve our ultimate goal of winning the 24 Hour race overall to bring the title back to Britain."
"In recent years, it has been impossible for petrol cars to compete on equal terms with the diesels. However, we now have assurances from the ACO [Automobile Club De L'Oues] that, with the adoption of the 2011 regulations, they will properly balance the performance of these new cars. Under these circumstances we have been prepared to develop Aston Martin's first purpose-built racing chassis and engine for more than 50 years."
"Even with this new car, it will still be a 'David and Goliath' fight against the massive resources of our competitors, but we have become accustomed to this and relish the challenge."
The first and only time Aston Martin won the Le Mans was in 1959 with the DBR1 of Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby. However, the British firm has had two GT1 class victories at Le Mans in 2007 and 2008, and an overall Le Mans series win in 2009.
Finished in a black paintwork, the road-legal Gallardo LP 570-4 Blancpain Edition adopts the racing model's Countach-sized rear-wing and unique engine cover which is said to offer improved ventilation.
The car also gets Skorpius alloy wheels with yellow-painted brake calipers and discs made from carbon-ceramic composite, while several external components, such as the diffuser and mirror casings are made from carbon-fiber.
The racing atmosphere continues in the interior which is finished in black Alcantara with yellow accents and visible carbon-fiber.
As with the Super Trofeo race car, propulsion for the all-wheel drive model comes from the 5.2-liter V10 with 570-horsepower found in the series production Gallardo Superleggera.
Lamborghini says the Blancpain Edition tips the scales (dry) at 1340 kilograms (2954 lb) making it "the lightest road-going model in Lamborghini's range." Not to nitpick, but that's not entirely true as the Gallardo LP 570-4 Superleggera has the same exact weight. So to be precise, it shares the title with the Superleggera.
Power-to-weight ratio of the vehicle stands at 2.35 kilograms (5.18 lb) per hp with the Blancpain completing the standard zero to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) sprint in 3.4 seconds and reaches the 200 km/h (124 mph) mark only 6.8 seconds later (10.2''). Top speed exceeds 320 km/h (199 mph).
There is no word on pricing or availability of the Gallardo LP 570-4 Blancpain Edition as of this time.
In the teaser after the jump you can watch bad-boy Eric Cartman getting ready to take on the pros at NASCAR with the help of Leopold "Butters" Stotch as his crew chief. "Don't worry, Butters," says Cartman, "I've learned everything I can about being poor and stupid. I'm ready for NASCAR." Ouch...
Via: Jalopnik , Source: South Park
Unfortunately, the AWD Mini Countryman-based rally car will only be taking part in six of the thirteen 2011 events in what Prodrive founder David Richards is calling a "preparatory year"; don't worry, 2012 will be a full season for the retro racer as it goes for the title.
Under the hood is a BMW Motorsport-tuned 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine that uses direct injection and meets all FIA S2000 regulations (meaning the WRC is just the first of its many possible applications). Also, it's hooked up the an Xtrac 6-speed sequential transmission. What we do know is that Mini says the car has undergone a "baptism of fire" at the Prodrive rally track and has gained a Prodrive-developed roll cage.
BMW's Ian Robertson says:
"The Paris Motor Show is the perfect stage on which to launch our MINI WRC. The response to our announcement that MINI will return to the world of rallying next year was very positive. The FIA World Rally Championship is the pinnacle of rallying, making it the ideal platform for demonstrating the competitive spirit of our brand. The development of the car is running on schedule, and the preparations for the world championship are in full swing. The MINI Countryman production model provided the ideal basis for our new world championship challenger."
By Phil Alex