Audi Service, Repair and Consignment Sales Redwood City - Next Audi R8 to be up to 130 pounds lighter - Bosch European Redwood City - (650) 368-3000

 

"Simplify and add lightness," as Lotus founder Colin Chapman said. In a world where even supercars are subject to environmental, efficiency and emissions standards, lighter vehicles are being looked on as a sort of panacea - make it lighter, and it's automatically faster, more agile, easier to brake and better on gas.

Knowing this, it comes as no shock that Audi is looking at ways to lighten up its next-generation R8, with the brand's head of technical development Ulrich Hackenberg targeting a 110- to 130-pound diet for the mid-engine rocket. This supports previous reports regarding the focus for the next R8. Motor Trend reports that aluminum and carbon fiber feature heavily in plans for the next R8, which should go a long way toward slimming down even the lightest of R8s, the 3,678-pound V10 Plus model.

There's more over at Motor Trend, including the buff book's attempts to get Hackenberg to discuss powertrain options for the next R8.

News Source: Motor Trend

Image Credit: Copyright 2013 Chris Paukert / AOL, Jim Fetz / Audi

Source: autoblog

by Brandon Turkus

 

http://www.boscheuropean.com

Mercedes Service, Repair and Consignment Sales Redwood City - Mercedes revisits the glory of the Silver Arrows - Bosch European Redwood City - (650) 368-3000

 Mercedes-Benz has a long and very storied racing history, dating back to the dawn of the automobile. Naturally, we take every opportunity available to explore that history, which is why this clip is so interesting.

It's from a video called "Magical Moments" that Mercedes puts out through its Classic store. From what we can tell, it recaps some events from its glory days and features quotes from some of the Silver Arrows' greatest drivers. The acting is, predictably, a bit wooden, but the cars are simply exquisite. With appearances from Jackie Stewart and all the classic Mercedes racers you can possibly imagine, any fan of vintage cars is going to get a kick out of this.

Scroll down for six-minutes of classic open-wheeled racers and endurance cars.

News Source: Mercedes-Benz via YouTube

Autoblog

by Brandon Turkus

http://www.boscheuropean.com

BMW Service, Repair and Consignment Sales Redwood City - BMW M235i Racing takes to the track - Bosch European Redwood City - (650) 368-3000

Last month, BMW showed off a motorsports version of its new 2 Series Coupe called the M235i Racing. While that single image was obviously a rendering or design model, BMW Motorsports has now released a video showing the real deal being tested.

From what we can tell from beneath the camouflage, the wide-body fenders ­– to accommodate a 3.5-inch track stretch – are slightly different than the image BMW previously released. Still, the body is noticeably different from the stock coupe. The video, which is posted below, shows glimpses of the race-prepped interior, including a full FIA roll cage, but more importantly we get to hear the 333-horsepower engine and its throaty exhaust in action.

News Source: BMWMotorsport via YouTube

Autoblog

by Jeffrey N. Ross

 

http://www.boscheuropean.com

 

Audi Service, Repair and Consignment Sales Redwood City - Audi already teasing, testing next R18 e-tron quattro - Bosch European Redwood City - (650) 368-3000

You can't debate Audi's record in endurance racing. With 12 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, it comes second only to Porsche in the history books of the famous endurance race – only in Audi's case, all of those victories have come in the last 14 years, losing only twice: once to its partner team Bentley in 2003 and once to rival Peugeot in 2009. It's won the FIA World Endurance Championship in both of the seasons it's run so far, and has won championships in the European and American Le Mans Series, too.

That's quite a record to defend, and defend it Audi will with an evolved LMP1 racer next year. Only a week after tying up its second consecutive world championship, the German outfit is already back at Sebring this weekend testing the successor to the all-conquering R18 e-tron Quattro. Unfortunately as the new United SportsCar Championship doesn't include LMP1s, the only chance we may have to see it competing here in the United States will be at the 6 Hours of the Circuit of the Americas in September.

Audi is keeping mum on the details for the time being, releasing only this one photo and promising to reveal further details before the end of the month, but we can already discern a more streamlined shape, revised aero and reprofiled headlamps among the changes from the outgoing R18. One way or another, with Toyota upping its game and Porsche returning to top-level competition next season, Audi may be in for its toughest challenge yet – but you can bet it won't take it lying down. 

source: Autoblog
by Noah Joseph

http://www.boscheuropean.com

Mercedes Service, Repair and Consignment Sales Redwood City - Cop lets speeding G55 AMG driver go on Thanksgiving in exchange for revving engine - Bosch European Redwood City - (650) 368-3000

The holiday spirit is infectious, it seems, even for police officers. And, after watching this video, we're quite sure that the driver and passenger of the Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG are thankful that the Thanksgiving spirit spread long and far enough to cover a speeding ticket in exchange for a blip of the throttle.

After pulling the two men over, the unnamed police officer, who appears to be writing the ticket as he's making conversation, asks the driver what kind of car he's driving. After finding out what it is, what it's powered by and how expensive it is, he casually tells the in-car duo to slow down and drive safely... but not before opining that he's underpaid by the police force.

Now that the video is going viral (it had been on YouTube, but has since been removed by the user), we're curious as to whether or not the officer will be reprimanded for being so lenient or saying anything negative about his job. You'll have to click on over to The Mirror in the UK to see the the footage, but feel free to come back and let us know in the Comments whether you think this is just a cop being cool on Thanksgiving (that'd be our vote) or if he should have ticketed the driver.

News Source: The Mirror

Autoblog

by Jeremy Korzeniewski

 

http://www.boscheuropean.com

Jaguar Service, Repair and Consignment Sales Redwood City - Jaguar XKR-S - Bosch European Redwood City - (650) 368-3000

 

 

Jaguar pulled a fast one on us all when it unexpectedly shoehorned all 550 horsepower of the 5.0-liter supercharged V8 from the XKR-S into the new F-Type Coupe to supersede the existing V8 S model with the F-Type R. But that's just the beginning, according to the latest intel coming from the UK.

According to Autocar, in speaking to Jaguar design director Ian Callum during the coupe's unveiling at the LA Auto Show, the British automaker could yet offer R-S and R-S GT versions of the F-Type. Just what mechanical changes those would bring when the F-Type R already packs the company's top engine remains to be seen, but given that the same engine also powers the flagship XJR performance saloon, we could envision Jaguar developing an even more powerful version for R-S versions of the little coupe and big sedan.

The GT version, meanwhile, would likely offer more extreme aero and a lighter form for the truly performance-obsessed. Considering that the new top-of-the-line F-Type is already pushing the hundred-grand mark, you can bet any R-S and R-S GT version would approach double the base F-Type's $65k sticker price.

News Source: Autocar

Autoblog

by Noah Joseph

 

http://www.boscheuropean.com

Land Rover Service, Repair and Consignment Sales Redwood City - Land Rover bringing diesel hybrid tech to America eventually - Bosch European Redwood City - (650) 368-3000

Land Rover may have ditched its naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 in favor of a 3.0-liter supercharged V6 on the new Ranger Rover due to fuel economy concerns, but don't think that the British off-road brand is content to sit on its laurels with the V6/V8 strategy.

According to the TheDetroitBureau.com, the Range Rover Hybrid we showed you earlier from Frankfurtwill, after all, make the trek across the pond and into the North American market. You can read the particulars about that car by hopping over to its Frankfurt coverage page, but we'll sum it up right here - 516 pound-feet of torque and 355 system horsepower from a 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6 and an electric motor. Estimates put it at about 37 US miles per gallon, though we'd expect a combined EPA rating a bit below that.

TheDetroitBureau.com quotes Andy Goss, currently Jaguar Land Rover's US CEO and who is slated to take the company's top marketing spot, who said, "It's not a matter of 'if,' but 'when.'" Now, we've been clamoring for one of the Range Rover SDV8s sold in Europe for some time. As we won't be seeing that, this V6 diesel-electric might just be the next best thing. The only problem with Goss' statement is that it doesn't really specify when the hybridized SUVs will arrive. TheDetroitBureau.com's Paul Eisenstein does point out that the pressure is on for Land Rover, though. With federal fuel economy standards tightening up in 2016, the venerable British off-roading brand needs some fuel sippers, and fast.

News Source: TheDetroitBureau.com

Image Credit: Copyright 2013 Noah Joseph / AOL

Autoblog

by Brandon Turkus