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Mini John Cooper Works WRC (2011): launch news

By Ben Barry

First Official Pictures

11 April 2011 15:18

Mini has today officially launched its WRC campaign in the UK, at the company’s Cowley base on the outskirts of Oxford. For the first time, the WRC team – run in conjunction with Prodrive – also revealed its ambitious strategy: to be challenging for the WRC championship by 2013. That’s despite the fact that the car debuts part-way through the 2011 season, contesting just six rallies.

‘This year is a test year, next year we aim to be winning rallies, and by 2013 I hope to be challenging for the title,’ said Prodrive boss David Richards. ‘I’ve never before felt such engagement from the team behind a project.’

Mini’s WRC car: the launch

The car’s official name is the Mini John Cooper Works WRC, but the base vehicle is the new five-door Countryman mini-SUV – not the first thing that might come to mind for Mini enthusiasts.

But, says Richards, ‘every element ticked the right box: the four-wheel drive, the dimensions, the 1.6-litre turbo engine.’

Engineer David Willcock agrees: ‘The whole bodyshell is designed around four-wheel drive from the factory. It’s inherently stiff, and we were already well on the way to meeting our targets before we’d started.’

And with the engine being developed by the experts at BMW Motorsport, and news that a customer car built to the sub-WRC S2000 spec recently took the win on an Italian rally, the team are particularly upbeat ahead of their early-May debut.

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BMW Z4 GT3 (2011) completes testing

By Mark Hamilton

First Official Pictures

12 April 2011 09:51

BMW Motorsport has released pictures of its upgraded Z4 GT3 race car. The 2011 car has completed testing and is available for customer teams.

BMW Z4 GT3: the lowdown

The Z4 GT3 may look like a regular Z4 that's been attacked by a boy-racer with a carbonfibre and tea-tray rear wing fetish. But under the skin the Z4 GT3 ditches straight-six power for a 4.4-litre motorsport-tuned V8 engine, hooked up to a six-speed racing transmission

BMW Motorsport takes a regular Z4 coupe-cabriolet body shell, and removes the retractable hardtop, bonnet, bootlid, front and rear wings and the bumpers. In goes an FIA-approved rollcage, modified front structure for that V8 engine and suitably uprated suspension and steering hardware.

A 100-litre fuel tank takes care of the V8's thirst, which is monitored along with the other performance parameters by a digital instrument panel. Lightweight carbonfibre panels cover up the racing tech. For 2011 BMW has particularly focused on honing the Z4 GT3's aerodynamics, says the team.

Subaru XV concept (2011)

Subaru XV concept (2011) first teaser picture

By Mark Hamilton

First Official Pictures

12 April 2011 11:13

Subaru has offered a first glimpse at the Subaru XV, a new crossover SUV concept for the 2011 Shanghai motor show.

Where's the Subaru XV? Is it hiding?

For the Subaru XV release, Subaru's press office has followed the 'darkened silhouette' school of teaser photographs.
So at this stage, all we can tell you is that the Subaru XV is a wagonoid form sitting rather tall on its wheels versus a conventional estate. Would you have preferred a lovingly rendered close-up shot of a wing mirror instead?

Do we know anything else about the new Subaru XV concept car?

Subaru is holding on to full details until the 2011 Shanghai motor show next week.  The XV is a crossover SUV with Subaru's traditional all-wheel-drive, and it has been designed under the theme of 'enjoyment and peace of mind'.
Subaru's aim with the XV is to combine SUV practicality with a fashionable form. Given that Subaru is a brand known for winning respect with its durable, practical vehicles in spite of their, how do we put this kindly, distinctive styling it will be interesting to see what the XV looks like when the lights go up.

Lexus LF-Gh concept (2011)

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Lexus LF-Gh concept (2011) first official pictures

By Mark Hamilton

First Official Pictures

12 April 2011 17:00

Lexus has released additional details of the LF-Gh concept, due to be unveiled at next week’s 2011 New York motor show. Unlike our earlier story, the latest information includes some clear images of the LF-Gh in its entirety…

The Lexus LF-Gh concept looks angry from the front, doesn’t it?

Indeed. The LF-Gh’s sharp-edged, scowling visage might look a bit like a refugee from a Transformers film (Lexucons vs. Audibots, in cinemas summer 2012). But it’s also our first look at the next generation of Lexus styling. 

Lexus is still calling its design language ‘L-Finesse’, but now with an added dose of that big-grille ‘look at me!’ boldness that seems to have served Audi so well recently. That spindle-shaped grille is going to appear on future Lexus models, we hear.

In profile the LF-GH bears more of a family resemblance to the existing Lexus IS and LS saloons, but with cameras replacing the door mirrors and concealed door handles designed to add to the sense of sleekness Lexus wishes to convey. 

The car sits on 20-inch wheels, with prominent wheelarches and a tapered sill designed to smooth airflow. At the rear we can see the wrap-around tail-lamps in context, with a functional air vents at the corners. These vents work with the inlets around the front foglights to contribute to aerodynamic stability

Audi Q3 (2011)

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Audi Q3 (2011) first official pictures

By Ben Pulman

First Official Pictures

12 April 2011 23:00

This is Audi’s new Q3, a baby SUV that’s set to challenge the BMW X1, Range Rover Evoqueforthcoming Mini Paceman, as well pinching potential Ford Kuga customers. It’s Audi’s smallest Q series 4x4 yet, sitting below the Q5 and Q7. The new Audi Q3 will be officially unveiled at the 2011 Shanghai show next week. and

This new Audi Q3 looks very familiar…

Are you being polite or taking the piss? Bar the odd detail tweak and redesigned bumper it looks almost identical to the Cross Coupe Quattro concept that appeared at the Shanghai show in 2007. That car was smart, but something seems to have been lost in the translation to production. And there’ll be a ready chorus of people to claim it looks like every other Audi out there…

The big, single-frame grille is present, LED daytime running lights are an option, and the slanted D-pillars mean it leans towards the lifestyle rather than luggage-carrying side of the market. The Q3 is 4.39m long, 1.83m wide and 1.60m tall, making it shorter, wider and taller than a BMW X1. Customers can pick from Allroad-style cladding (in black, body colour or grey), an off-road styling kit, and the sporty S-line pack (the grey car in our pictures). UK cars will run on 17in wheels as standard, with 18s and 19s costing extra.

And the Audi Q3's interior?

Inside the A1 is a mix of A1 and next-gen A3, with a pop-up sat-nav screen and typically top-notch materials. Posh options include Audi Drive Select (letting you adjust the throttle and steering), adaptive xenon lights, a hard-drive sat-nav system, hill-hold assist, a 14-speaker Bose sound system, a panoramic glass roof, and various blind spot and lane keeping assistance systems. In the pipeline is a Bluetooth car phone that can pair with WLAN hotspots to provide full internet connectivity.

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 (2011)

GT3 (2011) first official picture

By Mark Hamilton

First Official Pictures

13 April 2011 14:31

This is the Aston Martin Vantage GT3. Created and developed by Aston Martin Racing, it's a GT3-spec racer based on the , and it'll be ready to compete in the FIA GT3 series (and other GT3 events) in 2012. Which is exactly the same time that  racer will be ready...

Aston Martin Vantage GT3 - the V12 Vantage track weapon

The heart of the Vantage GT3 is the lightweight, dry-sump 6.0-litre V12 engine from the  road car. Aston Martin Racing is aiming for 600bhp and 516lb ft outputs for the Vantage GT3, along with target weight of 1250kg. The engine will be coupled to a sequential paddleshift racing gearbox by Xtrac, and the Vantage GT3 will also receive a competition-spec traction control and ABS system. 

What is the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 replacing?

Aston Martin's current GT3 racer is the , which was launched in 2006 at Le Mans. Based on the  and related to the purpose-built DBR9 GT1 racer, Aston Martin has built 26 DBRS9 customer cars for racing in series such as the FIA GT3 European Championships or British GT Championships.

Peugeot SXC concept car (2011)

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Peugeot SXC concept car (2011) first official pictures

By Tim Pollard

First Official Pictures

14 April 2011 09:00

Peugeot will show this SXC crossover concept at next week’s 2011 Shanghai auto show. It’s a large hybrid 4x4 designed in Peugeot’s Chinese styling studio and shows a few pointers for how a future crossover could look. We’ll take that to mean the next 4007 then.

China is a growing market for Peugeot, which expects to sell 200,000 cars there in 2011. It’s launching the new 508 family model there this month, to sell alongside the 207, 308, 408, 3008 and RCZ.

Peugeot SXC crossover: the lowdown

The SXC is 4870mm long, 1610mm tall and 2035mm wide, making it as big as a BMW X5, although it sits a handspan lower to the tarmac. It sounds suspiciously like a future crossover to replace the Mitsu-Franco Peugeot 4007 and Citroen C-Crosser, which was essentially a shortcut to a 4x4 for the French brands. Peugeot only sold 309 in the UK last year.

This new concept car looks infinitely tastier than a rebadged Mitsubishi Outlander. The Peugeot SXC adopts the latest Pug family look with sweptback headlamps, scalloped flanks and a generally sleeker, more aerodynamic look than the pudgier Peugeots of the past decade.

Note a couple of details: the LED front headlamps are especially narrow, and the boomerang motif in the rear lamps recalls those famous Maser lights. Being a concept car, the door mirrors are swapped for higher-tech rear-view cameras, naturellement, and the SXC rolls on 22in alloys.