Autoblog

Following two incidents in two weeks, it looks like the ballyhooed KERS hybrid system might not make it onto Formula 1 cars for 2009 -- at least, not the first races. Teams have begun to talk about how much difficulty they're having in building a safe system. KERS not only needs to work when the car is racing around the track, it also needs to be engineered properly in the event of a 300-kph accident.

In addition to Red Bull's smoke and fumes and BMW's bolt from the blue, Mark Weber said that teams are struggling to deal with the chemicals in the batteries. Supposedly, the stuff that runs off a blown up KERS battery is poisonous arsenic. Toyota's head of engine development said all the teams are having trouble, and Williams Driver Nico Rosberg appeared to doubt whether his team would have it ready by the first race of '09. The teams have scheduled to discuss the matter at their next Technical Working Group meeting. As for us, we can live with or without KERS. Just keep the slicks, will you?

[Source: F1-Live]

Formula 1 will hit the BBC air waves in 2009 after a long run on ITV. The move will require new figureheads to sit at the desk, and London's Times has said that Top Gear's Richard Hammond is the top man for the job. Economics at least partially drove ITV's decision to withdraw from F1 coverage. The coverage is expensive, so making money is challenging, even with newly rising star Lewis Hamilton making F1 more interesting for UK viewers.

Hammond's presence might help broaden the appeal beyond just racing fans, as would guest appearances by Jeremy Clarkson and James May, Hammond's cohorts on Top Gear. Letting Clarkson and May prowl the paddock could offer priceless moments of color commentary that would set YouTube alight. The BBC also plans to update the look, feel and pace of its coverage, and fans will be able to get at the presentation more easily with races going out across broadband digital outlets in addition to the standard radio and television. Thanks for the tip, Eric!

[Source: Times Online, Photo by Getty Images/Getty]

Since starting its F1 team in 2002, Toyota has poured in an unprecedented – although undisclosed – amount of money into its Formula One team. But after five years of lackluster performance, even Toyota's patience – and cash – is beginning to run out. Team principal Tadashi Yamashina revealed in his annual report that the company has given him until 2010 to increase the team's level of performance.

Although it hasn't been specified exactly what consequence it will bring if the Cologne, Germany-based team fails to meet the company's expectations, one could not imagine the coffers staying filled if the team continues to disappoint the bean-counters back in Japan.

In his report, Yamashina pinpointed aerodynamics and a failure to adapt to the new uniform Bridgestone tires as the principal reasons why the team failed to score even a single podium finish this past season, declaring that the team needs to improve in these areas in order to succeed. But Toyota's overall performance in 2007 was about par for the team, which hasn't placed better than fourth in the constructors' championship.

Better luck next year, Toyota. You're going to need it.

[Source: Autosport]

click above for high resolution gallery of the Toyota Auris SR180

The bucket of parts that makes up the Toyota Corolla also gives life to several other vehicles worldwide. In the UK and other parts of the world, they get the Auris, a three- or five-door hatch-type-thing. While Toyotas in the United States are sleepy affairs, the Auris is ringing in 2008 with a sporty, well-equipped SR180 version. Looking great with a lowered suspension from Toyota Motorsport and blacked out rear glass, the Auris appears intimately involved with the pavement. There's a subtle spoiler atop the hatch, which always gives a nice finish to the back end of this style car, and the wheel arches are nicely filled with 17-inch alloy rims. Underhood, Toyota's D-4D Diesel provides 175 horsepower and a whopping 294 ft-lbs of torque through a six-speed manual while returning 38 mpg (US) on a combined cycle.

Equipment levels are up, providing the driver with such goodies as dual-zone climate control, automatic headlamps and wipers, and cruise control. Stability and traction-control systems are standard, too. It all sounds and looks very good until you run the roughly £18,500 price through a currency conversion – coming out the other side at about $37,000 greenbacks. Some people would sell a kidney on eBay for the opportunity to get something like this Stateside, and it certainly is a rare Toyota that makes us say "That's cool." If you're someplace where you can take advantage of it, order yours now for January delivery.

[Source: Toyota]

Ferrari is apparently running out of F1 teams to supply with engines, so it's looking to other racing series altogether for new customers. For the current season, the Maranello-based team had to have the rules bent so that they could supply their engines to not one but two additional teams on the grid (Spyker and Toro Rosso). No wonder then that half of the cars that finished in the points at this past weekend's penultimate Chinese Grand Prix were powered by Ferrari.

Like other single-seater racing series, A1GP, the self-described "world cup of motorsport", uses the same chassis and engines for all the teams. Lola and Zytek have been supplying the cars and power respectively, but with contracts up for renewal, rumors started to fly when Ferrari's sporting director Stefano Domenicali was seen at Silverstone during an A1GP test session. Ferrari has now confirmed that they're in negotiations with the series' organizers.

Rumor has it that the engine deal isn't the only thing A1GP chief Tony Teixeira is discussing with Ferrari, as insiders tip the South African businessman as a potential partner in Scuderia Toro Rosso, which would effectively become Ferrari's B-squad in the developing "super team" saga.

[Sources: F1i.com and autosport]

There are so many driving schools out there, it's hard to throw a rock and not hit one. Renault pilot Giancarlo Fisichella is the latest entrant in the branded driving school game, but he's doing it differently. The Fisichella Motorsport Technopole will teach people driving skills via its Motorsport Academy, and will also teach official courses in how to be a mechanic, telemetrist, mechanic, race engineer, or any one of the other jobs required in F1 -- even catering managers and PR flacks. When another round of students graduates, the academy will offer the list of newly minted motorsport experts to all of the teams ... though that probably doesn't include people who've finished the driving school. The academy will be based at the Vallelunga circuit, near Rome.

[Source: Yahoo UK]

In a column for Scotland's The Herald newspaper, James Porteous throws down from the first two paragraphs: "There is a sport more dangerous than any other, that kills far more people than boxing and yet there are no calls for it to be banned. Not rugby. Not equestrianism. Not even Ultimate Fighting. No, it's time to ban motorsport: not to save the drivers, who are probably at less risk of injury than footballers, but the rest of us."

In what some will see as a call-to-arms and others as a hateful screed by someone who apparently doesn't dig the sight of fast cars going fast, Porteous calls auto racing "the most wasteful, harmful, pointless leisure pursuit on the planet." The article is full of end-of-the-world hooks: "a couple of degrees more global warming will trigger a catastrophe," "we need to cut carbon emissions by 90% in the next 20 years," "biodiesel creates more problems than it solves," and so on. It is, though, light on the scientifics -- not that he doesn't have facts to back up his claims, but he should tell everyone where he got them. F1 takes the brunt of punishment because there is more data available on F1, supposedly. Ironic that Porteous' column comes just as F1 announces a hybrid transmission for the monococques. But that's "general waffle" according to Porteous, and anyone who doesn't agree with the assessment is either "George Bush or another Halliburton henchman." Mental note: don't discuss auto racing in Scotland.

In the fourth paragraph, however, Porteous writes "Cars that do 3.5 miles to the gallon are not unacceptable." Apparently, speaking on a soap box and typing at the same time leads to typos.

[Source: The Herald via Daily F1]

NASCAR has a solid reputation as a race series firmly entrenched in the southern United States, but has been fighting hard to defeat that image and branch out of Old Dixie. With races lined up in such northern locations as Michigan, Illinois, Ohio, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, NASCAR has long since established itself with the yanks, but with races planned for Mexico and Montreal, the good ol' boys are looking to expand internationally, as well.

It seems that south and north of the border isn't far enough, however, as NASCAR officials recently made a trip half-way around the world to China in order to look into reaching the biggest potential audience in the world.

NASCAR insists that they're not looking to set up a top-tier Nextel Cup race in China, just some junior series events. You've got to figure they've got their sites set on something more ambitious than that, however. The last venture into the Far East finished in 1998 after NASCAR held three annual exhibition races in Japan.

The international expansion forms part of a bigger campaign NASCAR has been waging to establish itself as a top-tier racing series, and the recent defection of F1 stars like Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve hasn't hurt any, either. No doubt that NASCAR has also been keeping a close eye on competing race series, including Formula One, which has been setting up more international races each season; ChampCars, which is planning a return to Europe; and most of all the Speedcar Series, which is gearing up for races across Asia in American-built stock cars.

[Source: GrandPrix.com]

It's fantastic when the Microsoft juggernaut uses its massive expertise to get things spot on. Forza Motorsport 2, the sequel to original's four-wheeled bedlam, has better physics, better visuals, and according to the recently posted list, 310 cars to choose from.

There's the mundane, like a 2006 Acura RL. There's the surprising, like a Bentley Continental GT. There's the juiced, like the the Saleen S7. There are the shoo-ins, like the Mclaren F1 and the NSX. And then there's the overkill: 18 Chevys, 20 Ferraris, 22 Nissans, 25 Porsches, and 25 Toyotas. That's the kind of "overkill" that's just right in our book. Seven of those cars can only be had with game pre-orders and the collector's edition. Other rare "unicorn cars" can be bought in the Turn 10 online auction, in case you can't get your lap times just right with the 310 standard options.

What's more, you get more tuning choices like swapping drivetrains (changing FWD into RWD), and more artwork possibilities (4000 art layers instead of 400). You can even create custom paint jobs and sell them online. Forza Motorsport 2 arrives in May. Get ready to drive.

[Source: Joystiq]

Vertu has long been cultivating an image of association with the pinnacle of automotive excellence through their branding, use of materials and special editions. The latest effort is a collaboration with Ferrari, that Italian stallion that seemingly manages to get its name on everything these days.

Following on the heels of the exclusive Racetrack Legends series, the Ferrari Challenge edition is likewise based on the sporty Ascent handset that features proprietary "liquid alloy" construction, jewel bearings, a sapphire crystal screen and distinctive leather trim. The Ferrari version is differentiated by a Prancing Horse emblem near the mouthpiece, black and red leather with embossed Ferrari insignia, and a drilled accelerator pedal on the back.

[Source: Sybarites]