Autoblog

Spy Shots: First images of Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car

Frank Filipponio — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:01:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Spy Photos, Performance, Europe, Hatchback, Ford

Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car - Click above for high-res image gallery

CAR has just published what are believed to be the first pictures of the new Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car. With a few extra mods, it's set to take on all comers as Ford's 2011 WRC contender as well. It makes sense, because Ford has already confirmed (along with Citroen) that plan to enter both classes and they've confirmed that the Fiesta is the car they plan to run.

S2000 cars run naturally aspirated engines generating about 270 horsepower, while WRC cars can be turbocharged and run with tweaked bodywork.

The pics were shot during a shakedown run in Cumbria, England. According to CAR, a second car should be ready by the end of October with full homologation starting in January 2010. M-Sport is once again behind the build for Ford which reportedly took just six months this time around.

Gallery: Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car

[Source: CAR]

Spy Shots: First images of Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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REPORT: Frozen koalas and other dead animals may be hurled at Aussie rally cars today

Chris Shunk — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:39:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Safety

We'd be thrilled to have a major rally event in our home town, but apparently some of the residents of Australia's Tweed Valley don't share our enthusiasm for one of the most interesting forms of motorsport. According to New Zealand's Stuff, some locals in the area are very much against the Australian leg of the Repco World Rally Championship on environmental grounds, and Tweed-Byron police think the event could get ugly. We're talking throw frozen road kill at the rally cars ugly.

Police Superintendent Michael Kenny says rumors have locals putting koala bears and other dead animals in the freezer to use as blunt objects to toss at rally cars, while other rumors have residents laying down on the road so the cars cannot pass. The issue that has so many residents up in arms is that the rally starts today - during mating season - and many are concerned that the fast-moving Subarus and Fords could scare off the wildlife. Protest groups No Rally and Kyogle-based 7th Generation circulated petitions to stop the race, but the groups got only 705 signatures online. 7th Generation insists that any protests will be peaceful, but Tweed-Byron police will have 150 officers in cars, on foot and in the air to make sure the event goes off without any airborne mammals - frozen or otherwise.

For their part, race officials say they are taking great pains to ensure that the event is safe for both the drivers and any local wildlife that may enter the field of play. Repco Rally Australian chairman Garry Connelly told local paper The Northern Star that advanced road tracking techniques will be used to help animals injured during the event. According to Connelly:

"We have put in place a unique technology for the World Championship, in fact for motor sport - a unique road tracking system in relation to wildlife that may be injured during the event and we will have a very solid and conclusive, proven method of determining any road kill or any animal that is injured and we will be recording that and that will be in our report."

[Source: Stuff | Image: Torsten Blackwood/AFP/Getty]

REPORT: Frozen koalas and other dead animals may be hurled at Aussie rally cars today originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Sep 2009 14:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultimate rally car collection hits the block

Jonathon Ramsey — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:09:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Etc., Europe, Audi, UK

UPDATE: Images removed by request of owner

In the eighties, David Sutton owned the company that prepared rally cars for Audi UK. It turns out he was collecting cars at the same time as he was preparing them, and putting them in his Historic Motors Ltd museum. The assortment includes seven Audis, some of which are Group B monsters, as well as an RS200 Cosworth, a couple of Lancias, a 1944 Volvo, and even a Skoda. Now the lot's being sold, 22 cars in all, through Morris & Welford. It's the kind of collection that, even if you had the time, money, and connections, would probably take you years to assemble individually. But you can have it all, right now... if you have what is likely to be an enormous sum of cash. Check out the other items on offer in the gallery below.

[Source: Motive Magazine]

Continue reading Ultimate rally car collection hits the block

Ultimate rally car collection hits the block originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 31 Aug 2008 12:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Live shots of Colin McRae's R4 rally car

John Neff — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 16:29:00 EST

Filed under: Motorsports, Misc. Auto Shows

Finally some shots of the R4 rally car designed by Colin McRae himself for a single-make rally series have surfaced. The car debuted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend, but shots from that event have been surprisingly hard to come by. We've already told you about the R4 at length here, but to reiterate it's got a 340-hp, 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that's mated to a six-speed sequential gearbox. In that form it can hit 60 mph in five seconds, although more powerful versions of the engine are already in the works. McRae designed the £130,000 rally car especially for a single-make rally race series of which we know very little about at this time.

[Source: Autocar

Live shots of Colin McRae's R4 rally car originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 11 Jul 2006 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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