Autoblog

Click to view the Veritas RS III in our hi-res gallery

Regular readers will recall that about a month ago, our man Chris Tutor grabbed a photo of a mysterious car standing at the gates of the vaunted Nurburgring Nordschleiffe. We all hazarded our guesses, but it was our astute reader PandaBeat who identified it as the Veritas RS3, a concept roadster that appeared in 2001. After that we got some better photos and even a video of the concept car at the 'Ring, and now some more juicy details have emerged as well.

Sources suggest that the Veritas RS III – conceived and executed by a small team of seven enthusiasts who resuscitated the name of Germany's first grand prix race team, spun off from BMW – will begin production at the end of this year at a rate of 50 examples per year. Instead of the BMW V12 in the concept, the production version is tipped to carry a tuned version of BMW's celebrated 5.0-liter V10 tuned to develop 600 horsepower. With that much power in a carbon-kevlar construction and minimal bodywork, we doubt the Veritas RS III will have any trouble meeting its projected 0-62 time of 3.2 seconds, but your neck muscles had better be as strong as an F1 driver's or an NFL linebacker's to withstand the wind forces slapping against your helmet at 216 mph.

Check out the gallery below for some fresh images from the manufacturer, and the one below that for the original shots from the Nurburgring.

[Source: CarScoop]

Watson, the mystery's been solved. After Chris spied a sinuous silver shape on his iPhone and a couple of readers sent us shots from the Nurburgring web cam, we now have video of the Veritas RS3 sitting at the starting gate, ready to do... something on the infamous Nordschleife. The blokes from the Bridge to Gantry have put the matter to rest with a video walk-around of the Veritas taken by one of the dozens of people surrounding the concept before it made its way onto the Green Hell.

Just as a refresher, the Veritas RS3 was a showcar displayed in 2001 packing a BMW-sourced V12 putting out 670 hp and 560 lb.-ft. of torque. With a tubular chassis and a total weight of just over a ton, we can only imagine the fun the race-ready driver was having after speeding off from the entry gate at the 'Ring.

Check the full video after the jump and you can read up on the Veritas' racing history by clicking these blue colored words.


[Source: Bridge to Gantry via Axis of Oversteer]

Information about the upcoming Audi S3 is sketchy at this point, but a photo of Audi's newest S has found its way onto a Spanish-language buff book. Per usual, speculation is rampant, but a few technical facts have made their way into the webiverse over the past two days.

The S3 will more than likely be fitted with a variant of the two-liter TFSI engine and mated to either a 6-speed manual or Audi's delicious DSG. The turbocharged mill will put out approximately 260 bhp, but whether that power will find its way to all four wheels or just the front two remains to be seen.

Aerodynamic enhancements are limited from this vantage point, but a new front splitter accentuating the Audi family's gaping maw, accompanied by larger air inlets to feed the engine and cool the brakes gives cred to the S3's potential. Side skirts are par for the course.

Beyond that, it is educated guesstimating. One could safely assume that an uprated suspension package will be available, along with 17" or 18" wheels shod in stickier rubber. Brakes will grow, exhausts will be retuned and all will be right with Audi's 'lil hatch. That is until an RS variant finds its way to consumers.

Will we benefit from these developments in the U.S.? Who knows? But you can't fault us for dreaming.

[Source: Autoblog.it]

British peeps over at AutoExpress have caught a virtually naked Audi RS3 out testing near the company's HQ in Ingolstadt, Germany. The RS3 will have a wider track, larger wheels and significantly sport-tuned suspension as the spy shot shows, though what's under the hood has yet to be revealed. It could be powered by a pumped up version of the R32's V6 making somewhere around 350 bhp, or the RS4's 420-bhp V8 could find its way beneath the bonnet. Either way, the A3's small size and big engine will make for one awesome Audi.

[Source: AutoExpress]