As we come to the end of another week we look at some of the Motoring news which you may have missed starting with the new watch made from the Classic Aston Martin DB5
Motor enthusiasts of the Aston Martin DB5 now have the opportunity to own a historic piece of the iconic car. Featuring an aluminium watch dial cut from the body of the classic silver DB5, the time pieces preserve the memory of the 1021 vehicles that left the British factory between 1963 and 1965.
New Fiat 500 priced
Full pricing and specification of the 100% electric New 500 has been announced for the UK market. The city car will arrive in UK dealers in early 2021 in both hatchback and cabrio bodystyles. With two battery options and the longest range of any electric city car on sale today, the New 500 will be priced from £19,995 OTR (inclusive of PiCG*).
Fiat first democratised mobility in the late 1950s with the Nuova 500 – providing affordable personal transport across Europe and beyond. Fifty years later, Fiat reinvented the city car segment with the current 500 – the bestselling city car in Europe. 2020 signals the arrival of the New 500, the first fully-electric vehicle from FCA, and a city car that remains affordable and provides a raft of best-in-class features such as its range, autonomous driving and variety of battery options.
The New 500 range is made up of three trim levels – Action, Passion and Icon. Each provides a high level of standard specification to suit different lifestyles.
Orders open for New 500 in December with first UK customer deliveries expected in March 2021
Giulia GTA put through paces by Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen F1 drivers
The Alfa Romeo Racing – ORLEN Formula 1 drivers, Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi, participated in a day of real-world tests on the new Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA and GTAm at the famous Balocco Proving Ground, fine tuning parts developed in collaboration with Sauber engineering.
The Giulia GTA project benefits from th long-standing partnership with Sauber Group AG and leverages the know-how of its engineering and aerodynamics divisions. Alfa Romeo entrusted Sauber Engineering with the production of most of the carbon fibre components in the GTA and GTAm, especially those with an aerodynamic impact. These include the new front bumper, the side skirts, the diffuser, the GTA spoiler and the GTAm aerowing.
Sauber boasts 50 years of experience in motorsport, including 27 in Formula One, and is one of the few F1 teams with its very own wind tunnel. The facility, located in Hinwil, Switzerland, is one of the most advanced in Europe, equipped with state-of-the-art technology.
Aerodynamic research from the wind tunnel has been used to hone components for the Giulia GTAm, including the wing appendages and fully faired underbody. The manually adjustable front and rear wings on the GTAm have been developed to adapt the car’s aerodynamic performance to any kind of track or road, at the request and preference of the driver.
The GTA and GTAm also benefit from a new diffuser capable of increasing the car’s downforce, guaranteeing excellent grip at high speeds. On the Giulia GTAm, the high-downforce aerodynamic configuration is able to deliver an impressive lift coefficient, twice as much as the GTA and an astonishing three times that of the Giulia Quadrifoglio, which already sets the benchmark in its class.
The benefits of this collaboration have ranged from engineering, rapid prototyping and finally to the production of these specialised components.
Giulia GTA and Giulia GTAm are priced starting from €176,500 and €181,500 OTR respectively in the UK
New road car based global electric Motorsport series unveiled
SuperCharge, an all-new global motorsport series based on electric crossover road cars, today broke cover on its plans to help shape the new future for motorsport.
With a planned 2022 start, the inaugural series is targeting eight events taking place right across the globe, in cities from Asia-Pacific, China, Europe, Middle East and USA aiming to provide spectacular racing entertainment and ultimately promote the uptake of electric cars.
Designed to appeal to audiences of all ages, SuperCharge has been created, in consultation with some of the world’s leading car manufacturers, as a new racing concept to showcase next-generation electric road cars in the volume and growth part of the market – compact SUVs and crossovers, as well as leading-edge battery technologies. Resetting the relevance, appeal and value of motorsport, the world’s newest racing series aims to be located in bustling urban environments based around an access all areas, fun, informative, festival-style atmosphere.
“Motorsport is at a crossroads,” says SuperCharge Managing Director and co-founder Rob Armstrong. “Alejandro Agag and Jean Todt have done a great job pioneering electric motorsport. With many countries and cities already announcing plans to ban internal combustion-engine cars in the coming years, the need for road car-based electric motorsport is becoming more and more compelling. We believe it is only a matter of time before there are more electric motorsport series. Given this rapidly increasing EV momentum, we believe the timing and appeal of SuperCharge is ideal and see a clear space for it as the road car-relevant motorsport series.”
“We have carefully conceived SuperCharge to take account into these societal changes and to consider the needs of car companies, fans, commercial parties and venues in order to make a truly sustainable and commercially viable new series. SuperCharge takes motorsport into a new and hugely relevant arena and we can’t wait to spark the series into life across the globe.”
Hyundai Motorsport customer racing reveals i20 N Rally2 car to debut in 2021
Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing has unveiled the i20 N Rally2, an all-new rally car intended for privateer teams and drivers.
The brand new car follows on from the Hyundai i20 R5 with which Hyundai Motorsport entered the Customer Racing arena at the end of 2015. The i20 N Rally2 builds on the experience gained by the department over the last five years to deliver an improved all-round package.
The car is based on strong foundation of the all-new road-going i20 N’s chassis. The i20 N brings the high-performance of the N Brand to the i20 range for the first time to create a hatchback with race track capability and motorsport-derived performance. The i20 N Rally2 builds on the dynamic look of the road car – part of Hyundai’s new ‘Sensuous Sportiness’ identity – which includes several elements inspired by the world of motorsport.
Though the five-speed sequential gearbox from the i20 R5 remains the transmission for the new design nearly every other part, including the 1.6litre turbocharged engine, of the i20 N Rally2 is brand new – the result of a design process begun in January 2020. The work has been completed by a specialized group of designers and engineers, taking into account the five years of experience with the i20 R5 project. In doing so they have been able to take advantage of the fantastic growth of Hyundai Motorsport Customer Racing since the initial launch of the i20 R5, during which time the department has grown from a handful of people to a team of 60.
This growth has been reflected in the development of the i20 R5. Constant work by development engineers has provided several updates to the original car through recent seasons, resulting in improved handling and performance. The introduction of the i20 N Rally2 carries over these enhancements, while the switch to a brand new chassis allows a further large step forward in nearly every aspect of the design of the car.
New suspension components and dampers give the car more driver-friendly handling characteristics on all surfaces. This is vital in the Rally2 category, which forms the basis for numerous national and regional championships as well as the international WRC 2 and WRC 3 classes, and are the cars of choice for both professional rally drivers as well as drivers who compete purely for pleasure.
The new car will aim to continue the success of the i20 R5, which has claimed numerous titles with customers, including national titles in Spain, Portugal and Poland since debuting late in 2016. Teams with the i20 R5 will continue to enjoy the same high level of support, uninterrupted by the development of the new car.
An extensive testing program for the i20 N Rally2 will begin later this month, with the first deliveries to customers and final homologation scheduled for summer 2021.
Green light on six 1958 Vanwall F1 continuation cars
Vanwall Group, the successor to the legendary British Vanwall motor racing team of the 1950s, has announced the renaissance of the historic name with plans to build six new continuation cars to celebrate Vanwall’s six Formula One wins in 1958. Vanwall had already become the first British-built car to win the British Grand Prix with a British driver, with Sir Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks sharing the honours in 1957. The six victories in 1958 gave Vanwall its eternal position as the first winner of the Formula One World Constructors Trophy, and to this day, Vanwall remains the first of only two Formula One teams ever to have recorded a maximum points score in a championship season. The 19th October 1958 was the day Vanwall clinched the memorable championship win in Morocco.
Only five of the continuation cars will be offered for private sale, with the sixth car forming the core of a Vanwall Historic Racing Team. Each vehicle will be painstakingly built over thousands of hours by historic racing and vehicle restoration experts, Hall and Hall in Lincolnshire, England. The faithful continuation cars will feature the powerful 270bhp 2,489cc Vanwall engine, all meticulously engineered using original drawings and blueprints from the 1950s. Each hand-built continuation car will be sold for £1.65 million ex VAT.
New MOKE UK Dealer appointed
The new MOKE will be sold by Hendy Group which has been appointed UK dealer for the car which is back in the UK 56 years after it was first introduced.
Hendy chief executive Paul Hendy said he was delighted the south coast group had been selected to be the UK dealer for such an iconic car.
“It’s great news that this amazing car will once again be available in the UK and we’re thrilled to be working with MOKE International which owns the trademark for MOKE and is engineering and producing the components in the UK before final assembly in France.”
The first MOKE cars will be delivered to customers in the UK later this year as part of a 56 limited edition version and Hendy says demand is already high.
