For a first attempt at a hot hatch, South Korean manufacturer Hyundai did a great job with the i30N, a car developed under the guidance of former BMW M boss Albert Biermann. The car shook up established contenders in this segment, including the Volkswagen Golf GTI, Honda Civic Type R and Ford Focus RS, by providing similar performance and value.
The story of the Megane R.S. and the Nurburgring has been going on for over 10 years. It started in 2008, with the very first record in the front-wheel-drive production car category, with the Megane R.S. R26.R completing the lap in 8 minutes 17 seconds. In 2019, the new Renault Megane R.S Trophy-R set a new record on the Nordschleife in the front-wheel-drive production car category.
Continue reading “Renault Megane R.S Trophy-R Nurburgring record”
Significant features
– A new four-cylinder engine with MINI TwinPower Turbo technology with outputs of 225 kW and 450 Nm. The engine comprises a reinforced crankshaft, a main bearing with an extended cross-section, specific pistons, connecting rods and a new vibration damper with optimised cooling. The considerably increased output compared to the previous engine is also helped along by the bigger turbocharger.
Continue reading “2019 Mini John Cooper Works Clubman and Countryman”
BMW’s 1 Series range was introduced in 2004. A highlight for me was the BMW 130i that came out in the mid 2000’s. I liked its purposeful styling combined with a wonderful naturally aspirated six-cylinder engine, six-speed manual gearbox and rear-wheel drive layout.
Significant features
– The car will come in three trim levels in most markets, including the GT-R Premium, GT-R Track Edition and GT-R NISMO.
– Comes in three heritage era, two-tone exterior colour combinations meant to represent the GT-R’s liveries from the Japan GP series.
Continue reading “2020 Nissan GT-R 50th Anniversary Edition”
When thinking of great mid-engined sports cars to come out of Japan in the 1980’s and 1990’s, the Honda NSX immediately springs to mind. Before the NSX, Nissan produced a little known mid-engined concept car called the MID4, designed to compete against the best from Porsche and Ferrari.
To celebrate my 100th website post I’ll be giving away 10 Automotive Torque car stickers for free! Please contact me if interested.
The Suzuki Swift has been around for a number of decades and has always been a small, light, fun and affordable car. Over this time, there have also been some performance versions of the car, most notably the Swift GTi that was produced from 1989 all the way through to 2000. The Swift Sport took over as the performance model in 2005 and continues to this day, currently being in its fourth generation.
The Rob Roy hillclimb is located about an hour’s drive north-east of Melbourne near Sugarloaf Reservoir in Christmas Hills. This historically significant track is one the world’s oldest purpose built hillclimb tracks, with origins dating back to 1935. The first meeting was run in February 1937, and the track was fully bituminised in 1939. Continue reading “Rob Roy Hillclimb”
The Phillip Island Classic is a yearly highlight for car and motorsport enthusiasts. The 2013 edition showcased some historically significant cars that competed at Le Mans, Formula 1 and the Australian Touring Car Championship. There were two cars that caught my eye that year and they were built by French car manufacturer Matra-Simca, to compete in the FIA World Sportscar Championship. Continue reading “Matra-Simca MS670”
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