Ford Focus ST-R to Make its Racing Debut at Daytona Grand-Am 200

After a year in development and nearly five months after its public debut at the 64th Frankfurt Motor Show, Ford’s Focus ST-R will make its racing debut this Friday at the Grand-Am 200 that takes place at the Daytona Motor Speedway.

Competing in the Continental Tire Sport Car Challenge ST class, the racing version of the production Focus ST is a fully prepared competition car. It sports a 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine, a new suspension specially tuned for track use, updated brakes and an FIA-approved roll cage.

The Blue Oval of course, is keen to stress the similarities between the production car and the racer.

Ford’s global motorsport activities Jost Capito said: “The road-going Focus features best-in-class handling, powertrains and brakes and has helped us develop a global technical specification for teams wanting to race the new Focus cost effectively.”

For the time being, the Focus ST-R is homologated for American and Canadian touring car racing series only and is available to order from Ford’s North American dealers.

However, Ford expects that customer teams will participate in a variety of series worldwide, including endurance races such as the 24 Hours of Nürburgring.

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Comments Has the New Hyundai Santa Fe / ix45 SUV been Caught with its Guard Down?

Pictures allegedly showing an undisguised prototype of the new generation of the Hyundai Santa Fe are making the internet rounds today (keep in mind the front fascia image was created by mirroring the right hand side photo).

The styling cues such as the six-point grille and exterior mirrors seem to match the camouflaged test cars we've spied over the past few months, though we're not sure if this is the South Korean market version or not.

Either way, it won't be long before we find out as the new Santa Fe, which will probably be called iX45 in select regions such as Europe and Australia, is scheduled to receive its world premiere at the 2012 New York Auto Show in April.

Along with the new skin, the Korean SUV will also benefit from a revamped and more upper scale interior as well as a new engine lineup that may include a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline unit in North America and Euro6 diesels in Europe and other international markets.

Story References: Hyundai-Blog

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BMW Car Club GB Announces its First Ever 'Z-Fest'

On the occasion of its 60th anniversary, the official BMW Car Club GB will host its first ever "Z-Fest" gathering at this summer’s Silverstone Classic from July 20 to 22, promising to bring together hundreds of Z1, Z3, Z4 and Z8 sports cars, all of which will participate in a special parade lap on the full Silverstone Grand Prix circuit.

“We wanted to do something spectacular to mark our anniversary and staging the UK’s first Z-Fest at the world’s biggest classic racing festival certainly fits that bill,” said Steve Miller, general manager of the BMW Car Club (GB).

Miller said there are close to 50,000 ‘Z’ models registered in Britain and that the club is aiming to get at least 500 cars to join the parade.

"This really is going to be something special and undoubtedly is this summer’s big event for Zed enthusiasts both in the UK and on the continent. I know club members and specialist forums are already planning a number of cruises and convoys to Silverstone," he added.

The history of BMW's Z series of coupes and roadsters began in 1986 with the Z1 that featured novel doors that dropped down into its doorsills and was followed by the more mainstream Z3and the flagship, aluminum chassis Z8, both of which starred in the James Bond films. BMW thenintroduced the Z4, which is currently in its second generation.

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Ram Trucks Introduces New Top-of-the-Line Laramie Limited Edition, will Debut in Chicago

The Chrysler Group's Ram division is going to present a new range-topping edition of its pickup truck called the Laramie Limited with added features at the upcoming 2012 Chicago Auto Show, which opens to the general public on February 10.

"The launch of the Ram Laramie Longhorn edition gave us a boost in the ultra-premium pickup segment and exceeded our expectations,” said Ram boss Fred Diaz. “Ram Laramie Limited offers customers an even wider selection of luxury models. We expect a lot of interest in the Laramie Limited."

On the outside, the Ram Laramie Limited features a body-color front fascia with fog lamps and a matching, painted rear bumper – with the exception of the 2500 and 3500 models in white and silver exterior colors that get chrome front and rear bumpers.

A chrome grille surround with billet inserts along with the chrome accents on the side molding, mirrors, door handles and tubular side steps, and 20-inch forged alloys on the 1500 and 17-inch fully polished aluminum wheels on the Heavy Duty models, round out the upgrades on the exterior.

In the cabin, the Laramie Limited edition boasts a full-leather cockpit in a black shade with contrasting graystone piping which includes the seats, parts of the dashboard, lower center console and door panels, the steering wheel and the automatic transmission shifter.

Other goods include in the Laramie Limited package are the LED lighting at the inside door handles, a high-gloss piano-black trim on the center stack and chrome trim on the dashboard and door panels.

The Laramie Limited models are fitted with a navigational radio, remote start, back-up camera, power adjustable pedals with memory, heated steering wheel, front ventilated and heated seats and rear heated seats as standard.

According to Ram, the Laramie Limited will be available in the second quarter of the year in 1500 (1/2-ton), 2500 HD (3/4-ton) and 3500 HD single- and dual-rear-wheel (1-ton); Crew Cab and Mega Cab; four-wheel drive and two-wheel drive; and short- and long-wheelbase models.

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BMW Shows its New M Performance Tri-Turbo Diesel-Powered Models on Film

Following on from yesterday's official presentation, BMW has published the first video on its M Performance range that launches in Europe with the M550d xDrive Sedan and Touring, X5 M50d and X6 M50d models, all powered by a new 381-horsepower, 3.0-liter tri-turbocharged straight-six diesel.

Prepared by the Bavarian firm's M division, the new M Performance models blend M Sport styling cues with M tuned engines and chassis components – and yes, we did notice that there are a lot of M's there. We'll just have to wait and see if those M's will actually make BMW buyers go mmmmm… Make the jump to view the short 

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Kia Builds 1 Millionth Vehicle at its Slovakian Plant

The 1 millionth vehicle rolled off the assembly line at Kia's Zilina plant in Slovakia just a little over five years since the factory opened, marking a significant landmark for the South Korean automaker.

The milestone model was a white, diesel-enginedCee’d SW that was handed over to a Slovakian children’s charity called the Red Nose Clowndoctors (no connection with Adult Swim's Children's Hospital…).

“Kia Motors Slovakia has achieved an important milestone in its history with the production of the millionth car. We decided to donate it to an organisation which will bring pleasure to children during their stay in hospitals,” said Eek-Hee Lee, President and CEO of Kia Motors Slovakia.

In addition, Kia said that the Cee’d SW is also the 600,000th version of the Zilina factory’s first car. Today, the plant also produces the Kia Sportage SUV and the Venga mini MPV.

Last year, the Zilina factory produced 252,000 cars and 359,000 engines, recording a 10 percent and 12 percent increase respectively over 2010.

The soon-to-be replaced Cee'd topped the list with 103,000 units in 2011, representing 41% of the overall production. It was followed closely by the Sportage with 101,000 units or 40% of total production, the Hyundai ix35 (which was manufactured up to June 2011) with 36,000 units and the Venga with 11,000 units.

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Ford Mustang Shows Audi R8, Ferrari California and BMW M3 who's the Boss at Hockenheim

While not uncommon, it’s not actually often that we hear about American sports cars beating European models on their home turf. Case in point, the Ford Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Secathat was featured in the latest issue of German car magazine Sport Auto.

Sport Auto editor Christian Gebhard took the track-orientated Mustang special over to the Hockenheim circuit for a fast lap recording a best time of 1:13.2, which puts it behind the likes of the BMW M5 F10 (1:12.9) but in front of the Audi R8 4.2 FSI (1:13.4), Aston Martin DBS (1:13.5) and Ferrari California (1:13.5).

The German publication also tested the Mustang Boss 302 Laguna Seca's braking performance with the muscle car coming to a complete stop from 100km/h (62mph) and 200km/h (124mph) in 33.3 meters (109.3 ft) and 124.6 meters (408.7 ft) respectively.

These numbers beat the new Porsche 911 Carrera S 991 fitted with the optional PCCB (Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes). Pretty impressive stuff indeed.

Introduced last year, the Mustang Boss 302 is powered by a 5.0-liter V8 delivering 440 horsepower (443PS) and 380 lb-ft (515Nm) of torque, while the Laguna Seca is a more track orientated version adding more body stiffness, a stronger chassis and aerodynamic parts from Ford Racing's Boss 302R.

In the States, the regular Mustang Boss 302 has an MSRP of $41,105 (€31,800), while the Laguna Seca package increases the price to $48,100 (€37,200). The Audi R8 starts at $114,200 (€88,200).

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Mazda Begins Production of Diesel-Engined CX-5 Crossover in Japan

Mazda announced today that it has commenced production of the diesel version of its new CX-5crossver at its Ujina plant near the company’s Hiroshima headquarters. The new compact SUV will be available in Japan and Europe in spring, with other markets to follow including the U.S. from early 2013.

The CX-5 is the first model in Mazda’s range to be powered by the new Skyactiv-D 2.2-liter diesel engine.

The Japanese company says the new unit is the first diesel to meet both Europe’s Euro 6 and Japan’s Post New Long Term Regulations emissions standards without the need for an expensive nitrogen oxide (NOx) after treatment system, such as the urea selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system or Lean NOx Trap (LNT) catalyst.

The 2.2-liter diesel is available in two versions with 150 and 175HP, which accelerate the CX-5 from 0 to 100 km/h (0-62 mph) in 10.0 and 9.2 seconds respectively. In its more powerful state of tune, it returns an average consumption of is 4.5 lt/100 km in the European cycle (53.2 mpg US) with CO2 emissions 109 g/km.

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Audi Teases Oddball Super Bowl XLVI Commercial with Tree Climbing Vampires

Some Super Bowl commercials hit the spot while others fall flatter than a pancake. We can't say yet in which of the two categories Audi'supcoming Super Bowl XLVI ad will fall into as we only have a short teaser of the 60-second long clip that will run during the first quarter of the big game on Sunday, February 5.
We can say, however, that while we found the scene with the BMW 5-Series E28 jumping into a billboard that reads "The Moose is Loose" interesting, we're not so sure about the overplayed vampires-climbing-trees theme shown towards the end of the commercial.
According to Audi, the ad will revolve around the brand’s signature LED headlights as well as the 2013 S7 Sportback. For now, head past the jump to watch the teaser clip.

VIDEO

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Ford Plans to Triple Production of EcoBoost Engines in 2012

Downsizing, direct injection and force induction are the way to go for internal combustion gasoline engines to meet the ever-tightening fuel and emissions standards.

Ford has followed this recipe to the letter with its EcoBoost “family of engines and so far it has paid off nicely, recording 127,883 sales in 2011.

The best-selling F-150 pickup truck is the perfect example. In 2010, all units sold in the U.S. were powered by V8 engines. Last year, more than half of F-150 buyers (56 percent, to be precise) downsized to a V6, choosing either the base 305HP 3.7-liter or the 365HP 3.5-liter EcoBoost.

The Taurus full-size sedan will be the first Blue Oval model in the U.S. to be available with two EcoBoost units: a 2.0-liter four-cylinder with 237HP and an average fuel consumption of 31mpg and a twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6 for the range-topping SHO with 365HP and 25mpg on the highway.

The brand-new Escape SUV and Fusion mid-size sedan will also be available a pair of EcoBoost engines with a displacement of 1.6-liters and 2.0-liters, which offer up to 20 percent lower consumption than higher-capacity engines with similar power outputs.

“Ford is committed to delivering class-leading fuel economy for our customers, which benefits the environment and helps the U.S. move towards greater energy independence”, said Sue Cischke, Ford’s vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering.

By the end of the year, Ford aims to have at least nine models with an EPA-certified highway consumption of 40 mpg or higher, and is developing more for the future.

Last, but not least, its fuel-efficient model range line-up will expand in 2012 with the launch of the Hybrid and Energi plug-in versions of the C-MAX people carrier and Fusion sedan, as well as the Focus Electric EV.

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