Modified Cars Blog » Volkswagen

M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000 Rally Car

Brett — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:27:42 +0000

In April M-Sport announced that it will develop a rally car to conform to the new FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) Super 2000 (S2000) sporting regulations based on the new Ford Fiesta. Now M-Sport has announced that it has began production of the first Ford Fiesta S2000 rally car at M-Sport’s Cumbrian base. The Ford Fiesta S2000 has also been confirmed as the vehicle that Ford will use in the 2011 FIA World Rally Championship.

The S2000 regulations are aimed at reducing costs and encouraging more teams to participate in the WRC and other national rally championships. The S2000 is significantly cheaper than the current WRC cars and are no less spectacular.

Currently there are only two manufactures competing in the WRC – Citroen and Ford, but Toyota, Volkswagen, Peugeot, Skoda, Fiat, Proton, Lada, Suzuki, MG, Renault and Opel already have S2000 cars competing in various national rally championships that have already adopted the S2000 sporting regulations. Skoda has already tested its Fabia S2000 rally cars in various WRC events this year while Kimi Raikkonen recently tested the Fiat Abarth Grande Punto S2000 at the WRC event in Finland at the end of last month. Former WRC stalwarts, Mitsubishi and Subaru might also begin development of S2000 vehicles.

2009 VW Scirocco GT TDI

Brett — Fri, 08 May 2009 02:36:11 +0000

Volkswagen have announced a new diesel addition to the Scirocco GT lineup. The new Volkswagen Scirocco GT TDI will feature the 2.0-liter TDI common rail engine from the Golf GTD, which produces a maximum of 170 bhp at 4,200 rpm and a maximum torque of 258 lbs ft at 1,750 rpm. The new Scirocco GT TDI will be available with either a 6-speed manual or a 6-speed DSG transmission mated to the 2.0-liter TDI engine. Both variants are able to accelerate from 0 to 162 mph in just 8.1 seconds! Top speed for the 6-speed manual version is 138 mph, while the DSG version tops out at 135 mph! Volkswagen claims that the new Scirocco GT TDI will return a fuel consumption of 53.3 mpg with CO₂ emissions of 139g/km for the 6-speed manual and 147g/km for the DSG.

The new Volkswagen Scirocco GT TDI will only be available in the GT trim level which includes a six-CD changer, rain and dusk sensor, multifunction computer, and a two zone air conditioning system. Safety features include ABS, ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Program), ACC (Adaptive Chassis Control) and six airbags as standard equipment. The ACC allows the driver to select different suspension and steering response settings. The all new 19-inch ‘Lugano’ alloy wheels will also be available as optional extras.

Volkswagen Scirocco GT TDI will go on sale in Britain at £21,755 for the manual and £23,060 for the DSG version.

Porsche Panamera to debut at the Shanghai Auto Show

Brett — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 23:15:01 +0000

Porsche is to officially unveil its new four-door grand touring sports car, the Porsche Panamera later this year at the Shanghai Auto Show in China at a press conference on 19 April. The Panamera is the fourth model line for Porsche, alongside the 911, the Boxster and Cayman, and the Cayenne and will be powered by naturally aspirated and turbocharged V6 and V8 engines that produce between 300 bhp and 500 bhp. The power will be transferred either to the rear wheels or all four wheels via a six-speed manual transmission or Porsche’s new seven-speed double-clutch transmission called the Porsche-Doppelkupplung (PDK). A hybrid Porsche Panamera will also be made available.

The Porsche Panamera will be assembled at Porsche’s Leipzig Plant, but the Panamera’s bodyshells will be built at Volkswagen’s Hanover Plant and the engines for the Panamera will be built at Porsche’s Zuffenhausen Plant. Further details on the engines, transmissions, performance, prices and equipment will be made available in the second quarter of 2009 and the first models will be available from Porsche dealers worldwide towards the end of 2009. Porsche has an annual sales target of 20,000 units for the Panamera.

Return of the Porsche 914

Brett — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 16:07:04 +0000

With Porsche currently in the process of taking over the Volkswagen group comes the news of a collaboration between the two car manufactures to resurrect a previous collaboration that occurred half a century ago – the production of the Porsche 914! Back in the late 1960’s the two car manufactures collaborated when Volkswagen and Porsche were looking for a replacement for the Karmann Ghia and the Porsche 912 respectively. The result was the Porsche 914, a budget a mid-engined sports car!

Latest reports suggest that VW is to reveal the new Porsche 914 concept car at the 2008 LA Auto Show and will have production car ready by 2011. It is suggested that the car to be powered by the 2.7-liter flat six engine that powers the Porsche Boxster. What’s more, there will be a VW and Porsche version of the little sports car!