A real driver's car.

While the standard mini hatch is already one of the sharpest models on the road, the Coupe will be aimed purely at those who like a 'more motivated' drive when it goes on sale in Britain in October.

The Coupe borrows the regular Mini's suspension but benefits from a lower center of gravity that will help limit body roll and increase agility. At the rear, a spoiler rises at speeds above 80km/h to increase down-force - a first for the brand.

Optional sports suspension is available with stiffer anti-roll bars and firmer dampers, while a rock-hard John Cooper Works set-up pack is also an option, This drops the ride height by 10mm and firms up the anti-roll bars and dampers even further.

Unlike the rest of the Mini range - which starts with the entry-level One - the base Coupe model is the Cooper, powered by a 90kW 1.6-liter engine. The flagship is the JCW, which adds a turbo for a total of 155kW. In between is the 135kW Cooper S, with a detuned version of the JCW's unit, while a hot new diesel SD gets a 105kW 2-liter oil-burner.

The Coupe Cooper will cover zero to 100km/h in a claimed nine seconds flat, and the JCW completes the benchmark sprint in 6.4 seconds - both a tenth up on their hatchback counterparts. With a 'helmet' roof grafted on top of the Mini Convertible's body, the two-seater Coupe looks unlike anything else on the road.

Its 'three-box' shape means there is room for a 280-liter load bay - 120 liters up on the normal Mini - plus there are extra storage bins behind the seats and a hatch for posting longer objects through. The roof line is 29mm lower than the standard car's, scallops in the headlining ensure tall occupants will fit in comfortably.

Mini's Paceman concept car.

Mini's Paceman concept will debut in Detroit on January 10 next year , with production starting in 2012.

Mini calls it a "sports activity coupe" and will sell the Paceman as a premium car, with no entry-level engines.

The concept is fitted with a tuned John Cooper Works 1.6-liter twin scroll turbo-charged petrol engine and Mini's permanent four-wheel-drive system, though production vehicles will include front-drive variants.

The car uses the Countryman platform and much of the basic structure but it's 20mm lower, a tad longer, and uses longer doors and a C-pillar tinted to match the glass.

The narrow streak of windows, the rising waistline and new rear wing further emphasize the car's dynamic feel.

The cabin will match the Countryman's but for its new seats, the concept using quilted tan leather and a single rear pew deeply sculpted for two.

V8 supercars granted international status

V8 Supercars could be hosting up to six international rounds in the future after being granted international status by the FIA.

The decision by world motorsport's governing body last week means that the Australian series is now seen as an international category, paving the way for future expansion.

It means V8 Supercars can now compete at up to six international venues and 12 Australasian tracks each year for the next five years.

Currently the series has two overseas stops planned in 2011, the season opener at Abu Dhabi and the Hamilton 400 in New Zealand.

This gives V8 Supercars flexibility in exploring further expansion of the sport.

Australia and New Zealand remain an absolute priority in terms of where the series races although the new status means that the series can move forward with confidence when exploring growth outside of Australasia.

Several possible overseas locations have been suggested as future stops for the V8 Supercars, including Singapore, Korea and India though the series has lost its round in Bahrain from 2011 onwards.

Tesla in Tokyo

Tesla, the US maker of electric sportscars, has opened its first Asian showroom in Tokyo.

The Palo Alto, California-based Tesla Motors has globally sold only 1,400 of the electric cars - which start at $101,500 in the US (and 1.5 times that in Japan).

And while the price for electronic vehicles is likely to come down, a major drawback remains the lack of recharging stations, which make them risky for long distance driving.

Toyota is a shareholder in the American company, recently investing $50 million in Tesla stock, and signing a $60 million contract to have Tesla help develop an electric version of Toyota's RAV4 crossover vehicle. Japanese electronics maker Panasonic also supplies the cars' batteries.

In Japan, electric vehicles are tax-free and eligible for government incentive cash payments that can reduce the price tag by a quarter of the retail price.

More affordable electric vehicles are on the market already, such as the iMiEV from Mitsubishi Motors Corp., although sales at about 4,000 vehicles, mostly in Japan, still make a tiny fraction of overall auto sales.

Already showing wider appeal is Nissan's Leaf electric car, set for delivery in December. Its price in Japan is about 3 million yen with incentives, and about $25,000 in the US with federal tax credits. Nissan has received 20,000 orders for the Leaf in the U.S, and 6,000 in Japan.

Rally New Zealand

The weekend of May 9th and 10th is the New Zealand round of the world rally championship.

This year sees a return to the country's biggest city, Auckland. This means some classic high-speed stages in the Northland region are back on the itinerary after a four year absence, as well as more familiar tests in the Franklin and north Waikato districts to the south of the city. Mixed surface stages and two Super Specials are also on the cards.

Two new Super Special Stages: One all-asphalt test will be built at the recently completed Hampton Downs motor racing circuit, the other one is in Auckland city's oldest park - the 75 hectare Auckland Domain, And a new Service Park will be located on Auckland's Queens Wharf, a short walk from the downtown area.

Rally New Zealand is the oldest WRC event in the Southern Hemisphere, It is renowned for its fast flowing gravel roads and the beautiful landscape of the North Island.

Blind crests, flat-out kinks, fast jumps and huge cambers make the roads somewhat more challenging than most, but their sweeping, undulating nature means most WRC drivers love them. When it's sunny, the stages can be glorious, but when it rains, they turn muddy and extremely slippery.

The challenging terrain rewards the drivers with the very best car control. You need to be brave to do well in New Zealand but the high speeds mean the slightest mistake is punished severely.

Most recent winner of rally New Zealand was Sebastien Loeb back in 2008.

The new Ferrari 599-GTO

This is the fastest street-legal car Ferrari has ever built, Its a limited-edition 6-liter V12 flyer with a top speed of 335km/h

A number of Ferrari's most valued clients have already expressed interest in the 599 GTO, Pictures and details about the car were kept under lock and key at the Ferrari headquarters in Italy until the 9th of April. It will make its global debut later in the month at the Beijing motor show and will go on sale in Europe later in the year.

It is regarded as a road-going version of the 599XX, the experimental track car that set all sorts of records during development in Italy and Production of the 599 will be limited to 599 examples.

Ferrari says its engineers borrowed from the company's Formula One technology to blend high-end electronics with handling that "results in an almost complete absence of under-steer and a truly communicative chassis."

Apart from new springs and a stiffer rear anti-roll bar, the car also gets a second-generation magnetically controlled suspension system.

It works in tandem with the car's dynamic control unit and the latest F1-Trac traction control. Says Ferrari: "This makes the car extremely responsive to driver inputs - thanks in part to the adoption of a very direct steering ratio."

It is also "very stable under braking, sharper on turn-in, more precise in cornering and quicker out of corners."

Also appearing for the first time on a Ferrari road car are second-generation carbon-ceramic brakes, which bring the car to a stop from 100km/h in a claimed 32.5m.

New aerodynamic touches include the wheel doughnuts, which increase aerodynamic efficiency as well as improved brake cooling.

There's a different Tyre set-up on the 20-inch rims. The front tyres are wider than in the past for greater road-holding.

The driver-car interface is also new Virtual Race Engineer (VRE) provides the driver with real-time information on performance.

The 599 GTO weighs in at 1495kg, thanks in part to a mix of aluminum and carbon fiber in the body. The V12 engine complies with Euro5 emissions requirements.

It punches out 500kW at 8250rpm and 620Nm at 6500rpm and drives the rear wheels via a six-speed paddle-shift gearbox. Ferrari claims a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 3.3 seconds.

The 599 wears the GTO moniker as a tribute to two special Ferrari's: "The 1962 250 GTO, which dominated GT racing in the 1960s and is now a highly prized collector's car, and the 1984 GTO, which basically invented the entire modern supercar genre."

How to catch speeding motorists.

Lately motorists seem to be driving faster than ever before, Cars have much more power than in the past and handle better than older cars. Therefore there has been a lot of talk lately about how to catch speeding drivers here in New Zealand.

Here is my idea on how to catch these idiots. For a start, how about police cars that don't stand out, Big lights on the roof that can be seen coming from the opposite direction from 2 kilometers away tells drivers that a patrol car is approaching so slow down, And what about the colors that stand out and reflect headlights at night? Isn't this common sense? Don't you think that plain colored cars that you see everyday are a better choice? and mount small inconspicuous lights behind the grill of the car?

Kumeu Classic car festival

Just a quick post, The photos are from the recent Kumeu classic car festival just out of Auckland , New Zealand. Ive been attending this event for many years, It just gets bigger and bigger all the time.

Enjoy the photos.

F1 2010 news.

The FIA have confirmed the new US F1 team have paid their entry fee and will be on the 2010 starting grid after speculation about the team's future in an interview with a US-based Speed TV cable network.
The US team's factory is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, They sent their entry fee in 10 days ago at a figure of close to US$440,000.

Also in Formula 1 news the new Malaysian-backed Lotus Formula One team has signed its first driver but haven't released any name yet. Italian Jarno Trulli, who drove for the now-departed Toyota team this year, has been linked in media speculation to the new Lotus team whose technical head is former Toyota technical director Mike Gascoyne.

Lotus and US F1 are just 2 of five new teams that are due to make their F1 debuts in 2010, with Toyota and BMW calling it quits.

And whats going on at McLaren? Lewis Hamilton is under contract until the end of the 2012 season and Kovalainen has been linked to a move elsewhere, but he can still retain his seat for the2010 season if the team can't conclude a deal with Kimi Raikkonen, Jenson Button or Nick Heidfeld.

No such dramas at Ferrari for 2010 though, With Kimi stepping aside to allow Fernando Alonso a drive, and of course the return of Felipe Massa which should give Ferrari some hope next year.

Boys day out.

Last weekend was the annual speedshow exhibition, A great day out for the boys in Auckland. This year had a line-up of cars and motorcycles - new, performance, classic and customs.

This year's event saw Speedshow fill to capacity with three main halls of the showgrounds, and an extensive outdoor display and activities to add to the attractions for the speed lovers. And the new children's area called Speedshow 4 Kids proved very popular with Roary the Racing Car shows at 10am and 12pm each day.

Some of New Zealand’s best drift cars were alongside historic racing cars and bikes and New Zealand’s best race car simulators.There were new cars and motorcycles from some of the world’s leading manufacturers and exhibitors with a wide range of motoring and motorsport-related products and services, but honestly there’s too much to mention so if you like cars and motorbikes, Speedshow was the place to be.

This year's key draw-cards included the world's fastest NASCAR and the original movie Batmobile from the original Batman movies courtesy of Warner Brothers Movie World on the Gold Coast, The motorbike from the movie "The worlds fastest Indian" as well as the world famous Britten motorbike.

The oldest exhibit was a 1903 Ford that cost 180 pounds when brand-new while nearby was a DTM-spec Mercedes Benz AMG supercar, one of only 100 in the world that cost well over $500,000 new.

This event has only been running 3 years in New Zealand and has already moved venue because of space, It doubles in size every year so next years event should be better again.

Top photo is my 5 year old son with former superbike rider, Aaron Slight.
2nd Photo is the bike from the movie "Worlds fastest Indian"

Ellerslie car show 2009

I had many requests from my recent post entitled Rod and custom weekend for pictures of some of New Zealands old classic cars aswell as some supercars etc so i thought i would post some pictures from the ellerslie car show a couple of weeks ago.

If anybody wants full size and full resolution pictures, Please contact me.

Rod and Custom Weekend

On the weekend of January 17th and 18th, I took the wife and our four children to the annual swap-meet/hot rod and custom car show in Kumeu which is North West of Auckland (New Zealand).

It’s an event we try to attend every year, It gets bigger and better every year. This year was no exception, The quality of cars was outstanding so I thought I would share some of the photos that I took.

I hope you enjoy them, If anybody would like photos of any specific Hot rods, Street rods, Customs etc, Please contact me through my contact link and i will see what I have that I can send you.