Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team will seek to wrap up another successful FIA World Rally Championship season with a home win at Rally Japan this week 16-19 November. Just as in 2022 when the event made a welcome return to the WRC calendar, TGR-WRT will arrive for the final round on Japanese roads having already secured a hat-trick of championship titles. The team clinched the manufacturers’ … [Read more...]
Hybrid era arrives in WRC 2022 calendar
New Zealand will make an exciting return to an enlarged FIA World Rally Championship in 2022 after the sport’s first hybrid-era calendar was unveiled. The country’s flowing North Island gravel roads near Auckland will feature for the first time since 2009 as the WRC celebrates its 50th season. The Land of the Long White Cloud’s 32nd WRC appearance, round 11 of the year, will take place on 29 … [Read more...]
Newslines 15 June
Peugeot has opened the order books for its all-new e-Rifter. First deliveries will be in November and in Allure Premium or GT trim levels from £30,375 using a 100kw (136hp) electric powertrain capable of up to 260Nm of torque and a 50kWh battery, good for up to 172 miles from a single charge. Two Americans who helped former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn escape from Japan in December 2019 … [Read more...]
Ghosn in French tax probe
French tax authorities have reportedly seized funds from Carlos Ghosn and his wife. He is under investigation in France for possible tax evasion during his last three years heading Renault and Nissan, according to media reports. Lawyers for Ghosn and French tax authorities have been discussing since the middle of 2019 whether the former CEO was a French resident during 2016, 2017 and 2018 after … [Read more...]
Newslines 4 December
Travel between Wales and T1 or T2 areas in England is permitted from 6pm tonight. But the Welsh Government ban remains for T3 areas, which include Bristol and Birmingham, while London and Liverpool are in the lower tiers. The Cupra Formentor range of engines is expanding this month. The entry-level 150ps comes in at £27,395 from the New Year , the PHEV version is due Spring 2021 while the … [Read more...]
Time for a new approach to selling EVs, says report
A new approach to the likely success of electric vehicles is needed say analysts, who question the claims of the car makers' body in Britain. Tesla became the most valuable car manufacturer for many reasons, from glamour to having the longest-range vehicles. The IDTechEx report, "Electric Vehicles: Land, Sea and Air 2021-2041" gives the big picture. A … [Read more...]
Newslines 18 August
Aston Martin is celebrating the release of the 25th James Bond film with two exclusive 007 special editions inspired by the cars featured in No Time to Die due November. This new collaboration between Aston Martin and EON Productions, sees new 007 editions of the Aston Martin Vantage and DBS Superleggera alongside no fewer than four iconic Aston Martin sports cars: the iconic DB5; the … [Read more...]
Coronavirus threatens many car makers
Car makers, suppliers and Government officials in Japan will work together to solve issues arising from the effects of the Far East coronavirus. Some Chinese suppliers have closed and are struggling to return production hampered by internal blockades, quarantine and labour shortages and the Japanese economy which heavily relies on automotive sector wants to limit damage and ensure it is ready to … [Read more...]
Mardenborough secures new Nissan race drive
Top racer Jann Mardenborough, from Cardiff, will contest his fifth consecutive full-time season in Japan this year after being announced as part of Nissan’s driver roster for the Super GT sportscar championship. After winning the GT Academy competition in 2011, the former British gamer has excelled in international sports car competition and become a leading star on Nissan’s race … [Read more...]
New-look WRC in 2020
Japan, Kenya and New Zealand will return to the FIA World Rally Championship for 2020 in a refreshed calendar displaying a more global profile. A decade after it last featured in the WRC fixture list, Japan marks mainstream Asia’s first appearance in the series since then. The addition of Kenya’s iconic Safari Rally, one of global motorsport’s legendary contests, means the WRC … [Read more...]