It's the end of the road for the Ford Fiesta, the car maker announced this week. The highly popular baby Ford created in the wake of the early 1970s oil crisis to get Britons moving again will roll off the Cologne, Germany productions line for the last time next June, after 46 years of sales. But before then, the axe will also fall on the sibling Ford S-Max and Galaxy SUV and MPV models in … [Read more...]
Welsh high hopes as new era in WRC flags off today
The Toyota Gazoo Racing World Rally Team will begin a bold new era in the FIA World Rally Championship when the 2022 season begins and the GR Yaris Rally1 makes its debut on the Rally Monte-Carlo from 20 – 23 January. The GR Yaris Rally1 is the successor to the all-conquering Yaris WRC, which claimed a clean sweep of the manufacturers’, drivers’ and co-drivers’ titles in the 2021 season that … [Read more...]
Loeb joins Fourmaux in Ford Puma WRC team
M-Sport says Adrien Fourmaux and Sébastien Loeb will join Craig Breen and Gus Greensmith in Monte Carlo in a fleet of all-new Ford Puma Hybrid Rally1 cars. Frenchman Fourmaux joins Breen and Greensmith to form M-Sport’s trio of drivers for a full 2022 World Rally Championship campaign as the sport enters its new and exciting hybrid era. Fourmaux began his rally career a mere five years ago, … [Read more...]
Sunday drive: Skoda Scala Monte Carlo 1.5 TSI Hatchback
The five door family sized C-segment Scala hatchback was launched towards the end of last year but it’s only now the range-topping Monte Carlo sports spec level is introduced, writes David Miles. The Scala was effectively a replacement for Skoda’s underwhelming Rapid range and sits between the Czech brand’s Fabia supermini sized hatchback and estate models and the highly rated … [Read more...]
Legendary John Price – an appreciation
The rallying world lost one of its bright stars on Tuesday evening 21 April as the man who was instantly recognised to so many by just his initials, ‘JP’, namely John Price, lost a long a hard fought battle with his illness that had seen him become increasingly unwell over the past few years, writes Roger Gale. He entered this world in 1944, and left it gently, surrounded by his family in … [Read more...]
Ogier on Toyota and Elfyn Evans rematch
The 2020 World Rally Championship campaign will be the first time since 2014 that Sébastien Ogier will not start the season in Monte-Carlo as reigning champion, but despite rumours of a potential retirement or hiatus from the WRC, Ogier isn’t going anywhere and is hungry for success with a new team. Read what the 6-time WRC champion (above) has to say on his hopes for reclaiming the title in … [Read more...]
Gambling on the Lambo V12 at Monte Carlo
Automobili Lamborghini presented its new concept car, the Lamborghini Lambo V12 Vision Gran Turismo, ahead of the World Finals of the 2019 FIA Certified Gran Turismo Championships in Monte Carlo, Monaco. The Lambo V12 Vision GT is a highly visionary concept, emphasizing 'fun to drive' within the digital environment of the iconic racing game Gran Turismo Sport for Sony PlayStation 4, where it … [Read more...]
Tradelines 4 September
Plug-in hybrid versions of the Kia XCeed and Ceed Sportswagon will be launched next Spring with a new body and interior. It will have an electric range of about 40 miles and supplemented by a 1.6 litre petrol engine producing 139bhp. Škoda is expanding its new Scala compact model series by introducing the popular Monte Carlo trim level. It uses distinctive black elements and black … [Read more...]
WRC 2019 begins in dramatic style
Sébastien Ogier overcame late drama to secure his sixth consecutive Rallye Monte-Carlo victory in a spellbinding final stage shootout on Sunday afternoon. He fended off Thierry Neuville by 2.2s in the closest Monte Carlo finish in history to clinch an emotional debut win on his return to Citroën. It marked the 100th world rally success for the French manufacturer. A throttle sensor problem … [Read more...]
2017 WRC begins today
The build-up and fever pitch expectation is almost over as this week’s Rallye Monte-Carlo 19 - 22 January heralds the start of one of the most keenly-anticipated FIA World Rally Championship seasons in memory. Dynamic new-look World Rally Cars will echo through the mountains of the French Alps as four of the world’s biggest automotive manufacturers begin the fight for supremacy in motorsport’s … [Read more...]