* Aston Martin Returns to Motorsport
Aston Martin will return to the world's motor racing circuits during 2004 following the creation of a new division to be known as Aston Martin Racing. Aston Martin's new race car will be based on the DB9 model. Work on the design of the Aston Martin DB9 racing car has begun, and it is planned to race the first car toward the end of 2004. Aston Martin Racing is aiming to run a number of teams in various sports car series around the world. In addition to the private teams, Aston Martin Racing will also be producing a number of racing cars for sale to individuals and collectors.
* Award-winning Journalist
We were very pleased to hear that Alistair Weaver, ec's extremely talented European editor, picked up the Aston Martin Award for contributions to overseas publications at the Guild of Motoring Writers Dinner, held in December 2003. Weaver had submitted entries written for european car and sister publication Sport Compact Car. He also won the "Consumer Journalist of the Year Award" and the "Motorsports Writer of the Year Award" on the same night. "I was a bit over overawed by it all," said Weaver.
* Volvo's Pregnant Crash Test Dummy
Volvo's award-winning Safety Centre in Sweden now has the world's first pregnant crash test dummy model so its experts can learn more about the impacts of the seatbelt and airbag on a mother and unborn baby in car accidents. Volvo has developed the computerized model as part of its constant focus to improve protection for all occupants in its cars. The model represents a woman-named Linda-at a late stage of her pregnancy, when the unborn baby is at greatest risk in an accident. Simulated front-end impact tests are being used to study in great detail how the seat belt moves and its combined influence with the airbag the mother's body. The model will also be used to test new seatbelt designs and other safety systems.
* Wallace And Gromit's Favorite Car: The Renault Kangoo
Euro NCAP has proved that Wallace and Gromit's favorite car, the Renault Kangoo, is not a "cracking contraption" after all, as the car withstood frontal and side impacts to score four stars in the organization's latest independent crash tests.
The independent Euro NCAP crash test organization awarded Kangoo a four-star rating with a score of 26 points out of 37, of which 25 were gained through the vehicle's performance in the frontal impact and side-barrier tests. Kangoo is now the benchmark for safety in its class. As the Kangoo is not available with lateral airbags as standard at any level of its range, it could not be tested at the five-star level, which includes the side-impact pole test. Claymation stars Wallace and Gromit are the faces of New Kangoo, starring in the "Kangoomatic" commercial which aired in UK cinemas over the summer and is still viewable on Renault UK's website, www.renault.co.uk.
* Works Cooper S to join John Cooper Challenge for 2004
The 200-bhp Works MINI Cooper S is making its racing debut in 2004 in the John Cooper Challenge. Twelve of the John Cooper Works-prepared racers will share the grid with the existing Clubsport cars in 2004 as the series heads into its third season. Priced at 26,000, the road-legal race car includes a raft of John Cooper Motorsport modifications. A new, bigger supercharger, combined with a new cylinder head and revised exhaust system, takes the standard Cooper S from 163 bhp up to 200 bhp at just under 7000 rpm. The 2004 championship calendar will include a sprint, a hillclimb and 10 races, including one double-header in mainland Europe.
For further info on the John Cooper Challenge, visit www.johncooper.co.uk
We Hear...from Over There
* Mentley Insanne
Briton Andy Saunders knew he would never be able to afford the car of his dreams, and so he set about creating his own from the rusted shell of a 1983 Bentley Mulsanne that cost him approximately $5,000.
He fitted the interior of a Volvo S60, the rear valance of an 1800 Landcrab formed the front grille, and he also plundered a Mercedes, a Range Rover, a Ford Focus and an Audi TT to create his masterpiece. He has since dubbed it the Mentley Insanne, which may have something to do with the 900 hours he spent perfecting it.
In all it cost $20,000 to create and has been valued at $86,000. Some purists may not like the end results, but he has not been stoned to death at the classic car shows he has attended so far. In fact, he said: "I thought it might offend real Bentley enthusiasts, but it hasn't attracted a single negative comment."
* F1 Idol
After the success of "Pop Idol," motorsport has jumped on the bandwagon, and three separate ventures are now promising to take a total unknown and propel them to Formula One stardom with the help of expert judges and phone-in votes
Jordan Grand Prix is involved with one program, which will start next season and intends to have a previously unknown driver fill the second seat by 2007. Eddie Jordan will have to make sure his team is still around then, however, as the purse strings are notoriously tight at his outfit at the moment.
Jenson Button's management team, Essentially Sport, launched its "Be a Grand Prix Driver"program this season. The prize for Mark Johnston (photo) was a race in the FIA Thoroughbred Grand Prix Championship and a seven-year contract with ES, so we shall see.
The latest one, with further details available at www.f1scholarship.com, promises only a test in a Renault F1, providing their chosen candidate wins the title in three consecutive years in the junior formula. Considering the winner will go against some of the best in the world at that level, this really could be fantasy F1.
*Peugeot's Unusual Approach
Peugeot is staying in the WRC and has taken the rather unusual step of using the 307 Cabriolet as the base model.
A major departure from the stubby 206 that only qualified for the series when Peugeot's competitiors allowed it to run with an extra-large spoiler and bumper to meet the minimum length, and then proceeded to blow away the competition, the 307 is an entirely different proposition.
Of course, it will run with a hardtop, but Peugeot's competition boss did have to admit that this decision was made by the marque's marketing department; the results should be interesting
*Slow Start for Lamborghini
Lamborghini's Murcilago GT-R made a low-key competitive debut in Italy's domestic sports car championship recently, so low key that it did not, in fact, start the race at all. The Lambo, in the hands of Reiter Engineering, was due to compete at Monza, but persistent engine problems meant that the team pulled the car from the race. It is expected to star in the FIA GT series next season, as well as the ALMS, which will be the Audi-controlled manufacturer's first venture outside the relative safety of one-make racing.
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