Archive for July, 2008
31st July 2008
Following the Carlsson Aigner CK65 RS Eau Rouge, automobile manufacturer Carlsson, a firm that specializes in refinements for Mercedes Benz, has introduced its next limited edition luxury car: the Carlsson Aigner CK65 RS Blanchimont. Conceived in collaboration with the leather and lifestyle brand Etienne Aigner AG and developed by the Carlsson engineers, this luxury limousine, produced in an exclusive small series, catches the mood of an international clientele precisely. Inside the car the fine leather fittings, offset by a combination of selected woods, Alcantara and aluminium, bewitch and beguile. On the outside, the Blanchimont is discreet, sporty and seductive, with exclusive two-colour paintwork.
The vehicle’s interior trim and upholstery were created by the world-famous lifestyle brand Etienne Aigner. A combination of the renowned Aigner leather and Aigner Alcantara invite the viewer to climb inside and savour the ambience. The highest level of workmanship characterises the newly-created interior. The ergonomic design of the Carlsson sports steering wheel in leather and in Alcantara turns driving and controlling the Carlsson Aigner into a particularly enjoyable tactile experience. Carlsson aluminium sports pedal pads, illuminated door sill protectors and further visual touches all point the way into a world of luxorious elegance.
It goes without saying that the Carlsson Aigner CK65 RS Blanchimont is only supplied fully equipped with all comfort and safety features. Navigation system, automatic air-conditioning system, ventilated seats with memory function, Carlsson multi-function steering wheel, Distronic, Parktronic, Comand, TV function, KeylessGo and many other inclusive options round off the appointments of the luxury coup?. Moreover, the interior colour scheme can be chosen from more than 30 different combinations. Processing the natural materials is time cosuming and calls for the highest degree of perfection and quality. The Aigner leather, the Aigner Alcantara and the matching wood trim are fitted exclusively by hand. Hence, in the view of the fact that the individual stages call for cooling and setting phases, the production and installation of the entire interior takes over two weeks.
31st July 2008
Advertising for the radically shaped 1957 Plymouth proclaimed, ‘Suddenly it’s 1960′, and this startling Virgil Exner creation did have some of the competition looking three years old. The transformation turned Plymouth’s workaday image completely around, catapulting the brand into third place in industry sales, on a volume of 762,231 cars.
Although the ‘Forward Look’ 1957 seemed longer than the 1956 Plymouth, in reality, overall length was virtually unchanged. Hardtops were about four inches lower, though, contributing to the impressively long and wide appearance.
This Belvedere convertible was ordered from the factory with air conditioning and the dual-carb Fury V8. The paint combination is Carnival Red with a Sand Dune White sport tone stripe. Production of Plymouth’s sole drop-top model was 9,866 and prices started at ,313.
31st July 2008
Raphael Matos said before Race 1 of the same-day Corning Duels that he was focusing on the ‘big picture’ - aka the Firestone Indy Lights championship.
A victory on the 3.37-mile, 11-turn Watkins Glen International circuit brought that into focus. Matos, who started from the front row in the No. 27 Automatic Fire Sprinklers Inc. car for AFS Racing/Andretti Green Racing, recorded a 2.1290-second victory over Richard Antinucci in a race shortened one lap because of a one-hour limit.
Jeff Simmons, driving the No. 2 TMR/Xtreme Coil Drilling car, started and finished third, and Ana Beatriz advanced two positions to fourth in the No. 20 Healthy Choice/Sam Schmidt Motorsports car. Pablo Donoso finished fifth in the No. 22 TMR/Xtreme Coil Drilling car and Logan Gomez was sixth in the No. 23 Menards Guthrie Racing car.
31st July 2008
Fast Ford fans are set to celebrate the return of a sporty UK favourite the exciting yet accessible Fiesta Zetec S. Ford’s stylish new small car will offer a sports model from its UK launch this autumn, giving driving enthusiasts a new benchmark for affordable driving fun. It will also continue the ‘Zetec S’ name, first introduced to the Fiesta in 1999. Ford of Britain’s marketing director, Mark Ovenden, said: ‘Fiesta has always stood for fun and Zetec S delivers this with a capital ?F’. Lively performance and sporty styling mean it looks great and goes as well as it looks.’ Looking sporty Fiesta Zetec S adds a distinctive sporting flavour to the stylish sweeps and curves of all-new Fiesta. On the outside are five-spoke, 16in alloy wheels, projector headlamps, front fog lamps, a deeper front bumper, side mouldings and a rear spoiler. Inside, a leather teering wheel and bolstered sports seats continue that sports feel to appeal to driving enthusiasts, while the standard equipment list also addresses comfort and safety, with side airbags and air conditioning. These sports interior details add to the ?cockpit’ driving feel, created by a 30mm lower seating position than the previous-generation Fiesta, while Zetec S adds its own twist to the stylish Fiesta interior, with high contrast trim colours and designs inspired by snowboards.
31st July 2008
Traditionally a strong team at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, with 1-2 finishes in CART races using Honda power in both 2000 and 2001, Team Penske’s Ryan Briscoe led teammate Helio Castroneves to a third Honda-powered victory sweep in Sunday’s Honda Indy 200.
Starting on the outside of the first row alongside pole-qualifier Castroneves, Briscoe was the final driver to change over to dry weather racing slicks after late-morning showers led race officials to declare the event a ‘wet’ race, requiring the entire 26-car field to start on treaded ‘rain’ tires on a damp, but rapidly drying, track. Most of the field changed over to slicks on the fourth and fifth laps, but Briscoe didn’t make the swap until Lap 6, dropping him to 15th.
But a decision by team owner Roger Penske to go ‘off sequence’ on pit stops and stay on track during a Lap 25-29 caution period moved Briscoe back up to fourth, and fuel conservation during the next stint got the Australian into the lead and back onto the same pit sequence as the rest of the field. Dale Coyne Racing’s Bruno Junqueira attempted a similar strategy, but was forced by low fuel to pit out of second place with just seven laps remaining. He finished 13th.
