Monthly Archives: June 2012

Le Mans: Anthony Davidson in huge crash

June 17, 2012   simon

An intriguing Le Mans 24 Hours erupted into drama when the Toyota Racing TS 030 – HYBRID of Anthony Davidson suffered a huge crash after contact with an amateur team car. The British driver was looking to pass the #81 Ferrari 458 Italia of Piergiuseppe Perazzini at the Mulsanne Corner when the Ferrari looked to move across and the two collided.Davidson’s Toyota was sent spinning into the air, fortunately landing the right way up but then hurtling into the tyre barriers while the Ferrari, which also went into the barrier, ended up on its roof.
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Mild facelift for Vauxhall Astra

June 16, 2012   simon

The Vauxhall Astra 5 door hatch and estate have received a mild front- and rear-end facelift along with a more powerful diesel engine and a variety of new technology-related options.  Both body styles get a new front grille, new front indicator lamps and a new design of fog lamp (where fitted). The rear of both models has also been refreshed, with new rear-panel styling complemented by a chrome lower moulding.The most important addition to the range is the Astra GTC 2.0 CDTi BiTurbo, which will become the most powerful non-VXR model in the range, producing 195PS and 400Nm of torque. 0-60mph arrives in 7.8 seconds and the top speed is 139mph, but fuel consumption is nevertheless 53.3mpg and CO2 emissions are 139g/km. All BiTurbos are fitted with Start/Stop system as standard.
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Renault electric car does 1,005 miles – in a day

June 16, 2012   simon

A Renault Zoe (a Clio-sized hatchback due to go on sale shortly) has run for just over 1,000 miles in 24 hours to demonstrate its range and fast-charging system.The distance of 1,005 miles, achieved on the speed ring at the Aubevoye technical centre (CTA) in Normandy, France, was 26% further than the previous record of 795 miles. The record attempt was helped by the use of Renault’s new Chameleon charger. This makes Zoe compatible with any socket and any power level. Zoe was therefore able to be fast-charged at 43 kW, regaining 80% of battery capacity in under thirty minutes – that is a charging rate you definitely should not try at home.
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Battery breakthrough for electric cars?

June 16, 2012   simon

A123, the company that supplies batteries for the Fisker Karma, claims to have made a “game changing” breakthrough.It says it has developed a lithium-ion battery pack that may need no external cooling or heating, being happy to operate at any temperature between plus 45 degrees and minus 30 degrees. So what, you might ask? Well, the problems with keeping lithium batteries cool in a car was the main reason why they took around 10 years longer to get into cars than into mobile phones or laptops.
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Nissan to support British soldiers via Le Mans

June 16, 2012   simon

Nissan will donate £1 for every mile completed by the 14 Nissan-powered entrants at this year’s Le Mans 24 hours. Most racing cars of Nissan’s type that complete the 24 hour race can expect to cover approximately 2,750 miles, depending on weather conditions and the number of laps behind the safety car. Thus, if all 14 Nissan-powered cars completed the race without major stops for repairs (slightly unrealistic we know), the total raised would be up to £38,500.
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