Blog on 2040Parts

Aston Martin V12 Vantage S works out at Silverstone

We dove deep into the 2015 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S last Monday, finding the car to be explosive off the line, but also more comfortable thanks to its new electronically controlled adaptive suspension. On Friday, Aston uploaded almost seven minutes of footage of the new brawler at the Silverstone Circuit in England. If you'll remember, the new Vantage delivers 565 hp from its 6.0-liter V12, along with 457 lb-ft of torque at 5,750 rpm.

Ferrari celebrates 30 years in Hong Kong

ICONIC sporting brand Ferrari turned on the style to celebrate 30 years of presence in Hong Kong. Ferrari's president Luca di Montezemolo was in attendance alongside a spectacular display of over 600 Ferraris - the largest gathering ever in Greater China - arranged to form the traditional five-petal flower. The gathering also was used to show the firm's latest offering the 458 Speciale which was unveiled by Marc Gene, the Scuderia F1 team's chief test driver.

AA celebrates 40 years of 'get you home'

THIS MONTH the Automobile Association is celebrating the 40th anniversary of its Recovery service - originally called AA Relay - that promised to get you home or to your destination. Back in 1973 there were very limited options if your broken-down car could not be fixed at the side of the road. The AA patrol could only tow you to your local garage to have it fixed or you would have to carry on your journey without the car.

CAR tech: Britain's £1bn auto-industry revolution

By Damion Smy Motor Industry 21 October 2013 09:30 BMW, Jaguar-Land Rover and Nissan are just a handul of the car companies to have seen the potential in British design and engineering. Read on to find out just how they're actually helping Britian fight Germany as the car world's most pivotal auto-industry R&D hub. More than £1billion will be invested in the UK over the next decade to build a hub of design, engineering and manufacturing nous in the automotive equivalent of California’s Silicon Valley.

The world’s most dangerous roads by country

Pulitzer Center A staggering 1.24 million people are killed on the world’s roads every year and the numbers are rising. If current trends continue there will be a three-fold increase to 3.6 million road deaths a year globally by 2030. A new interactive map by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting presents these sobering statistics in detail, revealing the countries with the most and least dangerous roads on Earth.

Free Regent Street Motor Show to showcase past, present and future

A GLORIOUS MIX of old and new will descend on the capital in early November as the Regent Street Motor Show returns. On Saturday 2nd November Regent Street closes to traffic from Piccadilly Circus to Oxford Circus, allowing over 300 cars to go on display in a free show for the public. The display will include as many as 100 pre-1905 veteran vehicles which will compete in the EFG International Concours d’Elegance and then take on the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run the following day - the oldest competitive driving event in the world.

Fuel cell Hyundai powers ecosystem installation

IN AN UNUSUAL combination of motoring and gardening, car manufacturer Hyundai has created a design installation consisting of a aquaponics ecosystem powered by the emissions from its fuel-cell vehicle. Aquaponics is a sustainable method of farming that combines growing plants in water (hydroponics) and aquaculture (raising fish in tanks). Unlike any other fuel-powered vehicle, the hyrdrogen fuel cell ix35 emits nothing other than water when being driven.

McLaren announces official P1 performance figures (2013)

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 21 October 2013 14:00 McLaren has finally finished throat-clearing about the P1 supercar, and announced official, confirmed performance figures for the £866,000 hyper-hybrid. No more ‘approximately’ this and ‘sub’ that: here’s the complete list of top trumps. • 0-62mph (100km/h): 2.8sec – the same as a Nissan GT-R, 0.1sec faster than a Lamborghini Aventador, and 0.4sec faster than the original McLaren F1.• 0-124mph (200km/h): 6.8sec – faster than CAR’s long-term Subaru BRZ coupe hits 62mph.• 0-186mph (300km/h): 15.6sec – 5.5sec faster than a McLaren F1.

Over 70% of motorists opposed to clocks going back

THIS SUNDAY sees the UK revert to Greenwich Mean Time from British Standard Time but seven in ten motorists believe the practice should be abandoned, according to new research. The poll, conducted by Smart Witness, also revealed that 60% of drivers thought lives could be saved by remaining on GMT throughout the year. The main opposition to the clocks going back is that it means children are forced to return home from school in darker afternoons.

Drive the Polo R WRC as VW Rally the World

Drive the Polo R WRC as VW Rally the World Volkswagen have already made the most of their entry in to the World Rally Championships this year with the Polo R WRC – apart from the fact it’s created a 4WD platform for the Polo/A1 in the process – with a street version of the Polo R WRC (although not in the UK). But VW’s adventure in to WRC with the Polo R hasn’t just been about a bit of product development and a spun-off road version – they’ve taken it very seriously. So seriously have VW taken WRC – and so well prepared were they – that Sebastian Ogier has already taken the 2013 drivers gong in WRC (from the previous – long term – incumbent Sebastian Loeb) with three races left, in his 315bhp, 4WD Polo R, and VW look set to take the team title too.

2014 Jeep Cherokees finally en route to dealerships

Car haulers loaded with 2014 Jeep Cherokee stick out on the flat farmland like elephants on the savannah -- lumbering behemoths easy to spot, even from miles away. In ones and twos they rumble the 15 miles west from Chrysler Group's massive Toledo, Ohio, assembly complex toward a former supplier-owned automotive testing center. The Cherokees were due in dealerships almost two months ago but have been held while Chrysler developed and installed new software to smooth out the way the engine, nine-speed transmission and innovative disconnecting drivetrain interact.

Would you buy a Chevrolet S10?

Last week we asked you if you would be interested in trying the Chevrolet Montana, a compact pickup truck based on a hatchback that manages to deliver 30 mpg while being able to haul as much weight as a Ford F-150. Quite a few you were impressed with the little trucklet, which is available in South America and parts of Central America. Some of you likened it to a descendant of the Subaru Brat.

2014 Mercedes C Class tease begins (video)

Mercedes begin the tease for the new C Class With the new Mercedes A Class and derivatives – particularly the new CLA – pushing in to the part fo the market held by the C-Class, it’s time for a new C Class. And that looks like it’s happening at bthe Detroit Auto Show in January. Ahead of that debut, it seems Mercedes are teasing the arrival of the 2014 C Class with the video below (they don’t say as much, but it has to be), a new C Class that looks set to grow in size and push upmarket.

New Mercedes S Class garners 30,000 orders in first 3 months

New Mercedes S Class (pictured) garners 30,000 orders in first 3 months The last Mercedes S Class was with us for getting on for a decade, so it’s no surprise, with a new S Class in the offing, Mercedes ended up cutting S Class production in 2012. But now the new 2014 Mercedes S Class has arrived, and orders are starting to flood in. Mercedes are reporting that in the first three months on sale the new S Class has received more than 30,000 orders, compared to a total of 65,000 orders for the previous S Class in its last year.

Infiniti planning to take on Porsche Panamera

Infiniti planning to make the Essence Concept (pictured) in to a Panamer-like Coupe Back in 2009 – ahead of Infiniti launching in Europe – the Infiniti Essence arrived at the Geneva Motor Show as an illustration of what we could expect to see from Infiniti in the future. That was four years ago, but now it looks like the Essence may be on its way to production – after a slight stretch and the acquisition of a couple of extra doors – after Andy Palmer, Nissan’s VP for Future Products, told Automotive News Infiniti is planning a range-topping flagship to take on the Porsche Panamera. The Essence seems a good starting point for that mission; it’s already a big (over 15′ long) swoopy-coupe with a hybrid powerplant consisting of a 3.7 litre turbo V6 and electric motor combination good for 590bhp.

OFFICIAL: Lamborghini Veneno Roadster

Lamborghini Veneno Roadster When the first photo of the Lamborghini Veneno Roadster – the open-top take on the Veneno, revealed earlier this year – appeared online yesterday, it seemed likely we’d soon get the official reveal from Sant’agata. And here it is. The Veneno Roadster is another part of Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary celebrations and represents the extremes of what the marque can do.

BMW 2 Series tease begins (video)

New BMW 2 Series tease begins BMW’s plans to extend their model range continues, with the new BMW 2 Series due to join its larger sibling – the BMW 4 Series – as the 1 Class Coupe/Cabriolet. The official reveal for the new BMW 2 Series is expected at the end of next week, but ahead of that BMW has started to tease its new Coupe on video (below). We don’t get to see much – and what we do see isn’t a huge surprise – but we already know much of what to expect when the 2 Series starts to hit the road in 2014.

McLaren P1 back at the Nurburgring in attack mode

The McLaren P1 is back at the Nurburgring looking to set a new record It was brave of Ron Dennis to declare – before the McLaren P1 was anywhere close to finished – that the it would be able to lap the Nurburgring in under 7 minutes. He was obviously very confident his new baby was up to the task but, just like McLaren’s current Formula One car, the P1 seems to be just a bit off the pace. Last month we reported that it seemed the best the McLaren P1 could do at the Nurburgring was a 7:04s – a time McLaren didn’t make official – so we knew McLaren would be back with their laptops and engineers as soon as they’d figured a way to trim those last few seconds.

New 2013 Porsche Macan revealed

The new Porsche Macan has been revealed – and the smaller SUV sibling to the hit Porsche Cayenne is all set to become another Porsche best-seller… but will it be a Range Rover Evoque beater? In a surprise reveal, the covers have been almost completely removed from the new Porsche Macan compact SUV, prior to its public debut at the 2013 LA Motor Show later in November. What emerges is an SUV that’s a clear evolution of the Porsche Cayenne, but which is also sportier, more sculptural and, well, more Porsche-like.

Lamborghini Veneno roadster leaked in pictures

The insane Lamborghini Veneno has spawned a roadster version, if Internet rumors and pictures are to be believed. Rumors of the roadster surfaced back in July, when CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Car and Driver that a convertible Veneno will be produced and sold at price near $4.5 million. We're hearing that it may actually carry a price tag of around $5.3 million.

BMW 1 Series dead in US after 2013

With its successor set to bow at the Detroit Auto Show in a couple of months' time, word's come down from BMW that 2013 will indeed be the end of the line for the BMW 1 Series — at least in the US. It will remain available elsewhere in the world as a three-door and five-door hatch. The coupe and convertible, meanwhile, are being replaced by the 2 Series, in convention with BMW's new naming scheme.

Remote areas may get fuel duty cut

REMOTE RURAL areas in Scotland, North Yorkshire and Devon could benefit from a 5p-per-litre fuel duty cut, under plans put forward by ministers. The Government has applied to the European Commission to vary the duty rates in 10 towns across Britain. Discounts have never been permitted on the mainland before, although they are already in place for the Scottish islands, Isles of Scilly and other island communities in Europe.

Police officer's special delivery

A POLICE OFFICE helped to deliver a baby girl in a London car showroom after being flagged down by the father. The heavily pregnant woman was being driven to hospital by her partner around 1pm yesterday when they realised the baby was about to arrive. Her partner pulled over next to Metropolitan Police transport officer Robert Morgan, who was dealing with a vehicle close to the Mercedes Benz showroom in Newham.

Corvette-powered Karmas coming in 2014

VL Automotive, a Detroit venture backed by former General Motors' vice chairman Bob Lutz, is moving ahead with plans to convert Fisker Karma from hybrid power to Corvette power. Lutz told Automotive News on Thursday that the company has bought 25 unsold Karmas and has settled a dispute with an Asian investor that prevented VL from accessing the codes that operate the Karma's infotainment system. "Without getting those codes, it was close to impossible to get a working car," Lutz said.

Best petrol price falls since 2008

MOTORISTS are enjoying the biggest fall in petrol prices since the credit crunch days of 2008. But the AA has warned that a further dip in prices is unlikely. Average petrol prices in the UK fell 5.49p a litre between mid September and mid-October - the biggest monthly fall since the 11.5p petrol price collapse in November 2008, the AA said.

Lamborghini Veneno Roadster (2013) first official pictures

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 18 October 2013 11:00 If you missed out on the original limited edition run of three Lamborghini Venenos, you’re in luck. Lamborghini has announced a roofless Roadster version as part of the brand’s continued 50th anniversary celebrations – and plans to build up to nine examples, depending on demand. However, at €3.3m (£2.8m) – plus local taxes – the Veneno Roadster is ten times more expensive than the Aventador Roadster on which it’s based.

Man drove for 40 years without a licence

A MOTORIST is facing prosecution for driving without a licence for almost 40 years, traffic police have said. The unnamed driver was also found to have no insurance when pulled over by members of the Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) in Birmingham. A police spokesman said the motorist was stoppedin the Nechells area of the city at 9.40am on Thursday.

Lamborghini Veneno Roadster makes its first appearance

The first photo of the Lambnorghini Veneno Roadster Back in July we exclusively revealed plans for a Lamborghini Veneno Roadster, and it looks like it’s almost here after the first photos leaked on to the Interwebs. The Veneno Roadster – the roofless version of the Veneno which debuted at Geneva in March – is the next instalment in Lamborghini’s on-going mission to sell titivated versions of its regular cars at very silly money. Under the titivated and extreme exterior of theVeneno Roadster lies a Lamborghini Aventador, but the price for turning an Aventador Roadster in to a Veneo Roadster is mad – the Veneno Roadster looks set to cost €3.3 million plus tax – enough for ten Aventadors.

Limited Edition MINI Countryman and MINI Paceman get Frozen Black Metallic Matt paint

MINI Paceman (pictured) with the new Frozen Black Matt paint job Matt paint finishes are not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, but for those with deep pockets – buying expensive cars – they’ve been an option for a while. And now BMW are extending their Matte paint finishes to MINI, with limited editions of the MINI Countrymnan and MINI Paceman being offered with the special Frozen Black Metallic Matt paint job. The Matt paint – which is textured and shimmers – certainly gives the MINI a new look and will be available on MINI Cooper S Countryman, MINI Cooper SD Countryman, MINI Cooper S Paceman, MINI Cooper SD Paceman, MINI John Cooper Works Countryman and MINI John Cooper Works Paceman.

Charles Morgan to appeal ousting by Morgan board (2013)

By Ollie Kew Motor Industry 18 October 2013 17:00 Charles Morgan, who was ousted by the Morgan Motor Company's board this week after a decade at the marque, has released a statement reacting to his forced departure, and confirming his intention to fight the decision. You can read the statement in its entirety below. Charles Morgan has posted a single entry on a personal blog, outlining his dismay at the decision, and announcing he will appeal against the board.