Our first drive of the Euro-market GTI Edition 35 sent us rummaging through our archives for photos and info on the history of VW?s pocket rocket. We thought we?d share. Conceived by a small group of engineers under the ?Sport Golf? code name, the original Golf GTI is somewhat engineered from the corporate parts bin. [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/Pd1hMOYTIYM/

Dick Gibson Gimax Richie Ginther Yves Giraud Cabantous Ignazio Giunti

Jenson Button says it is essential that McLaren keeps piling the pressure on Red Bull Racing - because he thinks its rivals are vulnerable to making mistakes when the heat is on. Although Vettel has a healthy 60 points advantage at the head of the championship after winning five out of the seven races held so far this year, Button is not despondent about prospects for the remainder of the campaign. And he thinks the fact that Red Bull Racing made an error in Monaco at the first round of pitstops, and then Sebastian Vettel tripped up on the final lap in Montreal, shows that the reigning champions do have an Achilles Heel

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/formula-one-news/f1-formula-one-news/button-we-must-keep-pressure-on-rbr/

Kasey Kenneth Kahne Matthew Roy Kenseth Alan Dennis Kulwicki Travis Wade Kvapil Robert Allen Labonte

This fake placard for the New York State Numismatic Agency escaped ticketing over seven hours of illegal parking thanks to lax enforcement. NYPD claims, however, that its placards are designed with the appropriate security features. Photo: Kevin Hagen for the Daily News At a City Council Transportation Committee hearing today, the New York Police Department announced [...]

Source: http://www.streetsblog.org/2011/06/22/nypd-opposes-bill-to-curb-placard-abuse-official-placards-back-on-the-rise/

Karl Kling Ernst Klodwig Kamui Kobayashi Helmuth Koinigg Heikki Kovalainen

Drivers of BMW and SEAT machinery have been given weight reductions for the next round of the World Touring Car Championship at Porto. BMWs were given a 30kg weight increase for the previous round at Brno based on the compensation weight system that balances performance based on lap times over the past two rounds. The 320TC which is fielded by the ROAL, Proteam, Zengo-Dension and Weichers-Sport teams, has been given 10kg back, but remains the heaviest car in the field at 1200kg.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/touring-cars/wtcc/bmws-seats-get-weight-break/

Paul Hawkins Mike Hawthorn Boy Hayje Willi Heeks Nick Heidfeld

Aston Martin is cutting production of its five-door Rapide by as much as 50 percent due to a lack of demand. In a statement, a spokesperson for the company said that this was always the company’s intention: “Rapide had a higher than normal initial production rate to get through the launch phase and ensure delivery [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/n43ZkO2uZrs/

Eddie Irvine Chris Irwin Jean Pierre Jabouille Jimmy Jackson Joe James

Offering better handling through hydraulics. The lowly damper (a.k.a. shock absorber) is the unsung hero of any car?s suspension system. Ride and handling specialists sweat untold hours over them, and engineers have painstakingly improved shocks with friction-reducing seals, gas pressurization, electronic valving, and even magnetic fields. While it?s hard to argue with a 3-series BMW?s [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/AtDBNHwua3c/tenneco_s_kinetic_suspension_the_anti_anti-roll_bar-tech_dept

David Lee Blaney Michael Duane Bliss Kurt Thomas Busch Kyle Thomas Busch Jeffrey Tyler Burton

Drivers of BMW and SEAT machinery have been given weight reductions for the next round of the World Touring Car Championship at Porto. BMWs were given a 30kg weight increase for the previous round at Brno based on the compensation weight system that balances performance based on lap times over the past two rounds. The 320TC which is fielded by the ROAL, Proteam, Zengo-Dension and Weichers-Sport teams, has been given 10kg back, but remains the heaviest car in the field at 1200kg.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/touring-cars/wtcc/bmws-seats-get-weight-break/

Elmer George Bob Gerard Gerino Gerini Peter Gethin

BMW builds a lightweight M3 GTS with four doors?and all of its color on the inside. We first told you about BMW?s upcoming lightweight M3 sedan when it debuted as a concept car in April, following that up with a series of spy photos in May. Well, June is nearing its end, and we?d feel [...]

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/pmXkVn15wlY/2012_bmw_m3_crt_lightweight_sedan-official_photos_and_info

William Clyde Elliott Jeffrey Michael Gordon Charles Robert Hamilton IV Charles Robert Hamilton V Kevin Michael Harvick

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Europe, Videos, Mini, Racing

Mini is taking its latest toy to the Nürburgring. The 2012 Mini Coupe has been outfitted with John Cooper Works Endurance regalia in preparation for entry into this year's Nürburgring 24 Hours. Under the hood, a race-prepped, 250-horsepower version of the same forced-induction four-pot found behind the headlights of the company's JCW models kicks at the front tires.

Aggressive aero work and a full rash of safety kit separate this beast from the one that buyers will be able to nab from their local Mini dealers soon. Mini hasn't gone into too many details as to what other sorts of tricks the company has implemented on its newest model.

Listening to the two-door bark its way around the test track, we can't wait to see how the car does in competition. Look for it to square off against the rest of the field the weekend of June 23-26. Hit the jump to check out a few videos of the JCW Endurance in action.

Continue reading Mini JCW Coupe Endurance racer hits the track

Mini JCW Coupe Endurance racer hits the track originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 24 Jun 2011 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2011/06/24/mini-jcw-coupe-endurance-racer-hits-the-track/

Timo Glock Helm Glˆckler Paco Godia Carel Godin de Beaufort Christian Goethals

Marco Simoncelli claimed the second pole of his MotoGP career as he edged out Ben Spies at Assen.

Source: http://www.iracing.com/inracingnews/other-news/motorcycles/motogp/simoncelli-secures-pole-for-dutch-tt/

Jerry Hoyt Nico H¸lkenberg Denny Hulme James Hunt Jim Hurtubise