It's a Citroën!
Pininfarina has brought together Citroën mechanicals and the Citroën's unique automotive philosophy to produce a new type of car that marks the first collaboration between Citroën and Pininfarina. While the classic Citroën chevrons are visible at the front of the car and on the engine cover and it shares some styling elements with Citroën's own research car for the Citroën C6 range topping luxury car, the Citroën Osée is unlike anything before it seen wearing the Citroën name. The Citroën Osée - the name is French for 'daring' - is a three seat super car, with a central driving position and two passenger seats placed behind the driver on either side of the car. Access is through a single large front hinged door that includes the roof and the windscreen. Power is supplied by an uprated version of 3.0 litre V6 engine in Citroën's new C5 and suspension is, of course, Hydractive.
Mini Limited Slip Diffs
The UK's Mini Spares company is well known for their power upgrades, but power needs to be put to the road to be of any use. Tyre-squealing and wheel-spinning waste all that extra power that has been produced - that's why they offer Limited Slip Differentials to suit all road and race Minis and Sprites. The effect of fitting a LSD to a road car is quite dramatic. As a rough guide you can usually expect to trim half a second off your 0-100 km/h time making an otherwise standard car noticeably quicker than one without a LSD. Mini Spares LSD units incorporate the latest design technology and are available in the following options...
Mini Race £404.21
Mini Rally £404.21
Mini Road £404.21
Sprite Race £404.21
Sprite Rally £404.21
All prices are plus shipping costs.
sales@minispares.com
www.minispares.com
Chip for 316/318 E46
Superchips has developed a chip for the BMW 316 and 318 E46 with the 1.9 engine. This conversion is claimed to increase the power to 87kW at 5066 rpm and the torque to 198 Nm at 2186rpm. The conversion can also increase the rev limit if required. The conversion uses serial programming to overwrite the original chip with the Superchips program, with the old program stored on a Customer Key electronic card, should you ever need it again.
www.superchips.co.uk
sales@superchips.co.uk
Rover VVC Conversion
Piper Cams have just released a new kit to convert the Rover 1800 VVC K series engine (as used in Lotus Elise and MGF sports cars) to non-VVC operation.
The VVC cylinder head utilises substantially larger valves than the standard K series head. It is more economical to use this casting rather than have larger valves fitted to a standard head. For this reason Piper have developed the kit to convert the VVC mechanism back to conventional camshafts.
The kit contains chill cast inlet and exhaust cams in any hydraulic profile, end plates with gaskets, actuator cover, a pair of vernier pulleys and a set of uprated valve springs. Piper's development engine was fitted with a Piper BP285 cam and conversion kit plus throttle bodies, forged pistons with 11:1 compression and the ECU was remapped to suit. No porting work was done to the head. No ports were matched. The engine produced 137kW at 7210 rpm (compared with an original 108kW) with 195 Nm of torque at 5500 rpm. With a ported head, around 155kW is claimed to be available! A full race version of the kit is also available putting out a massive 185kW.
The 'road use' conversion kit retails at £650 + shipping costs. A solid billet version is available for £800 + shipping costs.
http://www.piper-cams.co.uk
sales@pipercams.co.uk
The Australian Dictionary Of Motoring
- Do you know what chuggle or cinicity is?
- Who goes twocking?
- Who won the 2001 Australian Grand Prix?
- How did the terms 'pole position' and 'lemon' originate?
The answer to these questions and just about anything else you may want to know about any automotive subject can be found in The Australian Dictionary of Motoring. A fully updated version of the acclaimed Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring, it has been released under a new name, with 9,400 head words, 440,000 text words and 596 illustrations.
The most complete reference book on Australian motoring ever, The Australian Dictionary of Motoring covers component descriptions, new technology, motor sport events (with results), industry terms, styling phrases, early and recent Aussie car-makers and marque histories. Virtually all motoring expressions are there, including jargon, obsolete terms and slang, along with the specialised expressions used in motor sport, automotive trades and car factories. Eminently browsable, it combines fascinating information on motoring matters with precise definitions of the terms used in both traditional engineering and new technology. Other entries range from the pioneer journeys that conquered Australia to a description of how in-car satellite navigation works.
Compiled by Pedr Davis and priced at $69.95 (including GST) the 464-page, large format book is the largest and most comprehensive motoring dictionary ever assembled.
The Australian Dictionary of Motoring is published by Pedr Davis Pty Ltd in association with Bookworks Pty Ltd..
PS:
Chuggle is a word coined by engineers to describe an engine with bad surge caused by combustion instability.
Cinicity is a characteristic of a tyre that tends to pull to one side because of an improperly constructed carcass.
Twocking is U.K. slang for car stealing.
The 2001 Australian Grand Prix was won by Michael Schumacher (Ferrari).
One theory about pole position is that, in early French Grand Prix racing, the fastest qualifying time gained the best position on the grid and received a case of Pol Roger champagne. It became known as the Pol position.
The expression lemon has two possible origins. The Europeans attribute it to the 1934 CITROEN Traction Avant which gave so much trouble owners called it Citron (French for lemon) instead of Citroen. The US version traces the name to C.L. Womphopper, reputed to have invented trade-ins, time-payment and repossessions. This big-time used wagon salesman once bought a number of badly made wagons and sold them by offering a free bushel of lemons with each one.
SPAX RSX Suspension Kits
In response to popular demand leading suspension manufacturers SPAX have just released a new fully adjustable suspension kit to fit the Subaru Impreza Turbo, Honda Civic and the VW Golf Mk4 (and Audi, Skoda and Seat variants that use the Golf 4 floorpan).
The RSX Race Kit has been designed for Impreza owners who want to get that much more out of their car, both on the road and when pushed to the limit on track days. The kit contains front and rear dampers with extra strong motor-sport brackets, adjustable spring seats, uprated race style springs, performance bump stops and 'C' spanners. The front and rear dampers have threaded bodies to allow the ride height to be altered by simply winding the spring seat up or down. The damping rate is also easily adjusted on the car enabling a range of 10 damping rates from 'standard road' to 'serious track use' to be selected with the minimum of effort.
The handling package for the Honda Civic consisting of a set of four RSX adjustable dampers and a set of height adjustable 'coilover' performance springs. The race style springs have improved spring rates and allow fitting of wide wheels and tyres. The RSX dampers are fully adjustable with racing internals and offer 28-stage adjustment to suit driver preference and road/track conditions. The damping is somewhat harder than standard which helps eliminate bump steer and (it's said!) gives near perfect performance. Damping and ride height can be adjusted quickly, easily and precisely on the car. The car can be lowered between 40 and 75mm for road and race use and even more for show use.
The Golf RSX kit contains a set of 4 on-car adjustable dampers with race internals and matched race 'coil over' chrome silicon springs and has been designed and developed by SPAX motor sport engineers to give your road car 'near-race' handling and looks. The four matched 'race-style' chrome silicon springs offer ultimate performance with 'race car' looks and represent a dramatic improvement over standard specification springs. The four fully adjustable dampers can be altered to suit individual driving styles and differing road conditions. The damping adjustments can be carried out on the car for quick, easy and precise tuning of suspension settings and the ride height can be adjusted, by use of the C spanners provided, for the tuning of corner weights and centre of gravity. A GTi model can be lowered by approx 50 mm (dependant on model) for road and race purposes. Greater lowering can be achieved with this kit, but such extreme lowering is really only for show use. Lowering quotes are based on the GTi models. Greater lowering will be achieved on non-GTi models which ride higher as standard.
www.spaxperformance.com.
WRX Wins Again
Easter Sunday's 'Queenstown Race to the Sky' hillclimb held in the South Island of New Zealand was won by multiple Asia Pacific Rally champion Possum Bourne in a heavily modified Subaru Impreza World Rally Car, in a time of 8m 37s. Californian-based New Zealander, Rod Millen, was second in a Toyota Hilux. The 15km long, 137 corner hillclimb rises from 500 metres above sea level to 1700 metres above sea level in the Waiorau Mountain Range in the Cardrona Valley near Lake Wanaka.
Per Eklund took his pictured European Rallycross Championship winning Saab 9-3 to fourth place, 9s adrift of previous triple winner and third-place getter, Monster Tajima from Japan in a Suzuki Vitara.
Maserati Celebrates
This month sees one of the oldest and most exclusive car manufacturers, Maserati, celebrate the 75th anniversary of production of the first Maserati motor vehicle. The Maserati Tipo 26, was first produced on the 14th April, 1926. The name Maserati evokes strong images of a great motor racing past. This emotion culminated in Maserati winning the World Formula 1 Constructors and Drivers Title in 1957. However, what started out as a small workshop specialising in the preparation of race cars for the Italian elite, is now renowned for crafting one of the world's most stylish and fastest sports coupés, the 3200GT.
Due to its experience gathered from decades of world motorsport, Maserati is also responsible for engineering innovations that form the basis for ordinary road cars today. Among its innovations, the world's first hydraulic brakes appearing on the Maserati 8C/8CM in 1933. After experimenting with innovations such as disc brakes and fuel injection on the all conquering Maserati 250F race car, these technologies were first introduced to production road cars with the Maserati 3500GT in 1961, template for the current 3200GT coupé. Throughout its 75 year history, Maserati has collected nearly 500 outright race wins, 23 World Championships and 32 Formula 1 Grands Prix
Whilst financial mismanagement has seen the famous trident brand pass through various hands over the years, the passion for building beautiful motor cars has never faded. Stunning models of the 1960's like the A6 1500 Sport, the 3500GT and 5000GT. Striking designs like the Maserati Indy, Bora and Merak all found homes in the driveways of the rich and famous in the 1970's. This desire for producing world leading Gran Turismo's has only been enhanced with one time race track rival, Ferrari S.p.A taking 100% ownership and control of Maserati. The 3200GT coupé is just the first example of Maserati's return to the international luxury sports car spotlight.
To celebrate Maserati's 75th Anniversary, special events have been planned all around Australia throughout 2001.
New Integra Prototype
TOKYO - Honda Motor Co has taken the wraps off the prototype of its new Honda Integra Type R. The prototype is the first glimpse of Honda's long-awaited Integra replacement and is based on the Acura RS-X concept car unveiled at Detroit Motor Show earlier this year. The new Integra Type R is equipped with a 162kW or 220 hp 2.0-litre engine that features Honda's new-generation i-VTEC technology. Honda has distinguished the new Type R with Brembo front brakes, Recaro sports front seats, rear spoiler and MOMO leather steering wheel. The Integra iS is powered by a 2.0-litre i-VTEC engine capable of producing 117kW (160hp).
Honda Motor Co will begin selling the new Honda Integra in Japan in July and the new Honda Integra is scheduled to go on sale in Australia in late 2001.
| |
Type R |
iS |
| Engine |
2.0 litre DOHC i-VTEC |
2.0 litre DOHC i-VTEC |
| Power |
162kW |
117kW |
| Torque |
206Nm |
191Nm |
| Transmission |
6-speed manual |
5-speed manual/5-speed auto |
| Dimensions (mm) |
Length |
4385 |
4385 |
| |
Width |
1725 |
1725 |
| |
Height |
1385 |
1400 |
| Weight |
1170kg (without air-con)
1180kg (with air-con) |
1170 (5-speed man)
1200 (5-speed auto) |
| Special equipment |
Brembo front brake system
Recaro front seats
Leather steering wheel
Aluminium pedals
Aluminium gear shift knob |
High Intensity Discharge headlights |
Quickies
- To mark its success in the 2000 World Rally Championship, Peugeot has announced the introduction of a special edition 306 model, the 2.0 Rallye. The Rallye will be available as a five-door hatch and will be powered by a 2-litre 100kW engine. It will replace the top-selling XT hatch. Standard features on the Rallye will include dual SRS airbags, engine immobiliser, ABS, alloy wheels, automatic rain-sensing wipers, power windows and mirrors, climate control air-conditioning, and Rallye decals. Pricing will begin from $26,990 for the 5-speed manual. An automatic transmission will be available as a $2000 option.
|