Rumormill: The FIA to Forbid its Drivers Form Competing in Global RallyCross

There are tons of racing circuits in the world right now, but the fastest rising one in the U.S. is the Global RallyCross Championship circuit. You have super-fast cars on multiple surfaces (dirt, mud, sand, pavement, etc.) with little room to maneuver, plus they throw in obstacles and and ramps. No, we don’t mean relatively cushy dirt jumps in regular rally circuits. We mean ramps with huge gaps between them. So, who can blame us for falling in love with it?

It looks like the FIA is a little envious of the GRC and is planning to start its own international global rallycross circuit. With this potential entry into globalizing its rallycross circuit, the FIA is rumored to have forbid its drivers to participate in GRC. This would take some pretty high-level names out of the GRC, like Ken Block, Sebastien Loeb, Tanner Foust, and Liam Doran. To make matters worse, Tanner Foust is actually the points leader in the 2012 season, so that would be a major shakeup if the ban comes mid-season.

As we said, these are just rumors right now, but with multiple sources spreading the same whispers, there is likely some truth behind it. We have shipped off an email to GRC to get a quick statement and to see if there is any truth behind this, but we really doubt that they will confirm or deny the rumors.

For now, we just have to kick back and wait to see if the FIA follows through with this ban and if it’ll affect the 2012 season.

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2012 Nissan GTR P600 PKG by Switzer

Switzer Performance has unveiled quite a few tuning packages for the Nissan GT-R, and it seems they won’t be slowing down anytime soon now that Nissan has inadvertently announced another generation for the sports car. Their latest package is called the P600 GTR PKG and delivers an astounding 600 HP, up from the standard 545 HP.

In order to obtain this amazing power increase, the tuner has added Switzer-specific high-flow filters, Switzer’s own high-performance ECU software, and the free-flowing SS90 exhaust that not only helps increase power, but also improves the 3.8L twin-turbo V6 engine’s sound. This allows the P600 GTR to get from 0-60 mph in just 2.6 seconds (one second faster than the standard model) and make it from 60-130 mph 2.5 seconds quicker than the stock car.

Switzer’s main focus was the power increase, so no major aesthetic changes were made to the vehicle. The only change they made was the addition of a new set of new Switzer Signature series lightweight forged aluminum wheels with Michelin Pilot Supersports tires.

The absence of exterior and interior modifications doesn’t affect the price, however. The P600 PKG by Switzer will set Nissan GTR owners back $12,990.

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As Expected, Audi Planning to Use Digital Rear-View Mirrors in Production Models

Back in May, we announced that Audi was eliminating the traditional rearview mirror from its R18 Le Mans cars, due to its lack of rearward-facing glass. We also made it clear that a lot of additions to new cars come from successful experiences in the racing world. Well, the R18s ended up garnering a 1-2-3 finish in that race.

As expected, with success comes commercialization, and Audi has announced that its upcoming R8 e-tron will boast this digital mirror technology. This system will consist of a 7.7-inch AMOLED screen mounted in the traditional mirror’s spot. The “mirror” uses a rear-mounted camera to send a video feed, giving the driver a slightly wider field of vision than the average rearview mirror.

Here’s the issue though, the NHTSA’s law book still requires a mirror made from reflective glass to be mounted to all passenger cars. The law specifically states “Each passenger car shall have an inside rearview mirror of unit magnification” and it defines a “unit magnification” as “a plane or flat mirror with a reflective surface through which the angular height and width of the image of an object is equal to the angular height and width of the object when viewed directly at the same distance except for flaws that do not exceed normal manufacturing tolerances. For the purposes of this regulation a prismatic day-night adjustment rearview mirror one of whose positions provides unit magnification is considered a unit magnification mirror. ”

The issue is in the verbiage is that the phrase “ a plane or flat mirror with a reflective surface...” eliminates an LED screen, as it is not a reflective surface. Now, the law becomes nullified is the car comes with side-view mirrors that have 49 square-inches of reflective surface and offer a complete view of the rear end of the vehicle. Those mirrors would be huge for this supercar, so we doubt that exemption will be valid.

We’ll have to see exactly how Audi plans to get around this, or if the NHTSA makes adjustments to its laws.

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Mecedes-Benz Celebrates AMG’s 45th Birthday by Reviewing its History

AMG has been around since 1967 – we bet you didn’t know that – and its success story is amazingly interesting, mostly due to the immediate success it had. The AMG project actually began as a side job for Hans-Werner Aufrecht and Erhard Melcher. The two gained notoriety by modifying the 300 SE’s engine into quite the racer, by installing direct fuel injection back in the mid-1960s.

In 1967, Aufrecht and Melcher left Benz-Daimler and started AMG in a small workshop in a barn. The real success came in the 1970s when AMG developed a 300 SEL 6.8 like no one had ever seen before. It was tuned up to 320 ponies at 4,750 rpm and 541 Nm (399 pound-feet) of torque at 3,500. This allowed the heavy 300 SEL to hit 100 km/h (62 mph) in just 6.5 seconds, and easily win its class at the 24-hour race in Spa Francorchamps and take a second place overall finish.

The history lesson that Mercedes-Benz gives us on the AMG brand is available online in its fullest and progresses through each decade and even gives us a look at what the future holds for AMG. It outlines the AMG E-Cell and talks about its racing future too, which continues to look rather promising.

So head on over to Mercedes-Benz’s site and have a look at the history of AMG. It’s a pretty easy read and is broken down into small, easy-to-understand sections. Happy B-day, AMG, we hope to see 45 more from you!

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2014 BMW M3 Caught During Hot Weather Testing

The next generation BMW M3 won’t be showing its face until the 2013 Paris Auto Show, but we’ll at least get to see it undergo its painstaking testing until that happens. Bimmerpost was able to capture the future sports sedan as it endured the hot weather in Spain.

The video shows a little more of the M3’s exterior, but our main focus as we watched it was the sound pouring out of what we suspect is the new inline-six cylinder engine. We believe the previous V8 engine has been dropped in favor of the new V6, but we are still unaware of whether the new engine will be equipped with two or three turbos. Either way, it will boast of 450 HP, an increase over the current model’s 420 HP.

The future BMW M3 will be offered exclusively as a sedan and will show up on US dealerships in the winter of 2014. Before that, we’ll be able to get a closer look at the future model whenBMW unveils its M3 Concept at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

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mclaren cars 2012 McLaren MP4-12C FAB Design Terso by Office-K

In an effort to be bigger and badder in the tuning world, some tuners go the way of updating a vehicle that has already been graced with tuning hands once before. Last year, FAB Design unveiled a sleek Terso package based on the McLaren MP4-12C and this year, Japanese tuner, Office-K, has taken a crack at the Terso package to further update its look. Looking at the vehicle before and after Office-K got to work is like checking out the angel before it heads to the dark side. Both cars are exquisite, but the after model has a lot more edge.

The obvious starting point for the Office-K package is the black paint finish for the exterior, as well as the addition of a new rear spoiler, a new front spoiler fitted below the front windscreen, and a new exhaust system with three end pipes. The interior has also been updated with black leather and red accents. The tuner then added crocodile leather on the doors, foot-wells, central armrest, seats, and headliners. There is also a new carbon fiber trim that make the sports coupe look even cooler. The final piece is a new set of three-part forged wheels.

The McLaren MP4-12C Terso by Fab Design was hooked up with an engine upgrade that netted the V8 680 HP. This boost in power left it with a 0-60 mph sprint time of just 3 seconds to go with a top speed of 213 mph. As of right now, we are unaware of any other changes to the McLaren’s engine from Office-K, but the previous engine upgrade is certainly enough for just about any MP4-12C owner.

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Next Renault Alpine could be developed in cooperation with Caterham

There are some whispers spreading around on the good ol’ Net that Renault and Caterham may be teaming up to facilitate the return of the Alpine name. The ball has already started rolling with the introduction of the Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept, but a French report is stating that this team effort will benefit the lineups of both manufacturers.

Renault’s goal is to create a light and agile Alpine which will be easier with the help of a smaller company, while Caterham is looking to build a new range-topping sports car that will be made possible with the knowledge provided by a larger, more experienced manufacturer. It’s the classic, "You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours" scenario. What we’ll get out of it is a light rear-engined Alpine priced somewhere between $44,000 to $50,000 which is expected to be unveiled sometime in 2015.

"We’ve had talks with potential partners," said Carlos Tavares, Renault’s Chief Operating Officer in a previous interview. "We’ll decide whether or not to revive Alpine before the end of this year, but I think there’s a good chance that a new Alpine will see the light of day."

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