Comeback King?

January 24th, 2012

Those of us that follow all things motorsport will certainly not have missed news this week that a former Formula One World Champion has been settling into his new office – a Lotus F1 seat. Yes, I am of course talking about Kimi Raikkonen’s return to F1 with his new team, Lotus, formerly Renault.

This week he has been blasting around the Valencia test facility whilst he dials himself back into the rhythm of the most demanding motorsport there is. Lotus’ signing of the Finn has excited many of us that follow F1 as we remember him to be an extremely fast talent – one of the quickest over a single lap that I’ve ever seen.

Raikkonen left F1 at the end of the 2009 season, a year where he was driving a Ferrari that was drastically off the pace, yet he still managed to win at Spa, one of the most challenging circuits in the world where the driver can make up for a lack of car performance. Ferrari themselves admitted that 2009’s car was a bit of a dog, however they bounced back with a brilliant machine in 2010 that very nearly won the Drivers’ Championship in the hands of Kimi’s replacement, Fernando Alonso. Maybe Kimi will feel that he could have gone one better than Alonso in that same car?

Well now he is driving for the Enstone based team that Alonso won both his Championships with; will Kimi be able to double up his championship trophies with the newly named and rebranded Lotus F1 Team? It would be a bit of dream story if he did!

When Kimi was at his peak throughout the mid noughties, there were so many occasions where he left the others in a cloud of exhaust gases, and I personally thought Kimi was the most exciting driver on the F1 grid. In 2003, driving for McLaren as a youngster who had replaced the legend that was Mika Hakkinen, Raikkonen went on to win his first race in Malaysia and only lost the World Championship by two points at the final round in Japan.

Then in 2005, still at McLaren, Raikkonen again challenged for the title, this time he went head to head with the aforementioned Spaniard, Fernando Alonso. Raikkonen won seven Grand Prix but still lost out on the title by 21 points due to a dreadfully unreliable McLaren that let him down on so many occasions. He retired from three races, all of which Alonso capitalised on by winning, whereas Alonso only retired from one race that season in what was a consistently strong Renault F1 package.

Raikkonen was rewarded however in 2007 when he finally clinched the World Championship by just one point from his rivals, as Kimi won six Grand Prix in a brilliant debut year for Ferrari.

However, what stands out most for me was Raikkonen’s die hard attitude towards racing – at the Nurburgring in 2005, for example, Raikkonen led the race as the drivers began the final lap, however he was suffering from a serious problem with his front tyres, and as he braked for the first corner on the final lap, his suspension gave way and he ploughed into the tyre wall, and out of the race. He had the option to come into the pit and change his tyres before the problem worsened however that would have cost him the lead of the race and some serious points in the Championship, so instead he stayed out and took a chance – unfortunately for him, on this occasion, it was not a case of “he who dares wins”.

Raikkonen was also extremely entertaining to watch as he pulled off some fine overtaking manoeuvres during an era where overtaking was fairly minimal. Raikkonen’s return to F1 is a much anticipated one and everyone will be looking forward to seeing the Finn back on the track and competing once again.

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Peugeot to End Endurance Programme

January 18th, 2012

It has just today been announced that Peugeot is to pull the plug on its Le Mans programme with immediate effect. This is a big surprise to all in the endurance racing field, particularly as Peugeot has achieved such great success as one of the front-running manufacturers.

They had been Audi’s main rival for many years now, and they had embarked upon running a series of variants of its diesel powered 908 prototypes in the Le Mans 24 Hours and the related sports car series since 2007. This of course was a fantastic way to develop certain diesel technologies, including diesel particulate filters.

The greatest achievement for Peugeot in the endurance programme was winning the momentous Le Mans 24 Hours race in 2009. Further success came last year when they won the inaugural Intercontinental Le Mans Cup title before the series then transformed into the World Endurance Championship this year.

In a statement from the French manufacturer, Peugeot have said: “This decision has been taken in the context of a difficult economic environment in Europe. Peugeot has chosen to concentrate resources on its sales performance in 2012.”

Peugeot’s decision to pull the plug is perhaps a rather justified one when considering the fact that car sales for the company have been plummeting.

Peugeot’s of old were never the prettiest cars it must be said, however, recently they have turned a corner with their design and development. The Peugeot RCZ, and the new 508, both look great and it indeed makes me wonder whether such developments have come from the great work Peugeot have been carrying out at Le Mans and within the sports car series.

However, having said that, with Peugeot now concentrating solely on their road vehicles, and with these great cars already there as a base to build upon, we can hopefully expect to see even better things fly off Peugeot’s design board and onto our roads. Hopefully this will also, therefore, lead to an increase in sales for the company, and maybe one day they will be able to make a very welcome and valiant return to sports car racing.

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Honda NSX to Make a Return

January 10th, 2012

Last week we blogged about just a handful of the exciting cars to look forward to this year, and today we bring you news that a new, eagerly anticipated, Honda NSX is on the way. The only problem being, who knows when? Certainly not this year, or in the next couple, but maybe in three years time if Honda stick to their timeframe.

However, regardless of that, an NSX concept was revealed at the Detroit Motor Show, however, it wasn’t actually promoted as a Honda, but an Acura (the American version of Honda).

It has to be said that the concept car looks pretty impressive with stylish, angular lines making it look like the ideal futuristic supercar. Furthermore, it probably won’t be another run of the mill supercar as it will, hopefully, follow in the footsteps of the original, which only had around 270bhp.

The beauty and brilliance of the original was the way it drove, the way it cornered and the noise it made. If the new NSX can tick those boxes then it’s happy days for the Honda NSX once again. This is indeed a supercar that doesn’t need to be filled with X-trillion horsepower, all it needs is to be designed with the same attitude as the previous model and bingo, it will likely be a fantastic car that will put a very large smile on your face.

It’s been well documented that Formula One icon, Ayrton Senna, had a helping hand in the development of the original NSX as he advised Honda, who were the engine manufacturers of all three of his World Championship winning cars, that the chassis needed to be stiffened, and Honda admiring, respecting and trusting Senna’s word, did just that! And it paid off as the NSX notoriously became one of the best handling cars on the market.

Now back to this new NSX, apparently it will come with a high-revving (good stuff) V6 engine, much like the original, so it is almost certain that the noise that will come out the back of the performance exhaust system will be truly awesome, however the new NSX has a twist…it’s a hybrid. Honda’s boss is adamant though that it will not get in the way of petrol head heaven, as he says: “The NSX will enhance dynamic driving abilities without getting in the way.”

The hybrid nature of the car goes thus far: there will be two small electric motors at the front of the car which will allow independent drive to each wheel and the ability to tighten or loosen the car’s cornering line for some effective torque vectoring, whilst another electric motor will be embedded in the gearbox to enhance the V6’s power. This is one clever concept that is sure to be fuel efficient also as the car will reclaim braking energy whilst also having added performance and some thrilling cornering capabilities.

With Honda again thinking about how best to utilise their tasty V6, the new NSX is sure to be a winner!

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The Year Ahead

January 5th, 2012

Now that the festive and New Year activities have more or less come to a close, and we are all (kind of) back into the swing of things we can look forward to the year ahead, and in terms of upcoming cars in 2012 there is a lot of reason to smile and get very excited. Especially if you are lucky enough to be genuinely thinking about buying, or already have ordered, one of the cars we are about to mention!

We start with America’s special offers this year. Ford look certain to launch a new Mustang GT500. The name alone evokes a feverish excitement deep within a petrol heads stomach whilst also creating some very sweaty palms. Remember the original GT500 that was showcased in Jerry Bruckheimer’s Gone in Sixty Seconds remake? Well this new, modern version is set to come with over 600bhp and around 600 lb-ft torque. This astonishing performance comes from a 5.8 litre powerhouse.

Ford have also been hard at work designing an aerodynamic body in order to make it as fast as possible in a straight line as they aim to smash the 200mph barrier. Be sure also that it will be fitted with one tasty sounding stainless steel exhaust system that will burble and shake the fillings from your teeth.

Also from America comes the new Dodge Viper which is expected to be fitted with an 8.7 litre V10 that will also produce more than 600bhp. Prototype Vipers have been reportedly blasting round the Nurburgring at some rate and so anticipation is building for the release of what should be a European supercar beater. Watch out Ferrari and Lamborghini!

Speaking of European supercars, there is a new Pagani on its way. The difficult to pronounce Huayra has been delayed since the end of 2010 and this has led to increased expectations and excitement for what should hopefully be the release of Zonda’s replacement.

The Zonda was, and still is, a truly awesome supercar. It had everything, beauty, power, performance, garishness and pizzazz, and so with the Huayra set to replace it, we would hope the new model would be even better! That is certainly a tough task but Pagani have obviously been hard at work and will only release the new car when they are more than happy with the end product, and when, in their eyes, it is a true Zonda vanquisher.

There is also a new Bugatti set to arrive in 2012. The Galibier is expected to have over 1000bhp and is currently looking like a four door Veyron. It is almost certain that it will be the fastest four door saloon the world has ever seen, and in typical Bugatti style will come with a big WOW factor. It will be loud, fast, grand, and fierce whilst also being able to settle down for a long, executive cruise. Perhaps a Bentley defeater? Or a Rolls Royce slayer? Expect the Bugatti to be quite a chunk more expensive however…

There are, of course, many more cars that will get tails wagging throughout 2012, stand by for reviews and previews here on the Longlife blog.

Happy New Year!

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Autosport 2012

November 28th, 2011

The Autosport and PistonHeads show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, is considered in the motor racing industry to be THE show to exhibit at if you are serious about attracting high quality customers to your business, so it’s with great excitement in the office here at Longlife that we can say we’ll be there again next year with a new and larger stand.

Last year’s show was our first time at the show so we were slightly nervous as to whether the substantial investment would be returned.  The number of things to consider when exhibiting is huge, ranging from what products to take with us to car insurance for the vehicles on the stand.  The planning for how we lay the stand out, design for graphics boards, booking of hotels and filling out the many forms for the organisers is a lengthy job that takes quite some time.

As a result of our attendance at last years show, we met a business owner who was later to become one of our franchisees and also many people who have now had Longlife Stainless Steel Exhausts on their cars.  As a result of the success, this year’s stand will be almost twice as large and will show off our fantastic range of exotic car exhausts for Porsche, Lamborgini, Ferrari and more.  This is of course in addition to the custom build exhausts that we build for almost any vehicle.

If you are interested in seeing the best that the British motor industry has to offer, the best racing cars and of course some of the best after-market products for your car, then make a note in your diary to go to the show in January 14th and 15th next year.  Tickets are available either online at the Autosport website or on the door.

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Webber Takes First Win of 2011 as F1 Season Comes to an End

November 28th, 2011

The 2011 F1 season has been dominated by just 1 man; Sebastian Vettel, who has set record after record on his way to the World Championship. This season, Vettel not only won the championship, with barely a hint of a challenge from the other drivers, but he also became the youngest ever Double World Champion, the youngest ever Back to Back World Champion, the record holder for most laps led in a season and the record holder for most starts from the front row in a season.

It has been an unbelievably impressive year from the young German, and after taking pole position in qualifying in Brazil on Saturday, breaking Nigel Mansell’s record for most pole positions in a season, it looked as if he was going to end the championship in the same unstoppable form in which he has performed throughout most of it.

However, after another blistering qualifying performance for pole position, Vettel came unstuck during the race with a gearbox problem, giving Mark Webber the chance to finally drive out of the German’s shadow and take his first win of the season.

It was a rare performance problem for Vettel’s Red Bull car which has been incredibly consistent over the year, only failing to finish 1 race, but it was enough of a chance for Webber to take, after failing to win any of the previous races this season, despite multiple starts on the front row of the grid.

The win is likely to give Webber a great confidence boost before the new season, after spending most of 2011 behind his teammate, yet it is Vettel’s amazing records and dominant performance that will be remembered as teams try to build a new car that can beat the Double World Champion next season.

Although he lost first place to Webber, Vettel finished the Brazilian Grand Prix in second whilst Jenson Button came 3rd, ensuring he finished the 2011 season in 2nd place in the drivers World Championship standings behind Vettel.

However, Vettel, Webber and Button will soon be forgetting any accomplishments from this season as they look towards 2012, during which we will see a new American Grand Prix, more adjustments to DRS zones and a rule change on the way the drivers use their exhaust to aid breaking and down force.

With Vettel dominating all year, it has not been the most exciting F1 season there has ever been but with the last 2 races being won by Hamilton and Webber it looks as if things might get a lot more competitive next season.

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Subaru S206 Announced

November 25th, 2011

Japanese car giant, Subaru, announced a harder, faster, superior upgrade to their Impreza WRX STI range; the S206. However, unfortunately, it will not be available here in the UK. Your only way of getting your hands on this particular Scooby is to have it imported.

This hardcore version of the Impreza will receive a power boost to 316bhp, with 318 lb-ft torque. This added performance comes in the shape of a new twin-scroll turbo, an upgraded ECU, a sports exhaust system, a larger intercooler, and an air filter that has been redesigned. This has all been added to the standard flat-four engine that we are all familiar with.

Subaru has not yet released any performance figures, however it is expected that new Subaru will benefit from a “heightened” accelerator response and extra low-to-mid range torque. The current Impreza we can buy over here in the UK has 297bhp and will hit 62mph (100kph) in 5.2 seconds whilst propelling its self all the way to 155mph. So, with that in mind, we can have a guess at what the new Impreza performance figures will look like. Expect 0-62 to be sub five seconds, and the top speed, if unrestricted, should be plus 160mph.

The chassis has been tightened also with STI-specific Bilstein struts, coils and dampers. When it comes to making a great chassis, Subaru certainly know what they’re doing thanks to their World Rally Championship experience and expertise. The new car will also have massive 18in Brembo brakes fitted, which it will no doubt need to reign in all that power and performance!

The new Subaru is also expected to be fantastic in the corners; after all, it shares the same DNA as the rally monsters that thunder around tight hairpins and asphalt spaghetti the world over.

In terms of visual updates, the S206 will have new front and rear spoilers, Recaro bucket seats, and a leather-wrapped steering wheel for added grip and comfort.

Subaru have announced that there will be just 300 models of the S206 made and that 100 of these will be special ‘NBR Challenge Package’ models. This is to celebrate Subaru’s class victory at this year’s 24 hour Nürburgring event. The NBR Challenge models will come fitted with a carbon fibre roof and a carbon fibre rear spoiler; all in the name of saving weight, and increasing raw performance of course. There is some bad news however: they are all sold out already; which will make it even harder for us over here to ever get our hands on one!

Come on Subaru – release this incredible instrument of speed over here in the UK, it’s sure to go down an absolute treat!

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Drifty Gallardo is one for Purists

November 22nd, 2011

It has been announced that a new rear wheel drive Lamborghini Gallardo is on its way! Lamborghini bosses claim that it is for the “purists” among us. Whilst the first shots of the car look incredible, it also sounds incredible on paper. The previous rear wheel drive Lambo was the Balboni, and that was an exciting piece of machinery!

This new Gallardo LP 550-2 Spyder, it seems, is therefore one for the wealthy drifters out there. Lambo have decided to ditch the standard four-wheel drive setup for this model, and instead have had to tweak the car’s dynamics in order to deal with its new-found sideways lunacy. To emphasise this fact, Lamborghini have fitted the real axle with a 45% locking differential and programmed the “Corsa” setting to enable “larger drift angles” – Lamborghini themselves have said this, I kid you not!

The new Gallardo is also fitted with a very similar engine to the one in the previous Gallardo, however it is ever so slightly down on power. Still, the 5.2 litre V10 is no wimp! It kicks out 550bhp and 398 lb-ft torque, whilst simultaneously etching a very large smile across your face – it’s a clever car.

The Lambo will scream its way from 0-62mph in 4.2 seconds and will continuing blaring all the way up to 198mph. That V10 is an absolutely exquisite engine, and coupled with Lamborghini’s performance exhaust system, produces one of the greatest sounds in the automotive world – if you are lucky enough to hear, or drive one, then you will indeed know exactly what I mean.

The standard six-speed manual gearbox remains in place with the option to use the paddle shifters that tempt the driver behind the wheel. Although, if this car really is meant for purists, surely the proper stick shift manual is the only way to go!

The CEO of Lamborghini, Stephan Winkelmann, has been quoted saying: “With the Gallardo LP 550-2 Spyder, we are expanding the Lamborghini line-up with a purist model that adds yet another dimension of driving fun.”

He has also stated that this particular Gallardo will “appeal to a very special group of customers that enjoy a spirited driving style and also like to experience the sheer pleasure of open-air driving”. Roughly translated, that means it will get sideways and make you giggle like a small child on Christmas Eve!

This new Gallardo is on its way in the New Year and will likely set buyers back a fair wad of cash, however, with all the ingredients considered the new Lambo is, so far, looking more than worth it. Now I’ve just got to find a spare couple of hundred grand from somewhere to satisfy my “purist” needs!

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Petrol and Diesel Price Gap Grows

November 18th, 2011

If you, like me, are a petrol head, then I doubt you will have missed the recent talks in the news regarding fuel prices and whether or not the government will decide to increase, or decrease tax on fuel. Of course, we are all hoping the latter; however it has been revealed that there has been a steadily growing gap between the price of petrol and the price of diesel.

Figures from the AA show that petrol prices throughout October and November have slightly dropped, with the average now standing at 133.7p a litre, whilst in the same time, the average price for diesel has risen to 140.95p a litre. The gap between the two fuels has only ever been wider during the significant price hikes in 2008. If you live in Scotland, the gap is even wider with petrol 8.2p a litre cheaper than diesel on average.

Unsurprisingly the most expensive area in the country is London, averaging 134.8p a litre, whilst diesel is dearest in Northern Ireland at 141.8p a litre. If you live in Yorkshire and Humberside, then you will find that you will pay the least, on average, for fuel with petrol averaging 132.8p a litre and diesel at 140.3p a litre.

Edmund King, the President of AA, has spoken out about fuel prices: “The fall in the price of oil due to the Eurozone crisis had brought some hope of respite for drivers but the opposite has happened for diesel car owners. The petrol price may have been falling overall, but it’s dropped faster for some than others, and that adds to the frustration.”

He added: “Tuesday’s House of Commons debate on high fuel prices offered little hope of a freeze in fuel duty, and diesel woes, if they continue, will intensify pressure on the Treasury.”

It is therefore an expensive time for motorists across the UK! With the cost of living seemingly on the increase, those running diesel cars in particular may find that they begin to cut corners where their car is concerned in a bid to save money.

However, it would be wrong to neglect your vehicle as, in the long run, you will only be causing it pain and damage, which will inevitably cost you more. Services can be expensive but they are an absolute necessity, and, with diesels, you will find that diesel particulate filters will need to be cleaned otherwise they will end up costing you more in terms of fuel as your car will become less economical due to your DPF becoming clogged up with pollutants from the engine.

Keeping a car on the road is an extremely expensive ordeal, but it is one that we petrol heads will strive to do for as long as we possibly can. The simple pleasure of stringing a few country-road-bends together is something that we just cannot quite explain – no matter what car we are in!

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Vettel bites the dust in the Abu Dhabi desert

November 14th, 2011

The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, this weekend, came with a shock. That shock was the simple fact that the double World Champion, Sebastian Vettel, in his bullet proof Red Bull, suffered a mysterious tyre failure, and so recorded his first DNF since the Korean Grand Prix last season.

The reasons behind the tyre deflating at turn two, we are told, are still unknown, and Pirelli have been quoted saying: “Together with Red Bull Racing, we’re still examining the remains of Sebastian Vettel’s tyre in order to try and piece together what happened. It certainly seems to be a very unusual incident and we’ve already been to look at the place with Sebastian: there seems to be no reason that is immediately obvious and the set of tyres was one that he had already used for qualifying. But until we know for sure, there’s no point in speculating.”

Speculating you say? Well we can certainly begin to speculate a number of scenarios, such as the idea that the other drivers took it upon themselves to run down to turn two and sprinkle pins on the kerb in order to catch out the first man through…

Of course, that was not the case! However, the level of mystery concerning such a strange tyre failure does make the mind wonder…

Furthermore, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix provided us with a much welcome revival of British motorsport figure, Lewis Hamilton! He won the race ahead of rival, Fernando Alonso, which he greatly needed, and it was fantastic to see the pleasure and relief he took from it. It was a tremendously cool, calm, and calculating drive – he paced himself relative to his pursuers pace and never lost sight of the fact that he had to win, not only for himself, but for his Mum, who was a guest in the McLaren garage this weekend.

In addition, Jenson Button brought his ailing McLaren home to third position after he suffered a KERS failure early on in the race that saw him off the pace for the most part. To beat Webber, in the Red Bull, to third position without KERS is a truly valiant effort, and without his difficulties we could well have seen a British one-two in the desert. So, once again this season, well done Jenson! It’s been his best season in F1, and considering that he has won the World Championship in a previous season, that really does emphasise Vettel’s brilliance and dominance this year!

The next round in Brazil should provide an exhilarating finale, and it will be interesting to see whether Vettel will end the season how he started, with others trailing in his exhaust gases.

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