Under the hood…

The Ferrari Enzo wasn’t just a marvel to look at it, it also had the stats to back it up. The Enzo was a naturally aspirated, mid-engined 6 litre V12, kicking out 660 bhp and redlining at 8000rpm. This basically meant that it could go like a rocket, with a 0-60 time of 3.14 seconds, and a top speed of 220 mph. The car was equipped with a semi automatic F1 transmission, LED lights on the steering wheel informed the driver of ideal shift times, where the car changed gear in a matter of 150 milliseconds, reiterating the F1 influence on the design of the engineering.

The Enzo Ferrari achieved much publicity and admiration: In 2004, US magazine Sports Car International stated the Enzo Ferrari 3rd on their list of top sports cars of the 2000′s.

And from the side...

The Facts…

First built circa the 1920′s, the track has been altered and extended to feature four main configurations: the Nordschleife (northern loop), Südschleife  (southern loop), Zielschleife (finish loop) and Gesamtstrecke (whole course). Between 1982 and 1983 the start-finish area was altered to feature the GP-Strecke, the holding ground for all major racing events. The (shortened) Nordschleife however remains in use for racing, testing and public access. The Nürburgring – Nordschleife, dubbed ‘The Green Hell’ by Jackie Stewart, boasts 12.8 miles of deadly corners across a vertical fluctuation of 300m.

Yielding 72 racing driver and (up to) 12 public fatalities a year. The course, whilst extremely challenging, is also extremely dangerous to even the most skilled of drivers, and thus must be treated with respect. The current GP-Strecke record is held by no other than Michael Schumacher with a time of 1:29.468, however the record for the Nordschleife remains unchanged as of 1983, held by Stefan Bellof (driving a Porsche 956) with a time of 6 minutes and 11.13 seconds.

From: carbuzz.co.uk – Car choosing made easy!

There is no need for another list of the best schemes out there – these lists are coming out of our ears in the automotive blogosphere. However, a bit of a commentary on what makes these famous and gorgeous schemes work has got to be interesting…

1967 Ford Mustang

First off, the classic yellow and black. An all yellow car with black stripes has been done so many times, or so many different cars, that it has (dare I say it) become a bit old hat. This one works because the high contrast is still present, but with a solid bonnet colour that accentuates the Mustang’s lean front end, as well as working well for displaying your branding or sponsorship.

Trans Am Dodge Challenger

Crazy designs are all very well and good, but if you are dealing with a remarkable colour then a simple number and go-faster strip combo is all you need. It is the simplicity that works here, letting the remarkable lime green do all the talking.

Trans Am Ford Mustang

So may schemes tend to brake the colour up horizontally on a race car than breaking the mould is a sure-fire way to make you stand out in a crowd. As long as you choose your colours wisely (and if the world’s flags are anything to go by, red white and blue is a reasonable bet), diving them like this can not only look smart, but different from the crowd too.

Trans Am Boss 302 Ford Mustang

Time for a personal favourite here, and a look that seems to be universally popular.Why does this Mustangs well-thought-out costume work? Because the colours seem at first glance subtle, but are actually made more unusual by the white piping, and decals and stickers all fit with the theme, and the detailing is such that even brown and orange would have served to highlight the classic car lines and curves.

1967 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GT

Changing the angles, as they’ve done with this Alfa, also serve to make a car look a little different. You’re going to stand out in the mirror of the person your approaching, yet you are letting the paint scheme work with the shape of the front end too.

2010 Snetterton Ford Capri (ESSO)

Finally, take this as an example of how to brand a car, and brand it well. If you choose your sponsor or inspiration carefully then the scheme can be developed from the basic logo outwards. The key is not just bunging a sticker on the side and being done with it, but actually using a creative design that makes the logo seem like an integral part of the looks and the car. Colour scheme consistency doesn’t hurt either.

All in all, there are loads of things you can do with a race car design – and all this just makes me think that my Wham idea for a MK1 Ford Capri actually has the potential to look pretty damn good.

Wham Bar

Of course, we’re not talking about the property market, or your stock portfolio. Instead, much more appropriately, we are talking about the automotive market, and cars for sale can be an area that can be far harder to guarantee a return in. This is especially the case when the car in question, in this case a 1924 type 35 Bugatti, has been raced continually right up until 1988. That’s a good long life, and the care and love that has gone into keeping this gorgeous vintage racing car in top nick is nothing short of extraordinary!

Of course, it hasn’t all be about love and races. The car was, in fact, found by Mr Perkins in a Nottinghamshire Aerodrome, and it needed a lot fo restoration to get it back to the condition it had once enjoyed. Since then, however, it has pretty much been plain sailing, whether racing around the track or reclining regally at the Haynes Motor Museum. Or, of course, whether getting auctioned for for a grand total of £430,000 at this years Goodwood Festival of Speed auction!

What a life!

Perhaps the most exciting, from our point of view, had to be the Formula 1. Wet track races are always exciting and unpredictable, and from the moment that torrential downpour started in wet old Canada we knew we were likely to be in for quite a ride. What we hadn’t anticipated, however, was for the race to be quite so dominated by lap after lap led by safety cars, nor for the race to be postponded for what might have felt like the longest 2 hours in history.

Still, let it not be said that an exciting race has to be exciting from the start. The frequency of the safety car may have hinted at a potentially dull race, but it certainly made up for any hesitations in the crowd (and annoyance of the commentators) by wholeheartedly delivering one of the most exciting Grand Prix’ in recent years.

The action really started picking up with a disappointing early exit for Button’s McLaren teammate, Hamilton, who’s trip down the outside on the first corner was cut painfully short when he collided with Button taking the normal line. Button has since taken the blame for the incident, citing a complete lack of visibility in his mirrors, which led him to a pit stop for a repairs and Hamilton into retirement.

Alonso started 2nd, and was going ok, but that the team didn’t seem to make the right calls. Then on his out lap Button caught him and tried to make a move which would only have worked without contact if Alonso had yielded and given him the place, but he didn’t and was very unlucky to beach the car on the kurb.

After a few rounds of Button working his way back from the 16th place induced by his penalty under the safety car, the excitement of the inters and the changing positions was duly cut short, as yet more rain finally forced the race to be red flagged. Cue, strangely enjoyably, rather a lot of camera shots of birds and boats, and some very bored commentators attempting to make anything they could scintillating and fascinating.

Once the race was back on things started picking up again. Predicatably Vettel was in a comfortable lead, whilst Button was still sunk far back in the middle, experience a few more bumps and bruises that could have implied a win was a long way off coming., especially as he pulled in for his 6th pit-stop of the race. The action from lap 41 onwards was all about Schumacher, whose wet weather expertise despite the inferior car meant there was quite a chance at one point of a well-deserved spot on the podium. Setting fastest lap records that really would have made a third place spot very desirable, Schumacher was well up in the fight going on between Massa and Kobayahsi, at one point impressively taking second place.

Unfortunately Schumacher came under increasing pressure as the next restart finally happened, as the enabled DRS meant his car simply couldn’t stand up to the pressure of the crowd. Webber too was having issues, with the Red Bull’s apparent lack of grip out of low speed corners meant it wasn’t close enough to make passing at the next braking zone easy or even possible, and it was at this point that Button started to look particularly exciting again, taking advantage of Webber’s slide and making short work of Schumacher. Suddenly what had seemed like a one man race from the beginning came down to an epic battle between Vettel and Button for the win.

It was in the final lap that the crack started appearing in the Germans normally ice-cool exterior, and Vettel slid wide half way into the lap, and off ran the circuit, giving Button the opportunity he needed to take the lead in amazing style, and maintain that position right through to the finish, and the rapturous applause of the crowd.

What a race!

Still, you never know what will happen until it actually unfolds before our eyes, and what with Le Mans being perhaps one of the most remarkable races on the annual calender most of us sat back this weekend to see just what would happen. And boy, were we not disappointed.

Andre Lotterer, Marcel Fassler and Benoit Treluyer completed 355 laps to beat the Peugeot number nine of Simon Pagenaud, Pedro Lamy and Sebastien Bourdais by 13.854 seconds, the 10th Audi win.

However, the real excitement was more in the remarkable events that happened prior to the win for the Audi team, and which left them two cars down against a full Peugeot side. Saturday saw both Rockenfeller and McNish taken out in crashes of a dramatic nature, most shocking of which was the appalling bad crash that saw McNish smashing spectacularly through the barrier, with wayward tyres and machinery catapulting themselves through the air. For McNish to have walked, unaided, from that wreckage is nothing short of unbelievable! The video below shows just how bad that particular crash actually was!

Of course, however, it wasn’t all about the crashes, although they are perhaps the most addictive to watch over and over again, jaw on the ground each and every time. The real talk of the day should, fairly, be about the winning team, and some of the aggressive fighting that Audi put in to ensure that they fended off Peugeot (or should I say, Peugeots, plural) right up until the last.

Matech currently partners with Ford Racing to develop the Ford GT sports car for competition, and constructs the FIA GT1 and GT3 versions of the GT. GT Racing drive Bas Leinders tweeted earlier today that “Matech has filed for bankrupcy, we cannot get any new parts for our car at the moment, a struggle…” – it looks like unless they are careful, this years performance (and the least) could be severely marred by this development. He went on to say, understandably, that “We need to be very cautious and careful, if we want the GT1 World to continue this year and next, we can definitely use some help.”

Anyone fancy chipping in?

The track...

Having reached such a ripe old age, it seems only apt that we look back over some significant moments and facts from the history of this special place, courtesy of the wonders of Wikipedia.

• In the war (WWII), Donington was used as a military vehicle storage depot.
• The track again became property of the Wheatcroft family in December 2009, following the DVLL bancruptsy.
• In the 1970s, Donington hosted one single Formula One racing event.
• The original track was 2 mile 327 yd (3518 m) in length, and based on normal width unsealed estate roads.
• Donington hosted the 1993 European Grand Prix, where Ayrton Senna beat Damon Hill by 1 whole minute.
• It is the venue for the increasingly popular Download Festival.

The team that set the land speed records with Thrust2 and ThrustSSC have plans to increase the world speed record by 31%. The aim of the relationship between the speed team and the children’s book was to get children enthusiastic about Science, engineering and maths! With the new tale coming into the modern world, and children hopefully becoming hooked on the idea that science is exciting it’s sure to be a big hit.

Thrust 2

What’s more is that the speed team’s plan is to use a jet engine from a Euro-fighter plane to get the car up to 300mph, and then to use a light rocket to help the driver hit 1050mph!

Watch this space!

To keep you entertained on this long and dull Wednesday, a supercar drag race! It never fails to keep us entertained!