Unichip For Subaru Impeza Diesel

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Unichip Europe has developed a new dynamic plug and play “U-connect” piggy back upgrade for the all wheel drive Subaru Impreza equipped with the 150 HP 2.0 boxer diesel unit. The product is available on the UK market.

The “piggy back” system works by intercepting the signals from the vehicle’s factory stock sensors and channeling them through the custom pathway. The new product performs minor electronic modifications to the engine’s fueling and boost parameters in order to increase performance while maintaining the fuel economy and reliability of the unit. Read the rest of this entry »

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Lotus F1 Looking Forward To Bahrain

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A few weeks ago, the technical director of Lotus F1 Team, Mike Gascoyne, insisted that his aims for the upcoming season is to become the best of the newly entrant teams of F1 and, by mid-season, start seeing some points on the scoreboard from one of its two drivers, Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen.

As far as the first goal is concerned - out-bettering HRT F1 and Virgin Racing - we can all agree that it’s more realistic than the second. One proof is that the Malaysian backed team’s aim for the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix is simply to finish the race with both cars.

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WTCC Mexico Round Cancelled

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This year’s season of the FIA World Touring Car Championship could be reduced to only 11 rounds, as it was confirmed that the Mexico round of the 2010 series, initially scheduled to take place on April 11, was cancelled.

The race counted, until a few days ago, as the second round of the 2010 championship. However, the Mexican authorities informed the FIA WTCC officials that they are unable to guarantee the safety of both drivers and spectators, due to recent severe flooding in the area of Puebla, where the racing circuit is located.

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Mercedes’ Driving Academy 2010

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US driving enthusiasts have another opportunity to improve their skills, as the AMG Driving Academy opens its gates once again. This year, there has been another level added to the experience: the Pro Level. Classes are still being carried out under the supervision of professional instructors. AMG vehicles including the new SLS AMG are available for all students.

The Academy, which was originally founded in Germany back in 2007, was launched in the US in 2009. Last year, more than 600 people finished the advanced classes and now have the opportunity to attend an advanced three-day Pro Level program at the Road Atlanta circuit. The participants will get behind the wheel of several AMG models including the E63 AMG, SL63 AMG, C63 AMG, SLK55 AMG and SLS AMG.

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Vettel’s Car Will Be Called “Luscious Liz”

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Sebastian Vettel’s new car for the 2010 Formula One championship will be called “‘Luscious Liz” according to a report issued by the GMM news agency. This will be the second time the 22-year old German driver will change the name of his F1 challenger, after previously driving “Kate’s Dirty Sister” to runner-up spot in the 2009 drivers’ classification.

The name belonged to the team’s 2009 single-seater, the RB5, as the team piggybacked on the name of their previous car, the RB4 - named Kate. Since the last year’s car was obviously more aggressive and efficient in terms of points scored in the series - 6 wins and 2nd place in the manufacturers’ classification - it was nicknamed as a “dirtier” version of Kate.

Back in 2008, when he scored his first ever win for Scuderia Toro Rosso in Formula One - and became the youngest driver to ever win a race in the series - the nickname he gave to his STR single-seater was Julie.

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BMW X1 Made in China

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BMW will assemble a series of models in China, via its joint-venture with Brilliance Auto. The cars built in China will include the BMW X1 compact SUV, the BMW 1 Series and the stretched version of the BMW 3 Series, as Gasgoo reports.

Last week, during the Geneva Auto Show, BMW chairman and CEO Norbert Reithofer announced that the X1 would be the third model to be built at the joint business’ Chinese factory.

At the beginning of the year, BMW Brilliance paused the 3 Series’ production to expand the production site’s capacity and compensated by importing the model. The plant is scheduled to resume production soon, and will use updated production lines that will allow it to assemble a fresh range of models, including the X1 SUV.

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Audi Evolution-Version R8 LMS

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According to Audi, its new GT3 customer sport program has reached a new milestone. The German car manufacturer says that by the middle of April it will hand out 20 Audi R8 LMS cars to teams competing in various national and international racing series, including the two 24-hours races at Nurburging and at Spa-Francorchamps this season.

Audi wants to offer its customers the best car possible, so the automaker will obtain FIA homologation of an evolution-version of the R8 LMS. Previous vehicles will be brought up to date with the help of a kit.

“During our evolution project we primarily focused on service life and maintenance- friendliness,” explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “All the experience we gathered last season with the help of our partners has been fed into the evolution-version. We’re convinced that we’re handing over a reliable and easy to handle vehicle to our customers that embodies the high quality standards of the Audi brand.”

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Red Bull Pit Stops in 2 Seconds

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Some time ago, we were reporting that pit stops will probably take under 3 seconds in 2010, given the refueling ban introduced by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) for the upcoming campaign. However, with the majority of the teams testing the new pit stops during recent test meetings, it seems some stops will take even less than 2 seconds.

According to Red Bull Racing’s boss Christian Horner, the mechanics of the Milton Keynes based team have managed a record 1.8 pit stop after some intense hours of practice. Although unofficial, this result means that ultra-speedy pit stops will likely become a regular thing in the series through 2010, given the new devices the teams have debuted this winter.

We have done sub-two second stops. They are absolutely lightning,” said Horner. “The guys have trained like hell over the winter. They have all lost weight and got fitter in the process. The guys have been training in the gym at 12 and 4pm every day since November.

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Kimi is Out

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Kimi Raikkonen will again walk away from a WRC event without making the scoreboard, after officially withdrawing from Rally Mexico on Friday. The Finnish driver managed some impressive stage times in the first day of the North American rally, despite the electrical problems he had to tackle during Stage 2.

After losing more than half an hour because of the aforementioned troubles, the Citroen Junior Team racer returned to the leading pack with a few impressive Top 8 stage times in the next outings. It all ended however at the end of Stage 7, when he lost control of his Citroen C4 and rolled off several times only meters from the finish line.

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Bye bye Ian Phillips

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Force India Mercedes’ business affairs will no longer be coordinated by Ian Phillips, as the Brit parted ways with the Silverstone based outfit late on Friday, according to an official press release from Force India.

The release did not state the reason why Phillips left - or was let go of - the team only one week before the season opening round of Bahrain Grand Prix. However, if one remembers correctly what happened within the Vijay Mallya-controlled team about 6 months ago, it all becomes a lot clearer.

Back then, Ferrari was desperately looking for a replacement for injured Felipe Massa, and no one was available on the drivers’ market. Once they’ve contacted Force India for Giancarlo Fisichella - following his great podium appearance at Spa-Francorchamps - Phillips admitted to the media that the Italian was already one step in the Ferrari garage.

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