Pedrosa Absent in Catalunya?

Le Mans - Dani Pedrosa threatened to return aside from the circuit. Accident at Le Mans on Sunday (15/05/2011), making it potentially even absent in his hometown series, MotoGP Catalunya, Spain, three weeks.

Pedrosa recovering from left shoulder injury, now have to back injury. This time, his right shoulder was injured after the motorcycle bounced back after nudging ben Marco Simoncelli when both are fighting for second place at Le Mans.

As quoted in The Independent, Tuesday (05/17/2011), this injury suddenly make the existence of Pedrosa in MotoGP this season, threatened a mess. Spaniard is reportedly going to miss the fifth MotoGP series in front of the public in Barcelona, 5 June.

More than that, the Spaniard even rumored going to back up the table surgery to heal a broken bone in his shoulder. If this happens, then, Pedrosa was endangered absent in more than one series.

"Within the next few days, we will decide whether he should undergo surgery to restore bone fracture in his shoulder or let the bone heal itself without intervention (surgery)," said one staff Repsol Honda team.

As a result of this accident, Pedrosa also must be willing to position in the standings, slipped. Drivers who won the series in Estoril, Portugal this position must be willing to go down to number three with 61 points, or five points behind team-mate Casey Stoner and 17 points adrift of league leaders while Jorge Lorenzo.

BMW 5 Series Touring (F11) enhanced by Hamann tuners

The German specialists from Hamann decided to release details on their new tuning package specially developed for the Touring version of the current 5 Series generation. If few months ago, the sedan version received a styling package from the Germans, this time, the Touring version, codenamed F11, gets few aesthetic tweaks.

 sedan version received a styling package from the Germans, this time, the Touring version, codenamed F11, gets few aesthetic tweaks.

BMW 5 Series Touring (F11) by Hamann

As expected, Hamann offers just a styling package without improving the engine range, exactly the same story as the tuning kit developed for the sedan variant.

BMW 5 Series Touring (F11) by Hamann

All the major modifications can be seen at the exterior, where the German family model receives a body kit including side skirts, a rear air diffuser integrating the quad-pipe exhaust system, a rear spoiler and a set of 21-inch matte black “Anodized” Edition Race Design fitted with 255/30 ZR21 (front) and 295/25 ZR21 (back) tires.

2012 BMW M1

BMW presented the new version of M1, 2012 BMW M1. The base design of 2012 BMW M1 is BMW Vision EfficientDynamics. I don’t know why but all M1 fans, didn’t really loved the idea to name this BMW model, a M1. The truth is that I really feel is not so good to be named M1 but I don’t know why yet. 

They are about to make this car in 2012. If it will go into production, this

would mean that the future cars are here. This car will use electric engines and two transmissions to acheive 60 mph in 3.8 seconds. The back of the car is not really like at BMW Vision EfficientDynamics but this would probably help to put this car into a production line.

The main rival will be Audi R8 and 2012 BMW M1 will try to have much better performances. 2012 BMW M1 will have under the hood a 1.5 liter 3 cylinder engine. With the two electric engines, will develop in total 356 horsepower and 590 lb-ft of torque. At the moment this car is just a concept.

2011 Ford F-150 Named IIHS Top Safety Pick

Just by looking at this thing you know it’s the other guy who’s gonna have to worry about his safety if you hit him, but to assure you IIHS just confirmed the 2011 Ford F-150 is a Top Safety Pick.

Besides its muscular body, the F-150 elies on its array of high-end safety features to protect the passengers. Standard safety equipments include Dual-stage airbags for driver and front passenger, Safety Canopy side curtain airbags, Front seat-mounted side airbags, AdvanceTrac with RSC (Roll Stability Control), Four-wheel ABS brakes, SOS Post Crash Alert System, MyKey, Trailer sway control.

This pickup truck is the 11th Ford model to be awarded top Safety Pick by IIHS. To earn a Top Safety Pick, a vehicle must receive a rating of “good” in offset frontal-, side- and rear-impact tests and the new roof strength evaluation, as well as offer electronic stability control.

“Safety ratings are important markers customers can use to evaluate vehicles, so we are proud Ford has the most top U.S. safety ratings of any automaker ever,” said Sue Cischke, Ford group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering. “The F-150′s innovative safety technologies and this new Top Safety Pick award further demonstrate Ford’s commitment to safety.”

Renault Twizy

If you were looking for something even more ridiculous than the G-Wiz to drive around London in, this Renault Twizy is just the thing for you.

Twizy will be manufactured at Valladolid in Spain and goes on sale in the UK at the start of next year priced from £6,690. It is basically a scooter with four wheels and a roof, powered by a 17 hp electric motor which gives it a top speed of 50 mph. So if you accidentally take it out of town and 

onto a B road, you are going to cause a big traffic jam because of the

people stuck behind you! Not to worry though, because it will be out of puff after 62 miles, so you wouldn’t dare to take it out of the town anyway.

In higher specification Technic trim it will cost £7,400. The monthly battery lease cost for both versions will be £40 including VAT for a 36 month/4,800 miles per year agreement. Last time we checked 7 and a half grand could buy you a very decent second-hand car in Britain. Granted, with a normal car you have to pay for fuel and congestion, but at least your dignity remains intact.

Some more facts about the Twizy: Twizy’s battery fully charges in just three and a half hours using a domestic electrical supply via a spiral cable stowed behind a flap at the front. Twizy’s low weight (450kg, including the 100kg battery) directly helps its operational range of 62 miles (NEDC standard cycle). In everyday use, this figure can vary depending on driving conditions. It comes with a couple of accessories including all-purpose bag with a capacity of 50 litres, additional protection against the weather, Parrot audio kit including Bluetooth connectivity, plus a USB connector, a jack socket and an Apple connector, Rear parking sensors, range of customisation accessories (coloured alloy wheels, decals) enabling owners to personalise their Twizy.

2012MY Mercedes SLS AMG Gets New Equipments

Mercedes announced a couple of updates for the 2012 SLS, and they include some new colors and equipments.

There won’t be any performance upgrade, which is alright because the current 6.3 liter V8 with 563 bhp and 479 lb-ft of torque is up to the job. There will also be no change in the drivetrain as it still gets the carbon fiber driveshaft and advanced dual-clutch transaxle transmission with 4 driving modes.

But in terms of equipments, 2012 SLS comes as standard with Blind Spot Assist, optional 3-mode AMG Adaptive Suspension and AMG Performance Media including driving telemetry and G-Force measurement. These stuff are not necessarily make the car better, specially the telemetry thingy, because they’re kinda geeky.

If you are planning on buying a SLS though, we advise you to hold on a bit more

until the end of the year when the Mercedes SLS Roadster arrives. That has got normal, dignified doors, and a cloth roof that goes up and down in 11 seconds and up to speed of 30 mph. It also comes with standard AIRSCARF and removable wind deflector.

Gazoo Racing Lexus CT 200h Nurburgring Racer

Tomorrow (14 May) Lexus hybrid hatchback will take on the Nurburgring endurance race to make the presence of company’s hybrid racers known.

The GAZOO Racing CT as it’s known is powered by the same Lexus Hybrid Drive as the road car but with a higher capacity 2.4-litre petrol engine instead of the usual 1.8 unit. At start-up and under braking, the race car uses just its electric motor, producing zero tailpipe emissions and using no fuel. The sophisticated system is also capable of intelligently selects the most appropriate power source and also captures energy through regenerative braking to charge the battery, which in turn powers the electric motor.

It may not be just as fast as other cars in this category, but it uses much less fuel which

means it can stay out on the track and do more laps. As you know in endurance racing it’s the number of laps you do that counts.

The GAZOO Racing CT driver line-up features three experienced pilots: Kumi Sato, a female racer who competed in a Lexus IS 250 in 2008; Masahiko Kageyama, who previously supported Toyota’s vehicle development programme; and MinoruTakaki, who is responsible for production vehicle development. The CT is competing in the Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy, contested over six hours.