Hot Cars

Roush Performance Mustang

ROUSH Performance has added another version of the Ford Mustang to their lineup of specialty cars, the Mustang 428R:

Roush Mustang

Nissan Note Version Red

From 1 September 2007 NISSAN will introduce an alternative styling choice to the award winning NOTE range known as the ACENTA R with an on the road price starting from £11840.

Before you run home to dust off your racing boots the R stands for Red to acknowledge the unique black on red detailing in the upholstery for the seats and door pockets, plus an exterior colour designed to get your heart pounding called Emotion Red. If Red is not your favourite paint colour then it can also be selected in a pearl Black metallic.

The vehicle is priced with an additional premium of £500 over the standard ACENTA but comes with TEKNA styled 16” alloy wheels and rear privacy glass. Add in the unique trim and free metallic paint then the overall value of ACENTA R speaks for itself.

Being the 2008 model also means you get fully body coloured bumpers, Bluetooth® phone operation with steering wheel activated controls, an MP3 auxiliary jack socket, air conditioning with glove box cooler, flexi-board storage system, front seat storage nets and foldaway tables, front and rear electric windows, plus the combi-meter display which is now set in a silver background with orange indicator needles.

Safety is obviously high on the shopping list for a small family car so the vehicle also has six airbags to give you all-round protection, plus active head restraints to reduce the risk of whiplash to the neck. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has awarded the ACENTA R with insurance group rankings of 4E for the 1.4 and 1.5dCi with 5E for the 1.6.

These hot cars are available to order now with the local Nissan dealer and deliveries are expected from 1 September.

The All-New Mazda6 World Premiere

Mazda Motor Corporation has officially announced that the all-new Mazda6 will make its world premiere at the 62nd annual Frankfurt Motor Show at the Mazda press conference on Tuesday, 11th September 2007 at 13:45 (local time).

The Frankfurt Motor Show press days are September 11 and 12, and the public days are Saturday 15 September to Sunday 23 September.

The all-new Mazda6 arrives as a full redesign of Mazda’s first model to embody the Zoom‑Zoom product philosophy, offering a thrilling drive to all those who still remember the love of motion first experienced as a child. Following the all-new Mazda2, the all-new Mazda6 is the second Mazda new generation product to evolve to the next stage, further deepening the emotional connection between man and machine - Mazda calls it “Kizuna”.

The all-new Mazda6 inherits Mazda’s tradition of responsive handling and performance that has become recognised around the world while evolving the original model’s distinctive design and exceptional functionality.

The all-new Mazda6 takes a step forward in quality and offers strengthened environmental and safety performance. The result is an exciting and delightful experience that only the all-new Mazda6 can deliver.

MINI & Onitsuka Tiger Team Up To Welcome Clubman

Japanese trainer brand Onitsuka Tiger and MINI have come together to create a dedicated range of stylish footwear for both men and women. The limited edition range will be on sale across the UK from 1 December 2007.

The launch of the shoe marks the arrival of the MINI Clubman, which is the next model from MINI’s Plant Oxford to hit UK roads. First deliveries of the car begin on 10 November this year.

The exclusive trainers will be on sale at Onitsuka Tiger stores, selected fashion outlets and numerous MINI dealers across the country. The shoe will be offered in three colour combinations, Chocolate/Cream, Black/Silver and Cream/British Green.

Along with the new footwear, a range of luggage cases and bags produced in collaboration with Finduck, the company behind the Mandarina Duck brand, will be available from November 2007. The entire MINI Collection can be viewed online at www.MINI.com/shop.

Auto Union Type C Pedal Car

A body made from aluminium, handcrafted leather trim and an extraordinary design – the vehicle sends Hubert Waltl, Head of Audi Toolmaking, into a rapture the instant he lays eyes on it: “This car is something really special.” And, indeed, the car in front of him is no ordinary car – it’s the Auto Union Type C pedal car which AUDI AG has brought onto the market as an absolute first. No other car manufacturer offers a pedal car built so elaborately and to such a high standard.

How did Audi stumble upon this idea? “We needed a highlight for our collection which conveys the brand message and, at the same time, is spectacular enough to find buyers,” says Katharina Wicker, Head of Audi design – Lifestyle Articles. And this was how the idea came about to design a pedal car that mirrors the company’s heritage at first sight.

The Type C Grand Prix racing car provided the ideal blueprint for doing this. The Auto Union Silver Arrow dominated the world of motor racing in 1936, racking up a total of ten Grand Prix victories. Furthermore, the Type C is one of the best-selling heritage models in the range of Audi miniatures. The pedal car will therefore be an exhibition piece for “grown-up” fans too.

The car’s execution called for a great deal of technical know-how and creativity. For a start, how large should the pedal car be made? How close should it keep to the original in order to nevertheless demonstrate the quality and workmanship of a true Audi? Which materials are best suited to underlining the Audi brand values of sophistication, progressiveness and sportiness?

“The greatest challenge of all was transposing a historical model to a pedal car for children whilst remaining as faithful as possible to the original,” reveals Achim Badstübner, director of the Munich design studio that created the first draft designs. Those responsible for the project eventually decided to build the pedal car on a scale of 1:2 to make it large enough to accommodate budding racing drivers up to 1.35 metres tall.

The technical drawings originated in Audi’s own tool shop. And in true keeping with the premise “designed by Audi, produced by Audi”, special tools and jigs were purpose-designed for the pedal car’s manufacture in the Audi tool shop too. The pedal car is made up of over 900 individual parts.

It features a hydraulic dual-disc brake and its speed is controlled via the seven-speed hub gear with back-pedalling brake function. Further technical highlights include the aluminium space frame and the body made from aluminium panelling which, just like on the full-size Audi models, symbolise the brand’s expertise in the field of lightweight design.

The seats, framing and steering wheel have been upholstered in leather by a bag-maker, as in the Audi TT, while the elegant spoke wheels have been custom-made. And because this pedal car seeks to replicate many different aspects of the racing car on which it is modelled, the steering wheel can be removed to make getting in and out easier, just as on the original.

The prototype of the pedal car was unveiled to the public for the first time at the Paris Motor Show in autumn 2006. Visitors to the show were instantly enthralled. “Lots of people even wanted to buy the exhibition model there and then!” recalls Katharina Wicker.

This pedal car, which is limited to a run of 999 models and is far more than just an exclusive collector’s item, was an absolute joy to work on for all involved in the project. “It took me straight back to my childhood days.

And I wasn’t the only one to be seized by that play instinct again,” says a delighted Hubert Waltl, Head of Audi Toolmaking. And Achim Badstübner is equally thrilled about the project’s success: “Everyone put their heart and soul into this pedal car. And that is something we are all very proud of.”

The pedal car can be ordered from the Audi importer for the specific country, who will also be able to provide details regarding the respective price.

The Lexus Symphony Orchestra

Lexus has created the world’s first classical music ensemble composed entirely of cars. The Lexus Symphony Orchestra, a group of 12 LS 460 limousines, will perform for the first time this summer at two major open air concerts, presenting a programme of popular classics and original works.

The orchestra has been created by Lexus GB to demonstrate the quality of the LS 460’s sound system, designed specially for the car by international audio specialist Mark Levinson. With an array of 19 custom-engineered speakers and a 15-channel 450-watt amplifier, it gives ‘reference’ sound reproduction that matches the results from a professional music studio monitoring desk.

To reveal this quality to a larger audience, Lexus brought together the London Symphony Orchestra and the Bach Choir in a recording session with conductor Alastair King at Sir George Martin’s world-famous AIR Studios in London. The musicians performed the celebrated classical pieces Pavane for a Dead Princess by Ravel and Satie’s Gymnopédie No1, and two new commissions written specially for the Lexus auto-orchestra: Summon the Hero and Karma Nirvana, composed by Chesney Hawkes and Chris Nicolaides and orchestrated by Alastair King.

The results will be presented for the first time at the Proms Spectacular at Castle Howard on 18 and 19 August and at the Last Night of the Summer Proms at Crystal Palace Park on 25 and 26 August.

The Lexus Symphony Orchestra will be providing interval entertainment on its own stage, with guests invited to sit inside the cars to hear the music and watch a video of how the performance was created.

There will then be a full scale performance involving all 12 cars, each one representing a different section of the orchestra, co-ordinated through a central digital sound desk. Each vehicle will be precisely positioned, with doors open, to produce the ideal orchestral effect.

You can sample the orchestra’s music making on-line by visiting www.lexus.co.uk and clicking on the Lexus Symphony Orchestra track links.