BMW Car Championship

BMW is to keep faith in its tried and tested national team concept for the 2009 FIA World Touring Car Championship. Three experienced teams will run five BMW 320si WTCC cars, receiving support from the national BMW sales organisations. Andy Priaulx (GB) will once again do battle for the World Championship with BMW Team UK – RBM, while Jörg Müller (DE) and Augusto Farfus (BR) line up for BMW Team Germany – Schnitzer Motorsport. Alessandro Zanardi (IT) will be racing with a new team-mate for BMW Team Italy-Spain – ROAL Motorsport: Sergio Hernández (ES) replaces his compatriot Félix Porteiro (ES), who represented the colours of BMW Spain for the last two seasons.


"The national team concept has proved itself both from a sporting and a commercial point of view," says BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen. "This team structure was responsible for us winning every title between 2004 and 2007. It also allows us to involve the national sales organisations at the highest level in the World Touring Car Championship. Our team includes five very ambitious drivers, who will do everything to win back the World Championship in 2009."

Priaulx has been the most successful driver in recent years. He followed up his victory in the 2004 FIA European Touring Car Championship with three Drivers’ World Championship titles in a row from 2005 onward. The racing driver from the Channel Island of Guernsey (GB) has ten race victories, 34 podium finishes and 347 points to his name. Last season he was once again the best-placed BMW driver, with 81 points. Müller is one of the most experienced drivers on the grid. Like Priaulx, the 39-year-old can boast ten victories in the World Touring Car Championship – joining his fellow BMW driver at the top of the all-time winners’ list.

Müller's most successful WTCC season to date came in 2006, when he finished just one point behind World Champion Priaulx. 2009 is Farfus’ third season for BMW Team Germany. With two victories, three pole positions and six fastest laps, the 25-year-old’s talent was there for all to see on many occasions last year.

Zanardi made a unique motorsport comeback with BMW Team Italy-Spain in 2004, having lost both legs in an accident in 2001. The 42-year-old celebrated the latest of his three victories in the World Touring Car Championship last season in Brno (CZ). His team-mate, Hernández, won the 2008 Independents’ Trophy and now joins the BMW national team squad. The highlight of the 2008 season for the 25-year-old came at the WTCC rounds held in Okayama (JP), where he finished third in the second race.

The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, which will run two racing versions of the BMW M3 in the 2009 American Le Mans Series (ALMS), also announced its driver line-up: Bill Auberlen (US), Joey Hand (US), Tommy Milner (US) and Dirk Müller (DE) will fight for points and victories in the popular American category.

The all-new BMW M3 race car will make its debut at the 12-hours of Sebring in March.

Lamborghini LP 710 Audigier

Lamborghini LP 710 Audigier

Pictured above is truly something we should expect when some famed celebrity fashion designer like Christian Audigier does a Lamborghini. Edo Competition joined hands with Christian Audigier to create this stunning, limited edition Murcielago called the edo LP 710 Audigier. You can clearly see Audigier’s work in the matte black exterior and the interiors, with a pirate theme and the sparkling skull. The car has been rebuilt with new aerodynamics, wheels, tires and a new exhaust. Based on the Lamborghini Murciélago LP 640, the LP 710 features a stainless steel high performance exhaust system and 19-inch light alloy wheels. With the modifications, the modded car delivers 710hp of power and 700Nm of torque with its 6.5L V12 engine. The car does 0-62mph in just 3.2 seconds, reaches 124mph in just under 10 seconds and touts a top speed of the 223.7mph (360km/h).

Only five examples of the LP 710 Audigiers will be built and will be completely customized to suit the customer’s liking. The fastest Lamborghini to date comes for a cool €495,000 (US $692,500).

Spiess TC 522 prototype supercar twin-turbo V8

Spiess TC 522 prototype supercar twin-turbo V8

The Spiess TC 522 was a supercar prototype from 1992. It was created by a Spiess, a German company better known for creating industrial electrical transformers.

The TC 522 was powered by a mid-mounted 5.7 litre, twin-turbo V8. The transmission was handled by a 6 speed manual driving the rear wheels. The Spiess TC 522 had a carbon-fibre composite body. Due to its high price, and a worldwide economic slow down, the TC 522 never left the prototype stage.

Ventross IS-F Sedan by Vorsteiner

California based tuner, Vorsteiner, is broadening its' horizons with a new venture into Japanese brands. Not to alienate its current German car clientele which focuses on Porsche, Mercedes and BMW, Vorsteiner has created a new brand named Ventross to house all of its future endeavors in high performance vehicles from Japanese brands. And already, the Ventross name takes on the Lexus IS-F.

The offerings are lean but it's a good start by offering in dry carbon fiber a front lower bumper spoiler and luggage lid with integrated spoiler which is 50% lighter than the standard lid assembly. An add-on carbon fiber rear diffuser complements the luggage lid while cleanly accommodating the stacked quad exhaust tips. Lastly, a 3-Piece forged aluminum wheel set will also be available in 19 & 20 inch sizes (not shown).

In 2009 Ventross plans to build a full carbon fiber aerodynamic & light forged wheel package for the Nissan GTR.

2009 Impreza WRX 5-door SPT at SEMA 2008

Subaru used the SEMA motor show to highlight the potential owners can get when they use parts from the Subaru Genuine Accessory and Subaru Performance Tuning catalogs.

Meant to showcase what is possible for anyone to easily duplicate, the company selected a series of parts in order to maximize the Impreza WRX's style and performance. Exterior modifications are relatively modest but include a new front lip spoiler by STI and fog light protectors. In order to enhance the car's handling the suspension has been outfitted with STI performance springs and a lower chassis brace and strut tower brace.

The WRX's already powerful 2.5-liter Boxer engine which produces 265 hp and 244 lb.-ft of torque has been raised to 275 hp and 250 lb.-ft of torque thanks to a new cat-back exhaust. Other changes include a short-throw shifter, 19x8-in. wheels by OZ Racing, and a turbo heat shield.

Toyota Tundra Diesel Dually Project Truck at SEMA 2008

In the realm of full-size pickup trucks, payload and towing capacity are just as significant as Nurburgring lap times are for the Porsche and Ferrari crowd. That's what's exciting about this diesel-powered, dual rear wheel (DRW) equipped Toyota Tundra that's appearing at SEMA. Put together by Toyota Motorsports' Technical Group, the menacing, charcoal gray truck stands as an answer to those who insist that the newly-upsized Tundra is a less serious truck than the competition from Ford and Chevrolet.

Under the hood, there's an 8.0 liter inline six-cylinder turbodiesel Hino commercial truck engine. A healthy five-speed manual transmission and a Hino DRW rear end get the power to the ground and boost this stretched Tundra's capacity. 22.5-inch wheels are provided by Alcoa. Toyota didn't release specifications, but the Tundra's fifth-wheel hitch is rated at 24,000 pounds. No word on if such a truck is a serious consideration for production, or if it's just truck-guy chest-thumping.

TRD Tundra Double Cab

Designers at Toyota Racing Development present a project closer to home: the Tundra Double Cab Off-Road Concept And Trailer. Based off a standard 6.5-feet truck bed, the Tundra is a showcase of TRD products that combine to give the ability to tow a large trailer, similar to those used in motorsport but which at SEMA will show visitors a variety of products in a new light.

The Tundra's 5.7-litre V8 engine has been given the supercharged treatment, with TRD's new supercharger and integrated liquid-to-air intercooling system boosting output to 500 hp.

The principle changes to the body are the styling of more aggressive front and rear fascias as well as new five-inch wider side fenders that complement the form of the truck's accompanying 28-foot long custom Featherlite trailer. To facilitate towing, the rear also gains a trailer hitch.

Inside (the trailer), SEMA visitors can get a look at the internal workings of Toyota Racing Development technologies such as the latest TRD superchargers and limited-slip differentials, see the latest wheel designs or be shown how the Off-Road Concept Tundra was born.