Supercar selected for safety role in German championship
Audi’s R8 supercar - as driven by Cristiano Ronaldo; well, the normal road-going version, at least - is to be used in Germany’s DTM championship, as its official safety car.
“There were not many modifications required… because the R8 possesses the genes of a perfect sports car,” said Werner Frowein, managing director of quattro GmbH. A car with genes? Very strange.
As the photo shows, the special R8 is equipped with roof lights, plus special paintwork and DTM graphics. It has to be the best-looking safety car we’ve ever seen. Prior to the R8, DTM’s official safety car was a Mercedes C63 AMG. As you probably know, F1’s official safety car is currently a Merc (a modified SL63 AMG). We’d take the Audi, any day.
Few things get us more excited than amateur footage of rumoured supercars. Audi’s gorgeous R8, as driven by a certain Cristiano Ronaldo, currently boasts a V8 engine, but it’s a poorly kept secret that a more powerful, V10 model is on the way.
This clip appears to show one of the V10 prototypes being backed out of a suburban drive in Germany, and then roaring into the distance with a suitably deep growl from the engine - its one of the few cars that looks really good in white. We expect that the V10 R8 will be officially unveiled later this year; it should be available to buy in the UK in the second quarter of 2009.
Jon Favreau used to be cool. He co-starred in Swingers, for God’s sake, which remains one of the coolest movies ever made. Now look at him, pussying up to Audi because they paid out trillions to place their product in new Hollywood blockbuster Iron Man (which Favreau directed).
The way he explains how one stunt, involving Audi’s Q7 SUV, was problematic – because of the Audi’s excellent anti-lock brakes and traction control! - is particularly tragic. So Audi makes shit stunt vehicles. Then why use ‘em? Product placement taken to new, horrible levels.
Here’s boy wonder Cristiano Ronaldo with Man Utd team-mate Anderson, out and about for a skinny latte somewhere in Cheshire, with his white Audi R8 and the Brazilian’s Porsche Carrera. How romantic.
C-Ron was given the Audi for free, because he is a brand ambassador for the company. Nice work if you can get it. However, he’s still getting used to the handling of the 180mph supercar – after a league game against Fulham in December, in which he scored twice, he managed to spin the car whilst driving home. The Audi was unmarked, but Ronaldo’s XXXL-sized ego was slightly bruised.
Japanese concept car at cutting egde of eco vehicles
Enough of all this fume-emitting motor racing. Let us stop for a second to consider the fragile planet that we live on (cue Enya)…
Here’s Toyota’s Hybrid-X, an eco-friendly concept car that is being shown off at all of the big spring motor shows. It’s currently on show in Beijing, at Auto China 2008. So, what’s so special about the Hybrid-X? Er, well, it’s essentially a next-gen version of the Prius (as driven by Larry David in “Curb Your Enthusiasm” – a ringing endorsement in our book), Toyota’s pioneering hybrid-fuel car. As such, it’s a damn sight better-looking than the Prius. More photos if you step this way…
Spanish prodigy wins maiden MotoGP in Portugal, and other scorchingly hot news
Move over Valentino Rossi, there’s a new genius in leathers. Jorge Lorenzo won his first senior MotoGP race, at Estoril on Sunday. It was only his third grand prix. The Spaniard now leads the championship, alongside compatriot Dani Pedrosa. As you can see from the photo above, young Jorge’s not afraid to spray his victory champagne prematurely, and all over a hotpants-wearing grid girl. Not the hair! This kid will go far. Crash.net has a more detailed race report.
