Motoring News
Yesterday, 05 September 2015Racers rev up for Revival
The Goodwood Revival has become one of the most presitigous events on the international sporting calendar - with good reason
read moreMCE British Superbike Championship: Oulton Park preview
This weekend's triple header at Oulton Park will determine which riders make the end of season shootout
read moreJohn Britten remembered
Roland Brown looks back at the career of a much-missed New Zealander who created one of the greatest motorbikes in history
read moreHow to buy the best Aston Martin DB9 - used car buying guide
A used Aston DB9 can be a joy - if you choose wisely. Here are some top tips to help the buying process
Aston Martin DB9s are absolutely gorgeous, plus there’s a great big continent-crushing 5.9-litre V12 engine under that huge bonnet. So the prospect of a cheap used one is rather tempting.Except that there is no such thing as a cheap Aston, just a troublesome one. All the basic rules of buying an expensive, complicated car apply to this 2+2 sports car, in gold-plated spades. In short, it must have a proper history and be clean and tidy with no outstanding issues. Beware ex-hire examples that have been run ragged.A decent used DB9 has to be the right specification, too. The vast majority of cars are equipped with Touchtronic 2, which is the ZF-sourced six-speed automatic transmission. That is easy to live with, but sort out a simpler, rare six-speed manual for the long term and you have a model that is only going up in value, especially if you can pair that with the ultra-firm Sport Pack.The Sport Pack was offered as a factory-fitted option from the middle of 2006 and combined revised suspension characteristics with a new alloy wheel design. The springs and front anti-roll bar were modified and the ride height lowered to appeal to the more enthusiastic driver.From the moment the fixed-head DB9 went on sale in the spring of 2004, customers were able to order what they wanted. Some choices will make an Aston cheaper, but if you are thinking of having a resaleable car in a few years’ time, it needs to be conventional.So stick to blue/cream, silver/black, black/grey, black/black, green/blac
read moreHow to drift, with Ken Block
Ken Block, king of sideways, invites us to ride shotgun at Silverstone for tyre-smoking, drift-tastic fun in an 845bhp, all-wheel-drive Mustang called Hoonicorn
Ken Block must feel terrible. He flew into Heathrow from the US last night and then drove to the hotel inside Milton Keynes Stadium for a kip, only to discover that there was a football match on.Early this morning, he’s already in the Silverstone paddock, hoodie up, cap and sunglasses on and can of energy drink in hand.“I think it’s about three in the morning,” he says.This wouldn’t be a good time to talk to most racing drivers, but Ken Block isn’t most racing drivers. His hood and sunglasses frame a face that beams a broad smile, a silver tooth shining. Even if you’re as tired as hell, if you’re Ken Block, showing us how best to muck about in a drift car producing well over 800bhp is not going to make for a bad day.How do you know Block? From his Gymkhana videos? Probably. There have been seven of them, each more ambitious than the one before and featuring Block performing extraordinary drifts and slides in increasingly ludicrous cars and landscapes.More than 27 million people have seen the latest one. In all, these videos have been watched 160 million times, and they’re great value for sponsors like DC Shoes, which Block co-founded.Gymkhana is like a regular motorsport event in its own right – although without the potential racing pitfalls of crashing, breaking down or not being shown on the telly much. In the same way that Red Bull runs its own air race and soap box even
read moreAutocar confidential: Jaguar Land Rover, Volkswagen, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz
Our reporters empty their notebooks to round up this week's gossip from across the automotive industry
This week's industry gossip includes news of a hard-top MX-5, Norway's EV market share growth, and a delay in VW's Phaeton replacement.Phaeton replacement delayedThe replacement for the Volkswagen Phaeton has been delayed, according to reports.Company bosses are said to be looking to increase returns on the next-generation luxury saloon by lowering material and production costs.Read more: VW Phaeton review; VW Golf reviewNorway EV market share upThe UK has a public charging point for every four electric vehicles, compared with one for every six in Norway.Financial incentives and other benefits, such as the right to use bus lanes in rush hour, have raised EV market share in Norway from 2% in 2011 to 18% in 2014.Read more: Tesla Model S review; Nissan Leaf reviewHard-top MX-5 possibleMazda isn’t ruling out the possibility of a folding hard-top variant of the new, fourth-generation MX-5 roadster, although it could be a long wait.A company source said: “If you think about how long it took us to do it for the previous generation, it won’t come as a surprise that a hard-top version of the new MX-5 will be years away, if it happens at all.Read more: Mazda MX-5 review; read more
The PistonHeads Motoring Week
See here for another jam-packed PH week collated in one place!
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