Motoring News
Yesterday, 17 September 2013VW targets new rich with Brazil plant plan
Investment intended to help Audi catch up with rival premium carmakers in Brazil, which are looking to profit from rise in prosperity
read moreTesla joins race to build self-driving cars
Musk predicts robot cars will be on the road in three years. A successful attempt would see the company overtake Google, which has struggled to find a partner on the project
read moreAlfa Romeo 4C price revealed
News
17 Sep, 2013
The all-carbon-fibre Alfa Romeo 4C sports car will cost from £45,000, with only 3,500 examples built
read moreToyota patriarch Eiji Toyoda dies at 100
A member of carmaker’s founding family and its longest-serving leader, Toyoda led group into global manufacturing along with several other accolades
read moreTG meets Taki Inoue
The biggest failure in Formula One history, and the best thing on Twitter. TG joins Taki Inoue in Monaco – for a pint
read moreFirst drive: Volvo V60 D4
Paul Horrell reports back on the future for Volvo: one engine, and many forms…
read moreBest winter tyres: prices, tests and alternatives
News
17 Sep, 2013
The best winter tyres including a look at price, tests and alternatives to get you through the worst of the weather
read moreSome meanderings about Williams F1
Could Ross Brawn buy a stake in Williams? The idea might not be as crazy as it sounds
There is a lovely story kicking around at the moment that suggests that Ross Brawn is going to buy Toto Wolff’s shares in Williams F1 and thus become a partner in the Grove team. This would be very convenient for all concerned: it would allow Wolff to have the management he wants at Mercedes GP Petronas and would give Brawn a neat way out of the team and then a new challenge for the future.He would be in the same sort of position as that enjoyed by Patrick Head, who ran the technical side of Williams from 1977 until 2004, when he handed over to Sam Michael. Ironically, the 2004 season was the last in which the team won a race before Pastor Maldonado’s surprising victory in Spain in 2012.The problem with the story is that Brawn would need to find – and then be willing to part with – no less than £24 million, if he wants to buy Wolff’s shares at the current market rate. Wolff is not going to sell cheap because he needs the money to buy shares in the Mercedes operation.Brawn is a very wealthy man, but no one makes a £24 million investment unless they are certain that it will be a good idea. Such a transaction would buy him just 16.3 per cent of the team, while Sir Frank Williams would remain the dominant shareholder with more than 50 per cent of the equity.When I heard the rumours, I asked Wolff if he has been making any progress with a sale. He said that he had no intention of selli
read moreYamaha MT-09 review
Yamaha hopes that its new MT-09 will prove it is a major player once again.