Discussion in the Australian Ferrari forums.

One of the most exclusive Ferrari supercars has crashed in the Netherlands near Rotterdam. The Ferrari F50 drove on the A20 highway when the driver lost control of the Italian supercar. The vehicle hit a tree next to the exit Zevenkamp.

A child was driving along with his farther in the Ferrari. The child got injured, broke both legs and was brought to hospital. The 56-year old driver had minor injuries.

As you can see on the pictures, the supercar is ready for the scrap yard.

From GTSpirit.com

Ferrari F50 Crash – Holland

Ferrari F50 Crash – Holland

Ferrari F50 Crash – Holland

Ferrari F50 Crash – Holland

Ferrari F50 Crash – Holland

Ferrari F50 Crash – Holland

Ferrari F50 Crash – Holland

From FerrariLife.com

JazzyO: We recently had welcomed an F-50 into our borders, here in Holland. Unfortunately the owner has not been in a position to enjoy it for long as he crashed it this morning. The owner and his 3-year old son had to be cut from the car, the driver being unhurt but his son was hurt. Fortunately it seems he will recover, let’s hope for a speedy recovery.

IPF: Apparently the story – from another Dutch source – is the driver was pulling away from a traffic light and within 80 yards of it somehow skidded and lost control of the car, reportedly not even at that high speed (yet), i.e. below 30 mph (as stated by him). Can’t judge how that account would tally with damage as extensive as this.

No clue about the driver’s capabilities either, but the fact is – as Onno states above – that this F50 had been in NL for only a few months now, i.e. the owner has only had it for that long. Then again, I believe he owned other Ferrari’s before (though likely not that potent).

Here’s the F50 before becoming one with a tree, from Autogespot.com:

Discussion in the Australian Pagani Zonda forums.

By Stephen Dobie from Evo.co.uk

Yet another heartbreaking hypercar crash: this time it’s a Pagani Zonda F

F@$K! That’s what we’d wager was shouted quite loudly from this Pagani Zonda F seconds before the main photograph was taken. The circumstances behind the accident that decimated the rare hypercar are – predictably – rather sketchy, but word is the driver was tootling back from a trackday when an out of control lorry came headed his (or indeed, her) way, forcing evasive action into a row of parked cars.

The resulting mess may well tell a different story, though, the front of the car close to being unrecognisable. Note the jettisoned front wing, too, with its ornate side mirror still intact.

The incident took place in Hong Kong, and is the latest in a series of supercar slayings. Recent weeks have seen a Bugatti Veyron end up in a US salt lake and the Italian Police kill their Lamborghini Gallardo patrol car. In all cases it’s hard to know whether to laugh or cry…

Discussion in the Australian Lamborghini forums.

When the Italian police unveiled their state-of-the-art Lamborghini patrol cars, they cannot have been short of volunteers itching to take the supercars in pursuit of speeding criminals.

A team of elite drivers was trained to chase down speeding motorists and deliver urgently-needed transplant organs in the futuristic vehicles, capable of reaching more than 200mph.

What they apparently were not prepared for was a distracted motorist who pulled out of a petrol station without looking.

Today, a bandaged and bruised police driver may have had a tough time explaining how he managed to write off one of the force’s prized Lamborghinis when he rammed it so hard into a line of parked cars that one of the stationary vehicles ended up on the police car’s roof.

According to the police, the crash was caused by the driver of a slow-moving Seat Ibiza who emerged without looking from a service station, clipping the Lamborghini and sending the vehicle swerving into the parked cars.

The front end of the Lamborghini was crushed in the accident, near Cremona, and the driver and a passenger were injured, although not seriously.

The Lamborghini Gallardo was one of a pair donated by the Italian manufacturer to the police to do battle on Italy’s roads, where 1 million motorists are injured annually and 4,731 died last year.

Both cars include transmitters to send images back to HQ, a defibrillator for accidents and a fridge for transporting donor organs. The two officers were returning from a convention in Cremona, where they had been addressed a student audience on road safety.

Source: Guardian.co.uk

Discussion in the Australian Ferrari forums.

Source: AutoExpress.

Ferrari F70 ready to blast in

Text: Jack Rix / Photos: Poblete

Sensational new Ferrari is set to blow Bugatti away with advanced chassis and powerful yet efficient twin-turbo V8…

Ferrari’s new F70 will not only be faster and more focused than the Enzo, but smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient, too.

It’s being hailed as the ultimate, most advanced road car Ferrari has ever made.

Aiming to leave exotic rivals including the Lamborghini Reventón and Bugatti Veyron trailing, the ferocious flagship will break from the norm in more ways than one. And our stunning illustrations show how such a model could look.

It will be not only quicker and more focused than the Enzo, but smaller, lighter and more fuel efficient, too. In addition, the latest rumours suggest a twin-turbo V8 will provide the power. It will be the first use of turbos in a production Ferrari since the 1987 F40, making this the spiritual successor to that definitive hypercar.

Internally codenamed the F70, the newcomer will use knowledge gathered from the FXX scheme. This invited customers to buy a pumped-up and stripped-out version of the Enzo for £1.5million, but allowed them to drive their purchases only on approved track days. Afterwards, they briefed Ferrari on possible improvements.

The philosophy behind this new downsized and lightweight hypercar is derived from 2007’s Millechilli concept. Although little more than a fibreglass model, it demonstrated Ferrari’s aim to increase the performance of future models by shedding weight, not by hiking power.

Millechilli means 1,000kg in Italian. It’s an ambitious target for the F70’s kerbweight – a full 365kg less than the Enzo – but Ferrari is ready to apply every weight-saving measure possible.

Rival McLaren is leading the way in lightweight construction, with an F1-style carbon fibre tub forming the basis of its MP4-12C supercar, so Ferrari wants to regain the initiative in this area.

An overhauled and shrunken tub, carbon fibre body panels – plus carbon-ceramic brakes and a no-frills cabin – should keep weight to a minimum. Ferrari already heads efforts to reduce CO2, having slashed output by 10 per cent in 2009. It promises further cuts from its current 387g/km average by 2012.

But reducing body mass alone won’t be enough to achieve this. To slash CO2 significantly, the engine also needs an advanced design. The Enzo’s V12 will make way for a new direct-injection twin-turbo V8 – the same layout as in the legendary F40. Output is likely to be on a par with the Enzo’s 660bhp, but that lower weight should put performance on another level. Expect a three-second 0-60mph time and top speed in excess of 230mph.

A twin-turbo V6 is also under consideration, to replace the 458 Italia and California’s V8s. Yet before either unit is signed off, engineers are keen to eliminate turbo lag. The F40 was famous for the delay between throttle inputs and the arrival of a savage wave of torque. But Ferrari claims it won’t resort to turbos again until it’s perfected the technology to give the instant response for which its naturally aspirated cars are renowned.

One option is electric or hybrid chargers. These use a small electric motor to spool the turbos up to operating speeds much faster than in a normal set-up, where exhaust gas has to be recirculated.

The result is a virtual elimination of turbo lag and a linear power delivery that will be familiar to owners of current Ferraris. Just like the Enzo, the F70 will be strictly limited to a production run of 399 examples, adhering to Ferrari’s philosophy of always building one less car than you think you can sell. But not just anyone will be able to put their name on the waiting list. Buyers will need to be personally invited by Ferrari to stump up the expected £600,000 asking price when the car goes on sale in 2012.

Discussion in the Australian Lamborghini forums.

Source: CarsUK.net

Lamborghini URUS

the FX70 killer

Lamborghini are planning a new halo car – the Lamborghini Urus – to be based on the Murcielago’s replacement, the Jota. Designed to take on the new Enzo – the FX70.

Lamborghini has been long on new models – for a high-end supercar maker – but short on new cars for quite some time. Sure, we’ve had evolutions of the Gallardo in to the LP560 and the Murcielago in to the LP640 and it’s siblings. And Lamborghini have been milking ‘Specials’ for all they’re worth, with cars like the Reventon Coupe and Reventon Roadster (which Cars UK exclusively revealed in March) – desirable though they may be – being just inflated version of a standard car. Let’s face it, the LP670-4 SV – which is in itself a Limited Edition Murcielago – offers more performance and drama for a third of the price of the Reventon.

But things are going to start changing at Lamborghini as the Murcielago makes way for the all-new Jota in the next year. The Jota will get a carbon fibre chassis with carbon fibre and aluminium body and be a bit longer than the Murci (as long as it’s not wider – the Murci is a pig in traffic). It will get an all-new 6.0 litre V12 with direct injection which should be good for over 700bhp.

This information has been around for a while, and although the details may not be exact we’re pretty sure they’re very close. But now a source close to Lamborghini is telling us that there will be a car above the new Jota – the Lamborghini Urus. Now you may remember that the Lamborghini Estoque was initially expected to be known as the Urus. But it wasn’t, so we’d sort of forgotton about the Urus monicker. But our sources are telling us that the Urus is very much alive and well and buried in the heart of Lambo’s development plans.

Lamborghini concept by Ugur Sahin

It would appear that Lamborghini are planning on making the Urus a Ferrari FX70 beater (the FX70 is Ferrari’s new Enzo). Based on a modified Jota chassis, the Urus will have every component re-worked to make it as light and dynamic as possible. It will feature a full carbon fibre body and have active aerodynamics. The re-worked Jota V12 is expected to get very close to 800bhp, which will give the Urus a sub 3.0 second 0-60mph – Veyron territory.

But we’ll probably not see the Urus until at least 2011, and it probably won’t hit the roads until 2012, although the Jota is likely to arrive late in 2010.

DEFENDING CHAMPION WEEKS BACK IN THE CLASSIC ADELAIDE LEAD

DEFENDING champion Kevin Weeks and his 1974 Porsche took the outright lead at the halfway point in the Classic Adelaide rally after a simple part failure ended a potential event-winning run by Holden rival Steve Glenney today.

Weeks and co-driver Bec Crunkhorn, who had been running second to Glenney almost since yesterday’s start, assumed the lead on the sixth of eight closed-road special stages run in the Fleurieu region.

They hold a comfortable lead of almost two minutes over South Australian Porsche crew Hamish Gibson and Ben Scott, in a 1980 HDT Holden Commodore.

Roger Paterson and Paul Whatnell, in a car similar to Weeks’, are third.

Today’s second day of competition started without one of the Late Classic category’s most popular teams, Gary Tierney and David Carra, both from Melbourne, who had been running eighth when they died in a crash on a stage yesterday afternoon.

Weeks and many other competitors in the 170-car field paused for a prayer and a minute’s silence, led by a chaplain, before the 8 am start in Adelaide’s Victoria Square.

The cars raced with a black stripe on their left headlights and two wreaths were hung in the garage bay the crew’s car had occupied.

A tribute page for comments from friends and supporters has been opened on the event website, classicadelaide.com.au.

Tierney was Weeks’ closest rival in the three-round inaugural Australian Classic Tarmac Championship, which concludes in Adelaide.

Glenney’s retirement was reported to have been caused by the failure of engine drive belt in his 500-horsepower Commodore. It was not known if he would resume the competition tomorrow, but the problem has certainly ended any chance of a high-ranking result.

While Weeks starts Day Three sponsored by Malaysia Airlines in a comfortable position, the race is tighter in the Classic category for older cars and the newly-introduced Modern section, which does not count for the outright prize.

Last year’s Classic winner Cameron Wearing took an 18.4 second break in his 1967 Ford Mustang from early leader Rob Devenish (1971 Nissan 240Z), while in the Modern category Tony Quinn (Nissan GT-R) is ahead by 35.9 sec. over two-time Bathurst winner Tony Longhurst, with Asian Le Mans champion Allan Simonsen a further 4.1 sec. behind in third.

Weather conditions cooled considerably after yesterday’s 43 degree scorcher, helping drivers preserve their machinery and their tyres for the weekend.

No major incidents were reported.

Tomorrow’s seven scheduled stages take crews into the Adelaide Hills after an 8 am start in the city.

The day includes the always-popular lunch stop in the little town of Macclesfield, which closes its main street for the occasion, and ends with a display of all vehicles in the field at the Norwood Parade Street party.

Spectator times, road-closure times, stage maps, progressive results and other information are available on the rally website, classicadelaide.com.au.

RESULTS – DAY TWO (sponsored by Leader Computers)

Late Classic (1972-1990)

1. Kevin Weeks/Bec Crunkhorn (1972 Porsche 911RS)
2. Hamish Gibson/Ben Scott (1980 HDT Holden Commodore) behind leader 1 min. 51.5 sec.
3. Roger Paterson/Paul Whatnell (1974 Porsche 911RS) 2:10.9

Modern (1991-current)

1. Tony Quinn/Naomi Tillett (2009 Nissan R35 GT-R)
2. Tony Longhurst/Geoff Burgess (2006 Subaru Impreza WRX) behind leader 35.9 sec.
3. Allan Simonsen/Matt Lee (2007 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9) 40 sec.

Classic (1948-1971

1. Cameron Wearing/Gary McLane (1967 Ford Mustang)
2. Rob Devenish/Lyn Carr (1971 Datsun 240Z) behind leader 18.4 sec.
3. Peter Ulrich/Sari Ulrich (1963 Jensen CV8) 40.9

Historic (1900-1947)

1. John Rowe/Jock Osborne (1932 Alvis Speed 20)

Discussion in the Classic Adelaide forums.

Gary Tierney (driver) and David Carra (navigator) have been tragically killed near Forreston in the Hills during the Classic Adelaide car rally event, after their 1974 Porsche 911 Carrera RS left the road and hit a tree.

They were travelling on Norseworthy Road in Forreston near Gumeracha just after 3:30pm, when the car left the track and smashed into a tree, killing both the driver and passenger.

Mr Tierney was a highly-rated tarmac rally competitor and the pair took third place in their Porsche in Targa West, near Perth, in late August.

Tribute page on ClassicAdelaide.com.au

From fellow competitor, Brenton Griguol:

Simon and I spoke to Gary as we were the car directly behind them.

I cannot speak about the incident until we have been interviewed by CAMS and SAPOL. As the first to attend all i can say is that we were unable to assist due to severity of the incident. I ensured that we held a minutes silence to respect both driver and navigator. The paramedics tried with Gary but to no avail. Our video footage will be used as we were only 20 seconds after the fact. All photographs and video will not be posted.

All i can say is this, after going through the death of both parents and being orphaned without siblings and then going through a bitter divorce with everything that alone entails, the hardest thing I have ever had to do was as we approached the end the of stage after being at the scene for an hour was to speak to their service crew and tell them of what had happened. A policeman nearby called me over and I at first said to him that I hate his job and that he has the hardest job on the planet. He said what I told the service crew was the truth and very noble and that he does hate that part of his job.

We returned after some time to the Hilton where we went through counselling and then both Simon and I were on watch by some lovely people, its heartbreaking and I shed quite a few tears for what we witnessed and the resultant situation.

So if anyone wishes to ask for more information they wont get it. I need a decent nights sleep and tomorrow we will drive with their memories. RIP boys

The tragic scene of today’s accident – photo by Alice Prokopec

Gary Tierney’s 1974 Porsche Carrera RS earlier in the day – photo by Chris of DrMphotography.net

The accident happened during a competitive stage of the rally, 4km into the first stage.

Police from the Major Crash investigation branch were called out to the scene.

As the accident happened on a closed road, the deaths will not be added to the official road toll, which currently stands at 106, compared to 84 at the same time last year.

Tierney and Carra were in the classic competition class of the event, where cars must have full roll cages and race harnesses.

Occupants must also wear protective clothing, including crash helmets.

Racing was called off on the stage yesterday afternoon following the crash.

The fatal crash follows the death of former Adelaide Grand Prix chairman and prominent businessman Ian Cocks, 59 during a Classic Adelaide race in 1997.

Mr Cocks, 59, died when his 1967 Porsche 911 burst into flames after skidding off a road and into a tree in the Adelaide Hills.

His daughter, who was navigating, survived.

As the crash occured on a closed road, the deaths will not be added to the road toll, which stands at 106 compared with 84 at the same time last year.

Major Crash detectives did attend the scene and conducted investigations.

Classic Adelaide rally director Ivar Stanelis has pledged a full inquiry.

Classic Adelaide continues Friday, starting at the Hilton Hotel, city, from 8am and having nine competition stages including those near Coromandel, Willunga Hill (good for spectating), Inman Valley, Mt Compass and Strathalbyn. Cars can be seen at the lunch break at Goolwa from 12.20.

Gary Tierney’s 1974 Porsche Carrera RS during Prologue – photo by Chris of DrMphotography.net

FATAL CRASH AT CLASSIC ADELAIDE

THE driver and co-driver of a car competing in the Classic Adelaide rally have been killed in a crash this afternoon, rally organisers announced.

The crash happened around 3.30 pm on the 7.24 kilometre Special Stage 6, called Kersbrook Reverse, on Norsworthy Road, Forreston.

An emergency medical vehicle stationed at the start of the stage attended the crash.

The stage was stopped immediately and following cars diverted to the next stage.

The South Australia Police Major Crash Unit is attending the scene and the road will remain closed until further notice.

No further information will be issued for the time being.

Classic Adelaide Clerk of Course Ivar Stanelis extended the event’s deepest condolences to the victim’s families and support crew.

“We all understand that motor racing can be dangerous despite the extensive safety systems in place, but that does nothing to alleviate the great sadness we now feel for the victims and their loved ones today,” Mr Stanelis said.

A full inquiry into the crash will be conducted by police and motorsport authorities.

Gary Tierney’s 1974 Porsche Carrera RS at the 2008 event – Photo by Ash Simmonds

PRAYER AND ONE MINUTE’S SILENCE FOR CRASH VICTIMS

THE two victims of today’s fatal crash will be remembered with a prayer and a minute’s silence before the start of Day Two of Classic Adelaide tomorrow.

DETAILS -
* Time: Approx 7.50 am, Friday 20 November
* Place: Victoria Square, Adelaide, rally start ramp
* Who: Rally chaplain David Vaughan will say a prayer and lead crews and officials in a minute’s silence; rally senior officials will attend
* Also: All cars will wear a black-tape stripe on their left headlight as a mark of respect

For further information, contact:

Chris Nixon, Media Manager
Tel.: (+61) 0418 759 417
E-mail: media@silverstoneevents.com.au

VICTORIAN CREW DIES IN CLASSIC ADELAIDE CRASH

TWO Victorian competitors in the Classic Adelaide tarmac rally were killed in a crash on the South Australian event today.

They were driver Gary Tierney, 60, and co-driver David Carra, 43, both from Melbourne.

Their 1974 Porsche 911RS skidded off a right-hand bend and struck a tree on Norsworthy Road, Forreston, about 40 kilometres north-east of Adelaide.

The crash happened on Special Stage 6, a 7.24 km test called Kersbrook Reverse, on day one of four on the 13th annual rally.

An emergency medical vehicle stationed at the start of the stage attended the crash, but both crew members were pronounced dead at the scene.

The pair was running eighth out of 47 cars in the Late Classic Competition category at the time of the crash.

Rally officials stopped the stage and the road was closed for several hours until late tonight.

The rally will continue tomorrow, but immediately before the 8 am start in Adelaide’s Victoria Square, fellow competitors, support crews and officials will be led in a prayer and a minute’s silence by rally chaplain David Vaughan.

Tierney and Carra were well regarded rally competitors with many years’ experience in tarmac events around Australia.

Carra’s brother David said: “David absolutely loved his rallying. Everyone has to jump off this life eventually and he did it doing what he absolutely loved.”

Classic Adelaide Clerk of Course Ivar Stanelis extended the event’s deepest condolences to the victim’s families and support crew.

“We all understand that motor racing can be dangerous despite the extensive safety systems in place, but that does nothing to alleviate the great sadness we now feel for the victims and their loved ones today,” Mr Stanelis said.

A full inquiry into the crash will be conducted by police and motorsport authorities.

Discussion in the Australian speed camera forums.

SPEED-CAMERA operations look set to be privatised in WA, prompting fears that profiteering might overtake road-safety priorities.

Police Minister Rob Johnson revealed yesterday that his staff had been involved in “introductory meetings” with British firm Serco, which wanted to run WA’s multimillion-dollar speed-camera operations.

Mr Johnson admitted that privatising speed and red-light operations was on the Barnett Government’s agenda and was supported by Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan.

But the plan has already drawn fire from the Opposition, which claims that putting the personal details of thousands of WA motorists in the hands of a private operator is unwise.

“The Government would also need to retain control of the placement of the cameras to ensure that the private operator was not able to place them solely based on revenue,” Opposition road safety spokeswoman Margaret Quirk said.

“Decisions on where cameras go can’t be based on revenue making, but public safety.”

There are also worries that innocent motorists could be slapped with fines.

In Victoria, Tenix Solutions was stripped of a multimillion-government contract in 2007 after a string of bungles. More than 1100 speeding tickets were wrongly issued.

In some cases cameras were incorrectly calibrated or set up near objects that caused interference.

“Given the recent Wilson car park debacle, where the personal details of thousands of drivers were handed over to private commercial interests, it is vital that any plan for the privatisation of speed-fine processing include strong privacy safeguards.”

Mr Johnson said work on a plan to privatise speed camera operations had started.

There are 27 analogue Multanovas in WA. The number will more than double over the next few months and police will purchase several integrated red-light and speed-camera systems.

In 2007, Serco was awarded a $150 million contract to operate Victoria’s traffic-camera system for seven years, staffing and managing the state’s mobile speed cameras, red light cameras and CityLink cameras.

Tenix still enforces traffic fines.

A Serco spokeswoman said it was “interested in partnering with the (Barnett) Government and police to deliver the traffic-camera program in WA”.

“We are already providing a range of services to the WA Government, so we undertake regular meetings with them,” the spokeswoman said. [/quote]

Source: Joe Spagnolo at PerthNow

By Jan Glovac of OzCarSightings.com.

Some photos from Monday. Despite 9hrs with the car to ourselves it wasn’t great for photos as we had to shoot in the middle of a very sunny day. I did my best to combat it though and tried a couple of new things.

Awesome awesome car, tunnel runs with top down are epic.

View the full gallery here:
http://www.ozcarsightings.com/aston_martin_dbs_volante/index.html

]]> http://aussieexotics.com/2009/11/14/aston-martin-dbs-volante-photoshoot/feed 0 http://aussieexotics.com/2009/11/12/bugatti-veyron-crashes-into-lake http://aussieexotics.com/2009/11/12/bugatti-veyron-crashes-into-lake#comments Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:43:50 +0000 Ash Simmonds http://aussieexotics.com/?p=3307

Discussion in the Australian Bugatti Veyron forums.

This car may be more powerful than God, doesn’t mean it can walk on water.

From the youtube clip:

I recorded this 5 miles away from my house in Galveston County, Texas. We have a very rich neighborhood right next to the beach. I was stunned! Third or fourth Veyron Crashed