Schumi takes the Ferrari California for a spin on the ‘Ring – With Video

As if Ferrari would ever miss the chance to show off its new California hardtop convertible in an event like the Ferrari Racing Days at the Nurburgring race track. On Sunday, 5th October, right after the final races and nine free practice laps for the F1 Clienti and FXX, seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher took the California for her first outing on the track after the V8-powered made its show debut in Paris. See more pictures as well as a short video of Schumi behind the wheel of the California on the Nurburgring race track right after the jump. -Continued

2009 Honda Civic 5door and Type-S Facelift with new 1.4L Engine Debut in Paris

Honda’s European-spec Civic 3door (Type-S) and 5door range has received a mild facelift for the 2009 MY and is on show for the first time at Paris. The changes include a new 1.4-litre engine, new automated transmissions and subtle exterior and interior enhancements. Both variants of the Euro Civic will be available with the new 1.4L gasoline unit that produces 100 HP (up from 83HP) at a slightly higher 6000 rpm and torque is 127Nm at 4800rpm. The styling revisions to the 2009 Civic Type-S were modeled on its sporty Type-R counterpart. -Continued

These include body colored bumpers and skirts derived from the Type R, a mesh grille and clear rear combination lamp that distinguish it from the 5-door version. Uprated interior plastics with brushed and matt finish for the centre console have also been carried over from the Type R while the Alcantara sport seats have been retained.

The 5door Civic features tweaked exterior plastics, a new rear combination light cluster as well as a revised front grille. Inside, there are new seat fabrics while a brushed metal effect trim and matt finish, as seen in the Type R, have been applied to the instrument console.

Honda also introduced a newly-developed, conventional automatic gearbox for the 1.4-liter engine while for the first time on a Civic a conventional 6-speed automatic gearbox will be available on the 5-door 1.8-litre model. Furthermore, Honda has revised the i-SHIFT 6-speed automated manual transmission that benefits from reduced gear change times, smoother shifts and more intelligent automatic mode shift logic.

Audi A4 TDI Concept e Achieves 59 MPG!

If you’re still looking for proof that modern diesel-powered cars can offer the same or sometimes even better fuel economy than hybrid vehicles then maybe you should take a look at Audi’s A4 TDI e study that premiered in Paris. The powertrain of the A4 TDI concept e uses a direct-injection TDI diesel engine with an output of 120 HP and 290 Nm (213.89 lb-ft) of torque hooked up with a 6-speed manual gearbox. -Continued

It propels the sedan from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in 10.7 seconds, and tops out at 206 km/h (128 mph). Despite the respectable performance figures –ok, it won’t any races but it’ll do the job, the A4 TDI Concept e requires a mere 3.99 liters of fuel per 100 km or just 58.95 US mpg which corresponds to a CO2 output of only 105 gr/km.

This figure was achieved by utilizing an array of production-ready fuel saving technologies. These include the revised 2.0 TDI engine featuring among other things, a new thermal management system, new piston rings and an electronically controlled fuel pump, the addition of a start / stop system, new electrical brake system on the rear axle, new road-resistance-optimized 225/50 R17 tires with light-weight alloys and a recuperation system that converts the energy of motion during deceleration into usable electrical energy.

Furthermore, Audi’s engineers fine-tuned the A4’s aerodynamics by redesigning the trunk lid, adding a partially closed grid in the single-frame grille, lowering the ride height and improving the air flow under the body. Expect to see Audi launching an A4 TDI equipped with all these features in the very near future.