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The FIA World Rally Championship is shaping up to be particularly interesting in 2011, and the new-for-2011 Ford Fiesta RS is a big reason why. The Blue Oval's latest dirt-spitting racer will contest its first race at Rally Sweden in mid-February, but the Fiesta S2000-based rally car made its debut this morning at the Paris Motor Show.
In typical WRC fashion, the blue and gray Fiesta RS is all gaping intakes, massive flares and skyscraping wings, and needless to say, it looks The Business. Motivated by an EcoBoost-branded 1.6-liter turbocharged four of undisclosed output, the four-wheel-drive RS will get a shakedown run on Spain's gravel roads next week, though Ford says it's already conducted about 3,000 kilometers worth of testing with various engines.
The new car, which supplants the Blue Oval's prior Focus-based WRC car, will be driven by Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen, along with Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila. Check out our spanking-new galleries below and pop past the jump for the official press release.
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/30/paris-2010-ford-fiesta-rs-wrc-ready-to-hit-the-dirt-running/
To say that American enthusiasts have been anxiously awaiting a properly hotted up version of Ford's European hatchback would be a gross understatement. And while we're still waiting for a proper Focus RS to hit our shores, we're certainly happy to see its little brother, the Focus ST, hit the showroom floor with promises of coming Stateside in 2012 ringing in our ears.
Here's why our interest is piqued: a turbocharged 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine with 247 horsepower and 266 pound-feet of torque; a six-speed manual transmission and Ford's new torque-vectoring power control system. Throw in a Tangerine Scream paint job and some 19-inch alloys in the Blue Oval's signature Y-spoke ST pattern and we're tickled pink.
Sure, we're still waiting on an official price tag, but that won't stop us from poring over these live photos from Paris, now will it?
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/09/29/paris-2010-2012-ford-focus-st-hatches-early/
It does look nice man.wow that 4dr looks nice
We've been speculating, applying the magnifying glass to spy shots and just plain wishing that the rumors were true. They are – Audi is set to debut the Quattro concept car at the Paris Motor Show in celebration of its famous all-wheel-drive system's 30th anniversary. Drawing its inspiration from the original 1980 Audi Ur-Quattro and using some underpinnings from the current RS5, the Quattro concept features a shortened wheelbase, lower roofline and a sub-3,000 pound curb weight.
The original Ur-Quattro weighed in under 3,000 pounds and featured a turbocharged five-cylinder engine paired with a five-speed manual. Keeping in line with that spirit, the Quattro concept ditches the V8 and dual-clutch transmission from the RS5 in favor of a turbocharged inline five-cylinder engine and six-speed manual gearbox. Power output for the Quattro concept is rated at 408 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque. All that energy is put to the ground through Audi's famous quattro torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system, which in this case is setup with a 40:60 rear-biased torque split. The weight savings mixed with the power output create a vehicle with a power-weight ratio on par with that of the Audi R8 5.2 FSI.
Since this IS a modern Audi, it features stylish exterior features and a wonderful cabin space. The seats are leather-lined Sparco units that weight in at just 40 pounds apiece. The Quattro concept also makes use of the Audi MMI infotainment system. In this application, MMI includes a slew of screens useful for rally racing like classically-styled round gauges and a page for pace notes. On the outside, the Quattro concept boasts the signature Audi LED treatment, but this time it's in the form of headlamps that adjust their direction both vertically and horizontally, as well as being able to open fully or close to a slit.
This is an exciting concept that pays homage to a true motoring classic. If Audi doesn't find a way to put a version of this into production, we're sure that four-ring fanboys around the world will storm Ingolstadt.
haha the day has come
Germans are copying the Japanese, just look at the front