PARIS - Audi Sport launches the RS 3 TCR up and ready for customer racing, Audi adds another model to its pedigree.

• Audi RS 3 LMS new entry-level model for customer sport
• Touring car for worldwide TCR racing series
• Managing Director Stephan Winkelmann: “Attractive opportunity to get started in fascinating Audi racing”

With a racing version of the new Audi RS 3 that made its world debut at the Paris Motor Show, Audi Sport customer racing will extend its offering in customer sport starting in the 2017 season. The TCR version of the Audi RS 3 sedan puts customer sport at Audi on an even broader base.

“Audi has been active in motorsport on the highest level for generations,” says Stephan Winkelmann, Managing Director at Audi Sport with responsibility for the Audi R and RS models which Audi sells under the “Audi Sport” label. 

 “With the Audi R8 LMS, Audi Sport customer racing, in a very short time, managed to build a successful customer sport program alongside the factory commitments in the WEC and the DTM. The Audi R8 LMS has since become the market leader in its segment. We have the same plans for the Audi RS 3 LMS, which offers customers an attractive opportunity to get started in fascinating Audi racing.” 

The Audi RS 3 LMS is being developed by Audi Sport customer racing for the TCR category which is still relatively new. In addition to an international TCR series, with some of its races being held as part of the FIA Formula One World Championship supporting program, more and more national racing series for TCR touring cars are being founded. Even major endurance events such as the 24 Hours of Nürburgring are now including TCR classes.

“The TCR market has even larger potential than that of the GT3 category,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “In 2016, there were ten TCR series with races in 18 countries, and more and more series are being added. With the TCR version of the RS 3 we’re also reaching countries where no GT3 races are held. The costs for a TCR race car are very low. As a result, we’re going to win new customers for Audi Sport as well. In terms of support and parts supply, they’ll benefit from the experiences we’ve been gathering with the Audi R8 LMS since 2009, which our GT3 customers have come to appreciate.” 

The Audi RS 3 LMS accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in about 4.5 seconds and achieves a top speed of about 240 km/h. In TCR trim, the proven four-cylinder two-liter TFSI engine delivers 243 kW (330 hp).

In terms of safety, Audi Sport customer racing is not making any compromises. The extensive safety package includes an FIA-conformant safety fuel tank, a racing safety cell, the PS3 safety seat, FIA safety nets on both sides of the seat and a rescue hatch in the roof like the one used in the Audi R8 LMS.

Audi Sport customer racing will start delivering the first Audi RS 3 LMS cars to customers this December, in time before the seasons of the major TCR racing series open in 2017. The purchase price is 129,000 euros (plus VAT) for the TCR version with a sequential six-speed racing transmission and 99,000 euros (plus VAT) for a club sport version.

Time turned back as three of the original MG MEtro Hot Hatchbacks return to race again at the Silverstone classic.

• Touring car hero Patrick Watts readies three pocket rockets for Silverstone reunion
• Historic return for giant-killing hot hatches after 30-year absence
• Three more great reasons not to miss Tin Top Sunday at the Classic

For the first time in more than 30 years, three giant-killing MG Metro Turbos will take to the track at the Silverstone Classic later this month (29-31 July).

Adding to the sense of history, the evocative, three-pronged attack is being masterminded by touring car hero Patrick Watts, who himself will race one of the trio of pocket rockets in the Historic Touring Car Challenge at the Classic on Tin Top Sunday. 

The ever-effervescent Watts, now 59, has a special relationship with these cars having been an integral part of the ARG (Austin Rover Group) factory team back in the early eighties. Such is his indefatigable passion that he has spent the past few years tracking down and restoring three of the five esteemed racers originally built in period.

"The cars are jewels," he enthused. "The first one was built at Cowley alongside the 6R4 Group B rally car, with which it shares some design features. Thereafter, the project was handed over to Roger Dowson Engineering, which built a further four cars in its workshop at Silverstone - three of which will return to where they were born 33 years ago for the Classic. Sadly, Roger himself is no longer with us but I'm hoping his family will join us to share in the very special moment."

Dowson was charged by ARG to run the turbo cars in the British and European Touring Car Championships. The first one made its debut in the hands of ARG rally ace Tony Pond at Brands Hatch in April 1983 and, as was to become the norm, proved impressively fast but incredibly frail with a mixture of gearbox, overheating and tyre problems all too often undermining promising performances.

With his reputation for racing Minis, Watts joined Pond later in the campaign and a third car was entered for the Silverstone season finale for Martin Brundle. It was to be the only time three MG Metro Turbos ever lined up together in the UK (until this month's Classic, that is), but once again the escapade ended in ignominy when all three Unipart with Daily Express-entered machines suffered similar tyre troubles at exactly the same corner on the same lap!

A pair of cars returned briefly with Computervision liveries in 1984 with Watts now joined by Robin Brundle but, despite showing some improved class-winning speed and stamina, ARG pulled the plug on the programme mid-season following a row with the authorities over the legality of its Rovers.

Though their presence was short-lived, the MG Metro Turbos made a big impression. Touring car fans have always loved David versus Goliath encounters and the sight of these little 1275cc (albeit with around 190bhp), front-wheel-drive hatchbacks battling against much bigger-hearted Rovers, Capris, Monzas and GTVs really caught the public's imagination... and will do so again in the two-driver, HTCC showdown at the Classic featuring many of the same cars.

In fact, thanks to modern technology, the Metros are more competitive today than ever before. "It's actually more capable now than in period due to the tyres; back then, sometimes they'd only last three or four laps, but now we have no problems," reported Watts.

The revitalised gems are also more powerful and more reliable, as the boyishly enthusiastic Watts points out. "The Metro Turbo was always ahead of its time and, in many ways, was a mini Super Tourer - very light, very fast and beautifully built. But now, with the advantage of better knowledge of A Series engines, improved intercooler cores and the use of high-tech materials, Nick Swift (of Swiftune Engineering) has rebuilt these engines to run more boost, without any problems - so far so good, anyway!" joked Watts, who believes he will have more than 220bhp under his right foot come Tin Top Sunday at Silverstone.

He will be sharing one of the cars with Swift, while Malcolm Harrison and Paul Taft, another Metro Turbo racer from the eighties, will share the second Computervision-decaled car - recently uncovered in Greece by Watts. The third car - repatriated from Germany - will run with a period Massa Real livery and also has a bond with the past. It will be driven by Till Betchtolseimer, whose grandfather's company sponsored this very car when raced by Armin Hahne in the 1984 German Touring Car Championship.

And the storyline might not stop here, as you can't keep the Tiggerish Watts down - he is already hot on the trail of the two remaining Metro marvels.

"It's a long story, but there is one car we are hoping to retrieve from the USA where it ran in the IMSA series in Budweiser livery, and the last one is in the UK, and I am close to finding it," he grinned.

Tin Top Sunday boasts many other great features, too. In addition to all the other on- and off-track excitement, the Mike Brewer Car Clinic presented by eBay, the Blades aerobatic display and the HSCC 50th Anniversary Parade featuring a fabulous array of 50 hand-picked competition cars will all be exclusive to what is clearly going to be a spectacular Tin Top Sunday.

For those wanting to experience these plus the magic moment when all three Metros go racing again at Silverstone after an absence of more than three decades, adult admission for Tin Top Sunday is priced at £54, with £6 admission for accompanied children aged between 6 and 16-years-old.

A wide range of weekend, camping, VIP hospitality and Family Tickets - all of which must be purchased in advance - are also available. Adding to the festival's immense appeal, tickets include free entrance to both racing paddocks, trackside grandstands and live music concerts on Friday and Saturday evenings. Full details can be found on the official www.silverstoneclassic.com website.

Editor's notes: The Silverstone Classic - which in 2015 celebrated its 25th anniversary - is firmly established as the world's biggest classic motor racing festival. The epic event attracts more than 1,100 race entries and drew a record crowd of more than 100,000 in 2015. 

The spectacular classic car celebration is staged at the famous Silverstone circuit in Northamptonshire, birthplace of the FIA Formula One World Championship and home to the Formula 1 British Grand Prix. The three-day festival features the very best of historic racing covering more than eight decades of motor sport, as well as live music from iconic rock bands (topped by The Boomtown Rats, Reef and The Stranglers in 2016) and a wealth of family entertainment. 

This includes a free funfair, retail outlets, a host of interactive activities, a two-day classic car auction, air displays plus huge showcases of classic cars often celebrating important milestones in automotive history. In 2015, a record number of 120 car clubs displayed more than 10,000 classic cars.

Goose Live Events: The Silverstone Classic is promoted and organised by Goose Live Events Ltd. Goose manage international events for companies such as AstraZeneca, Harley-Davidson, Bentley, Lamborghini, the Royal Automobile Club and Unilever.

Classic Rover SD1 and jaguar XJS Touring cars to star on the Goodwood Hill Climb this weekend.

• JD Classics gears up for Goodwood with stellar line up of racing cars and drivers
• JD Classics’ hugely successful Bastos Rover SD1 and Group 44 Jaguar XJS will both take to the hillclimb
• GP2 driver Jordan King, endurance racer Alex Buncombe and ex-touring car racer Steve Soper will be driving for JD Classics

This year at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, JD Classics will be thrilling the crowds with two of its most successful racing cars on the hillclimb – a Bastos Rover SD1 and a Group 44 Jaguar XJS.

Both of the JD Classics hillclimb cars have impeccable racing histories, but more importantly for the Goodwood crowd, the XJS and SD1 are ferocious and loud, fitting perfectly with this year’s theme of ‘Flat-out and Fearless’.

The Group 44 XJS uses a 5.3-litre V12 engine, putting out more than 500hp and allowing for a top speed just shy of 200mph. Stripped-out and with countless racing modifications over the road going car, this XJS is a spectacular sight.

JD Classics’ Bastos Rover SD1 was one of the most successful touring cars of its era, campaigned by Tom Walkinshaw, Win Percy and Jeff Allam. In the 1986 European Touring Car championship it took outright wins at Monza and Donington, along with five other podium finishes.

JD Classics will have a crack team of expert racing drivers piloting its cars up the hill, including GP2 racer and Manor F1 development driver, Jordan King. Sharing the Group 44 Jaguar XJS with Jordan will be endurance racer Alex Buncombe, who is currently competing in the International V8 Supercars Championship.

Taking the wheel of JD Classic’s Bastos Rover SD1 will be ex-touring and sports car driver, Steve Soper who has victories at the 24 Hours of Spa and 24 Hours Nürburging to his name.

JD Classics has long supported the Goodwood Festival of Speed, with the team’s massively successful Ford Cologne Capri racer the focal point in 2014. At the 2013 event JD Classics’ Lancia Aurelia B24S won the Cartier Style et Luxe concours d’Elegance at Goodwood, revealing JD Classics’ expertise at concours-winning restorations as well as historic racing.

JD Classics Managing Director Derek Hood said: “The Goodwood Festival of Speed is such a fantastic British motoring event, and this year’s theme of ‘Flat-out and Fearless’ is something we can really get behind. We’ve got three of Britain’s best drivers taking to the hill in some incredibly powerful British racing cars, so it’s going to be a spectacular sight for the crowds.”

Jaguar to surprise and amaze at Goodwood with a host of new cars and specials all on show.

• Enhanced Jaguar XJ to make world debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed
• New Jaguar XJR Rapid Response Vehicle for Bloodhound SSC to make dynamic world debut on Goodwood Hill
• Innovative new Jaguar XF to receive UK premiere on Jaguar stand at Festival
• First public appearance for production version of Jaguar F-TYPE Project 7
• Jaguar stand to feature Bloodhound SSC driving experience and live F-TYPE track experience for show visitors

In a year of exciting new product launches, Jaguar will give debuts to four new cars at Goodwood Festival of Speed 2015. The world premiere of the recently- announced, enhanced Jaguar XJ range on the Jaguar Land Rover stand will be marked by the debut appearance of a very special version of British marque’s flagship luxury car, the Jaguar XJR Rapid Response Vehicle (RRV) for Bloodhound SSC.

Jaguar is a technical partner of the Bloodhound Project and visitors to the famous British motorsport festival this year will see both XJR and F-TYPE R Coupé versions of Bloodhound SSC Rapid Response Vehicles take on the Goodwood Hill in spectacular style. 

On the morning of Saturday 27 June, the Jaguar XJR RRV will be piloted by Bloodhound SSC driver Andy Green.

Visitors to the Jaguar Land Rover stand will be able to try out the new Bloodhound SSC driving experience and take part in a live track experience of F-TYPE, accompanied by a pro driver. 

On the stand, Jaguar will present a number of firsts including the international debut of the enhanced XJ luxury car and the UK debut of the all-new XF executive saloon.

Highlights of the new XJ, which will be available to order from Jaguar UK retailers from this autumn, include the new InControl Touch Pro touchscreen infotainment system offering door-to-door navigation, seamless iOS and Android connectivity, Wi-Fi hotspot and 26-speaker, 1,300W Meridian Digital Reference audio system. The enhanced XJ will be available to specify with an uprated 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine developing an impressive 300PS/700Nm.  

The Jaguar RRVs will be joined on the Goodwood Hill by the first production version of the new F-TYPE Project 7, the exciting new 340PS, 3.0-litre Jaguar XE S, and a selection of Jaguar’s most iconic heritage cars including XJ13, Group 44 E-type, Long Nose D-type, TWR XJS and Broadspeed XJ12C.

Jaguar and Bloodhound SSC: Technical Partners

The XJR RRV is the latest creation of Jaguar Land Rover’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) division and follows hot-on-the-heels of the Bloodhound SSC F-TYPE R Coupé RRV, which was unveiled at the Coventry MotoFest. 

Jaguar has pedigree in Rapid Response Vehicle support to world land speed record drives, having supported Richard Noble’s Thrust 2 in 1983 and Andy Green’s Thrust SSC in 1997.

The RRVs will be used by the Bloodhound team throughout the high speed tests and World Land Speed Record attempts.  The XJRs have been modified to carry customised equipment, supplied by British bespoke emergency equipment manufacturer Angloco. 

Jaguar Land Rover SVO engineers removed the rear seats of the XJR and fitted a roll-cage and specially-made housings to accommodate the support equipment.

John Edwards, Managing Director - Special Operations at Jaguar Land Rover, said: “These are specially developed cars for a very special purpose, showcasing SVO’s ability to design and engineer bespoke vehicles to the highest possible standards. Equally importantly we’re proud to be playing a part in another great British land speed record attempt.”

The customised Jaguar XJR provides an ideal solution for keeping essential personnel and equipment close to Bloodhound at all times – the XJR has a spacious cabin and it’s 5.0-litre V8 550PS Supercharged petrol engine takes it from 0-60mph in just 4.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 174mph.

A video showing the creation of the Bloodhound XJR can be viewed here: 

https://youtu.be/9RS5ZCkQOhs

Uber rare pre-war Aston Martin Grand Tourer up for grabs at the Silverston May Auction.

A rare example of Aston Martin’s first ever luxury four seat touring car is to be offered at Silverstone Auctions’ May Sale, taking place on Saturday 23^rd May. The car, a 1937 Aston Martin 15/98 2L Long Chassis Tourer, was built on the 31^st of May 1937 and eventually registered on the 25^th of March 1939. 

This captivating car was first sold for the minimal price of just £575! Now almost 80 years old, the car is estimated to sell for between £160,000 and £190,000 when it goes under the hammer at Silverstone circuit.

One of just 24 Abbey bodied long chassis tourers, KMG 202 spent more than 40 years off the road, kept in dry storage by the same family from 1970 until 2011 when it was purchased as a ‘barnfind’ by the current owner. Subsequently, a no expense spared ground up restoration was undertaken by the highly respected pre-war Aston specialist Andy Bell from Ecurie Bertelli Ltd. Following its renovation, KMG 202 went on to achieve first place in the AMOC Concours D' Etat for pre-war cars at Broughton Castle in October 2013.

As well as looking amazing, the car drives extremely well with all pressures and temperatures as they should be and has covered just 1500 miles since restoration.

Nick Whale, managing director of Silverstone Auctions looks forward to the sale: “We are delighted to be offering more best of breed classics such as this rare Aston Martin. I have no doubt that the catalogue for our May Sale is one of our best ever, with a fantastic range of cars from this pre-war grand tourer right up to modern day supercars on offer.”

Viewing of lots at the sale will open on Friday 22^nd May from 9am to 5pm, with further time allocated to viewing on the day of the sale from 9am. The auction will commence at 10.30am, first offering automobilia and luxury lifestyle items, with motorcars hammered away from 1pm onwards.

For those unable to attend the sale in person, buyers can register to bid on cars online through two platforms including Proxibid and Live Auctioneers. Bidding can also be made via phone or by leaving a commission bid with Silverstone Auctions prior to the sale.