Porsche halts GT3 deliveries after two catch fire

Porsche has stopped deliveries of the most expensive version of its overhauled 911 sports car after two of them caught fire, the automaker said.

Engineers at Porsche's headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany, are examining the remains of the gutted vehicles from Switzerland and Italy to determine the cause of the fires, a spokesman said on Tuesday, confirming a report from German news agency dpa.

The Volkswagen Group unit expects to conclude the investigation this week, the spokesman said, adding that Porsche had this year delivered 322 of the GT3 models, which start at 137,000 euros ($187,700).

Porsche expects to hit a target of selling more than 200,000 sports cars and SUVs in 2015, three years earlier than first scheduled, CEO Matthias Mueller said last week.

REPORT HERE

TMW - What to look forward to in 2014

2013 was a great year for The Motoring World, Our first year, The return of Datsun and SAAB, brand new niche cars from Rolls Royce, Bentley and its return to motorsport and the Bentley Boys, the ever increasing sight of SUV's on the roads of the world, and a world that is slowly but surely creeping out of its financial situation that started nearly 5 years ago.

So what do we have to look forward to next year, an huge amount, some truly stunning supercars, more SUV's in varying sizes and engines, some famous hatchbacks, small and fun mini cars and a whole host of sports cars, below are just a small sample of some the cars that we expect to see the light of day either to buy or launched to conceptual stage.

Family cars

Audi A3 E-tron (summer 2014)
Hybrid model of our 2013 Car of the Year blends hot hatch pace with CO2 emissions of 35g/km.

Hyundai i10 (early 2014)
City car gets the latest family look and greater refinement.

Kia Soul (early 2014)
Promises improvements to refinement and driving dynamics.

Mazda 3 (January 2014)
Will be lighter than today’s 3, thanks to Skyactiv technology.

MINI (early 2014)
New model gets revised dashboard and engines and bodywork.

Peugeot 308 (January 2014)
Lighter than current car, with a much classier cabin.

Renault Megane (early 2014)
Face-lifted range gets Renault family look and new petrol engine.

Skoda Rapid Spaceback (January 2014)
Shorter version of Rapid, but has more boot space than a VW Golf.

Smart Forfour (autumn 2014)
Next-generation city car will be available with either conventional engines or electric powertrains.

Vauxhall Corsa (autumn 2014)
Revamp of current car will introduce three-cylinder engines.

Volkswagen e-Golf (summer 2014)
Golf gets a 113bhp electric motor with 118-mile zero-emission range.

Volkswagen e-Up (early 2014)
Electric Up is the quickest model in the range; 100-mile range on one charge.

Estate cars

Honda Civic Tourer (early 2014)
Swish-looking estate gets a bigger boot than rivals from Ford, Skoda and Volkswagen.

Peugeot 308 SW (autumn 2014)
Estate will get the same three-cylinder engines that are due in the hatch next year.

Seat Leon ST (January 2014)
New model will beat Astra and Focus Estates on boot space.

Executives

Audi S3 Saloon (early 2014)
Hot version of Audi’s new 3 Series rival gets 296bhp, four-wheel drive and does 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds.

Infiniti Q50 (January 2014)
G Series replacement gets new name and engines, including a V6 petrol-electric hybrid.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class (spring 2014)
All-new executive car will be offered with a hybrid powertrain.

Luxury

Audi A8 (January 2014)
Updated model gets styling tweaks and changes to engine line-up.

Bentley Continental GT V8 S (early 2014)
More powerful versions of the GT have re-tuned suspension and steering.

Tesla Model S (early 2014)
Luxury electric car will go up to 300 miles on one charge.

MPVs

Citroën Grand C4 Picasso (January 2014)
Seven-seat MPV gets more practicality and efficiency.

Small SUVs

Audi RS Q3 (January 2014)
Evoque rival gets 306bhp engine and four-wheel drive.

Ford Ecosport (spring 2014)
Fiesta-based SUV will get a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine.

Jeep Cherokee (early 2014)
Freelander rival will borrow Fiat diesel engine to boost UK sales.

MG CS  (Late 2014 Concept)
Based on MG5 underpinnings too little, too late.

Mercedes GLA (December 2013)
A new rival for the BMW X1, Audi Q3 and Range Rover Evoque.

Porsche Macan (spring 2014)
Cayenne’s baby brother will share underpinnings with the Audi Q5.

Skoda Yeti (January 2014)
Family favourite gets a face-lift, plus more standard equipment.

Ssangyong Korando (early 2014)
Bigger than the current model, but likely to get same engine line-up and two- or four-wheel drive.

Large SUVs

BMW X4 (spring 2014)
Expect ‘son of X6’ to cost around £3k more than equivalent X3s.

Land Rover Discovery (November 2013)
Face-lifted model gets better fuel economy and more equipment.

Nissan X-Trail (July 2014)
More stylish than current car; available as five- or seven-seater with two- or four-wheel drive.

Ssangyong Rexton W (December 2013)
Budget seven-seat off-roader gets 2.0-litre diesel engine.

Toyota Land Cruiser (December 2013)
Seven-seat SUV gets a face-lift and revised dashboard design.

Coupes

Peugeot RCZ R (early 2014)
The company’s most powerful production car ever gets 270bhp.

Open-tops

Audi A3 Cabriolet (winter 2013)
Longer, lower and lighter than the current car. S3 version will follow.

BMW 4 Series Convertible (early 2014)
New 4 Series loses its roof; keeps same range of engines.

Hot hatches

Seat Leon Cupra (autumn 2014)
Promises understated looks, but more power than the VW Golf GTI.

Volkswagen Golf R (spring 2014)
Choice of three- or five-door 296bhp hatch; 0-62mph in 4.9secs

Sports cars

BMW M4 (autumn 2014)
New range-topping coupé follows M4 Concept revealed in Frankfurt.

So, there you go, a taster of what is to come next year, from the small and cheap to the outlandish and uber expensive, and everything in between, but one thing for sure is that the automotive world will be a force again next year, and not just from the usual suspects, expect the Chinese to pick up momentum and make small inroads into the world auto market, but rest assured they are coming, like the Japanese in the 60's and the Koreans in the 80's with big brands behind the Chinese names and extremely healthy bank balances they can compete and will get better and will be, before long, names that trip of our tongues like Ford, Rolls Royce and Mercedes do now.

Have a great 2014.

Info courtesy of CAR MAGAZINE

Jon Mower

Happy Birthday SEAT, 60 years and counting

• Today marks 60 years since the first SEAT car, a 1400, was produced
• SEAT 1400 saloon became an instant hit, with 10,000 orders after its debut
• 98,000 1400 models were produced over a decade
• SEAT has gone on to produce 16,000,000 vehicles and counting

Yesterday was a very special day for SEAT: exactly 60 years ago to the day, the company’s first car rolled off the production line at its Zona Franca factory in Barcelona. That car was the SEAT 1400, an elegant and luxurious saloon designed in the spirit of the most popular American sedans of the '50s.

SEAT had been established only three years earlier, and had developed the 1400 with a focus on the transport needs of government officials. Initially available as a saloon, SEAT would also create estate, seven-seat and commercial versions of the 1400; Spanish cabbies loved the 1400, and it remained a popular taxi well into the following decade.

With a price tag of 121,875 pesetas (€41,735 or £35,200 today), SEAT initially produced five cars per day, built by a workforce of 925 employees. The rear-wheel drive 1400 was powered by a front-mounted, water cooled 44 PS engine and came equipped with a four-speed manual gearbox.

It wasn’t until June of 1954 that SEAT gave the model its official debut, at the Barcelona Trade Fair. And with petrol rationing in Spain having come to an end in 1953, the company received a staggering 10,000 orders. That allowed SEAT to both increase production and drop the price, reducing it to 117,000 pesetas.

By the end of 1954, SEAT had delivered 945 1400 models, but by the end of the following year, annual production was closer to 3,000, with almost all of the 1400’s components manufactured in Spain. One year later and production had more than doubled, to 7,000 units, and by the end of the following year SEAT was producing 10,000 1400 models annually, with 42 leaving the factory every working day. By that stage the workforce had increased to 5,000.  

Production of the 1400 ended in 1964, with 98,000 cars having been produced in Zona Franca and Spain going from strength-to-strength economically. SEAT was at the forefront of that growth, and remains a key player in the Spanish economy today, designing, developing and manufacturing its cars in the ultra-modern Martorell facility on the outskirts of Barcelona; since 2010, SEAT has invested €35m in the ‘SEAT al Sol’ project, which has reduced factory CO2 emissions by 7,000 tonnes per year using solar panel technology.

Since the launch of the 1400, SEAT has built more than 16,000,000 vehicles, including icons like the 600, the 127, the Ibiza and the Leon. Today the company exports over 80% of its production, and has over 1,800 points of sale worldwide.

2013: a year of significant anniversaries

The SEAT 1400 was replaced by the 1500, which began production 50 years ago in 1963. Ten years later in 1973, its successor, the SEAT 132, came to market. A truly luxurious car, the 132 was the first SEAT to feature an automatic transmission, and later in its lifecycle it became the first available with air conditioning.

Forward another ten years to 1983 and the SEAT Ronda came to market, and ten years after that, SEAT introduced the second-generation Ibiza - the first car ever produced in SEAT's Martorell factory and a model that, now in its fourth generation, remains SEAT’s most popular car.

TMW - Its that time of the month - June UK sales figures

JAGUAR

JUNE 2012 1156 sales - JUNE 2013 1341 sales +16.00%
YTD 2012 7107 sales - YTD 2013 8658 sales +21.82%

LAND ROVER

JUNE 2012 3772 sales - JUNE 2013 4046 sales +7.26%
YTD 2012 26075 sales - YTD 2013 30120 sales +15.51%

JAGUAR LAND ROVERS COMPETITORS

BMW

JUNE 2012 14302 sales - JUNE 2013 14290 sales -0.08%
YTD 2012 64514 sales - YTD 2013 65214 sales +1.09%

MERCEDES

JUNE 2012 8211 sales - JUNE 2013 9613 sales +17.07%
YTD 2012 47790 sales - YTD 2013 54637 sales +14.33%

LEXUS

JUNE 2012 813 sales - JUNE 2013 738 sales -9.23%
YTD 2012 4751 sales - YTD 2013 4114 sales -13.41%

AUDI

JUNE 2012 10936 sales - JUNE 2013 12417 sales +13.54%
YTD 2012 66005 sales - YTD 2013 73767 sales +11.76%

RISERS ON PREVIOUS YEAR (YOY CUMULATIVE)

ABARTH +17.13%

ASTON MARTIN +9.96%

CITROEN +14.61%
DACIA +100.00%

FIAT +15.45%

FORD +8.66%

HONDA +9.87%
HYUNDAI +11.28%
KIA +11.05%

LOTUS +18.29%
MASERATI +1.75%
MAZDA +4.04%

MINI +2.87% 

MITSUBISHI +41.84%

NISSAN +14.24%

PEUGEOT +7.19%

RENAULT +2.35%

SEAT +18.59%
SKODA +15.34% 

SMART +8.97% 
SUZUKI +34.09%
TOYOTA +4.55%
VAUXHALL +14.41%

VOLKSWAGEN +5.75%

LOSERS THIS YEAR (YOY CUMULATIVE)

ALFA ROMEO -32.97%

BENTLEY -10.11%

CHEVROLET -23.23%

CHRYSLER -14.13%

INFINITI -19.59%

JEEP -18.88%

MG -75.66%

PERODUA -37.96%

PORSCHE -0.96%

PROTON -90.32%

SAAB -98.30%

SSANGYONG -30.71%

SUBARU -10.86%

VOLVO -2.99%

June has been yet another bumper month for supposed cash strapped Britain, with record sales for numerous manufacturers, and a few have even turned around losses from the first few months to increases from June, Renault is one such company, with a 34+% increase in June alone, Suzuki also sees high 30's % increase, Lotus get back on track with a 466% increase in the month, yes nearly 500% but that equates to just 17 cars against 3 last June.

MG has a better June 13, against 2012, they sold 22 cars against 19, but with the MG3 about to come on stream this number will surely increase, and the MG3 is a great little car, read the Motoring Words visual review (HERE) It is increasing looking dire for Perodua and Proton, with only a few sales for each manufacturer for the entire year.



Jaguar and Land Rover continue to shine, with new and revised products in both brands the sales are flowing in, and with the F-Type on stream now, Jaguars sales will fly for at least another 12 months, by which time, we will be more fully aware of the new X-Type and SUV model, along with the new XK, revised XJ and hopefully by the year end 2014 the new XF, Jaguar are not holding back, and neither is Land Rover, with the new Rangie out, new Sport, and reasonably young Evoque, the Range Rover brand is steady, but the Freelander and Defender are both due replacements along with enlarged versions of the Freelander, possibly to remove the need for a Disco 5 (LR5).

Dacia is the darling of the car world this year, there are currently 44 recognised brands under the SMMT sales list, and Dacia outsold 21 of them with 1829 sold in June and 6994 for the year to date it is making other brands stand up and take note, and they need to, FIAT UK are having a good time in the UK, but elsewhere in Europe it is being hit very hard, the same with Citroen and Peugeot who both show significant gains, The US brands are also not doing well, all have decent products to sell, and some of them very new, but very few want to invest their hard earned in American cars, personally I dont blame them, they are too over priced compared to the same product in the US.

Ford again hold the top two spots for June and year to date, with the Fiesta and Focus, with the Corsa in third, surprisingly BMW take two spots in June with the 3 series and the truly ugly 1 Series, and a welcome return to the chart for Peugeot with the 208 just popping in at number ten, Vauxhall continues its resurgence up 14.41% for the year, and with teh New Mokka, Cascada and ADAM, revised and reduced Insignia, and new Corsa in the pipeline, the future is looking good for the Luton based brand.

VAG group of companies sees sales increase worldwide, apart from Skoda !

• 5.9 per cent* rise in deliveries from January to May
• 816,500 units handed over in May / +6.9 per cent*
• Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler: “Development of Group brands is stable. Markets worldwide remain difficult and uneven.”

The Volkswagen Group delivered 3.87 (January-May 2012: 3.65; +5.9 per cent)* million vehicles from January to May. The company handed over 816,500 (May 2012: 763,900; +6.9 per cent)* vehicles to customers in the month of May. “Overall, development of the Volkswagen Group brands in the period to May was stable, albeit at different levels. In particular Audi, Volkswagen Passenger Cars and Porsche as well as SEAT maintained delivery levels in spite of continuing difficult market conditions,” Group Board Member for Sales Christian Klingler said in Wolfsburg on Friday. Klingler went on to say: “Meanwhile, developments on markets worldwide remain uneven and are characterised by continuing economic uncertainty, above all in Western Europe. In contrast, the sales situation in China remains encouraging.”

Group brands delivered a total of 1.53 (1.58; -3.5 per cent) million vehicles on the overall European market from January to May, of which 799,100 (825,800; -3.2 per cent) were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany). In the home market of Germany, 473,100 (493,900; -4.2 per cent) customers opted for a new vehicle. Europe’s largest automaker delivered 254,000 (262,600; -3.3 per cent) vehicles in Central and Eastern Europe. 120,900 (122,500; -1.3 per cent) units were handed over to customers in Russia during the same period.

Deliveries in the North America region from January to May grew by 13.0 per cent to 360,000 (318,700) units, of which 249,300 (224,100; +11.2 per cent) were handed over in the United States. In South America, the Volkswagen Group delivered 375,400 (376,700; -0.4 per cent) vehicles to customers during the same period, of which 276,300 (273,000; +1.2 per cent) were handed over to customers in Brazil.

Group figures for the Asia-Pacific region remained encouraging. 1.43 (1.23; +16.4 per cent) million vehicles were handed over to customers there in the period to May, of which 1.28 (1.08; +18.2 per cent) million units were delivered in China, the Group’s largest single market. In contrast, deliveries in India dropped to 41,300 (51,700; -20.2 per cent) vehicles.

Outline of developments at Group brands

The Volkswagen Passenger Cars brand delivered 2.41 (2.29; +5.3 per cent) million vehicles to customers worldwide from January to May. The brand developed well in the Asia-Pacific region, handing over 1.07 (0.91; +17.6 per cent) million vehicles there. In the North America region, Volkswagen Passenger Cars delivered 252,700 (242,100; +4.4 per cent) models, while deliveries on the overall European market, which remained difficult, ran at 688,900 (743,000; -7.3 per cent).

Audi delivered 640,200 (600,200; +6.7 per cent) vehicles to customers worldwide in the period to May. Deliveries by the premium brand from Ingolstadt developed well in the Asia-Pacific region, where 218,500 (189,000; +15.6 per cent) models were handed over to customers. In the North America region, Audi delivered 73,600 (64,000) vehicles during the same period, an increase of 14.9 per cent.

The sports car manufacturer Porsche, which became a Volkswagen Group brand on August 1, 2012, delivered a total of 67,300 vehicles in the first five months. Demand for models built by the Stuttgart-based carmaker was especially high in the Asia-Pacific region, where 20,000 vehicles were delivered, and in the North America region, where 19,400 models were handed over to customers.

ŠKODA delivered a total of 377,200 (405,500; -7.0 per cent) vehicles from January to May. The Czech automaker handed over 96,700 (107,600; -10.1 per cent) units in Central and Eastern Europe and 111,600 (120,900; -7.7 per cent) vehicles in the Asia-Pacific region.

SEAT delivered 149,100 (134,300; +11.0 per cent) vehicles worldwide in the period to May, thus continuing the upward trend. The Spanish brand recorded growth above all in Germany, where deliveries increased by 30.9 per cent to 30,700 (23,500) units, in the UK, where the company handed over 18,500 (16,500; +12.6 per cent) vehicles to customers, and in Mexico, where deliveries ran at 9,200 (8,500; +8.2 per cent) models.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles delivered 219,900 (220,600; -0.3 per cent) vehicles to customers from January to May, of which 66,800 (67,100; -0.5 per cent) units were handed over in Western Europe (excluding Germany). In contrast, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles grew deliveries in the South America region by 10.9 per cent to 61,800 (55,700) units.

*) including deliveries by the Porsche brand from August 1, 2012; excluding MAN and Scania

Its that time of the Month again - UK MAY sales figures

JAGUAR

MAY 2012 1126 sales - MAY 2013 1259 sales +11.81%
YTD 2012 5951 sales - YTD 2013 7317 sales +22.95%

LAND ROVER

MAY 2012 3860 sales - MAY 2013 3826 sales -0.88%
YTD 2012 22303 sales - YTD 2013 26074 sales +16.91%

JAGUAR COMPETITORS

BMW

MAY 2012 10303 sales - MAY 2013 10736 sales +4.20%
YTD 2012 50212 sales - YTD 2013 50924 sales +1.42%

MERCEDES

MAY 2012 7282 sales - MAY 2013 8391 sales +15.23%
YTD 2012 39579 sales - YTD 2013 45024 sales +13.76%

LEXUS

MAY 2012 695 sales - MAY 2013 606 sales -12.81%
YTD 2012 3938 sales - YTD 2013 3376 sales -14.27%

AUDI

MAY 2012 10116 sales - MAY 2013 12265 sales +21.24%
YTD 2012 55069 sales - YTD 2013 61350 sales +11.41%

RISERS ON PREVIOUS YEAR (YOY CUMULATIVE)

ABARTH +16.67%

ASTON MARTIN +2.61%

CITROEN +15.99%
DACIA +0.00%

FIAT +13.97%

FORD +4.32%

HONDA +13.68%
HYUNDAI +15.04%
KIA +10.65%

LOTUS +1.27%
MAZDA +1.60%

MINI +10.89% 

MITSUBISHI +49.35%

NISSAN +18.30%
PEUGEOT +5.92%
PORSCHE +2.02%

SEAT +16.31%
SKODA +15.08% 

SMART +11.22% 
SUZUKI +33.24%
TOYOTA +1.79%
VAUXHALL +13.92%

VOLKSWAGEN +3.87%

LOSERS THIS YEAR (YOY CUMULATIVE)

ALFA ROMEO -33.65%

BENTLEY -13.98%

CHEVROLET -28.30%

CHRYSLER -9.25%

INFINITI -15.67%

JEEP -21.92%

MASERATI -7.33%

MAZDA -1.93%

MG -79.06%
PERODUA -35.07%

PROTON -89.13%
RENAULT -3.65%
SAAB -97.60%
SSANGYONG -32.18%

SUBARU -15.06%
VOLVO -3.52%

Another great month for car sales in the UK, up 11% to over 180,000 sold, Jaguar continue to provide strong results with Land Rover showing a tiny dip in month on month sales, BMW, Audi and Mercedes have all significant May sales and Lexus as usual seem to be going the other way.

MG continues its downward trend with yet more people not buying their cars, and with the new MG3 due in the next couple of months, that will be another car for them not to sell, and just to rub salt in the wound, Dacia manages to sell 1171 cars in May and nearly 5200 for the year, these are numbers that MG UK can only dream of.

Renault has the new Clio, yet sales are still down for the year, so has the Clio not gone to peoples hearts, well yes, sales for May were up nearly 10%, hopefully with the new Captur coming on stream soon, its looking good for them for the second half of the year, Volvo has lost the C30 and therefore lots of sales, they are down a tad at -3.52%, the C30 accounted for 1 in 7 of all C30 worldwide sales in the UK, so to lose that car is a major loss.

With the exception of Bentley, all teh VAG brands showed decent rises, with SEAT having lots of new cars to sell and Skoda with the Rapid and new Octavia, Porsche has revamped cars and VW has the new variants of the Golf being released so the rest of 2013 are looking good for them, unlike the US brands, Jeep, Chrysler and Chevy, all down, never mind, at least they keep trying.