Formula E car completes 1,000km of trouble-free testing

Formula E’s fully-electric Spark-Renault SRT_01E car has now completed 1,000km of testing without a single glitch – the equivalent of an entire season’s worth of racing.

Built by Spark Racing Technology together with a consortium of some of the leading names in motorsport, the 200kw (270bhp) single-seater has undergone an arduous testing programme since its unveiling in September 2013 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.



The majority of the running has taken place at La Ferté-Gaucher circuit outside Paris together with sessions at Circuit du Luc in south east France, using the full 200kw battery as opposed to the quarter power one used previously. Along with Spark Racing Technology, McLaren, Renault, Williams, Dallara and Michelin have all collaborated on the revolutionary racer which boasts a top speed of 225kph (150mph) and can accelerate from 0-100kph (0-62mph) in just over three seconds.

Théophile Gouzin from Spark Racing Technology, who has been overseeing all of the car’s development work, said: “To date we have clocked up around 750km at La Ferté-Gaucher with the remainder at Circuit du Luc. Since its maiden test back in November last year we have had nothing but hassle-free running which is fantastic for such a pioneering new car and is testament to the work and know-how of all our partners. Next month we move into the closing stages of the testing schedule focusing on tyre development.”

Sergio Perez tops day one of F1 testing in Bahrain for Force India

Formula One preseason testing resumed Thursday in Bahrain with the first day of the third and final session of the winter. Force India's Sergio Perez topped the opening day.

This week is critical for all teams, especially those that have struggled with reliability issues in the earlier tests. The Bahrain sessions represent their final chance to gain some knowledge before the cars hit the track in Australia in 15 days for the season-opening Formula One Grand Prix.

Overall times meant little today as nobody approached the best laps recorded in the last test, but there was a familiar pattern as Mercedes-powered teams were at the top of the table, and Renault-powered teams at the bottom -- both in terms of times and laps completed. Three teams managed to complete more than 100 laps today, with Valtteri Bottas and Williams managing 128, McLaren 109 and Force India 105. In the other extreme, Caterham had a bad day with Kamui Kobayashi running only 19 laps.

Perez was quickest after a good day for Force India, the Mexican outpacing Bottas by some 0.9 second as both cars ran without major dramas. Meanwhile, Ferrari's Kimi Räikkönen was third quickest after losing a lot of track time early in the day.

“We had a small problem today, which limited the number of laps, but still managed to learn some new things about the car,” said Räikkönen. “You always want to do better, but every team has unexpected things happen, and we are still trying to do all we can to be ready for Melbourne. During the race weekends there will be little time to try different things in terms of setup, so it was important today to keep on this track to find out what's the best direction to go in. On the final day of the test, we will put everything together that we have learned so far, and will concentrate on the conditions we will encounter in the races.”

The Mercedes AMG factory team completed 89 laps despite stopping early due to a series of problems after Nico Rosberg set the day's fourth-best time.

“That was not a fantastic day for us,” said Rosberg. “We tried some new parts on the car and you find out a lot through doing that. But, unfortunately, we did not only discover good things today. I managed to do a couple of good laps before lunch, but in the afternoon we had a few small problems which ended my running a bit earlier than planned. This shows that we are pushing everything to the limit and we still have a massive challenge in front of us during the last three days of testing. We need to maximize our time here to be prepared for Melbourne. But after a difficult day overall, we are on the right path.”

Mercedes' mileage was matched exactly by Adrian Sutil and Sauber after a better day for the Swiss team.

“We did a lot of mileage today,” Sutil said. “However, we have to work on our performance. We still had a few issues. Nevertheless, we were able to do qualifying runs and almost a complete race simulation. We have collected a lot of valuable information, and we know we still have to make further progress. Also, I was able to gain experience on all dry tire compounds. Generally they are all a bit harder than last year, but I have no concern about them as they should last well over the race distance.”

McLaren rookie Kevin Magnussen was a modest sixth quickest today, but the team said it achieved a lot.

“Without any new parts to evaluate, the first two days of running will focus on mileage and reliability,” McLaren said in an official statement. “Kevin spent the morning in Bahrain undertaking a series of short setup runs. After the lunch break, he completed a full-race distance, and fit in some further setup work.”

Red Bull Racing's new driver, Daniel Ricciardo, ran a modest 39 laps after an exhaust problem kept him the garage for most of the afternoon. He set the seventh-best time, though he was only a few tenths faster than the Marussia of Max Chilton. However, the RB10 was the quickest of the four Renault-engined cars.

“The morning was much better for us with a few longer runs,” said Ricciardo. “Behind the wheel, that's the best I've felt so far [in this car]. The package seems to be coming together better. We still had a few issues today, but at least when the car was on track it was much more useful running and we made progress in the morning. It's getting there. I'd love to keep going, but at least [teammate Sebastian Vettel] has two days after me in the car, so I think we'll be looking pretty good for the next three days.”

Scuderia Toro Rosso lost most of the afternoon to what the team simply termed a “technical failure.”

“It was nice to be in the car,” said Daniil Kvyat, “even if we didn't get through the entire program we had planned for today. However, I feel we have made some progress. We ran the hard Pirelli most of the time, as we were definitely not chasing performance today. I hope [teammate Jean-Eric Vergne] manages to get a full day's running tomorrow, before I drive again on Saturday.”

Lotus had the 10th-best time, ahead of only Caterham both on speed and laps completed. Pastor Maldonado tried a new exhaust that failed and led to damage which kept the car off track. The team will run Friday with the older-style exhaust.

“For sure it wasn't what we wanted today,” said Maldonado. “But we are all working very hard to make progress, and I'm sure we'll have solutions quite soon as a team, and it's clear we have good potential and the car is not bad. We have had some problems, but we are fixing them and we are making improvements with electronics and software every day we run.”

Results

1 Sergio Pérez Force India-Mercedes 1:35.290 105

2 Valtteri Bottas Williams-Mercedes 1:36.184 128

3 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari 1:36.432 54

4 Nico Rosberg Mercedes 1:36.624 89

5 Adrian Sutil Sauber-Ferrari 1:37.700 89

6 Kevin Magnussen McLaren-Mercedes 1:37.825 109

7 Daniel Ricciardo Red Bull Racing-Renault 1:37.908 39

8 Max Chilton Marussia-Ferrari 1:38.242 44

9 Daniil Kvyat Scuderia Toro Rosso-Renault 1:39.242 55

10 Pastor Maldonado Lotus-Renault 1:40.599 31

11 Kamui Kobyashi Caterham-Renault 1:42.285 19

Porsche Confirms 919 Hybrid Driver Combinations

Following weeks of speculation, Porsche has confirmed the driver combinations for its two new 919 hybrid LMP1 cars that will compete in this year’s FIA World Endurance Championship.

As previously announced, longtime factory drivers Timo Bernhard and Romain Dumas will be split between the two entries.

Formula One veteran Mark Webber and rising star Brendon Hartley will join Bernhard in the No. 20 car, with Dumas to share the wheel of the No. 14 Porsche with Neel Jani and Marc Lieb.

All six drivers were on hand in Weissach today for seat fittings, ahead of expected further testing prior to the official FIA WEC Prologue test at Paul Ricard on March 28-29.

The German manufacturer will officially unveil its LMP1 program on Tuesday at the Geneva Motor Show, including the car’s final livery.

Porsche 959 'Vorserie' preproduction car to go across the block

With the earliest Porsche 959 examples having reached the age of 25 three years ago, exempting them from NHTSA and EPA requirements that saw some examples stuck in customs limbo for reasons not completely in line with logic or common sense, the 959 is no longer forbidden fruit on this side of the Atlantic. As such, we're starting to see more movement at auctions when it comes to Porsche's technological marvel. Next week RM Auctions will be offering a rare preproduction 1986 Porsche 959 "Vorserie" prototype at their Amelia Island sale, held in conjunction with the concours event of the same name.



This particular example features all the stats familiar to anyone who had a poster of the 959 on their wall as a kid, with Porsche's 2,849-cc air/water-cooled, horizontally opposed six-cylinder engine breathed on by two turbochargers pumping a still-astounding 450 hp, good for a sub-four-second sprint from 0 to 60. Like production examples of the 959, this "Vorserie" preproduction car features a six-speed manual transmission, all-wheel drive, plastic body panels reinforced by glass fiber and Kevlar, adjustable ride height, and front and rear independent suspension.



Even though Porsche produced the 200 cars required for homologation for the FIA's Group B Rally Championship, which was unexpectedly cancelled after Porsche had already committed to building the car, the total number of 959s made is a bit more complicated of an issue. In addition to the 200 production cars, there were 16 factory prototypes designed to test various systems, in addition to 21 preproduction, or "Vorserie," cars built in 1985. A handful of others were completed years later from factory spares. The total number of cars built remains disputed, with some sources quoting 300, and others estimating as many as 330.

This particular car was first registered in Stuttgart in 1986, and was used as a factory demonstrator for prospective buyers at the Porsche Zentrum facility. During its first three years at the Porsche sales facility, it accumulated approximately 50,000 kilometers, and was subsequently treated to an overhaul in 1989, one which was more like a rebuild for all intents and purposes. Its first private owner, an executive from Brüggen, received a letter detailing the work performed on his car prior to its sale, stating that the car was given a "new drivetrain, new wheels and tires, a new hydraulic system, all the electrical components were overhauled to newer series specification, new sport seats installed in leather, including motor completely overhauled, rear axle and suspension overhauled, front transaxle" in addition to a few more refitted parts. The only change that its first owned implemented over the next 20 years was the installation of a factory air conditioner, which was added in 2000.

Since its first sale to a private owner in 1989, the car accumulated only 10,000 kilometers, and is now offered for sale by its second private owner who's enjoyed it since 2010. The odometer shows just over 60,000 kilometers.

Porsche 959s still don't come up for sale all that often in the U.S., given its history as a car that even Bill Gates couldn't federalize (leading him to lobby for the passage of the the Show and Display law that exempted certain qualifying cars from NHTSA and EPA restrictions). Serviced and detailed prior to being offered for sale, this example is said to be in spectacular condition throughout, and will be offered with a U.S. title.

This is a car with some stories, but good ones. It'll be interesting to see what it ends up going for. Values of production Porsche 959s from 1986 have surged in the last year by about $300,000 for the best examples, which are now trading at around $800,000. Values for Condition 2 and Condition 3 examples are now hovering between $400,000 and $500,000.

Bentley Continental GT Speed gets more power

The Bentley Continental GT Speed has never been accused of being a slouch when it comes to power -- bluntly incorporating "Speed" in its name -- but it seems the company's engineers believed there was still room for improvement. And so, for 2015, the Bentley Continental GT Speed and Bentley Continental GT Speed convertible will receive a slight bump in power, now offering 626 hp and 607 lb-ft of torque. That's up from 616 hp and 590 lb-ft in the 2014 versions of this 6.0-liter W12 beast. That'll be enough to propel it to 206 mph, figures which, up until just a couple years ago, were not really available in an Edwardian study room on wheels. We'll get our first glimpse of the car at the Geneva motor show next week.



Bentley promises a 0-60 sprint of 4.0 seconds, which should be easily achievable with the eight-speed ZF automatic transmission and all-wheel drive (even though we'd love to see the burnout that would result if all that power was going solely to the rear wheels). The all-wheel drive will be there to keep owners out of trouble, because there aren't too many cars on the market that offer this much power along with so much curb weight.

Changes aren't confined to a retuned engine, as the 2015 model will feature a new front bumper, which should be the easiest way to distinguish it from the 2014 model. The front bumper will incorporate mesh grilles over the intakes, with another cosmetic tweak being the slight tint added to the headlight surrounds and wheels. The brake calipers will receive a red finish, and in case the whole package isn't visible enough on the road, extroverts will now have the option of a candy-red exterior paint color. Tweaks to the interior for the Speed model include a color split interior, which will also now feature accent stripes in contrasting colors for the doors, the inner console, the fascia wings and the gear lever.



The revised Bentley Continental GT Speed will debut alongside the V8 version of the Flying Spur, which receives the same powerplant recently added to the Continental GT V8.