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France

France To Require All Car Ads To Mention Bicycling, And Walking, Comes Amid Green Vehicle Mandate Push

One of the perks of being a professional boxing fan when I’m not writing here is sometimes seeing advertisements from other markets during the commercial segments. If you’re a resident of France, a new but very interesting rule will take effect soon that will change the way that automakers in France will be able to advertise their products according to a report by France24.   Walking And Biking To Have Prominent Mentions In French Media The rule in question will take effect on March 1st and will force all automakers to mention both biking and walking when promoting a vehicle. …

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2017 BUGATTI Chiron – Factory Tour Shows Incredible Build Process

How does one create the highest-performance vehicle in the world?  Despite being faster than any other road car once built, the Chiron takes a very measured few steps into this world.   Hand-assembly over two months and extensive testing at every step of the way is not a fast process — but is required to make sure these bleeding-edge pieces of technology are ready for primetime. And quality is critical: most of the 70 or so cars the Molsheim plant can produce annually will head to far corners of the globe.  Repairing any issues is not a simple trip down to …

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1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta Tour de France – RM Amelia 2016 Preview

Leading a massive haul of Amelia Island stunners for RM Sotheby’s? This magnificent specimen!  An estimate so high that it is available only on request? That smacks of $30-million plus to us. The vehicle certainly seems like a contender for the most-beautiful Ferrari of all time.      1957 Ferrari 250 GT LWB Berlinetta Tour de France RM Amelia Island 2016 Lot 174 1957 Ferrari 250 GT Berlinetta ‘Tour de France’ To be auctioned on Saturday, March 12, 2016   Photo Credit: Darin Schnabel ©2015 Courtesy of RM Sothebys 260 bhp, 2,953 SOHC V-12 engine with three Weber 36 DCL3 …

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Concept Debrief – 1999 RINSPEED X-Trem M.U.V.

Flashbacks can be good…. and they can be bad. The one thing both have in common:  a livid, full-color reminder of something you otherwise never think about. Livid and vivid certainly describes the Rinspeed X-Trem MUV from 1999. The firm was embracing a bit of Americana in the late 90s, and this monstrosity was the ultimate expression of the bright, loud and obnoxious USA, at least as seen from new Geneva.  Less an expression of actual American wants/needs for trucks, and much more a reflection of SoCal life as seen on tv and movies.  The whole machine attempts to embrace …

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Ferrari Finali Mondiali at Mugello – World Debuts of F12 TdF Special, 488 GTE + FXX K Sightings

Ferrari just wrapped up its weeklong extravaganza for the World Finals of the Ferrari Challenge one-make race series  — and crowned the huge week by debuting the new F12TdF in front of the packed crowd of 50,000-plus tifosi at Mugello circuit. The new F12 Tour de France special model wears new aero, extra power and track-optimized handling settings. This makes running around the ultra-quick circuit with 599XXs, FXX K’s and even F1 cars a natural habit for the limited-run 2016 model — despite the F12 TdF being street-legal worldwide. In real-life photos, the F12TdF is quite striking, with design elements …

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2016 Ferrari F12tdf Goes Hardcore – 220-MPH GTO Brings Power Bumps + Double F12’s Aero Efficiency

  What happens when you pour FXX learnings back into the Ferrari supercar stable? You get a bump of 40 ponies from the V12 in front, a slick new DCT with quicker shifts and a shorter final drive ratio, plus aero upgrades all around to suck the ultimate GT car down deeper into grippy tarmac. The latest Ferrari special edition is a salute to the Tour de France, hence its name, the F12 TdF. Offering a far more extreme road-going experience, the F12tdf is designed to bring track-ready thrills — but also road legality on the way there and back. …

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SHOCK! 2017 Ford GT Will Race LeMans 2016 – HD Track Test Video + 75 Photos

Alternative headline grabbers?   FTW! New Vmax Bomber! Shock & Awesome! Stormin’ Normandy! Ford Libs LeMans for 6th Time in 2016? Now on to this heartwarming news: the 2017 Ford GT supercar will race in Le Mans next year, the 50th anniversary of the Ford GT’s first win in 1966. Since 1944, we add 1967, 68 and 69 to reach five overall American trips to Le Mans, France. Le Sarthe for Ford means nothing less than agony, ecstasy and a lasting legacy. The 2016 24-hour race one year from tomorrow will mark a high water mark in Ford Performance’s return …

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2015 Ferrari F12 Tour de France 64 Is Latest from Ferrari Tailor Made

Tailor Made Ferrari’s are all about details: and this latest homage to the 250 GTO Tour de France racer has some stunning tweaks. A matching yellow stripe across the hood of this front-engine supercar perfectly matches the style shown 50 years ago on the Tour de France-winning 250 GTO. The other incredible detail that is a surprise and delight? F40-matching blue ‘superfabric’ seats! This shows how a few tweaks in the build process in Modena can make a future concours-winner out of any 2015 Ferrari. 2015 Ferrari F12 Tour de France 64   The F12berlinetta Tour de France 64 revealed …

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RM Amelia Island 2015 Preview – 1930 Bentley Blue Train Is Reborn!

Part mystery, part fantasy – but all legend! The Blue Train Bentley is back with this just-finished recreation of one of the most legendary Flying B’s ever made. As the official RM write-up below charts, the car was created the beat one of the quickest trains on a route to France. This might seem easy today, with six-lane motorways throughout the world and pavement allowing high-speed progress for even the most unskilled drivers. But in the 1930s, the idea of averaging more than 90-mph in a car, across long distances, was pure fantasy and hyperbole. Like something right out of …

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JAGUAR Special Ops F-Type Coupe and XFR-S SportBrake for Team Sky Tour de France Cyclists

Say what you might about all other sports physicality, strength and stamina requirements – but know that none is really as grueling a challenge as the Tour de France. A bike race that whittles its winners down to rail-skinny, crying fools. Emotional, physical and spiritual battering come with every stage of the race. Evidence? There are few other athletes who would keep charging forward when their scrotum has been rubbed raw and blood-red by constant seat pressure/chafing. It makes this first-ever bike under the English Channel seem like a cakewalk. But the Tour de France is not just won by …

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HD Video – 1953 Gordini 24S Blasts Around Its Favorite Tracks Before RM Auctions Paris Sale

 This car defies logic. On one hand, it looks adorable and cute. So narrow and low, with the blue bodywork peeled back around the exhaust manifold and the straight-cut pipes. Watch the below… The Gordini starts to howl at about the half-way mark of this video preview. Kudos to its bold driver, who is not shy with the loud pedal. Firing up the 24S takes a prod onto an organ-stop switch – included as the fuel cutoff for racing. This very car won the Tour de France (a car race at the time…) and also traded paint with Porsche and …

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All-New FIA RallyCross Series Looks FUN! Dart, Sonic, Beetle, Fiesta, Fabia, Pug 208GTI and More On-Board

The inaugural WorldRX series is signing up some huge new entries left and right. The participation of Gilles Villeneuve is only the latest in a huge swatch of new players. The charismatic F1 world champ will done a fire suit and helmet before hitting the loud pedal — hard. So what is RallyCross? It is a high-powered racing series that brings much of the car tech from the World Rally Championship, but without that series’ major failing: almost total lack of broadcast entertainment value. By combining loose terrain with paved surfaces, the courses are set to be more like stadium …

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RM Auctions – Paris 2014 Preview Series, Part3 – 1936 Delahaye Type 135S

Despite being the third entry in this series of articles, the 1936 Delahaye 135S is my sentimental favorite ahead of RM Auctions Paris Gala on February 5th. Online bidding is available – with full details near bottom of this article. French Racing Blue might be the subliminal theme of the auction, which also includes 50-plus legendary racecars and priceless classics. You can sense the excitement in the preview program for this Delahaye in particular. Another close favorite in this genre is the Gordini 53S – featured in a previous article here. The video of the Gordini at full throttle is …

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RM Auctions – Paris 2014 Preview Series, Part2 – 1982 Porsche 956-004 Group C

What would happen if the long-body racers from the late 1960s could be made stronger, lighter and 3X as quick around corners? Turbocharging and advanced aerodynamics in this 956 Group C racer were paramount to winning championships – as were high-speed pace and near-unbreakable reliability. It added up to a world-beating racing program for much of the 1980s for Porsche. The dream is very much alive today – with 620-horsepower and fantasy track thrills – and will be auctioned on February 5, 2014 in Paris by RM Auctions. 1982 Porsche 956 Group C Sports-Prototype – To be auctioned on Wednesday, …

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HD Video – 1953 Gordini 24S Blasts Around Its Favorite Tracks Before RM Auctions Paris Sale

 This car defies logic. On one hand, it looks adorable and cute. So narrow and low, with the blue bodywork peeled back around the exhaust manifold and the straight-cut pipes. Watch the below… The Gordini starts to howl at about the half-way mark of this video preview. Kudos to its bold driver, who is not shy with the loud pedal. Firing up the 24S takes a prod onto an organ-stop switch – included as the fuel cutoff for racing. This very car won the Tour de France (a car race at the time…) and also traded paint with Porsche and …

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Video: Latest Formula E Cars Sound Like Sexy Jets in Track Testing

Formula E is really shaping up to be a remarkable series!   TV rights are being finalized all over the world for the first race in 2015, and the teams count is now up to ~nine with the latest Mahindra and ABT AudiSport on-boarding. But the real highlight of a visit to Formula E’s website is the video intro. Listen to these cars! No Audi e-tron or R18 I’ve heard sounds anything like this. My reference point is Petit Le Mans 2012, I believe, with the big Audi’s and even bigger HDI FAP cars terrorizing the senses as they raced …

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When In Doubt: Porsche. LMP1 Glory Past, Present and Future

Porsche will fly twin missions under the Volkswagen Group. But only four letters really matter: LMP1 As the production cars division spreads the 911 ethos across a wide variety of new body styles over the next decade, vehicles with a Porsche badge will come in all sorts of new shapes and prices. Along with this proliferation of bad-ass sports cars? Winning the world’s toughest and most-respected race of any kind. Swimming laps? No. Running laps? No. No Olympic athletes are asked to perform for 24 hours in a row. The reason? Ostensibly, it cannot be done. Many have said the …

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