The Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition racing car will finally be made available come January, a concept race car that was initially shown at the SEMA 2008 in Las Vegas. It comes equipped with the TDI Cup Edition Kit which includes a front bumper, side skirts and rear valance. The Jetta TDI Cup Street Edition will also feature a 2.0-liter clean diesel engine loaded with 140HP paired with a 6-speed manual transmission. Other notable enhancements include an 18” Charleston wheels with performance all-season tires, sports seats and a multi-function steering wheel that features paddle shifters when equipped with the DSG transmission.

(Source) Press

Tags: clean diesel, diesel engine, dsg transmission, enhancements, front bumper, Jetta, jetta tdi, manual transmission, paddle shifters, race car, racing car, rear valance, season tires, SEMA, side skirts, sports seats, steering wheel, wheels

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The place to be this week is in Monterey as the Porsche Panamera is scheduled to make another appearance in connection with the Monterey Classic Peninsula’s Classic Car Week. With the four door sports car now a reality, Porsche is said to be bringing in 30 new Panameras to cover major car events that include:

• 36th Rolex Monterey Historics
• Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Auto Week

Other cars scheduled to be showcased by Porsche:

• The 1962 Porsche Type 804 Formula 1 racer
• The 1960 Porsche Type 718 Formula 2 racing car
• The 1962 Porsche Type 718 W-RS 8-cylinder Spyder
• The Porsche GT1 98LM

Porsche-sponsored activities for the fans at Laguna will include a heritage display featuring former and current race cars, Porsche’s current showroom product line, and experts to answer Porsche questions. The Porsche Panamera will go on sale this October 17, 2009 at the brand’s 202 U.S. dealers.

(Source) Press

Tags: auto week, car events, classic car, monterey historics, monterey peninsula, panameras, pebble beach concours, pebble beach concours d elegance, Porsche, porsche gt1, porsche panamera, porsche questions, porsche type, race cars, racing car, rs 8, showcased, Spyder

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We have seen a lot of alternative fuels being experimented on and apparently this one takes the cake. Can you imagine a car running on chocolate? That car must have some kinda sweet tooth to run swiftly on chocolate-based biodiesel!

This story from TG Daily says researchers at the University of Warwick in the UK have now built a Formula 3 racing car capable of taking corners at 125 mph… running on biodiesel made from chocolate:

The car meets all Formula 3 racing standards except for its biodiesel engine, which is configured to run on fuel derived from waste chocolate and vegetable oil. Formula 3 cars currently cannot use biodiesel. The team hopes to enter it in some sort of race soon, though, said [project manager James] Meredith.

Components made from plants form the mainstay of the car’s make up, including a race specification steering wheel derived from carrots and other root vegetables, a flax fibre and soybean oil foam racing seat, a woven flax fibre bib and plant oil-based lubricants.

The biodiesel engine is configured to run on fuel derived from waste chocolate and vegetable oil. It also incorporates a radiator coated in a ground-breaking emission destroying catalyst.

(Source) Domestic Fuel

Tags: alternative fuels, carrots, domestic fuel, formula 3 racing, lubricants, mainstay, plant oil, racing car, racing seat, radiator, root vegetables, soybean oil, steering wheel, sweet tooth, vegetable oil

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