Turbo Zone

Bernie Ecclestone’s long reign at the top of Formula One could end over an alleged multi-million ‘bribe’ paid to jailed German banker Gerhard Gribkowsky. As the circumstances surrounding that payment are probed this week in London’s high court, it emerged that more payments – which might also be described as ‘bribes’ – were paid by Ecclestone to well-known team bosses some years ago. The court heard on Thursday that Eddie Jordan, now a BBC pundit, quadruple world champion Alain Prost, and the late Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw – all former F1 team owners – were each paid $10 million to sign the 1998 Concorde Agreement. The money was reportedly paid straight from Ecclestone’s Bambino family trust into the bosses’ personal bank accounts, not to their respective F1 teams.

 

Source: World Car Fans

 

Find out if you’re a genuine movie AND car fan. Can you identify these cars from film and TV?

http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20131030-can-you-guess-the-star-cars

In a bid to keep its most profitable clients – read: biggest spenders – loyal, BMW has begun offering perks that money can’t buy. It works like this: when you buy a 7-series, you automatically become a member of the BMW Excellence Club (only offered in Germany so far), which entitles you to attend exclusive events like skiing with two-time Olympic ski gold medalist Mittermaier, a private golf tournament ahead of the BMW International Open and an evening at silversmith Robbe & Berking hosted by German television celebrity Thomas Gottschalk and catered by Michelin-star chefs. Pretty neat, eh?

 

Source: Bloomberg

 

Finally, this highly anticipated car will get a spotlight at the Tokyo Motor Show. It will be displayed with the new DAYZ ROOX super-height wagon and the LEAF Aero Style. Other highlights include the new Teana, Skyline and X-TRAIL. The company will also show an updated Serena, a safer Note and a restyled Elgrand.

 

Source: World Car Fans

 

LEAKED! Ferrari SP Arya Patent Image

Ferrari’s latest special project car is getting closer to completion. This patent image leaked to Car News China appears to show a hardcore GTO version of the F12 Berlinetta but, it’s actually the one-off ‘SP Arya’ supercar commissioned by petrochemical magnate Cheerag Arya. The car will feature numerous aerodynamic enhancements, including deeply-sculpted front intakes, side scallops that echo those on the F12 Berlinetta, and small wings above the rear quarter panels, like ones on the 599 GTO.

 

The Arya’s “face” has also been updated to include the slimmer headlights seen on more recent Ferraris. The shape of the greenhouse is just about the only visible indicator of the car’s 599 ancestry. The 32-year-old Arya is a passionate Ferrari collector, with an F40, Enzo, and 599XX already taking up space in his garage. Apparently not satisfied with those impressive steeds, he approached Ferrari’s Special Projects division about converting a 599 into his dream car. After a reported dozen concept sketches, Arya and the Ferrari designers settled on a final form.

The SP Arya will be the sixth car to come out of Ferrari’s bespoke division, joining custom creations like: Eric Clapton’s SP12 EC, the F430-based SP1, the P540 Superfast Aperta, Superamerica 45, and the 612 GTS Pavesi.

 

Source: Motor Authority