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Alan Jones F1 Winning Car for Sale April 9, 2010 at 11:07 AM Racing driver Alan Jones remains the most successful Australian Formula One driver since Jack Brabham, when he won the world Championship in 1980. The car that he drove was a Williams FW07 designed by engineering guru Patrick Head in 1979, and was voted car of the decade by F1 Magazine due to its ground effect design. Powered by a 2,993cc Ford Cosworth V-8 producing an estimated 490 horsepower (365kW), this was a multiple Grand Prix winning car for Jones, who received the chequered flag in Germany, Austria and Canada in 1979. The Lotus 79 had been previously unbeatable, until Patrick Head came along and basically decoded the Lotus's 'ground effect' secrets to remarkable effect in the Williams FW07 car. Head, worked out that a smaller front wing made the sidepods work more effectively, so he designed the Williams car with a minimal wing and longer sidepods. That wasn't all, another Williams engineer, Frank Dernie, produced a more efficient skirting system than the Lotus, which completely sealed the underfloor of the car for more downforce. Head, also changed the braking system for better effect when he ditched the 79's inboard rear disc brakes and employed outboard discs on the FW07 as he saw more benefit in having a larger exit space for the air and in brakes, which worked more effectively. At Silverstone in 1979 Frank Williams and Patrick Head knew that had a winning car in the FW07 when Jones claimed pole position with a lap time two seconds faster than the next quickest cars. Unfortunately Jones didn't win the race due to a water pump cracking but the sister car driven by Swiss veteran Clay Regazzoni won by a staggering 25 seconds from Rene Arnoux. This particular car, the FW07/4 currently owned by successful entrepreneur Peter Briggs, was driven by Jones to no less than four Formula One victories in 1979/80: - 1979 German Grand Prix – (led throughout) - 1979 Austrian Grand Prix - 1979 Canadian Grand Prix (fastest lap) - 1980 Argentine Grand Prix – (pole position & fastest lap) Alan said of the car that it had "unbelievable downforce" and "fantastic turn-in ability" which made it a great race car. On 18 April this legendary race car with auctioned by Sotheby's in Melbourne at 2pm. Alan Jones will be there to personally sign the car for the new owner. ©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved. . Alan Jones' F1 Winning Car for Sale April 9, 2010 at 11:07 AM Racing driver Alan Jones remains the most successful Australian Formula One driver since Jack Brabham, when he won the world Championship in 1980. The car that he drove was a Williams FW07 designed by engineering guru Patrick Head in 1979, and voted car of the decade by F1 Magazine due to its ground effect design. Powered by a 2,993cc Ford Cosworth V-8 producing an estimated 490 horsepower (365kW), this was a multiple Grand Prix winning car for Jones, who received the chequered flag in Germany, Austria and Canada in 1979. The Lotus 79 had previously been unbeatable, until Patrick Head came along and basically decoded the Lotus's 'ground effect' secrets to remarkable effect in the Williams FW07 car. Head, worked out that a smaller front wing made the sidepods work more effectively, so he designed the Williams car with a minimal wing and longer sidepods. That wasn't all, another Williams engineer, Frank Dernie, produced a more efficient skirting system than the Lotus, which completely sealed the underfloor of the car for more downforce. Head, also changed the braking system for better effect when he ditched the 79's inboard rear disc brakes and employed outboard discs on the FW07 as he saw more benefit in having a larger exit space for the air and in brakes, which worked more effectively. At Silverstone in 1979 Frank Williams and Patrick Head knew that had a winning car in the FW07 when Jones claimed pole position with a lap time two seconds faster than the next quickest cars. Unfortunately Jones didn't win the race due to a cracked water pump but the sister car driven by Swiss veteran Clay Regazzoni won by a staggering 25 seconds from Rene Arnoux. This particular car, the FW07/4 currently owned by successful entrepreneur Peter Briggs, was driven by Jones to no less than four Formula One victories in 1979/80: - 1979 German Grand Prix – (led throughout) - 1979 Austrian Grand Prix - 1979 Canadian Grand Prix (fastest lap) - 1980 Argentine Grand Prix – (pole position & fastest lap) Alan said of the car that it had "unbelievable downforce" and "fantastic turn-in ability" which made it a great race car. On 18 April this legendary race car with auctioned by Sotheby's in Melbourne at 2pm. Alan Jones will be there to personally sign the car for the new owner. ©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved. . Ferrari 599 GTO web portal launched with configurator April 9, 2010 at 6:43 AM Following the official unveiling of the Ferrari 599 GTO, the brand has also launched the car’s own web portal including an online configurator and sound clip. The configurator reveals that buyers have to option to spec their very own Ferrari 599 GTO in a range of historical racing liveries, along with exterior finishes popular with Ferrari’s circa 1960 and 1960. Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa also officially introduces the Ferrari 599 GTO, emphasising that this is indeed the fastest road-car even created in the brand’s illustrious existence. ©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved. . Toyota Rukus revealed in New York, arrives June 1 April 9, 2010 at 3:47 AM Toyota has officially unveiled its final version of the Scion xB-based urban utility vehicle at the New York auto show, which will go on sale here from June 1 as the Toyota Rukus. Stepping out of its comfort zone, the Toyota Rukus is aimed at ‘young, urban trend-setters’ – many of whom have previously never owned a Toyota. Australian models will be imported from Japan and received the latest updates introduce in the US version, including a slim-line upper grille and larger mouth-like lower intake. Toyota makes no excuses for its design, with Toyota Australia’s marketing manager Scott Thompson saying they deliberately set out to challenge the norms of car design. “Rukus is anything but a standard car – and that’s exactly why we’re introducing it to the Australian market,” Mr Thompson said. “Rukus is not a mass-market car: it’s an acquired taste that will polarise opinions. The Toyota Rukus’ US counterpart has recently been named a “Top Safety Pick” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety – its highest safety designation. In order to receive this title, the Rukus had to earn the highest rating in the Institute’s front; side, rollover, and rear impact tests and had to be equipped with vehicle stability control. To achieve this result in the rollover test especially, the roof had to support the equivalent of four times the vehicle’s weight – more than double the existing US federal standard – with the Rukus managing to withstand a force equal to 6.8 times its vehicle weight. ©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved. . NSW Government to introduce new repairable write-off legislation April 9, 2010 at 1:43 AM The NSW Government’s Minister for Transport and Roads, Mr David Campbell has today announced new legislation to ban the re-registration of all repairable written-off vehicles. The move comes as the Government toughens its stance of car rebirthing, and means vehicles that have been written-off by an insurer can no longer be sold at auction. It is hoped the new legislation, which is due to be implemented from August this year, will help stop the sale of potentially unsafe vehicles to unsuspecting customers. “There is a black market for purchasing written-off vehicles at auctions, then using stolen parts to rebirth and register the car, to be sold for a tidy profit,” said Mr Campbell. “This isn't being done by licensed repairers – in most instances it's not financially viable for genuine repairers to repair these cars using legitimate parts, “In many cases, it's being done by unscrupulous operators in backyards and workshops using stolen parts, who then sell the vehicles to unwary motorists, “Some consumers are being taken for a ride – motorists might be driving around in what's effectively a stolen vehicle, “More importantly, many of these vehicles have had dodgy repairs which can mask major structural damage. It's extremely unsafe, “Car re-birthing is a significant problem which has been known to have links to organised crime syndicates, “Today's announcement will put a massive dent in these illegal operations, “It's estimated that as many as six out of ten of the 20,537 repairable written-off vehicles presented for re-registration in 2009 posed serious questions about the origin of the parts used to repair them, “Around 19,000 vehicles were stolen in NSW in the 2008-09 financial year – of these, around 5,700 have not been recovered, “Today's announcement means any car which is written off will not be able to be reregistered even if it can be repaired.” Mr Campbell said today’s announcement follows a discussion paper released for consultation in August last year, and that he hopes other states will follow the example set by the NSW state government and implement similar laws. “What we found was that consumers – as well as legitimate car dealers and repairers – wanted better protections in place,” explained Mr Campbell. “NSW is the first state to introduce this ban on repairable write-offs, and we would encourage other states to follow our lead and implement similar laws, “There will be very limited exemptions to the new laws – for some vehicles written off because of hail damage, and for some classic antique cars. “We will also strengthen written-off vehicle notification requirements – for example, vehicles currently being sent to a scrap yard for crushing are not required to be registered on the Written-off Vehicle Register (WOVR) and this presents an additional opportunity for rebirthing.” The new laws will be introduced in addition to the RTA’s Vehicle History Check service launched last year. “The RTA's Vehicle History Check service allows potential buyers to check whether a used car has ever been written-off anywhere in Australia,” said Mr Campbell. “The service also provides customers with details of a car's history including the number of previous owners, when it was first registered in NSW and odometer readings, “All you need is the car's registration plate details, vehicle type and the last four digits of the VIN/chassis number, “It's a simple check you can do on the RTA website for under $20.” The new laws will be implemented following stringent legislative change and will take effect in August this year. ©2010 Car Advice | News | Reviews - http://www.caradvice.com.au - All Rights Reserved. .