Like Peugeot, Peugeot Sport is on the offensive. As it prepares for the future by building on its recent successes, not only does Peugeot Sport serve as a shop window for the Brand, both technologically and in terms of image, but it also mirrors the Marque’s new corporate identity, which puts Motion and Emotion at the heart of its strategy.

2009 was a highly successful year in motor sport terms: topping the bill was a one-two finish in the Le Mans 24 Hours, a clean sweep of the podium places for the 207 Super 2000 in the Rallye Monte-Carlo, as well as third consecutive Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ titles in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, thanks to the efforts of several Peugeot subsidiaries, and led by Peugeot UK’s Kris Meeke and Paul Nagle, who won the Drivers’ title in their first year of competing. All this is the result of the spirit of all the Peugeot competitors; a spirit which will continue in 2010 in the hunt for further success and excitement.

Riding high on the back of last year’s Le Mans one-two finish, Peugeot Sport is aiming to do it again in 2010. In the fourth and final year of the 908 HDi FAP’s career, Team Peugeot Total has pressed on with its development, getting down to work on the very next day after that historic win, striving to squeeze even more improvements out of the car.

Test sessions and races at a variety of venues have been programmed in order to be as well prepared as possible for the 78th running of the Le Mans 24 Hours, a race which always throws up unique challenges, uncertainties and changes of fortune, all part of its legendary status. But even the most meticulous preparations cannot hope to reproduce the specific features and surprises this race invariably delivers. Since its historic success on June 14, 2009, Peugeot will have racked up a total of eleven test sessions consisting of endurance runs, set-up work and two demanding warm-ups in the form of two actual races.

Eleven drivers have been chosen to fly the Peugeot flag in 2010, running with race numbers 1, 2 and 3, the numbers which were previously the property of the Marque’s much respected rival. The 2009 winners will carry the Number 1 plate: Marc GENE (ESP,) Alexander WURZ (AUT), plus a newcomer to the Peugeot Sport ranks, Anthony DAVIDSON (GBR). Marc and Alexander will be tackling their fourth Le Mans, the Austrian having won twice, in 1996 and 2009. Anthony has contested the French race twice (2002 and 2009) and tested the 908 in a session at Le Castellet at the end of 2008.

In the N°2 908 HDi FAP, three French drivers Nicolas MINASSIAN, Franck MONTAGNY and Stéphane SARRAZIN, form the trio that previously raced together for Oreca in 2002 and again in a memorable race last November at Le Mans, in the 207 Relais relay race which formed part of the season’s final Rencontres Peugeot Sport meeting. It’s worth noting that Stéphane has taken pole position for the last three years at Le Mans in the 908 HDi FAP.

The third crew is made up of local boy Sébastien BOURDAIS, who renews his partnership with his United States-based countryman Simon PAGENAUD and Portugal’s Pedro LAMY. Sébastien and Pedro had also been Le Mans team-mates back in 2007, at the wheel of the N°8 Peugeot.

Christian KLIEN will be the reserve driver for Team Peugeot Total, while Gregory GUILVERT, having impressed at a test in the 908 (his prize for winning the 2009 THP Spider Cup), takes on the role of test driver.

On the racing front, Peugeot’s first test comes in the shape of the full-on challenge of dealing with 12 hours of racing against the heat and difficult track at Sebring (Florida, USA), which provides the backdrop for the year’s first appearance of the two Peugeot 908 HDi FAPs, shared by

Davidson/Gene/Wurz (N°07) and Bourdais/Lamy/Minassian (N°08). The French squad will first tackle a test session the previous weekend and then resume testing two days after the endurance race. The second event is at Spa-Francorchamps in a round of the Le Mans Series and this will serve as a dress rehearsal for the whole Peugeot Sport team, with three cars entered. Eleven test sessions and two races should enable the team to prepare thoroughly for the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours.

Peugeot Sport is also working on life after Le Mans and, at the moment, there are two further races on the calendar for the 908 HDi FAP: the Le Mans Series round at Silverstone, in September, then – assuming it is confirmed by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest – the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup race in Shanghai. For Peugeot Sport, the second half of the year is also the time to look to the future, specifically the immediate future and the new 2011 regulations, which signal the start of a new era for endurance racing. Some of the new rules have already been announced, which means work can now begin on a new car.

New Polo Bluemotion

The new Polo BlueMotion is available to order from Volkswagen Retailers today, with prices starting at £14,445 RRP on the road for the three-door, and £15,045 for the five-door model.

The new Polo BlueMotion adopts an all-new highly advanced 1.2-litre TDI three-cylinder common rail diesel engine developing 75 PS, and 133 lbs ft (180 Nm) of torque available from just 2,000 rpm. This new engine, combined with longer gearing through the five-speed manual gearbox, regenerative braking and an automatic Start/Stop system, help the new Polo BlueMotion emit just 91 g/km of CO2 while returning an impressive 80.7 mpg on the combined cycle. This grants the new Polo BlueMotion a theoretical range of over 800 miles on one tank of diesel.

These technological enhancements are accompanied by several cosmetic changes designed to maximise efficiency. Comprising bespoke bumpers, side skirts and an extended roof spoiler along with 15-inch ‘Greenland’ alloy wheels fitted with low rolling resistance tyres, they contribute towards making the new Polo BlueMotion among the most efficient vehicles currently available in the UK.

The Polo BlueMotion accelerates from a standstill to 62 mph in 13.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 107 mph.

Comfort levels remain high with manual air conditioning, cruise control and leather steering wheel fitted as standard. As with all models in the Polo range, a number of safety features are also fitted, including four airbags, ABS and ESP (Electronic Stabilisation Programme).

The Polo BlueMotion is available to order at Volkswagen Retailers now with the first cars expected in May. For more information visit www.volkswagen.co.uk.

2010 Mazda CX7 Diesel now in the UK

The popular Sports crossover utility vehicle the Mazda CX7 has finally been given an engine with a decent miles per gallon with the release of the 2.2 litre turbodiesel as found in the Mazda 3 model. Previously the CX7 came with only one engine choice which was the 2.5 litre turbo petrol engine that produced 260bhp and managed 0-60 in a respectible 8 seconds yet on the economy scale with a combined mpg of only 27.7. The new diesel takes this figure upto 37.7mpg which puts it in the same bracket as the Landrover Freelander and other similar mpv’s. The new CX7 has been imporved though over the petrol edition and has a new front bumper similar to the RX-8, 19? ally wheels and xenon lights at the front.

via 2010 Mazda CX7 Diesel now in the UK | Msg car leasing and contract hire.

AA: Diesel will continue to rise in 2010

Diesel motorists face a bleak start to the New Year with fuel costs set to continue increasing, AA Financial Services has predicted.

VAT rates will return to 17.5 per cent from their current level of 15 per cent, while chancellor Alistair Darling confirmed in the Pre-Budget Report that fuel duty will rise by 1p per litre each year for the next three years, starting in April 2010.

Based on current prices, the VAT hike will add around 2.4p to the cost of a litre of diesel.

As a consequence of these changes, director of AA Financial Services Mark Huggins said despite its efforts lobbying the government and the fuel industry, the cost of diesel will continue to rise in the future.

However, he pointed out that all is not lost for diesel motorists and that some bargains can still be found, saying: “Drivers can help themselves save a penny or two at the pumps by shopping around.”

Mr Huggins remarks come after the Road Haulage Association warned that high diesel prices could force some transport firms to pass costs onto their customers.

via AA: Diesel will continue to rise in 2010 – fuelcard news.

Another of the new cars that has been shown off at the Frankfurt Auto Show this year is the new ‘Audi A4 3.0 TDI clean diesel quattro ‘, the car features a 3.0 liter engine which delivers 240 hp, this is the same engine as what was used in last years Audi Q7.

According to Audi the car will reach sixty miles per hour in 6.2 seconds, and will give you a very reasonable fuel consumption of 35 miles per gallon. When this particular engine was tested last year in the Audi Q7 it performed well as it delivered good power/mileage ratio.

Tuning company AC Schnitzer has broken the record for producing the world’s fastest road-legal diesel car with its upgraded BMW 335d Coupe that topped out at 179.4mph around the Nardo circuit in southern Italy last week.

The AC Schnitzer ACS3 beat the previous record by 5.4mph at the eight-mile high-speed bowl.

The car uses a twin-turbocharged 282bhp three-litre diesel with 428lb-ft that has been tuned to produced 310bhp and 501lb-ft.

It’s capable of reaching 0-62mph in 5.7 seconds, and it also gets racing suspension, two racing exhaust-pipes, front and rear spoilers and skirts, and 20″ alloys with the power upgrade.