Today, the 15 millionth Passat produced throughout the world rolled off the assembly line at Volkswagen’s Emden plant. Official DKMS ambassador Sybille Beckenbauer accepted the vehicle as a donation from Prof. Jochem Heizmann, Member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Pavel Vacek, plant manager at Emden and Peter Jacobs, Chairman of the Works Council of Emden plant. The car is a Passat Variant BlueMotion 1.9 TDI 105 HP in arctic blue silver metallic.

The Passat is one of the most successful models in Volkswagen history and also one of the most popular mid-size models in Europe. Heizmann stated: “Fifteen million Passats produced in 34 years are a fantastic result which everyone at Emden can take pride in together with all the other members of the Passat family at plants throughout the world”.

Plant manager Pavel Vacek added: “This round figure has a very special significance for our plant. Of the 15 million Passats produced in total, 5.9 million were made in Emden. This indicates the strategic importance of the model as a symbol for Emden plant and the whole region.” On the presentation of the vehicle in Emden, Sybille Beckenbauer stressed the importance of the charitable work of the German Bone Marrow Donor Center: The Passat donated to the organization will be employed in the large number of campaigns organized by the DKMS.

The project for a Ferrari Park is finally coming true. It will be inaugurated in 2009, and will include a whole new circuit, which will be the home of the first Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix in the same year.

A Foundation Stone Ceremony was held today to celebrate the start of construction of one of the most anticipated amusement parks in the world. Special guests in attendance for today’s event included Ferrari’s President Luca di Montezemolo and Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Chairman of ALDAR Properties.

During the ceremony a capsule containing a piston and a conrod from the F2007 engine, have been buried underground and will be disinterred in 2047, in occasion of Ferrari’s 100th anniversary. The park will offer a number of different attractions displaced on a 250.000 sqm area, 80.000 of which will be covered.

Press Release
Foundation Stone Ceremony celebrates construction start for world’s first Ferrari Theme Park in Abu Dhabi

Yas Island - Abu Dhabi, November 3rd, 2007 - A Foundation Stone Ceremony was held today in Abu Dhabi to officially signify the start of construction of one of the most multi-dimensional and highly anticipated themed entertainment attractions in the world, the Ferrari Theme Park.

Officials and special guests in attendance for today’s event included Ferrari’s President Luca di Montezemolo and Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Chairman, ALDAR Properties, as well as invited guests representing media, government and business organizations from around the world.

During the Foundation Stone Ceremony a special time capsule was buried, containing a Conrod and Piston of the F2007, the F1 World Champion Ferrari car, together with the first artist’s impression of the Ferrari Theme Park on Yas Island. The capsule will be then opened again at Ferrari’s 100th anniversary, in 2047.

“This is a very special year for Ferrari” - Mr. Montezemolo said. “Together with the extraordinary commercial success of our GT cars, it brought to Maranello the F1 Constructors World Championship and the F1 Drivers World Championship with Kimi Raikkonen, and I am particularly proud to be present to mark the symbolic start of this great project. Moreover, 2007 is the year of Ferrari’s 60th anniversary, and this Ceremony has therefore a further, important meaning”.

Part of a joint project between Italian automotive manufacturer Ferrari and ALDAR properties PJSC, the 250,000 sqm park (80,000 of them covered) will be a unique oasis of discovery, hospitality and beauty that captures culture, flavour and the true spirit of Italian country, as well as the legendary automotive history, feeling and heritage of Ferrari cars and racing. “Today is a celebration of the first step along the way to making the world’s first Ferrari theme park a reality, with the laying of the foundation stone” - commented Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh, Chairman, ALDAR Properties. “An incredible amount of real estate growth is taking place in Abu Dhabi, and it is our responsibility to deliver projects of the highest quality, while protecting the natural, social and cultural assets of the Emirate. I am confident that the blend between the power and beauty of one of the world’s leading brands, Ferrari, with ALDAR’s expertise in development and regional knowledge, will combine to create a destination that resonates with sports lovers around the world.”

When completed in 2009, the attraction will provide amusement for the whole family, featuring multi-format high tech theatres, a variety of sophisticated driving schools (for both children and adults), Ferrari automotive displays and participatory learning centres as well as food and entertainment. Among the 24 attractions, the Park will offer a mix of high-octane and family rides with roller coasters jetting into the sky and dipping through the covered areas. At the heart of the park will be an advanced and sophisticated circuit offering driving courses, which will be the home of the first Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix in 2009.

After the Foundation Stone event at Yas Island, a brand new Ferrari Store will have its official grand opening in Abu Dhabi’s Marina Mall. Ferrari’s President Luca di Montezemolo, Commercial and Brand Director Dany Bahar, Abdullah Abdel Rahim Al Fahim, Chairman of Al Fahim Enterprises and Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman of ALDAR Properties will take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Ma-Fra “starlets” will be washing cars in their own fashion, as you can see.

Auto Motor und Sport has a two image galleries with the girls from Madrid: the other auto-makers were way more discreet.

The style is modern and “exuberant”, thanks to a design which accentuates the concept of sporting performance applied to a commercial vehicle, with features like 28 inch wheels, LED headlights, hydraulically-controlled gullwing doors, smoked glass windows and an aerodynamic spoiler. The interiors have also been given the same sporty feel, emphasising its “road racer” personality.

No word on whether the truckster has an engine to match its appearance.

Whoa! Talk about sang-froid: look at this video and marvel at the pilot’s maneuver at the end of the climb, when he starts to roll-over.
Via | Motorpasion

Because behind every feature of a car there’s always the human touch. I don’t know if I’d like to seat on those carseats, though …
Via | Motorpasion

Almost historical, this video, but always impressive: the unlucky Mercedes CLR flipping over in Le Mans. Three of them flipped over in the course of a week, causing the withdrawal of Mercedes-Benz from the race and the shelving of the CLR project. SpeedTV has the whole story [Via Jalopnik]

What happens is the Weineck Cobra 780CUI Limited Edition.

780 cui (cubic inches) mean 12,9 liters of capacity, for this monstruos V8 engine. Torque is 1.760 Nm at 5,600 rpm. Power output is 1,100 hp at 7,000 rpm. The power to weight ratio is 0,9 Kg / hp.

Weinbeck doesn’t even bother declaring acceleration data from 0-100 km/h. From 0-200 km/h the Ultimate takes only 4.9 seconds, from 0-300 km/h it takes only 10 s !!!

Interested ? Better hurry: “Limited Edition” means only 15 will be produced.

The problem is with the exhaust tube welding, which sometimes weaken progressivley, up to the point of detaching and ultimately falling off. Porsche says that it happened in at least 30 cases.

I can only imagine what kind of curses the 30 unlucky owners launched in the general direction of Zuffenhausen when they found themselved trailing an exhaust tube, in a sea of sparks, to the soundtrack of an unsilenced 6 cylinder boxer engine ….