WRC 2011 showdown...

Take driving lunacy to one level above Formula 1 and you end up with World Rally Championship (WRC) and the 2011 WRC saga is about to start from 10^th Feb and guess what? Citroen has revealed its firepower against the odds. For 2011 season Citroen dumped the old, outdated C4 and came up with astonishing DS3( Picture below), never the less, Ford replaced their Focus with Fiesta S2000 and to get things a bit more pumped up, Mini decided to compete in 2011 season as well.

All competing cars comply with 2011 regulations of WRC. All of them are fitted with 1.6litre turbocharged engine with power going to all four wheels. So this time it is really dependent on driver and team to win. Ford says that with Fiesta they’ll be able to come over their reliability problems which made them pay 2010 season trophy to Citroen. We’ll have to wait for the first rally to see whats what…

The mini will compete in 6 out of 13 rounds of WRC 2011 season and will compete in full 2012 season. Loeb has got to show his talent this time. With an outdated Ford Focus of Mikko Hirvonen Loeb could win 2010 championship but this time Ford has given Hirvonen a rocket so Leob has to get ballistic this time.

For Kimi Raikenon we can only hope for the best. Kimi came 10^th in 2010 season after making a shift from Formula 1 with 7 retirements. So this 2007 F1 champion has to work hard in his new DS3 with Junior Citreon team.

the_SHIFT’s favorite Peter Solberg came 3^rd in overall drivers’ championship in 2010 season making Citroen C4 win all top three slots in drivers’ championship. We wish all the best to Solberg WRC team. 

Pagani Huayra on the_SHIFT now

For those who are interested, the link for the details and wallpapers of 2012 Pagani hypercar has been added in the ‘Cars Review’ section of the_SHIFT. Visit ‘Cars Review’ now for the latest on the new Pagani Huayra.

All new Pagani Huayra

Ladies and gentlemen, witness the best of 2011 at the start of 2011, witness the real looker of the year 2011, witness the engineering perfection, THE PAGANI HUAYRA. Making its debut at the Qatar Motor show and then at the Geneva Motor show, this all new Pagani Hypercar will cost around 839,000 pounds and is powered by 6.0 litre V12 AMG motor which is specially designed and made for this pagani.

 It is expected to produce 730bhp and 811 Nm torque. Scroll down the pictures to see what the fuss is all about....

Ronaldo writes off his Ferrari.

Christiano Ronaldo of Portugal wrote off his Ferrari 599 after getting it totaled in a tunnel.  Witnesses say that another footballer was also seen along in a Bentley Continental GT (now it won’t be hard for you to guess why such a crash happened). Well there is nothing wrong because being the most expensive football player in the world, he can easily buy a new one. Don’t forget Ronaldo also owns a Bentley, Porsche 911 and of course a Rolls Royce Phantom.

8 most expensive supercars in the world

Here is a list of 8 most expensive cars on planet earth.

 First of all, at 8th we've got Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead. One of the latest from Rolls Royce factory. President Zardari owns one. Price? well this will be the least disturbing price in this post, 288,518 pounds. which in our country comes out to be Rs. 40,681,038. OOOoouch!

Although the production of LP670-4sv has been stopped at 4099th unit but still some of the units are still for sale so if you've money and nerves to hold on to 670 bhp and 0-60m/h in just 3 seconds then you can buy one. Price? Rs. 41.7 million... Don't worry remaining will bring your heart n lungs out of your mouth...

The at the moment one-off 599 Aperta which in simple words is going to be convertible 599 costs Rs. 47.6 million.

LeBlanc Mirabeau, and look at it... I mean would you ever like to use it for bringing eggs and bread? With these looks will you go to a pub? With these looks you can only go to a track on a track day which we don't have in our country so its useless to spend Rs. 66.7 million on it...

SSC Aero, record holder of being the fastest road car on planet for whole 1 year. Compared to Bugatti Veyron it really is great value for money at Rs. 68.7 million.

Maybach Landaulet costs Rs. 128.3 million...... Ouch!

The Koenigsegg Agera, one of the madest car on the planet right now. 910 hp with 1100 Nm of torque. This thing really is made to start an earthquake. Price? People might think its very expensive at Rs.137.8 million but I think its worth it...

Without any doubt, the current fastest road car on the planet takes out the money out of your account the fastest way... Rs.241.4 million.....

The Pagani C9 which is going to be unvealed at 2011 Geneva Autoshow in March has an estimated price of 830,000 pounds which when converted to Rupees gives us Rs.119 million so it will be going to be 4th most expensive production car in the world.

Hang on a minute, if you have a number matching any of the above numbers in your bank account then don't even think about getting cocky about importing it because it is still without tax and duty. The next line is not suitable for heart patients......If you're planning to import one then don't forget to add 215% duty on importing any one of them.

Welcome to the mad world of Pagani!

 

1999 ----- Pagani Zonda C12

In 1998 we saw our country become a nuclear power and just after one year the world saw automotive world become a hydrogen bomb with the birth of a monster named Zonda. Zonda C12 was made to go up against Ferrari Enzo, Koenigsegg CCR, Porsche Carrera GT, Mercedes McLaren SLR and Lamborghini Murcielago. 

The C12 made its debut at 1999 Geneva autoshow with a claim of producing 402 bhp, top speed of 195m/h and 0-60 m/h in 4.2 seconds. The C12 was powered by Mercedes AMG M120 6.0 litre V12 engine. Came along was Zonda C12 S with a 7.0 litre V12 producing 543 bhp with 0-60 time in 3.7 seconds. This was it when people saw Zonda become 4^th fastest road car on planet earth because it could do 220m/h. The collective number of Zonda C12 and C12 S present is around 40.

Then came along Zonda C12 S 7.3, the supercar powered by the biggest V12 engine in known human history, a whooping 7.3 litre AMG tuned V12. The car produced 547 bhp. Only 7 coupe and 10 roadsters of C12 S 7.3 are thought to exist on roads today.

 the_SHIFT really liked the Zonda. Its one of the few cars among which the_SHIFT has a consensus that they are good. We liked the looks, we liked the way it kills the driver and we really liked the revolutionary rear spoiler for downforce…

 

2005 ----- Pagani Zonda C12 F (Zonda F)

 Making its debut at 2005 Geneva Autoshow, Zonda F took whole world by storm. Zonda F is considered to be the most extensively engineered car Pagani has ever made. Zonda F produced 593 bhp from the same 7.3 litre V12 with Clubsport version producing 641 bhp.

 

The roadster version of F made public appearance at 2006 Geneva Autoshow. Both Zonda F and Zonda F Roadster had a limited production run of 25 units.



2009 ----- Pagani Zonda Cinque

Pagani decided to make a special version of Zonda with a limited production run of only 5 coupes and 5 roadsters  for 10 wealthy Pagani lovers. All units were pre sold. The 1+ million euro monster produced 679 bhp with 780 Nm of torque from the same tweaked and tuned 7.3 litre AMG V12.

 

2010 ----- The Zonda R

The last hurrah from Pagani, the Zonda R. An engineering master piece, the ultimate of the ultimate, the apex of engineering perfection. With the concept revealed to public in 2008 but there was so much work going on the car that the first unit rolled down the factory production line at the end of 2009 but it is here with lap record of Nurburgring holding in her hand… Check out the link for details because whatever I say in its favour is still nothing for it…

Pagani Zonda R

2011 ----- *******

Now the real big news, you would be thinking that I’ve gone nuts, writing about a car that came along a decade ago but you’d be wrong. 2011 Geneva autoshow is coming in March and you must have heard the rumors that new supercar by Pagani is coming and yes it is… It is called Pagani C9 and it’s a whole new supercar making its debut at Geneva Autoshow. That is all what we know at the moment but keep visiting the_SHIFT for latest updates on Pagani C9. For now, check out the teaser released by Pagani for their C9…

Cadillac in AWCS

Cadillac has decided to strike the autoracing world with their latest CTS-V coupe. The first place where Cadillac is going for a strike is American World Challenge Series. The Cadi will be used by two teams and they’ll compete in

all 11 rounds of AWCS. In AWCS CTS-V coupe will be up against mustangs and all sort of cars having horsepower from 425-525 bhp. Don’t take this one as an ordinary news because Cadillac competed in AWCS from 2004 to 2007 with their razor sharp CTS-V sedan and took 2005’s and  

2007’s manufacturer’s championship and Driver’s championship in 2005. Scroll down through the pictures to find out what the fuss is all about…  

These pictures has been taken from Sebring Circuit during its debut testing session. Season will start later in March.