Latest news with #rallycar
Top Gear
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Top Gear
The MST Mk2 ‘Ultimate' is a 350bhp Ford Escort rally car for the road
The MST Mk2 'Ultimate' is a 350bhp Ford Escort rally car for the road Downside? It'll cost £161k and take 18 months to build. Upside? Those spot lamps could outshine the sun Skip 11 photos in the image carousel and continue reading Turn on Javascript to see all the available pictures. 1 / 11 The good folk at MST are back at it with the souped-up Ford Escorts, this time channelling their efforts toward a rally-themed Mk2. Looks proper. Dubbed the 'Ultimate', it'll get a Millington Diamond 2.7-litre nat-asp four-cylinder putting out 350bhp. Plentiful, considering most MST Escorts weigh under a tonne. Advertisement - Page continues below Customers can also choose engines from Cosworth, Duratec or Honda, but regardless of the powertrain, the transmission is a six-speed sequential with pneumatic paddle shifters. And yes, it'll make those whiney gearbox sounds we all get excited about. The Ultimate rides on four-way adjustable suspension and Reiger coilovers, with stoppers from AP Racing. Each corner gets a four-pot motorsport caliper too, likely distorting your face into weird shapes when called upon. You'll get a choice of 13, 15 or 17in alloys, with other options including those massive spot lamps and a racing livery. There's no limitation on colours either, so feel free to be as specific as your local paint superstore. Inside, you'll spot a welded FIA-grade roll cage and racing bucket seats. See that vertical handbrake? Lug it, and you'll be glad the six-point harness is there. Advertisement - Page continues below The Ultimate - as with all MST cars - will be hand-built here in the UK, and currently has an 18-month waiting list. Plenty of time to source the £161k you'll be forking out, then. Top Gear Newsletter Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox. Success Your Email*
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Passenger dies and driver rushed to Edinburgh hospital after Jim Clark Rally crash
A co-driver has died and a driver has been rushed to an Edinburgh hospital following a crash during the Jim Clark Rally. The annual event, held in the Scottish Borders, has been cancelled following a crash involving a single rally car on the D41/6 Edrom Mains Road at around 10.50am on Saturday, May 24. Emergency services attended and the co-driver of the car, aged 39, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. His family is aware. READ MORE: Edinburgh police tape off home and forensics scour the scene as campervan 'torched' READ MORE: Tragedy as Edinburgh police find body in search for missing Midlothian man The 27-year-old driver was rushed by ambulance to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh with serious but not life-threatening injuries. No one else was injured. Superintendent Vincent Fisher said: 'Our thoughts are with the family of the man who has died and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.' A statement on the Jim Clark Rally website reads: "Following an incident at the Jim Clark Rally today [Saturday 24 May 2025], the Jim Clark Memorial Motor Club have made the decision to cancel the remainder of the event and tomorrow's Jim Clark Reivers Rally." Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages.
Top Gear
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Top Gear
Vauxhall's GSE Rally prototype is a beefed-up Mokka with 280bhp
First Look Now stick all this motorsport tech and rally goodness in a limited edition road car, Vauxhall Skip 3 photos in the image carousel and continue reading While the regular Vauxhall Mokka might not be especially memorable, this new GSE Rally prototype certainly appears to be. Folks, we could well be looking at a Mokka that's actually exciting. That's because this Mokka GSE Rally is the first ever car developed in line with FIA's new eRally5 regulations. That's right, Vauxhall is taking the Mokka racing. The GSE Rally is set to make its debut in the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup between 23-24 May. Advertisement - Page continues below So, how has Vauxhall turned the standard Mokka into a rally car? By fitting fancy Bilstein suspension and a racing gearbox. It even has a limited-slip differential, reinforced drive shafts as well as modified front and rear axles. So far so good. There's the same 54kWh battery as the road car, but here it's powering a beefier electric drivetrain, with outputs boosted to 280bhp and 254lb ft of torque. Everything's been tweaked for better efficiency and drivability, too. You might like Naturally it forgoes driver aids, so there's no ABS, ESP, lane-keep assist or traction control. Instead you get an FIA-certified roll cage, and rally seats fitted with six-point harnesses. Visual changes over the road car are fairly obvious. Because there's no missing the roof air intake, brighter paintwork, yellow brake callipers, new wheels, and that giant 'OMG' decal. How very... dignified. Advertisement - Page continues below "With our new Mokka GSE Rally, we are offering a glimpse of a fully electric next-generation rally car," said Vauxhall/Opel boss Florian Huettl. "Thanks to the latest motorsport technology, the prototype offers potent performance and power in equal measure.' Now stick all of that into a road car, please. Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter. Look out for your regular round-up of news, reviews and offers in your inbox. Get all the latest news, reviews and exclusives, direct to your inbox.
Auto Car
21-05-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Car
Ever wanted your Mokka to be a bit more... rally? Say hello to the Vauxhall Mokka GSe Rally
Vauxhall has previewed its the upcoming Mokka GSe with a rally inspired concept. The Mokka GSe Rally prototype is based on the current crossover and features Bilstein rally suspension, a racing gearbox, and a lightweight chassis. According to Vauxhall, the concept is also the world's first rally car currently being developed according to the FIA's new eRally5 regulations, meaning it could potentially be used in global rally series from next year. Underneath, it draws power from the same 54kWh battery as the standard Mokka, and adopts the same 278bhp, 254lb ft single-motor setup from its Abarth 600e Stellantis sibling. While no further technical specs have been given, in the 600e, the same powertrain yield 0-62mph times of 5.9sec. It also, like the 600e, gets limited-slop differential. Visually, underneath the GSe Rally's striking design, it showcases a car that is clearly differentiated in styling terms to the standard Mokka with a front and rear diffs, flared wheel arches and larger alloys. These production-ready features - largely unusual for a concept – point to what we can expect from the upcoming Mokka GSe, a car which was recently teased by Vauxhall/Opel CEO Florian Huettl and which is expected to be revealed in the coming months. The video also announced the sub brand would ditch models with combustion engines such as the previous Astra GSe In addition to the Mokka GSe, Huettl hinted that there will be further news on more electric Vauxhalls. He said: '[GSe] is also a promise that [Vauxhall's] electric future will not be driven by compromise. There is more to come in 2025 – we are just getting started.'
Auto Express
20-05-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Express
New Vauxhall Mokka GSE Rally points to upcoming sporty all-electric crossover
The Vauxhall Mokka has carved a reputation as a competitive small SUV thanks to its affordability, solid kit list and overall efficiency – but it's no performance car. Now, though, the British brand is looking to change that with the new GSE Rally. As a prototype, you won't see the Mokka GSE Rally out on the road, but it does give us our best look yet at what to expect from the upcoming Mokka GSE, which Vauxhall officially teased recently. Vauxhall has history in taking a humble EV and turning it into a fully-fledged rally car. Back in 2019, the firm unveiled the Corsa e-Rally (now named Corsa Rally Electric) for the one-make Opel Electric Rally Cup. Auto Express even had a passenger ride in the Corsa Rally Electric in 2023 and, as you'd expect, it felt far removed from the production car. Advertisement - Article continues below The Mokka GSE Rally is the first car that's been developed for the FIA's new eRally5 regulations and while it gets a suite of upgrades for motorsport, it's the connection to the new Mokka GSE that will excite most. Vauxhall claims the Mokka GSE Rally's front-mounted electric motor produces 276bhp and 345Nm of torque, identical numbers to the new Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce and Abarth 600e. Both of those cars from parent company Stellantis sit on a modified Perfo eCMP version of the eCMP architecture used on the standard Mokka Electric. Along with the GSE Rally, we expect the technical underpinnings of the hot Alfa and Abarth EVs will be used in the new Mokka GSE too – further underscored by the fact this prototype utilises a limited-slip differential, like the Italian cars. There are some elements of the rally car we don't expect to make production, however. To help with off-road ability, the Mokka GSE Rally gets reinforced drive shafts and wheel hubs, uprated MacPherson struts and uniball mounts on the front axle, as well as a rigid rear axle with modified springs and dampers. There are also no electronic driving aids such as ABS, ESP, traction control or lane-keep assist. To complement its higher output electric motor and rally revisions, the Mokka GSE Rally also sports an intriguing livery with 'OMG! GSE' branding and a mix of bright yellow and grey. Away from the roof scoop, bonnet pins and towing eyes, elements such as the black bonnet (which was a feature of the old Grandland GSe), larger brake set-up and yellow trim could all potentially arrive on the new Mokka GSE. The new Mokka GSE Rally prototype will be shown off to the public for the first time at the next round of the ADAC Opel Electric Rally Cup in the Netherlands on 23 May. Click here for our list of the best performance cars ...
