Race track

From "Swiss Miss" to "Iron Maiden", debutante V8 Supercar driver Simona De Silvestro hopes her hard-earned reputation will put her in good stead when she takes on the men and the mountain at Bathurst.

Nissan will turn back the clock at the Bathurst 1000 with Michael Caruso set to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the manufacturer's first Mount Panorama win by sporting the famous livery of the 1990 Skyline.The Holden Racing Team struck the first blow in the "livery wars" this week when the fully factory-backed team took the covers off a Star Wars-themed Commodore to be driven by Garth Tander in car No.22.Nissan struck back yesterday when the Japanese giant leaked pictures of the new-look Skyline that it hopes will replicate the feats of Jim Richards in 1990 when the V8 legend blitzed the field to put the company on the Mount Panorama map.Caruso and Dean Fiore will partner in the No.23 Altima from October 8 as they try to bring down Ford and Holden in the Richards-inspired beast."It is always cool to get to drive around with this special livery," Caruso said."Jim Richards was a hero of mine and that car from 1990 is just legendary. It is very special to think that I will get the opportunity to honour that drive and that car at this year's Bathurst 1000."Obviously it would be even more special if we could do what he did and win the race.'V8 legend Richards posed with the famous car he now owns in a photo shoot with Caruso to mark the occasion."I liked the car so much that I bought it," Richards said."It is a piece of history and hopefully Michael can create a piece of his own this year."The move follows last year's well-received Nissan heritage campaign at the Bathurst 1000, where Caruso and Fiore raced in the colours of George Fury's famous Nissan Bluebird Turbo, which earned the first Nissan pole at Mount Panorama in 1984.

Lexus Australia is on the verge of deciding whether to plunge headfirst into motorsport or to withdraw from racing entirely.

A father-and-son company is keeping 70 per cent of the grand prix world on track thanks to Australian radiator technology.

If you need to feel the wind absolutely tearing - not just rustling - through your hair, Lamborghini has the thing.It’s the fastest open-topped car in its history, with a 350km/h top speed - that's 217 miles-an-hour in pre-metric measurements - and the potential to fire itself to 100km/h in just 2.9 seconds.There’s just one thing - it’s going to cost you $916,950 in Australia.The car is the Lamborghini Aventador LP 750-4 Superveloce Roadster and it was unveiled this week at the world’s most exotic motoring event at exclusive Pebble Beach in California. Apart from the Lamborghini unveiling, the Pebble Beach Concours Classic car show was won by a 1924 Isotta Fraschini worth in excess of $10 million and the Porsche 956 driven to victory at Le Mans in 1983 by Australia’s Vern Schuppan sells at auction for $13.7 million.Lamborghini says its new open-air hero is the first roadster to earn the Superveloce badge reserved for its quickest cars.It comes with a 750-horsepower V12 engine that contributes to its name, producing a whacking 552 kilowatts at 8400 revs and 690 Newton-metres from 6.5 litres without any help from supercharging.Mechanically, there is also a seven-speed Independent Shifting Rod gearbox that is claimed to change 50 per cent quicker than a conventional double-clutch gearbox with far less weight.‘‘The Superveloce is the purest, most sports-oriented and fastest series-production Lamborghini ever. The Roadster version represents our commitment to satisfying our passionate clients with immensely emotional driving dynamics combined with an extraordinary open-air experience,’’ said Stephan Winkelmann, CEO of Automobili Lamborghini.Only 500 cars will be built and deliveries will begin early in 2016.Confirmation of the price means the car is available for Australia, although there is no confirmation yet of any order.“There is no set allocation for Australia or any other country. All orders are taken upon request,” a Lamborghini spokesperson told CarsGuide.The Lamborghini factory is already building the Superveloce Coupe versions of the Aventador, although they’re not exactly rocketing out the door.“The Aventador production rate is four cars per day. On the other hand, we produce 13 Huracans per day, the spokesperson says.“From the production numbers you can see Aventador is more limited and, therefore, we sell less than the Huracan in general.”The timing for the Roadster is still only provisional, but it is definitely in the pipeline.“The Roadster will be built following the production of the Coupe version, which was announced earlier this year. Next year."Outside the engine, the car has a fourth-generation Haldex all-wheel drive system, with Magneto Rheological dampers similar to the ones fitted to some Holden Special Vehicles cars, pushrod-activated suspension and Lamborghini’s dynamic steering.On the roof front, the car has a two-piece carbon fibre hardtop - each piece weighing less than six kilograms - with an electrically operated rear window that can be dropped to allow extra engine noise into the cabin.

Ash Westerman track tests and reviews the Audi RSQ3, RS4, RS6, RS7 and R8 V10 Plus at the Phillip Island racetrack in Victoria.

Move over AMG and M-division; Audi's new performance sub-brand wants to be the global master of a four-ringed speed circus.

Craig Duff road tests and reviews the Audi R8 at its international launch in Portugal.

While Holden are set to start a V6 revolution by strapping a six-cylinder turbo into a Commodore when the "Gen 2" era begins, it appears Nissan will resist calls to put a Skyline GT-R on the grid and extend the reign of the Altima.News Corp Australia has been told Nissan, who come off-contract at the end of next year, will soon recommit to the sport and continue its four-car assault beyond 2017 by signing a new multi-year deal with Nissan Motorsport Australia.But despite popular demand and a new set of rules that have made a return possible, Nissan will not unleash the GT-R — the giant-killing car known as "Godzilla" that dominated the early 1990s.The 90-page "Gen 2" document has been sent to Nissan HQNissan will stick with the four-door Altima sedan.The 90-page "Gen 2" document has been sent to Nissan HQ in Japan with NISMO bosses set to examine the document."Nissan has been in discussion with V8 Supercars for some time regarding the technical regulations for 2017 and beyond," Nissan said in a statement."The next major step in our decision-making process is to work with NISMO in Japan on closely examining the Gen2 V8SC Technical Regulations so that we can evaluate our options."

Plans for a one-make series to rival or surpass the Ferrari 458 Challenge are well under way at Bentley's home in Crewe, the company's chief reveals to CarsGuide."For the future we are at present evaluating the potential of a luxury one-make cup, and this could take place on four continents, for about 25 entries," Wolfgang Durheimer, CEO of Bentley, says at the Goodwood Festival of Speed."We organise everything. We do everything. They have high-performance racing with high-performance cars."We want to be the number oneDurheimer says the Bentley racers would be positioned midway between the company's road-going Continental and the GT3 racing version of the same car, which challenged for victory in this year's Bathurst 12-Hour race and is returning to Mount Panorama in 2016.He says air-conditioning will be essential in the cars, since he expects the series will attract well-funded 'gentleman' drivers without the skill or fitness of full-time professionals.But he is keen on the championship and what it can bring to Bentley buyers who want more than just a road car."Once you are signed in you have luxury track time in a high-performance car. I hope that we come to a good conclusion."Durheimer also confirms for the first time that the Continental GT3 program will continue beyond the original three-year commitment, which has now seen 19 cars built for racing."Don't assume we stop next year. Racing is part of our DNA. We are already evaluating the potential of the next car," he says."Emotionally, it can drive our company to new horizons. Internally, it helps us to work in a very discipled way and to be competitive and win."We want to be the number one and we intend to be the winner in the luxury performance game. We like to do the extraordinary things, not what everybody does."