NEED FOR SPEED MOVIE DETAILED

Need for Speed or NFS fans rejoice! Your game is finally coming to the big screen (and subsequently, at some point in its life, to SABC1, etv and Mzansi Magic). Shooting has begun in earnest in a collaboration between the game’s publisher Electronic Arts and DreamWorks Studios, the movie’s producer. It will debut in the USA around March 2014.

NEXT FORD MUSTANG FOR MZANSI?

2013 Shelby GT500

Good news for pony fans in Europe as Ford announces that it’s taking the next-generation legendary Mustang muscle car across the pond into Europe. Europe includes the United Kingdom, which means official right-hand-drive Mustangs for the very first time. By extension what this means is that Mzansi could be in line for its first Ford-backed batch of RHD Mustangs for the first time too!

ONE-OFF 2013 SHELBY GT500 COBRA REVEALED

Friends of Carroll Shelby, including Ford Motor Company, Shelby American, Ford Racing and many others have built a unique 2013 Shelby GT500 Cobra as a tribute to the late Carroll Shelby.

2013 SHELBY GT500 IS BOSS

Official word from Ford says the next edition of the Shelby GT500 will be well-endowed. In fact so endowed will the mad Mustang that it will come fitted with “the most powerful series production V8 in the world”, according to a statement from Ford North America. Quite a dare this is.

SPECIAL EDITION "BUMBLEBEE" TRANSFORMERS CHEVROLET CAMARO

The Chevrolet Camaro returns as the Autobot “Bumblebee” in Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which opens exclusively in 3D on June 28 and worldwide on June 29. To celebrate, Chevrolet will offer a 2012 Transformers Special Edition Camaro Coupe to Bumblebee fans in the United States, Canada, China, Japan, Europe, South America, and the Middle East. 

FORD MUSTANG TO LOSE V6, V8 FOR 4-CYLINDER?

The greenies are like water; they infiltrate absolutely everything. This time it’s the turn of one of Detroit’s greatest icon, the Ford Mustang. According to Motor Authority, the people’s pony is about to ditch its soul. Yep, Mustang is set to get a 4-cylinder engine pretty soon! Gone will be the V8s and V6s honest Americans adore so much. Or will they?

SHELBY MUSTANG SUPER SNAKE BEARS 800 HORSES

Carroll Shelby doesn’t give a hoot what Ford thinks. That the Blue Oval figures what it pulls out of the factory is enough for the power-hungry American is not on Shelby’s agenda at all. Hence the new Super Snake, a 2011 GT500-based brute that acts more like a stallion than a pony.

The engine has been tuned to produce a whopping 597kW (800bhp) at its peak.

GUGU ZULU TAKES 2009 A5 RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

This past weekend saw several championships being sewn up in the off-road world. One of them was the Class A5 which was clinched by none other than Gugu Zulu and co-driver Carl Peskin in a BP Ultimate VW 1400 cc Class A5 CitiGolf. The pair just edged out André Cleenwerck and Des de Fortier in the same car.

“Stepping back into A5 for 2009 was certainly not a welcome position to be in after having won the class championship in 2007 and having moved up into A7,” says Zulu. “But the economic recession certainly affected sponsorship and one had to appreciate the opportunity of still being in the game.

“That said and done,” he continues, “I had to focus and ensure that we give the best we have and win the championship. The season started well as we notched up the first two wins of the season. At mid season, we had mechanical malladies that affected our good form, but this gave my team mates Andre Cleenwerk and navigator Des De Fortier to catch up. We both drove identical VW/BP backed CitiGolfs. Throughout the season we both commanded the class A5 field often leading the rest of the field by 5 minutes or more.

“Between my teammate and I, we battled and swapped seconds throughout the season. This past weekend going into the last round we had to finish 4th or higher in order to clinch the championship. But after Friday’s stages we were lying 10 minutes behind our teammates and in 9th place. On day two we drove like possessed demons to eventually make up the time to fourth placed competitor and eventually everyone had issues of sorts and in the end we finished 2nd and took championship honours for the 2009 National class A5 Championship. This could possibly be the last Citigolf/Golf Mark 1 official works entry Champion in the world.”

The last statement could prove prophetic because Volkswagen is set to announce something major concerning the Citi Golf and its future. The expectation is that this iconic but controversial car will finally be pulled from production after over 30 years in various guises.

Zulu first burst on to the motor racing scene as a 22-year-old in 2000 without the usual background of motocross or karting experience.  His first taste of the sport was as a participant in the inaugural Vodacom-backed Isondo Development sports car series called Sports 2000.  He won 16 out of 18 races and the title at his first attempt.  He graduated to senior circuit racing as team-mate to the legendary Sarel van der Merwe in the WesBank V8 championship, driving a Ford Mustang in 2001 and a Chevrolet Camaro in 2002.

He joined the factory Volkswagen rally team in 2003 and competed in class A5 with Carl Peskin as his co-driver in a Citi Golf.  In between winning their two class A5 titles in 2007 and 2009, the pair campaigned a factory VW Polo in class A7 in 2008.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY Peter Burroughes Communications

PICTURES BY: MOTORPICS

SPECIAL EDITION LEE IACOCCA FORD MUSTANG OUT

In the 1960s through to the 1980s Lee Iacocca was as iconic to the motor industry as men like Chris Bangle, Carlos Ghosn and Wendelin Wiedeking. When he worked at Ford in 1964 he worked on a number of successful cars, most famous of which is the Mustang. So today, despite the fact that Henry Ford II fired him from the company and pushed him to Chrysler where he virtually saved what was a sinking automaker, he has been honoured with a special edition steed, the Iacocca Silver 45th Anniversary Edition Ford Mustang.

Changes made from other versions include an upgraded suspension system, firmer springs for better handling, 20-inch forged aluminium wheels, sunken headlights, a lower stance and a slanted front grille.

Power is sorted by a 4.6-litre V8 pushing out 239kW (324hp). A supercharged version is also available and that one does 298kW (405hp). Mated to both cars is a 5-speed manual gearbox (gosh, do they still make 5-speed sports cars in 2009?!).

Only 45 of these sweet things will go on sale.

NASCAR AND FORD MUSTANG FINALLY MARRY

One of America’s favourite muscle cars has broken a 45 year-old self-exile by announcing that it will enter the 2010 NASCAR season. The Ford Mustang has never been part of the US’s national racing pastime, until now. Series where it has raced successfully include NHRA, Grand-Am, IMSA, SCCA, NMRA and NMCA.

“We're excited,” stated Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsports, “about Mustang coming to NASCAR. It's the most successful product nameplate in racing history, and it seems only right that it should be coming to the most popular form of racing in North America.”

The new car will be publicly unveiled this autumn in the US. All legal racing requirements have been fulfilled and parts will start production quite soon.

“We're excited about the new car in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, and particularly the new body styles such as the Ford Mustang,” said NASCAR President Mike Helton. “It's going to be one good-looking race car.”

Ford vehicles currently in NASCAR are the 2010 Fusion which is in the Sprint Cup and the 2009 Ford F-Series (Camping World Truck Series).

MUSTANG SHELBY GT 500 PRODUCTION LIMITED TO 2000

-->

Autoblog reported that the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 will sell only 2000 examples, which severely limits production possibilities. This only goes for this year, so those who have already ordered and signed on the dotted line are guaranteed a car. The rest fall outside this realm unfortunately.

What happened is that production was cut resulting in dealers only being able to source a few GT500s. The up side is that the value of these Mustangs has just shot up. The down side of course, is the flipside to that coin, which is that prices will most certainly go up.

For owners that’s good news. For prospective owners it’s the very personification of this current recession.

CAMARO UPSETS MUSTANG ON SALES CHARTS

-->

The 2010 Ford Mustang sold 1688 fewer units than its current chief rival the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro. GM’s muscle star ticked off 9320 examples vs the legendary pony’s 7632.

This makes sense though because the Camaro is the newest car of the two despite the fact that Ford has completely refreshed the Mustang. Another advantage the Camaro will carry is its worldwide availability; even South Africa is getting right-hand-drive versions by 2011. In contrast the stallion is still largely exclusive, keeping most of its concentration in the United States.

Trailing with 1369 units is the Dodge Challenger, underlining the fact that Chrysler LLC is still not out of the doldrums, although the company did manage to sell 68 297 vehicles in total. Overall US passenger car sales are 28% down on 2008, but only 7% off May 2009 figures.