THE CAFÉ RACER PHENOMENON - BY ALASTAIR WALKER

Forthcoming! The Café Racer Phenomenon by Alastair Walker.
The Café Racer is one of the most enduring styles of motorcycle ever created, capturing the rebellious spirit of the 50s. This is a look back at the glory days of the Café Racer, from Friday night dices on the North Circular, through the street specials craze of the Seventies, to the modern day revival.
Click here for more info about the forthcoming book.

Alastair Walker has been riding motorcycles for over 30 years and writing about them for two decades. Starting off on a BSA like his father and grandfather before him, Alastair owned several Japanese bikes before becoming a freelance motorbike journalist in the late 1980s. Since then he has tested hundreds of bikes, modern and classic, from a humble Honda CG125 to a 5.7-litre, V8 powered, Boss Hoss cruiser.
Alistair has edited motorcycle publications such as Biker, Motorcycle Sport & Leisure, and the ACU's Bike Talk, as well as contributed to Motor Cycle News, Bike, T.W.O. Classic Mechanics, Classic Bike Guide, Used Bike Guide, Moto 73, Cycle World, and Dealernews USA. He currently writes for Carole Nash's web magazine insidebikes, and the Manchester Evening News. This is his second book.

Alastair has started a Cafe Racer discussion on the new Veloce Forum! Click here to view the page.

POCKET ROCKET

The Mitsubishi i MiEV SPORT AIR Concept will be premiered at the forthcoming 2009 Geneva Motor Show in March.

Not a great deal of thought has been given by mainstream manufacturers to the proposition of a proper sports car as an electric vehicle (EV)… until now.


Taking a step beyond being merely ‘green’, this all-electric zero CO2 emission sports concept builds upon the fundamentals of the EV by marrying: the powerful acceleration and high torque inherent to electric motors and the safe driving dynamics that stem from i MiEV’s lithium-ion battery pack located within its long wheelbase and the low centre of gravity.
The i MiEV SPORT ‘AIR’ is a new-age “pocket rocket” and signals the direction in which the Mitsubishi sports EV may take in the future.
Source:newspress

PEKING TO PARIS - INTERVIEW WITH PHILIP YOUNG

Click here, if the video doesn't display. Interview courtesy of theautochannel.com

Click here for more info about Peking to Paris - The Ultimate Driving Adventure.

New book by Philip Young! - How to Build a Successful Low-Cost Rally Car – For Marathon, Endurance, Historic & Budget-car Adventure events
Simple, cost-effective, basic and reliable tips to ensure that any rally car stands a chance of reaching the finishing line. If you are planning a road-based rally, don't even think of leaving home before reading this book and implementing the tried and tested mods it describes so well. Click here for more info.

NOW IN STOCK! - VW GOLF GTI - THE ESSENTIAL BUYER'S GUIDE

VW Golf GTI – The Essential Buyer’s Guide reviewed in Retrocars Magazine.



New! VW Golf GTI – The Essential Buyer’s Guide by Richard Copping and Kenneth Cservenka.

Features
• Compiled by acknowledged experts - authors of Veloce publication 'VW - Golf - Five Generations of Fun'
• Built around the collectable first two generations of Golf
• Concentrates on the hot model – the GTI
• Includes the special edition Mk1 Campaign GTI
• Adds the Rallye Golf and GTIG60 to the Mk2 GTI content
• Special section on the hotter versions of the Golf Cabriolet
• Defines original engine specifications, 1600, 1800, 8-valve & 16-valve
• Predicts which later models will become collectable
• Covers customised models, larger engines and lowered suspension
• Targets would-be owners on a budget as well as the wealthier enthusiast market

Description
While old MkI Golfs have by now largely rusted away, the availability of MkII models at giveaway prices is plentiful ... that is until three magic letters – GTI – appear on the car’s front grille and hatch. Find a good example of the MkI with the aid of this guide and you are in clover! The Buyer’s Guide carefully charts all the models that an enthusiast just has to own, from the iconic late model MkI with its pocket rocket 1.8-litre engine and 5-speed box, through to the exclusive, extremely powerful and much sought-after limited edition Rallye Golf.
Click here for more info about the book.

FIAT AND CHRYSLER CREATE ALLIANCE

Italian carmaker Fiat and US giant Chrysler have agreed to create a global strategic alliance.

Under the terms of the deal, Fiat will get a 35% stake in Chrysler. In return, the US firm will get access to Fiat's fuel-efficient vehicle technologies.

This agreement comes on the back of recent troubles carmakers are faced with. Chrysler has received an emergency loan from the US government worth $4bn, while Fiat has said it needed a partner because it was too small to continue on its own.

Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne said the deal represented "a key milestone in the rapidly changing landscape of the automotive sector".
Chrysler chairman Bob Nardelli said that the alliance "creates the potential for a powerful, new global competitor".
Source:news.bbc.co.uk

Coming soon! Dodge Challenger & Plymouth Barracuda – Chrysler’s Potent Pony Cars
By Peter Grist.
The ultimate Chrysler pony car book written in Peter’s now familiar and welcome unpretentious style, that features every series and model of pony car made by the Chrysler Corporation in the 1960s and 70’s including the slippery Barracuda and classic Dodge Challenger along with stars of the big screen and drag strip.

Click here for more info about the book.

Other fantastic Veloce books currently available by Peter Grist!

Click book covers for more info.

VELOCE JOINS VRL

Vintage motoring enthusiasts from around the world are flocking to The Vintage Racing League to share photos, videos, blogs and to interact with one another. If you are not already a member, sign up and add me as a friend!

DIESEL-POWER!

The Volkswagen team made motorsport history in Argentina on Sunday, claiming the first diesel-powered victory in the history of the world’s toughest motorsport event, the Dakar Rally. Not only that, but the team’s South African driver, Giniel de Villiers, led home a Volkswagen 1-2.
De Villiers, his German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz, and their TDI-engined Race Touareg crossed the Buenos Aires finish line – after more than 5000 km of competitive rallying – nearly nine minutes ahead of the sister Volkswagen of USA/South Africa pairing Mark Miller and Ralph Pitchford. Third place went to American Hummer pilot Robby Gordon, who was more than 100 minutes adrift.

Volkswagen’s 2009 Dakar Rally achievement is the second time that the manufacturer has claimed a 1-2: in 1980, Swede Freddy Kotulinsky and Frenchman Patrick Zaniroli raced their Iltis machines to the top two overall. The Volkswagen win brings to a close seven years of domination by Mitsubishi.

Source:newspress