The main key news this week is due to the sad passing of Anthoine Hubert, a French Formula 2 driver who was killed at the weekend at Spa-Francorchamps. In the feature Formula 2 race after Formula One qualifying on Saturday, all the drivers came to climb the dangerous Eau Rouge/Raidillon corner. The corner itself has been a feature of Spa since its opening in 1926 and is described as one of the most dangerous corners in motorsport. After La Source, the hairpin first corner of the circuit, the drivers accelerate down the shallow incline to be met with an incredibly steep left turn which curves right up the hill only to be met with a second left hander to lead to the Kemmel straight. The speed at which cars can go up Eau Rouge varies as touring cars can go up this corner at maximum 110mph, whereas F1 cars can go up at 185mph due to the increased downforce and grip of the cars. Back to the tragic events of this weekend, the formula two cars were racing up the hill when Hubert pushed too hard causing his car to spin. As it spun, it hit the right side barriers and rolled back out onto the track, where he was hit a second time at 100mph. His car, or what was left of it, dragged upside down along the track only being saved by the carbon fibre halo. After the race was red flagged, Hubert and the other car involved, Correa, were safely taken out of their cars and taken to hospital. Hubert died due to his injuries and Correa is still in intensive care. The news was incredibly hard hitting for the F1 drivers who stopped interviews and sprinted up to the crash location. Toro Rosso’s Pierre Gasly and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc were most affected due to growing up racing each other. Leclerc went on to win the Formula One race the next day, dedicating the win to his friend. It has been thought that he’d have died on impact if the halo safety precaution wasn’t in place but it stands as a reminder of the dangers these drivers face every single day. Legendary endurance racer Stefan Bellof also was killed at Spa in 1985 after his Porsche 956 came into contact with Jacky Ickx’s 956C at Eau Rouge and speared into a wall. The safety at Spa has always been a concern but given all the similar concerns at other racing circuits, these incidents are always declared as racing incidents.
Bugatti have always been known for creating some fairly fast cars and some legendary models. Ettore Bugatti created originally the Type 35C to be one of the worlds fastest racing cars with a top speed of 135mph in 1926, which was ridiculous. However due to many financial issues and the sad death of Ettore Bugatti in 1947, Bugatti was no more. Until the 1990s when Bugatti was revived by the late Ferdinand Piech and released the EB110 which became the world’s fastest car in 1991 with a top speed of 218mph, soon to be eclipsed by the McLaren F1’s 240mph in 1994. That record was only broken by the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 in 2005 with a top speed of 253mph. After multiple editions came and went, Bugatti cemented their top speed at 268mph with their SuperSport model. Since then, Koenigsegg set a top speed record in the Agera RS at 278mph which is the current record. However, footage has been released by Bugatti recently which shows a Bugatti Chiron with added aero parts reaching the magical 300mph. This has been the first road legal car to reach this number, in what has been dubbed the Chiron Supersport 300 prototype. 300 miles per hour is a motoring myth that for decades people thought was impossible for a road car. SSC (Shelby Super Cars) had a go in the US in their Ultimate Aero TT but only managed 256mph, Hennessey tried in the Venom GT managed 270mph and the rare 9FF GT9 Vmax with 1400hp managed 272mph. 300mph has always been the target, only achieved once before in a very highly modified Mk2 Ford GT. The Chiron smashed it, maxing out at 304.77mph under the control of Andy Wallace, who set the record with the McLaren F1 and the Jaguar XJ220. Koenigsegg have all eyes on them now as the new Jesko has an estimated top speed of 'above 300mph' and the up and coming Hennessey Venom F5 and SSC Tuatara from the USA, the top speed game is going up a level.
In the next week is the Frankfurt Motor Show 2019 which tends to be one of the smaller of the international motor shows in comparison to, say, Geneva, New York and London. However, given the preview of this year's show, it should be classed as one of the big shows. The main event is the debut of the Lamborghini Sian, a new limited series Lamborghini with a revolutionary new feature that could change the way Lamborghini make cars in the future. This new model features the engine from the SVJ but with an upgraded supercapacitor meaning it is slightly hybridised. Although only 63 examples will be made, it is a glimpse into the future of Lamborghini and the future of their V12 engines. Audi will be debuting their new RS6 which will facelift the previous model and feature the very popular 4.0 Twin-Turbo V8 which has just under 600bhp and will rival the new Mercedes AMG E63S and BMW M5. They are also rumoured to be announcing their new RS7 Sportback which will definitely have over 600bhp and will be the new hero car for the Audi RS range. BMW will show their Vision M Next concept which shows a modern interpretation of the 1978 BMW M1 which will most likely not make production like many other BMW concepts but for this one I have hope. A surprise attraction will be Hyundai with the new i30N Project C which has been under cover of camo at the Nürburgring featuring race spec alloy wheels and a suspension drop. Limited to 600 units with none expected to come to the UK unfortunately we will miss out on this exciting project. As mentioned last week, the Land Rover Defender will make an appearance for the first time without a camo wrap which will be a crucial release. Porsche released today the new Taycan. I have seen the Taycan prototype at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed driven by Mark Webber. This model was under camo though so didn't see the proper body shape. However, Porsche have now revealed two trims being the Turbo and Turbo S. The name confuses me as it is a fully electric Porsche, so how can it be turbocharged? Besides this, the car looks absolutely stunning with many cues being taken from the Panamera, 718 Cayman GTS and the Sport Turismo and should be a perfect addition to the Porsche family. The Mercedes AMG GLB has been announced as a rival to the Audi RSQ3 and will pack a punch of 416bhp from a 2.0 turbocharged 4-cylinder engine featured in the A35 AMG. As a small rumour, Ferrari have apparently shown an exclusive look at two new models which will be joining the current range. The Ferrari 812 Spider has been more or less confirmed at this stage with some leaked images and scale models showing the beautiful styling that Ferrari are famous for. The second car goes under the alias of 'V8 Spider'. There are a few options as to what it could be, possibly an update to the Pista Aperta, possibly an F8 Tributo Spider but that would be strange seeing as though there are no customer owned F8s in the world yet. Another option is the SF90 Stradale Aperta which has the same issue as the F8. This 'V8 Spider' may go completely unknown until its launch.
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