GM gets World's Fastest Man to Drive Insignia OPC at Goodwood

General Motors' Vauxhall division announced today that World Land Speed Record holder, Andy Green, will be behind the wheel of the all-new, 325HP Insignia VXR (OPC for the rest of Europe) at this weekend's Goodwood's hillclimb course. Andy Green, a British Royal Air Force pilot, is the first and only person to break the sound barrier on land when he recorded a top speed o 763mph or 1,227km/h in 1997 driving Richard Noble's Thrust SSC (SuperSonic Car).

"The Festival of Speed is one of the highlights of my year," said Andy. "So when I was offered the chance to drive Vauxhall's new high-performance Insignia up the Hill, it was just the icing on the cake! Fast road cars are the essence of the Festival and I am really looking forward to giving the Insignia a good run up the Hill this weekend."

Alfa Romeo 8C Spider to Climb Goodwood Hill

The first Alfa Romeo 8C Spider production car to be seen on the move in Britain will participate at next weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed. The Spider will be joined on the hill by several famous motor racing cars from Alfa's historic museum collection in Arese, Italy, including a 1924 P2 Gran Premio which won the first World Championship in 1925 and the 6C 3000 CM that was driven to second place by Juan Manuel Fangio in the 1953 Mille Miglia.

The Italian firm which is a year shy of its 100th anniversary, said that it will also bring along two special concept cars, the wedge-shaped 1968 Alfa Carabo featuring hydropneumatic-powered gull-wing doors and multi-coloured one way glass windows, and the 1978 Najavo study.

Ferrari to Perform Three British Debuts at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Italian supercar maker Ferrari will be showcasing three new models for the first time in the UK at next month's Goodwood Festival of Speed: the California coupe-convertible, the limited edition Scuderia Spider 16M and the beefed-up 599 GTB Fiorano with the HGTE package. All three supercars will participate at the Sunday Times Supercar Run.

Ferrari will also be represented at Goodwood by the Scuderia Ferrari team that will show off the 2008 Championship-winning F1 car driven by Marc Gene throughout the weekend while privately-owned cars entered in this year's event include a 1956 Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta, a 1961 Ferrari 196 SP Dino and a 1980 Ferrari 512 BBLM.

Want to Drive the 2011 Mercedes SLS AMG Gulwing Supercar? Read On...

In a classic example of how press departments often miss the point / opportunity when it comes to marketing their own products and services, somewhere after the sixth paragraph in the release on the U.S. launch of the AMG academy this fall, Mercedes states: "Drivers attending the AMG Driving Academy Stage One at Laguna Seca Raceway from November 17-20 will have the opportunity to be among the very first to drive the most technologically advanced AMG ever – the all-new 2011 SLS AMG." Jeez, that should have been marked with big bold letters right in the title...

But anyways. For those of you residing in the States who are interested in test driving one of the most anticipated supercars of the year at the Laguna Seca race track, you'll have to sign up (see info below) for Merc's Stage 1 SLS program that demands a fee of $2,295 (roughly €1,650) which includes a one night stand stay at the InterContinental Hotel in Monterey.

Mercedes also offers two more programs for its AMG Driving Academy across three race tracks at Lime Rock Park, CT (September 9-15), Laguna Seca Raceway at Monterey, CA (November 7-8 & 17-20) and Palm Beach International Raceway at West Palm Beach, FL (September 22-27).

Aside from the aforementioned Stage 1 SLS, there's the one-day Stage I program designed to educate drivers on the fundamentals of performance driving dynamics and car control maneuvers (it'll cost you $1,895) and the Stage II which is a more comprehensive two-day program providing a deeper level of technical driver training, on and off the track. The latter costs $3,495 and is offered only to drivers that have completed Stage I or as Mercedes states, 'an equivalent course'.

Drivers attending these courses will have the opportunity to get behind the wheel of several AMG models including the all-new 2010 E63 AMG, SL63 AMG, C63 AMG, SLK55 AMG and the CLK63 AMG Black Series.

The fees mentioned above include a dinner reception, AMG Driving Academy certificate of program completion and an AMG gift bag. However, bear in mind that travel expenses and accommodations (expect for the Stage 1 SLS drive) are not included. If you want to learn more about the programs head over to AMG Academy's dedicated site or if you're the kind of person that prefers talking on the phone, you can contact Mercedes at 1-800-217-6916.

Insignia VXR to Make UK Debut at Goodwood Festival of Speed

The high-performance version of the Opel /Vauxhall Insignia will make its first appearance in Britain at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed that runs from July 3-5. The 325HP Insignia VXR (OPC for the rest of Europe) will run the famous hillclimb course twice a day. Joining the Insignia will be the most powerful production model in Vauxhall's history, the rear-wheel-drive, 6.2-litre supercharged V8 engined VXR8 Bathurst S Edition 560HP that will be performing a 'Smoke Gets in Your Eyes' display in front of the Goodwood House.

GM's British arm will also showcase two concept studies from the past, the gullwing-door XVR that was displayed at the 1966 Geneva Salon and the SRV that made its debut at the 1970 Earls Court Motor Show.

VIDEO: Top Gear Reveals The Stig

The first episode of the thirteenth season of Top Gear that aired on BBC on Sunday, June 21st, started with a big bang as Jeremy Clarkson unmasked 'The Stig' revealing his true identity in front of a live audience. However, whether the mystery has finally been solved is still up for debate - you can't be certain with these chaps, perhaps it's another prank from Clarkson and his fellow presenters, who cares knows. What's not up for discussion is the marvelous marketing strategy behind Top Gear. But anyway, we not going to spoil the surprise for you - no, it's not Susan Boyle. Hit the jump to find out the identify of 'The Stig' and tell us what you think.

VIDEO: Skoda Fabia S2000 AWD Rally Car in Action

In its civilian form, the Skoda Fabia hatchback is an affordable, no-frills supermini that comes with all the usual qualities you'd expect from any Volkswagen Group model. The rally-spec Fabia S2000 is an entirely different story. Presented for the first time as a concept study at the Geneva show in 2007, the Fabia S2000 has been developed ever since to compete in the Super 2000 category.

It features a 2.0-litre four-cylinder naturally-aspirated engine based on the VW Group's standard 2.0 FSI unit, a six-speed sequential transmission and an advanced four-wheel drive system with three passive differentials. But enough with the talk. Time to sit back, turn up the volume and enjoy the video that was shot during the official presentation of the rally-car earlier this month (June 2009).

Toyota to Bring Numerous Race Cars at Goodwood Including a 700HP Celica GT4-X and the Lexus LF-A

At next month's Goodwood Festival of Speed that runs from July 3 to 5, Toyota plans to bring a variety of race cars led by the Lexus LF-A that will be making its first appearance on British soil. The V10-powered supercar will be joined by another competition Lexus, the racing IS F that competed along with the LF-A at this year's Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race.

Panasonic Toyota Racing will be back at Goodwood with the TF108, the last F1 Toyota to be designed before FIA introduced its current restrictions on wing sizes and additional aerodynamic elements. Toyota's F1 driver Timo Glock will be present at the event to drive the TF108.

The Toyota Sprint Series will be represented for the first time on the hill climb with the 700HP Fensport Celica GT4-X AWD. Other Toyota cars that will be on show (but won't compete) at the Goodwood event include Alain Prost's Andros Trophy Auris that features a carbon fibre bodywork and a tuned version of the Lexus RX 3.0-litre V6 engine, the Aygo Crazy and iQ Gazoo plus various rally cars such as the Group B Celica Twin-cam Turbo, Celica ST185, Celica GT4 ST205 and the WRC Corolla.

GTbyCitroen to Run at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Having already participated at both the Nurburgring and Le Mans 24 hour endurance races by completing 'honorary laps', Citroen's dramatic GTbyCitroen supercar concept will now make its UK debut climbing the famous 1.16-mile Goodwood Hill at this year's Festival of Speed on July 3. Initially created in collaboration with Polyphony as a digital supercar for the Gran Turismo5 racing game on Sony's Playstation 3, the GTbyCitroen came to life at last year's Paris Motorshow.

And even though Citroen had no intention of building the car for production, due to the extremely positive reactions from the public and the media alike, the French firm is now considering whether or not to go ahead with the GT building a limited run of a dozen or so models.

The aggressively styled French GT measures nearly five-meters in length (4.96m), and just over a meter high (1.09m). Special features include a wraparound windscreen that flows into the roof and on into the rear mobile airfoil, a flat underside, gullwing-style doors and diamond-effect 21 inch aluminum wheels. The concept version of the supercar uses electric motors but if it is to enter production, Citroen will use a conventional gasoline powertrain.

Extremely Rare McLaren F1 GTR Long Tail in Gulf Team Livery up for Sale

Have your heart set on a race-spec McLaren F1? Then you'll be happy to know that the last F1 GTR to leave McLarens factory has turned up for sale in Japan. From a total production of 100 units, only a mere 28 were F1 GTR race cars built for private customers competing in the FIA GT series and the 24 Heures du Mans. This particular F1 GTR is allegedly the last model of the series with chassis number #28R.

The McLaren race car belonged to the 'Gulf Team Davidoff' and it features the characteristic stretched bodywork of the so-called 'Long Tail' F1 GTR of which only ten were produced in 1997.

The 1997 F1 GTRs were developed to meet major regulation changes made for both the FIA GT Series and the Le Mans 24 Hour race. Aside from the radical aerodynamic enhancements that included a much longer nose and tail, as well as a wider rear wing, the '97 models also featured further improvements to the 600HP BMW Motorsport V12 engine, an all new sequential transmission and a weight reduction of 75kg over the '96 model resulting in a kerb weight of just 915kg or 2,017 lbs.

There's no price tag listed on the Japanese website, but you know the saying - if you have to ask...

Link: Wintel