Auris rally car

The 6th round of the Sasol SA Rally Championship saw the debut of the S2000 Castrol Auris, with Mark Cronje/Robert Paisley (winners of the July's VW Rally) behind the wheel.

The Auris was doing quite well throughout Day 1 and most of Day 2 (two stage wins), but sadly the race ended on stage 8 for this team. Cronje had this to say of the car and the unfortunate incident:

“We misread a note, or mis-interpreted it. I had the car straightened up for a blind crest and on the other side of the crest the road went left. We barreled off the road and ripped the wheels off on a pile of rocks”.  read more »

Body shell

• Toyota Auris 4-door hatch body shell with FIA specification chrome molybdenum roll cage. It is also HANS Compatible.
• Transmission tunnel and rear suspension turrets manufactured as per FIA S2000 regulations.
• Tubular fabricated front and rear cradles.

Engine

• 3S-GE "Beams" 2000cc engine with 64 mm single butterfly inlet as per FIA S2000 regulations.
• Bore is 86.0 mm
• Stroke is 86.0 mm
• Power: 190 kW
• Torque: 240 N-m
• Rev limited to 8,500 rpm

Transmission

• FIA specified SADEV six-speed sequential 4 wheel drive gearbox with intermediate, front and rear differentials.
 read more »
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A Toyota representative has said the following:

Auris had an excellent début race at the Toyota Rally towards the end of 2007. We were hoping to race the car at the start of the 2008 season but due to unforeseen circumstances we had to delay our plans. We are hopeful and positive that the Auris S2000 will make its official competitive début before the end of the 2008. RunX S2000 has performed brilliantly thus far with credible podium finishes.

Watch this space for more information on Auris Rally Car coming soon!

What makes rallying cool besides the funky colours, in-your-face logos and extreme speed? Well, I don’t really know except that there is something really fantastic about specially built road-legal cars (the Auris this weekend – not racing competitively but merely for time) tearing up a storm around public and private gravel-induced roads through tons of mud in every imaginable condition…exciting right?  read more »