Tag: victory

Ford GT Heritage Edition Celebrate Storied 1966 Daytona Win

August 20, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition inspired by the GT40 MK II’s 1966 Daytona 24 Hour Continental race victory!

– Ford Performance unveils new Ford GT Heritage Edition inspired by the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour Continental, a stylish Frozen White with exposed carbon fiber and Race Red livery that pays homage to the 55th anniversary of the epic race where Ford achieved its first 24-hour endurance win

– Exclusive Ford GT Studio Collection offers even more exclusivity with unique and widely customizable design features in a limited-availability package for only 40 Ford GT supercars slated for production across the 2021 and 2022 model years

– New 2021 Ford GT Heritage Edition and Studio Collection are the pinnacle of Petersen Car Week, which started airing Wednesday on the Petersen Museum’s YouTube channel, which includes highlights include several virtual events featuring 25 hours of original content from manufacturers and enthusiasts, plus automotive lifestyle and auction house activities

The Ford GT is America’s only Le Mans-winning supercar, and taking this pinnacle of Ford Performance even further for 2021, Ford is revealing two new enhancements today – the first-ever Heritage Edition inspired by the original model’s first endurance win at the 1966 Daytona 24 Hour Continental race, plus an all-new Studio Collection package offers even more exclusivity and design enhancements.

“For this Heritage Edition, the Ford Performance team went deeper into the Ford GT’s race history and crafted a limited-edition model that stylistically honors the 55th anniversary of the Daytona 24 Hour endurance race that would eventually lead to our successes at Le Mans,” said Mike Severson, Ford GT program manager. “Plus, for customers who want to highlight the carbon-fiber body and functional cooling ducts that help deliver Le Mans-winning performance, the Ford GT Studio Collection offers another new way GT fans can personalize their supercars.”

The announcement of two new variants of the Ford GT were the highlights at the conclusion of 2020 Petersen Car Week, which started airing Wednesday on the museum’s YouTube channel. The virtual event featured 25 hours of original content from manufacturers and enthusiasts, along with automotive lifestyle and auction house activities.

Click the image below to watch the video!

Tesla Ordered by German Court to Stop Cutting Down Trees for Gigafactory

February 16, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

BERLIN (Reuters) – A German court on Sunday ordered Tesla Inc to stop clearing forest land near the capital Berlin to build its first European car and battery factory, a victory for local environmental activists.

The U.S. electric carmaker announced plans last November to build a Gigafactory in Gruenheide in the eastern state of Brandenburg.

The court ruling, by the higher administrative court of the states of Berlin and Brandenburg, comes after the state environmental office gave a green light to clear 92 hectares of forest for the plant.

Planning permission has not yet been granted to build the Gigafactory, however, meaning U.S. entrepreneur Elon Musk’s company is preparing the ground at its own risk.

In a statement, the court said it had issued the order to stop the tree-felling because it would have only taken three more days to complete the work.

Otherwise the clearance would have been completed before judges made a final decision on the complaint brought by a local environmentalist group called the Gruene Liga Brandenburg (Green League of Brandenburg).

“It should not be assumed that the motion seeking legal protection brought by the Green League lacks any chance of succeeding,” the court statement added.

Lawmakers from the pro-business Christian Democrat and Free Democrat parties have warned that the legal battle waged against the Gigafactory would inflict serious and long-lasting damage on Germany’s image as a place to do business.

Local and national lawmakers have been caught out by the strength of opposition to the Gigafactory, with hundreds of demonstrators protesting over what they say is the threat it poses to local wildlife and water supplies.

Tesla currently has two Gigafactories in the United States and one in Shanghai, China.

Tesla shares have surged 340% since early June as more investors bet on Musk’s vision.

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)

Cathay Pacific Cuts 2020 Capacity Plan as Hong Kong Unrest Continues

November 30, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Hong Kong carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd <CPCAY> plans to cut passenger flight capacity by 1.4% next year, reversing an earlier plan for a boost of 3.1% because of a challenging business outlook, an internal memo reviewed by Reuters showed.

The capacity reduction follows Cathay Pacific cutting its second-half profit guidance earlier this month, the second cutback in less than a month, because of anti-government protests that began in Hong Kong in June that have discouraged travel to the city.

“Given the immediate commercial challenges and the fact that our position has deteriorated in recent weeks, we must take swift action to adjust our budget operating plan for 2020 downwards again,” Chief Executive Augustus Tang said in the memo.

“Put another way, rather than growing our airlines in 2020, for the first time in a long time, our airlines will reduce in size.”

Revenue performance continues to be disappointing and advance bookings into 2020 remain much lower than expected due to weak traffic from some of its key markets, particularly mainland China, the memo said.

A Cathay representative said the carrier had no comment.

Full-service carrier Hong Kong Airlines, backed by indebted Chinese conglomerate HNA, also said on Friday it would further reduce its capacity to mitigate the impact from the political unrest.

Several Asian airlines have also cut flights to Hong Kong, as the protests in the financial hub and an escalating China-U.S. trade war have pushed the Chinese-ruled territory into recession for the first time in a decade.

Hong Kong has enjoyed a week of relative calm since local elections on Sunday delivered an overwhelming victory to pro-democracy candidates.

But protesters stirred support for more rallies over the weekend, as police withdrew on Friday from a university campus where some of the worst clashes with security forces had occurred as part of nearly six months of unrest.

Shares in Cathay rose 0.8% on Friday, outperforming a 2% drop in the broader market.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney; Writing by Miyoung Kim; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Christian Schmollinger)

Ford GT Heritage Edition Celebrate Storied 1966 Daytona Win

Tesla Ordered by German Court to Stop Cutting Down Trees for Gigafactory

Cathay Pacific Cuts 2020 Capacity Plan as Hong Kong Unrest Continues

Archives