Russo-Baltique Impression

World presentation of Russo-Baltique Impression

A resurrected Russian brand, Russo-Baltique made its first public appearance at the Villa D'Este Concours d'Elegance over the weekend. In 2005, German Gerg GmbH became involved in the building of the Impression coupe bringing in the capabilities of its Munich-based production facility.

Russo-Baltique Impression is ready for a limited-series production – 10-15 cars – starting from Spring, 2006. Each car production, including the preparation and approval of its exclusive specifications, will take 12 to 18 months. The Impression uses a Mercedes AMG 5.5 V12 bi-turbo engine that produces 555 hp.

The company is able to build 2-3 Russo-Baltique Impression cars annually. The price of a car amounts to approximately 50 million rubles -or about $ 1.800.000 or € 1.450.000...




The official press release on the new Impression:

It is the honor of Russo-Baltique Company of Russia to present to the honorable public a coupe called Impression – the first model of the Russo-Baltique brand after a long intermission. On the eve of its 100th anniversary, the Russian antique car brand – the supplier of His Highness the Emperor’s Court – is returning to the market of luxury and high-powered cars with this model.

The Russo-Baltique car brand’s history begins in 1907 when a domestic autocar manufacturing was established by one of the largest industrial concerns in the Russian Empire. Two years had passed before the first car was built – a 30-hp open two-seater Russo-Baltique 24-30. First years of its existence were marked by outstanding performance in automotive sport competitions building up the reputation of a reliable, ideal and elegant model producer. In 1912, a special sport model, Russo-Baltique C24-50, won two first awards in the Monte-Carlo Rally, and the second award in the rally in San-Sebastian a year after that.

In 1913, Russo-Baltique was granted a title of an official supplier of His Highness the Emperor’s Court.In 1914, the Russo-Baltique concern built the biggest aeroplane in the world – Ilya Muromets – developed by a remarkable Russian engineer Igor Sikorsky.

The First World War became a turning-point in the Russian history in general and the Russo-Baltique future, in particular. The subsequent Revolution brought an end to the Russo-Baltique production for many years.

According to our estimates, there are 3 complete samples of different historical models of Russo- Baltique remaining in the world. In 2003, a decision to revive the legendary Russian brand and to resume the Russo-Baltique cars production was made in Moscow. In 2005, the Russo-Baltique Company was officially registered. The main office of the company is located in the historical center of Moscow, close to the old Church of the Ascension at Uspensky Vrazhek.

Today, the Russo-Baltique company, for the first time in its history, has the honor to present the prototype of its new model – Impression, a luxury comfortable 4-seater with classic set-up. It manifests perfect style and quality attributed to all subsequent cars and brands of Russo-Baltique. With the cars of this level of perfection, the company will strive for returning its position lost in 1917.




The Impression coupe has been under construction in Moscow since 2003. The style of Impression is a mixture of the Russo-Baltique designers’ impressions from the Golden Age of the automotive industry – the 1930s – when car shapes won hearts both by their elegance and by their monumental size. For comfortable boarding, the car is equipped with rear-hinged doors. The radiator grille of the Russo-Baltique Impression is crowned by the historical heraldic sign picturing the Russian two-headed eagle - the official emblem of a supplier to His Highness the Emperor’s Court. The dash board of Impression is hand-made of a one-piece exotic African tree trunk, Zebrano, with naturally alternating black and white stripes. The steering-wheel rim and interior side panels are made of the same material. In combination with white metal these parts create both a unique and ergonomic interior ensemble.

While in the 20th century the dominant feature of Russo-Baltique cars was the Russian heritage of all their parts and their unique adaptation to Russian bad roads, in the 21st century the priority has shifted to innovations, perfection, and high technology of the car design and materials. The car quality, as it was before, will be a match to its unique title of the Court’s supplier reinforced today by new technological capabilities.

Technical data on Russo-Baltique Impression
Engine 555 hp bi-turbo V12
Gearbox 6-speed automatic
Suspension pneumatic, adjustable ride height
Wheels R22 inches, wheel rim of original design
Length 5.183 m
Wheelbase 3.150 m
Width 1.847 m
Height 1.433 m

VIDEO: Bentley Continental Supersports' Run at Goodwood Hill Climb Course

Bentley's latest model, the Continental Supersports that utilizes an E85 capable 6.0-liter W12 engine producing 621HP, was one of the newest sports cars to participate at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed (July 3-5). Behind the steering wheel of the Continental Supersports was former Le Mans racer and honorary "Bentley Boy" Derek Bell. Follow the jump to watch the Bell tackling the challenging 1.16-mile Goodwood hill-climb course in the fastest and most powerful car in Bentley's 90-year history.

VIDEO: Shocking Accident in Russia, Rally Car Runs Over Cameramen

How many times have we seen spectators and professionals alike being hurt or even killed at rallies simply because they were standing in a prohibited area? The answer is more times than we can remember. In this incident that occurred in Russia, two foolish -and that's an understatement- cameramen provoked their fate by trying to capture the moment at a man-made overpass.

The result? The driver of a Nissan Patrol rally truck lost control of the vehicle hitting one cameraman and running over the other one. We had to watch the video several times to believe it, but amazingly, both men actually got up all by themselves - at least that part of the brain works. Even though we can't say if they suffered any injuries or not, they should consider themselves lucky just for being alive.

As for the driver in the Nissan, what can we say; dim-witted as the two men may be, they are still human beings and we cannot comprehend the fact that he didn't even stop for a moment to see if they were okay...

Thanks for the tip Chris!

VIDEO: Ferrari Scuderia Spider, California and 599 GTB HGTE Tackle the Goodwood Hill Climb

One of the most popular events at the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed is the Sunday Times Supercar Run which sees some of the fastest and most powerful cars in the world race up the 1.16 mile hill climb. At this year's run that was completed on Sunday, June 5, Ferrari showcased three of its latest supercars - the limited run 510HP F430 Scuderia Spider 16M, the new California hardtop-convertible that's moved by a 460HP V8 and the 599 GTB Fiorano equipped with the HGTE sport package.

Below you can watch all three Prancing Horse models at the Sunday Times Supercar Run through an inboard video camera while we've also added an additional "over-the-shoulder" film of the California. According to the Italian sports car maker, the Scuderia Spider 16M was the fastest of the bunch completing the Goodwood hill climb in just 59 seconds.

Porsche to Celebrate 917 Race Car's 40th Anniversary at Goodwood Festival

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the iconic Porsche 917, the first Porsche to win Le Mans and one of the most recognizable and successful race car's ever to come out of Stuttgart. To commemorate the event, Porsche is planning to bring a collection of 917s to this weekend's Goodwood Festival of Speed in the UK including the 1970 Le Mans winner and the distinctively-liveried 917/20 'Pink Pig'.

According to Porsche, the 917s at Goodwood will be accompanied by an array of drivers that will be reunited with their race cars such as Richard Attwood, former F1 driver and 1970 Le Mans winner for Porsche, driving a 917; Brian Redman will be behind the wheel of the 917/30 CanAm racer; David Piper, who bought a 917 new from the factory in 1969, will be driving his own car while Jackie Oliver, who was the Le Mans winner in 1969, will meet again with the Gulf-liveried 917.

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.