LaCie PorscheDesign P’9220 and P’9230 hard drives – Click above for high-res image gallery
is known for some of the sleekest driving machines on the market. LaCie, meanwhile, makes some of the slickest hard drives. Where they intersect is the latest range of external storage devices, penned by Porsche Design for LaCie.
Collaboration between the two companies dates back to 2003, and the new LaCie Porsche Design mobile and desktop hard drives feature minimalist brushed aluminum cases that would instantly look at home next to your Acer Ferrari or Asus Lamborghini laptops for the ultimate in automotive-inspired computer hardware.
The devices are available in sizes ranging from 500 gigabytes all the way up 2 terabytes with prices starting at $104.99. for more details in the press release and scope out the designs in the high-res image gallery.
Morgan Threewheeler does donuts and a burnout – Click above to watch the video after the break
Take three wheels, add one 115-horsepower V-twin engine, a five-speed manual gearbox and barely enough metal bits and pieces to hold it all together. Blend and half-bake. What do you get? The . We’re in lust.
If we were to strap ourselves into one of these crazy contraptions, we can think of only one accessory needed to truly do the machine justice, and you can see exactly what we mean in the video after the break. An old-timey Morgan deserves an old-timey set of goggles, no?
If you happened to find yourself sitting behind the three-spoke steering wheel of a Morgan Threewheeler, what would you do? How about a bunch of donuts followed by a one-wheel burnout in the middle of an empty parking lot? Yep, sounds about right.
Live vicariously through the man with the goggles in the video .
We’re suckers for well-shot automotive videos, and our friends at (eh?) came across a good one. Filmmaker Stephen Brooks spent time at New Jersey’s Wall Speedway to take in a Formula Drift event, and left with plenty of good stuff. His lens work is sharp, his footage is entertaining and his interviews provide a touch of insight into the minds of the folks in this industry.
If you’re a drifting fan, a few familiar faces step in front of Brooks’ camera to talk about their favorite sideways motorsport. to check out Drifting the Gauntlet, and see if you can spot where Brooks was influenced by the film Days of Thunder.
Station wagons are a bit like free dinners. Your parents appreciate them, auto journalists love them and nobody buys them. Who needs a station wagon when a crossover is just as roomy, not as efficient and generally more expensive?
We see plenty of hand-to-hand combat, gun fights, beautiful ladies and exotic locals… plus the BMW i8, and even a gut-wrenching scene with a BMW 6 Series convertible.
2012 Fiat 500 – Click above for high-res image gallery
When the launched here in the U.S., we didn’t expect Texas to be one of the vehicle’s largest markets. But according to Ward’s Auto, that’s exactly the case. boasts a total of 10 franchises in the land of cowboy boots and ten gallon hats – a figure that’s only bested by the likes of California and tied with New York and Florida. The Italian automaker’s North American boss, , says that a host of green and tech-industry workers, sprawling suburban living and the fourth-largest metropolitan center in the country in Houston, Texas is the perfect place for the 500.
Even more surprising is word that most Fiat dealers are ordering up the 500 with an impressive manual transmission take rate. In a country where most drivers believe their left foot is only good for mounting and dismounting their Hoveround, a full 70 percent of 500 dealer orders have been placed for manual transmission models – a figure that has surprised Fiat execs. Is there hope for the row-your-own way of life, or are these suckers destined to languish on dealer lots? Let’s hope for the former.
Nissan Qashqai – Click above for high-res image gallery
Few companies do crossovers quite like . Even after setting aside actual SUVs like the , and Armada, Infiniti’s offerings , and , and the crossovers its developed for its sister company Renault like the , the Japanese automaker produces its own crossovers by, well… the truckload. Here we’ve got the , the , and the , joined overseas by such models as the Patrol/Safari, the X-Trail, and this, the Qashqai.
You may not be familiar with this particular CUV (pronounced “KASH-ky”) because it’s not sold in North America, but it’s closest in size and mission to our Rogue. Available in standard five-seat and long-wheelbase seven-seat configurations, the Qashqai was launched in 2007 and facelifted in 2010. It’s offered with a range of four-cylinder engines, driving either the front wheels or all four through CVT or manual transmissions, and takes on the likes of the and . It’s also popular in the Japanese and Australian markets, where it’s known as the Dualis.
In addition to production in Japan and Iran (whose nomadic tribe Turkic Qashqai gives it its name), the crossover is built primarily in the UK at Sunderland, where the vehicle’s production has just passed the million-made mark, standing as one of the most prolific automobiles ever made there. In fact, no other vehicle has reached that number in such a short time in Britain’s considerable automaking history.
According to Nissan, over the course of the four-and-a-half years of production, Qashqai production at Synderland has accounted for as much steel as is being used to build all the facilities that will support London’s Olympic games next year. And if you line up every Qashqai produced at the Sunderland plant, they’d measure 2,700 miles end-to-end – that’s enough to line Britain’s entire coastline.
Not about to stop there, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn recently announced during a meeting with British Prime Minister David Cameron that an all-new Qashqai will be entirely designed, engineered and built in the UK. Follow the jump for the full press release.
When rolled out the new , it to adapt the car to various touring car racing specifications. The car has been performing admirably in the British Touring Car Championship, winning several races last season with Arena Motorsport to finish second in the teams standings. But now Ford’s reportedly got its eye on a bigger prize.
According to Autosport, Dearborn is considering sending the Focus ST touring car up to the World Touring Car Championship. To that end, they’ve reportedly retained the services of the same Arena Motorsport that fields the car in the BTCC and which has, in its considerable history, run teams in A1GP, Formula Three, Le Mans and even Fomula One – scoring a podium finish under the Onyx Grand Prix banner with Stefan Johansson behind the wheel and Ford power under the hood at the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix, just behind Gerhard Berger and Alain Prost.
The last time Ford competed in the WTCC was in 2005. But while the World Championship may not currently race in America, don’t think that American automakers aren’t interested in the series. The currently dominates the standings its factory drivers Robert Huff, Alain Menu and defending champion Yvan Muller currently holding the top three slots in the standings. Ford, it would seem, is eager to take a slice of that particular pie.
Autoline After Hours fantasy draft companies – Click each image to see in high-res
The best part about any fantasy sports league is being able to pick and choose your team from the full crop of professional athletes in the business. The folks at Autoline After Hours are now bringing this to the automotive space with their first-annual Automotive Fantasy Draft.
Veteran automotive pundits John McElroy, Peter “Auto Extremist” DeLorenzo, Ed Lapham and Jim Hall will gather ’round the AAH table to draft auto executives for four fictional car companies. The AAH crew have even gone so far as to create logos and mission statements for these fantasy automakers, which you can check out in the attached image gallery.
The show airs on Thursday, June 30 at 7:00PM Eastern, and you can watch it live on the . Until then, to watch a zany trailer for the Automotive Fantasy Draft featuring Jim Hall from 2953 Analytics.
Audi R8 V8 Limited Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery
has worked up a special edition version of the company’s to commemorate the German automaker’s victories at Le Mans. Powered by the same 430 horsepower, 4.2-liter V8 found in the base coupe, the R8 V8 Limited Edition models are available with special titanium-effect paint with titanium-toned wheels to match. Those rollers are 19-inch double Y-spoke bits that were crafted in the spitting image of the hardware found on the R8 GT Coupe. Buyers can also expect to find a set of red brake calipers tucked behind the wheels. All of the company’s standard metallic and pearl effect paint options will also be available on the commemorative cars.
Inside, the R8 V8 Limited Edition comes with satellite navigation and Audi Music Interface with a Bang and Olufsen sound system as well as a unique interior lighting package and Bluetooth hands-free calling. Prices start at £93,935 in the UK. That figure translates to around $150,000 (including Britain’s costly Value Added Tax), though there’s no clear indication as to whether or not any of the 100 examples will make their way to the States or how much Audi will ask U.S. buyers to pay. for the press release.
HRE Open House 2011 – Click above for high-res image gallery
If you asked a group of enthusiasts what company makes the best wheels, the answers would undoubtedly be varied. HRE, however, would probably be mentioned in that conversation. The HRE Peformance Wheels team has been creating rollers for everything from luxury cruisers to some of the most exciting vehicles in motorsports.
The current lineup of HRE wheels is as impressive as it is expensive. Wheels start at around $1,300 per corner. Curious to learn how the company justifies charging so much for its wares, we traveled to the company’s Vista, California headquarters for its recent 2011 HRE Open House. We wound up with an inside view at how the wheels are made and a peek at the company’s diverse (and loyal) customer base.
Infiniti EX35 IIHS roof strength test – Click above for high-res image gallery
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety is tough on vehicles. The institute’s crash tests are among the most difficult to ace, with very high standards for front and side impacts, plus rigid roof strength standards. But while some vehicles struggle to achieve the top score of “Good,” the seems to have had the answers to the test.
Infiniti’s smallest luxury crossover achieved the top score of “Good” because it features standard stability control, it passed the all-important rear and side impact protection tests and it has a roof that can handle the pressure of more than four times its overall weight. The roof test is measured by pressing a metal plate into a corner of the roof at a constant rate. The pressure continues to build until five inches of crush is achieved. If the roof can withstand at least four times the overall weight of the vehicle, it receives a score of “Good.” Since the EX35 checked off every box with a score of “Good,” the IIHS feels comfortable calling the CUV a “Top Safety Pick.”
But while the EX35 was aces in the roof test, the similarly sized didn’t fare nearly as well. IIHS gave the RDX an overall score of “Marginal” after the roof was found to only be able to withstand 2.9 times the overall weight of the vehicle.
Hillclimb Records, Lambo SUV Or Sedan, Nissan Power88, Wrangler Demand
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Episode #236 of the Autoblog Podcast is here, one day later than usual. Chris, Zach and Dan start with a chat about the hillclimb records that were smashed at Pikes Peak and Mt. Washington and then we move on to consider whether should create an SUV or sedan. and its exceptionally ambitious Power88 plan is our next topic before we discuss the intense worldwide demand for the and lament the reported shelving of a pickup derivative. Your questions and comments finish us up, and it’s a tidy hour and twenty-three minutes this week. Live podcasts will be back soon at our , but we went with the legacy format this week because of schedules. We’ve embedded our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
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During the U.S. launch of the , CEO Victor Muller told us that he was good at raising money, and he is probably going further than he ever wished to prove his point. It was announced this morning that Swedish Automobile, parent company of Saab, secured a €25-million ($36M U.S.) bridge loan from Gemini Investment Fund. It is the second infusion from Gemini in as many months, and brings to €66M ($95M) the amount of money Saab has raised this week alone.
The latest life preserver allows Saab to pay its June wages. The production lines are still idle while Saab deals with suppliers, but it wants to start making cars again in two weeks. Saab is also waiting on regulatory approval for €245 million ($353M) from two Chinese partners, and hopes to access a drawdown of €29.1 million ($42M) from the European Investment Bank in hopes of manifesting a Rocky-like comeback.
Climb aboard as Rhys Millen makes his way up Pikes Peak – Click above to watch video
Rhys Millen put in a heroic effort at the 2011 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The brakes on his decided to give up before he did, which makes . Are you curious what it would be like to drive that beast up the Colorado mountain? You’re in luck, because Rhys and his team slapped a few cameras on the car.
We’re treated to a forward-facing shot, as well as footage trained on Millen’s mug. The strain of pushing his rig up the mountain is evident, as is the frustration with his replacement transmission and terror supplied by his lack of brakes.
to watch Rhys Millen battle both the mountain and his machine for just over 10 minutes.
The Holy Roman Empire of car companies, AG, is a resident of the U.S. again after more than two decades away subduing other lands. For at least ten of those years, the question has been especially pointed: “When is VW going to build a plant in the U.S… again?” While other makers above and below the VW meridian were moving to America and benefiting from immersion in the American market, VW watchers and enthusiasts were left wondering why a company that kept talking like it really wanted to be here kept acting like, well, it wasn’t really sure how much it wanted to be here.
No more. Chattanooga is the X that marks the spot, and the is the New Midsize Sedan. Now more than ever VW has what it takes to win the hearts and minds of American customers, and a new generation will get to know what a domestically-built Volkswagen means. Having addressed the issue of “When,” however, it turns out there are so many other questions to be answered.
The Supreme Court is set to rule on whether or not law enforcement officers need a warrant in order to track a suspect’s vehicle with a GPS device. The case centers around Antoine Jones, whose vehicle was bugged for a month without his consent or a go-ahead from the justice department. The police have argued that such tracking shouldn’t require a warrant because the location of Jones’ vehicle on public streets is public knowledge. Advocates arguing against that stance say that the comprehensive surveillance constitutes an unjust invasion of privacy.
No one is disputing the fact that Jones was, in fact, selling cocaine when his vehicle was monitored.
Lower courts have sided with Jones’ attorneys on the privacy issue in the past, though there is a precedent for allowing evidence obtained through warrantless GPS tracking to be upheld. The issue seems to be exactly how long law enforcement continues the tracking. Either way, law enforcement, prosecution and defense attorneys will all have a close eye on the outcome of the Jones case.
2012 Audi Q3 – Click above for high-res image gallery
’s 2.5-liter turbo five has shown remarkable potential. It powers the RS3 hot hatch, the new TT RS, the endurance racer and was shoehorned into the concept. Now, word has it that this delicious powerplant will be dropped into the Q3 crossover to make for a new Q3 RS.
The news arrives only weeks after the Q3 at sister-company Seat’s plant in Martorell, Spain. The model is initially being offered with 2.0-liter engines, burning gasoline as a TSFI with 168 or 208 horsepower, as well as a TDI diesel with 138 or 175 horsepower.
The turbo five produces 335 horsepower in the RS3 and TT RS, 450 horsepower in the race-spec Golf24 and upwards of 500 horsepower in the A1 concept, so you can count on the Q3 RS offering a considerable boost in performance over the existing models. Reports indicate that it could be detuned to 300 horsepower (possibly for the benefit of more torque) in the hot crossover, however. And while Audi has yet to confirm the model, sources inside Germany expect it to hit the market sometime next year.
Mending a rift in motor racing is good for everybody. It was good for American open-wheel racing when the Champ Car and IndyCar Series put aside their differences to rejoin forces. And it will be good for sports car racing now that the FIA and the ACO are in the .
Just as Indy is set to grow with new manufacturers participating, so is it expected of the new . is one of the major automakers working on a new LMP1 program, and now reports indicate that the could be preparing to rejoin endurance racing with a competition version of the upcoming next-generation Viper.
As you may recall, the original Viper bred the GTS-R that claimed overall wins in the Nürburgring 24 Hours and Rolex 24 at Daytona. It also scored back-to-back class wins at Le Mans in 1998, ‘99 and 2000, Sebring in 2000 and numerous others, including several titles in the FIA GT Championship and American Le Mans Series.
In bringing the next Viper back into the fold, Chrysler would look to challenge the likes of the , and in the GTE category. That last bit would be particularly interesting, as the two companies are now corporate cousins under the Fiat umbrella.
The automaker has reportedly brought Riley Technologies, the chassis manufacturer behind eight years running of Grand Am champions, to evaluate the new Viper for competition potential. We’ll be watching to see how this development unfolds.
Although we’ve already , we’ve been eagerly awaiting its 6 Series Coupe companion. had led us to believe that only the twin-turbo V8 650i would make its way to North American consumers, but apparently, that ain’t necessarily so. While we will indeed receive the 650i Coupe shown above on October 1 (slightly ahead of the rest of the world, we might add, which gets it mid-month), Autoblog has learned that buyers will also get the chance to own the less costly 640i model.
The 640i incorporates BMW’s N55 twin-scroll single turbo six-cylinder and includes features not found on the V8 model, including a fuel-saving start-stop function. In European spec, the TwinPower Turbo 3.0-liter delivers 316 brake horsepower and 332 pound feet of torque through a standard ZF-source eight-speed automatic. (For comparison’s sake, the 650i musters 400 hp and 450 lb-ft). In addition to the 640i, European Editor Matt Davis reports that a grips-at-all-corners xDrive variant will come on-line this fall, but only if you splurge for the V8 model.
The 650i Coupe will make its North American debut during the Pebble Beach festivities in Monterey, California this August, but the 640i won’t be shown. Instead, your dealer will be able to place an order for you in September, with the very first customer cars expected to trickle in at the end of October.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and the BMW i8 – Click above to watch video
It’s been a long time since we heard from globe-trotting international man of mystery Ethan Hunt, but it looks like he’s set to take the screen again with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The first trailer for the latest installment of Tom Cruise’s action-packed espionage adventure has hit the interwebs, and while it features a host of hand-to-hand combat, gun fights, beautiful ladies and exotic locals, it also boasts a few unique rides from the stable. If you watch closely, you just might catch a glimpse of the upcoming BMW i8, and there’s even a gut-wrenching scene with a convertible.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Judging by the quick clip, we’ll be sure to catch this one when it lands in theaters. We’re particularly stoked to see Simon Pegg play a part in Hunt’s quest to redeem his organization’s name. to check out the video for yourself.
