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This season marks the end of an era for DTM. Next year the German touring car series switches to new regulations, the new cars will all be coupe-based (or at least look like coupes) and BMW joins in on the action. And with this chapter in DTM history closing, Audi has gone down in history as the undisputed champions. Or at least one of its drivers has.

With one round still to go, Martin Tomczyk holds such an unassailable lead in the standings as to be crowned champion a race early. The death blow was dealt to his rivals when Tomczyk came in third place this past weekend at the penultimate round in Valencia – one of a handful of DTM races held outside Germany – as part of an Audi-dominated 1-2-3-4-5-6 finish that relegated Mercedes-AMG drivers Bruno Spengler and Gary Paffett to seventh and eighth place.

Perhaps most surprising is that Tomczyk – 29 years old from Bavaria – was not even driving the latest car which two-time former champion, Audi poster boy and winner of the race in Valencia, Mattias Ekstrom, has at his disposal. No, Tomczyk managed to beat out everyone else with a car that’s three years old.

Tomczyk will presumably be driving the new A5 DTM next season, and it’ll be worth watching to see him defend his title against the returning challengers from Mercedes and the new contenders from BMW, not to mention his own Audi-driving rivals. Follow the jump for the pair of press releases.

Continue reading Audi takes DTM title in spectacular style

Audi takes DTM title in spectacular style

Lamborghini Crossover, Four-cylinder small Porsche, Google autonomous cars, Tire scanners in roads

Episode #250 of the Autoblog Podcast is here. This week Chris, Zach, and Dan are joined by Autoblog Executive Editor Chris Paukert. Topics include the rumor of an upcoming Lamborghini Crossover vehicle, a small Porsche with a 1.9-liter four cylinder, Google’s autonomous cars, and an effort to embed tire scanners in road surfaces to rat you out to Big Brother. Your questions and comments power the last third of the podcast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module after the jump for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!

Autoblog Podcast #250:

• Lamborghini Crossover beating Estoque for production likelihood
• New small Porsche to get 1.9-liter four
• Is Google going to perfect the autonomous car?
• Scanners in the road ratting you out to Big Brother

In the Autoblog Garage
2011 Nissan Altima 2.5 SL
2012 Dodge Charger SRT8
2012 Kia Sorento SX
2011 Ford Mustang V6 Coupe

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Continue reading Autoblog Podcast #250

Autoblog Podcast #250

The world is filled with curious questions. Why are we here? Why do we hate tomatoes but love ketchup? Why do Americans love crossovers? Why are there 150 brand-new 1997 Dodge Neon models with zero miles on the odometer up for sale in Singapore? That last one is particularly perplexing. Arete Trading Pte Ltd. has somehow managed to get its hands on a small flotilla of pristine Neon models and is currently in the process of parceling them out for the lowly sum of $1,350 each. That means, if you had $202,500 laying around, you could live the dream of driving a brand-new 14-year-old car every day for 150 days straight.

Or at least you could once you had the necessary vehicle systems straightened out. We’re guessing that each of these Neons could use some fuel and brake system work in order to be even quasi viable. Still, as the good people at Motor Authority point out, get enough friends together and you could have one hell of a one-make race. Check out the sale here.

150 brand-new 1997 Chrysler Neons is the ultimate barn find

It’s not every day that concept cars go up for grabs. The automakers and design studios that craft them typically hold on to their show cars for posterity, putting them away in archives that we’d imagine resemble the end scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark or else putting them in their own museums for visitors to their headquarters to see. That’s what makes this particular item such a rare opportunity.

Bertone unveiled this BMW Spicup concept at the 1969 Geneva Motor Show. But unlike some of today’s concept cars, this one was actually made to be driven, taking its chassis from a BMW 2000 CS, complete with its 2.5-liter inline-six engine. Sometime after the show, it was acquired by a Dutch individual who drove it regularly, but then the car disappeared into obscurity for a couple of decades.

Now restored to concours condition, the Spicup concept has been showcased at Villa d’Este and at the BMW Museum in Munich. That’s where Bonhams just auctioned it off at its POWER by BMW event, where it sold for a high bid of €460,000 (~$600k). Other highlights of the event included a Le Mans and Spa-winning ‘75 3.0 CSL (est. €350,000/$460k), a ‘79 M1 Pro-Car (€500k/$660k), a ‘37 328 Roadster (€500k/$660k) and even a BMW-powered Abbatte wooden speedboat (€150k/$200k).

Follow the jump for more info on the Spicup show car, this link for more on the POWER by BMW event and this other link for more images.

Continue reading Bonhams auctions one-of-a-kind Bertone Spicup concept at BMW Museum

Bonhams auctions one-of-a-kind Bertone Spicup concept at BMW Museum

There are a lot of things you could call the Dartz Prombron, but small, economical and svelte certainly aren’t among them. The hulking Latvian SUV is about as brutish as they come, and while Dartz has ventured into sleeker territory with the Nagel concept, that’s little more than a cut-down Prombron made for towing speedboats. This, however, is something else entirely.

Looking like something you might expect to see in the archives at Bertone or Giugiaro (or on the set of the next Alien vs. Predator movie), the Mojo is a new roadster being developed by Dartz. The shape is both curvaceous and angular (and strange…), with the engine exposed in the back (though no word yet on what engine that is) and two motorbike-style exhaust silencers protruding into the air. A glass canopy can be closed or slid backwards for ingress, egress and open-air motoring. There’s even an electric version in the works called Jo-Mojo. Funny names since, unlike some of its other offerings, this Dartz vehicle actually isn’t upholstered in foreskin. At least, we assume it isn’t.

The Mojo is set to be showcased at the 2012 Top Marques Monaco show at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo come April, by which time Dartz will presumably offer a little more in the way of technical details. In the meantime you can check out the photos in the gallery for a closer look.

Dartz downsizes to find its Mojo

One of our all-time favorite concept car from Ford remains the GT90. As a modern interpretation of the Ferrari-besting GT-40, the GT90 offered all of the early ’90s angles we could stand along with a 750-horsepower V12 engine and a theoretical top speed of 235 miles per hour.

This is the kind of machine that middle-school day dreams are made of, and now Adam Pintek has set out to build a GT90 of his very own from scratch. Technically, the vehicle is simply a supercar with a striking resemblance to the old FoMoCo concept, but when Pintek is done, he should have a vehicle capable of besting some of the world’s most legendary machines.

Over the past four years, Pintek has already hashed out around 80 percent of the body using molds designed to mimic the original design of the GT90, and he’s currently partnered with a Formula race car builder to produce the chassis. The designer has chosen to forsake the big V12 for a forced-induction 6.2-liter V8. With two turbos serving up plenty of boost, Pintek is aiming for a whopping 1,000 horsepower. The mid-mounted engine will be bolted to a six-speed manual transmission that puts power to the rear wheels.

Pintek says that he hopes to see the vehicle in the final stages of development next two years. We can’t wait.

Man building Ford GT90 concept car homage in his garage

Because “Pretty Damn Good” Is So Last Year

Earlier this year, executive editor Chris Paukert and I were chatting one morning about the 2011 Audi A6 he was driving – a car that would soon be replaced with the sharp new 2012 model you see here. Of course, we discussed how the car’s styling was growing a bit long in the tooth, but aesthetics aside, Paukert’s overall impression of the 2011 A6 was that it was still “pretty damn good.”

Fast-forward a few months, and I’m standing in front of the 2012 A6, its full-LED headlamps glaring at me, its new sheetmetal stretched over a more aggressively styled body, complete with new aluminum components that reduce overall weight. The engine, Audi’s 3.0-liter supercharged V6, was carried over from the 2011 model, albeit fitted to a brand new eight-speed Tiptronic automatic transmission. And inside – oh, inside – is a suite of technologies that will embarrass the collective staff of an Apple store.

So, if the old 2011 model was “pretty damn good,” this new 2012 model must be the bee’s knees, right? Oh, is it ever.

Continue reading 2012 Audi A6 3.0T Quattro [w/video]

2012 Audi A6 3.0T Quattro [w/video]

Plans are reportedly progressing to bring back Datsun. Wait, what? Wasn’t Datsun just the name of Nissan before it became Nissan? Why yes, yes it was. But the Japanese automaker is – as we initially reported back in July – planning on dipping back into its own history to launch a budget brand for developing markets.

The sub-brand would further increase the number of marques in CEO Carlos Ghosn’s portfolio that already includes Renault, Dacia, Nissan, Infiniti, Renault-Samsung Motors and a significant stake in Russia’s AvtoVAZ.

As Auto Express points out, the Renault-Nissan Alliance already has a budget brand called Dacia (pictured above) that’s managed by the French side of the equation and based in Romania. (You may recognize the name from the brand’s off-road racing exploits in the Andros Trophy or Pikes Peak, or from James May’s obsession with the brand’s sensible vehicles on Top Gear.) Nissan’s revived Datsun nameplate may, then, amount to little more than rebadged versions of Dacias for markets like Russia and China.

Whatever they sell and wherever they sell them, one thing’s all but certain: Datsun won’t be coming back to the United States any time soon. Oh well, we’ll just have to stick with Nissan and vehicles like the 370Z and GT-R.

Nissan moves on plans to revive Datsun nameplate as budget sub-brand

It’s hard not to love Nissan right now. The company has shown more testicular fortitude over the past 12 months than nearly every other mainstream automaker combined with additions like the Murano Crosscabriolet and the Nissan Juke. You may not love either vehicle’s bizarre styling, and you may have trouble slotting them into a comfortable market segment, but both show a determination to shirk a formulaic approach to product development. Now Nissan is diving even deeper into the crazy pool with a 520-horsepower version of the Juke. Meet the Juke-R.

Nissan Engineers have taken to wedging the twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 from the Nissan GT-R behind the frog-eye headlights of the Juke. The rest of the supercar’s drivetrain comes along for the ride too, including the vehicle’s fantastic all-wheel drive system. The Juke-R will even rock the same 20-inch Rays forged wheels as the biggest of its brothers.

Unfortunately, the Juke-R isn’t headed for production. The vehicle is a one-off, street-legal concept car worked up by RML and the Nissan Technology Center for Europe. Hit the jump for the full press release as well as a video of the machine.

Continue reading 520-hp Nissan Juke-R takes shape [w/video]

520-hp Nissan Juke-R takes shape [w/video]

Back in the 1990s, Acura sold a car here called the Vigor. It was later succeeded by the TL, which has led to the model we know and love today. But this isn’t a mid-size Japanese luxury sedan. This is a sportscar. From Italy.

What you see here is the first glimpse we’ve received from a new automaker based in Tuscany called Vygor. The new marque is reportedly preparing to unveil a sportscar as well as a four-door model, but details of either are scarce.

The name to us sounds more like a Carpathian despot from Ghostbusters than an Italian sportscar, and the snout pictured above looks just as angry. But hopefully come October 10 it’ll step outside the painting and captivate our imaginations instead of Sigourney Weaver’s baby. Stay tuned, and follow the jump for the awkwardly poetic press release.

Continue reading Vygor teases Italy’s latest sportscar

Vygor teases Italy’s latest sportscar

Renault hot hatches are among the most celebrated on the European market, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have any room for improvement. Enter the latest special edition Clio Renaultsport 200.

Known as the Raider edition in the UK and the “Ange & Démon” in other European markets, the special edition packs the same 200-horsepower four-cylinder engine as the model on which it’s based, but comes with some crucial enhancements. One of those is the matte finish – available in either grey or red (the first we’ve seen since the original Alfa 4C concept). The exterior treatment contrasts nicely with the gloss black finish on the roof, front and rear spoilers, diffuser, mirrors and up-sized 18″ alloys from the previous Megane R26.R, coated in the same Bridgestone rubber as the Nürburgring-conquering Megane RS 265 Trophy.

The special Clio also packs the stiffer Cup chassis as standard, red Brembo calipers, leather-trimmed Recaro buckets and more. You can read more about it in the press releases after the jump, but interested customers had better act fast as only 50 examples will be on offer in the UK out of a total run of 666 devilish units.

Continue reading Renaultsport calls Clio 200 to the matte with special edition

Renaultsport calls Clio 200 to the matte with special edition

You may remember the name Franz-Josef Paefgen. Until recently, the German engineer and executive was head of both Bentley and Bugatti. Before that he was chief executive of Audi, after working for several years at Ford. He technically “retired” earlier this year, but like the cars he helped create, an executive like Paefgen could never really retire. So it should come as little surprise that the Volkswagen Group has named Dr. Paefgen head of its Classic program.

In his new capacity, Paefgen will oversee the historic automobile activities of the entire VW Group, including those of Volkswagen, Seat, Skoda, Audi, Lamborghini, and of course Bentley and Bugatti. It strikes us as a suitable semi-retirement for the man responsible in no small part for the Bugatti Veyron and Bentley Mulsanne, to name just two, and who was decorated in 2006 by the ACO as the “Spirit of Le Mans” for his contribution to endurance racing. Read the official announcement after the break.

Continue reading Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

Volkswagen Group names Paefgen head of classics program

We’re almost ready to record Episode #250 of the Autoblog Podcast. Check out the topics below and you can join us live via UStream, as well. Thanks for listening!

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #250

• Lamborghini Crossover beating Estoque for production likelihood
• New small Porsche to get 1.9-liter four
• Is Google going to perfect the autonomous car?
• Scanners in the road ratting you out to Big Brother

Live broadcasting by Ustream

Autoblog Podcast #250 goes live at 10PM Eastern

Using portable emissions equipment, a wide sampling of cars and bikes from the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and with the help of Dr. Kent Johnson of UC Riverside, the Mythbusters team claims they proved motorcycles are dirtier than cars.

Doing so meant gathering data in real-world driving conditions along a 75-percent freeway, 25-percent city driving loop in and on the vehicles from different eras. The results of that test proved one thing that everyone should already know: motorcycles use less fuel than cars.

They also produce less carbon dioxide than cars, which accounts for 90 percent of a vehicle’s emissions. Where cars pull ahead, though, is in the amount of other noxious gases they produce. The Mythbusters found that bikes produce tons more hydrocarbons, which are carcinogenic; nitrogen oxides, which cause acid rain; and carbon monoxide, everyone’s favorite odorless deadly gas. Astoundingly, the ‘busters claim bikes produce up to 8,000 percent more carbon monoxide than cars. Yes, 8,000 percent.

A controlled test on a track using a small displacement, fuel injected modern bike didn’t give two wheelers the help the ‘busters thought it would.To give bikes another chance, Jamie and Adam built an aerodynamic frame to make the modern bike sip even more gently through the wind. The result, predictably, was that the emissions got a little better, but were still worse than the car’s. See the videos for yourself after the break.

Continue reading Mythbusters answers which is greener, cars or motorcycles?

Mythbusters answers which is greener, cars or motorcycles?

Typically an automaker releases information on its latest concept cars in the days and weeks running up to the auto show where it’s set to be unveiled. But when we got to Frankfurt this year, Volkswagen had a few surprises up its sleeve that were neither previewed beforehand nor unveiled at the VW Group event the night before the Messe opened its doors to the gathered press.

Not only did Volkswagen unveil the new production Up! city car, it also showcased a whole mess of Up-based concept cars as well. Included on the company’s sprawling show stand were the Up! Azzurra, the Cross Up!, GT Up!, Eco Up!, e-Up! and this, the Buggy Up!, which the German automaker has just now detailed to satisfy your curiosity.

Drawing its inspiration from the iconic Meyers Manx and other such Beetle-based beach buggies, the Buggy Up! concept takes the new urban hatchback’s mechanical bits and covers them in a new shape that has no doors. Instead, there’s a waterproof cockpit with two neoprene bucket seats, drain holes, a grab-handle for the passenger, a removable infotainment module and a fabric roof. The hatchback, meanwhile, has been replaced with a trunklid that splits to fold up and down for easy access.

It was a nice little surprise when we stumbled upon it on the show floor, and you can check it out in the fresh batch of images from the manufacturer, along with our own gallery of live images, and the press release after the jump.

Continue reading Volkswagen brings Buggy Up! concept back from the beach

Volkswagen brings Buggy Up! concept back from the beach

We’ve being living with our long-term Mini Countryman Cooper S All4 for a little over two months, but we haven’t spent much time on one of the most often used – and complex – bits of the car.

Mini Connected is essentially a reworked version of BMW iDrive for the Mini line-up. The system uses the same architecture and a tweaked user interface to provide drivers with a range of entertainment, connectivity and infotainment functionalities. Some components from iDrive have carried over, most notably a multidirectional joystick in place of the standard knob found in most BMWs, while others have been completely redone for both the Mini aesthetic and the circular display mounted in the central speedometer.

Drivers can connect their iPhone to the system over either Bluetooth or USB to take phone calls, stream Internet radio stations, play locally-stored music or listen to Pandora, along with using their data connection to see timelines on Twitter, Facebook and customizable RSS feeds. Include Google search and send-to-car functionality, and it’s a pretty compelling package. But it’s pricy.

If you opt for Mini Connected by itself, it’s a $2,000 option, with the navigation functionality commanding an additional $750. That’s a lotta scratch, but after using the system day-to-day, we’re just about sold.

There’s plenty going on with Mini Connected, so rather than assault you with a few thousand words, hit the jump for a detailed video review of the system in action.

Continue reading Getting intimate with Mini Connected

Getting intimate with Mini Connected

After a seemingly endless stream of Up! concept cars rolled out by Volkswagen over the past few years, the production version is finally upon us. But don’t think for even a second that this is the end. No, it’s just the beginning, with numerous Up-based models to follow, and not all of them will carry a VW badge.

Skoda was the first VW division to get its own version called the Citigo, and now Seat is following suit with a rebadged version of its own dubbed Mii. Launching in Spain next month before rolling out across Europe in the spring, the Mii will be available initially as a three-door before the five-door variant follows next year.

Overseas buyers will be able to choose between three trim levels, two equipment packages (Chic with chrome trim and Sport with firmer suspension and tinted windows) , two engine specs (1.0-liter threes with 59 or 74 horsepower), two transmissions (manual or robotized) and an optional Economotive pack with stop-start engine management and regenerative braking.

The last time Seat sold a car in this segment, it was the Arosa, a model discontinued in 2005. But while Seat models typically look more dynamic than their Volkswagen and Skoda counterparts (think Ibiza vs. Polo and Fabia), this time – from a styling perspective, anyway – we think we’d stick with the VW. But don’t take our word for it: check out the high-resolution images in the gallery, and the video footage and press release after the jump and share your thoughts in Comments.

Continue reading Seat is all grown Up! with a Mii of its own [w/video]

Seat is all grown Up! with a Mii of its own [w/video]

We record Episode #250 of the Autoblog Podcast tonight, and you can drop us your questions via our Q&A module below. Check out our discussion topics or chime in to help determine what else the crew chats about this evening. Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven’t already done so, and if you want to take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.

Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #250

• Lamborghini Crossover beating Estoque for production likelihood
• New small Porsche to get 1.9-liter four
• Is Google going to perfect the autonomous car?
• Scanners in the road ratting you out to Big Brother

[UStream] Interact LIVE at UStream – 10PM Eastern on Monday, October 3, 2011
[iTunes] Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes
[RSS] Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator

Submit your questions for Autoblog Podcast #250 LIVE

The U.S. auto industry appears to be roaring based on sales figures for the month of September 2011. This, despite every other economic indicator wafting between stagnant growth for the economy and an outright plunge into another recession. Don’t tell the folks selling cars in these great United States, though, because people are buying despite the doom and gloom coming out of Wall Street.

Special note must be paid to Chrysler Group, whose brands not only all scored positive sales results on their own, but collectively gave the company the largest rise is sales volume last month versus the prior year. Enough units were even sold to push the Chrysler Group ahead of Toyota Motor Company in sales for September, making the top three sellers all domestics.

In fact, the only brands really hurting besides Saab (-61.93 percent) and an inexplicably bad showing by Mini (-18.12) were Toyota, Honda and their respective luxury brands. These two giants from Japan are still clawing their way back from the earthquake in Japan earlier this year and neither has their global production back up to full speed quite yet. That’s in stark contrast to their cross-island competitor, Nissan North America, which hasn’t been shy in letting U.S. customers know it’s inventory is fully stocked, and which posted a healthy sales gain by volume of 25.28% last month in the U.S.

Check out the rest of last month’s sales numbers in the table below.

*Brands and companies are displayed in descending order according to their percentage change in volume sales. There were 25 selling days in September 2011 and September 2010, so the change in monthly sales volume is the same as the change in average daily sales rate (DSR) for each brand/company.

September 2011 – What Double-Dip Recession Edition

We have no qualms admitting that we miss the first-generation Toyota MR2. The spry little mid-engined racer was proof that you didn’t need a summer house on the cape to enjoy a perfectly balanced, lightweight sports car. Of course, with its accessible price tag, it’s no surprise that very few MR2 models survived without encountering substantial neglect or abuse. That’s what makes this supercharged, 1989 gem particularly attractive. With a shave under 22,000 miles on the odometer, all of the factory paperwork and accessories, this machine is bone stock as close to mint as you’re likely to find in the wild.

The seller is the original owner and says that he’s sending the MR2 on its way because he’s focusing his efforts on maintaining a 2003 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 that he also bought new. Different strokes for different folks, we guess. If you’ve got $20,000 lying around with nothing better to do, you can pick up the the 1989 Toyota MR2 in South Windsor, Connecticut at its Buy It Now price, or you can just bid in hopes you meet the reserve. Head over to eBay Motors for more information.

eBay Find of the Day: 1989 Toyota MR2 Supercharged is minty fresh