Range Rover Sport Luxury Edition – Click above for image gallery
Most would view a sport-ute like the as luxurious enough already, but for those who disagree, has debuted a new special edition.
Called the Luxury edition, it slots in between the HSE and Autobiography editions. It’s distinguished by such special touches as a sun roof, heated steering wheel, contrast-stitched leather trim and a Harman/Kardon audio system. It’s available in Europe exclusively with the 245-horsepower, 3.0-liter turbodiesel V6, and can be ordered in white, black or bronze, offset by black trim and 20-inch wheels.
Pricing reportedly comes in at a princely €110,000 – equivalent to about $150k. Have a closer look in the gallery below.
Footage from cold-weather testing of the in Sweden has surfaced, showcasing the all-electric city car’s rear-wheel-drive platform and penchant for getting sideways. These are still early tests, as the full production i3 isn’t expected to be ready until 2013.
Still, with 150 horsepower on tap from a rear-mounted electric lump, the little could well be a barrel of laughs, as well as an environmentally-responsible mode of transportation. Of course, we wouldn’t expect much range with these kinds of antics…
The BMW i3 sports an aluminum body around a carbon fiber-reinforced plastic passenger compartment, and will be considered a premium micro car when it hits showrooms. How premium? Expect the price tag to creep past $40,000. See how much fun electric drifting can be in the video .
We don’t need to tell you that Astons aren’t the best at anything. Well, except looking, smelling and feeling damn sexy. In fact, does anyone sell sexy as well as ?
If we were the betting types, we’d lay a shiny nickel on the vehicle you see here being all but identical to the final iteration. Pay special attention to the hideaway rear spoiler.
Is there anything more enjoyable than a CEO behaving badly?
Also of interest:
Browse our archive of Daily U-Turn posts or subscribe to the RSS feed
Everyone knows that driving simulators, no matter how good they are, are just that: simulators. They don’t quite get the experience nailed, and they won’t make you the next . Still, Red Bull and Playseats have teamed up to make your experience that much closer to Vettel’s with the release of this Red Bull racing simulator.
Playseats has nailed the details for this setup, putting the seat in the same location relative to the pedals and steering wheel as in a real Formula 1 car. The best news is that Playseats makes the set up for a variety of systems, meaning you can have one for Forza, Gran Turismo 5 and F1 2010, should you have the funds and the desire.
The funds are the big issue here. Playseats charges $1,300 for the system on sale. Regular price is $1,400, not to mention the cost of a TV to make this worth while. Looks like it’s good, old-fashioned joysticks for us, then.
2011 Audi R8 GT – Click above for high-res image gallery
has announced that the 90 examples of the GT slated to come to this country will carry price tags starting at $196,800. The R8 GT packs a version of the 5.2-liter FSI V10, but cranked up to 560 horsepower, mated to Audi’s R-Tronic sequential transmission. Backing up the transmission is a four-wheel-drive system with a locking rear differential.
The R8 GT is built using more aluminum and carbon fiber than the standard car, which translates to a 180-pound weight loss. The rear hatch, spoiler and front splitter on the GT are all carbon-fiber pieces.
The weight savings, power increase, and sequential gearbox team up to scoot the R8 GT to 60 miles per hour in 3.6 seconds, and a up to a 199-mph top speed.
Hennessey Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon versus 2011 Nissan GT-R – Click above to watch video
Hennessey is once again bringing its super station wagon out to the drag strip. The Texas tuner has taken Cadillac’s 556-horsepower fast family-hauler and tweaked it so that the 6.2-liter V8 now produces 650 hp. We previously showed you how , and now Hennessey has brought the back to the track, and this time, the opponent in the other line is driving a .
A 2011 Nissan GT-R to be more precise. The model that produces 485 horsepower and runs down Hennessey’s track in 11.8-seconds. That’s a hair slower than the 11.7-second run ripped off by the Sport Wagon – an amazing time for the 4,398-pound American muscle machine.
However, the pumps out 530 horsepower, runs from 0-60 miles per hour in less than three seconds and will cover a quarter-mile in about 11.6 seconds. Now, you can take that to mean Hennessey should’ve run against the newer GT-R… or that they’ve built one hell of a station wagon. to watch the two cars run down the strip.
Highcroft HPD ARX-01e – Click above for high-res image gallery
After four years of dominating the LMP2 class in the American Le Mans Series, Highcroft Racing is stepping up the big leagues this year, and this is the car with which they aim to do it.
The new ARX-01e uses the same basic chassis and engine as the LMP2 car on which it’s based, but features a heavily revised aerodynamics package for a significantly different form. The 3.4-liter V8 engine now also benefits from a larger air restrictor for more power.
Developed by Wirth Research, the ARX-01e ditches last year’s branding for Racing Development (HPD). And with former sponsor Tequila Patron stepping up to title-sponsor the ALMS series as a whole, Highcroft’s ARX-01e is being used by Michelin to promote its latest performance street tires.
The car recently underwent its first shakedown at Sebring, which it’s set to take on later this week at the famous 12-hour race. Check out the high-resolution images in the gallery below for a closer look and the details in the press release after the jump for more.
Gallery:
[Source: Highcroft Racing]
Performance Development unveils new ARX-01e LMP1 racer
Thanks to the Environmental Protection Agency, new car buyers always have the ability to read fuel economy numbers on the window sticker of any car on the lot. But if you’re looking at a used vehicle, the same efficiency info isn’t always readily available.
Consumer Reports reports that the EPA has changed that little problem by posting the fuel efficiency information of used vehicles on its website. These aren’t new fuel economy numbers, but the EPA did apply the updated fuel economy logic that was instituted in 2008. So if your original 1995 Honda Civic was once quoted at 40 miles per gallon, the new fuel economy number is 33 mpg. The EPA is tracking fuel economy dating back to 1984, too, so car buyers can go back before many Autoblog readers were even born.
The EPA is hoping that anyone selling a vehicle will use the tool as well. Dealers, for example, can print up the window sticker and place it on the window of the vehicle being sold, giving the “sold as is, no warranty” caveat some competition on the passenger-side window.
Gateway Classic 1968 Steve McQueen Signature Mustang – Click above for high-res image gallery
Making a , but Gateway Classic Mustang is taking a different approach. The St. Louis-based company has partnered with the Steve McQueen Estate to produce a modern rendition of the 1968 featured in the movie Bullitt.
Each car starts out as an original ‘67 or ‘68 Mustang fastback and is fitted with a 450-horsepower V8, Keisler five-speed transmission, Baer brakes, American Racing wheels and BFGoodrich tires. The suspension has been worked over as well, with adjustable coilovers front and rear.
Gateway Classic Mustang says that they are currently taking orders for the Limited Edition Steve McQueen Mustang, and although pricing isn’t listed, we imagine that they won’t come cheap. You can read more details about the car in the press release after the jump, and be sure to check out the high-res gallery below.
According to Autocar, is itching to go modular. The company is apparently walking away from plans to significantly update its plan to run a much-modified Epsilon I architecture in favor of a new strategy that includes a clean-sheet design. Autocar cites unnamed sources inside the company’s headquarters who have indicated that engineers are currently whittling away on a versatile platform that will form the basis of everything form a diminutive 9-2 to a lengthy 9-7 and everything in between. That includes the confirmed-for-production , and 9-4x. Autocar believes that the rumored 9-1 will use different bones.
That all sounds good, but the news runs completely against the grain of everything we’ve heard about the company’s production plans so far. Victor Muller, the company’s CEO, has previously told Autoblog that the 9-3 successor will be based on a much-modified version of the Epsilon I architecture that’s so thoroughly altered that Saab will be able to claim the chassis as its own intellectual property. As the next 9-3 is part of Saab’s fully funded business plan, we have trouble seeing the Swedish automaker going to the considerable added expense of developing an all-new, from-scratch platform – particularly when global sales of the firm’s current range have been slow to take off.
Six cars that CR says are worse than their predecessors – Click above for high-res image gallery
There’s nothing like being told you aren’t as good as you used to be. “You’ve changed, man. You’ve really changed.”
In its annual automotive issue, Consumer Reports awards scores to each new car available on the market, and though you’d think that a new model would score higher than the one it replaces, that isn’t always the case. In fact, CR points out six 2011 model year vehicles that received substantially lower scores under its methodology than their predecessors.
At the top of CR’s list is the – a car that has come in for a raft of criticism from the media since its redesign launched in mid-2010 (criticism that has been summarily ignored if the Jetta’s rising sales figures are anything to go by). Rounding off the rest of the list are the , , , and .
Consumer Reports does raise an important point, though: Earning a lower score doesn’t automatically mean the car should be written off completely. In its story, CR states:
Some models, such as the Honda Odyssey, Mercedes-Benz E350, and Toyota Sienna, are still very good vehicles that we recommend. But they don’t quite measure up to the standards set by their previous generation models. Others, such as the current BMW X5, Toyota 4Runner, and Volkswagen Jetta sedan, are clear disappointments.
Clear disappointments? Ouch. Head over to Consumer Reports for .
For better or worse, nothing is quite as divisive as modern design. The current is controversial enough in its own right, but the S-Type that came before was even more so. With its pinched grille and comically retro lines, the S-Type was the very antithesis of the model that followed. So how about making the old girl even more of a love-it or hate-it affair? Not an easy task, but Panzani Design has clearly risen to the challenge.
Reaching back a few years to when the S-Type was still around, the Italian tuner has given the retro Jag saloon such up-to-date features as 20-inch wheels mounted on a track widened by 10 centimeters and enormously flared arches to accommodate them. There’s also a new front bumper with integrated LEDs, a carbon fiber hood with vents, mesh lamp covers, side skirts, spoiler, diffuser, little round mirrors and what looks to be a very intricately crafted interior.
The result is all decked out in matte gray and called the Vintage GT. It may not be your cup of tea, but it’s worth a second glance, so check it out in the gallery below for all the angles.
Mini CoupeSpy Shots – Click above for high-res image gallery
We’re inching ever closer to seeing the Mini Coupe in showrooms. The clipped is set to land on dealer lots as soon as this Autumn, and it looks like the company’s engineers are hard at work ironing out the very last wrinkles in the platform. Our spy photographer commandos managed to click off a few photos of the most recent tester out and about wearing what must be nearly production-ready sheetmetal. If we were the betting types, we’d lay a shiny nickel on the vehicle you see here being all but identical to the final iteration.
In these photos, we can clearly see that the vehicle’s retractable spoiler tucks cleanly into the trunk when not in use, though the somewhat awkward roof aero treatment is still sticking around. Up front, the Coupe wears the same corporate clothing as the Cooper line, and buyer should expect to find the same line of four-cylinder engines under the hood as well.
Ralph Gilles does a burnout in a 2011 Dodge Charger R/T – Click above to watch video
Jay Leno recently got the chance to spend a little time with the and Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles stopped by to answer the funny man’s questions. If ever there was a guy who could accurately compare the Charger to its predecessors, Leno would be it. The man knows a thing or two about Mopar history and exactly what has made the original models so sought after to begin with. He’s also an unabashed fan through and through, so it’s interesting to see his take on the newest iteration of the Charger legacy.
While we always enjoy the chance to listen to Gilles talk shop and Leno crack jokes, the best part of the clip is watching the Dodge CEO himself educate the comedian on how to properly execute a burnout with Hemi power at one’s command. Is there anything more enjoyable than a CEO behaving badly?
Probably not.
If you listen closely, you might even hear Gilles say that Chrysler is investigating whether or not to bolt a manual transmission into the Charger due to high interest. We like the sound of that action. to watch the video.
The is serving duty as one of the safety cars for the 2011 MotoGP Championship, which kicks off this weekend at the Grand Prix of Qatar. The 1M Coupe that will be handling safety car duties has been smartened up a little from stock, starting with an Akrapovic sport exhaust.
BMW also added a big rear wing, a chin spoiler and BMW Motorsport’s fabled tri-color paint scheme. To cap the look off, BMW has finished the wheels and exhaust tips in black. No word yet on whether the accessories on the MotoGP pace car will be made available to the public, or if this car is a one-shot deal. Check out more pics of the safety car by visiting our friends at 1Addicts (link below).
Touring car racing fans are eagerly anticipating the return of to the DTM series. The Bavarian automaker last competed in DTM (or its progenitors, anyway) a whopping 18 years ago, but late last year announced it would return to the German touring car series in 2012. Now it has revealed the means to that end.
Rather than field its own entries, BMW will be supplying the vehicles and factory support for three independent teams: BMW Team RBM, BMW Team Schnitzer and Reinhold Motorsport GmbH. Both RBM and Schnitzer have a longstanding relationship with BMW Motorsport, while Reinhold is a completely new outfit. Each of the teams will be fielding two of the new M3 DTMs that are currently under development.
The move to DTM comes on the back of some big shakeups in BMW’s racing program. Although it two years ago, and its works World Touring Car Championship effort at the end of last year, it has recently pitched the division into the WRC with Prodrive and launched the DTM program to pick up where it left off in the WTCC. Follow the jump for the official announcement, along with three additional press releases – one from each of BMW’s partner teams – for the true tin-top fanatics among us.
The golden age of horsepower ended a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, right? Well, no. In reality, it seems that every new model year brings more and more ponies from the likes of the reborn and along with the stalwart .
According to the internet rumormill, that pattern isn’t going to change any time soon. Car and Driver reports that the will boast as much as 620 horsepower. Naturally, the powerplant providing all those ponies will be a supercharged V8, in this case bored out to displace 5.8 liters instead of the 5.4 we’ve been seeing for the last several years.
Car and Driver’s math tells us, assuming the power and weight estimates are in the ballpark, to expect a scorching 12.0-second quarter mile time from the 2013 GT500, a top speed that could be as high as 190 miles per hour and a sticker price of roughly $60,000.
For what it’s worth, that the supercharged and intercooled 6.2-liter LSA V8 engine that will power its – the top run (so far) of Chevy’s muscle car lineup – will put out around 550 horsepower and 550 pound-feet of torque. Naturally, that’s all subject to change…
2010 Toyota Prius – Click above for high-res image gallery
In this year’s State of the Union address, President Obama proclaimed that there would be one million electric vehicles on the road in the United States by 2015. recently celebrated the building of the company’s worldwide. More and more automakers are turning to the battery pack and electric motors to improve fuel economy or remove petrol from the equation altogether, but do Americans know what any of this means? Not really, at least according to a recent study.
MediaPost reports that marketing firm Synovate recently polled 1,898 would-be car buyers to gauge their knowledge of hybrids and electric cars, and the results are not encouraging. Only two-thirds are aware that hybrids use both petrol and battery power for propulsion, and a large portion didn’t know hybrids even had batteries onboard. And while we enthusiasts know that most hybrids can run for short distances on electricity alone, only one-third of those polled were aware of that little tidbit.
The results of this poll are likely disheartening to advertisers who have tried tirelessly over the years to explain how hybrids work. And with plug-ins and electric cars starting to flood the market, the education of the car-buying public has just begun. Case in point? Less than half of the nearly 2,000 car-buyers polled knew that plug-in hybrids can run on electric power alone. So… just what is that plug for, then?
Marketing types, and we enthusiasts, have a tough road ahead.
Gallery:
Photos copyright (C)2011 Sam Abuelsamid / AOL
[Source: ]
2011 HRT F111 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Better late than never, they say. And whoever said it could very well have been talking about the . In its debut season last year, the upstart team’s two cars – driven by an array of pilots over the course of the championship – retired nine times and failed to score a single championship point. But that’s okay, because neither did the other two newcomers, Lotus and Virgin.
This year, though, Hispania has gone back to the drawing board, bringing in veteran designer Geoff Willis to thoroughly work over last year’s Dallara-sourced car. After every other team unveiled their new cars and ran them at the successive pre-season tests, HRT was still building theirs, showing us some in the meantime and running the old car to test the new tires. But now they’ve finally put on the finishing touches, shown it to the world and took it out on the track for the first time.
While they were at it, HRT has also announced its final driver line-up, filling in that last TBA on the 2011 driver roster with the hiring of Tonio Liuzzi (who lost his seat at Force India) to drive alongside Narain “Tata Money” Karthikeyan this season. Check out their new Cosworth-powered ride in the high-res image gallery below.
has reportedly approved the , a microcar concept it showed off at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, for production. The minute Pixel is advertised as the most efficiently-packaged four-seater in the world. It comes in at just under 10 feet long, and is nearly a foot shy of the Tata Nano’s overall length.
Assuming the report from Autocar is accurate, the Pixel will take the place of the previously-proposed once the doors have been converted to traditionally-opening units and the gauges have been engineered.
The Pixel will be powered by the Nano’s 60-horsepower, 1.2-liter diesel, which will be mounted under the back seats, turning a five-speed gearbox. No word yet on when Tata plans to have the car on sale, but it seems to be pushing through quickly.
