The Brutus is a relic from another time. A time when men approached automobile racing with reckless abandon by cramming the largest, most powerful engine available onto a chassis supported by the world’s skinniest tires. Suspension, brakes and cumbersome safety equipment were all scrapped for bullet-shaped bodywork and testicles the size of small planetary bodies. The Brutus boasts a 46-liter BMW V12 engine pulled from a post-World War II fighter plane and a chassis from a 1908 American LaFrance. The engine alone weighs 1,124 pounds and puts out a potent 500 horsepower. Now Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson has decided that the creation needs to tango with the latest hot rod; the in his new DVD, .
This is not your typical drag race. The Brutus is a chain-driven, fire-breathing hulk that’s happier scaring school children than darting down the drag strip, while the 1 Series M Coupe is as civilized as a sports car gets. How does the competition shake out? to check it for yourself.
has pulled the covers off its here at the , the droptop variant of the which arrived earlier this year. Fitted with a power-operated folding cloth roof, the two-door takes its passengers from shade to sun in just 18 seconds at the touch of a button.
The most powerful and fastest open-topped GT Jaguar has ever built, the new flagship convertible is fitted with a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 rated at 550 horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque. With a standard six-speed paddle-shifted automatic, acceleration to 60 mph from a standstill takes just 4.2 seconds, says the automaker. Top speed for this king of the range is 186 mph.
In addition to its upgraded suspension, there are a host of aggressive functional aero bits including a carbon fiber front splitter, side sills and a carbon fiber rear valance. Inside, there are 16-way adjustable sport seats trimmed in carbon leather.
Each XKR-S Convertible carries a sticker price of $138,875 (including $875 destination), which represents a $6,000 premium over its closed-rood coupe sibling. Limited to just 25 units in the States, all have reportedly been sold in advance of the car’s debut.
The was unveiled at the with the same 580-horsepower LS9 V8 powerplant of the ZL1 Coupe, but with a stowable top. Team is happy to point out that this sledge-hammer-of-a-drop-top is the most powerful production Chevy ever produced in the brand’s 100-year history, but its open air nature doesn’t mean it’s a performance slacker.
General Motors engineers fitted the ZL1 Camaro with a tower-to-tower brace under the hood, an underbody tunnel brace, a transmission support brace and a front X brace and rear underbody V braces to give the ZL1 Convertible a more coupe-like ride. The result is less cowl and wheel shake than is expected of most convertibles. GM also added structural reinforcements to keep noise and vibration in check.
The ZL1 Convertible also features the same advanced suspension setup as the ZL1 Coupe: Magnetic Ride with damping levels that now adjust up to 1,000 times per second. The ZL1 Convertible can also travel from zero to 60 miles per hour in a scant 3.9 seconds, making it quick enough to keep the driver happy even when the top is up.
The ZL1 Convertible is scheduled to hit dealerships early in 2012. to read over the official press release, and you can peruse the high-res images of the ZL1 Convertible in the gallery above.
is recalling certain and models due to an improperly calibrated auto-reverse feature on the vehicle’s windows. Around 1,788 2011 and 2012 models may have been built with a window switch controller that won’t actuate the auto-reverse quickly enough. Should someone accidentally get a body part trapped in the window, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that a “pinch injury” may result. It’s unclear whether anyone has been injured as a result of the calibration error at this juncture, but Nissan says that the automaker will fix the power window switches free of charge.
The recall is set to begin around November 28, and owners of affected vehicles can expect to hear from Nissan shortly about the program. to read the full recall notice.
With every passing auto show, the production version of the rear-wheel-drive sports coupe draws closer. Here in , the Japanese automaker has debuted its BRZ Concept STI – a look at what could happen if the new coupe is left in the hands of Subie’s in-house performance tuning division.
Curiously, the Concept STI does without a turbocharged engine – something that’s become a tradition with its performance cars. Instead, the direct-injected 2.0-liter Boxer four has been left unchanged. Never fear, though – STI has added a full smattering of performance bits to the BRZ, including a more aggressively tuned suspension setup, Brembo brakes, and lightweight materials (a carbon fiber roof and wheels, specifically) to reduce overall weight.
Other modifications include a new front fascia with a revised splitter, and while Subaru hasn’t really been known to build pretty cars, the appearance of this BRZ concept is really growing on us. Check it out for yourself in the attached high-res image gallery.
Any luxury automaker worth its burlwood has to have a performance division. has M. has AMG. ’s Quattro GmbH churns out S and RS models. has the letter F. has V. And has IPL.
The Infiniti Performance Line last summer with the , essentially a that’d been fiddled with for an extra measure of sportiness. Much speculation and anticipation followed as to what the IPL team would do next – leading to rumors over potential tie-ins with and – but a notwithstanding, this has been the first follow-up product since.
Previewed in just a month after the coupe’s debut, the IPL G Convertible is set to make its production debut at today’s . It’s essentially the same as the coupe, only with the retractable hardtop of the on which it’s based. The 3.7-liter V6 has had its mapping adjusted and breathing optimized to generate 343 horsepower and 273 lb-ft of torque – 18 and 6 more than stock, respectively, but 5 and 3 less than the coupe despite more heft to move.
Power is driven to the rear wheels exclusively via a seven-speed paddle-shifting, rev-matching automatic transmission. Other enhancements enacted for the IPL G Convertible include a firmed-up suspension, 14-inch front brakes rotors (13.8 in the rear) with alloy calipers, 19-inch alloys, and a revised aero kit. Only two colors are available – Moonlight White and Malbec Black – while the leather interior can be had in Stone or Monaco Red. Like what you see? Check out the full details and the high-res images in the gallery for more.
The 2006 was the first shot that took at going upmarket, a big, soft, front-wheel-drive sedan packed with content and offered at a bargain price compared to the and . But today, this Korean import seems more like it comes from the Island of Misfit Toys. Azera has quietly persisted while Hyundai has launched several well-received models, from the to the 2011 to the brand-new . Now comes the Azera’s 15 minutes of fame, in the form of a complete overhaul for 2012 designed to make the Azera more of a premium offering.
The new Azera adopts Hyundai’s Fluidic Sculpture design language that we’ve loved on the Sonata, but in this application something went amiss. Everything looks good up front, as the Azera’s Fluidic front fascia looks similarly aggressive. But follow the attractive chrome trim strip back from the headlights and something goes bump in the night. The Azera’s rear quarter panel retains a bulging character line similar to the old model, except that in the new sheet metal the flanks are even more pronounced – and Buick-like. Things get better out back, as the new Azera has an elegant decklid and rear taillights that wouldn’t look out of place on any luxury car.
Underhood, the second-generation Azera gets a new 3.3-liter V6 with direct injection. This “Lambda II” powerplant is good for 293 horsepower and 255 lb-ft of torque, while providing an estimated 20 miles per gallon in the city and 29 on the highway. Hyundai has also fitted the new Azera with its Active Eco mode, which should be good for a five-percent boost in fuel economy, according to the automaker. Like the old Azera, power is fed to the front wheels through a six-speed transaxle.
Standard Azera equipment includes some formerly optional content, like a navigation system with rearview camera, and Hyundai is also equipping Azeras with its . Leather interior with heated front and rear seats, 18-inch alloys, and Vehicle Stability Management are all included, as well.
The 2012 Azera goes on sale in February, and while we will admit to being more excited about some of Hyundai’s other launches next year (that’s you, ) we’re certainly not going to complain when we get our opportunity to chew up some comfortable highway miles, Azera style.
We’ve got the official press release from the , as well as a full gallery of Azera images.
Episode #256 of the is here a day late but still fresh, with Chris, Dan and Zach this week. Topics include the heavily revised Hyundai Genesis Coupe, the possible death of the Lexus HS 250h, the U.S. Chevrolet Spark and the Cadillac XTS. Your questions and comments power the end of the ‘cast, and for those of you who hung with us live on our , thanks for taking the time. We’ve embedded our Q&A module for you to scroll through and follow along, too. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #256:
In the Autoblog Garage
2012 Chevrolet Volt
2012 Volkswagen Beetle
2012 Ford Edge EcoBoost
Hosts: , ,
Runtime: 01:17:50
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Those wanting Jaguar’s top-of-the-line two-door in drop-top form are now getting their wish as the company has officially unveiled the XKR-S Convertible ahead of its official debut at the . The convertible features the same supercharged 550 horsepower 5.0-liter V8 found in the , making it the most powerful rag-top that has ever built. It’s also the fastest, with the XKR-S sprinting from 0-60 mph in just 4.2 seconds.
The XKR-S Convertible shares the same exterior appointments as its hardtop sibling, featuring a new front bumper with wider, lower air intake and a carbon fiber splitter. There is also a new rear wing with a carbon fiber insert. It doesn’t stop there, as the interior also receives special appointments including performance seats trimmed in carbon leather.
You can read more details about the Jaguar XKR-S Convertible in the press release after the jump, and check back tomorrow for live photos of the car from the show floor.
has given the company’s a life of its own. The newest commercial for the vehicle shows exactly what happens when dealers shut off the lights and go home for the night. The coupe sets about prowling the streets of some unnamed metropolis in a quest to quench its insatiable thirst for asphalt, frightening away vagrants and using its exhaust note to bark at the moon. Looks like fun. Buyers may want to think about installing a cage in the garage if they plan to bring this Black Series home.
Our with the non-Black Series C63 coupe left us wanting plenty more, and the video is only whetting our appetites for this even snarlier two-door. to check watch the film for yourself.
releases drool-inducing C63 AMG Black Series featurette
may have withdrawn from the World Rally Championship years ago, but the Japanese automaker couldn’t stay out of motorsports forever. That’s why Subaru has announced that it will campaign a racing version of its hotly anticipated BRZ coupe in Japan’s domestic Super GT series.
So far, all we have to go on is the Japanese-language announcement and the teaser sketch above, but what we can tell you is that the Subaru Tecnica International (STI) will field the BRZ not in the top-tier GT500 category against the likes of the , and Honda HSV, but in the lower GT300 class. That means it will probably replace the -based touring car that STI currently fields.
That also means, as the category’s name suggests, that the BRZ’s boxer four will be limited in output to 300 horsepower. But with GT300 regulations as close as they are to GT3 rules in other series, could we be looking at a further assault on overseas series as well?
How does fifty-five grand for 580 horsepower sound? Probably not as good as the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 at full scream.
General Motors has come clean with pricing and performance details for the most powerful ever, and as expected, it’s something of a bargain. An official MSRP of $54,995 includes a $900 delivery charge, and that pile of cash buys a 6.2-liter, supercharged and intercooled LSA V8 that’s good for 556 lb-ft of torque. The ZL1 will also pack standard Performance Traction Management, a suite of electronic suspension and steering enhancements including magnetic ride control, launch control, traction control, stability control and electric power steering. is also touting the Camaro’s track-readiness, thanks to standard rear differential cooler, engine and transmission oil coolers, and brake-cooling ducts.
Chevy’s official performance specs for the Camaro ZL1 favor the automatic, which can do 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and cover the quarter-mile in 12.0 seconds at 119 miles per hour. The manual is a tenth of a second slower in both exercises. Know too, that Chevy’s stopwatches time from a rolling start. Top speed for the manual is 180 mph and the automatic is four miles per hour faster. Both cars can pull 1.0 g on the skidpad, according to the automaker.
There are only six options on the ZL1, starting with the choice of transmission. An extra $1,185 will get you a six-speed automatic with manual shift mode. Adding bright aluminum wheels will set you back $470, as will stripes. A sunroof is priced at $900, while the carbon fiber hood insert is $600. Finally, a suede package for the steering wheel and shifter is $500. Leather interior is standard, along with heated power seats, and a nine-speaker audio system with USB port and Bluetooth.
Dealers should get their ZL1 coupes in the spring of 2012, getting a head start on the forthcoming . Read the full press release .
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Spark
XTS
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The usually compels us to forget about most things other than horsepower, quarter-mile times and smoky burnouts. As such, “safe” would have to be somewhere near the bottom of attributes that come to mind when we think about the venerable pony car with a badge on its decklid.
But here it is in black and white (and yellow): The Chevy Camaro coupe is the first vehicle to earn a perfect score in National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s safety testing since the federal testing procedures were , according to Examiner.com. While other vehicles , the Camaro was the first to score a perfect five-star rating in all six test categories. Those include frontal barrier crash test ratings for the driver and passenger, side crash ratings for the driver and passenger, a rollover rating and the vehicle’s overall rating.
While the report indicates that NHTSA has not yet tested its entire slate of 2012 model year vehicles, of the 46 that have completed the process, only 14 have received a 5-Star Safety Rating. Even if the Camaro’s safety score is an outlier among the other accolades it has received over the years – you know, the NHRA, Trans-Am and SCCA hardware and such – kudos to Chevy.
We already know that the will in January, but now, details about what’s behind that newly sculpted, have finally surfaced.
According to Car and Driver, the four- and six-cylinder engines found under the coupe’s newly designed hood are coming in for significant upgrades. The 3.8-liter Lambda V6 now uses direct-injection technology (just like in the updated ), but instead of matching the four-door’s 333 horsepower and 291 pound-feet of torque, has further massaged this engine to the tune of 345 hp and 295 lb-ft of twist. That means the Korean coupe will put down more horsepower than many of its American and Japanese six-cylinder rivals, specifically the , and .
There’s good news for turbo-four enthusiasts, as well. Hyundai’s 2.0-liter inline-four receives a new twin-scroll turbo unit and an upgraded intercooler, meaning there’s now 271 hp and 275 lb-ft of torque on tap. Both the four- and six-cylinder engines are now available with eight-speed automatic transmissions, but those who prefer to row their own gears will almost certainly still be able to opt for a six-speed manual gearbox with either engine. Check out Car and Driver for more details and sit tight for the 2013 Genesis Coupe’s official debut at January’s .
You’re forgiven if you’ve already forgotten the , a crossover coupe that makes the and look sensible. Now, the Tuscany-based operation has unveiled a second take on the concept: the Opera.2.
It’s not an early replacement for the . The Opera.2 offers buyers (at whatever stage of psychotherapy they might currently stand) a slightly different design that does away with the previous version’s hideous cartoon-bunny front end in favor of a (relatively) more subtle treatment. So now it looks like a moderately restrained Chinese concept car instead of a hilariously ugly one.
In addition to the new front end, we get more details on the Vygor’s mechanicals, which are borrowed from the The turbo four is reportedly available with 300, 350 or 420 horsepower, propelling this 3,500-lb mess to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.9 seconds and on to a 155 mph top end. The car has all-wheel drive (obviously), and a tubular steel frame draped in aluminum and composite bodywork.
This is where we tell you that pricing starts at the Euro equivalent of around $192,000. Once you stop laughing, you’ll also be thrilled to know that a third design is apparently in the works to give Vygor’s theoretical customers an even broader range of style choices.
has officially announced that the droptop counterpart to its new will bow at the next week. We’ve , and aside from some minor tweaks to the suspension to keep the car from getting all wobbly after the roof was cut off, not much else is expected to change during the coupe-to-cabrio transformation.
The automaker has not released any details about the XKR-S Convertible at this time, stating only that it and the coupe represent the fastest and most powerful Jaguar automobiles ever created. We were pretty smitten with the hardtop variant when we drove it recently, so we’re eager to see how the whole XKR-S experience changes with the wind in your hair.
Stay tuned for the full details live from Los Angeles next week.
has just confirmed that a two-door coupe version of the is coming, but pegging its debut at next week’s , the Korean automaker will be waiting until next February at the to do the reveal.
We’ve seen the car, and the Elantra Coupe looks much like your regular four-door Elantra but with two less ports of entry and a much more sporting flair. Hyundai hopes to differentiate the coupe from the sedan by giving it a different set of gear ratios for a more sporting driving experience. The Elantra Coupe will also get its own unique SE trim level, which as we know based on Hyundai’s traditional trim designations, is the sporty trim. The company expects the coupe to make up 20 percent of the Elantra’s volume, and its obvious target is the Coupe, as well as the that will share the same basic underpinnings.
In other Elantra news, Hyundai has also confirmed that a new five-door Elantra, heretofore called the , will arrive in 2013. We’ve already seen this model; it’s called the where it’s already debuted. The new five-door hatchback will not, however, retain the Elantra Touring name. Hyundai is keeping the new name close to its chest, but did tell us that the car will be called “Elantra something.”
Now that has launched the as the official replacement of the , it’s time for the Italian automaker to wrap up development of the successor to the . While we previously spotted this car’s replacement , what you see here are the first photos that actually give a glimpse of the new car’s shape, camouflaged as it may be.
The 599 successor – rumored to be dubbed F620 – will likely be powered by Ferrari’s 6.3-liter V12, churning out over 700 horsepower. Unlike the all-wheel-drive FF, the 599 replacement will continue to use rear-wheel drive, sending its power to the back wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission with an F1-style electronic differential.
Our sources suggest that the F620 will be much lighter than the outgoing 599, due in part to a larger usage of aluminum in the body construction. As for design, it’s safe to assume that the coupe will take a large influence from the 458 Italia, with some cues from the FF thrown in for good measure. Then again, it’s a Ferrari, so we doubt the finished product will be anything but stunning.
Expect to see more of the F620 as it continues its development testing over the next few months. If things move along at a steady pace, we could see the production car debut as early as the in March.
