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It’s been the better part of a year since we first brought you reports that Victoria Beckham – who had then just signed on as a celebrity “creative director” for the Range Rover brand – was set to get her own special edition of the chic new Evoque. We didn’t know quite what to make of the news then – much less when the British purveyor of luxury SUVs released a teaser just a few days ago – but now JLR has taken the wraps off its glamorous new special edition, and it’s not nearly as gaudy as you might think.

As you can see, the second vehicle released by Jaguar Land Rover’s new Engineered To Order division (alongside the new Jaguar XJ Ultimate) is characterized by matte black paint, which contrasts with the gloss black and rose-gold trim. The interior is finished in vintage-finish tan leather, with mohair floor mats and a microsuede headliner. It also comes with a four-piece set of fitted leather luggage, and a leather portfolio carrying the owner’s manual and bearing Victoria Beckham’s own signature.

In other words, it’s suitably posh for a vehicle resulting from a collaboration between the Land Rover Design team and the pop star who made her name as Posh Spice. Only five examples out of the 200 planned for production will make it Stateside, with no word yet on pricing. We’ll also be keeping an eye out for more images of the luxed-out, matte-finish Evoque when they surface, but in the meantime you can view the solitary pic released so far in high-resolution and delve into the full press release below.

Continue reading Victoria Beckham edition Range Rover Evoque looks suitably Posh

Victoria Beckham edition Range Rover Evoque looks suitably Posh

The more things change, the more they stay the same. That age-old adage is once again proven by the video you’ll see below. In a classic battle of Chevy versus Ford, the 1981 Blazer SUV is pitted against the Ford Bronco in a dealer training video designed to give sales staff all the information they needed to sway customers toward the Bowtie and away from the Blue Oval.

The checklist sounds familiar. Horsepower and torque, fuel economy, standard features versus optional equipment, payload and cargo space – each of these categories are compared. Seems the issues that matter most to car-buying consumers haven’t changed much in 30 years. Scroll down and watch the video to take a stroll down memory lane.

Continue reading Chevrolet training video extols the virtues of the 1981 Blazer

Chevrolet training video extols the virtues of the 1981 Blazer

Everything You Want To Know About Lambo’s Super SUV

The promise is to make it the most powerful series production SUV on the market, but also the least polluting.

Lamborghini has told us repeatedly that it wasn’t planning on doing such a thing anytime soon. We expected most likely the front-engine four-door super sedan – playing off the 2008 Estoque showcar and 1968-’78 Espada – to become the raging bull’s third model line.

Feast your eyes on the Lamborghini Urus, or “LB736.” First off, yes, it is part of an upcoming (i.e. sometime in 2015) Volkwagen Group premium SUV onslaught. In the company of Lamborghini design director Filippo Perini and research and development guru Maurizio Reggiani, we were able to pry into all of the details back in mid-March during a special preview at company headquarters. We’ve had to hold off scribbling until today because the official debut for the edgy 4×4 happens right about now at the Beijing Motor Show. China is foreseen as a good market for the supersonic SUV, but the United States remains Job One.

In comparison to the clumsy Bentley EXP 9 F concept seen at the recent Geneva Motor Show, the Urus hits us almost gleefully by comparison; it’s right on the money with Lambo’s current design language. Lamborghini’s Perini understands that this is a polarizing proposition: “When Lamborghini creates a whole new model line, it’s automatically risky since it doesn’t happen so often.”

And we were nervous about it, too, imagining a four-seater setup that would need to ride way too high, sort of like the first generation Porsche Cayenne or that Bentley. But when the veil came off and the hard lights hit it, we were pleased.

Continue reading Lamborghini Urus super SUV officially unveiled in China

Lamborghini Urus super SUV officially unveiled in China

There have been plenty of excellent debuts over the past year, but few capture our imagination like the Morgan 3 Wheeler. The V-twin-powered creation looks just like its forebears with its open cockpit, classic metalwork and three-wheel design. Being in love with any vehicle that looks as if it might kill us at any second, the 3 Wheeler is right up our alley.

The videos below haven’t dulled that passion. We’ve amassed a smattering of clips, including a new showcasing the 3 Wheeler as it motors through the countryside.

Of course, should you find backwoods sprints too boring, we’ve also included a few videos that demonstrate just how much fun you can have vaporizing the back tire. (The 3 Wheeler lends itself to donuts like few other machines on the planet.) Keep scrolling to take in the goodness for yourself.

Continue reading Watch (and hear) one whole minute of Morgan 3 Wheeler goodness

Watch (and hear) one whole minute of Morgan 3 Wheeler goodness

We’ve all heard the argument that cars can’t be art. As a commodity, vehicles are slaves to parameters of functionality, manufacturing and economics that simply have no bearing on traditional works, but Canadian sculptor Pierre Arpin believes that shouldn’t stop car parts from ascending beyond their usual lot in life. While waiting in a repair shop, Arpin spotted a trashed hood and asked to take it home. The shop obliged, starting the artist down a lengthy path of creation. While he typically favors hoods, doors and radiators have also received his unique touch.

Arpin uses heat to remove the orignial paint before taking a grinder to the metal to create his unique designs. Depending on the work, paint may be reapplied afterward. The artist calls the process a type of “alchemy,” and says that the technique gives the pieces a certain level of “immortality.” We don’t know about that, but as people with various car body parts strewn about our offices, we can see the appeal.

Pierre Arpin turns metal into “immortal” art

Got 13 minutes to spare? Of course you do – it’s a Friday. Then we’ve got just the way to burn them.

Chrysler has posted three new SRT Viper videos, the first being a nice seven-minute documentary about Viper history, from its origins to the present.

We’re happy to see the automaker make no attempts to distort the truth here, wisely including period footage of both Carroll Shelby and Bob Lutz, despite the fact that those two automotive legends currently work for its most bitter rivals, Ford and General Motors, respectively. The inclusion of a clip from the Viper TV series, however, was perhaps a less inspired choice. We’d have left that on the cutting room floor in favor of more racing footage, like maybe something from Le Mans.

The second video is three minutes of Ralph Gilles, President and CEO of SRT Brand and Motorsports at Chrysler. Gilles walks us around a static Viper, explaining some of the details in the design that might escape a casual observer – and help the new Viper hit 206 miles per hour.

The final video goes inside Conner Avenue Assembly in Detroit where Chrysler builds the Viper. So maybe Chrysler employees like Shelly Brown Alore, the operations manager at the plant, aren’t quite the celebrity that Gilles is, but then again, we’re exactly the type of car nerds that actually find this stuff interesting.

Scroll down to watch the videos.

Continue reading Original Dodge Viper Concept shows up in new Chrysler video

Original Dodge Viper Concept shows up in new Chrysler video

The Hyundai Veloster has been a bit polarizing since it went on sale last year. And the debate could get more animated if the Korean company does what we think it’s thinking about doing.

At a recent gathering of reporters and Hyundai executives in Ann Arbor, MI, where the annual Rolling Sculpture Car Show takes place every summer, we asked Hyundai Motors America chief John Krafcik what he planned to bring this year (the college town is also home to Hyundai America Technical Center). Last year, they showed off the new Veloster.

Redone Azera? New Santa Fe? Neither seems appropriate for the tone of the event. So, we threw this out: “How about chopping the top off the Veloster and see the reaction?”

Krafcik and PR man Jim Trainor started trying to make poker faces, indicating to us that we may well have stumbled on to a future project, Rolling Sculpture or no. But we aren’t sure.

Some thought the Veloster was an answer to a question that nobody had been asking, but the unique coupe is proving to be a great sales and image success for Hyundai. Krafcik has shown a great instinct for design and engineering the Hyundai lineup to successful heights: redesigns of the Sonata, Elantra, Accent and now Santa Fe. He also had a lot to do with the cleanup of the Azera, and, of course, the Genesis and Genesis Coupe. A former product development executive at Ford, it’s hard to think he would not be the current product development chief in Dearborn had he stayed, and not been scooped up by Hyundai a decade ago.

Hyundai’s sales have been supply constrained on many of its models, including the Veloster. Given a finite supply of Veloster models that it can source from Korea, Krafcik plans to emphasize production of the upcoming Turbo model. That strikes us as a smart move.

We’re excited about the turbo, but we couldn’t resist asking a rendering artist to imagine the Veloster sans roof. What do you think? Is topless a good thing in this case?

View Poll

Could the Hyundai Veloster go topless? [w/poll]

We’ve got to hand it to Ford of Europe – this is one of the most brilliant marketing stunts we’ve ever seen. Blending the correct amounts of populist outrage, mockery of the common man, hidden cameras, big budget technology, and gritty urban realism into one literal over-the-top promotion that – get this – is actually relevant to the vehicle it is designed to promote? Well, we’re impressed, to say the least.

We won’t spoil the punchline to the video, created by ad agency Ogilvy of Paris (according to Co.Create), but for anyone who’s ever had to suffer through living in a big city and parking on the street, you’ll be pleased.

And for those of you who might occasionally do a little park-by-touch yourself? Ford’s new Focus with Active Park Assist is just the vehicle for you.

Scroll down to play the whole video.

Continue reading Ford tilts pinball parkers to promote Focus, Active Park Assist

Ford tilts pinball parkers to promote Focus, Active Park Assist

We can now add a rendering and a litte more gossip to General Motors and its recent patenting of the of the “SS” designation. GM has used the SS designator for more than 50 years but only got around to trademarking it five years ago, and persistent rumors have suggested that a civilian version of the Chevrolet Caprice PPV will simply be called the SS.

Chevrolet previously confirmed that its next NASCAR entry will be both a new vehicle and new nameplate, which suggests that the Malibu and Impala are disqualified. But a new car called the SS would fit, and the rumormill suggests it will be a derivative of the Zeta-platform Holden Commodore. The folks at Chris Doane Automotive have opened the rendering account and taken this rather conservative stab at what a reboot of a U.S. Commodore might look like.

Yes, we’ve been here before, and in fact, we’re still here. The now extinct but universally lauded Pontiac G8 was itself a Americanized Holden Commodore, and the current Caprice law enforcement vehicle is a long-wheelbase version of that Holden that packs either a 3.6-liter, 301-horsepower V6 or a 6.0-liter, 355-hp V8. Resurrecting the G8 would return a vehicle that many loved but was handicapped by Pontiac’s zombie status, improve Holden’s fortunes and give Chevy a proper rear-wheel drive sedan with teeth. To all of that, we say Yes, Yes and… Yes.

Rendered Speculation: Chevrolet SS

Don’t Call It A Comeback

Continue reading 2013 Ford Escape [w/video]

2013 Ford Escape [w/video]

We like the small Fiat 500 a lot, but we’re not so fond of the upsized version Fiat is planning. When the five-door 500L debuted at Geneva, calling it homely was being generous, indeed. We can’t deny the logic in offering a more family friendly 500, however. But a size-large seven-seater? This quite literally stretches the limits of the 500’s ethos.

Yet Auto Express has captured spy shots of a full-size design study for exactly that: A 500L with a third row. The magazine is reporting that the mockup it spotted in the automaker’s Turin, Italy, design studio rides on the same wheelbase as the five-door model, but with its rear overhang extended by nearly eight inches to accommodate what must surely be the smallest third row of seats to ever grace the interior of a vehicle not made of Lego.

The report goes on to say that the seven-passenger model would use the same body panels and doors as the five-door 500L, basically everything from the C-pillar forward. Check out Auto Express for more images and info.

Fiat 500L seven-seater spotted

Oh, how we’d like to go all grumpy-old-man-get-off-my-lawn on Chevrolet for this latest bit of hipster marketing. But dammit, it’s got robots in it. Real robots, industrial robots, installed inside a 2012 Chevrolet Sonic hatchback. And it’s just so cool.

The robots are there to help Jeff Soto paint a mural on an empty brick wall, and while we’re pretty sure the final product of this collaboration is still something like 90-percent man and 10-percent machine, we really like what we see. Chevy calls Soto a “respected street artist,” which we figure just means a graffiti artist with a degree rather than a rap sheet. (Soto’s is from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA.) Soto, in turn, refers to the compact Sonic as the first “robotic art car.”

While Soto did a lot of conventional work on the mural, he also used the Sonic’s robotic arms, which were controlled from within the car and could be operated while Soto drove. The painting appendages emerged through the Sonic’s windows, sunroof and hatchback, and seem to take up all the available space inside the car, save for the driver’s seat.

While we were fairly impressed seeing the Sonic play indie rock, we definitely think the little car should focus on its art. There’s some real talent there.

Continue reading Watch an assembly line robot try its hand at street art

Watch an assembly line robot try its hand at street art

“It’s time to say goodbye,” said AvtoVAZ spokesman Igor Burenkov to Russia’s RIA Novosti about the end of Lada 2107 production, which happened this week. The Lada 2107, also called the Lada Riva, has been plying Russian roads since before Ronald Reagan started redesigning walls. It’s one of the cars you’re most likely to see in grainy film and video clips from the days before Glastnost.

As you might suspect, the Lada 2107 has Fiat origins that go back to the early 1970s. This old comrade has been wound down to make room for the cars Lada is calling “new” classics. Newer Lada models like the Granta, Priora and Kalina are going to move into the Izhavto production facility that had been building the “Seven,” and Lada is expecting demand for the newer cars to continue rising as more features and body style variations continue to be rolled out. До свидания, друг.

Lada 2107 reaches the end of its road

When it comes to German luxury vehicles, it’s always the same old story: BMW and Mercedes-Benz duking it out for first place, with Audi gaining ground while locking down third. So why should it be any different when it comes to naming conventions? BMW has clearly taken the lead for which car brand can have the most confusing and illogical alphanumeric badging, and thus, Mercedes is readying a new naming regimen of its own.

According to a report in Automobile, Benz will be completely overhauling the familiar “-Class” designations to make them more logical. To Germans. Who are engineers. How will this shake out? We’ve read the article three times and can’t make much sense of it, but Automobile indicates that we should expect SUV’s and crossovers to continue using the G prefix, while coupes and convertibles will use the C prefix, and the SL prefix will be reserved for sports cars. After that, well, we give up.

Supposedly a third letter of the name will designate the model range, meaning that the front-drive, four-door coupe based on the A- and B-Class architecture won’t be called CLC, but will instead go by CLA. And the forthcoming GLC crossover will be unveiled as the GLA. The GLK will probably get renamed GLC, according to the magazine, and now we’ve entered the rabbit hole, because as Automobile writes:

But what of the rumored A-Class based coupe and cabriolet models? CLA comes to mind, but this name is already spoken for. Would it make more sense if the CLC-turned-CLA is renamed once again to become the CLB, since its MFA platform is also shared with the B-Class? If so, Benz has to move quickly, as the concept car that previews the CLC/CLA/CLB is supposed to make its official debut in a few weeks at the 2012 Beijing motor show.

Then there’s the problem with the CLS-Class. It won’t be receiving a new name, according to the report, which means the forthcoming two-door version of the S-Class can’t be called CLS. And the G-Class won’t get any of the extra letters, retaining its single-letter name.

So there you have it. If Automobile is correct, Mercedes’ new naming scheme will take something that was confusing and illogical and make sure it’s still confusing and illogical, but unfamiliar as well.

Mercedes prepares to overhaul its confusing naming structure

The 1961 Impala SS inaugurated the SS trim line to the brand, and its SS cars have found more than a million homes since – examples like this 1966 model helping the way. Turns out, though, that General Motors just got around to patenting the designator SS on April 13, 2012. Since the SS descriptor has historically indicated a model variant or trim level, distinctions that apparently don’t normally warrant trademark protection, the questions are why now and what for?

The evidence would seem to lead to this being a model designator, not just a trim, and there have been rumors that a civilian version of the police-only Caprice will hit the market and simply be called SS. But if that’s the case, what would the hotter Impala prototype we’ve seen in spy shots be named, and what – if anything – would happen to the SS trim available on other Chevy models?

Click the image below for a look at the patent application, and we’ll be looking forward to finding out what is going to go where.

Chevrolet trademarks SS designation… why now?

Anything Ferrari can do, McLaren can do better. At least that’s what the boys in Woking seem to believe. After all, McLaren has trounced Ferrari around the Formula One circuit for the past several years now. But while the British team has followed its Italian rival from grand prix racing into building supercars with the McLaren F1, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren and (most recently) the MP4-12C, one thing Ferrari does that McLaren doesn’t is grand tourers. And with the advent of the FF, shooting brakes.

That could all change, however, if the latest rumors are to be believed. (Which is something which, in this case, we wouldn’t take for granted.) According to the rumormongers over at Auto Express, McLaren is preparing a shooting brake based of the MP4-12C (pictured above, flashing its air brake). Now given that the 12C is a mid-engined supercar and not a front-engined GT like the Ferrari Four, we’d say that makes about as much sense as Renault reaching back into its showcar history to build the Espace F1.

The rumors further state that the McLaren shooting brake (fancy-talk for a two-door wagon) would go downmarket to rival the Porsche 911 – which is something we’ve been expecting McLaren to pursue sometime after the MP4 roadster and the upmarket successor to the original F1 supercar. But something’s a little amiss here, so for the time being, we’ll take this particular report with a grain of salt that would dwarf Lot’s wife. Then again, we did run into McLaren design director Frank Stephenson checking out the Fisker Surf in Paris last year…

McLaren working on MP4-12C shooting brake?

You may remember the Pininfarina Cambiano as the creation that walked away with the honor of being named the most beautiful concept at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. The design house decided to commemorate the honor by crafting something else special for the 2012 Milan Furniture Show.

Pininfarina turned to the craftsmen at Riva 1920 to put together a wood sculpture in the Cambiano’s image. The piece is hewn from reclaimed Venice briccola wood – the same stuff that makes up all those mooring poles in the famous Italian city.

The 36-foot beams each carry unique markings, both from the lagoon water and the aquatic organisms that call the posts home. The result is a sculpture with many unique colors and markings.

Riva 1920 used the same wood to create the interior elements of the original Cambiano. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Continue reading Pininfarina Cambiano carved from wood for furniture show

Pininfarina Cambiano carved from wood for furniture show

There aren’t a lot of automakers that also make motorcycles: Peugeot, Honda, Suzuki, and perhaps most pertinently, BMW. And now Audi is getting in the game – not with its own four-ringed motorbikes, but with today’s acquisition of Ducati.

In the announcement just released, Audi confirmed the deal but stopped short of confirming the reported purchase price of $1.1B. Although Audi is, of course, part of the Volkswagen group, it is Audi AG itself that officially bought the motorcycle manufacturer, making Ducati the third Italian operation under its umbrella alongside Lamborghini and ItalDesign-Giugiaro.

Tellingly, Audi also points to certain technologies developed by Ducati – particularly their control systems, combustion chamber process and competence in lightweight construction – as particular assets that “offer great potential for AUDI AG and the Volkswagen Group.” Read more in the official release after the jump.

Continue reading It’s official, Audi has just bought Ducati

It’s official, Audi has just bought Ducati

Product placement in television and film has become so commonplace that we almost expect any mention of a specific brand on camera to be paid for in full by the company in question. And so we might have assumed with this week’s episode of Mad Men, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

The episode featured an account to advertise for Jaguar in the United States, with Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce beancounter Lane Pryce coming across the account through his British ex-pat connections and bringing it back to the firm. “I think a man getting out of a Jaguar needs a cold shower,” pitched Don Draper. “The Jaguar XKE is pornographic.” And indeed it is, lauded as one of the most sensuous automotive designs ever to grace tarmac. (For crying out loud, just take a look at the classic cat in the fresh gallery of high-resolution images we’ve put together for you.)

A memorable scene, but apparently Jaguar was as surprised to see it as the rest of us. According to reports, the plug was neither solicited nor paid for by the British automaker. Of course, the particulars of product-placement deals are seldom revealed, but we’ll take Jaguar’s assertion at face value – particularly when two of the show’s starring actors – John Slattery (who plays Roger Sterling) and Jon Hamm (a.k.a. Don Draper)- pitch for rivals Lincoln and Mercedes-Benz respectively.

Jaguar surprised by Mad Men cameo

The minds at Car and Driver recently took a moment to speak with Robert Davis, senior vice president of Mazda U.S. operations, about the automaker’s plans for the future. According to Davis, the rotary engine will continue to play a role in the company’s products moving forward, with engineers applying the lessons learned through the SkyActiv program to the powerplant. That means the next-generation rotary will likely feature reduced internal friction and lightweight internals in a quest to reduce emissions and increase fuel economy. But the engine may find applications outside of its traditional role.

Not only is Mazda pursuing a rotary engine to power a vehicle, Davis admits Mazda is also investigating ways to use the design in tandem with an electric motor, with the pistonless engine responsible for charging an extended-range EV’s batteries. Given the compact size and relatively low torque supplied by a rotary, this application would seem to hold promise. Of course, we’ve heard some of this before.

And what of a SkyActiv V6? Davis makes it clear there’s no room in the SkyActiv stable for a six-cylinder, saying that the company will focus on lighter platforms and forced-induction four-cylinder engines instead.

Mazda working on multiple rotary engines, has no plans for SkyActiv V6