According to , the 2013 Sprint Cup Series will kick off without an on the starting grid. That’s news itself, considering how intertwined the Impala is with Chevy’s NASCAR presence, earning 70 wins since 2007.
Even more intriguing, though, is that Chevy says it “will be racing a vehicle based on a new nameplate to the brand’s lineup.” That means the 2013 racer won’t be a or . Whatever it may be, Chevrolet says that both the race version and the production version will be debuted “in the coming year.”
As far as speculation goes, it’s hard not to point a finger in the direction of the , which is currently available in the United States for duty only. Will everyday consumers finally get another crack at a high-performance rear-wheel-drive Chevy sports sedan? If so, what will it be called, and will it wear the coveted SS nomenclature?
We have no idea. What we do know, however, is that Jim Campbell, vice president of Chevrolet Performance Vehicles and Motorsports, says the automaker is testing camouflaged vehicles and that the production version will be “just like” the race car. We’ll just have to wait and see about that… In the meantime, see the complete press release .
A design studio and contract manufacturer, when Pininfarina builds a car it’s typically under another brand’s auspices. That could change, however, with the Cambiano.
Unveiled just last week at the , the 680-horsepowerplug-inhybrid coupe concept – which we had to examine close-up in the ramp-up to the show – is being considered for limited production.
If built for public consumption, the Cambiano is tipped to ditch the concept’s diesel turbine in favor of a more conventional electric powertrain with its range extended by a diesel engine. If Pininfarina were to build just ten examples, the pricetag on each would amount to about 1 million euros (approximately $1.3 million at today’s conversion rates) but if ramped up to 70 or 75 units, each would fetch around 400,000 euros (about $525,000).
It’s pretty obvious that automakers’ definition of the word ‘coupe’ these days is a far cry from the traditional meaning. (We do live in the world of the “four-door coupe,” after all.) That said, Car and Driver reports that will call the company’s two-door Paceman Concept the once it hits production.
While it’s true that both the Paceman Concept and most coupes have two doors, the vehicle is more of a CUV/hatchback/crossover, at least to our eyes. Even so, the fact that the vehicle will reportedly share the Countryman moniker is no shock. Both vehicles wear the same nose front fascia, grille, headlights, fenders and hood. Even so, based on the automaker’s current naming convention, that means we’ll have to get used to saying something like “Mini Cooper S Countryman Coupe.” Because that won’t get confusing or anything.
Last we heard, the three-door Countryman as a 2014 model, and rumor has it that the production model will debut at the later this year. A few have already made their way to the web, indicating the final version will be remarkably similar to the concept we’ve already seen.
is recalling 2012 model year sedans for, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “failing to comply with the requirements of federal motor vehicle safety standard number 108: lamps, reflective devices and associated equipment.” Specifically (and in layman’s terms), it means that the Regal’s parking lamps may be defective.
Vehicles affected by this recall were built between February 22, 2011 and February 22, 2012 – a grand total of 3,633 Regals.
GM will begin notifying owners about the recall this week, and dealers will reprogram the Regal’s body control module (that controls the parking lights) free of charge. for the full details in NHTSA’s official statement.
This year’s Geneva Motor Show served up a scintillating buffet of vehicles, but the Lamborghini Aventador J may very well have been our favorite. With no roof, no windshield and all of the insane running gear of the standard , the roadster is the embodiment of exotic. But according to Top Gear, the car went from design sketch to reality in record time. Designer Filippo Perini told TG he first sketched up the Aventador J in mid-January after CEO Stephan Winkelmann asked his crew to to come up with something special for Geneva.
Despite the apparent similarities between the Aventador and the new Aventador J, the two models share only a handful of body components, including the front hood, fenders, headlights and rear fenders. Everything else is bespoke just for the concept.
If you like what you see as much as we do and want to take one home, too bad. The world’s only Aventador J is already sold to an unnamed collector for the lofty sum of $2.74 million at current conversion rates.
When we initially reported on the that would be up for sale at Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island auction, we figured that many of the cars would command impressive sums. Now that it’s over, we doubt that even the auction house could have guessed just how successful the sale could be.
Held in conjunction with the Amelia Island Concours in the beginning of March, the auction smashed eleven world records for Porsches. A 1973 917/30 Can-Am Spyder broke the record for both the most expensive Porsche and a 917 at $4.4 million, a 1955 Porsche 550 dropped the hammer at a record $3.685 million, and a 1974 Porsche Carrera RSR Turbo sold for $3.245 million. Other records broken include top prices for a Porsche 935, 962, 911 GT1, 906, 934, 924, 968 and 944. In total, ten cars sold for more than a million dollars, and all sales combined for a final sum of $36 million.
for more details on Gooding & Company’s 2012 Amelia Island auction as well as a full list of the most expensive cars sold.
Fastest roadster ever. That’s one heck of a claim, but if anyone can assert it, it’s . And the Alsatian automaker has brought 1,200 horsepower to back it up.
What we’re talking about, of course, is the Vitesse – the “best of both worlds” version of the famed Veyron. First announced in February and officially unveiled at the last week, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Grand Sport Vitesse (as it’s known in full) has just had its full details released along with a fresh batch of rather fetching high-resolution images, which we’ve included in our gallery for your viewing pleasure.
So what are we looking at here, exactly? In short, a Grand Sport (that’s the targa-topped model) with the engine from the Super Sport (the record-holding top-speed model). That means a quad-turbo W-16 engine with 1,200 horsepower, good for a 255 mph top speed with the wind in your hair.
That, for comparison’s sake, is incrementally faster than the 253 mph top end of the “base” Veyron, yet slower than the 267 mph of the Super Sport with the same engine and a fixed roof. Crucially, however, it’s faster than the 229 mph top end of the 1,001hp Veyron Grand Sport roadster. Want to know more? There’s plenty to digest in the full press release and spec sheet .
It appears that a British arbitration panel has shattered any hopes of seeing a small diesel Mahindra pickup truck in the States. According to PickupTrucks.com, the panel ruled in favor of the Indian automaker in Global Vehicles’ lawsuit against the company, saying the contract between the two companies had expired. Furthermore, Mahindra was not found to have violated any U.S. laws. The ruling is the final chapter in a saga that began six years ago when the companies announced that Global Vehicles would distribute Mahindra T20 and T40 compact diesel pickups in America.
In 2010, the deal began unraveling, with Mahindra saying Global Vehicles allowed the contract to expire. Global Vehicles, meanwhile, pointed the finger right back at its former Indian partner. It wasn’t long before the American company then sought arbitration.
Global Vehicles has been ordered to pay court costs.
In a separate case, a group of would-be Mahindra dealers sued the Indian company in U.S. District Court, but that suit was thrown out after the judge ruled Global Vehicles was not the recognized agent for Mahindra in the United States.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began an investigation of the 2003 and 2004 late last year , and now that probe has resulted in an official recall. The culprit has been identified as a faulty circuit board that causes the gauge to register more fuel in the tank than the car actually has.
According to NHTSA, will begin notifying owners in mid-April, at which time they can take their sport sedans to the dealer to be replaced free of charge. for the official word from NHTSA with more details.
has found itself struggling with a range of technical issues shortly after the launch of the company’s extended-range EV, from to pesky software updates. According to one former employee, that’s no surprise. According to GigaOM, the worker in question reportedly left the company because of a push to get the production model out the door to satisfy Department of Energy loan requirements even though the early cars had a range of technical issues that still required sorting. The report lacks much in the way of specifics, and the unnamed defector now works for another EV startup, Coda, leading some to question the individual’s motives.
Fisker, meanwhile, says quality and customer satisfaction are top priorities for the company, and that the automaker has been quick to solve any issues that have surfaces thus far. Owners have access to a 24-hour VIP help line in the case of a technical problem.
While the DOE awarded the company a $529 million loan in 2009, Fisker has only been able to draw on a portion of the funds due to delays in the Karma development.
One can hardly mutter the words “German,” “luxury” and “all-wheel drive” without invoking visions of . The company has worked hard to make its Quattro all-wheel-drive system synonymous with each of the phrases above, and its tireless marketing, successful motorsports programs and loyal fans have inextricably married the Four Rings to the power of all-wheel drive luxury. But Audi isn’t the only German manufacturer putting power to all four wheels. Buyers have been happily bringing xDrive models home for years, and has a long and storied history of grips-at-all-four-corners innovation as well.
From vehicles like the globe-conquering Unimog to the somewhat more civil , the Silver Arrow has more than a little experience when it comes to overcoming uncertain terrain. Beyond four-wheel drive systems, Mercedes has sold over one million 4Matic all-wheel drive vehicles in the U.S. since the system’s debut here in 1989. These days, Benz offers on 10 of its vehicle lines in a total of 21 variations, and for 2012, luxury coupe buyers can rejoice in the inclusion of both the and the to the horde. With rivals like the and already default choices for two-door shoppers who prefer the foul weather capability of all-wheel drive, will the newest additions to the stable be able to keep the pace? We took to the C350 4Matic Coupe to find out.
The project now has two major corporate backers and, more importantly, an engine. and Michelin have signed on of designer Ben Bowlby, Dan Gurney’s All-American Racers and Don Panoz. Now called the Nissan DeltaWing, the Japanese firm will provide a turbocharged, direct-injected 1.6-liter, four-cylinder with an output of around 300 horsepower. Known as DIG-T, the powerplant shares the same roots as the engine in the .
That’s about 200 hp down on the 510 horsepower developed by the diesel V6 in the and about half the horsepower developed by other LMP1 racers. However, Nissan says the engine is half the weight of a typical LMP1 motor, and paired with the DeltaWing’s minimal aerodynamic drag, the lap times are said to be somewhere between those of the LMP1 and LMP2 classes. Why does this matter? Because Nissan and Co. are taking this needle-nosed baby to Le Mans.
Of call cars and classes, Nissan says this strangest looking effort is one that will “showcase the pioneering technology that will show one potential direction for the future of motorsport and will feed into the research and development of future technologies, that filter down to Nissan’s road car product range.”
The Nissan DeltaWing will be allowed to run in the 24 Hours of Le Mans following a special dispensation for an experimental car that doesn’t follow any technical guidelines offered by ACO, the organizer of Le Mans. It will use Garage 56, it will wear Number 0, and won’t be classified in the results. Even so, we’ll be watching closely. for a video of the racecar’s development and a press release detailing Nissan’s involvement.
If you have your heart set on picking up a new , you better get moving. Car and Driver reports the automaker is only shipping 6,000 of the coupes to the U.S. for the 2013 model year. The news reportedly surfaced via a dealer. While the automaker hasn’t officially announced exactly how many 2013 BRZ Coupe models will be allocated for American buyers, it has said the vehicle will arrive in “extremely limited quantities” in the past.
The news dovetails with earlier reports, which indicated the company would need to sell somewhere between 5,000 and 7,000 units at $25,000 a piece to break even, though at the time, no one mentioned Subaru wouldn’t bump up production if there was demand.
We’ve reached out to the automaker for comment and will keep you posted on any forthcoming information. In the mean time, we’ll leave you to pour over your finances to figure out how to bring one of these fine-handling machines home before there are none left. Word has it Subaru is already accepting pre-orders.
Anyone recently shopping for a four-cylinder or has probably discovered they’re not easy to come across. Automotive News reports that General Motors has a shortage of the 2.4-liter powerplants and the company can’t say when that might improve.
Still want an Equinox or Terrain? If you’re willing to give up a few miles per gallon, Chevrolet dealers are offering $1,000 off V6 models to get them out the door. On the Equinox LT, the V6 is a $1,500 option. Not a bad discount if you were already shopping for one of the more powerful CUVs.
Just keep in mind that the that four-cylinder models get 22 miles per gallon city and 32 mpg highway while the six-cylinder musters just 17/24. The EPA further notes that translates into about a $600 increase in your estimated yearly fuel bill. And in terms of performance, in our testing, the four-cylinder over the V6.
If you have your heart set on a four-cylinder Equinox or Terrain, a GM spokesperson says the automaker is working with suppliers to increase production of the smaller engine and they hope to meet demand soon.
There isn’t a whole lot to get excited about in the world of near-luxury, full-size, front-wheel-drive sedans. Stalwarts like the and continue to make their way into the driveways of gray-haired shoppers, and new entries like the redesigned are attempting to add a little bit of spice to an otherwise bland segment. In recent years, the has nearly fallen off the map in this class simply because it hasn’t been seriously updated since its launch in 2005 as a 2006 model. (The big four-door did get a , finally.) But that’s all about to change.
The 2014 Impala will be based on the same front-wheel-drive Epsilon-II architecture that underpins the and . But instead of sharing many of its components with the ‘Bu, reports indicate that the Impala will use a lot of the features of the XTS in an effort to give it a much more premium feel than the current model. And while the majority of the new car’s styling details are still covered up by the heavy camouflage, we can see premium features like large alloy wheels and what appear to be LED running lights up front. We just hope hasn’t just taken the easy way out and created a Malibu on steroids.
Mum’s the word on powertrain offerings, but have suggested that GM’s direct-injected 3.6-liter V6 will be on board, as well as the new 2.0-liter turbo four that’s slated for use in the . An eAssist version is also rumored to be in the cards.
Look for the 2014 Impala to launch sometime during the 2013 calendar year. Production is slated to be split between GM’s Oshawa, Ontario plant, as well as the Detroit-Hamtramck facility where the Malibu and are built.
has its i8, has its R8 e-tron, has its SLS AMG E-Cell. The electron-powered, gullwinged coupe will use batteries supplied by SK Innovations that power four synchronous electric motors into developing 525 horsepower and 649 pound-feet of torque. It is predicted to run from zero to 60 mph in 4 seconds – that’s up from a previously estimated 3.7 seconds.
Mercedes has loosed a little more info on the technology behind the SLS AMG E-Cell. Its powertrain arrangement necessitated a new front axle, so the conventional-powered car’s double wishbones have been supplanted by horizontal, pushrod damper struts. Torque vectoring to the motors mounted near the wheels, not on the hubs, aims to keep electric enthusiasm pointed in the right direction. And the Mercedes F1 team has assisted in the kinetic energy recovery system that will help to extend the coupe’s as-yet-unannounced range.
When it goes on sale sometime next year, what you see in the gallery of high-res photos will be wrapped in an SLS AMG body enhanced . for the company’s press release and have a look at the future in the gallery of high-res photos.
Following in the and , the 2012 Electric has been granted HOV lane access in California by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). CARB not only gave the upcoming all-electric vehicle the ability to let people drive alone in the High Occupancy Vehicle lane but also qualified it for an incentive that affords buyers an extra $2,500 off through the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP).
With an , the Focus EV is what Ford calls the “most fuel-efficient five-passenger car” in the States. As it has in other marketing material, today’s press release announcing the HOV designation, Ford is touting ways its car beats the (hey, it “only” gets , remember?), as you can read . For more on the controversial HOV lane situation in California, check out from AutoblogGreen contributor Chelsea Sexton.
Electric qualifies for California HOV lane access, extra $2,500 off
Of all the excellent car chases in cinema history, the vs. g battle in Steve McQueen’s Bullit may be the most recreated. Now it looks like the crew from the TV show Alcatraz has tried its hand at paying homage to the hubcap slinging sequence. According to local news station KTVU Channel 2, the new FOX series recently spent hours on San Francisco’s Bay and Larkin streets in an attempt to painstakingly replicate each legendary scene using modern interpretations of the famous bruisers in the 1968 film. The final product will be part of the Alcatraz season finale, set to air on March 26.
We’ve seen the Bullit chase replicated for and with , but this is the first time in recent memory a TV show has tackled putting Mopar power against the now iconic Highland GreenMustang. Alcatraz is the brainchild of executive producer J.J. Abrams, and features three investigators as they look into why 302 of Alcatraz prison’s most foul prisoners and guards have suddenly reappeared in modern-day San Francisco. If you’re interested, check your local listings for air times.
After five days in Europe, I’m finally able to count the number of hours I’ve slept on both my hands and feet. I’ve been stuck in this sort of schmoozing fugue state for the past few days, part hapless journalist, part aimless wanderer.
The is over. Covered. Done. But my trip isn’t even halfway through. There’s one last thing to do and that’s drive the all-new . That means another flight. Another shuttle. Another hotel. And yet another press conference. This one I actually care about. It’s just too bad I can barely focus, let alone take notes.
Chassis codes, curb weights, gear ratios and torque figures fly through the air. I manage to catch a few and jot them down. I’m running below E, barely fueled by some post-show adrenaline, copious quantities of caffeine and the occasional upbeat of my flustered circadian rhythms.
But I’m keeping my eye on the prize. One day with the new version of one of my favorite rides in one of the most beautiful parts of the world.
Walter Röhrl flashes on the asymmetrical jumbotron towards the end of the over-the-top PowerPoint presentation. He’s driving the Boxster. I desperately want to be him. Right now. And that’s when I hear him say part of our drive route will be the Monte Carlo Special Stage of the World Rally Championship. Another night of partial insomnia is now guaranteed.
Motorsports is expensive in any form, although there are ways to do it without completely breaking the bank. One of those ways is the relatively new featuring the compact offerings of , , , , and more that allows racers to compete in SCCA and Grand-Am racing on a relatively level and inexpensive playing field.
Ford is the latest to enter the B-Spec foray with an upgrade kit for the current 2011-2012 Fiesta. The package includes everything from a tow hook ($59.00) to a coilover suspension kit ($1,486.00) to make the Fiesta meet the B-Spec eligibility requirements. Racers will also need to add a variety of safety equipment like a roll cage, racing seats and so on. Ford says that it will cost just $25,000 to build a complete Fiesta B-Spec racer, including the cost of the donor car.
The first SCCA B-Spec race is scheduled for Miller Motorsports Park in Utah late next month while the inaugural Grand-Am B-Spec event is slated for Homestead Speedway in Miami the same weekend.
for more details about the Ford Fiesta B-Spec upgrade kit and a complete list of parts included in the package.
