While the ink has barely dried on our , the automaker has reportedly just divulged the roadster’s official lap time around the famed Nürburgring circuit in Germany – the grueling racetrack that serves as a benchmark test for today’s sports cars. According to , its new two-seat convertible crossed the start/finish line after delivering a 7:58 lap.
That time may seem a bit off the pace when compared to heavy-hitters like the 911 GT2 RS (7:18), (7:19) and (7:24), but it is plenty quick among its peers in the same horsepower range (the ‘13 Boxster features a 3.4-liter flat-six rated at 315 horsepower) and strong enough to take the checkered flag away from the and . Much of the credit goes to Porsche’s commitment to keeping weight off the roadster (its curb weight is just 2,910 pounds), widening its track and fitting the redesigned vehicle with its capable torque-vectoring system.
Automakers are always attempting to show how popular their new vehicle is, but there are only two ways to truly prove a smashing hit. One is to deliver outstanding sales numbers, and the other is to experience demand so strong that new employees must be hired to help assemble them.
Land Rover is experiencing just such a success with its sexy new line, as evidenced by its latest press release. The Tata Motors owned luxury marque announced that it is hiring an additional 1,000 workers at its Halewood plant to bolster production. The facility, which currently builds the Evoque and the Freelander 2 (a.k.a. ), will now employ 4,500 workers, or three times the number it did in 2009.
With those new hires, the Halewood plant will now be running at or near full capacity, with three full eight-hour shifts. Hit the jump to read over the Land Rover press release which includes details of some of the positions needed at the plant.
The Amelia Island Concours may not be as old or have quite the prestige of Pebble Beach, but it still marks an important place on the automotive calendar every spring. For 2012, an incredible selection of cars gathered in the northeast end of Florida for the 17th annual show, with the event celebrating 50 years of the , the legendary , custom coachwork Cadillacs, experimental Corvettes as well as cars that won the 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring.
As with Pebble Beach, the Amelia Island Concours gives out awards to the most outstanding vehicles, but unlike the West Coast show there are two main trophies up for grabs instead of just one. This year a 1938 Bugatti Type 57, one of just three like it in the world, was awarded the Concours d’Elegance award, while a 1962 330 LM, essentially a 4.0-liter version of the 250 GTO, claimed the Concours de Sport award.
You can read more about this year’s Amelia Island Concours and the two best of show winners in the press release .
has a hit on its hands with the trim, but for some reason the brand’s most popular crossover still hasn’t donned the signature chrome grille. That will change for the 2013 model year with the introduction of the .
The freshly minted Terrain Denali will of course feature a chrome front grille, 19-inch wheels (V6 model only), satin chrome accents, body color rocker panels and front and rear fascias, new headlight and taillights and a dual exhaust. The top Terrain will also receive a high-end interior, including a leather-wrapped steering wheel with mahogany wood accents, a soft-touch instrument panel with French stitching, Denali-embossed leather seats and illuminated Denali sill plates.
The biggest news for the Denali is the introduction of a more powerful 3.6-liter V6, which will replace the 3.0-liter V6 across the Terrain lineup. The larger V6 will output 301 horsepower and 272 pound-feet of torque, or 37 hp and 50 lb-ft more than the 3.0-liter. And if you’re thinking fuel economy will suffer as a result, think again. The added power will result in the same fuel economy as the torque-deficient 3.0-liter, with 24 miles power gallon on the highway and 17 mpg in the city.
Fuel-thrifty buyers can purchase the Terrain Denali with the 2.4-liter four-cylinder, which outputs 182 horsepower and 172 lb-ft of torque and boasts 32 mpg on the highway. The four-cylinder-equipped Denali will feature slightly smaller 18-inch wheels. All-wheel drive will also be available with both engines.
The Terrain Denali will feature a cadre of top tech amenities too, including , Bluetooth, Pandora and Stitcher integration and iPod controls with Gracenote tech. This Denali also utilizes advanced safety features including lane departure and forward collision warnings and blind spot radar tech to look for vehicles the driver may not see.
Pricing will be released later this year, so for now check out the official word from GMC below and additional images in our gallery.
It’s a funny thing, being rich and famous. You can afford anything you want, but everything comes to you for free. Just ask Sebastian Vettel, who – as reigning Formula One World Champion two years running now and brand ambassador for – can get any luxed-up Datsun he wants. Which may not be quite as exciting as Fernando Alonso having his run of the motor pool or Lewis Hamilton getting his hands on the new McLaren MP4-12C, but it’s not without its perks, to be sure. Like the .
Unveiled as a concept vehicle at the back in September, the Vetteled packs a 5.0-liter V8 good for 414 horsepower and an estimated 5.6-second sprint to 62 mph, along with carbon fiber aero bits aplenty, reduced weight and a lowered suspension.
Back in October, we received that Infiniti was, indeed, planning on offering the special edition performance crossover – based, as it is, on the FX50S Premium model – in limited quantities, and the company has now officially announced its availability.
Only 200 examples will be made at an as-yet undisclosed but assuredly lofty price, with orders being taken now for delivery next year. But before you go racing down to the local Infiniti dealership, know that the model will only be offering in Europe and the Middle East. Which is just as well, because we can’t imagine many American buyers ponying up the kind of cash Infiniti will be asking for the privilege just because it’s named after some kid from Germany, no matter how many grands prix he’s won. Official announcement .
We haven’t heard much about Perana in quite some time, but not nearly as long as it’s been since the name AC last came up on our radar screen. The progenitor of the iconic Shelby Cobra, AC Cars is one of those great many British sportscar manufacturers that has long since disappeared into obscurity. There has been talk here and there of reviving the marque with a new model, but none of that seems to have materialized. Until now. Sort of.
Perana, as you may recall, is (or was) the name of an upstart automaker producing a devastatingly beautiful sportscar called the Z-One penned by no less accomplished a design house than Zagato. Now, the design (or, at least, what appears to be the same design) has resurfaced under the AC badge.
Called the 378 GT Zagato, the AC-ified Z-One is apparently being produced on the same line in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, where the Perana was, and where, incidentally, some Noble models are, as well. The numeric nameplate is taken from the cubic-inch displacement of the 6.2-liter V8 engine.
It’s certainly not the first time Zagato has designed for an established British marque, the production version of the V12 Zagato it designed for having been unveiled as this one was being announced at the other end of the Palexpo. AC and Zagato also collaborated on a one-off Bristol variant back in 1957, a model that is scheduled to be showcased alongside the new 378 GT at Pebble Beach later this year where AC will be the featured marque two years after the Z-One made its U.S. debut on the very same manicured lawns.
That’s not where the collaboration is expected to end, however, as a roadster based on the same platform but featuring more Cobra-like bodywork is next in the pipeline. We’re not sure where that leaves Perana, but we’ll be watching to see where this goes. In the meantime you can see the full press release and spec sheet below, with high-res images (including some deliciously retro color schemes) in the gallery above.
Well, at least in the Swedish Racing Elite League. Says Jan “Flash” Nilsson, driver and Managing Director of Flash Engineering, “I have longed for 40 years to see the fight between Saab and on the race tracks. It becomes reality this summer and my biggest dream is to get all Saab fans to the TTA races to cheer us on.”
In addition to the , the Saab 9-3 fielded by Flash Engineering and Team Tidö will go up against efforts from and . And, intriguingly, the team will have the support of what’s left of the Saab company in Sweden – Flash will be sponsored in part by Saab Parts, the organization created to handle Saab repairs now that the automaker is in receivership, along with the Saab Dealer Organization.
Check out the complete press release , which is chock full of historically significant Saab cars and drivers, along with the high-res gallery of the racing Saab 9-3 above.
When it comes to handing out awards, nobody works harder than J.D. Power. With surveys concocted to measure , , , , and , we sometimes wonder whether the company’s plaudits aren’t becoming a little like “participant” medals awarded at the end of kids’ sports seasons.
This latest J.D. Power survey, the 2012 , measures service satisfaction at dealerships. The most interesting find is that overall satisfaction at dealers is nearly four percent greater than at independent repair facilities. Visits to dealers among owners of vehicles less than three years old are up as well.
Of course, the numbers that people will be most interested in relate to how each brand fared in the survey. J.D. Power ranks each marque on a 1,000-point scale, “based on dealer service performance during the first three years of new-vehicle ownership, which typically represents the majority of the vehicle warranty period. Five measures are examined to determine overall customer satisfaction with dealer service (listed in order of importance): service quality; service initiation; service advisor; service facility; and vehicle pick-up.”
The brands are broken into either luxury or mainstream categories, and the top performers in each list are clustered fairly close together. scored 861 points, followed by (852) and (849) on the luxury side. The mass market competitors finished even closer, with leading at 809 points, followed closely by three General Motors brands: (805), (803) and (801).
for the full press release.
, Mini take home dealer satisfaction laurels in latest J.D. Power survey
As a Formula One entity, Renault has gone from engine supplier to full manufacturer (having acquired the Benetton team back in 2000) and back to engine supplier (having all but completely divested the team now under the banner). The French automaker’s competition engine works also powers Caterham and Williams this season, but most importantly, the Red Bull Racing team that is returning once again as World Champions. So whereas previous Renaultsport special edition hot hatches celebrated the company’s own achievements, the latest celebrates Red Bull’s.
Named the Red Bull RB7 edition after last year’s car, the special Clio RS packs a 203-horsepower four mounted to the Cup chassis that would otherwise be an option. The body is painted matte black with yellow highlights, a tone-on-tone checkerboard roof, the requisite special badging and 18-inch wheels done up in a black finish and shod with the same Bridgestone rubber that kept the glued to the Nürburgring for its lap record.
Inside it’s got yellow Recaro buckets and the RS Monitor performance telematics system. The special edition will only be available, however, in France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria and Spain. Details to be found in the press release after the jump with high-res images in the gallery above.
Imagine you just bought the fastest, most powerful road-legal ever. Your has 740 horses and does 0-62 mph in just over three seconds. You’re on top of the world!
Enjoy your seat at the pinnacle of Maranello motoring while you can, because you’ll soon be relegated to the slow lane. There’s a bigger, badder Ferrari in the works. And if you already own a Berlinetta, chances are good you’ll be invited sometime before the end of 2012 to a private showing of Ferrari’s replacement for the legendary Enzo.
Ferrari Chairman tells Automotive News Europe that their next supercar will not be called Enzo, but will be worthy successor that packs a carbon fiber body and a big ol’ V12.
“The F12 Berlinetta delivers 740 hp and today’s Formula One cars have between 740 hp and 750 hp,” Montezemolo said. “Thus we are offering F1 power in a road car.”
the neo-Enzo have as much as 920 horsepower. Not too many other details were revealed in the interview except for…
“We want to surprise people not just in terms of price but also with the car itself,” Montezemolo said. Which we take to mean the next ultimate Ferrari will be free. But probably not.
The general public will probably get its first glimpse of the Enzo replacement either at next January’s or the 2013 next March. Oh, the anticipation!
We can appreciate a good track car as much as the next enthusiast, but we’re beginning to bemoan their creation as a way out for automakers to charge wealthy customers obscene amounts of money for cars they’re not even legally allowed to drive on the road. (As least, not in countries were homologation can’t be circumvented with a sufficient bribe to the right bureaucrat. Which we’re not entirely sure includes these United States.)
It’s the road that is expected to take with the “production” version of the Sesto Elemento concept, and it appears to be the way plans to bring its C-X75 concept to production. At least, the jet-powered one, anyway.
The C-X75, as you may recall, bowed at the with an awesomely innovative powertrain: two micro-turbines acting as range-extenders to electric motors. Reports then began to surface that Jaguar intended to build the supercar, only that the commercially available version would pack a 1.6-liter turbo four being developed with the Williams Formula One team and packing about 500 horsepower instead of the turbine setup. (Not too shabby, but still no turbine.)
Then parent company Tata invested in a turbine outfit called Bladon Jets near Jaguar’s headquarters in Coventry, leading to the that a limited quantity would be offered with turbine power like the concept’s. The latest reports, however, indicate that even those would be confined strictly to the track.
Now don’t get us wrong, we applaud Jaguar and Tata pursuing the technology of getting this experimental powertrain into a “marketable” car, however much it may cost. We’re just not sure that keeping it confined to the race track, given the prices they’ll be bound to charge, is the right way to go about it. Agree or disagree? Cast your vote in the poll below.
Tearing It Up In The Deep White With The Original Stig
There are lots of fine race driver names in the history of motorsports. Sterling Moss, Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton (a.k.a. Marquis de Portago), and the ever popular Dick Trickle come to mind. We’d need to put in a strong vote, however, for Swede rally sensation Stig Blomqvist, winner of the 1984 World Rally Championship drivers’ title. He drove for the Sport factory team between 1982 and 1985, his Group B championship-winning season starting in a long-wheelbase Audi Quattro A2 and finishing in a short-wheelbase Sport Quattro S1.
Lucky for us, we recently had the chance to belt in beside The Stig as he powered over a west central Swedish parcours buried in deep snow. Better still, we were able to ride shotgun with the legendary shoe piloting what was essentially the same Sport Quattro S1 he drove for the last part of the ‘84 WRC season.
Even as in their opposition to the auto industry bailout, new polling indicates that the American public has changed its attitude about the $80 billion spent to help both and General Motors restructure. According to The New York Times, a poll conducted in February shows the gap between those who approve of the measures and those who remain opposed has shrunk, while a different, more recent poll shows a slim majority of Americans now support the bailout. In the midst of the 2008-2009 crisis, polls suggested that three out of four people were against government intervention.
The New York Times suggests the post-bailout success of the automakers is the most likely driver of the change in attitude, citing the return to profitability of both Chrysler and GM. That success has resulted in real job creation, with some 126,500 positions in the motor vehicle manufacturing industry added, according to the report. , including $385 million at its Romulus, MI, engine plant pictured above.
That by more than 80 percent, to $14 billion, has likely played a part in public perception as well.
has made no secret of the fact that the company aims to flesh out its stable between now and 2017 with the addition of around 40 new model variants. Now Inside Line has given us the first hint of what the first of those models may bring to the table. According to reports, the company is in the beginning stages of developing a new leisure range to slot below the current . Details are scarce at the moment, but the vehicle will reportedly be the smallest Land Rover to wear the company’s badge if it gets the nod for production.
The company also intends to give hardware like the LR2 and a significant update with freshened exteriors and interiors that are more carlike in an attempt to lure in more buyers.
Land Rover is likely hoping to replicate the warm reception of the in a less expensive, more accessible package. Sounds good to us.
Linsanity’s next stop could be your local neighborhood dealer. If you live in China, that is.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Jeremy Lin, the sophomore NBA sensation is in talks with the Chinese-owned carmaker about signing up to endorse the brand overseas. Lin, the bilingual point guard from Harvard, has entered the NBA limelight this season while playing for the New York Knicks.
According to Bloomberg, Lin is the first American of Chinese descent to play in the NBA. Former NBA All-Star Yao Ming, a Chinese national, remains one of the most popular celebrities in China after his retirement from pro basketball last summer. Tapping into the NBA’s growing popularity in China could help boost Volvo, which is not as well known as more established luxury brands like or .
For Lin, capitalizing on his nascent success with Volvo would have to be seen as a positive move, given the fickle world of sports endorsements. As talented as Lin is, the annals of the NBA are littered with flash-in-the-pan guys who had but 15 minutes of fame before fouling out of celebrity life forever.
Looks like and can breathe a corporate sigh of relief. The has into both companies without issuing fines or ordering a recall.
The government safety agency said it had reviewed 43 reports of engine fires in 2001-2007 VW models. The turbocharged four cylinder’s ignition coils apparently were the source of the blazes. We reported on the initial investigation .
After a 19-month study, NHTSA said, “The fires observed were contained in the engine compartment and did not reach into the passenger compartment. There were no reports of crashes or personal injury in this examination. A safety-related defect has not been identified at this time.”
“Safety-related defect” or not, that hardly sounds comforting for Passat owners. Might want to get that ignition coil checked out.
GM got the all clear after the NHTSA checked into cracked cooling fans on the series of trucks, which includes , and 4500 and 5000 models. NHTSA said it “remains concerned about the potential for injury,” but basically couldn’t find the “root cause” and that the number of complaints seems to be “small and diminishing.”
Hmmm. Might want to get those fans checked, too.
Check out the full PR text to read the NHTSA report on the Passat.
Although may not be racing all that much these days, motorsport competition was an integral part to forming its identity decades ago. And it’s that legacy that Jaguar aims to tap into with its latest development.
The British auto marque has of late been participating in numerous classic racing events, but is now intensifying and organizing its efforts under the Jaguar Heritage Racing banner. Managed for the factory by specialist firm JD Classics of Essex, the program will see the C-Type and D-Type (click on the image above to enlarge the two classic cats) challenging revival events at venues as varied as , the and the , where the initiative will make its first appearance this May.
Although limited in scope to classic racing events, the renewed effort will see the factory getting back onto the track in an arguably more substantial way than it has with the Jaguar RSR XKR GT2, retapping the racing spirit not seen in Coventry since winning Le Mans with the XJR-12 in 1990 and selling its F1 team in 2004 – but which could, if come to fruition, resurface again with a new LMP1 in the near future. In the meantime you can read more about the Jaguar Heritage Racing program in the press release .
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 .
Robots have been a part of every automaker’s manufacturing arsenal for three decades now, but that doesn’t make this latest effort at improving plant automation any less cool. While most factory robots are neither humanoid nor particularly interesting, the only thing more exciting than this pseudo-cyborg hand for rivetheads is ordering up the entire run of The Six Million Dollar Man from Netflix.
While General Motors clearly doesn’t have the cash or inclination to turn each of its roughly 50,000 United Auto Workers employees into Colonel Steve Austin, the new Robo-Glove would allow its wearer to have super hand strength. GM says the force required to grasp tools could be reduced by a third to a half for those wearing the special gloves, which are operated by a standard lithium-ion battery like the ones used to power cordless hand tools. The gloves would allow workers to hold their tools comfortably for longer periods of time and possibly reduce the risk of repetitive stress injury.
The gloves were an outgrowth of GM’s partnership with NASA in developing the Robonaut 2, the first humanoid robot to be launched into space when . GM developed the first prototype gloves in March 2011, while the second generation was completed three months later. They weigh about a pound each and contain all the electronics, actuators and a small display.
Click to read the full press release, plus watch a video demonstration.
Residents of Amish communities famously eschew almost all trappings of modernity. No TV, no telephones, limited use of electricity, and, gasp, no Autoblog! But there comes a in a young Amish person’s life when they’re allowed to go out and taste the world. And sometimes alcohol.
Case in point: Sunday evening, police in Sherman, N.Y. were of a group of young Amish having a “buggy party.” Before they could get there, though, another buggy carrying four Amish allegedly switched lanes abruptly and collided with the patrol car.
The buggy flipped, injuring one of the passengers and, we imagine, spilling what police say was the fruits of a beer run.
The crash must have been loud enough for the partygoers to hear, because when the cops finally showed up, several buggies were observed fleeing the scene.
The four passengers of the bashed-up buggy are charged with underage possession of alcohol. The driver, 20, faces additional charges since police say he admitted to being the host of the party.
And, by the way, the horse is fine. Police say it, wisely, fled the scene and took shelter in a nearby barn.
