Lexus at Harrods – Click above for high-res image gallery
Looks like the Aston Martin Cygnet isn’t the only luxed-up to go on display in the window at Harrod’s this season. The Cygnet made its production debut there , and now is following suite with a holiday display of their own.
The ground-level display takes up four windows of storefront. One features the new , another the 450h, a third highlighting the Mark Levinson sound systems found in many a Lexus, and the fourth a Lexus Lounge, whatever the heck that means.
The display will give holiday shoppers at “the world’s most famous luxury store” a chance to check out the vehicles, sign up for a test drive or even place an order on site.
Martha Stewart picks up her customized BMW X3 – Click above to watch video
Martha Stewart and her crew descended on BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina production facility where the automaker builds its crossover, as well as the and . Stewart designed and built her own X3 through BMW’s “Dream It. Build It. Drive it.” program, allowing for more than 70 million unique configurations including a handful of exclusive hues.
When the show airs, viewers are able to enter a contest to win an X3 of their own, however it doesn’t appear that Martha is looking to usurp Oprah in the you-get-a-car category of giveaways.
Hop the jump to watch Martha Stewart dive into the world of .
The Koreans are coming! Actually, strike that… they’re already here. As a matter of fact, both the and its corporate kissing cousin, the , rank very highly on our own midsize sedan pecking order chart. All of this begs the question: Which one is better, and why?
The boys from Inside Line decided to pit the two sedans, which share most major components and assemblies, against each other in a no-holds-barred fight for supremacy. Not surprisingly – both use 2.4-liter four cylinder engines (plus or minus California emissions…) and six-speed automatic transmissions, and both weight nearly the same – picking a winner means delving into the details.
And IL found that the details favored the . There are a number of reasons given for the why and how of this conclusion, which you can read all about . Basically, though, IL found that the Optima is tuned more for the enthusiast as opposed to the competent and comfortable nature of the Sonata.
Which one would you pick? Take our poll below and then feel free to talk about your choice in Comments.
While archrival BMW may be downscaling its racing program – in touring car series particularly – looks to be going the other way. For evidence, we turn your attention to Exhibit A: a new entry into the British Touring Car Championship for 2011.
The two-car entry is being undertaken by Rob Austin Racing, a privateer British racing outfit taking a step up into the championship. The team has commissioned a pair of touring cars to be built to by racing constructor GPR Motorsport to the BTCC’s formula. The new regulations are aimed at reducing the cost of constructing and fielding an entry in the series, helping Audi – though entered independently from the manufacturer – become the ninth automaker represented on the grid for next season.
Testing of the new A4 NGTC is set to kick off in March, but the rendering above has been released in advance to give us an idea of what the car could look like. Follow the jump for the official announcement.
Translogic at Dream Factory Blow – Click above to watch video
The Translogic crew is still bumming around Japan. For the show’s third episode in the island nation, host Bradley Hasemeyer heads to Sagamihara to tour Dream Factory Blow.
No, it’s not a cocaine supercenter. The customs shop specializes in laying unique fiber-reinforced polymer bodywork over the sheet metal of the lowly kei-car – the 660cc-engined machines that make up the lowest rung of the automotive food chain. Dream Factory Blow specializes in tweaking the aesthetics of the pint-sized cars to create miniature interpretations of classic American iron like a 1972 C10 pickup truck or a 1985 Chevrolet van.
But Dream Factory Blow isn’t just bolting on body panels. For that sweet little Chevy pickup, the fabricators started with a Lapin, hacked off half of the rear body work and crafted an entire pickup bed. It’s too awesome for words. Of course, dismantling a substantial portion of a vehicle’s body structure does have an impact on frame stiffness, and to that end, Dream Factory Blow has to have its vehicles tested by the Japanese government for safety. Hit the jump to check out the video .
Now is the perfect time to pull a few hundred thousand buyers into GM showrooms for a closer look at the Chevy Cruze. Is it the car that will finally establish a strong relationship with entry-level buyers, or is it just another joker card in GM’s deck?
Jay Leno has been a busy little denim-clad bee lately. Here he takes a look at the new Ford Police Interceptor along with our favorite little toy cars: Automoblox.
Episode #208 is manned by Chris Shunk, Dan Roth, and Zach Bowman. Listen in!
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Episode #208 of the Autoblog Podcast is manned by the terrible trio of Chris Shunk, Dan Roth, and Zach Bowman. We start with the Autoblog Garage and then move on to cover the official-ness of the BMW 1M, Ward’s ten-best engines, the 2012 Audi A6, the Volkswagen Golf R and wrap by coming back to the States to mull the 2011 Jeep Compass and 2011 Ford Explorer. We finish with your questions at the end for an hour and twenty-four minutes total. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #208 – Explorer, Compass, Ward’s Engines, and a German trio
In the Autoblog Garage:
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Hosts: , , , Runtime: 1:23:58
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Ferrari 458 Challenge gets hustled around the Circuit of Valencia – Click above to watch video
“Faster than the 430 Challenge… yet easier to drive at the limit,” are the words of Ferrari 458 Challenge Test Driver Raffaele De Simone. “Now, the shifting time is like zero…” states De Simone’s counterpart, Maurizio Mediani. The two recently got the change to spend some time behind the wheel of latest track-focused weapon. The drivers, along with a few other Ferrari speed merchants, and the 458 Challenge took a few laps around the Circuit of Valencia.
Most of the clip, which is available , is spent praising every aspect of the new Ferrari 458 Challenge, however, there are also some great shots (and sounds) of the car in action.
2010 Ariel Atom 3 – Click above for high-res image gallery
A one-make, or spec-series race, is an exciting contest that really proves who’s got what it takes behind the wheel. The Ariel Atom is an exciting vehicle that allows a driver to explore the purest expression of driving nirvana. If you are a fan of either, then 2011 should be a very good year for you. Ariel is working with Virgina International Raceway to create the world’s first Atom racing series and it will be known as Spec Racer Atom (SRA).
The 10-race series will take place over the course of five weekends (similar to how ). There will be four 25-minute sessions for practice and qualifying followed by a 20-minute race. During the course of the series, the configuration at VIR will be set up four different ways.
The SRA Atoms are currently being built specifically for the series and first deliveries are expected to occur in April of next year. If you act quickly, you can be one of the first 10 to buy an SRA Atom and be considered a Founding Member of the series.
In addition to the racing, TMI Auto Tech (the company responsible for bringing the Ariel Atom to the states) will be offering Ariel Atom Experience events that allow you to . Currently, TMI is only going to offer this program at VIR but it sounds like it wants to expand to other venues as well. Thanks for the tip, Eric!
Gallery:
Photos Copyright (C)2010 by Jeremy Korzeniewski / AOL
Jay Leno and the Ford Police Interceptor – Click above to watch video
Jay Leno has been a busy little denim-clad bee lately. The late-night host and car aficionado managed to get up close and personal with what is hoping will become law enforcement’s vehicles of choice in the near future – the Ford Police Interceptor and its Utility counterpart. Leno was lucky enough to get a full walk around both bruisers as well as a stint behind the wheel in the rain. The man with the chin managed to run down the current-generation Crown Victoria-based interceptor during a lead follow, so the footage from the track is a little more entertaining than your run-of-the-mill hot lap.
But that’s not the only vehicle that Leno’s been playing with recently. The comedian also took the time to get familiar with the latest new toy by the guys at Automoblox. The wooden racers are modular in design, allowing kids (and grown-ups, too) to build their own custom model from the available pieces. Think of it as Legos meets Hot Wheels. The pieces are made of German Beachwood, and the are right up our alley.
Mitsubish Evo dyno disaster – Click above to watch video
Under the right conditions, testing a vehicle on a dyno is a safe way to get a good idea of how much power your engine is producing. It’s also an excellent tool for precision tuning, so if you’re into squeezing all you can out of your car’s beating heart, chance are you’re going to be ponying up for time on the rollers. Just make sure that the shop that’s doing your dyno work knows how to properly secure your vehicle. If they don’t, you could end up like owner of the poor in the video after the jump.
Apparently not long after laying down a 450-horsepower run, the all-wheel drive monster set about launching itself from the platform, bouncing off of a support post. Something tells us it’s going to take a fair bit of buffing to smooth out the Mitsu’s sheetmetal, and maybe a bit longer for the dyno operators to smooth things over with the boss. to check out the carnage for yourself.
2011 Chevrolet Cruze 1LT – Click above for high-res image gallery
The has the potential to succeed for two key reasons: 1) The and are nearing the end of their product life cycles, showing some crow’s feet around the eyes, and 2) now has the wherewithal to create a small car that shows its actually understands small cars.
If you consider this rare moment in time, it’s the perfect opportunity to pull a few hundred thousand buyers into GM showrooms for a closer look. Is the Cruze the car that will finally establish a strong relationship with entry-level buyers, or is it just another joker card in GM’s deck?
According to Automotive News, Lancia is planning to unveil a new vehicle based on the architecture at next year’s Geneva Motor Show. Called the Thema, the new sedan will bow alongside the five-door Ypsilon on the Lancia stage in March. So far, details are slim, though it’s clear that the Italian automaker isn’t planning to sell the vehicles by the bushel load. Early projections say that the company is hoping to move somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 Thema units per year.
Lancia has a rough history when it comes to the company’s flagship. The last Thema, built between 1984 and 1994 was fairly popular, but the vehicle’s subsequent successors failed to impress buyers. Lancia’s latest effort in the large sedan segment, the Thesis, was killed off after just 16,000 units managed to make their way from the show room floor between 2002 and early 2009.
With the proven success of the Chrysler 300 here in the U.S., it’s possible that Lancia is hoping to see a repeat performance. Keep your eyes open for more information as we get closer to the 2011Geneva Motor Show.
2011Hyundai Sonata 2.0T – Click above for high-res image gallery
It should hardly come as news to anyone reading Autoblog that is in the midst of a hot streak. New models are coming out left and right, the automaker’s quality is reaching new heights and there are no signs of slowing down. So while the automaker’s momentum isn’t news, its sales numbers are: For the first time in its history, the Korean manufacturer has broken the 500,000 unit sales barrier in the States.
The hottest item for Hyundai this year? The aforementioned Sonata, of which 183,102 have been sold. The Sonata is followed by the and Sante Fe with sales of 120,924 and 70,082 respectively.
This is Hyundai’s 25th year in the United States and its sales are way up for the year. Sonata sales are up 64 percent over last year while the has exploded – up 145 percent – and the has gained 37 percent over its prior year sales.
Ferrari 599 test mule lapping Fiorano – Click above to watch the video
Introduced in 2006, the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano has earned its place as one of the top GTs on the road today. And it’s spawned its fair share of derivatives along the way, but with the new year around the corner, the 599 is about to turn five years old. Which isn’t a very long product lifecycle if its replacement were launched tomorrow, but it’s apparently enough to have Maranello preparing for a successor – or at the very least, an update – in due course.
Spied lapping the test track of the same name, this Fiorano test mule could be our first look at the 599’s eventual successor, or perhaps a higher performance derivative. And as you’ll see for yourself in the video , it sounds very sweet indeed. Thanks for the footage, Marco!
At least a few eyebrows were raised when Ford first let on that it was bringing the Explorer back in a radically different form for 2011. Have Alan Mullaly and Co. made the right call?
Here’s our first official glimpse at the face of the next-generation Honda Civic. The automaker will display the Civic show car at the Detroit Auto Show in January.
Ideas for stuff that goes under the tree… the kind of car gifts that don’t cost too much but go over well with your family.
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We’re recording Episode #208 of the Autoblog Podcast is being recorded tonight, and we’ve put some topics below. Drop us your own feedback and questions or vote on your fellow readers’ submissions to help determine what we discuss this evening. You can subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast if you haven’t already to hear your question answered.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #208
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2010 Chevrolet NeSmith LS9 Camaro – Click above for high-res image gallery
It’s that time of year, kids. Horsepower-crazy fans are anxiously dancing around their mailboxes waiting for the latest edition of the company’s performance parts catalog to arrive. As with past years, the glossy pages are packed from margin to margin with everything you need to give your Bow Tie a little extra giddy up. For 2011, the catalog has fully embraced the , and a pair of dealer-tweaked versions of the Chevrolet muscle car show exactly what you can do with little more than a crate engine and some spare time.
DeNooyer in New York decided to plop an LSX454 in their orange Camaro, coupled to a six-speed manual transmission via the same clutch used in the mighty . The car turns over 520 horsepower and 530 pound-feet of torque at the rear wheels thanks to a tune-port fuel injection system.
But that’s downright child’s play compared to what the minds at NeSmith Chevrolet in Georgia cooked up. Those wrenches plopped an LS9 behind the Camaro’s headlights. With minor tweaking, the supercharged V8 is kicking out right at 700 horsepower, and NeSmith threw in beefier axles and a Baer brake system to bring the whole party to a stop. Hit the jump to check out the press releases.
The is many things to many people. The quintessential sportscar. The embodiment of German precision. A terrible design tweaked to perfection over the course of decades. And the most successful racing sports car ever devised.
What you’re looking at is the latest iteration of the latter: the 2011 Porsche 911 GT3 RSR. The differences as compared to the 2010 model aren’t extensive, but a slight edge could be enough to pull ahead of the rest of the field on the world’s racing circuits. Rather than switching to the new direct-injection powerplant as employed on the streetable 911, the RSR sticks with a 4.0-liter version of the old boxer six, but with an re-optimized ECU, intake and exhaust, now producing 455 horsepower – five more than the 2010 model.
The bodywork has also been revised, with the rear end taking cues from the latest roadgoing 911 to include new LED rear lights while the front wheels are wider than its predecessors. It’ll set you back a good half-million to get one new, but if you’ve got the outgoing model, Porsche will gladly upgrade it to the 2011 spec as well. for the full details and specs, or take a closer look in the high-resolution image gallery below.
