Have we told you how badly we want a reboot of the Toyota Supra? One of the iconic cars of Gen X youth, the Supra died an untimely death in the mid-1990s along with the rest of the Japanese sports car market. This was, of course, long before most of us had managed to graduate from college and get decent enough jobs to be able to afford anything more exciting than a used .
So yes, we hang on , and the latest comes via Motor Trend. It’s reporting that a hybrid, 400-horsepower, 3.5-liter V6 powertrain is being tested for possible release in 2015. The new Supra would look a lot like the that showed at the , according to the magazine, which also says that if we really want to see this Supra successor, we’d better hope the / does well.
The IndyCar Series has yet to announce its calendar for the 2012 season. When it does, it may or may not feature any superspeedways, but one thing’s for sure: it won’t include Las Vegas.
The high-speed track hadn’t been used for this kind of racing since the Champ Car series raced there in 2005. Open-wheel racing returned to the Vegas oval for the first time this year, where a massive, tragic 15-car crash took the life of Indy 500 winner Dan Wheldon.
Officials will reportedly be holding test sessions at the Vegas track to determine what, if anything, could be done to make the racing safer. But until then, IndyCar will be racing elsewhere.
We’re almost ready to record Episode #260 of the Autoblog Podcast. Check out the topics below and you can join us live via , as well, and we’ve embedded our UStream player Thanks for listening!
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #260
It’s getting darn near impossible for automakers to keep their latest wares hidden from view until they are good and ready to show them. Such is the case with , who’s latest has leaked to the internet courtesy of the crew at Autoblog.nl.
If we had to guess, we’d say these images come from a brochure of some sort, and they show the 2013 Mercedes-Benz SL from the front and rear, along with the top up and down. We also get a lone shot of the interior, and though it’s all in various shades of black and white, everything looks just as polished and stately as we’d expect from M-B’s range-topping non-AMG machine.
We know that the 2013 SL will be than its predecessor, but we don’t yet know what range of engines will be in the “S-Class of Roadsters.” We’d guess a few V8 options with the vestigial V12 hanging around for at least one more generation.
We’ll just have to wait until the to find out all the details, but in the meantime, have a gander at the pics in our high-res image gallery.
The smallest member of the utility vehicle range, the has only been on the market for a couple of years now. Hardly in need of an update, then, but that hasn’t stopped the Silver Star automaker from working on a little refresh for the boxy little crossover.
We first saw being tested way back in May, and now the prototype has reared its angular head once again, this time for cold-weather testing way up in the northern lands of Sweden.
The exterior is pretty much as expected: new bumper caps front and rear, with new lights at both ends as well, including LED daytime running lamps. But for the first time, we can now see the updated interior, which adopts some of the retro cues from the while moving the shifter (for better or worse) from the center console to a steering-column stalk. Take a closer look for yourself in the gallery to see what Benz has in store.
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Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #260
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In Germany, having a reliable car is almost a rite of passage. That is, you won’t be granted passage onto the roadways if you’re car hasn’t passed the government’s strict testing regime.
Called the Technischer Überwachungsverei and generally shortened to TÜV, the organization first gets its hands and diagnostic equipment on your new car after its third year of service, and then again every two years after that. If your car fails its first go-round at the TÜV, it gets sent to a repair shop. If it fails again, it’s off to the great junkyard in the sky.
No wonder, then, that consumers are eager to see the results of the TÜV’s checkups year after year. And for 2011, after 7,779,312 million inspections, the and have taken home golden trophies in two different classes.
Perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Germany’s iconic sports car was found to be so reliable, even after 10 or more years of ownership – after all, we’d imagine that most owners take extremely good care of their pride and joy. Plus, the 911 employs a design that practically dates back to the dawn of the German automobile itself, which means Porsche has had plenty of time to refine its mechanicals.
If you’re looking for something a bit newer, it seems the Prius is your best bet. For the second year in a row, the Japanese hybrid hatchback earned top marks in the three-year-old category, beating out the and .
And the worst? The . After 10 years, Ford’s mini-mobile fails its TÜV certification a whopping 38.9 percent of the time. As for the three-year-olds, the Logan’s 12.7-percent failure rate puts it in last spot.
Automotive News reports Opel is delaying delivery of its Ampera extended-range hybrid to customers. The plug-in gas-electric hatchbacks have already arrived at dealers across Europe, but the automaker wants to ensure the vehicles’ batteries are safe even in the event of an accident. The delay comes on the heels of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration evaluation which saw its twin catch fire three weeks after a . Since the Volt and Ampera are mechanically identical, Opel says that it wants to set up a process to deal with the batteries to make sure they’re safe.
Both the Volt and the Ampera are assembled at the General Motors plant in Hamtramck, Michigan, and both make use of lithium-ion batteries to power their electric motors. GM has any Chevrolet Volt models from owners concerned about the safety of their vehicle, but few have taken them up on the offer. The company is currently working on a solution to the fire issue, and the why it took NHTSA so long to bring the battery pack problem to light.
The next in the never-ending list of ‘OTYs comes courtesy of Motor Trend and the buff book’s crowning of the as its Truck of the Year.
Aside from the expansive list of standard and optional features, the F-150’s general fitment and polish, and Ford’s claim that you can spec your workhorse in one of 650,000 different varieties, what seemed to win over the Motor Trend crew more than anything else was its drivetrain. And one engine in particular.
While the 5.0-liter V8 was a favorite, after all the judges sampled a Platinum EcoBoost SuperCrew variant fitted with the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6, the vote was unanimous. The combination of 365 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, along with commendable – if not world-beating – fuel economy and 11,300-pound towing capacity was enough to put the EcoBoost over the top. Read all about Motor Trend’s testing and assessment in its .
The dam is busting and the latest news to trickle through is that is bringing an CoupeConcept to show off. The concept will “reveal the styling direction” of the 2013 Accord, which – by the time it goes on sale in the fall of 2012 – will enter its ninth generation and 36th year of bringing harmony to people the world over.
Honda suggests the production car itself will have a “dynamic and aggressive profile,” which is something we’d like to see – perhaps recent doldrums have lit some adventurous fires. We won’t put money on it just yet, but when paired with baby brother we expect the Honda playground to host some interesting toys. There’s a press release with a little more info.
Consistency is paramount in racing, but sometimes a thorough shake-up is called for. And that’s what’s taking place at the LotusRenault GP team next season.
Not only is the team formerly known as Toleman, Benetton and Renault changing names once again to Lotus, but it’s thoroughly shaking up its driver lineup as well. After the surprising announcement that former world champion to fill in for , the team revealed that it’s called Romain Grosjean back up to the plate to take Vitaly Petrov’s place.
The Franco-Swiss driver has longstanding ties to the team, having served as an officialtest driver since 2008. He was summoned to the race seat in 2009 when Nelson Piquet was ousted in the wake of the Crashgate scandal, but failed to score a single championship point in those seven races. Now with the experience of having taken the titles in the GP2 Series, the GP2 Asia Series (twice), and the Formula Three Euroseries, Grosjean is getting another shot at the big leagues.
What will happen with Petrov (or Bruno Senna, for that matter) remains to be seen, but given his talents – and the massive sponsorship dollars he brings from a key developing market – we wouldn’t be surprised to see him find another ride for next season. Marussia Virgin Racing: we’re looking at you, comrades.
Audi of America recently took delivery of a U.S.-customer-spec meant for testing next month, and the gents at Quattroworld were able to get a picture of it. Being lighter, safer, and better balanced, the V10-powered racer with up to 570 horsepower is expected to outdo its multiple-title-winning predecessor.
It will be campaigned by APR racing in 2012. Although the stars-and-stripes outerwear doesn’t look nearly as mean as just plain silver, the patriotic paint scheme could be good for shaving off a few tenths per lap when the winged coupe officially rolls out at the Grand-Am test days in January.
for more details on this car and some tidbits on Audi’s racing program, including the outrageous revelation offered by an Audi engineer when asked how often they had to overhaul the engines: “I don’t know, we never have had to rebuild one.”
Surely you’re hip to the Diet Coke and Mentos phenomenon of a few years ago. When an enterprising duo realized that the hard-coated candies interacted with the soda in an explosive way, an internet meme was instantly born. Over the last couple of years, though, interest in the parlor trick seemed to wane. Until now.
Fritz Grobe and Stephen Voltz, the two men who helped kick off the fun in the first place, are back, claiming a new record for the longest distance traveled in a car powered by Diet Coke and Mentos: 239 feet.
No, that doesn’t seem very far to us, either, though Mark II of their machine is a marked . The Mark II vehicle is more aerodynamic and seems to have less mass than its predecessor, which positioned the rider way out in front over a bicycle-like contraption. That said, we think Grobe and Voltz do even better… especially since they used just half the fuel this time ’round.
After dissecting the video, we believe there’s a lot more power in the Diet Coke and Mentos recipe to be had, and there must be a better way to stop so much of the fuel from leaking out instead of providing forward thrust. Duct tape, perhaps?
Until they try again with Mark III, feel free to check out the latest Diet Coke and Mentos-powered car in the video .
The latest , , and all have lots of things in common. They all have four doors, V8 engines underhood, hail from high-end European automakers known for luxury and performance and can all be had for a wee bit under $100,000.
But which one is fastest?
Well, that depends on how you’re planning to measure speed. Do you mean top speed? The time it takes to circle a given race track? Or do you mean in a drag race, the quintessential way to compare a car’s ability to accelerate in a straight line?
If that’s the case, you’ll find your answer in the video after the break. You’ll see each of the aforementioned automobiles lined up against one another, racing flat-out over the distance of 1,000 meters.
We can officially consider this drive of the McLaren MP4-12C our second go at it. In brief, Mother Nature conspired with UK tradition and made our second crack at this British super coupe pretty much a total wash. It didn’t matter how many times the McLaren folks reminded us just how “perfect” and “dry” the previous two days had been; we were swimming and freezing, but the proceedings forced us to switch quickly from crybaby into lemonade-from-lemons mode.
One big attraction was conducting our drive on a circuit laid out on the World War II-era Canadian Air Force field at Dunsfold Park, better known as the Top Gear test track – The Stig’s stomping grounds.
Given all of our potential excitement threatening to poop out on us, we cajoled McLaren’s crew into handing over every bit of photo and video from the day in order to mash together something for your viewing enjoyment, and we insisted on the eminently photogenic McLaren Orange car (known in Bruce’s day as Papaya Orange) with the lightweight package.
Still, it was McLaren’s 592-horsepower Great Orange Hope, it was the 1.75-mile Dunsfold Park figure-eight circuit, and we managed to get everything as loosey-goosey as was safely possible in the standing water.
You’ve probably heard the line about modern engines being cleaner than most lawn equipment, but chances are you can’t put a source with that little tidbit. Inside Line recently took it upon itself to put that piece of common wisdom to the test by enlisting the help of an emissions lab in a little internal combustion show down.
Jason Kavanagh and Dan Edmunds pitted the against a , a two-stroke leaf blower and a four-stroke leaf blower. Who was left standing as the cleanest of them all when the smoke settled?
Believe it or not, the big-bad took the honor of being the cleanest belle at this ball. Inside Line found that there were fewer hydrocarbons in the vehicle’s exhaust than were present in the ambient air in the emissions lab, meaning the truck was actually cleaning the air as it ran.
That trick actually made the Raptor cleaner than the 1.4-liter four-cylinder in the , unless you’re only measuring carbon dioxide, which is direct result of the amount of fuel burned. That left third place to the four-stroke leaf blower and dead last to the big two-stroke. to check out the video for yourself.
The military’s High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (), better known to most of us as the Humvee, has already in the battlefield, and there have been a number of waiting in the wings to take over where the HMMWV left off. Or, should we say, leaves off… assuming that ever happens.
It seems that the Humvee is set to get a new lease on life as military budget constraints are forcing the government to reconsider its replacement. But there are still some pesky safety issues to work out before American soldiers will feel comfortable inside the confines of the off-road box on wheels.
As you’re likely aware, improvised explosive devices are an ever-increasing threat to the lives of American troops serving overseas. The Humvee, which traces its design all the way back to the year 1984 when it first saw duty as a replacement for the long-running series of military Jeeps, has seen a number of incarnations over the years that added armor and improved safety, but the latest version may feature something hitherto unseen: a chimney.
No, not a chimney like the one that peeks out of your house. This chimney, along with a V-shaped hull, serves to channel explosive forces up and away from the occupants inside. The structure of the chimney also serves to reinforce the vehicle, connecting its floor with its roof. Other advancements include a new set of doors that open up like barn doors, seats designed to absorb shocks and a sling that promises to lower the gunner into the vehicle in the event of a blast.
, and be sure to scroll down for the illustration.
Italy offers no shortage of mid-engined supercars: , , Paganis… even Alfa Romeo and have joined in on the action here and there. Faralli & Mazzanti may not have ranked among them until now, but its latest project has them joining these exotic ranks.
Dubbed the Mugello (after the famous Italian race track), F&M’s latest project follows such front-engined creations as the Antas and the – both rare birds in their own right. Little in the way of details followed along with the four teaser images (presented here in original and lightened versions), but we’re told to expect a production run of just five examples, ensuring exclusivity and an assuredly high price tag.
Nearly every automaker is incorporating streaming music, social media functionality and other assorted apps into their infotainment systems, but one thing that’s largely been missing is performance data. If you’ve got access to the ECU and can tap into an accelerometer, you’ve got the info, and now is making use of it.
Driving Excitement is the latest Mini Connected app for the iPhone and it measures all the major performance parameters and more.
The Condition Check lets you keep tabs on engine and exterior temps, fuel level and whether the Sport button has been engaged, while the Force Meter visualizes longitudinal and lateral acceleration. The new Digital Sports Instruments takes over the nav screen to a display coolant temperature gauge, along with horsepower, torque and engine revs. And by entering the Excitement mode, you’ve got automatic access to web radio and Dynamic Music to keep the tunes flowing during your flogging.
Get all the details in the press blast and check out the UI in our gallery above.
Good things come to those who wait. Or so the saying goes, at least. And while that may not seem like something you’d associate with performance automobiles like , maybe it should. Because while some will pay a premium to get a Ferrari – any Ferrari – right away, others are willing to wait to get theirs just the way they want it. And when we say ‘just the way they want it’, we mean just the way they want it.
To meet the demands of customers willing to shell out a little extra to specify every last detail of their new sports car, companies like Ferrari have been gradually upping their customization portfolio. Maranello’s latest is called, appropriately enough, Ferrari Tailor-Made, and encompasses a wide array of customization options.
Ferrari breaks them down into three categories: Scuderia (which encompasses motorsport-derived materials like carbon fiber and Alcantara), Classica (with pastel colors from the company’s back catalog, cashmere and velvet trim) and Inedita (with avant-garde materials like denim and matte paint jobs).
The limited-edition grew out of the Tailor-Made program, and Ferrari has put together three unique one-offs to demonstrate the extent of the possibilities: a with NART stripes, chamois leather upholstery, quilted fabric and high-tech woven aluminum/fiberglass dashboard trim; an in Grigio Ingrid with pinstripe cloth, cashmere headliner and teak-trimmed cargo area; and a decked out to in denim with matte Blu Scozia finish.
Of course, with such an array of options, each example coming out of the studio will be completely unique, guided by a personal designer at the Ferrari Styling Centre, and assuredly fetching a hefty premium over the already considerable list price. for full details and check out the images in the gallery for a closer look.
