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While the Toyota TS030 Hybrid won’t be participating in this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship race at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium due to a crash in pre-season testing last month, that didn’t stop the automaker from bringing the new endurance racer as a preview for what’s to come for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June. The TS030 even made time for a quick photoshoot at the infamous Masta Kink alongside the new Audi R18 e-tron Quattro, which happens to be making its race debut this weekend.

While both the Audi and Toyota employ hybrid powertrains, a first for endurance prototypes, each go about it in very different ways. The TS030 makes use of a naturally aspirated 3.4-liter V8 while the R18 e-tron Quattro uses a turbocharged diesel V6. Audi’s hybrid system powers the front wheels, hence the Quattro name, while Toyota has yet to announce whether it’s system will drive the front or rear wheels.

The closed cockpit racers make for quite an attractive couple, and we hope it’s a pairing that will form a lasting rivalry in the coming years.

Toyota TS030 and Audi R18 e-tron Quattro pose for the camera

Mini will launch its seventh model – a two-door version of the Countryman crossover – at the Paris Motor Show later this year, and our trusty spy photographers recently spotted this prototype out testing. Many sources have stated that the car will be dubbed Countryman Coupe when it hits the market, but we’ve also heard rumors that the vehicle will wear the Paceman name that was given to the original concept that debuted at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show.

Whatever it ends up being called, the two-door Countryman formula is pretty simple. The rear doors have been removed, allowing for a more swept-back roofline that integrates into an updated rear fascia. The rear end design – as previewed in these spy shots, anyway – is immediately reminiscent of the Land Rover Evoque, the Countryman’s main competitor.

Mum’s the word on powertrain choices, though we’d expect the four-door Countryman’s range of naturally aspirated and turbocharged engines to carry over largely unchanged, mated to both front- and all-wheel drive. Stay tuned for the car’s official unveiling in Paris later this year.

Mini Paceman Countryman Coupe spotted testing

A Small-Scripted S Delivers Power, Performance And Pomposity

Porsche offers its Panamera to North American buyers in no fewer than eight models with six different engine choices, including a hybrid. There’s even an oil-burning diesel model available across the Pond. At one end of the spectrum is the entry-level Panamera with a very capable 300-horsepower V6. At the other end, and at the top of the pecking order, is the Panamera Turbo S, boasting a 550-horsepower twin-turbocharged V8. Not only is it the most powerful street-legal Porsche on offer, but it is the world’s quickest four-door sedan. Err… hatchback.

So others are aware of the Panamera’s potential, Porsche reserves its coveted ‘Turbo’ script only for its most capable vehicles. It is indeed a badge of honor. However, the ante is upped even further when a small scripted ‘S’ is adhered as a suffix. Its addition indicates to all others that the overall performance has been boosted to flagship levels – it is a tiny yet bold badge of bravado.

To help us solve the riddle of whether or not the Panamera Turbo S is more than just an exercise in demonstrating masculine superiority within ones social circle, Porsche deposited a stunning Aqua Blue Metallic example in our driveway for a week. It was our job to put the $195,000, four-passenger neck-snapper to the test and somehow avoid filling its glovebox with citations in the process.

Continue reading 2012 Porsche Panamera Turbo S [w/video]

2012 Porsche Panamera Turbo S [w/video]

Ever wonder why the Guinness Book of World Records is so darn big? We’re not exactly experts on the ins and outs of officially recognized feats, but we’d have to say it’s because the organization will put its stamp of approval on just about anything imaginable. Like, for instance, the top speed of a toilet.

That’s right, folks. There’s a new World’s Fastest Toilet, and it hails from Australia. Piloted by Jolene Van Vugt, this motorized porcelain throne managed a two-way average of 46.6 miles per hour. Don’t worry – this record may have been claimed, but the World’s Fastest Kitchen Sink has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?

If you think setting a world record on a toilet is crazy, perhaps you’re not familiar with Van Vugt. She’s a professional motocross rider, was the first woman to backflip a dirtbike and is one of the stars of the Nitro Circus television and live-action show.

Naturally, we have video of Jolene on the toilet below, along with an image gallery of the self-proclaimed porcelain princess in the act before, during and after the flush.

Continue reading Jolene Van Vugt sets Guinness record on… a toilet [w/video]

Jolene Van Vugt sets Guinness record on… a toilet [w/video]

With the 2013 Shelby GT500 putting out 662 horsepower and 631 pound-feet torque, we’re guessing that more than a few owners of the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 will be looking to even things up via the aftermarket. The speed-obsessed guys over at Lingenfelter Performance Engineering are already putting a few options on the table with a three new upgrade packages that boost the supercharged 6.2-liter V8 to anywhere from 630 to 700-plus horsepower.

Apparently, Lingenfelter was eager to prove the merits of its work, and just a couple weeks after taking delivery of an early production Camaro ZL1 had it out on the track putting down times. The test car, pushing out 720 horsepower, laid down a 10.79 second quarter mile pass at Muncie Dragway in Albany, IN, and later recorded a 202 mph top speed at Continental Tire’s proving grounds earlier this week. Coincidentally, that’s the same top speed that the 2013 Shelby GT500 reached during its high speed testing at the Nardo Ring in Italy last year.

You can read more about Lingenfelter’s upgrade packages for the 2012 Camaro ZL1 as well as more details on the high speed test in the press release below.

Continue reading Lingenfelter Camaro ZL1 tops 200 mph

Lingenfelter Camaro ZL1 tops 200 mph

How Less Of Everything Equals More

It’s been fascinating to sample Audi’s new EA824 V8 in all of its various incarnations. Our first crack at the new TFSI powerplant was in Audi’s own 513-horsepower S8, and we then went on to try it out in the new Bentley Continental GT and GTC V8 models. Most recently, we dipped into the 4.0-liter biturbo in the new S7 before getting behind the wheel of the closely related S6 seen here.

Versus the previous S6 with its muy macho Lamborghini-derived 5.2-liter V10, everything is quicker, more efficient and lighter in weight. The new fourth-generation S6 Quattro with S-tronic seven-speed dual clutch comes in at a European curb weight of 4,178 pounds – about 30 pounds lighter than the previous V10-stuffed car with its automated six-speed. Yes, power is slightly lower now at 414 horses, but peak torque of 406 pound-feet is slightly higher and happens over a vastly wider range of 1,400 to 5,200 rpm. Audi’s 0-62 miles per hour sprint time is now listed at 4.6 seconds, a figure that compares favorably with the outgoing car’s official 5.2-second time.

For my test drive, Audi thoughtfully provided a couple of S6 four-door setups for me to sample: those with Dynamic Steering and the torque vectoring sport Quattro rear differential, and those without. You know which trim I went for already. So equipped, these S6 sedans were all painted Misano Red… an exterior color that Americans cannot get this time around. So, just visualize me thundering around Bavaria in a car painted shades of white, black, silver, gray, or blue, since those are the paint chips you’ll find on the order sheet at your local dealer.

Continue reading 2013 Audi S6

2013 Audi S6

From show floor to evacuation route, one concept vehicle got the chance to test it’s meddle in the real world.

The Ford F-550 Super Duty Rescue Truck was created to demonstrate extreme rescue capabilities not actually use them. It first went on display in February at the Chicago Auto Show.

But on April 3, with just two miles on its odometer, this concept vehicle found itself in the thick of a real-life rescue mission. A series of devastating tornadoes had ripped through Arlington, Texas, overwhelming every fire-rescue department in the region. Destruction was everywhere.

Worse yet, many of the neighborhood streets were filled with debris ranging from roofs to cars and the big fire trucks couldn’t maneuver through them.

That’s when Brad Snyder, vice president of marketing at NewScope Marketing in Grandbury, Texas, got a call the Arlington emergency services director for help. The director knew the local volunteer fire department had advised Snyder on building an extreme rescue vehicle for Ford Motor Co. and now the city needed its help.

“When we proposed the truck to Ford, one of the things Ford required was that everything on the truck actually work,” Snyder said Tuesday. That’s not always the case with concept vehicles, which often could not even qualify to ride on a U.S. highway.

“We never intended to put it into service,” Snyder said. But put it to work they did. Keep on reading to find out how.

Continue reading Ford rescue concept truck pressed into service to help tornado victims

Ford rescue concept truck pressed into service to help tornado victims

Hyundai sales are up 10 percent already this year, after ending 2011 on a 20-percent uptick. With its Alabama assembly plant already running over capacity, something had to change. In response, the Korean automaker will be adding 877 jobs at its Montgomery assembly plant to begin a third shift, starting in September 2012.

Hyundai said the plant is now responsible for creating over 3,000 total jobs, with the latest expansion adding some 20,000 units of annual capacity. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama builds both the Sonata and Elantra sedans.

While this move will work as a short-term solution to Hyundai’s capacity restraints, if the company continues to grow sales as it has in the past few years, it will soon be faced with the necessity of building another new production facility, as has been rumored for months.

Scroll down to read the full press release.

Continue reading Hyundai adding third shift, nearly 900 jobs in Alabama

Hyundai adding third shift, nearly 900 jobs in Alabama

German automakers display something of a fetish when it comes to turning ordinary vehicles into performance models. Mercedes-Benz does it with its AMG line, BMW with its M range, Audi has its S and RS models… even Volkswagen has its R brand. Formidable vehicles all, but not everyone is willing to pony up the big bucks to get their hands on one and all that entails. So, each automaker also offers a line of accessories that give their stock models most of the visual attitude without the mechanical fortitude to back it up – or the sticker price that goes along with it.

The latest such cosmetic upgrade comes from Volkswagen and its R GmbH division, which have given the Polo a bit of a makeover. The Polo R Line benefits from sportier bumpers front and rear, side sills, a gloss-black grille, tinted windows, upgraded fog lights and an interior with sports buckets, leather-wrapped three-spoke wheel, aluminum pedals and black headliner. Of course, the requisite R badges appear throughout so buyers can at least pretend they got the performance model when all they’re packing is a 1.2-liter four with 105 metric horsepower that’ll take nearly ten seconds to get them up to 62 from a standstill.

Scroll below for the press release and scope out the high-res images in the gallery above for a closer look.

Continue reading Volkswagen Polo R Line at least looks the part

Volkswagen Polo R Line at least looks the part

Google Inc. wants self driving cars on the road sooner rather than later.

It knows its autonomous vehicles work – engineers have already put its fleet of self-driving vehicles through 250,000 miles of testing. And they’re planning to put another 750,000 testing miles on their expanding fleet.

Now, executives are approaching car makers about building the self-driving vehicles, according to The Detroit News.

“From giving the technology away to licensing it to working with Tier 1s, Tier 2s, working with the OEMs, building a car with them, everything is open and we’re trying to figure out which paths make the most sense,” said Google project manager Anthony Levandowski last week at the Society of Automotive Engineers World Congress in Detroit. “We’re talking to basically every car company to see what their level of excitement is and how do we work with them.”

A Google spokesperson later added, “We’re talking with lots of auto companies about a variety of topics, but we haven’t decided how we may make our technology available to consumers. As Anthony said at the SAE conference in Detroit, ‘all options are open.’”

Levandowski says Google is racing forward to get self-driving vehicles on the road as soon as possible. It has begun talking to insurance companies to figure out how much it might cost to insure a self-driving car, according to CNET. One of the sticky issues: If a self-driving vehicle causes an accident, is the driver responsible or the company that made the vehicle?

Google officials say they expect to mathematically prove that computer-driven vehicles are safer than those operated by humans, thus insurance prices should be lower. No word yet if that logic will fly, but insurance companies do love math, algorithms and actuary tables…

Google approaching automakers to help build self-driving cars

This past weekend, BMW celebrated its return to DTM racing after a 20-year embargo of its home series. On the first practice day of the weekend at Hockenheim, Andy Priaulx was the best BMW in tenth, almost a second off the pace. By Saturday morning’s second free practice just before quallifying, BMW pilot Bruno Splengler, who was 20th on Friday, topped the time sheets. In the end, it was Priaulx who was the top-finishing BMW, registering a sixth-place finish behind a spate of Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and Audi A5 racers. Not a win, but not a horrible start for being out of the series for 20 years.

In case you need to get more in the mood for the rest of the season’s racing action, BMW’s got one of those amuse-bouche teaser vids of the sinister M3 DTM in action. All you need to do is scroll down to check it out.

Continue reading BMW celebrates return to DTM after 20-year absence

BMW celebrates return to DTM after 20-year absence

Lists. Readers love ‘em, so everyone’s got one. (Heck, our show is even called The List.) And this is the Playboy list, packed with two-seat sports cars, muscle cars, obvious choices and even the original Volkswagen Beetle.

Before we get to the full 25, however, hear out our view. While you can always register your personal displeasure when, say, the MG TC (#14) or Chrysler 300 (#19) gets included, but not a single Alfa Romeo or classic Mopar muscle machine makes the cut, you should judge a list such as this based more on how it reflects the personality of the publication. Which is why “25 Greatest Rides” feels so, well, generic.

While we’re not suggesting that every one of the Playboy cars should be sporting Dagmars or have fully reclining seats like Nash models of the early ’50s, this list just seems a little light on the sex. Not that the Ferrari GTO (#1) and Jaguar E-Type (#4) aren’t voluptuous enough to act as stand-ins for the Playmate of the Month, but cars like the BMW 2002 (#24) and Pontiac GTO (#20), though legitimate performance cars, aren’t likely to inspire any backseat antics anytime soon.

Scroll down to read the full press release and then tell us in the comments which cars you think should get excised from the list, and what you’d replace them with.

Continue reading Playboy counts down its 25 Greatest Cars of All Time

Playboy counts down its 25 Greatest Cars of All Time

Honda is looking toward the future. A new Japanese ad for the company has made its way to YouTube featuring some of the most important models in the automaker’s past. From lowly bicycles and small-displacement motorcycles to the ever-sexy 1965 RA272 F1 car and perfectly proportioned S800, the ghosts of yesterday are all lined up behind the new Acura NSX Concept. The spot spends plenty of time talking about the power of dreams and determination before finally ending on the rally cry of “Let’s surpass yesterday’s Honda!” The simple spot is titled “We won’t be beaten.”

At least that’s according to the subtitles. The announcer could be reading us his grocery list for all we know. If the translation is accurate, though, it sounds like Honda is tacitly acknowledging that it needs to pull itself up by its bootstraps and get back into fighting shape. Let’s hope they figure it out. Scroll down to watch the video for yourself.

Continue reading Honda shows off greatest hits in new Japanese ad

Honda shows off greatest hits in new Japanese ad

These days it seems like the dream of a new Lotus Esprit is getting nothing but further away, while the troubled company responsible for it applies the classic black and gold livery to everything it produces – and many things produced by others. But there was a time when the original Esprit was a mechanical wonder to behold, and the JPS livery was championed by arguably the greatest driver who ever lived.

That driver, of course, was Ayrton Senna. And to mark the 18th anniversary of his death at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix, a German outfit called Cam-Shaft Premium Wrapping has created this special edition in his honor. Instead of starting with the original four-cylinder Esprit, though, Cam Shaft went with the later turbo V8 and laid over its black paint a series of gold decals evocative of the iconic livery which Senna sported on his 1985 Lotus 97T, including a reproduction of his signature on the panel in front of the door.

The German firm didn’t stop there, however. They gave the Esprit new turbos, an intercooler and cats to drive output up from 354 horsepower (stock) to 492 hp, drop the 4.9-second 0-62 time down to 4.3 seconds and increase the top speed from 282 km/h to 305. They also fitted it with a new six-speed gearbox to replace the old five-gear unit, upgraded the brakes with AP Racing four-pot calipers on 330mm cross-drilled discs and fitted it with a chassis control switch similar to a Ferrari manettino.

A fitting tribute to the legendary pilot? We’d say so, and you can see for yourself in the high-res image gallery above and the press release below.

Continue reading Lotus custom channels the Esprit of Ayrton Senna

Lotus custom channels the Esprit of Ayrton Senna

A European group called Responsible Young Drivers wanted to showcase the dangers of texting while driving, and got ad agency Publicis to help them out. The result: a two-minute spot that put trainee drivers in Belgium with an instructor who said part of their driving test would be to avoid an obstacle while texting a random sentence that he’d dictate.

Since nothing beyond a cone or two was hurt in the making of this video, we’ll admit we laughed. That said, the message is clear.

Scroll down to see it for yourself. And FYI, a driver training instructor in Belgium doesn’t need to wear a seat belt on a closed course… though maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

Continue reading This is how to teach teens the perils of distracted driving

This is how to teach teens the perils of distracted driving

Cadillac is trying to make a name for itself on the safety and technology front, recently introducing its new Safety Alert Seat and outfitting new models with a suite of safety equipment that arguably puts it among the leaders in the industry. We got a chance to sample some of this last month, but we were also allowed to “drive” a semi-autonomous SRX test mule equipped with what Cadillac is calling “Super Cruise.”

Nominally an improvement on adaptive cruise control, Super Cruise is actually a more sophisticated system that uses a camera communicating with the car’s GPS to “see” the road ahead. It goes one step further than currently available systems, however, automatically centering the vehicle in the lane using its electric power steering system. Unlike other active lane-departure systems that use a car’s brakes to help prevent it from veering off the road, the system General Motors is developing allows for precisely setting the vehicle’s position within the lane. The test mule we sampled had steering-wheel-mounted buttons that would allow you to “nudge” the car from side to side by a foot at a time without upsetting its course. Super Cruise also communicates with the vehicle’s other active safety systems to help prevent and mitigate crashes.

Super Cruise is designed only for use on the highway, to “ease the driver’s workload.”

Super Cruise is designed only for use on the highway, to “ease the driver’s workload,” with drivers still required to steer in city traffic and for more complicated maneuvers like passing. GM officials acknowledged the difficulty in deploying a system like this, a technology that if used improperly may encourage inattentive driving. Supposedly the system will only be functional under the specific circumstances for which it is designed, much like today’s in-car entertainment systems will not play video on the front screen unless a vehicle is in Park. Currently the system is somewhat limited by external factors, like weather and the need for distinct lane markings. If visibility is low or the road doesn’t have at least one clear lane demarcation, Super Cruise won’t function. However, GM says it will improve the vision abilities of the system as it readies the technology for the marketplace.

GM says that Super Cruise could be introduced into production vehicles in just a few years, “by mid-decade.” While on the one hand, its ability to help improve the safety of our roads is laudable, we can’t help but express our frustration at the march of technology headed inevitably towards removing the physical act of driving from the motoring equation.

Scroll down to watch some video of us aboard the Super Cruise-equipped test mule and read the full press release.

Continue reading Watch Cadillac’s new semi-autonomous Super Cruise in action

Watch Cadillac’s new semi-autonomous Super Cruise in action

Borg-Warner makes the turbos for all three IndyCar engine suppliers, Chevrolet, Honda and Lotus, but the engine makers provide two compressor shrouds of their own design for homolgation by the series. Honda’s singe-turbo engine is down on power compared to Chevrolet’s and Lotus’ twin-turbo motors, and Chevrolet has won all every race so far and taken all pole positions this season. Honda had a new shroud ready for the Long Beach GP and IndyCar allowed the change, but Chevy protested so Honda wasn’t permitted to make the switch.

A three-man panel was selected to hear Chevy’s appeal, and their verdict in favor of Honda means that the Japanese automaker was permitted to swap the shroud before this weekend’s São Paulo race. The new shroud is said to be worth 10 to 15 more horsepower, but in the end, Chevrolet-powered racers managed to finish in seven of the top 10 positions.

Chevy had been contesting the ability to make an engine change at this point in the season, when there are no constant-parity clauses in the regulations and IndyCar has an agreed date in mid-June for such alterations to create parity. Honda’s argument was that an agreement in 2010 that was meant to prevent turbo wars does allow the change it sought to make. The panel supported Honda’s interpretation of the parity argument.

Chevy has said it will not appeal the decision. Now it’s up to the Honda-powered drivers fitted with the new 0.74 A/R compressor cover to show they can do better than second place.

IndyCar rules in favor of Honda, against Chevy, in turbocharger dispute

It happens every time traffic gets too heavy and starts to slow: One inattentive driver panics and slams on his brakes, triggering a chain reaction that leads to a complete traffic stoppage a few dozen cars behind. If everyone could just slow down, pay attention, and maintain an even speed, we could all get where we’re going. Honda hopes to deploy a new system to help make that a reality.

The Japanese automaker has developed the first-ever vehicle communications system geared to cut both traffic jams and fuel use by monitoring a driver’s acceleration and braking habits and providing information that Honda says will encourage smoother driving.

Honda, along with the University of Tokyo’s Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology, has developed on-board terminals that connect to cloud-based computing systems to allow communications between cars on the same road that can help drivers maintain a relatively constant driving distance between vehicles. Tailgating is bad for both traffic and fuel economy, and Honda’s system discourages it.

The system differs from traffic monitoring systems that have been part of other vehicle communication systems in that it provides color-coded displays to indicate whether the driver needs to drive smoother and make acceleration and deceleration more gradual. The system can also work with adaptive cruise control to automatically regulate speed among a group of vehicles. The first public road tests will occur in Italy and Indonesia starting in May of 2012. Honda says the system can boost average speed by 23 percent and increase fuel economy by eight percent. Not bad for some cloud computing.

Scroll down to read the full press release.

Continue reading Honda developing tech that helps prevent traffic jams

Honda developing tech that helps prevent traffic jams

Lamborghini was in the off-road business before the cult classic LM002, cooperating with MTI on a military vehicle concept dubbed Cheetah in the mid-seventies that it hoped to sell to the U.S. armed forces. The 4,500-pound, fiberglass-bodied troop carrier used a 5.9-liter, 180-horsepower Chrysler engine mounted in back. Hardly Cheetah-like, the vehicle delivered lackluster performance and didn’t handle well.

Even worse, it was a badly translated copy of a vehicle already made by another firm, which landed MTI and Lamborghini in court when the Cheetah was revealed at the 1977 Geneva Motor Show. The U.S. military tested the sole prototype and totaled it.

Perhaps this is the worst part: the Cheetah was such an expensive failure for Lamborghini that it was one of the reasons the company was unable to follow through on its commitment to BMW for the M1 project.

And with that history lesson digested, you’ll get even more wry satisfaction from the narrator’s dialogue in the Cheetah promo video, which you’ll find just below.

Continue reading Watch a vintage Lamborghini Cheetah SUV promo

Watch a vintage Lamborghini Cheetah SUV promo

Q: What do you call a navigation system designed specifically for the elderly?
A: A map.

In all seriousness, GPS navigation technology designed to help the aged drive more safely could significantly reduce the number of accidents involving geriatric drivers. Old people already attempt to compensate for reduced faculties by changing driving patterns, not driving at night and taking the simplest routes rather than the fastest. It only makes sense to deploy technology to help them determine “easier” ways to a destination.

At least that’s the idea behind a $20 million project being developed at Newcastle University in the U.K. According to The Sun, the research is being funded by the British government, with the end result being a system that would give easy-to-understand directions without suggesting turns across traffic or travel on freeways.

UK gov’t backs GPS system designed for elderly