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The new Opel minicar has been so long in gestation that it has worn three names (so far). From the Junior and Allegra, we are now being told that it will now be called the Opel Adam, no doubt a nod to company founder Adam Opel.

Still clothed in enough camo to hide a barn, we can’t tell much about how it looks, but with the latest spy shots we do know its sporting chops have been tested at the Nürburgring. That’s a necessity since a longer version of the Adam’s platform will go under the next Opel/Vauxhall Corsa. Beyond that, we aren’t sure what will power it at launch but three-cylinder engines co-developed with SAIC are in the product pipeline. The electric version, however, has reportedly been canned.

At 3.70 meters, the Adam extends 15 cm beyond the Volkswagen Up! but is smaller than the Opel Agila. It is expected to go on sale in the Spring of 2013 for a base price of under €10,000 (Roughly $13,000 USD). If it does, that would be a turnabout from last year when former Opel chief Nick Reilly said the “Junior” would be an upscale mini and cost more than the larger Agila, which currently lists at €10,600 ($14k), but still wouldn’t be a competitor to the Mini Cooper.

Stay tuned, for those and other mysteries will begin to be solved on May 8, which is when Opel will officially announce the car. So the rumors say. The showcase reveal will come at this year’s Paris Motor Show.

Opel Adam a.k.a. Junior a.k.a. Allegra caught on the ‘Ring

We’ve had the good fortune of getting up close and personal with quite a few of Icon 4×4’s creations, from their off-road wares like the CJ3B and FJ line to one-off restomod hot rods like their Derelict ‘52 Chevy. While few people may be able to afford the company’s offerings, the creativity and thought that goes into each of their vehicles is something everyone can appreciate.

We have a particular affection for Icon and its latest project, the Ford Bronco. We went for a brief drive in the very first example just before it made its debut at SEMA last year and fell in love with every detail of the modernized off-roader. Every trim piece on the car has been laser cut or machined from stainless steel. The unique gauge cluster is inspired by Bell & Ross watches. The interior aluminum is the same found on the inside of luxury skyscraper elevator doors. The Icon Bronco is capable of proving its worth both on and off-road too, thanks to an Art Morrison chassis, custom-built Dana 60 and 44 solid axle assemblies, and a Ford Mustang 5.0-liter V8 under the hood.

Jonathan Ward, creator of Icon, recently invited a documentary filmmaker inside his facility to take a closer look at the Bronco. The resulting film will give you a better idea of what went into developing the Bronco as well what makes Ward tick as both a designer and a builder. If you’ve like any of Icon’s creations, it’s definitely worth a watch. Just scroll down and hit play.

Continue reading Watch a mini-doc on the amazing Icon Bronco

Watch a mini-doc on the amazing Icon Bronco

It was only a matter of time, folks. As soon as Audi finalized its purchase of the Ducati brand, we knew to expect a slew of comparison tests pitting the German automaker’s finest wares against the two-wheeled exotica rolling out of Italy’s best-known motorcycle maker.

The scribes from Germany’s Auto Bild have indeed taken up the challenge. But what machinery to choose? Naturally, the mind first turns to the R8 supercar and its Lamborghini-derived V10 engine, but, in reality, Audi officials have conceded to us that its 360-horsepower TT RS is actually quicker around most race tracks. So, the all-wheel-drive TT RS Plus it is.

Holding the mantle for Ducati is none other than the 1199 Panigale – an easy choice, as this is the marque’s premier superbike for 2012. Sure, there was a replica MotoGP machine a few years back called the Desmosedici RR, but that bike is sold out and the Panigale is likely faster in the hands of all but the most talented riders anyway.

So, who wins? You’ll have to scroll down and watch the video to find out, but suffice it to say that it wasn’t even close.

Continue reading AWD vs. One Wheel Drive: Audi TT RS Plus pitted against Ducati 1199 Panigale S

AWD vs. One Wheel Drive: Audi TT RS Plus pitted against Ducati 1199 Panigale S

One day, someone will make a list of all the unique special-edition Pagani Zonda models and all the one-off Bugatti Veyron one-offs produced over the past few years. It’ll be a gargantuan task, because there have been many of each, and we suspect that we only hear about some of them. And you can bet that most of the buyers ordering them have little to no idea how to get the most out of their new rides. However, if new reports prove accurate, the Modenese atelier’s latest customer sure will.

That customer, according to reports, is one Lewis Hamilton. The 2008 Formula One World Champion has reportedly ordered his Zonda (dubbed 760 LH) with 760 horsepower – the same output as the 760 RS we reported on a couple of weeks ago – 20 more than the track-spec Zonda R and 90 than the Zonda Cinque. And what else did Lewis ask for on his? A manual transmission. Apparently he has enough time with paddle-shift gearboxes at work. Solid.

In addition to the McLaren grand prix cars he drives “at the office,” Hamilton’s also got a very rare McLaren F1 LM that was a gift from his employers upon clinching the World Championship, and something tells us that he’s got a new MP4-12C waiting for him at home, too. Bringing a Zonda home, then, to park beside them would be high praise indeed.

Lewis Hamilton orders custom Pagani Zonda with 760 HP and manual gearbox

Whenever Consumer Reports weighs in on the automotive landscape, we’re always eager to hear what its editors have to say. We value their opinions, not because we necessarily agree or disagree, but because CR plays it straight. And sometimes, amidst all the folderol spewed about new models in the pages of car magazines and on the myriad websites devoted to automotive minutiae, it helps to read someone write things like this:

Overall, CR’s testers found the CR-V is functional and easy to live with, if not particularly exciting to drive. The CX-5 Touring… is more athletic and engaging to drive, thanks to its agile handling, taut cornering, and responsive steering.

Now this may strike most of you as nothing more than CR displaying its usually astute command of the obvious. But it reads that way for a reason – call it art imitating life. So when the mainstreamers read that the CR-V narrowly beat out the CX-5, it will not just reflect the reality of a market in which the Mazda brand lags well behind Honda, but confirm their worldview. The Honda CR-V will continue to appear on the magazine’s “Recommended” list, while the jury will await reliability reports before nominating the Mazda CX-5.

The sun will rise in the east and set in the west.

To read CR’s full press release, which also spills the beans on the June issue’s head-to-head test between the Mercedes-Benz ML350 and BMW X5, as well as road tests of the Subaru Impreza hatchback and Kia Soul, scroll down. We also have the magazine’s video reviews of the crossover pair in video form, so have a look.

Continue reading Honda CR-V edges Mazda CX-5 in Consumer Reports small CUV test [w/video]

Honda CR-V edges Mazda CX-5 in Consumer Reports small CUV test [w/video]

The No. 1 car purchased by men was the Porsche 911, while the car with the highest percentage of women buyers was the Volvo S40.

Some stereotypes are true. Men like V8s. Women like I4s. According to the third annual demographic study by TrueCar.com on the car buying habits of the sexes, men continue to fixate on size while women care about efficiency and price.

The No. 1 brand for women – the brand with the highest percentage of female buyers – was Mini at 46.2 percent. Nissan was No. 2 with 45.7 percent and Kia third with 45.6 percent.

Men, as expected, dominated the exotic brands with Ferrari sales being fueled by the most testosterone – 92.5 percent of buyers being male. Bentley was the No. 2 brand with 83.4 percent of its buyers being male and Maserati having 82.8 percent male buyers.

“The price point for many of the cars and crossovers women buyers wanted started at or below $25,000, while men tended to spend more money for their vehicles,” said Kristen Andersson, TrueCar.com senior analyst in a news release. Furthermore, women focused on smaller and more fuel efficient vehicles while men gravitated toward fast exotic cars, big pickups or SUVs.

Indeed. The No. 1 car purchased by the highest majority of men was the Porsche 911. The car with the highest percentage of women buyers was the Volvo S40, with 57.9 percent of the customers buying it being female.

Continue reading Size matters for male and female car buyers

Size matters for male and female car buyers

The latest hotted-up safety car for DTM is the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series. If we’d been in a racing accident, we’re not sure we’d trust the men who stepped out of a car that’s half steroids, half Satan, but after 12 years of providing the safety cars (along with Audi) for the German touring car series, we’ll assume Mercedes-Benz knows what it’s doing.

The most powerful C-Class ever will rush to the scene with 517 horsepower, an “aerodynamically optimised light bar” and other Christmas lights, AMG Track and Aero packages and an AMG-specific exhaust.

The safety car is more powerful than the 500-horsepower Mercedes actually racing in the series, so if it weren’t for the extra weight it’s carrying, it might even beat the other cars to the scene of the accident. You can read all about it after the jump and peep it in the high-res gallery of images.

Continue reading Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series launched as DTM safety car

Mercedes C63 AMG Black Series launched as DTM safety car

There’s little doubt that commercial vehicles are almost as vital to an automaker’s sales figures as passenger vehicles are, and to that end many have dedicated commercial vehicle operations. The Fiat group’s is called Fiat Professional, and it’s just rolled out its latest offering.

Called the Punto Van, it is, as you might have guessed, a Punto hatchback, stripped down and fitted with body panels where the windows usually go. Capable of carrying 35 cubic feet and 1,150 pounds of cargo, the Punto Van is powered by a 1.3-liter MultiJet II diesel in three states of tune (75, 85 or 95 horsepower), two trim levels and three colors.

Taking the place in its line-up where the previous versions of the Grande Punto and Punto Evo sat, Fiat Professional just took the wraps off the new Punto Van at the Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham, England, with order books opening later this month. Scroll down for the official press release.

Continue reading Fiat Professional reveals new Punto panel wagon

Fiat Professional reveals new Punto panel wagon

Most accidents in motorsport will immediately terminate any chance you have of winning the race. Not so when you’re nickname is “Crazy Leo.” Rally driver Leonid Urlichich demonstrates in the videos below how you can shake off an accident like a boxer recovers from a right hook.

The footage comes from the 2012 Rallye Perce-Neige held in early February where Leo and his navigator Carl Williamson were competing in the woods of Maniwaki, Quebec. Leo reportedly tapped the brakes while careening flat out down a snowy straight and his Subaru WRX STI doth protested. The car spun around backwards and slammed, rather violently, into a telephone pole. Amazingly, the damage was mostly cosmetic and the car wound up facing the right way on the track, so Crazy Leo just hit the gas and continued on to ultimately finish the rally in second place.

Scroll down to watch a trio of videos showing the accident as well as the crowd’s reaction to Leo’s recovery.

Continue reading Rally car slams into pole, continues on to finish second

Rally car slams into pole, continues on to finish second

It’s been almost a fortnight, which just might be a record, since we last visited a previously unheard-of supercar-maker. Next up to keep the high-po exotic ball in play is Tushek Supercars, hailing from Slovenia (that’s here), with its quaintly archaically named Forego T700. The company just made an appearance at the Top Marques Monaco with its first car, the 444-horsepower Renovatio T500 (pictured in our gallery below) with a modular hardtop, but the T700 will push things much further.

Founder Aljosa Tushek told Autocar the T700’s targets: less than 2,200 pounds, more than 700 horsepower, up to 3.3gs for cornering. That latter number sounds like a math error would not only double the Renovatio’s number, it would triple the cornering force sustained by the Lamborghini Aventador around the Nardo test track.

The limited-to-30-units Renovatio is priced at £245,000 ($394,934 U.S.) with deliveries promised later this year. Due in 2013, you can expect the T700 to outdo the T500’s price by at least double as well, and you can expect both of them to never be sold in the U.S.

Slovenian supercar builder aims to tackle Lamborghini Aventador

Imagine you’re a spy shooter at the Nürburgring. You’ve got your ancient Ford Scorpio parked nearby, but you’ve hoofed it up to the top of a hill in the hopes of getting the perfect angle on the track. Three heavy cameras are strung about your body like you’re a contestant in The World’s Strongest Man competition. It’s early and you are tired. And cold. The morning temperature was in the single digits Celsius, and while you’re not exactly sure what that translates to in the Fahrenheit scale, this certainly ain’t Miami.

Your job is boring. Boy racers driving all manner of would-be performance cars squeal by, inexpertly holding a line that betrays their inexperience. “Go back to your video games, kids,” you think as you nurse your cramped and sore legs. You shift your position and the wait resumes. Sport bikes zip by and the wail hurts your ears. You get up and stretch before resuming your regimen. A momentary break in the traffic causes you to do a mental rehearsal, double-checking your gear.

Then you hear it: The tires, disembodied from the roar of an engine, but creating their own telltale sound. You reach for the camera with the longest lens and barely get it up to your eye as the electric sports car whooshes towards you, followed by the loud rumble of something more internally combusted. The camera is now firing on all cylinders as you expertly track the car’s pace for the few seconds it’s in your field of vision. A Porsche enters the viewfinder and you exhale, lowering the camera and turning your back to the track.

The Audi R8 E-Tron will take just one lap of the Nürburgring that day, but you were there to capture it. It may not surface again before it goes on sale next year, but you don’t care about that. You need to hustle back to the car to download the images, so the world can see what an R8 without exhaust pipes looks like, so the fanboys can obsess about the extra cooling vents in the hood for the batteries and the blacked-out rear window.

You will e-mail the photos across the Continent, across the ocean, back home. You’ll get a few bucks deposited in your German bank for your trouble, but that won’t happen for a while yet. By then you will have taken more photos and sent more e-mails.

And drank countless lagers. It is still early, but you think of the cliche about it being noon somewhere and head off home. Nobody will be in your favorite expat bar at this time, but you think there must be at least one bottle left in your refrigerator.

Audi R8 E-Tron test mule does quick but quiet hot laps on Nürburgring

While we’re not ready to label this the return of the Pontiac G8, count us eager to get behind the wheel of whatever a “2014 Chevrolet SS Performance” turns out to be. Hopefully the appearance of this reference on the OnStar website is more than just a digital placeholder.

Chevy SS rumors have been swirling lately, with General Motors registering the “SS” trademark earlier this month, just days after our spy shooters caught what looked like a hotted-up Impala. Then there’s the NASCAR situation: Chevrolet has said its new entry in the racing series will be both a new vehicle and a new nameplate. We’re guessing that car isn’t going to be the Spark.

So this new OnStar “leak,” if it is such a thing, would point to the Chevy SS being a separate model (you can check it out on OnStar’s site here). If we are reading our tea leaves correctly, the model will be derived from the rear-drive Holden Commodore (the same Zeta architecture that underpins Chevrolet’s law-enforcement-only Caprice PPV), while the brand’s front-drive Impala will get a new, sportier variant. We’d also assume that the long-wheelbase version of the Commodore used for the Caprice cop car would donate its top-level powertrain, the 355-horsepower, 6.0-liter V8.

Maybe we should just press the OnStar button and ask?

Has GM’s OnStar accidentally confirmed the 2014 Chevy SS?

Nissan announced earlier in the month that it would be fielding a factory team in the 24 Hours of Nürburgring, piloting a 2012 GT-R. The car is reportedly a Club Track Edition, a race-ready derivative sold in Japan, and our spy shooters have spotted it out in the wild.

The car is only lightly camouflaged, with coverings over parts of the the front fascia, hood, and rear windows. We will admit that your guess is as good as our as to what might lie beneath the wrapping, but given that Nissan has said the only changes from production car to race car are some added downforce in the front and a new rear wing, we’ll just go with “nothing” as our answer.

Nissan GT-R 24h Nürburgring race car caught testing

Pushrods and overhead valves or dual overhead cams; naturally aspirated, turbocharged or supercharged; it simply doesn’t matter – there’s nothing quite like the sound of a powerful V8 engine. Or is there?

The engineers from BMW have been known to make some beautifully melodic powerplants over the years, but the Bavarian automaker has more recently taken a decidedly different approach to tingling the eardrums of Ultimate Driving Enthusiasts: pumping engine sounds through the internal stereo system of its latest M5 sedan.

This technique, not surprisingly, has proven controversial. We can’t grant you the opportunity to drive one yourself so that you can hear it with your own ears, but, thanks to the boys and girls from Bimmerpost, we can offer the next best thing. Listen to one member’s 2012 M5 with BMW’s Active Sound system turned on, followed by a run of the same car with the system disabled via a pulled fuse in the video below.

Spot the difference? Let us know what you think about BMW’s artificial engine notes in the Comments, but not before taking part in our completely unscientific poll below.

View Poll

Continue reading Listen to BMW’s new M5 with its Active Sound system enabled vs. disabled [w/poll]

Listen to BMW’s new M5 with its Active Sound system enabled vs. disabled [w/poll]

Three screen tests for the 2013 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG have been completed, and we think it’s gonna be a star. As with the G55, we expect the vehicle’s reputation to far outshine its sales, but with an exponentially improved interior, 544 horsepower, 560 pound-feet and better gas mileage than its less powerful predecessor, we’re talking about a whole lot of shining regardless.

With a base price well into six figures, the videos are the probably the only time you will ever see a G63 anywhere near dirt or kicking up flinty black rocks. If you start saving right now, you might be able to afford to buy one of its wheels when it arrives on our shores in August, or you can check it out for free in the videos after the jump.

Continue reading 2013 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG mines excitement

2013 Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG mines excitement

It takes a lot to grow jaded at the thought of a one-of-a-kind, seven-figure, record-breaking supercar, but that’s what’s happened after this many years of special edition Bugattis. The latest: a unique version of the Grand Sport roadster created for the Beijing Motor Show and one lucky (read: obscenely wealthy) customer.

Called the Wei Long edition, this one-off Veyron celebrates the Year of the Dragon. It was born out of the same collaboration with Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur that gave us the previous blue-and-white marbled Grand Sport L’Or Blanc edition. Only this one is white with red trim.

Like what you see? It can be yours for €1.58 million – chump change over two million greenbacks. Scope it out in the high-res image gallery and the press release below.

Continue reading Bugatti unveils one-off porcelain-trimmed Veyron Grand Sport Wei Long edition in Beijing

Bugatti unveils one-off porcelain-trimmed Veyron Grand Sport Wei Long edition in Beijing

Considering how short some product lifecycles have become, it boggles the mind to think that Rolls-Royce has had the Phantom on the market for nearly ten years now. And with the next-generation model not expected to arrive for another few years, the model that relaunched the brand under BMW ownership stands to reach its Bar Mitzvah before it’s replaced. But in the meantime, Goodwood is keeping the Phantom fresh with the Series II update.

The revisions include a refreshed front end with new bumpers and adaptable LED headlamps, the latest in infotainment systems and a new eight-speed automatic transmission to help the 6.75-liter V12 marginally improve its emissions and fuel consumption figures.

New versions of the Phantom sedan, coupe and DHC convertible are already finding their way to eagerly awaiting (and obscenely wealthy) customers around the world, but Rolls opted to wait until the Beijing Motor Show to unveil the new Extended Wheelbase model. Particularly popular in the Chinese market where extra rear-seat legroom is deemed the pinnacle of luxury, the Phantom Series II Extended Wheelbase model measure a whopping 20 feet long.

That’s more than a foot longer than the now-departed Ford Excursion, and you can check it out in the gallery of high-resolution images above.

Continue reading Rolls-Royce makes room for updated Phantom Extended Wheelbase in Beijing

Rolls-Royce makes room for updated Phantom Extended Wheelbase in Beijing

Rumors and conjecture will only get you so far, particularly when we’re talking about the stratosphere of supercardom where speculation can disappear back into the ether from whence it came as quickly as it emerged in the first place. What we need to really anticipate the arrival of a new record-breaking hypercar is concrete evidence. And concrete evidence, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is what we have here before us today.

The car we’re talking about is the long-awaited successor to the legendary McLaren F1. Considering how thoroughly that bolide smashed all preconceived notions of what a car could do when the original hit the streets in 1992, its successor is something worth anticipating indeed. It’s expected to have nearly 700 horsepower on tap, challenge the Bugatti Veyron for straight-line pace and emerge as a de-facto challenger to the Enzo replacement Ferrari is working on.

The styling is expected to take greater advantage of the skills of one Frank Stephenson, father of the modern Mini Cooper, BMW X5, Fiat 500 and countless Ferrari and Maserati models. His arrival at McLaren Automotive is said to have been a little late for him to truly leave his mark on the MP4-12C – its big brother expected to be his first clean-sheet design since moving in at Woking.

From the spy shots, we can see some distinctive common stylistic elements to the existing MP4-12C, tempered with some references to the original McLaren F1 – particularly in the shape of the greenhouse that packs a windshield that looks like it was lifted from a glass-bottom boat. A rooftop hood vent also appears to be popping up through the camouflage, with a giant exhaust pipe protruding high up through the rear (like a Pagani), with what looks like the biggest underbody diffuser we’ve seen yet.

The overall shape also looks longer than the MP4-12C, presumably to accommodate an engine packing 50% more cylinders than its eight-pot kid brother. With the V12 F1 expected to arrive around the same time as the Ferrari F70, it looks like Maranello and Woking are gearing up for once heck of a high-stakes grudge match.

McLaren spotted testing successor to the legendary F1

Volkswagen has taken the occasion of the Beijing Motor Show as opportunity to debut its latest sedan. Called the Lavida, it’s the second-generation of a model produced in China specifically for the Chinese market.

Can’t figure out what you’re looking at? Call it a Chinese version of the Jetta, with which it shares its platform. Shanghai Volkswagen – the joint venture under which the Lavida is produced – had sold 700,000 units of the first-generation model from its introduction in 2008 through January 2012. The company surely hopes the new Lavida will sell even more. Read all about it in the press release below.

Continue reading Volkswagen is living Lavida loca in Beijing

Volkswagen is living Lavida loca in Beijing

We’ve already seen the production-ready 2013 SRT Viper. In fact, we named it Best In Show after it officially debuted at the 2012 New York Auto Show earlier this month. But what we haven’t seen is the full color palette that will be offered, and our spy photographers recently caught a Viper prototype out testing sporting a fresh coat of yellow paint, as well as some new, more sedate wheels.

As for that color, we aren’t sure how we feel about it just yet, granted, we’ll want to see it in person and without all of the hastily bolted-together panel gaps of this prototype. Moreover, we’d like to see how the new SRT looks in a proper GTS white/blue paint job. Be sure to let us know what you think of the new yellow paint in the comments.

The don’t-call-it-a-Dodge Viper officially launches this year, boasting 640 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque from its monstrous 8.4-liter V10. We’re eagerly awaiting our first stint behind the wheel, but for now, this new batch of high-res photos will have to suffice.

2013 SRT Viper looking fly in yellow?