The Saudi authorities have stepped in to temper the momentum of Saudi Women for Driving. It is against religious law for women to drive in the Arabian country, a fact of life that Saudi women have now decided to fight. The campaign began earlier this year, headed by Manal al-Sharif, with and her taking to the streets behind the wheel of a car, then with a in The Kingdom. In early June, 40 Saudi women drove en masse, in an escalation of their efforts, and since then scores more have driven through the capital and other cities.
The authorities didn’t respond to those provocations, but they have to this latest one: five women were arrested while driving in the coastal city of Jiddah. There’s been no update on their situation, with another rights activist only able to wonder, “We aren’t sure what it means at this point and whether this is the start of a harder line by the government against the campaign.”
Lotus Esprit concept – Click above for high-res image gallery
Fast. Lightweight. Eminently enticing. There are a lot of things you could call a , but perhaps “ambitious” would be the most suitable. The company’s been snapping up former personnel en masse, unveiled at the same time last year, and plans on returning to to bring them to market.
Now it seems that Lotus has its eye on a rather boastful prize indeed: that of the fastest supercar built in the UK. That’s quite the goal when you consider it’ll be up against the likes of the McLaren MP4-12C and Aston Martin One-77. To get there, Lotus reportedly plans on turbocharging its new V8 up to 612 horsepower, and stripping out the new to pump up the power-to-weight ratio from both ends in Superleggera fashion.
As it stands, the naturally-aspirated V8 is anticipated to produce 562 horsepower from its 4.8 liters of displacement. Lopping off a couple of cylinders or chopping the block in half could also give Lotus six- and four-cylinder versions of the modular engine for use in a variety of cars. But while the engine may be raced initially (for example in a new LMP2 car) and shoehorned into the other products Lotus plans to bring to market, its first road-going application is expected to be in the new Esprit.
An ox is a domesticated bovine whose primary purpose is to pull heavy loads. Tipping the scales at more than a ton, the hefty animals are not considered quick workers, especially when compared to horses, but they’re steadfast in their actions and respond well to trained commands. Rarely spooked or unsettled, oxen deliver a long, dependable and rather unassuming service life.
is the ox’s four-wheeled equivalent. While the full-size sport utility vehicle is one of the automaker’s slowest-selling vehicles on U.S. shores – and one of its most expensive – those who’ve owned one tend to become very loyal fans. We recently spent a week with the current “200 Series,” the latest generation of the venerable ‘ute that has been in production since the 1950s. What has given the Land Cruiser such longevity and how does it compare to the , its nearly identical twin? Most importantly, did we become loyal Land Cruiser devotees in the process?
We saw the , and then the company appeared in Moab to . Now the adventurous minds at Xplore are ready to pull back the sheet off its latest creation – the Xplore .
We’re going out on a limb here, but we think this is Trail Rated. At least it appears that way thanks to the the beefy BFGoodrich Mud Terrain tires wrapped around Method Race wheels. We don’t have the official spec sheet just yet, though we know the past Xplore vehicles have been outfitted to handle plenty of tough terrain. The sinister flat paint scheme might not help with Jeep’s off-road capability, but it certainly helps give the Xplore Grand Cherokee a darker edge.
As with the rest of the Xplore family of vehicles, the goal behind this vehicle is to promote awareness of our national parks. Xplore wants you to… well, explore. When you purchase an Xplore Grand Cherokee, you’re given a one-year pass to America’s national parks. You also get a one-year subscription to the Xplore Lifestyle Journal, which talks about the places you should be taking your vehicle. for the full press release, and check out the Xplore Grand Cherokee in the included image gallery.
Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé Masterpiece London 2011 – Click above for high-res image gallery
A car like the Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé isn’t about raw power and performance. It’s not about the latest technologies. It’s not even about bragging rights. More than anything else, it’s about making the owner feel special. But this particular DHC is more special than most.
Created specially for the Masterpiece London 2011 luxury goods show, this one-off packs a suede Asprey jewelry case in the glove box with intricate rings, cufflinks and earrings and a trunk full of matching leather fitted luggage. The one-off is also the first come painted in Mazarine Blue, the latest of 44,000 colors available to Rolls-Royce buyers, and features Santos Pallissander wood veneers (whatever that means) inlaid with mother-of-pearl.
Check it out in the high-res image gallery and the press release after the jump.
1956 Bentley S1 pickup – Click above for high-res images
and may be under common ownership these days, but back in the day, they were bitter rivals. That rivalry lead one Ettore Bugatti to deride his English competition as “the world’s fastest lorries” (the British term for commercial trucks). He was speaking figuratively, because while the notion of a Bentley sport-ute has been rumored every now and then, the company doesn’t actually make trucks. This, then, stands as an exception.
This classic started life in 1956 as a Bentley S1, purchased by the owner of a large retail chain before changing hands to the Earl of Stradbroke who had it converted to a pickup. The work was carried out in New South Wales, Australia, where they’ve always been bonkers for utes. They painted it yellow and gave it a woody-style pickup bed.
The car was donated by Stradbroke to the Trinity Grammar School, which is now auctioning the vehicle through insurance broker Shannons to raise funds to build a new library. The vehicle will hit the auction block during the Australian Motor Show on July 10, where it’s expected to fetch between $22,000 and $32,000 in Australian funds, or about $23,600-$34,400 in equivalent American greenbacks.
LaCie PorscheDesign P’9220 and P’9230 hard drives – Click above for high-res image gallery
is known for some of the sleekest driving machines on the market. LaCie, meanwhile, makes some of the slickest hard drives. Where they intersect is the latest range of external storage devices, penned by Porsche Design for LaCie.
Collaboration between the two companies dates back to 2003, and the new LaCie Porsche Design mobile and desktop hard drives feature minimalist brushed aluminum cases that would instantly look at home next to your Acer Ferrari or Asus Lamborghini laptops for the ultimate in automotive-inspired computer hardware.
The devices are available in sizes ranging from 500 gigabytes all the way up 2 terabytes with prices starting at $104.99. for more details in the press release and scope out the designs in the high-res image gallery.
Station wagons are a bit like free dinners. Your parents appreciate them, auto journalists love them and nobody buys them. Who needs a station wagon when a crossover is just as roomy, not as efficient and generally more expensive?
We see plenty of hand-to-hand combat, gun fights, beautiful ladies and exotic locals… plus the BMW i8, and even a gut-wrenching scene with a BMW 6 Series convertible.
Infiniti EX35 IIHS roof strength test – Click above for high-res image gallery
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety is tough on vehicles. The institute’s crash tests are among the most difficult to ace, with very high standards for front and side impacts, plus rigid roof strength standards. But while some vehicles struggle to achieve the top score of “Good,” the seems to have had the answers to the test.
Infiniti’s smallest luxury crossover achieved the top score of “Good” because it features standard stability control, it passed the all-important rear and side impact protection tests and it has a roof that can handle the pressure of more than four times its overall weight. The roof test is measured by pressing a metal plate into a corner of the roof at a constant rate. The pressure continues to build until five inches of crush is achieved. If the roof can withstand at least four times the overall weight of the vehicle, it receives a score of “Good.” Since the EX35 checked off every box with a score of “Good,” the IIHS feels comfortable calling the CUV a “Top Safety Pick.”
But while the EX35 was aces in the roof test, the similarly sized didn’t fare nearly as well. IIHS gave the RDX an overall score of “Marginal” after the roof was found to only be able to withstand 2.9 times the overall weight of the vehicle.
During the U.S. launch of the , CEO Victor Muller told us that he was good at raising money, and he is probably going further than he ever wished to prove his point. It was announced this morning that Swedish Automobile, parent company of Saab, secured a €25-million ($36M U.S.) bridge loan from Gemini Investment Fund. It is the second infusion from Gemini in as many months, and brings to €66M ($95M) the amount of money Saab has raised this week alone.
The latest life preserver allows Saab to pay its June wages. The production lines are still idle while Saab deals with suppliers, but it wants to start making cars again in two weeks. Saab is also waiting on regulatory approval for €245 million ($353M) from two Chinese partners, and hopes to access a drawdown of €29.1 million ($42M) from the European Investment Bank in hopes of manifesting a Rocky-like comeback.
Although we’ve already , we’ve been eagerly awaiting its 6 Series Coupe companion. had led us to believe that only the twin-turbo V8 650i would make its way to North American consumers, but apparently, that ain’t necessarily so. While we will indeed receive the 650i Coupe shown above on October 1 (slightly ahead of the rest of the world, we might add, which gets it mid-month), Autoblog has learned that buyers will also get the chance to own the less costly 640i model.
The 640i incorporates BMW’s N55 twin-scroll single turbo six-cylinder and includes features not found on the V8 model, including a fuel-saving start-stop function. In European spec, the TwinPower Turbo 3.0-liter delivers 316 brake horsepower and 332 pound feet of torque through a standard ZF-source eight-speed automatic. (For comparison’s sake, the 650i musters 400 hp and 450 lb-ft). In addition to the 640i, European Editor Matt Davis reports that a grips-at-all-corners xDrive variant will come on-line this fall, but only if you splurge for the V8 model.
The 650i Coupe will make its North American debut during the Pebble Beach festivities in Monterey, California this August, but the 640i won’t be shown. Instead, your dealer will be able to place an order for you in September, with the very first customer cars expected to trickle in at the end of October.
Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and the BMW i8 – Click above to watch video
It’s been a long time since we heard from globe-trotting international man of mystery Ethan Hunt, but it looks like he’s set to take the screen again with Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The first trailer for the latest installment of Tom Cruise’s action-packed espionage adventure has hit the interwebs, and while it features a host of hand-to-hand combat, gun fights, beautiful ladies and exotic locals, it also boasts a few unique rides from the stable. If you watch closely, you just might catch a glimpse of the upcoming BMW i8, and there’s even a gut-wrenching scene with a convertible.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
Judging by the quick clip, we’ll be sure to catch this one when it lands in theaters. We’re particularly stoked to see Simon Pegg play a part in Hunt’s quest to redeem his organization’s name. to check out the video for yourself.
2011 Acura TSX Sport Wagon – Click above for high-res image gallery
Station wagons are a bit like free dinners. Your parents appreciate them, auto journalists love them and nobody buys them. It’s that last trait that’s led to the near extinction of the family wagon, save for a few luxury rigs, a and a . And why not? Who needs a station wagon when a crossover is just as roomy, not as efficient and generally more expensive?
Given the current state of the wagon in the U.S., we were resigned to the fact that the stubby two-box was on its way to oblivion. But that hasn’t stopped from turning the European Accord into the . And putting our auto-journo biases aside for the moment, we’re damn glad they did.
While racers were busy blasting up Pikes Peak this past weekend, engineers decided to make a more civilized mountain run. Spy photographers have captured the next-generation Speed undergoing testing in the Alps. The convertible is not yet Bentley polished, as it’s lacking camo, but it provides a great glimpse at the upcoming production GTC Speed.
The aggressive lower fascia, hood fents, wheels and exhaust provide a good hint that this Conti is hiding a more powerful derivative of the W12 under its hood. Expect a horsepower rating well above 600, and a torque figure to make one-ton pickups jealous. Click through the gallery below to check out the photos.
2012 Ferrari FF – Click above for high-res image gallery
Back in the early 1990s, an impressive 85 percent of all models were dressed in red paint. While we can understand that Ferrari and red go together like peanut butter and jelly (or red white and… green), it’s tough to understand how 85 percent of all customers could buy such a rare horse, yet insist upon such a common color. Apparently, more recent Ferrari owners agree, since the number of Prancing Horses in rosso have dropped to “only” 45 percent for 2010.
Greater differentiation is one reason for the decrease in the color red, but it also helps that Ferrari has become far better at utilizing the rest of the color spectrum. The automaker tells us in the post-jump press release that two-tone liveries have become one of the latest crazes, with the roof painted a different color than the rest of the body. Ferrari has also says it has perfected a three-layer painting technique that utilizes three coats of paint for a deeper and more brilliant color than has been offered in the past.
Perhaps the coolest thing Ferrari is doing with color is customizing its finish to just about any paint the customer desires. For example, if you like the color of the yellow fire hydrant at the end of your street, simply send a sample to the folks in Maranello, and they’ll match it. Not that we’d recommend it…
Ferrari’s efforts to add a bit more color to the most famous lineup of exotic supercars is obviously paying dividends. The automaker claims that special-order finishes have gone up from only one percent 10 years ago to 10 percent today. So go ahead, don’t be yellow. Order your Ferrari in Blu Scozia, Avio Met or Vinaccia.
Want to know more about Ferrari’s Pantone proclivities? .
Eighteen years ago, a young Lewis Hamilton walked up to Ron Dennis, introduced himself and told the McLaren chief he wanted to drive for him one day. Thirteen years later he was, and the year after that he won the world championship. It was a turning point in F1 teams recruiting young talent, and one that McLaren is keen to continue.
With other teams launching similar programs, the Woking-based outfit has announced the McLaren High Performance Programme. Such a program could by itself refer to just about anything, from the onboard computer in the new MP4-12C to the three-legged race at the company picnic. But here it refers to the team’s young talent program, and along with it McLaren has announced its first new recruit.
Nathan Aston is only 13 years old, but, after winning the Formula Kart Stars Cadet championship, has been signed to a new dream deal with McLaren – not unlike the deal that signed last year with 11-year-old Canadian karting champ . Give it another few years – okay, maybe more than a few – and we could be seeing the two of them dicing it up for the F1 world championship. In the meantime, you can for the full press release on McLaren’s latest hire and the program in which he’ll take part.
Toyota Avensis wagon – Click above for high-res image gallery
Importing to Japan may seem like selling ice to the Eskimos, but that’s precisely what’s in store. In fact, it’s Toyota itself that will be bringing the Avensis back to its home market from its global assembly plant in the UK.
Demand for European cars in Japan has got Toyota cashing in on the game, exporting as many as 750 units of the Avensis back to the home country. Since the Avensis holds a similar position to the JDM Toyota Mark X, which is available only as a sedan, Toyota will only be offering the Avensis wagon back in Japan, packing a 2.0-liter four mated to a CVT.
Japan, of course, will only be the latest market in which the British-built Avensis will be sold, joining a list of 47 countries worldwide to which some 85% of the units built at the Derbyshire plant are exported. Unfortunately, the United States isn’t one of ‘em, so for those who may want a closer look, we’ve put together a fresh high-res image gallery for your viewing pleasure.
EVO lines up the exotics – Click above to watch the video
Americans seem to be uniquely obsessed with drag racing in a straight line as a means of measuring automotive performance, but when British magazine EVO decided to line up the latest set of ultra-fast exotic machinery, not a single piece of was present.
Not that we have any complaints about EVO’s chosen group of supercars. Representing Italy is the Ferrari 458, and from Germany hails the . These two traditional power players are matched up against the best Britain has to offer; namely the and Noble M600.
Now that the players have been established, naturally we all want to know which was the quickest. Not surprisingly, the results were dependent on the distance measured just as much as they were by the vehicles themselves. We won’t spoil the ending for you, but we will say that it was close and that you should never count out the underdog. Check out the action in the video .
The latest member of the Kia family is the 2011 Optima Hybrid, and it’s looking to speak to the green-tinged car-shopping contingent.
We have just been brought to the Porsche’s hardcore research and design center to drive special Panamera S test mules equipped with the most recent iteration of an ECU-software development that company knows is going to make people like us fret.
Tanner Foust, Adam Ferrara and Rutledge Wood are back for season two, which premieres July 24 at 10pm EST on the History Channel.
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Le Mans. Grand Prix. Senna. Even Days of Thunder. Legendary racing films all, but our list is preparing to grow by one more epic saga played out on the silver screen.
That project, as we last month, is set to focus on the battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt in the 1978 Formula 1 World Championship, wherein Lauda suffered a devastating fiery crash at the Nürburgring, coming back to challenge Hunt in one of the closest title fights in racing history. The screenplay’s been titled Rush, and now it’s got a director.
Paul Greengrass of Bourne trilogy fame was interested in taking on the project, but the latest reports indicate that Ron Howard will be picking up the bull horn instead. The child actor-turned-director has been responsible for such legendary films as Cocoon, Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon.
While Howard works on that project, Steven Spielberg and his Dreamworks production company are reportedly considering a second film that would focus in on the life of James Hunt, the unabashed embodiment of male bravado who fought Lauda for the title down to the wire.
