Automotive World

The B3 GT3 is based on the regular 3-Series Coupe and it uses a slightly modified version the 3.0-liter twin-turbocharged inline-six found in Alpina's B3 S Bi-Turbo sedan, coupe and touring models.

The more practical, five-door version of the A1 has the same length as the three door model at 3.95 meters (12.96 ft) but is several millimeters taller and wider thus offering a little more space in the rear seats – though don't expect any wonders.. In addition, buyers can order the Sportback with either a four- or five-seat layout at no extra cost.

The brand new 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder diesel unit joins Honda's revised 2.2-liter i-DTEC diesel, which delivers 150HP. The smaller unit is rated at 118HP (120PS) at 4,000 rpm and has a peak torque of 300Nm (221.3 lb-ft) at 2,000 rpm.

We’ve already brought you the news on the BRZ, but for those of you interested, Subaru has unleashed a promotional video as well as a second round of pictures including the very first images of the coupe's interior that is identical to the 86 right up to the digital clock that brings back memories of the go-go 1980s. Oddly, Toyota and Subaru ditched the cassette player…

As a reminder, the BRZ runs on very low mounted 2.0-liter flat-four with direct-injection technology and an output of 200 ponies that are directed to the rear wheels through a choice of 6-speed transmissions (manual and automatic).

The A1 special is based on the three-door model with the 122HP 1.4 TFSI petrol engine and features the team's traditional blue and white colors accentuated by the red of the Japanese flag. It rides on unique 18-inch wheels painted in red.

The German automaker says that concept is a study for a potential new CC-style SUV that "hints at how a crossover between a four-door coupé and an SUV could look like" -think small BMW X6- while also previewing an evolved form of VW's current design language.

The concept is the first VW model based on the company’s new ‘modular transverse matrix’ or MQB platform architecture to be shown to the public. The MQB chassis will be used in a number of VW Group models ranging from the next Golf to the Audi TT's successor.

Sadly, while Subaru released the first rendering of the BRZ GT300, the Japanese automaker is still holding back on the details (though we assume a boxer engine should be in the mix), but we'll keep you posted on any information we get in our hands.

The pure electric roadster model is very compact in size measuring just 3,570mm (140.5-in.) long, 1,500mm (59.0-in.) wide and 1,100mm (43.3-in.) tall, with a wheelbase of 2,325mm (92.5-in.). That makes it slightly bigger than the Beat, Honda's mid-engined, two-seat roadster kei car that was produced from 1991 to 1996.

And one motorcycle stunt rider in Brazil found that out the hard way during a routine show at the Beto Carrero World, which is the largest multi-theme park in Latin America, and is located in the municipality of Penha in Brazil.

“Maserati will increase its volumes by having three cars”, said Marchionne after the CBI conference in London last week. According to British publication Car Magazine, Marchionne said that these would be the Kubang SUV, the Quattroporte replacement and a smaller four-door sedanthat will compete in the E-segment against the likes of the Jaguar XF and BMW 5-Series.

Behind that mismatched front bumper are the same hardware upgrades found on the C63 AMG Coupe Black Series, and which include a modified 6.2-liter V8 engine pushing out 517HP and 620 Nm (457 lb-ft) of peak torque, an increase of 60HP and 20Nm over the regular model.

A Bentley and a Lada can both take you from point A to point B. In much the same way, a 10 dollar watch can tell you the time in exactly the same way as a Rolex or a Breitling.

So if you’re looking just for transportation and knowing what time it is, pass on the Bentley and the Breitling and save yourself enough money to buy a house.

We're going to get a taste of what this means for Nissan with the presentation of the Juke Nismo concept at this week's 2011 Tokyo Motor Show.

What it can’t do, though, is run across water. If you are one of the 2.5 million viewers who watched the video on YouTube (or Carscoop), then you must remember the much talked about incident from 2009 when a Veyron veered off the road and dived into a saltwater lagoon in Galvestone, Texas.

The driver and owner of the Veyron, Andy House, claimed at the time that a low-flying pelican distracted him and he then jerked the wheel, dropped his cell phone, and eventually lost control of the $2 million car ending up in the lake.

The popular video, however, that was filmed by someone driving on an adjacent road shows no pelican in sight – just the Veyron going for a dip.

Now, a jury in Texas is to decide whether House is telling the truth or if he intentionally drowned the Veyron to collect a $2 million insurance.

The Biante GRANZ showcar is a design study for a more luxurious version of the 4.7-meter (186-in.) long minivan. The most noticeable changes take place up front where Mazda's designers moved the firm's new five-point grille from the lower part of the bumper to right under the hood. The new grille also gains prominent horizontal chrome slabs.

Even Alfa Romeo, which has cancelled its return to the U.S. more times than we care to remember, has plans to form a joint venture with local company Guangzhou Automobile.

Well, the list just got a little but bigger as on Monday Chery Automobile Co. and investment firm Israel Corp. announced a new joint venture that will lead to a new brand called Qoros.

But seriously now, tow trucks violating every single law in the traffic book just to be the first to reach a client at an accident scene is a something out of reason.

In the following video that was shot from a dashboard mounted camera placed in one of at least three tow trucks that were racing against each other on public roads in South Korea, we see the driver passing countless red lights and entering the opposite side of the road with no consideration whatsoever for the rest of the cars.

Swedish Automobile N.V. (Swan), though, announced today that Saab Great Britain (Saab GB) filed for administration with the High Court in London.

Fittingly, the landmark small block is a hand-built, 638-horsepower supercharged LS9 V8 that will find its way under the hood of a Corvette ZR1. The force-fed LS9 is the most powerful engine ever to be installed in a regular-production Chevrolet or GM vehicle.

And for those of you wondering, unfortunately, Honda has no plans to offer the car in other markets – at least for the time being.

The production model is named CR-Z iCF and it has been developed in partnership with Mugen's European arm. At the heart of the car lies a modified version of the CR-Z's 1.5-liter hybrid powertrain that gains a supercharger, a new induction system and a reprogrammed ECU.

Yet its activities have been restricted mainly in motorsports, where it has been involved with great success in events like the FIA GT1 World Championship, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and of course, numerous racing series in Japan .

After acquiring a Zakspeed Racing Dodge Viper GTS-R in 2010, the current owner of the 1998 model turned to Heurich Classics, a Germany company that specializes in the maintenance, repair and optimization of vintage and classic cars.

The owner had two very special requests for Heurich Classics: recreate the looks of the Hasseroder Viper GTS-R that won the 24 hours of Nürburgring endurance race in 1999 and at the same time, make it completely street legal.

The German firm started out by eliminating, replacing, adding or modifying certain components of the Viper GTS-R to allow it to achieve road-legal status in Europe.

While there are no engine upgrades, the Focus Zetec S offers a sportier exterior appearance through a body kit that includes front and rear spoilers with lower sill extensions along with rear LED tail lamps and new 17in alloy wheels.

The new CR-V, which we first saw at the Los Angeles Auto Show earlier this month, will be offered in Japan in two flavors, the 20G and the 24G.

Unlike the extremely radical Juke-R project, which features the inner works of the GT-R sports car including its twin-turbo V6 engine and advanced all-wheel drive system, the Juke Nismo concept is a very realistic study for a down-to-earth sporty variant of the regular model.

The new BRZ was revealed today less than two weeks after Subaru exhibited the STI-badged concept model at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and just before the sports coupe makes its first public outing under the spotlight at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show on Wednesday, November 30.

To the surprise of no one, the production BRZ loses the concept’s neat aero-kit with the large rear wing and carbon-fiber parts, but no need to worry as it's almost certain that Subaru's STI division will offer either the same or similar components as an option in due time.

Even though we knew from day one that the Subaru BRZ, the Toyota 86 and the upcoming Scion FR-S were all jointly developed by Toyota and Subaru, we had some hope that the cars might differ in appearance and flavor. As you can see for yourself, this never happened – at least with the BRZ and the 86.

A recent study conducted by Max Warburton of Bernstein Research, a market trends and analysis firm, reveals which models sold in the U.S. are the most profitable for automakers.

Despite being blamed for almost anything, from the greenhouse effect to the costly bailout a couple of years ago, the study shows that Detroit’s Big Three light-truck models lead the list of the most profitable vehicles in the U.S.

The new T6 Polestar ECU upgrade package increases power from 300-horses to 325HP and peak torque from 324 lb-ft to 354 lb.-ft. on all three models. According to Volvo, the power increase does not affect the cars' average fuel consumption numbers.

Another, less noble reason, could be that some of these gaffes make you feel better knowing that, even if you will never ever be able to afford such a ride, at least you won't make a fool out of yourself on film by trying to find the reverse gear, are unable to park or by being so careless or caught up with yourself that you didn't notice the Audi that was behind you…

Anderson Germany is one of those tuners and it has presented a second take on the Ferrari 599. While similar to its previous tune shown in March, Anderson's newest black-widow style Ferrari has some differences, mainly inside where the entire interior has been trimmed in a combination of quilted red leather and black carbon leather with red stitching.

"We have been talking for some time now about our plans for Caterham in all its guises, from the road car company to Formula 1 and GP2, and in the technology, design and innovation fields”, said Fernandes.

Always on the lookout, they have now managed to capture the German firm's people testing a regular version of the next Golf Mk7 complete with its newly styled body.

Albeit heavily disguised, the prototype confirms our suspicions that VW won't mess around with the classic Golf styling cues such as the think C-Column design, though the front-end of the car does appear to be sharper with the lights and grille placed lower than on the current model.

And while the series will most likely be put to rest for at least for another decade or so, some fans continue to be inspired by the movie creating their own short films.

After last year's awesome fan-made clip from the then 21-year old Alexander Vladimirovich Semenov from Russia, we will soon have another new short film that is currently being prepared by 19-year old Robert Kouba from Switzerland.

But why spend a fortune to try to develop a new technology when there is already one available? In August, Ford made a deal with Toyota to collaborate on hybrid technology.

The problem first arose in May when a Chevy Volt's lithium-ion batteries caught fire while the car was parked at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's [NHTSA] Winsconsin facilities, three weeks after it had been subjected to a side-impact crash test.

For some reason Toyota has decided to name the car simply 86 in Japan and GT 86 in Europe, while the same or possibly slightly different variant with the Scion badge will be marketed as the FR-S in North America.

The key facts about the 86 include a front-mounted Subaru-sourced 2.0-liter boxer engine pushing 200-horses towards the rear axle through a short-shift six-speed manual gearbox (or a 6-speed automatic) and an available limited slip differential.

Toyota has not yet released full specifications, but a leaked brochure revealed that the JDM version tips the scales at 1,210kg (2,668 pounds) in basic trim and at 1,230kg (2,711 pounds) in the second trim level.

Nevertheless, Honda’s U.S. sales boss John Mendel issued a memo to the brand’s dealers on November 22, in which he instructs them to move “full speed ahead” in terms of sales. Mendel’s memo pointed out that “our product availability is good, our arrivals are good and we will continue to have media presence throughout the month of December.”