Car News
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If you'd like to see the new McLaren MP4-12C Spider in action, look no further: Chris Harris and Drive have you covered. From the slick folding hardtop in action to full-on sideways hoonage, Harris delivers his usual goods--though in a somewhat drier, lower-key style than usual. For our money, we'll usually take the hardtop over the convertible version of a car for the weight savings, improved chassis stiffness, and general practicality. The 12C Spider might be a major exception, as we like the look of it better, and the carbon tub negates the loss of chassis stiffness--and heading into a...
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Does Carbon Neutrality Matter At 1,000 MPH?
Apparently, it does. The Bloodhound SSC, which generates an astonishing 47,000 pounds of thrust through a rocket motor fed by an F1 engine used as a fuel pump, will go carbon neutral for its land speed record attempt, the team announced today. How, exactly, does a hydrocarbon-spewing monster with...
Nelson Ireson -
Ford Racing’s Raptor Assault Program: Our Kind Of Driver’s Ed
If you buy a high-performance automobile, there is no shortage of factory-backed training programs to teach you how to be both fast and safe behind the wheel. Porsche has its own academy, as do AMG and BMW, while automakers like SRT and Fiat rely on the services of others. Buy a serious off-roader...
Kurt Ernst -
Jay Leno And The World's Strangest 1968 Camaro: Video
When it comes to restored or modified cars, an insurance agent can either be your best friend or your biggest nightmare. Few things are worse that finding out your cherished ride wasn’t insured for replacement value, adding insult to the injury of theft or accident damage. State Farm...
Kurt Ernst -
C7 Corvette Engine Details, Lotus’ Future Plans, A Lap Of Austin’s F1 Track: Car News Headlines
Chevrolet has released details on the fifth-generation small block V-8, destined for use in the new C7 Corvette. The base LT1 6.2-liter V-8 will make 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque, enough to get the new Corvette from 0-60 mph in under 4.0 seconds. Thanks to direct fuel injection and...
Kurt Ernst -
Could The Audi R8 e-tron Be Delayed?
Audi has consistently stated that its R8 e-tron, an all-electric version of its R8 supercar, would be launched on the market by the end of 2012. With Audi recently setting the Nürburgring lap record for a production EV with a prototype built to production specs, as well as providing details...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
If you expected the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette’s fifth-generation small block Chevy V-8 to be chock full of technology, it sounds like you won’t be disappointed. Chevy has announced the specifications for it’s latest 6.2-liter LT1, and they are impressive indeed. First, the new engine will make 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. That’s serious output, even in stock form, but even better is that it will make over 400 pound-feet of torque between 2,000 and 4,000 rpm. That kind of twist is good enough to get the base C7 Corvette from 0-60 in under 4.0 seconds, a...
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Ford F-150 Tuner Trucks Headed To SEMA, Too
The best-selling vehicle in Ford’s lineup is the F-Series pickup, and that’s been the case for many years. If Ford is using SEMA to highlight other hot sellers, like the Escape and Fusion, it stands to reason that tuned F-Series pickups would command booth space, too. Truckin’...
Kurt Ernst -
Koenigsegg Expands Number Of Certified Technicians In U.S.
Swedish supercar manufacturer Koenigsegg has announced it’s expanding its team of certified technicians in the U.S. in order to cater to the growing number of customers in this crucial market. The latest to join the team, which is now four members strong, is Rock Ruby, who will be based in...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Lotus Owner Provides Details Of Future Plans
The last we heard, Lotus’ new owner DRB-Hicom had fired CEO Dany Bahar and thrown out his overly ambitious plan to launch up to six brand new models within a five-year period. DRB-Hicom also revealed that it would announce a revised plan for Lotus before mid-2013 and that development of at...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
GM And PSA Peugeot Citroen Announce New Vehicle Projects
Following their initial alliance announcement made in March of this year, the heads of General Motors and France’s PSA Peugeot Citroen have announced an update on the deal, which included the confirmation of the joint development of four new vehicle projects. The four new vehicle projects are...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
HSV Tests KERS Hybrid In Commodore Racer, Could Lead To Production Version
Holden’s performance division HSV is working on its own racing series together with motorsport firm Walkinshaw Racing, using the Holden Commodore-based ClubSport R8 as the basis for a new one-make series aimed at India and several other markets in Asia. HSV has now revealed that it is...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Remember the Toyota Racing Dream Build Challenge that pits four of Toyota's top drivers from NASCAR and NHRA in a race car build-off? Well, we now have our first look at the entry from one of the drivers, NASCAR star Kyle Busch, who has come up with the new ‘Rowdy Edition’ Camry based on a 2012 Toyota Camry SE. Developed together with Detroit Speed & Engineering (DSE) in Mooresville, North Carolina, the Rowdy Edition Camry was built with the intention of realizing a car with the dynamic performance of a road-legal racer but with the functionality of a Camry sedan. Its name...
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1963 Chevy Corvette Pilot Car Up For Auction
Before production of the 1963 Corvette, a test run of "pilot cars" was made to validate the design--this was the introduction of the second-generation, or C2, Corvette--the Sting Ray. Now, one example of this bit of automotive history could be yours. Equipped with the original four-speed manual...
Nelson Ireson -
Renault Discusses The 2014 F1 Engine Design Regulations
Today, Formula One cars are powered by naturally-aspirated, 2.4-liter V-8 engines, made by either Renault, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari or Cosworth. That changes for 2014, as the new regulations call for turbocharged V-6 engines, not to exceed 1.6-liters in displacement. Although the 2014 Formula One...
Kurt Ernst -
Autonomous Tech Coming To Volvo Cars In 2014
Like it or not, a future filled with semi-autonomous (and eventually, fully-autonomous) automobiles is coming. For all the complaining from enthusiasts (ourselves included), there’s no denying that self-driving cars will improve safety for today’s attention-impaired drivers, as well as...
Kurt Ernst -
Circuit Of The Americas First Lap Ceremony, Onboard And On Track: Video
If you're a fan of motorsports in the U.S., you know about the Circuit of the Americas. This past weekend, track officials and Pirelli North America put on a special event for media and VIP patrons to see the first official laps of the circuit--and even to ride along, and, in our case, drive the...
Nelson Ireson -
Pagani Huayra Chassis Number 1 For Sale
Conventional wisdom tells us that cars depreciate in value, and that even “sure bet” collector cars have been known to lose money for investors. We recently told you about the oldest-known Ford Model A, which sold in 2007 for $693,000, but hammered at just $264,000 when resold last...
Kurt Ernst -
Back in June, we told you about a contest tied to Ford’s latest Mustang customizer website that would award four lucky designers the Mustang of their dreams. The process was simple enough: choose a Mustang, customize it within your allotted points and then turn it loose on the internet for voting. Each 1,000 points accumulated by the end of a contest month earned the designer a single entry into the contest. The more you promoted your car (or cars, since multiple entries were permitted), the better your odds were of winning. The winner of the first phase of the Battle for Your Dream...
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2014 Infiniti G37 Spy Video
Engineers are hard at work testing prototypes for the next-generation Infiniti G sedan, which will be making its official debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show in January before (hopefully) reaching showrooms sometime next summer. We recently brought you some spy shots of those prototypes but...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2015 Mercedes S Class Cabrio, Abarth In L.A., 2014 Corvette Teased: Car News Headlines
Mercedes-Benz's next take on the S Class is shaping up to include a cabriolet, or convertible, which could launch sometime in the summer or fall of 2015. In camouflage, the proportions aren't too flattering, but once the wraps come off, who knows? If you like Fiat's revival of Abarth in America...
Nelson Ireson -
Kepler Shows Its Hybrid Supercar In Action: Video
In 2009, a company calling itself Kepler Motors revealed its Motion hybrid supercar at the Dubai International Auto Show. The concept produced a claimed 800 horsepower, and was capable of sprinting from 0-60 mph in less than 2.5 seconds, on its way to a 200 mph top speed. At the time, Kepler said...
Kurt Ernst -
Fiat 500 Abarth Cabrio And 500E Confirmed For L.A. Auto Show
Fiat is about to add two more members to its 500 family in the form of a new Fiat 500 Abarth Cabriolet and 500E electric car. The cars will be revealed for the first time at next month’s 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show, with inventory (hopefully) arriving in showrooms shortly after. We’ve...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW Confirms Plans For New Plant In Brazil
A few months ago we reported that BMW was considering building a new plant in Mexico for production of its 3-Series. While that option may still be on the table, the automaker has confirmed this week that it will build a new plant in Brazil for an undisclosed model, pending approval from regulatory...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran