The next BMW M3, due in about two years as a 2014 model, will probably be propelled by an inline-six delivering more power than today’s 414-hp, 4.0-liter V-8. To overcome the loss of two cylinders and a liter or so of displacement, BMW will surely exploit turbocharging—as it has done throughout its lineup—to boost mileage [...]
“You see how you can play with the back end going on or off the throttle?” asks Jost Capito, who is clearly having fun. Inside Ford’s European proving ground near Lommel, Belgium, the director of Global Performance Vehicles is drifting through the corners of the handling track in his latest project, the Focus ST, adjusting [...]
When BMW did its Lazarus number with the Mini Cooper in 2001, it seemed the only question was how long the company could sustain the revival. Powertrain variations notwithstanding, a subcompact, front-drive two-box design doesn’t provide much opportunity for embroidery. Keep Reading: 2012 Mini Cooper S Coupe – Instrumented Test
The days between Christmas and New Year are always a strange time. In Japan for example, companies have already started shutting down for the big New Year holiday. Here in the US though things are different. For some people it's business as usual. For others it's extra days of vacation. I think most people though aren't quite sure what to do.
If there's one thing this week is good for though, it's reminiscing about the year gone by. Here's the third and final part of my 2011 Photos of the Year....(read more)
The upshift time for the Atom’s Sadev ST-90 six-speed sequential racing gearbox is about 40 milliseconds—a tenth of an eye blink. In those 40 milliseconds, the atoms zipping beneath us around the underground loop of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) would have traveled nearly 7500 miles, more than twice the distance from Seattle to Miami. [...]
The prototype spied here is fruit from a tree that first sprouted in 2009, when BMW unveiled the spectacular and forward-thinking Vision EfficientDynamics concept. A sequel appeared this year in the form of the i8 concept. Both cars presented the design possibilities of BMW’s LifeDrive architecture, which essentially consists of a composite body/passenger cell mated [...]
There really was only one choice for the Car Articles Racing Driver Of The Year 2011 title and it had to go to the amazing Sebastien Loeb. Why? The reality is simple. With eight consecutive FIA World Rally Drivers’ titles to his name, Loeb has moved ahead of seven-time champions Michael Schumacher and Valentino Rossi [...]
About that name. It could be rooted in the word velox, Latin for swiftness or speed, as in velocity. (Think velocipede, velociraptor, Velocette, Veloster.) If that’s the source, our first trip to the test track with a Hyundai Veloster suggests that the name was invented by someone drawing inspiration from the uninhibited sheet metal and [...]
When Bentley announced that it would offer V-8–powered versions of its Continental GT and GTC, it went without saying that the new models would be less expensive than their 12-cylinder counterparts. Our sources indicated that the discounts wouldn’t amount to much, however, and that information has been backed up by a seemingly credible EU pricing [...]
Audi confirmed 2012 on-sale dates this morning for its third-generation A3 and the distinctly less practical R8 e-tron. While the R8 has looks to kill, the A3 will be the real star for Audi. The current A3 proved a global success for Audi, and the new car will arrive just in time to cash in [...]
Remember the 300C Executive Series Chrysler showed off at last April’s New York auto show? Here’s a recap: It was a range-topping, Hemi-powered 300C loaded to the gunwales with luxury features and tapped to go on sale this past fall. That, of course, didn’t happen, with Chrysler pushing the on-sale date to February. In the [...]
: : skip to main skip to sidebar Tuesday , December 27, 2011 INDY LIGHTS : 12-race schedule announced for 2012 INDIANAPOLIS Tuesday , Dec . 27, 2011 A diverse calendar featuring 12 races divided among ovals , temporary street circuits and permanent road courses highlights the 2012 Firestone Indy Lights schedule announced today by INDYCAR officials . Our goal is to prepare Firestone Indy Lights drivers to become successful IZOD IndyCar Series drivers , quot said Tony George Jr . manager of business development for Firestone Indy Lights . We've seen how this has worked recently with drivers having success after graduating from the series . The 2012 schedule continues to help us reach that goal by helping our current drivers gain experience and succeed on all types of racing circuits . quot
Over the past couple of weeks, the votes from our readers have numbered in the hundreds of thousands, making this our biggest Speedhunters Awards yet. While some of the category winners were obvious shoo-ins, others were literally decided by a couple of votes. Some of the winners may even raise eyebrows. So without further ado, let's start revealing our 2011 winners!...(read more)
On Monday we presented this week’s shifter and asked you to identify the make and model of the vehicle from whence it came. The wide spectrum of your guesses this week indicates to us that the contest was tough. A few of you were close, but no one correctly identified the shifter’s origin. The five-speed [...]A video on NASCAR Canadian Tire Series champion Scott Steckly. Thanks to Joel Robinson for sending it along.
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Of all the good plays that Kia has made in recent years, the best one may have been poaching German designer Peter Schreyer from Volkswagen in 2006, and charging him with making the company’s then-forgettable product line more distinct and more attractive. It worked so well that now Hyundai has gone and picked up a [...]
The last thing a Camaro needs is 324 more horses, but that didn’t stop SLP (a.k.a. Street Legal Performance) from making a Camaro ZL1. The original, hyphenated ZL-1 was a $4160 option pack in 1969, a box that just 69 customers checked. An underrated 430-hp, aluminum-block 7.0-liter V-8 was the highlight. Keep Reading: 2012 SLP [...]
Audi is launching the ultimate A1, a limited-edition supermini designed to put the Mini John Cooper Works hardtop to shame. Powered by a turbocharged, direct-injected 2.0-liter four-cylinder producing 256 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque, the all-wheel-drive A1 Quattro is said to hit 62 mph in 5.7 seconds and top out at 152 mph. The [...]
Out of all the champions who finished at the pinnacle of their sport, which deserves to be crowned our Champion of the Year ? The Speedhunters team has assembled a shortlist of champions from a diverse range of disciplines, and it's now up to you...(read more)
Although Kia calls the Ray EV its first production EV, the car won’t be commercially available. Instead, the company will build 2500 of the electric boxes and distribute them to Korean government fleets. While we’ll probably never see one here, the Ray EV is a precursor to an electric crossover that Kia plans to launch [...]
Tesla has released full pricing information for the 2012 Model S sedan, and as we’ve previously reported, it will start at $57,400, or $49,900 after a $7500 federal tax credit. (All of the prices Tesla quotes are after the tax credit, but since buyers will be paying—or making payments based on—the full price, those are [...]
Facing hybrid mid-sizers from every major competitor, Mercedes-Benz gets on board. Mercedes-Benz must like variety. It refuses to adhere to a single way of building fuel-efficient cars. The M- and S-class have both offered buyers a choice of hybrid and diesel powertrains, and now the company is taking that approach with the E-class as well. [...]
Hybrids are at their best in urban driving, where stop-and-go traffic allows them to maximize their electrical components for fuel-free commuting. On the highway, though, a hybrid’s benefits shrink tremendously. Diesels do their best work in such situations, as their tremendous torque allows them to turn lower rpm. In the alternative-fuel debate, the hybrid-versus-diesel argument [...]: skip to main skip to sidebar Thursday , December 22, 2011 IZOD INDYCAR SERIES ANNOUNCES 2012 SCHEDULE INDIANAPOLIS Thursday , Dec . 22, 2011 A first-ever event in China and two venues that return after multi-year absences highlight the IZOD IndyCar Series schedule for 2012 announced . today The 2012 season , which will feature the return of engine manufacturer competition and a new universal chassis produced by Dallara Automobili , kicks off Sunday , March 25, with the eighth Honda Grand Prix of St . . Petersburg The IZOD IndyCar Series again presents the most diverse schedule in motorsports with the challenges of races on temporary street circuits , permanent road courses , superspeedways and short ovals in four . countries To be crowned IZOD IndyCar Series champion , the driver must be
An OMG Porsche 911 December 2, 2011. 1:59 pm Section : Driving 1996 Porsche twin turbo-twin plug 3.8 liter , aka Big Bird . Increase Font Size Print Page RSS Feed Posted by : drivingdotca Recent Posts From This Author Is this our 2013 Honda Civic Posted on Dec 20, 2011 Toyota Venza becomes Canada’s most stolen car Posted on Dec 14, 2011 How Canadians perceive quality Posted on Dec 12, 2011 Subaru BRZ leads the charge Posted on Dec 5, 2011 The 993 version Porsche 911 is the Porsche that most people consider one of the best-looking of all . Sure , the 993 was the last of the oil-cooled cars , but it also wore one of the more pleasing designs in automobile history , and has become the foundation for even modern-day . 911s This 1996 twin turbo that began life as a stock C4S , however , is from
Detroit may be cold in January, but Lexus is bringing some heat to the Motor City in the form of the LF-LC concept. That’s the name given to the design study the automaker teased previously. Lexus has provided a full profile view of the car, which reveals that it’s a 2+2 coupe. The company describes [...]
On Monday we presented this week’s shifter and asked you to identify the make and model of the vehicle from whence it came. Our winner? Tyler T., who linked this week’s mystery stick with the 1987 Ford Sierra RS Cosworth. He’ll get the holiday-inspired Save the Manuals prize pack we promised. The Sierra RS Cosworth [...]: . skip to main skip to sidebar Wednesday , December 21, 2011 Allmendinger to Drive the No . 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge in 2012 MOORESVILLE , N.C . December 21, 2011 Penske Racing has named AJ Allmendinger as the driver of the team’s No . 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge Charger for the 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup . Series Allmendinger , who has competed in the Cup Series since 2007, is coming off a strong season that saw him finish 15th in the series standings while battling for a position in the Chase for the Championship . The 30-year-old native of Los Gatos , Calif . earned one top-five , 10 top-10 and 22 top-15 results in 2011 while driving the No . 43 car for Richard Petty . Motorsports I am really excited about the opportunity to join Penske Racing and drive the No . 22 Shell-Pennzoil Dodge in
Chevy’s mid-size Malibu is all-new for 2013, joining the Buick Regal on the global Epsilon II platform. Loyal readers of Car and Driver may remember that our John Phillips briefly drove and generally liked a 2013 Malibu prototype earlier this year. We recently traveled to Texas to see if our early impressions would hold up [...]
Saab Automobile, 64, of Trollhättan, died Monday. It was born to the late Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, June 10, 1947, in Trollhättan, Sweden. Saab graduated from Project 92 in 1949 and completed its first Sonett in the 1950s. It married the late General Motors in 1990, and they lived together in Detroit, Mi., before separating in [...] nside Track Motorsport News // www.insidetracknews.com // 'Canada's Source for Motorsports'
Toyota will debut an advanced plug-in hybrid concept car at the Detroit auto show next month, and it released a single teaser photo of the car today. The automaker offered almost no information about the “advanced” concept beyond its name: NS4. It’s the same strategy we’ve seen Toyota’s luxury subsidiary, Lexus, use for its yet-unnamed [...]
Each week, our German correspondent slices and dices the latest rumblings, news, and quick-hit driving impressions from the other side of the pond. His byline may say Jens Meiners, but we simply call him . . . the Continental. Fiat has chosen the Pomigliano plant near the slopes of Mt. Vesuvius as the launch site [...]
Nissan has released a single darkened image of the Pathfinder it will debut at the Detroit auto show this January, and it’s inspired a bout of déjà vu. That’s because the Pathfinder will be the Nissan-badged version of the Infiniti JX crossover we met at last month’s L.A. auto show. (Check out spy photos of [...]
This is the Lamborghini Aventador and it is the winner of the Car Articles Hypercar Of The Year 2011 award. Why? It sold out after announcement for 12 months, it’s a two door, two seater raging bull that has a price tag of over £200,000. Oh, and it runs to a top speed of around [...]
Today, Lexus released a tightly cropped image of a concept that will debut at the Detroit auto show in January. The company calls the car a “design concept,” but won’t elaborate much beyond that. We’re told that the vehicle was designed at Lexus’s Calty design studio in California and previews the luxury brand’s new styling [...]
Remember when that pasty software engineer from Utah kept winning on Jeopardy!? His name is Ken Jennings, and he won 74 times in a row before ignominiously losing to a real-estate agent from Ventura, California. Jennings was smug and a bit annoying. But love him or hate him, he was shockingly good and seemingly genetically [...]
Chevrolet’s latest B-segment contender, the Sonic, is pretty darn good. It placed second in a recent six-car comparison test, and nifty interior duds won it a place on our 10Best Design Details list. Things are about to get even more interesting with the turbocharged Sonic RS that will debut at the 2012 Detroit auto show. [...]