Hot Hatch
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The EPA has certified the 2013 Ford Focus ST at 32 mpg highway, 23 mpg city and 26 mpg combined.
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2013 Ford Focus ST: Sound Strategy Goes Brassy, Not Boomy
If you've ever owned a high-performance compact car or hot hatch, you know that while they can be surprisingly versatile and practical for everyday driving and the commute, there's one thing that can completely sour the daily-driving experience: the exhaust note. Too often, go-fast four-cylinder...
Bengt Halvorson -
2014 MINI Cooper S Spy Video
A brand new generation of the MINI Cooper is just around the corner, and that means replacements for all the different variants including the sportier S and John Cooper Works trims, as well as new versions of the Clubman, Countryman and all the other bodystyles MINI is now offering. The first will...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
New Ford Focus RS To Share EcoBoost Engine With 2015 Mustang?
Ford’s silence on the possibility of a new generation of its brutish Focus RS has led to all manner of speculation and conjecture on the matter, and the latest twist in the story is perhaps the most interesting yet. The last we heard, Ford was considering replacing the Focus RS with a Fiesta...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG Hot Hatch Confirmed
A high-performance AMG version of the third-generation Mercedes-Benz A Class luxury hatchback has been speculated on for close to two years but now, finally, we have some official details on the matter. Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that the new hot hatch will be called the A45 AMG (previously...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
MINI Films 'The Britalian Job' For The London Olympics: Video
The 1969 film The Italian Job features one of the best chase scenes of all times, as three MINI Cooper S models run from the police through the streets and storm drains of Turin, Italy. In homage to the 1969 film, and to honor British athletes participating in the London Olympic Games (several of...
Kurt Ernst -
If you’re on the fence about buying a 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth hot hatch, we’ve got some bad news for you. Unless you can find a dealership with unsold inventory (and good luck with that), you’ll be waiting until the fall to take delivery of a Fiat 500 Abarth, in 2013 model year form. As the Detroit News reports, Chrysler Group LLC has notified Fiat dealers that it will no longer accept wholesale orders for 2012 Abarth models. The 2013 models will begin arriving at Fiat dealers in September, but that’s not soon enough to keep customers with orders (and deposits) in the...
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2014 Volkswagen Golf GTI (MkVII) To Produce 260 Horsepower?
A brand new Volkswagen Golf is just around the corner, a car whose launch also heralds the arrival of a new high-performance GTI. While we’ve been spying prototypes for the new GTI for more than a year, the only solid details we have on the car is that it, along with the regular Golf, will be...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2013 Ford Focus ST Heading Out On Five-City Performance Academy Tour
If you're amped up about the upcoming 2013 Ford Focus ST, you're not alone--and you might just have a chance to drive one before putting in your order. Ford is planning a five-city Performance Academy tour that will showcase the new Focus ST for drivers in L.A., Washington D.C., Boston, San...
Nelson Ireson -
Subaru Advanced Tourer Concept Previews The Next-Gen WRX?
When Subaru rolled out its Advanced Tourer Concept at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show last December, most immediately identified the vehicle as being a preview of the next-generation Legacy and Outback. Subaru didn’t say much about the concept, stating only that it was a mid-size wagon designed to...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2013 Ford Focus ST Gets Active Sound Symposer
Ford's engineers went to great lengths to make sure the new Focus ST sounds as fast as it goes.
Kurt Ernst -
Don't Scratch My Fiat 500 Abarth: Video
Romanian supermodel Catrinel Menghia has done quite a bit to raise Fiat’s brand recognition in the United States market, primarily though a commercial called “Seduction” that was never intended to play on network TV. In fact, the commercial was created exclusively for the Los...
Kurt Ernst -
First off, we have to tell you that the new 2012 Volkswagen Golf R is worlds better than the last Golf 'R' to be sold in the U.S. That's the 2008 R32, which was comfortable and faster than the GTI, but not much faster, and all too heavy and luxury-laden—more like a grand-touring hot-hatch. The latest 2012 Golf R, which we recently drove, rather briefly, on California's Bay Area highways and up to Half Moon Bay, gets back to VW's roots, and its performance potential with small cars, and while it by no means runs like a tweaked-out tuner car, it does find more of the spirit of the...
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MINI's Dr. Kay Segler Announces MINI Cooper GP II
Unless you’re a hard-core MINI fan, chances are good that you’ve never heard of the 2006 MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works GP, or, simply, the Cooper GP. Only 2000 were built, and only 415 of these made their way into the United States. As GP MINI explains, the Cooper GP was built to...
Kurt Ernst -
The 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth Revisits Jay Leno's Garage
Fiat brings a 2012 500 Abarth to Jay Leno's Garage for a test drive.
Kurt Ernst -
2013 Volkswagen GTI Details Emerge
The next Volkswagen GTI will be shaving pounds and getting an infusion of horsepower.
Kurt Ernst -
2015 Ford Focus RS Development Delayed: Report
The last we'd heard on the development of the 2015 Ford Focus RS, it wasn't even an officially approved production project, though it was in tentative development. Now news comes that the project has been shelved--at least temporarily--in favor of other tasks. That's perhaps disturbing news to...
Nelson Ireson -
Kia's Pro Cee'd Takes On Hyundai's Veloster Turbo
Kia's newest Pro Cee'd hatchback gets a serious infusion of sport, and appears to have the Hyundai Veloster Turbo squarely in its sights.
Kurt Ernst -
Geneva marked the debut of the hottest car in Ford's Fiesta range, the sporty ST model. Based on the three-door Fiesta on sale in Europe, the Fiesta gains a 177-horsepower EcoBoost four-cylinder, and aggressive styling influenced by the upcoming Focus ST. Ford has honed the chassis on the world-famous Nürburgring Nordschleife in Germany, and the car now sits 15mm lower than its regular counterparts, with stiffer chassis settings to tackle the turns. Torque vectoring control keeps the front wheels in check on your way to 60 mph in under 7 seconds, and top speed is "over 136 mph". The...
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2013 Ford Fiesta ST Debuts At 2012 Geneva Motor Show
Powered by an EcoBoost engine and displaying aggressive styling, Ford is taking the Fiesta subcompact to a new level with the ST model due in 2013. Due to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, the new 2013 Ford Fiesta ST has had its chassis and engine developed on the famous Nürburgring...
Antony Ingram -
BMW M135i Concept Heralds New 1-Series M Performance Model
BMW is expanding its hallowed M Division by launching a series of new performance-oriented vehicles fitted with exclusive M-tuned engines, handling packs, and stylish bodykits. Called the M Performance range, the new models aren’t set to debut officially until March’s Geneva Motor Show...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Ford’s 1.0-Liter EcoBoost Engine Capable Of 177 HP: Report
Ford’s upcoming Fiesta ST will debut with a new four-cylinder EcoBoost engine displacing 1.6 liters and delivering around 177 horsepower, but in the future we may see the engine downsized though at no cost to performance. A Ford exec has revealed that the automaker’s latest...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Peugeot 208 GTi Concept Headed To 2012 Geneva Motor Show
The latest generation 208 hatchback from French automaker Peugeot made its debut in Europe recently and now, just a few weeks out from the 2012 Geneva Motor Show, a sporty ‘GTi’ version has been previewed in concept form. While Peugeot is yet to officially confirm that it will be...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW Teases New M Performance Parts For 1-Series Hatch: Video
BMW is expanding its hallowed M Division by launching a series of new performance-oriented vehicles fitted with exclusive M-tuned engines, handling packs, and stylish bodykits. Called the M Performance range, the new models aren’t set to debut officially until March’s Geneva Motor Show...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran