Viknesh Vijayenthiran, Editor
Articles
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In March of 2008 BMW first announced plans to establish a new research division called ‘Project i,’ whose task would be to develop a number of solutions for a vehicle designed for congested city...
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2011 Tesla Roadster 2.5 PreviewThis has been a very big week for Tesla Motors [NSDQ:TSLA], with the electric car start-up finally launching its IPO and listing on Nasdaq. At the same time we also discovered plans for a range of new models after the upcoming Model S electric sedan, including a crossover, convertible and...
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Audi R8 Spyder Now Available With 4.2 FSI V-8When Audi originally unveiled its stunning R8 Spyder last September, the automaker decided to fit the model exclusively with its range-topping 5.2-liter FSI V-10 engine in keeping with the Spyder’s more upmarket positioning. The Coupe, on the other hand, was still available with either a...
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Pagani Zonda R posts 6:47 Nürburgring lap timePorsche and Nissan may squabble over who’s fastest around the Nürburgring, with their lap times coming in around the 7:20-plus mark, but when it comes to the ‘Ring there is only one king and it is the Pagani Zonda R. The Italian supercar has blasted its competition out of the water...
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ALSA BMW X6 M Good For 202 MPH Top SpeedThe somewhat ungainly proportions of BMW's not-a-coupe, not-an-SUV X6 have been the subject of intense debate. It's not ugly in the traditional sense, but it's not especially attractive either. ALSA Automotive Engineering, based in the UAE city of Abu Dhabi, has nevertheless decided to take on the...
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Mercedes-Benz Working On GLC Coupe-Crossover?BMW has the X6, Acura has the ZDX, heck, even Honda has the new Crosstour. Now, Mercedes-Benz is about to join the fray with its own coupe-crossover dubbed the GLC. Reports coming out of Germany claim Mercedes-Benz is working on the new model, which will slot into its ever-growing lineup sometime...
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Last week’s report of a stolen and burnt Lamborghini Murcielago may have been a little premature as news today confirms that the car wasn’t in fact stolen and wasn’t burnt because of a...
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Report: C7 Chevrolet Corvette To Feature 5.5-Liter Small Block V-8There are all manner of rumors concerning the next-generation C7 Chevrolet Corvette, with stories ranging from the possibility of a mid-engined platform to all-wheel drive powertrains and even the arrival of a dual clutch version. Although there isn’t much substance to any of these rumors, an...
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Report: Porsche Working On Lightweight, Hardcore Cayman ClubsportThe 2011 Boxster Spyder, built to remember the lightweight days of sportscars past, but with a fully modern interpretation of power and handling, may soon get a tin-top cousin: the Porsche Cayman Clubsport. Or at least that's the rumor that's cooking on the Web. Power is said to come from a...
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Spy Shots: 2012 Nissan GT-R Facelift Or New SpecM?Last year we saw the introduction of the limited-production GT-R SpecV model, a stripped down version of the already extreme Japanese supercar designed for hardcore club racers and performance nuts. As previous GT-R generations have shown, however, Nissan was never going to rest with just one...
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Rendered: 2012 Audi R4Many believed talk of Audi’s new R4 mid-level sports car was pure fantasy but then we saw the surprise unveiling of a second e-tron concept car; a unique design that even the automaker said was a production possibility. Now we have new computer-generated renderings of what the R4 sports car could...
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Report: Lotus Looking To Hire Bob Lutz And Tom PurvesIt didn’t take long for the Bob Lutz name to make the automotive headlines again, following his very public retirement from General Motors just two months ago. The latest word is that Lutz, together with former BMW exec Tom Purves, will be hired by Lotus to help advise on the niche automaker’s...
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Ford isn’t going to let its rivals forget about the prowess of its new 2011 Mustang when it comes to fuel efficiency, which in V-6 guise is currently the only production vehicle on the planet with...
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Report: Porsche Working On Special Edition 911 SpeedsterLooking back on some of the cars that made sport driving great, and built the legend that has become today's Porsche, you have to wonder how we ever got to 3,500 pounds, 500 horsepower twin-turbo monsters. The 356 Speedster, for example--considered by many to be one of the first modern sports...
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Audi Updates Autonomous TTS Pikes Peak Robot CarThe car, dubbed Shelley, will take on Pikes Peak high-speed testing in September.
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Superchips Liberates 401 Horsepower From Audi TT-RSBritish tuning firm Superchips specializes in optimizing the vehicle management systems and electronic control units of cars to eke as much performance out of them as possible, and its latest product focuses on giving the new Audi TT-RS a significant boost in the performance department--not that...
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Spy Shots: 2011 Audi A7As part of a new model blitz to drive its offerings up to a total of 40 different models, Audi is augmenting its lineup with new coupes, soft-roaders and sedans. The 2011 Audi A8 was unveiled late last year, the 2011 Audi A1 is out but still not confirmed for the U.S., and now new spy photos reveal...
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2011 Aston Martin DB9 PreviewThe introduction of the DB9 back in 2003 marked the beginning of Aston Martin’s 21st century renaissance. The first new model to be built at the company’s headquarters in Gaydon, UK and the first to be built around the rigid and lightweight bonded-aluminum VH architecture; the DB9 was an...
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MINI fans around the world can look forward to some changes to the iconic brand’s 2011 model range, with the Cooper, Clubman, Convertible and high-performance John Cooper Works model receiving...
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Lotus Moving Upmarket, Abandons Low Weight EthosFor decades Lotus has stood by the philosophy of its founder, Colin Chapman, of performance though low weight. Not surprisingly, the automaker’s lineup has been comprised mostly of lightweight roadsters designed for the race track and pretty much nothing else. But in a world where increased sales...
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2011 BMW 5-Series Sold Out WorldwideYou know you’ve launched a winning product when it’s selling like hotcakes all across the world. You can be even more confident when it’s a luxury product like the latest 2011 BMW 5-Series Sedan, which is currently sold out worldwide. In fact, customers looking to hop into the new 5-Series...
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AMG V-8 Storms International Engine Of The Year AwardsThere are many publications, organizations and companies that hand out awards to the automotive industry for its various technical and design achievements, but few are so lauded as the winner of the International Engine of the Year competition. Judged by a panel of 62 of the world's top automotive...
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Lavish Ferrari Store finally opens in New YorkWith 37 locations all around the world, including four already in the United States, it was only a matter of time until the first Ferrari Store in New York was going to open--and it now has. The Ferrari Store of New York officially opened its doors June 25, unveiling a retail space offering an...
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Kicherer’s First Take On The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Storms InKicherer may not be as well known as its rival German tuners such as Brabus and MTM, but the firm has a penchant for building some of the most stylish and aggressive kits in the business--especially when it comes to modifying cars from Mercedes-Benz. The tuner has now turned its mad scientists onto...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran