The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Black Series offers spectacular design, with technology taken from the racing world See the original post here:  Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe Black Series Print Ads

For some time BMWBLOG has been a proponent of M diesels. Why? Because we knew they could do it, and well. Also, because we have a hankering for ungodly sums of torque. Torque is fun. M cars are fun. So why not a diesel M car? Sports car drivers and performance drivers (not often synonymous) are a very demanding sort. In our world, cars must become greater than the whole of their parts. They must transport us to a magical place of acceleration, neck straining cornering, and otherwise mind-bending performance. They must dance with us as willing partners on the racetrack or over a curvy road. They should wink at us naughtily from the sidewalk. And their sound should raise fine dorsal hairs. Sports cars, must steal our hearts. Why else would we buy them?! They are depreciating, impractical assets only slightly less foolish than boats. The obvious question is this: can a diesel be sexy? Posing this question more than a decade ago would have mustered laughter toped with scorn. But times have changed, and so have diesels. The mainstay of commercial heavy equipment and ’18 wheelers,’ they have been heavily developed by the Germans. Well, that is somewhat of a redundant statement since the Germans developed the diesel engine in the first place. Our friend Rudolf Diesel gave us the first diesel engine in 1893, and the monstrous single cylinder whacking at the ground like a pile-driver was impressive and maybe even a bit thrilling (for fear of your life should you get too close), but nothing close to sexy. In the decades that followed the diesel became porridge ordinary and fell well under the radar of sports car designers. The next most obvious question in succession would be: what makes an engine sexy? There’s a freebie for the comment section – go nuts. In my opinion, high revs are a key ingredient in the sex appeal. I want my engine to scream all the way to a lofty redline. Loud screaming is exciting, frankly. And yes we’re still talking about cars. Next, the engine must connect with the chassis and give it life – vibrant, exuberant life. This kind of vitality requires high output, so naturally, high horsepower and torque figures bring cachet and appeal to a sports car. We mentioned screaming in the context of revs, but...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has ramped up its investigation of the popular Jeep Liberty after dozens of reports of airbags deploying without warning. According to a report in the Detroit Free Press, the problem affects Liberty SUVs from the 2002 and 2003 model years. In all, Jeep’s parent company, Chrysler, has received some… See the rest here: 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty Airbags Fire At Random, NHTSA Investigates

Standing out on the Mercedes SL63 AMG are the larger air intakes, cross-drilled and larger brake rotors, upgraded calipers… Excerpt from:  2013 Mercedes SL63 AMG Latest Spy Photos

Filed under: Humour What’s the ultimate accessory for the owner of a heavily modded Lamborghini Murcielago in Japan? Well, it would seem to be a matching Quad bike to go with it. I don’t know much of the detail as I don’t speak Japanese, but considering the difference in sizes between the Lambo and the Quad bike, the curves and stance of the Mucielago are well replicated. They certainly look cool traveling down the road together, but I bet the Quad won’t deliver the performance and driving experience of the Italian supercar. See what you think of the pair below:   Excerpt from: Could the Lambo Quad be the coolest ever? Read more from the original source:  Could the Lambo Quad be the coolest ever?

Filed under: Latest News What would you say if we told you that a ten-year-old Vauxhall Zafira is likely to be more reliable than the newest model? Well, it sounds inconceivable but automotive specialist Warranty Direct has found that a number of older model cars are actually more reliable than their newer counterparts, saving you money on repairs and list price. Figures on Warranty Direct’s reliability index show that newer cars are up to 10% more likely to break down than older cars. This is done by analysing the chances of failure for nearly new cars compared to those that are up to 17 years old. So what second-hand cars should you choose? Well, a Vauxhall Zafira between 7-13 years old could be a bargain, with average repair bills coming in over £100 cheaper. Starting from £18,650 new, a 2005 model can be had for as little as £2,495. Commuter favourite, the BMW 3-Series can cost up to £140 more in repairs if you choose an ‘05 model or newer. The table below shows which models could save you money in the classifieds. Top 10 age-defying cars Make Model Chance of failure* Difference Jaguar XJ Series (’97-’03) 35% Jaguar XJ Series (’03-) 56% 21% Renault Espace (’93-’03) 51% Renault Espace (’02-) 62% 11% Vauxhall Zafira (’99-’05) 27% Vauxhall Zafira (’05-) 38% 11% Porsche Boxster (’96-’04) 28% Porsche Boxster (’04-) 38% 10% Audi A4 (’00-’05) 26% Audi A4 (’05-’09) 34% 8% Ford Fiesta (’95-’02) 11% Ford Fiesta (’02-’08) 17% 6% Volkswagen Golf (’97-’06) 30% Volkswagen Golf (’04-’09) 36% 6% Jeep Grand Cherokee (’99-’05) 49% Jeep Grand Cherokee (’05-) 54% 5% Mercedes CLK (’97-’03) 28% Mercedes CLK (’02-) 33% 5% BMW 3 Series (’98-’06) 27% BMW 3 Series (’05-’11) 30% 3% Despite advances in technology between models, the tendency to cut costs can have a detrimental effect on the quality of parts used, with the electrical system highlighted as a weak point on new motors. Warranty Direct managing director, Duncan McClure Fisher, said: “Buying new may be the most desirable option when it comes to purchasing a car but it isn’t always...

Filed under: Motorsport As the song goes: the weather outside is frightful. It’s flippin’ freezing at the moment and the conditions could be getting rather dicey for driving. Alfa Romeo wants to assuage any fears that its cars will fall off the road at the first sign of ice. Like all good creative types, the company decided to show off its Giulietta tackling the most extreme conditions – by making it play ice hockey. On an ice rink. Against ice hockeyists. To show off its prowess on the slippery stuff, a Giulietta was taken to the Coventry Skydome ice rink and pitted against the fearsome (in name, at least) Team Blaze. Using the Alfa’s D.N.A. Vehicle Dynamic Control switch the car manages to stay pretty planted on the ice – we were impressed in the office. We were more impressed with the stunt driver behind the wheel, mind.   Read the original: Video: Can a car play ice hockey? Go here to see the original:  Video: Can a car play ice hockey?

Filed under: Latest News Revealed to the world shortly after the Frankfurt Motor Show, Skoda’s Citigo (The Czech company’s take on the VW Up ) promised low cost motoring and a little touch of ‘fun’. At March’s Geneva show a five-door variant will be shown to the world ahead of a mid- 2012 launch. Both variants of the Citigo will come with a choice of two engines from launch – both 1.0-litre three cylinder petrol units with either 60 or 75bhp. Later an eco-spec Green tec engine boasting CO2 emissions of 96g/km and 68.9mpg will hit showrooms. While its UK launch is a way off yet, the Citigo has been launched in the Czech Republic, its home market, to great fanfare. Now both Skoda and Volkswagen have released details of their five-door Up variants it’s just a waiting game until SEAT releases details of its quintuple-portaled Mii .   Read the rest here: Five-door Skoda Citigo set for Geneva Show unveil See the original post: Five-door Skoda Citigo set for Geneva Show unveil

Filed under: Latest News On top of the ‘dream team’ entry to this year’s British Touring Car Championship , Triple Eight Race Engineering, who are building and running the MG KX Momentum Racing team may also turn their hand to modifying MG road cars from the iconic brand. Speaking to Autoblog yesterday at the Birmingham launch for the new BTCC team, Ian Harrison, the chairman of Triple Eight Race Engineering said of the possibility of Touring car-related MG6 road car: “That’s in the plan at the moment; certainly the guys at the MG UK technical centre have briefly discussed that with us. We’ve obviously got a lot of experience with Vauxhall and General Motors doing that with VXR , you know we put about 4,500 cars through our place including initial prototypes. So I think there’s plenty of scope for that, with the new MG3, Triple 8 want to do a Group N race version. This will be the perfect way for MG owners clubs to get involved and go and race an MG, a new MG. Who knows, we might end up with an MG3 Challenge Cup one make series. The MG3 is fantastic looking car.” Either way, sporty new models and a race presence with the BTCC could be a way to drive showroom traffic to the MG brand which has seemed to be under a cloud since the MG Rover collapse in 2005. The new MG3 looks similar to Zero concept below:   Excerpt from: Triple eight BTCC deal could equal hotter race and road MG models See the original post: Triple eight BTCC deal could equal hotter race and road MG models

What has 10 cylinders and wants to eat your children? The 2013 SRT Viper. Well, probably. We won’t know for sure whether the Viper has 10 cylinders until it’s revealed to the public—and Chrysler has just announced that debut will take place at the 2012 New York auto show in April. Judging by this drawing, it will, once again, want to eat your children. Aside from that, the image doesn’t indicate a whole lot: There’s a hood scoop—to which we respond “duh”—and very likely a set of LED-festooned headlights. Neither of these details are original ideas in car design, and that fact matters not in the slightest. What does matter is the voracious war criminal of an engine installed behind the hood scoop and headlights. We’re predicting a V-10 with at least 660 hp. We also note that the Viper coupe’s double-bubble roof will return, although it appears to have been squared off for 2013. The same look was recently spotted on a pair of C7 Corvette prototypes . Coincidence? Absolutely. (A Viper roadster will follow the new coupe into production.) If you’re confused about why we’re calling this car the SRT Viper and not the Dodge Viper, you can read about the decision to rebrand the reptillian beast . Shakespeare said a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. We submit that a hulking muscle car by any other brand name will smell just as much like vaporized rubber. In other words, sweet. More here: All-New 2013 SRT Viper Previewed, Will Debut at New York Auto Show in April Go here to see the original:  All-New 2013 SRT Viper Previewed, Will Debut at New York Auto Show in April

Here’s the first teaser image of the newly de-Dodged 2013 SRT Viper — posted moments ago on the DriveSRT Facebook Page ahead of its expected debut sometime in the next couple of months. More » Here is the original: 2013 SRT Viper: First Photo [2013 SRT Viper] Read the original post:  2013 SRT Viper: First Photo [2013 SRT Viper]

In response to a video posted here showing a straight line race between an 850hp Nissan GT-R and an SL65 AMG Black Series, we present two unmodified examples of the two. With more than a 100-horsepower difference between the GT-R and the SL65 AMG Black Series, there are no prizes for guessing who won. Below is a video of two stock examples of these cars on another course but using the same basic format. As all enthusiasts know, the GT-R has become the benchmark for affordable performance cars and stock, it offers levels of performance that few cars can match. Although its price of admission is cheap, the Nissan’s maintenance requirements approach those of exotic cars. But as with most Japanese cars, even the Nissan GT-R comes off a mass production line, which cannot be said for the Black Series cars from AMG. Despite looking like a porky old geezer’s car, this SL65 AMG Black Series matches the all-wheel drive GT-R’s acceleration and walks away from there. View original post here:  SL65 Black Series And Nissan GT-R Mix It Up

The 50-th anniversary Rolex 24 race took place over the weekend and during 24 hours of non-stop racing, the excitement reached a new peak. BMWBLOG was present at the popular race and will report shortly the final results through photos and videos. But in the mean time, OneHotLap gives us a 360 degree view of the Rolex 24 racing event with a focus on the Turner Motorsport team: 8 drivers, 32 people crew Fuel stops needed every 50 minutes 20 Gallon fuel tank capacity 600 gallons for the weekend per car 20 sets of tires per car for the weekend 400 lug nuts per car 25 bottles of nitrogen for tires and air guns 2-3 sets of brake pads for the 24-hour race (1-2 more for practice and qualifying per car) 2 Water Bottles per driver per stint Multiple windshield tear-offs per car 250 bottled waters 150 cans of soda 50 bottles of Gatorade 100 granola bars 100 cups of coffee 150 Red Bulls 60 scrambled eggs 125 ham sandwiches 60 candy bars 30 Advil packs 4 dozen donuts 2 RVs for Drivers to rest and eat 1 Private masseuse/chiropractor for drivers and crew Stay tuned for more Daytona 24 coverage!   See the original post: By The Numbers: Rolex 24 and Tunner Motorsport

Here are the first spy photos of the upcoming BMW X5 M facelift. In 2009, BMW offered their life cycle impulse to the standard X5 models, but the X5 M model came to market around the same time with the pre-facelift design cues. Nearly three years later, BMW is ready to offer small visual upgrades to the super sporty SAV. The spied prototype carries light camouflage around the headlights and taillights, an indication that the full LED treatment is coming to the X5 M as well. The X5 M LCI will make use of the adaptive LED headlights, along with redesigned taillights. No power upgrades are planned for the X5 M so expect the same tuned up 4.4 liter V8 engine delivering 555 horsepower at 6,000 rpm and 500 lb-ft of torque from 1,500 to 5,650 rpm. The engine uses the twin-scroll twin turbo technology with High Precision Direct Injection. By positioning the twin-scroll turbochargers together with the catalytic converters in the “V” section between the cylinders, it minimizes the turbo lag and offers better fuel efficiency. Inside, BMW will most likely offer specific trim and leather options for the X5 M, but no other significant changes. We predict a premiere of the twin-M SUVs at the New York Auto Show in April. Go here to see the original:  Spy Photos: BMW X5 M Facelift

Now that the Mercedes SLS AMG GT3 has notched a few important victories under its belt, here’s a look at how this solid performer is being produced. Released at no less than the official AMG channel at YouTube, the video shows how this circuit beast is put together. Starting with the bare shell, you can see that the documentation process is fairly complete. All the better to prove the provenance of these cars when they become collector’s classics a few decades on. You’ll see the beautifully made components come together to make a racer that is more than the sum of its parts. In fact, the components and workmanship that go into this car is of such a quality that it’s almost a shame to race this car. For enthusiasts all over who can only see clips of the cars on the track, this intimate glimpse of how this hyperformance road car is transformed into a track beast completes the picture of why this $500,000 car is so desirable.   See the rest here:  AMG Releases SLS GT3 Production Video On YouTube