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Audi just released a mysterious microsite and two funny videos dedicated to an Electricity Untamed theme, which hints at an all-new, electric sports car from the German brand. The website ElectricityUntamed.com scrolls through quite a few facts about electricity, and has a countdown timer in the upper-left, which will end during the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 15, 2009, indicating the new car will be unveiled then. The dot-sketch you see above resembles a modified Audi R8 in more than a few ways, but that doesn’t mean it’s based off of the supercar. The car unveiled will most certainly be a sports car, and will definitely be impressive. Check out the videos after the jump: Mower: Static Shock: © Gearhead Media – Please visit Automoblog.net for more great content. Original post:  Audi’s Electricity Untamed Campaign Hints at Electric R8

Please let this be true … Please let this be true … Please let this be true. There’s rumors flying everywhere today that VW, new owners of corporate and literal siblings Porsche, are planning on going all choppy-choppy on the Cayenne and Panamera. It couldn’t happen to two more worthless cars. Wait, let me rephrase that. It’s not that the Cayenne and Panamera aren’t well engineered. Everything I’ve read about both of them talk about how impressive they are from a performance standpoint for things like SUVs and big sedans. But that’s just the point. They’re SUVs and big sedans! Look, I got nothing against either SUVs or big sedans. No, they’re not my first choice of rides in most circumstances, but I do see the efficacy of them. I’ve got a good friend that lives in Alaska, and her dad, that runs an outdoor outfitters. He drives an H1 Hummer. You got to go help someone out in the middle of the Denali in February, you NEED a ride like that. Same goes for big sedans. Sometimes, those are the right horse for the right course. But the Cayenne and Panamera? Porsche, Porsche, Porsche – what are you thinking? You were and should be, a sportscar company. You made your bones creating and building cars like 550 Spyders that could kick the butt of much larger, and allegedly more capable cars. Your 911 is an automotive icon for the ages. Look at what you accomplished with the 917, the 956 and the 962. This? This is what you’ve come to? Building SUVs for the likes of Carla Soprano and big sedans with aggressively lumpy rear ends for God knows who? What made you decide to follow that path? Was your lust for mammon that overwhelming? Seemingly. That’s what I read just before the Cayenne came out. At the time, Porsche was just starting a big push in Le Mans racing, seeking to re-conquer that summit that they had so comprehensively dominated before. Suddenly, the program was completely cut, and the word from the factory was that the engineers that were working on the Le Mans program were needed on a new and emerging program. It turned out to be the Cayenne. You chose to build fricking SUVs instead of going racing at Le Mans?! Shame, shame I say! Hopefully these rumors will turn out to be true and VW...

Hey, since we’re talking about German tuners (or at least we were yesterday), check out this Fiat 500 Abarth cranking out 200HP. Now, I’m not one to advocate huge horsepower numbers from tiny little cars to others … but it always worked for me! In this particular instance, what we have here is a Fiat 500 Abarth, essentially Fiat’s in-house tuned version of their little mini-car that’s sort of like the John Cooper Works version of BMW’s MINI. This specific Fiat 500 Abarth was worked over by a German tuning firm by the name of Karl Schnorr Kraftfahrzeuge. (Say THAT three times real fast.) What the fine folks at Karl Schnorr Kraftfahrzeuge did was launch a sport package for the diminutive Italian with both engine and chassis mods. Normally, the Fiat 500 Abarth that is powered by a 135HP 1.4-liter turbo plant, which is a pretty good starting point for a car that’s about the size of a washing machine. Those interested in going the upgrade route from KSK (I’m not typing that name again), get to choose from two engine packages. One package ups the power and grunt by 28HP and 45Nm, resulting in final figures of 163HP and peak torque of 251Nm in what is termed “sport mode”. I have no way of knowing, since the Fiat 500 isn’t in America (yet – I’m looking at you, Chrysler/Fiat alliance), but I think “sport mode” is some sort of dash toggle deal that changes the tuning on the fly. The cost for this kit rings in at €950. The second package comes with a remapped ECU, a larger turbocharger, a sport exhaust system and ads an extra 65HP to the base Abarth set up, bringing the engine output to 200 horsepower. Sadly, KSK didn’t spec any torque figures for this version (I’m hope they’re high), but they did say that package number two tips the cash register at €5,050. KSK also had a look at the chassis – thank God. What would this little beast drive like if all they did was give it more power and left the underpinnings alone? Anyway, KSK developed a special coilover kit for the 500. It drops the ride height by a few millimeters, and that will set you back €1,270. They also had a go at the look of the car too, letting you get new racing stripes and 17-inch OZ alloy wheels...

Ilmor engineering, some of the best engine guys on the planet (good enough for roger Penske at least) have just shown off their new five-stroke engine that will … wait, what? Five? Hold on a second … suck … squish … bang … blow – nope that’s only four. Engines have four strokes, right? Yeah, bike engines are two, but I count only four … I thought these Ilmor guys were supposed to be smart. Wait, you mean this really IS a five-stroke engine? How the hell does THAT work? Well, it works like this. First, let’s get you up to speed on who Ilmor is. They’re the guys that spun off from Cosworth years ago, and ended up working almost exclusively for Roger Penske. They are the guys that did all of the legwork for what was re-badged as the Chevy Indy car engine. So they’re top notch. Their new engine, which is described as a ” test engine” that can crank out power and efficiency figures like a diesel, but runs on regular gas and puts out lowering emissions at the same time. Just 700cc in size, the little beast cranks out 130 horsepower and 122 lb-ft of torque. The Ilmor boffins say this is all a benefit of the engine’s fifth stroke. Here’s the nuts & bolts on that extra stroke. Two of the engine’s cylinders run like a normal four-stroke design. The exhaust gases get released into a third low-pressure expansion cylinder. A fifth stroke then allows the exhaust gases to expand, which boost thermodynamic efficiency, and it’s all uphill from there. Ilmor figures there’s a five-percent improvement in overall efficiency against a conventional direct injected engine of similar size. “We’re looking for a manufacturer to back the idea, and the interest centers on its use in a hybrid application, as they tend to need sudden bursts of energy, and that is what this engine does well,” says Ilmor engineering manager Steve O’Connor says, Future plans are for a second gen of the technology putting out 150 horsepower and weighing in at 20-percent less than current engines. Ilmor Engineering spent almost 20 years developing the three-cylinder engine. The prototype of the engine was first shown at the 2009 Stuttgart Engine Expo, and Ilmor is now looking to do...

In general, American tuning companies stick to American cars ( Saleen , Callaway,) Europeans stick to European cars ( Hamann , Novitec , Edo ,) and Asians stick to Asian cars ( HKS , Strosek .) GeigerCars, however, is a German tuning company that modifies mostly American cars. Once they’re out of the Geiger showroom, there is an obvious German touch to the project. The 2010 Geiger Chevy Camaro SS Compressor is no different. The tuners took a new Camaro SS and added their own touch…what have they come up with? The 2010 Camaro SS can produce a healthy 432 hp – but that’s not enough. Geiger added a supercharger and exhaust system to the car, which allows it to produce a head-snapping 568 hp. A twin plate sport clutch helps the six-speed manual transmission handle the extra power, which propels the car up to a top speed of 195 mph. Geiger has also fitted the Camaro with a new suspension system consisting of coilovers, adjustable anti-roll bars in the front and rear, as well as an upgraded braking system. New wheels round out the package, which you can instantly tell is German-inspired just by looking at the pictures (below.) © Gearhead Media – Please visit Automoblog.net for more great content. View original post here: GeigerCars Chevy Camaro SS Compressor

Drum roll please. Here it is, the new, uber-Porsche, the track car that also poses as a street car on occasion, the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS. Impressive, isn’t it? Well yeah, there’s those wheels – or actually the wheel color, but we can get beyond that (or get new wheels). 450 horsepower can help you get beyond a lot of things … like other cars, the curvature of the Earth and a few Newtonian “laws”. Porsche has been banging out these GT-whatevers for a while now. The thumbnail sketch is that they are de-contented 911s (or whatever the 9xx number scheme is up to this year). Take out all the unnecessary stuff like sound deadening material, AC and what not, and ladle in all the go fast bits from the parts bin; big brakes, firmer suspension, you know, the works. The result is a hell of a track day car that you don’t have to haul there and back again on a trailer. Yes, for “every day” road use, the GT3 RS will be a little on the harsh side for a lot of people, but who cares about those people? The GT3 RS is about being as sporting as possible and still being “every day” as Stuttgart can make it. Porsche defines it like this: ” Stuttgart. Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is sending the new 911 GT3 RS to the starting line: Delivering even more engine power, offering lower weight, and featuring shorter transmission ratios as well as body and suspension elements upgraded to an even higher standard, the new 911 GT3 RS sets the foundation for homologating the racing version of the 911 GT3 and therefore offers everything it takes for ongoing success on the race track, continuing the series of absolutely uncompromising, sporting 911s homologated for the road.” Yeah, and I’m not going to argue. I’m not the biggest fan of Porsches, mainly because I’m a pretty ham-fisted driver, and they do have their … quirks, let’s say, in the handling department. All that weight way back there somewhere usually sees me spinning the things into ditches or guard rails, so I dial back the enthusiasm I should have for this marque a lot. Anyway, the latest GT3 RS has a helluva plant hanging out the back end. The displacement has been bumped up to 3.8 liters from the previous 3.6, and it...

There’s been an interesting trend concerning the use of bio-diesel in newer cars and trucks. It seems, mainly due to warranty concerns, that manufacturers that make diesels, don’t like you to use bio-D right out of the block. For example, in my hometown, one of the largest producers of bio-diesel will not fill up your brand new VW Jetta TDi. And VW itself has basically said that if there’s bio-d in your tank, your warranty is null & void. So the news that GM, yes, that same GM that was ready for a coffin fitting a few weeks ago, is now saying that their upcoming diesel plants will be OK to run up to 20% of the bio-juice right off of the showroom floor. Look, in all honesty, I’m not sure what the big deal is. It seems to be driven by companies, both the people that make the cars and some of the people that produce bio-diesel, just not wanting to hassle with dinguses out there. You know the sorts: “I filled up m’car with your bio-diesel, and now my brakes need to be re-done. It must be your fault!” Ask any shop owner, and they’ll tell you about 5% of their customers are like that. So really I can understand. On the other hand, I can also see, from first hand experience, that running bio-d doesn’t seem to be that big of a deal. I’ve got a buddy that lives in Hawaii, and he’s been doing bio-diesel as a business for some years now. And apart from having to replace the fuel filters more often (and a lot right at first), he’s had no real problems. And he’s been running 100% bio-d for years. So anyway, word comes from General Motors that their upgraded 6.6-liter Duramax V8 is getting a significant upgrade in 2010. It’s getting a new common rail piezo electric fuel injection system, for one thing. Said system runs at an astonishing 2,000 BAR (29,000 psi) and can run up to six injection pulses per cycle. All this in the pursuit of more precise, slower and cooler combustion. Even better is the news that this new 6.6 mill is factory certified to run on B20 bio-diesel blends. This is the first engine of any kind that I’ve heard of to claim that. The engine is so comfortable running on French fry juice that it doesn’t even need a fuel sensor to check for balances. Impressive...

Every so often, Mazda makes a more sporting concept vehicle of its much beloved MX-5/Miata. It looks like this years Frankfurt Auto Show will see the debut of yet another one of these highly interesting little sportscars that will make me wonder if Mazda will finally let something like this out on the streets. For a time now in Miata circles, people have been asking Mazda to make something really cut down and light weight. The Miata is pretty damn featherweight as it is. The current model, the heaviest Mazda has ever made still comes in at around 2400 pounds or so. But even back when the NA was only 3 or 4 years on the market and tipping the scales at 2090 pounds, a lot of people were asking for a factory stripper. So what will the company form Hiroshima be tempting us with this time around? They say it will be an “ultra sports-oriented concept, low-feature” type of the MX-5 Miata. Called the MX-5 Superlight, the car looks back to the days of no roof at all sportscars that “made more sense on a track than as a daily driver.” Yeah, for them maybe, but I’m different that way. Mazda is being coy with the details at the moment, but they did say that the MX-5 Superlight will be greener than the showroom models via extensive weight-reducing efforts throughout the vehicle. Mazda noted that both CO2 emissions and fuel consumption are down. Curiously, the concept car was styled at the automaker’s studio in Frankfurt, Germany, and sadly it’s intended to be a pure show car, not a production model, according to Mazda. But what the hell do they know? Mazda should build it. Or if not a direct copy of what will be on the show stand in Frankfurt, then something else. They should take the current, base model MX-5 and strip everything out that doesn’t make the car go faster or help it meet road regs. Get a couple of Mazdaspeed racing seats and drop those in. Make the passenger’s a quick detach unit so it can be pulled form the car in a matter of seconds. All sound deadening: Gone. All carpet: Gone. Radio/CD/etc. and the antenna: All gone. Trunk: Stripped of everything but the spare, the jack and a nice factory tool kit that fits in one of the recesses. A/C: Gone. Center Console: Gone. Windshield wipers: One on the driver’s side...

Good news for diehard fans of Chryslers retro-styled and uber-flexible PT Cruiser: It is not going to that great junkyard in the sky as part of the death, resurrection, government buy-out, new ownership by Fiat. That was the reports from late last year, but it turns out that there’s enough love, and or sales to make the PT Cruiser a viable proposition for now. The real question is, as always, why? According to TheGarageBlog, the original plans to axe the PT Cruiser were bad because ” … it still has style, club support, and charisma, something lacking from other Chrysler products.” And all that IS true, but it also lacked a lot in build quality and interior material choice, is what I heard. Yeah, I’ve seen them myself, but a lot of car friends of mine noticed what I did: That it’s a distinctive and stylish car, but for price bracket it was in (starting around 20K) you got what you paid for, quality-wise. Let me put it this way, it was a pretty neat ride for that amount of money, but don’t expect it to be put together like a Rolls. The original choice to blade the PT Cruiser came when the company was trying to explain to Uncle Sam why it should go down like Paris Hilton late last year. However, keeping the PT Cruiser around (for now) makes sense since they are still selling, and apart from the Chevy HHR, pretty much have their market niche all to themselves. But that only goes for so long. Chrysler has partnered with Fiat and will offer new, exciting fuel-efficient cars to sell or build in North America. When those cars come on line, then maybe, probably, no one is saying for sure, we might bid a final adio to the PT Cruiser. TheGarageBlog also had some interesting speculation of its own: “Is there a Fiat platform that could be a basis for an all-new PT Cruiser? Remember, the PT was born from the Dodge Neon, so this is not a new concept. It just seems like bad business to walk away from a nameplate that had built up such positive vibes over the years. Chrysler, are you listening?” Hmmmmmmmm … indeed. Now, to a certain extent, that DOES have a kind of logic behind it. The PT Cruiser offers both style and a great deal of flexibility. That type of car might play well in the future. Also, Fiat has a history...

The Nissan Murano crossover, first released in 2003, was a big hit for Nissan. Practical looks, a great powertrain, and a high level of utility made it a winner that competes with the Ford Edge, Toyota Highlander, Hyundai Santa Fe, and Chevy Traverse. In 2007 as sales started to decline, Nissan pulled the Murano off the lots for 2008 and began working on an updated model for 2009 without straying too far from the winning Murano formula. Much of the design was kept the same, but they modernized it up a bit. More curves for a muscular appearance, bigger wheels, taillights flipped on their side, and the front grille and fascia have been redesigned. As long as you’re looking at it from the rear, it’s still attractive, but turn it around and the weird grill-over-headlight awkward design makes me gag. If you like that design, great, but it’s a deal-breaker for me. Despite the strange appearance in the front, the 2009 Murano is greatly improved over the last generation. The most significant difference in the new Murano is the interior. Instead of taking the “shove a third row in there” approach like most manufacturers, Nissan decided to make the existing seating more comfortable. Both front and rear passengers have plenty of room to stretch out, and you can still store enough in the back to go on a family vacation. Our cloth seats were comfortable, and the interior is well designed, save for a few details. The LCD display that would otherwise house the navigation system looks awful. The big, ugly, bright orange screen displaying only audio info, time, and climate control information has a thick black stripe across the middle that doesn’t display anything. I first thought the screen was broken until I realized it’s just poor design. The instrument panel is attractive. Nissan strayed from their normal “just make everything ugly orange” philosophy and threw in some attractive white numbers against a silver background with only the lighted ring around the gauges and needles lit orange, if you’re not counting the driver info display. The dash is otherwise user-friendly; nothing too fancy, a nice symmetrical design, and easy to learn. For me, the 2009 Nissan Murano’s drivability is its greatest asset. Steering...

20 years? Has it really been 20 years since Mazda re-wrote the book about what a small, light and nimble sportscar should be? Damn, I guess it has. It seems like only yesterday that the sportscar was a fading automotive idea. Sure, sure, there were “sporty cars”, but something that was lightweight, with only two seats and most definitely rear wheel drive seemed to be a declining idea. In 1989, the stuff that constituted a sportscar was nice enough, I guess. Things like Honda CRXs and Toyota Celicas and whatnot. They were light enough, and the handling was OK, for a front driver, and a lot of very efficient, very reliable Japanese economy sportsters had nods towards practicality like sort-of back seats that could be used in a pinch. But all those things that they offered weren’t what real sportscars were lacking when they met their eventual and slow demise in mid to late 70s. The problem with 1970s vintage MGBs and TR7s wasn’t their engineering packaging or need for a little more room behind the front seats. What they needed could be summed up in one simple word: Reliability. And what Mazda did, or more specifically, a group of guys within Mazda who are a lot like you and me, did, was put together a modern version of the classic convertible sportscar. It used a lot of off the shelf components to keep costs down, and reliability high. And here we are, two decades later, and the Miata (now simply called the MX-5 officially) is still going strong. And since about two years in, Mazda has been rolling out the special editions of their fun little drop top. There have been M-Editions and STO editions and the highly coveted R-Packages. So 20 years on, you know they’re going to do something special up. And they did. In this case, the 20th Anniversary Edition will feature such goodies as Crystal White Pearl Mica paint, unique red and black RECARO bucket sport seats, clear front fog lights, ‘20th Anniversary’ badges on the fenders, 17-inch alloy wheels, heated seats with five temperature settings, and a glass rear window for the soft-top model. That soft-top version is the RS which comes with a six-speed manual transmission. There’s also a VS version with a retractable hardtop and a six-speed automatic. Also included in the...

Finally, a Ferrari I can afford, more or less. In case you hadn’t noticed (although I did) Ferrari has been producing a TON of gear over the past however-long. They even have Ferrari stores where you can not only buy the usual car-maker stuff like t-shirts and whatnot, but also stuff like desk sets and bathrobes and even parts and bits and bobs off of old race cars. This being Ferrari, the stuff is amazingly expensive (think $80 polo shirts) but not all of it is too far out of line – I mean, after all, this is a pretty nice watch. Really, I’ve got nothing against Ferrari, or any other carmaker, doing stuff like this. I know that when I finally get a Lotus 7, I’ll be getting the fleece pullover with the nifty “7″ logo on it. It’s both stylish and practical for a car that doesn’t have a heater. If Bentley or Aston or whichever carmaker wants to have a line of stuff out there so the faithful can have a really nifty looking pen and pencil set, then so be it. I suppose the same thing applies for Ferrari related stuff. I don’t see it as diluting the brand (if they were to start building four-doors, THAT would be diluting the brand), and if the far-too-rich want to drop $100 on baby doll tees for their “girlfriends” then it’s their money. This watch though, does seem to have more practicality to it than stuff like baby doll tees. Actual details are scant, but it would appear to have basic timing functions, and the design is quite nice and it appears to be ruggedized and has that nifty looking rubber strap. Personally, I don’t like watches that are too frilly or delicate. I’m pretty hard on whatever watches I’ve ever owned, so I tend not to stray too far from the practical, nor do I tend to spend a lot of money on a time piece. This Ferrari watch, for example, will be in Ferrari stores worldwide by the end of August and priced at €295 or around $420 US at current exchange rates. $400+ is too expensive for me, not because I think that’s too much to ask for a watch but it’s too much to spend on something I’ll accidentally smash against a countertop or a vise or some such. But, if you’re easier on watches than I am, and also have a penchant for Ferrari stuff, you...

Last month we reviewed the 2010 Kia Soul Sport , which we found to be a step in the right direction if they want to compete with the Scion xB, Nissan Cube, and Honda Fit. It wasn’t great, but worth a look. This week, Kia dropped off another 2010 Soul – this time of the “+” (Plus) trim level. I thought this review would be easy, and go something like “here are the differences between the Sport and Plus trim levels.” Turns out that’s not the case… The Soul + feels like an entirely different vehicle. For someone like me who always wants the sportiest experience possible, I’m shocked at how much better the Plus trim is. The most noticeable difference is the transmission. Our Soul Sport had a 5-speed manual that wouldn’t let you shift into 3rd gear most of time, and felt gritty and rough; an overall unpleasant experience. The 4-speed automatic in the Soul Plus was smoother and made the ride much more pleasant, although I wish the automatic was a 5-speed instead of 4. The Kia Soul + gets the same 142 hp 2.0-liter engine found in the Sport, which is still too little power for this car. I found myself running the engine hard just to accelerate fast enough to keep up with traffic, and as a result got less than the 24/30 mpg EPA standard. On a 300+ mile trip, I averaged 24.9 mpg (although I was traveling rather hastily most of the way.) So how else do the Soul + and Soul Sport differ? The +, which is the second trim level in the line-up (it goes Base, +, !, Sport) costs $2000 less than the Sport model. As a result, it has smaller 16-inch wheels (vs. 18″,) a softer (and seemingly more capable) suspension, a smaller stereo, no interior metal accents, no body kit, and no rear spoiler. Each trim level also has its own interior design, and I like the “Soul” branded seats on the + better than the others as well. I’m glad we got another Kia Soul to review so soon; now I’m convinced of it being a worthy contender to its competition. As far as I’m concerned, if you’re going to get a 2010 Kia Soul, the + trim is the way to go. It has a better looking interior and a better ride than the Sport model. It still has most features, unlike the Base model, and the only stuff you miss out...

What you see here is a Ferrari F430 Spider that has been modified by an outfit called Inden Design. It’s got all sorts of bells and whistles, and, if you listen to Inden, is better, faster, more well appointed and handles better than the original. Sure, I guess they could be right. I’ve got no reason to doubt them, but my question about people like Inden Design and other outfits that think it’s a good idea to mess around with stuff like Ferraris and Porsches and etc., is why? OK, here’s what Inden Design has to say for itself. In an effort to make the F430 hit 186 MPH (which I already thought the car was capable of stock), Inden Design added a modified front-spoiler to increase the downforce on the front end. The modified side skirts attempt to seal off the lateral edges of the car (although without a complete seal down to the tarmac, I doubt the efficacy of this and always have) and out the back the carbon fiber diffuser and rear valance work together to accelerate the underbody air out the back as rapidly as possible. Inden Design also added lightweight wheels and gave the F430 an extra 35 HP via a stainless steel sports exhaust system, and replaced the catalytic converters with sound control and test pipes. OK, but like I said, why? Sure, taking any car and making it go faster is a fun thing to do, but there’s an interesting conceit at work here and with other tuners that take on Ferraris and other exotics. Essentially Inden Design (or anyone else that does this) is saying, “Yeah, those guys from Maranello know a thing or two about cars, but I know what can make their cars even BETTER!” Oh really? You know better than the most successful team in Grand Prix racing history? The company that has more drivers’ titles, and more constructors’ than any one else in the world? You know more than a company that has THREE wind tunnels running 24 hours a day and think that they got it wrong with their aero kit? You’ve got a server farm that takes up more square footage than an average house that’s dedicated to nothing but computational fluid dynamics to work through the subtleties of the greenhouse tumblehome, do you? Look, when I win the lottery (or get a raise from Chris, whichever comes first), I’ll...