One-off Mini Red Mudder to be Unveiled at Life Ball Event on May 21

In keeping with the tradition it started in 2001 by allowing famous fashion designers to play around with its vehicles for Europe’s biggest AIDS charity event, Life Ball, Mini will once again reveal a special one-off model at this year’s happening. After established names like Gianfranco Ferre, Donatella Versace, Diesel and Calvin Klein got their way with the MINI, this year the honor has been awarded to DSquared². Read more »

It Came from Kyrgyzstan: Steel Drake’s Volkswagen Concept Sports Car

Imagine for a second that, in the very near future, Audi is facelifting the TT to look more like its big brother R8. Then, halfway through the project, Audi cans it and hands over all its sketches and prototyping model to Volkswagen which then decides to put the two-door coupe into production.

Kyrgyzstanian graphic designer “Steel Drake” has created something very much fitting with this scenario in the form of his Volkswagen Concept Sports Car. Looking like a scaled-down, front engined Audi R8, Steel Drake’s Concept Sports is a simple-yet-sleek design let down only by some questionable design choices.

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Volkswagen Reveals Polo R WRC Racer with 300HP [Video]

After months of rumors and whispers, Volkswagen officially announced that it will enter a factory team to the World Rally Championship starting with the 2013 season. The announcement was made in Italy, where journalists had the chance to take a first look at the car VW will throw in the competition, the 300HP Polo R WRC, shown here as a prototype. Read more »

Kia Officials Hint at New Premium RWD K9 Sedan Based on the Genesis

South Korea’s largest automaker, Hyundai Motor Co. is leaving no stone unturned in its quest for world domination. Having already pushed its Hyundai brand into new territories with the Genesis and Equus premium sedans as well as the sporty, rear-wheel drive Genesis Coupe, the Koreans now appear to be focusing on the company’s second brand, Kia.

We first heard rumors about a range topping Kia sedan referred to by most as the K9 in late 2009, but now, the word is coming from two company officials.

"We have an interest in all new models under development. A rear-wheel-drive premium sedan could be seen as a logical step from the Optima to the next level of Kia development," Kia Motors Australia COO Tony Barlow told Drive, an Australian car site. "It is far too early at this stage to be any more precise about the car but we will definitely maintain a watching brief,” he added.

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BMW Insider Says All-new 2012 M5 will offer All-Wheel-Drive Option

Revealed in concept car guise at the recent Shanghai auto show, the new BMW M5 will not only be the first turbocharged M5 to hit the streets, but also the first one with an optional all-wheel drive system, or at least that’s what an unnamed company insider told British car magazine, Autocar. The company official said the all-wheel drive model will be built around the upcoming V8-powered M5 sedan, but didn’t go into any further details on the technical specs. Read more »

Video: Peugeot EX-1’s Record Breaking Run on the Nurburgring

On April 27, 2011, for the first time in the Peugeot’s history, the French car maker set an official lap record on the Nordschleife race track in Germany. And this was no ordinary feat as Peugeot established an electric speed record with a concept model, the EX1 design study, which we first laid eyes upon at last year’s Paris Motor Show.

With Stéphane Caillet, driver and tuner-technician from Peugeot’s Research & Development Centre, behind the wheel, the futuristic looking EX1 completed a lap around the Nurburgring in 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds (9:01.338) at an average speed of 138.324 km/h (85.951 mph).

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Italdesign’s Sexy BMW Nazca M12 Concept Could be Yours for $1.1 million

One of the most memorable concept models from the decade that brought us grunge, the internet, Playstation and the Prius, is Italdesign’s series of BMW Nazca supercar studies. Designed by the great Giorgetto Giugiaro who was also responsible for BMW’s production M1 sports car, the Nazca M12 made its debut in 1991 and was followed in by a more hardcore version called the Nazca C2 in 1992 and an open-top Spider C2 model in 1993.

Now, one of the Nazca concepts has been put up for sale by a dealer located in the Czech Republic. The car seen here is based on the body of the 1991 Nazca M12 but features an Alpina-prepped 5.7-liter V12 engine (sourced from the 750i / 850i of the era) producing 379HP.

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Ram Goes Big, Really Big with New Long-Hauler Concept Truck

The Chrysler Group claims, “they don’t get much bigger” than its new Ram Long-Hauler Concept truck and at a whopping 24 feet (about 7.3 meters) long, who can blame them? Based on a Class 5 Ram 5500 Chassis Cab, the monstrous Long Hauler rides on an extended wheelbase measuring 197.4-in. (5,014mm) in length, which is more than enough to fit a Mercedes-Benz E-Class (191.7-in)!

The concept truck is also 79.1 inches tall and tips the scales at an environmentally…unfriendly 9,300 lbs (4,218 kg), or close to 2.5-times as much as a Mercedes-Benz E350 sedan. Ram says the Long-Hauler has a maximum Gross Combined Weight Rating of 37,500 lbs (16,783 kg).

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Ram Goes Big, Really Big with New Long-Hauler Concept Truck

The Chrysler Group claims, “they don’t get much bigger” than its new Ram Long-Hauler Concept truck and at a whopping 24 feet (about 7.3 meters) long, who can blame them? Based on a Class 5 Ram 5500 Chassis Cab, the monstrous Long Hauler rides on an extended wheelbase measuring 197.4-in. (5,014mm) in length, which is more than enough to fit a Mercedes-Benz E-Class (191.7-in)!

The concept truck is also 79.1 inches tall and tips the scales at an environmentally…unfriendly 9,300 lbs (4,218 kg), or close to 2.5-times as much as a Mercedes-Benz E350 sedan. Ram says the Long-Hauler has a maximum Gross Combined Weight Rating of 37,500 lbs (16,783 kg).

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Peugeot's EX1 Concept Breaks the Electric Car Record on the Nurburgring

It's not very often we hear about an electric car taking on the fearsome Nurburgring-Nordschleife track. A concept version of an EV is an even rarer sight on the “Green Hell”, but that's exactly what Peugeot did as it put the EX1 design study at work on the world's toughest circuit.

It wasn't just a pleasure ride, however, since Peugeot visited the ‘Ring to break the lap record for electric cars. And it did, with driver Stéphane Caillet lapping the 20.8-kilometer (12.92-mile) long track in 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds, at an average speed of 138,324 km/h (85.95 mph), in “very unfavorable weather conditions”, according to the French automaker. The previous lap record set by an electric car belonged to the Mini E racer, which lapped the German track last year in 9 minutes and 51.45 seconds.

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Peugeot's EX1 Concept Breaks the Electric Car Record on the Nurburgring

It's not very often we hear about an electric car taking on the fearsome Nurburgring-Nordschleife track. A concept version of an EV is an even rarer sight on the “Green Hell”, but that's exactly what Peugeot did as it put the EX1 design study at work on the world's toughest circuit.

It wasn't just a pleasure ride, however, since Peugeot visited the ‘Ring to break the lap record for electric cars. And it did, with driver Stéphane Caillet lapping the 20.8-kilometer (12.92-mile) long track in 9 minutes and 1.338 seconds, at an average speed of 138,324 km/h (85.95 mph), in “very unfavorable weather conditions”, according to the French automaker. The previous lap record set by an electric car belonged to the Mini E racer, which lapped the German track last year in 9 minutes and 51.45 seconds.

Read more »