For 2011, the Lexus IS sport sedan is getting a mild exterior styling update. Up front, the grille and bumper are all new, while a new taillamp cover and tailpipe design update the posterior. Not one to be left out of a trend, the Lexus IS is also adding HID headlamps paired with LED daytime running lights. The upgraded lights are standard on the 2011 IS350 and are an option on the IS250. New color choices and wheel styles round out the exterior changes, but the most interesting update happens under the skin with the availability of all-wheel drive on the IS350. Thirty percent of customers opt for the all-wheel drive IS250, but now they can get the added traction along with an extra 102 horsepower.
Enthused about the updates, Lexus created a video of the IS sport sedan performing… a drum solo? In an apparent bid to highlight the precision handling of their IS sedan, fitted with F-sport parts, they pulled together a team which includes composers, a mathematician and a stunt driver. Music and driving go hand in hand and the beat this Ultrasonic Blue Lexus IS lays down is surprisingly good.

source : autoblog

Shelby Supercars’ Ultimate Aero TT used to be the fastest production car in the world, its 256-mph record speed eclipsing even the mighty Bugatti Veyron. Then, as of a few weeks ago, Bugatti got its act together and topped SSC’s number with the new Veyron Super Sport – to the tune of 267.81 mph.

In August at Monterey, the Ultimate Aero successor, the Ultimate Aero II – penned by new Saab design chief Jason Castriota (he of Bertone Mantide / Ferrari P4/5 fame) – was unveiled in a private ceremony captured on YouTube. It was all a tease; the car was never actually shown in the "unveiling" video, only the attendees’ reaction to it. Suffice it to say, the car was well-received.

And now we know why. Jalopni k has secured a pair of leaked images slated to appear in Top Gear magazine in conjunction with the car’s official launch next week. As you can see, Castriota’s influence is plainly visible in the Ultimate Aero II’s detailing. It’s got an edgier, more assertive appearance than its predecessor, and we can only assume that it has the power to back up its menacing new looks. We can’t wait to get the scoop on September 8 when SSC releases full details.

source : autoblog

As mentioned in our previous Spec-M Exposé the 2012 Nissan GT-R is set to arrive on the scene shortly with so many changes that Nissan had to go out and revise the chassis designation bumping CBA-R35 in favor of the new DBA-R35 tag. While we touched on the cosmetic changes in part 1 of this post we didn’t delve into the more technical changes yet so here goes.

Aero Updates

Aero changes to the front bumper, rear diffuser and rear underspoiler mean that the 2012 GT-R slips through the air with even less drag than the already impressive 2009 model. As mentioned previously, these changes help it lower it’s co-efficient of drag as well as increase downforce in the rear by as much as 10%. The rear vents also assist in keeping rear underbody temperatures lower meaning less heat transfer from the GT-R’s hot exhaust into the critical areas like the GR6 transmission fluid and rear differential.

Nissan took the opportunity with the rear diffuser/underspoiler rear design to build in a rear Euro mandated fog light using an LED strip along the bottom edge in the center.

Chassis Updates

As well as aerodynamics, street and circuit handling in the 2012 GT-R is going to benefit greatly from some key chassis stiffening updates in the DBA-R35. Strengthening members are added to the front area under the dashboard (highlighted above). In the engine bay, new bracing members extend from the rear of the strut towers to the firewall.

As well as increasing chassis rigidity by adding new key metal – the GT-R engineering team has improved the manufacturing line to improve GT-R build quality and panel fit consitency for every car built.

Suspension Updates

Again showing that the Nissan GT-R engineering team is focussing on driver feel, they’ve gone to the extrordinary length of changing the suspension geometry on the DBA-R35 model. The changes to the front suspension lower arm move the stabiliser bar further out and change the shock absorber lever angle. To go with these changes up front is a castor angle change from 5°35 to 6°00. In the rear, Nissan has tuned the roll center.

All around, Nissan’s update to the suspension to adopt an aluminium free piston design as well as spring, damper and valve rate changes mean the suspension is able to more quickly adapt to changes in surface and direction. The net benefit is a more stable and more responsive feel with even more feedback to drivers than ever before.

Brakes, Wheels and Tires Updates

Nissan’s experience with racing over the past few years with the GT-R has taught them that more stopping power is always better. To that end they’ve upped the front rotor size on the DBA-R35 from 380mm of the CBA-R35 to 390mm.

As mentioned already, the DBA-R35 will debut with a new design Rays forged aluminium wheel each 3kg lighter than the outgoing type. These wheels will come in two new colors Hyper Blue Black and Hyper Titanium. The new Rays wheels feature improved knurling to help further with reducing tire slip on the rims themselves.

To fit these new wheels are updated versions of both summer tires already being fitted to the GT-R, namely the RE070R R2 from Bridgestone and the SP Sport Maxx GT 600 DSST CTT from Dunlop. Both are touted to improve grip and increase sidewall stiffness, something very important in a heavy awd vehicle such as the GT-R.

Part III to come soon where we’ll cover the remainder of the DBA-R35 changes including interior and engine changes, so stay tuned…

source : GTRblog

While everyone and their mother seems to have made Top Gear USA bashing the new national pastime, you might want to take a look at the newest video tease it’s just released. While the appeal of the BBC show undoubtedly revolves around the chemistry between its three mismatched hosts, at its core, it’s a show about cars. So even if we’re not certain the three American hosts can live up to the legacy established by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May, perhaps they really don’t need to.
Top Gear USA isn’t a replacement for the BBC show after all – it’s more of a spin-off. And as long as the production values stay high – and from the looks of it, they have – it’s just more car pr0n for all of us. Case in point: the video you’ll see after the jump. The storyline is fairly straightforward: Round up the baddest Lamborghinis from the corral – Superleggera, Balboni and SuperVeloce – and open them up so we can see what they’ll do. Can there possibly be a loser? Maybe the matador.

source : autoblog

While the debate rages on regarding the Mazda Shinari’s inspiration (Fisker Karma, Infiniti Essence, or something more sinister?), here are some real life photos of the car outside of the studio. Introducing Mazda’s new Japanese-Euro-American Kodo design language, the Shinari shows where Mazda will be zoom-zooming after its Nagare-derived smiley face cars are dead and gone.

Expect the flowing, toned lines to appear on everything from the Mazda3 and Mazda6 to the MX-5 Miata and potential RX-8 successor; on that note, can we get a decent rotary engine around here or what?

Since these "tense" and "organic" designs are becoming more and more common nowadays, how will Mazda emphasize its own unique design elements? As with most unofficial homages (because we all know this isn’t a purely original design or layout), the answer is in the details.

Looking at the nose, new Mazdas should be getting a much more open mouth in place of the silly "happy" look currently plastered across most of the automaker’s offerings. Upon closer inspection, you’ll see a chrome strip (or "signature wing") at the base of the grille which extends out through the headlamps like a bird with its wings spread.

It’s a safe bet that we won’t be seeing those Iron Man power source headlights in production, nor the twisted-metal bits.

The tail of the car seems more in sync with the current lineup, but nicely evolved. Even the little chrome wing-ding from the nose makes an appearance, running below the boot lid and into the taillights.

Inside, the Shinari again impersonates, but does it well: we’ve got carapace-like buckets for its four fictional occupants, as well as a few beer cans’ worth of aluminum trim.

As for the idea of an interior being driver-centric, that’s nothing new. Sadly, neither is the idea of individually tailoring the cockpit for occupants (look at the Essence). If this asymmetrical style does indeed become a recurring Mazda element, they will have beaten Infiniti to the punch. Otherwise, the gauges are beautiful and its layout is nice; if anything, the Shinari shows that Mazda is staying current and has big plans for the future.

The tech inside has so far been limited to rumblings of a Human Machine Interface (HMI) – possibly run by Skynet – which provides drivers with Business, Pleasure, and Sport modes. From the description, it sounds like just another evolution of human/car/computer fusion.

Mazda North America design director Derek Jenkins says, "We want to play in the same group as BMW and Audi. On fit and finish we want the same level of quality." Hooray for benchmarks, now let’s get to it.

Expect to see the Shinari among a slew of other designer cars in Paris this fall.

source : carscoop

European fans of the Lexus IS-F rejoice; this is one sports car that won’t be axed on the other side of the pond due to the introduction of the more stringent Euro 5 emissions standards. Unlike the current generations of the Ford Focus ST, Honda Civic Type R and Mazda RX-8 -just to mention a few, the IS-F will make it to the 2011 model year thanks to its tweaked 5.0-liter V8 that is now fully compliant with the upgraded Euro 5 norms.

The specification sheet says power remains unchanged at 423HP with the IS F being capable of accelerating from 0-100 km/h (62mph) in 4.7 seconds and on to an electronically governed top speed of 270 km/h (168mph).

Similarly to the rest of the 2011MY IS range, the flagship IS-F benefits from some subtle exterior and interior revisions. On the outside, the sports saloon gains revised headlamps with LED daytime running lights and a new optional finish named "Starlight Black GF".

On board, changes include new dark sliver fibre inserts, revised front seat design for improved driver support, blue instead of white stitching for the leather upholstery and last but certainly not least, a new instrument panel design that repositions the tachometer, speedometer and shift indicator within the binnacle. U.S. buyers should expect similar styling upgrades for the 2011MY (or 2012MY) version of the IS-F.

source : carscoop

source : youtube

After the nearly month-long break that followed the Hungarian Grand Prix, F1 fans around the world have patiently awaited the return to business as usual on the grand prix circuit. And by business as usual, we mean nail-biting, wheel-to-wheel action and bitter rivalries. With that much pent-up anticipation, it would take some spectacle to make up for the hiatus. Fortunately, this weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix – held at the legendary Spa Francorchamps circuit.

Saturday’s qualifying sessions ended with Red Bull’s Mark Webber taking the pole, while teammate Sebastian Vettel was relegated to the fourth spot on the grid. Former world champion Lewis Hamilton took the second slot ahead of Renault’s Robert Kubica. Defending champion Jenson Button qualified fifth, Ferrari’s Felipe Massa sixth, his Williams-driving countryman Rubens Barrichello seventh, Force India’s Adrian Sutil eighth, Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg ninth, Ferrari’s double-champ Fernando Alonso tenth and Michael Schumacher leading his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg for eleventh and twelfth, respectively.
Webber’s qualifying prowess didn’t prevent him from messing up his start, however, as the championship frontrunner dropped to seventh place off the line. Hamilton easily squeezed by to claim the lead, a position to which he would become accustomed over the course of the race.

Coming around the Bus Stop corner on the first lap, half the grid seemed to have skidded off the track. Rubens Barrichello drove straight into the back of Fernando Alonso. Barrichello’s day was finished, but Alonso made it back to the pits for the first of several tire-swaps as Ferrari attempted to preempt the changing weather.
Button squeezed past Kubica for second place as Webber climbed back up to fifth before the post-collision safety car was deployed. Under its cover, a slew of cars followed Alonso into the pits. As the lit-up Gullwing retreated to pit lane on lap 4, Hamilton remained in the lead ahead of Button (2), Kubica (3), Vettel (4), Webber (5), Massa (6), Hulkenberg (7), Sutil (8), Liuzzi (9) and Rosberg (10). Once the safety car was in, Vettel moved past Kubica for third, placing the Renault between him and his recovering teammate.
Further adrift, Alonso pitted again on lap 5 to swap his intermediate rain tires for slicks, rejoining way back in 19th place. At the same time, rookie HRT driver Bruno Senna spun out and made it back to the pits only to retire a few laps later.

A fight ensued around the double-digit mark as Renault’s #2, Vitaly Petrov, managed to get by Nico Rosberg. Michael Schumacher did likewise as Rosberg suffered minor damage to his front wing.
The real drama followed several laps later when Vettel attempted to pass Button. Losing control of his Red Bull on the dampening track, the young German spun right into the defending champion’s McLaren. In a reversal of the outcome from the Barrichello-Alonso shunt, however, this time it was the perpetrator (Vettel) who made it back to the pits (rejoining in 12th place) while the victim’s (Button) race was over.
At this point, Lewis Hamilton had a solid lead, with Kubica elevated to second and Webber to third. Massa trailed in fourth, Sutil followed admirably in fifth, followed by the Mercedes pair of Schumacher and Rosberg in sixth and seventh, respectively. Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi notably followed in eighth, ahead of Alonso (ninth) and Petrov (tenth).
Vettel was saddled with a drive-through penalty for the Button crash, and took it on lap 21 as Adrian Sutil pitted from fifth to rejoin in eighth place.

By lap 25, Hamilton’s lead was so significant that when he pitted for fresh rubber, he re-emerged still at the front of the pack. At this point, Schumacher had advanced to fifth place behind Massa, with Sutil climbing back up to sixth. Nico Rosberg was still in seventh and Kobayashi, Alonso and Petrov rounded out the top ten.
Vettel, meanwhile, was still stuck among the back-markers in 13th place, and on lap 26 had a brush with Force India’s Tonio Liuzzi. Vettel lost his left-rear tire while Liuzzi broke his front wing.
Drama reared its head again on lap 35 when Hamilton miraculously recovered unscathed (and still in the lead) from a spontaneous spin as the long-anticipated rain began to fall. In the ensuing scramble to crowded and cramped pit lane, Webber managed to squeak past Kubica for second place as the Polish driver missed the Renault pit box by a few feet.

Having switched to (and burned out) a set of intermediate rain tires early, Vettel was forced to pit again for a fresh set, pushing him further down the field as the leaders whittled down the closing laps. Losing control in the wet conditions, Alonso surprised the crowds when he spun into the tire wall and was forced to retire his broken car on lap 38. The safety car was deployed once again and recalled two laps later, after which Rosberg passed his wingman, Schumacher, for sixth place.
The remaining four laps were relatively smooth sailing, giving a jubilant Lewis Hamilton his first unchallenged win at Spa. After starting from pole, Webber brought his Red Bull in for a solid second place, ahead of Kubica in third. The remaining points were divided between Massa (4th), Sutil (5th), Rosberg (6th), Schumacher (7th), Kobayashi (8th), Petrov (9th) and STR’s Jaime Alguersuari (10th).

The results catapult Hamilton into the lead for the drivers’ title with 182 points to Webber’s 179, Vettel’s 151, Button’s 147 and Alonso’s 141. Red Bull still narrowly leads the constructors’ standings with 330 combined points to McLaren’s 329 and Ferrari’s 250. The saga continues at Monza on September 12 for the Italian Grand Prix – the fastest on the F1 calendar.

source : autoblog

There are perhaps as many automotive-themed iPhone apps out there as there are cars on the road. From handy programs that help you find your car to apps designed to help you avoid pesky speed traps, now couldn’t be a better time to own a vehicle and an iPhone. Heck, if you’re really creative, you can even drive your vehicle from the safety of your handheld’s touch screen. That’s not to say that every app out there is a great leap forward, though. Take Augmented Driving, for instance.

 
The program is an absolute wonder. Once your iPhone is fixed on a special mount, Augmented Driving can offer up lane departure warnings, vehicle speed, the tilt of the road and even pick out vehicles ahead of you. Unfortunately, you have to be paying attention to the tiny screen stuck to your windshield in order to receive any of the benefits. You do get a bevy of audible warnings, but they’re largely for problems you could easily see if your eyes were up and on the road where they should be.

source : autoblog

This is the facelifted Ford Mondeo mid-sized sedan which made it’s debut at the Moscow International Motor Show just hours ago. Ford has updated it’s flagship model with a variety of upgrades but lets check out it’s exterior design first. The refreshed Mondeo now has a modified front grille, revised hood design as well as the introduction of LED daytime running lights that make up the upgrades up front.

The side profile sports new fully chromed window surrounds (for the range-topping models) while the revised LED taillights round up the exterior changes. Overall the Mondeo looks that much better now, while there weren’t much to complain about the pre-facelift model.

Work has been carried out on the inside as well. The Mondeo now has a revised centre console along with a different door card design. There is also a central overhead console fitted with LED ambient lighting, a woven headliner, new ‘jewel’ detailing on the switches, satin chrome vents as well as the introduction of new interior colour schemes, which according to Ford, help to offer a more premium feel – something that was not really there with the pre-facelift.

Potential buyers will be happy to know that Ford has introduced new features on the Mondeo. They include Lane Departure Warning, Auto High Beam as well as a Driver Alert system. Ford says that these three features utilize a camera located at the top of the windscreen in front of the rear view mirror. Also in the list is a Blind Spot Information System, Speed Limiter, Rear Door Power Child Locks and a Rear View Camera.

Now lets move on to the drivetrain. The 2011 Mondeo debuts a new engine from Ford, which is a 240 PS 2.0 liter EcoBoost engine which joins the existing 203 PS 2.0 liter EcoBoost. Ford has also updated the 2.2 liter Duratorq TDCi diesel unit. It now makes 200 PS which marks a 12% increase over it’s previous guise. Also in the diesel family are 115 PS, 140 PS and 163 PS versions of the 2.0 liter Durotorq.

The current Duratec engines are maintained and they are made up by a 120 PS 1.6 liter and a 145 PS 2.0 liter. Ford revealed that it plans to introduce new 1.6 liter engines from the EcoBoost and Duratorq engine families in the near future. Transmission wise, both a 6-speed manual transmission and Ford’s PowerShift dual-clutch transmission are offered, depending on the trim level of course.

The new Mondeo is also offered with ECOnetic technologies that include Smart Regenerative Charging, Ford Eco Mode driver information system as well as an Active Grille Shutter system that regulates the airflow through the radiator and engine compartment. The 2011 Ford Mondeo which is available in both sedan and estate forms will go on sale starting from next month. Prices will start from £17,295 in the UK.

source : icars.sg