Leak: 2011 Hyundai Sonata

New 2011 Hyundai Sonata YF made the rounds today on several Korean forums revealing more details on the mid-size sedan's styling. As predicted, Hyundai's Mazda6 and VW Passat challenger incorporates a more dramatic design language than the current model featuring a four-door-coupe-like roofline and a stubby rear-end.Although it is most likely that these photos depict the U.S. and Asian market model, the European version that will potentially be named ix40, shouldn't differ much - we suspect that the only significant change will concern the replacement of the Klingon-like front grille with something more in the lines of the new Tucson / ix35's grille.The single interior photo shows the 2011 Sonata's instrument panel that houses a pair of deeply...

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Dunkel Industries creates ultimate off-road RV

As they sat looking over the horizon, they realized they had achieved their dream. The guys from Dunkel Industries had driven themselves to a remote spot where they could just relax and enjoy nature at its tranquil best. What made the journey extra special was that they had gotten there in their very own Dunkel Industries Luxury 4x4. Now, "Luxury 4X4" might have some of you thinking Land Rover or Porsche Cayenne. If that's what you're picturing, then all we can say is "Think bigger." Much bigger. Like, so-big-we-can't-get-it-into-the-frame bigger. The Dunkel version of a Luxury 4X4 starts with a Ford F-650 commercial chassis and winds up as the ultimate off-road recreational vehicle.As their website puts it, Dunkel industries was built on the...

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Oakley Design Panamera Turbo

British Porsche tuners Oakley Design is the third to show their vision on the Porsche Panamera Turbo. The Oakley Design Panamera Turbo features a number of wind tunnel developed aerodynamic parts and Dymag lightweight carbon fiber wheels. The engine outputs range from 580hp for a simple remap and modified exhaust to an expected insane 680hp for a fully modified Panamera Turbo. The 680 hp comes by way of a fully modified engine. Partial mods with 580 hp is also achievable via the exhaust and a "simple remap" of the ECU. The titanium exhaust include quad tips, replacing the original system from Porsche. After getting carbon fiber upgrades, like a tweeked rear spoiler, new front splitter, and new 20" wheels, the company added a new front spoiler...

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Frankfurt Motor Show: Opel Astra styling kit by Irmscher

IAA Frankfurt 2009: World premiere of the new Irmscher Opel Astra The new Astra from Irmscher - exciting design and outstanding driving dynamics On the occasion of the IAA in Frankfurt, the customisation specialist Irmscher for the first time presents the upgraded Astra. To accompany the nationwide sales start on 17th September, Irmscher offers a comprehensive sports programme for the trade. For this volume model from Opel Rüsselsheim, Irmscher has come up with a strikingly sporty design coupled with pure driving dynamics. The Irmscher accessories are characterised by unusually high quality and the seamless integration into the look and design of the new Opel Astra. The lrmscher exterior products harmonise perfectly with the proportions of...

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The Abt R8 5.2 FSI -Ten cylinders. 600 HP

These figures make the hearts of sports car drivers beat faster: 600 HP (441 kW), acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.8 seconds, top speed of 322 km/h. The car to which these impressive performance figures belong is the ABT R8 5.2 FSI. Its V10 engine draws plenty of power from its large 5,204 cubic centimetre capacity – all the more if ABT POWER gives it an extra boost. 75 extra HP or 55 more kW provides a powerful trust at all speeds as well as increasing the torque. The fact that the medium-engine super sports car becomes a winner on any track is not just due to its excellent performance characteristics, but also the perfectly coordinated bodywork package. It has been designed by the DTM crew of ABT Sportsline according to the latest...

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eBay Find of the Day: 1968 Chevrolet Corvette SCCA racer recreation

Next up on the auction block is every Corvette-loving Walter Mitty's fantasy come true, a 1968 SCCA Corvette hardtop convertible race car. Okay, maybe that's not everyone's idea of the perfect Corvette, but for those of you old enough to remember the glory days of SCCA Trans-Am racing circa 1968, this car should hit all the right buttons. What started life as a perfectly adequate, four-speed 327/350 optioned 'Vette, has been transformed into the very special race car tribute you see in our gallery. It's a street car that looks an awful lot like the Trans-Am racers of the late '60s and early '70s.The good folks at 2nd Generation Automotive Restorations are the ones who turned it into what you see here today, minus this car's current fire-breathing...

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Video: BMW Vision EfficienctDynamics Concept unveiled

THE BMW VISION EFFICIENTDYNAMICS CONCEPTThe latest BMW Concept Car for the EfficientDynamics philosophy.For decades, BMW has made the reduction of emissions and fuel consumption a key part of its product development strategy, just as enhancements to the dynamic ability of each BMW have been a lasting, sustained brand value. BMW's EfficientDynamics engineering philosophy - the pursuit of an enhanced, athletic driving experience while simultaneously lowering the consumption and emissions of each vehicle - resulted in the most dramatic drop in fleet consumption of any automaker from 1990 through 2005, according to an Environmental Defense study.Now, the BMW Vision concept car clearly demonstrates that the EfficientDynamics objectives are fully compatible when applied to a sports car. Conceived...

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Production of Toyota Corolla transferring from NUMMI to Ontario

As even mighty Toyota finds itself with excess production capacity in North America and elsewhere, the Japanese automaker has finally made the decision to shutter an assembly plant. The loss of the Pontiac Vibe means that it wasn't viable to keep the NUMMI factory in Fremont, CA operating on its own, but the rest of the products it builds are still in demand to varying degrees.We've already heard that production of the mid-size Tacoma pickup truck would be consolidated with its big brother the Tundra in San Antonio TX. The other remaining product from NUMMI was the Corolla sedan. The volume that had been produced in California will reportedly now come out Toyota's Cambridge, Ontario factory where the compact car is already built. It's not known...

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The 2010 Model Year Lotus Exige Cup 260

Starting with the release of the Exige Cup 240 in '06, Lotus has built up quite the following for its track-focused but built-for-the-road model. For the 2010 variant called the Exige Cup 260, Lotus shaves off a few pounds by upping the carbon-fiber treatment.Design-wise, the front end was restyled with a more angular air intake and a new aerodynamic splitter. By adding a carbon-fiber roof panel, rear tailgate, center tunnel, front splitter, side air ducts and rear spoiler, more than 25 pounds of weight was shaved - a hefty contribution to the close to 84 pounds total cut from last year's model.Handling is improved with its 30 percent stiffer rear chassis, forged alloy wheels wrapped in Yokohama A048 rubber and two-way adjustable Ohlins dampers....

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Hamann's Beastly 600HP Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG Supercharged

Never quite understood the logic behind the creation of stupendously powerful off-roaders with supercar-like performance, but maybe that's exactly what makes them so attractive to those that can afford them: they don't make any sense to the rest of us... Hamann's latest take on the Mercedes-Benz G55 AMG fits perfectly in this category of vehicles.As if the factory model's supercharged V8 with 507HP wasn't powerful enough, the German tuner performed its magic upgrades to bump output to 600HP and 782Nm or 577 lb-ft of torque. The modifications result to a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 5.1 seconds and a maximum speed of 261 km/h or 163mph. That's compared to the standard G55 AMG's 5.5 second sprint time and 210km/h or 131mph electronically...

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First Drive: Rossion Q1 is a supercar for the slightly rich

"How fast can you take it?" I ask Craig Spuhler, Rossion's technical engineer and my passenger at this particular moment in time. "About 75 mph with an 85 mph exit speed." I was behind the wheel of a Rossion Q1 winding my way up a 270-degree decreasing radius on-ramp that shoots straight onto Florida's I-95. As Spuhler has put more miles on Rossions than anyone else alive, and I'd been in the car all of 15 minutes, I decided that 65 mph was a nice, sane, journalist-safe speed. Even in fourth gear there was enough twin-turbo'd torque to get me to 80 mph by the end of the ramp. Truth is, I could've done the deed at 75 mph in third, if not much, much faster.Read full story from autob...

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Mercedes-Benz Launches New Fuel Cell Car: Mercedes-BenzB Class F-CELL

Mercedes-Benz B Class F-CELL - New fuel cell car from Mercedes-Benz: 100 percent driving pleasure, zero emissionsMercedes-Benz is launching its first series-produced fuel cell car on the road: the new B?Class F-CELL. The environmentally friendly electric car has better a performance similar to than a 2,0-litre petrol car and is fully suited for everyday driving. The zero-emission drive system consumes the equivalent of 3.3 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres in the NEDC (New European Driving Cicle). Production of the B?Class F-CELL will commence in late 2009 with a small lot. The first of around 200 vehicles will be delivered to customers in Europe and the USA at the beginning of next year.The new fuel cell vehicle offers everything that people...

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Frankfurt Debut: Wiesmann GT MF4 MF5 Roadster

Wiesmann is building a sports-car on the IAAWiesmann, the luxury sports car maker, surprises the visitors of the most important car-exhibition in Frankfurt with a special feature. In addition to the announced world premiere of the Wiesmann Roadster MF5, the Duelmen manufacturer will mount a car during the car-exhibition. "On this way we will be able to show our manufacturing skills and our productive efficiency to the exhibition-visitors, the customers, and the media-exponents. Like in Duelmen everyone can take a look at our work in Frankfurt", says business manager Friedhelm Wiesmann. During the building-process of the GT MF4 with a 4.8 litre 367 horse-power engine, two members of the staff will finish the work on the car. Sports-car-fans...

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Videos: Nissan Pro Class 350Z

The first ever Pro Class 350Z to be seen in Europe will perform at the FIA European Finals at the Santa Pod Raceway in the UK that runs from September 10th to 13th, 2009. Created by owner and driver John Bradshaw, the Project Zed dragster is powered by a Nissan 350Z 3.5-litre V6 engine producing almost 1,900 horsepower."It's incredible to finally have the car ready to test now and we are all very excited by its potential. It really is a car that is capable of setting records around the world and just shows what a Nissan engine is capable of producing," said Bradshaw.The lovingly prepared Project Zed is powered by a Nissan 350Z 3.5-litre V6 engine producing nearly 1,900bhp. Owner and driver John Bradshaw is thrilled to be taking his mighty machine...

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SPORTEC LAUNCHES 400 BHP STAGE ONE PERFORMANCE UPGRADE FOR NEW FLAGSHIP AUDI TT RS

Brackley, Northamptonshire, 24th August 2009APS of Brackley, UK importer for the Sportec range of vehicle performance enhancements, is pleased to announce the launch of a Stage One engine performance upgrade for the new 335 bhp, turbocharged five cylinder Audi TT RS.Careful data analysis by Sportec's technicians in Switzerland highlighted opportunities for performance enhancements within the standard Audi TT RS' engine management system, enabling the development of an effective ECU remap for the 2.5-litre TFSI engine.From the factory, the Audi TT RS produces 335bhp at 5400 rpm and 450nm (328lb.ft) at 1600rpm. Sportec's Stage One ECU performance upgrade increases power to 400bhp at 5800rpm, while torque leaps to 401 lb.ft at 2650rpm.Post conversion,...

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