The Lotus Elise is a modern day classic.Lotus has a thing for special edition models. The latest one to come out of Hethel is the Elise S-based Club Racer (CR) and it will be displayed for the first time at the Frankfurt motorshow. Although it retains the base model’s Toyota-sourced 1.8-liter engine and five-speed gearbox which is good for a 0 to 60mph sprint time of 5.7 sec (0-100km/h: 6.1″) while returning 37.2 mpg UK [...]

Russian tuner claims to be planning an even more extreme rendition of the Panamera, complete with a whole new set of body panels.Russian tuner TopCar has released the first images of their rendition of the Porsche Panamera. The Russian tuner says it is also working on a more extreme Panamera that replaces all body panels with their own kit. TopCar claims it will be partnering with Porsche tuner 9ff to provide for the performance upgrades [...]

A more powerful, Porsche 911-like ‘Targa’ version of the RCZ may be in the offering in the future.The French volume car maker is reported to be considering a faster version of the RCZ, one that makes it more competitive vis-a-vis the Audi TT, as well as a hybrid and cabriolet variants to round out the range. Peugeot has decided customers for the RCZ – predicted to be 80 per cent male – will be different [...]

Few Pontiac models will be missed by as many people as the Trans Am. From its humble origins in 1969 as an option package on the two-year-old Firebird platform through the Super Duty days and the Bandit Special Editions, right on up to the final Ram Air LS1-powered F-Bodies from 2002, Pontiac’s longest-lived muscle car has always enjoyed a loyal following. So dedicated are these Poncho fanatics that the Trans Am name seems destined to [...]

A long bonnet, an aggressive front section, a voluminous engine with 3.6 and 6.2 liters cubic capacity and the rear wheel drive characterize the US-American sports car.One can sense that the serial version was made for the broad and straight American roads, as on German streets, the car lacks driving comfort and renders strong car body vibrations. Moreover, the steering precision is not sufficient and the strong understeering in curves yearns for improvement as far [...]

Just as the all-new Forte Koup begins to arrive at U.S. dealers, Kia released full pricing on its small coupe model. As you may have suspected, two-doors less does not equal a lower price as the Koup starts off at $17,290 ($16,595 + $695 destination fee) for the base EX model with a 156HP 2.0-liter engine coupled to a five-speed manual gearbox, or $800 more than the equivalent Forte EX sedan. Those looking for more [...]

The all-new Mazda3 was launched earlier this year with an exciting new design, a stiffer chassis and lively engines that make it one of the world’s sportiest-looking and driving compacts. In fact, it was chosen as the best-looking compact on an AutoBild magazine reader poll of 200,000 Europeans in June. Mazda now expands the Mazda3 line-up with an all-new Mazda Performance Series (MPS) flagship version that is sure to make the hearts of sports car [...]

Hyundai revealed the new ix35 compact crossover in its home market of South Korea. When it arrives at U.S. dealers late this year, it will retain the Tucson nameplate used on the current-generation model. This week, we stumbled across what looks to be a production-ready Tucson here in Michigan, completely devoid of camouflage and missing only its badges.As we saw in the photos from Korea, the new Tucson is very similar to Hyundai’s ix-onic concept [...]

Come Wednesday the 9th of September McLaren Automotive will unveil one of the most anticipated supercars of the year, if not this decade. Following months of many spy shots and some official details, the MP4-12C will be presented.Previously known by its codename P11, the car will go on sale in 2011 and will be a spiritual successor to the McLaren F1 supercar going head-to-head with the Porsche 911 Turbo and Ferrari 458 Italia. The MP4-12C [...]

Chrysler’s in a tough spot right now. The beleaguered automaker survived the Daimler fiasco only to be picked up by an indifferent Cerberus team before ultimately ending up in bankruptcy court. Chrysler came out of those proceedings with a new dance partner in Fiat, and while the new company has a healthier balance sheet, a lack of funding has left the Pentastar with a nearly empty cupboard when it comes to new 2010 products. Jeep [...]