Red Bull X1 Prototype -- Autoblog

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Ferrari World: Opening day images [w/video] — Autoblog

That's not a rendering, it's Ferrari World Abu Dhabi from above – Click above for high-res image gallery

You may never get the chance to strap yourself behind the wheel of a real live Formula 1 racing car festooned with all manner of Prancing Horses. We feel your pain, but perhaps the next best thing would be a trip to Ferrari World, which just opened its doors to paying guests in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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looks like a good plan to drum up tourism back into Italy.

New Mustang V6 ecoBoost (aka Twin Turbo) spotted in the wild?

A gaggle of fresh spy shots have cropped up on the interwebs showing a FoMoCo mule with a few interesting attributes, including a new fascia that may or may not be scooting air to an intercooler, and a hefty 9,000 rpm has been spotted on the tachometer. Even more telling is the huge PREMIUM ONLY sticker slapped across the dash.

source: autoblog.com

I like the sound of this.. twin turbo, rear wheel drive .. Mustang.

Lets hope the engine computer is open enough for some enterprising people to get it tuned and chipped. And that the factory turbos and fuel pumps will handle more boost without too much additional money.

Autoblog — We Obsessively Cover The Auto Industry

the U.S. version of Top Gear. A long time coming, the pilot is set to air on the History Channel in about a month. And as the date approaches, details have been trickling in. The latest covers the test track that will be the show's playground.

Like its original British counterpart, the Top Gear test track has reportedly been converted from an old military air base: in this case the Marine Corp's former facility at El Toro in Orange County

Source: autoblog.com

I am starting to think this might not be as bad as I feared. This may be a show actually worth watching..

Not sure why it is on the history channel, that doesn't make sense to me.

eBay Find of the Day: 1995 BMW M3 CSL Lightweight is ultra rare, ultra tasty — Autoblog

1995 BMW M3 CLS Lightweight – Click above for high-res image gallery

We know we already ran an eBay Find of the Day, but since you couldn't actually drive that one, we thought it only fair to bring you another. File this one under "D" for "Don't see that every day." For a Buy It Now price of $49,000, you can lay your loving mitts on a genuine 1995 BMW M3 CSL Lightweight.

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Report: Mazda rotary reportedly at least a year behind schedule, but work continues — Autoblog

that doesn't mean there aren't problems in World of Wankel.

Apparently, the so-called 16X engine, which is the latest take on the pony-keg-sized engine that spins into the stratosphere, is failing to meet emissions requirements set by the engineering team at Mazda, despite the fact that it is 30 percent more fuel efficient than the previous Renesis rotary. Impressively, Hitomi stated that the 1.6-liter 16X is slightly more fuel efficient than the automaker's standard 2.0-liter gas engine.

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After the news earlier that the upcoming SKY-G engines would propel the next gen Mazda 2 around at a 70 MPG clip, the news that the Rotary enhancement program is behind schedule is a bummer.

I have owned several rotary powered vehicles, and love the sounds and sensations that come with it. So I say keep at it Mazda, and I will keep saving my pennies for the reborn RX-7 in 2013.

2011 Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty: Black Ops Edition ready to frag n00bs — Autoblog

2011 Jeep Wrangler Call of Duty: Black Ops Edition – Click above for high-res image gallery

Fans of the Call of Duty video game franchise know that the latest edition, Call of Duty: Black Ops, will be released on November 9th. What you might not know, however, is that Activision Publishing, Inc. – the folks responsible for distributing Call of Duty – have partnered with Jeep, not only to have the Wrangler featured in the latest addition of the CoD series, but to create a special Call of Duty edition of Jeep's most popular vehicle.

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as an owner of a black jeep, and someone who likes to play the occasional call of duty online.. I fully approve of this merger.

I think they could have gone more extreme with the treatment or offered a .. what was the bullet proof jeep..the J8 or something.. Now that would have been a marketing tie worthy of the marketing tie hall of fame.

TVR could make Corvette-powered 2012 comeback — Autoblog

The V8 issue has finally been decided: the Corvette's 638-horsepower LS9. The car it will go in is to be called the MD-1. A new question that has arisen, however, based on Smolenski's comment that he wants to "draw a line under the Wheeler era once and for all." Will the car be at all British? The MD-1 is being developed by a UK firm, but Smolenski says production could go to the Continent or South Africa just as easily.

Would a German-built, American-engined TVR still be a TVR like the Griffith and Chimera (or the Tasmin shown above)? Smolenski thinks TVR fans wouldn't think so, but he doesn't much care. He says, "What's important is to remain faithful to your brand values" no matter where you are.

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I keep finding comments where the CEO of a company seems to be missing something critical in his understanding of the public's perception of their company.

Here the new owner of TVR, is missing a big part of what made TVR, TVR. it is a continuation of the british cottage car industry. That is something very few countries have ever developed. MG, Lotus and countless other low volume kit car, specialty car makers seem to dot the country side.

But the new owner sees it more as a global brand that needs global sourcing. But I am afraid here, the sourcing is the brand, and I think that the term "British Sports car" still means something.

V-Vehicles resurfaces as Next Autoworks in California — Autoblog

V-Vehicles started making noises back in 2006 about building an environmentally friendly car that ran on compressed natural gas, and doing it here in the U.S. The company is backed by oilman billionaire T. Boone Pickens and the VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the latter of which also backs Fisker. Its head designer is Tom Matano of Mazda Miata and RX-7 fame.

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It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Hybrids we have seen and understand.. More are coming.. and even bigger ones from toyota in the Prius line.

EVs are on the way.. and probably rolling down an assembly line in small numbers right now for the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf launches this quarter.

But I keep seeing Fuel Cell, Hydrogen, and in this case, CNG cars showing up in the road maps of different makers.

It will be a number of years until we see mature versions of these new technologies (Prius just celebrated 10 years since launch) and years beyond that before we know who has won.

Video: 2014 Lotus Elite loses its roof — Autoblog

2014 Lotus Elite goes topless – Click above to watch video after the jump

Lotus made quite a splash at the 2010 Paris Motor Show. The automaker grabbed the spotlight by showing off five new concept vehicles. One of the proposed cars is the Lotus Elite, a 2+2 grand tourer powered by a 611-horsepower, supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine borrowed from the Lexus IS-F.

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This is one seriously good looking car. The whole Lotus brand reboot seems to be going well. New dealers, styling and cars. Hard to pull off, but it looks promising to me.