And so it goes. Details on BMW’s US-bound 1-Series coupe leaked out today, on the heels of the UK version. In American spec, the heralded 135i with the twin-turbo, three-liter six, will get 300 horsepower and 300 lb-ft of torque at 1,400 rpm. Zero to sixty is still a claimed 5.3 seconds, which could be understated depending on the yet-nondisclosed weight figure. Read more after the jump.

TAKEN FROM jalopnik.com

Who would have thought the man who shills for the F-150 and doer of other “Dirty Jobs” used to sell purses on QVC? Well, at least Mike Rowe’s “relatively secure in his masculinity.” We wonder if Toby Keith thinks he’s “relatively” secure as well? Although Rowe may have something over Keith due to his love of cartoon women. [Hat tip to Eric] – Ray Wert

TAKEN FROM jalopnik.com

Priddy’s pride of spy photographers have already one-upped the KGP-caught mule from earlier this year — now they’ve caught a production 2008 Dodge Challenger driving on a fast-moving highway. Here’s the rest of what she’s got to say:

“A Hemi V8 was no challenge for our photographer, as he was still able to snag a great shot of the upcoming Dodge Challenger on a fast-moving highway. And even though the pre-production Challenger was wearing a bit of vinyl - one can easily tell that the production model is nearly identical to the concept shown on the auto show circuit.Dodge’s all-new muscle car will be built on the new “LY” RWD platform in Ontario, Canada. Production will start in the spring of 2008 - and the Challenger will go on sale shortly afterwards as a 2008 model. Pricing is expected to start around $31,000, although it’s rumored that the R/T models have all been pre-sold in the 50K range. A convertible is also expected to arrive in the not-so-distant future.

The official debut of the (production) Challenger will be on February 6th at the Chicago Auto Show - just 222 days away.”

Oh, we can already taste the adrenalin from the mere thought of the new era of muscle car wars! High-resolution picture available via the link below and gallery of the approved-for-production concept car below that. – Ray Wert

TAKEN FROM jalopnik.com

Lexus continues to hammer away at its LF-A supercar, as these new KGP Photography spy shots from the Nürburgring attest.

While Toyota’s upscale moniker still has yet to officially confirm the car for production, it’s obvious that Lexus is poised to get a serious performance halo car very shortly. The front end on this mule looks different than others we’ve seen, with different hood vents and a revised front splitter than the prototypes spotted late last year. Out back, the mule retains the 2007 show car’s mid-mounted triple exhaust and oversized vents beneath the taillamps.

The front-mid-engined coupe is expected to be powered by a 500+ horsepower V-10, and looks set to bring the fight to Honda’s next Acura NSX, as well as Audi’s sparkling R8 and the usual sacred Italian cows (Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, etc.). A hybrid variant also appears to be a possibility.

Enough spy shots… bring it on, already.

(Click on the thumbnails below to launch a high-resolution gallery or through to the jump for *thoughts from KGP*)

Lexus has hit the Nordschleife with its cleanest prototype yet for its LF-A supercar. LF-A prototypes first hit the ‘Ring in 2005, and have seen a number of alterations over the last two years. In that time, two concepts have also hit the auto show circuit, and while they were clearly related in overall shape, they differed drastically in their surface development. The 2005 concept was a rather simple wedge shape, while the 2007 iteration was more rounded, with more nuanced, almost fussy detailing.

It seems that this newest prototype, which appears nearly free of
camouflage, falls somewhere in between the two LF-A concept cars.
The prototype’s lower side vents and front air-intakes come quite close to the ‘07 concept, but the air scoops around the test car’s C- pillar are more simplistic like the ‘05 concept. With its large mesh air extractors and triple exhaust tips, the prototype’s rear-end design once again borrows from both cars, but ultimately goes its own way in the details. With the temporary, function-only tail-lights that are tacked on, it’s clear that this prototype doesn’t reveal the car’s finished styling.

The headlights on the prototype still appear to be simple, angular shapes, not unlike those of modern Lamborghinis, but the ‘07 concept has strange lamps with a distinctive LED strip running down the front bumper. Whether elements of the latest design study will end up on the final production cars is still unknown.

Lexus is obviously approaching the LF-A with great care and extensive development–both mechanically, dynamically, and stylistically. At this point, it seems that Lexus designers are still fine-tuning the LF-A’s shape.

taken from news.windingroad.com

At Aviary, we like to ask the hard-hitting questions most journalists shy away from. Most importantly: We can put man on the moon, but we don’t have frigging flying cars yet?!

Luckily, we don’t just identify the problems - we also solve them.

This time around Aviary’s resident industrial designer Meowza has drawn up a plan to unclog the world’s highways and put flying metal projectiles in the hands of every man, woman and child.

View the sources and full layered file

Sources:

We had so much fun playing with industrial car design, that we made another video as well:

Here’s another example of Meowza changing an already sleek design by Ben Messmer of our friends at Local Motors.

View the sources and full layered file

Sources:

These works made heavy use of color adjustments, blend modes, painting, transforming and sourcing.

Kudos to Parliament and Arcade Fire for the musical accompaniments!

Standard disclaimer: For those of you new to this blog, this was not created in Photoshop. It was created in Aviary, a suite of online web applications. You can sign up for the current beta at http://a.viary.com.

taken from a.viary.com

We followed the exploits of LTDScott and his Team Porcubimmer during the run-up to the 24 Hours of LeMons race at Altamont, and some of you are probably wondering how it went for the “Pricks Outside” guys when the real deal went down. Well, we have good news and bad news for you: the good news is that the car looked amazing (as did the coordinated team outfits), but the bad news is that a cascade of mechanical woes kept the Porcubimmer off the track for much of the weekend. Fuel system, clutch, you name it. When it was on the track, however, it was fast; for a glorious- if regrettably short- time on Saturday, the spiky 325e was in the #1 position. Take heart, Porcubimmer fans- we’re pretty sure we haven’t seen the last of this car’s angry face!

taken from jalopnik.com

Mr. Vader, the latest in your ever expanding fleet has arrived. We thought the Spadaconcept Codatronica was but a glimmer in the eye of some crazy Italians. After months of development work and the creation of a production company, Spadavetturesport has announced production readiness for the Spada TS Codatronca. The car is a masterwork of stealth combined with aerodynamics, menace with purpose. Clad in black with an aluminum V8 sporting 630 HP and 492 lb.ft. of torque, the terror from Torino can top out at 211 MPH.

taken from jalopnik.com

Some not-entirely-unexpected news came today via the North American Nissan GT-R Owner’s Club. Word is, following the new Nissan sports coupe’s unveiling at the Tokyo Motor Show in October, the GT-R will make its North American debut at the Los Angeles show in November. Specifically, it’ll be showcased in the South Hall (though don’t start camping out quite yet). That makes perfect sense, considering the LA show follows directly after Tokyo, with press preview days on November 14 and 15. We’ll be there with cameras, laptops and a single Rolling Writer Pentel Pen split among five people. That’s just how we roll.

taken from jalopnik.com

Thanks to the folks at Edmunds for some slick embargo breakage earlier, we’ve now got the Inside Line on the 2008 Honda Accord in the coupe and sedan variants — with both the 4-cylinder and V6 engines under the newly sculpted bonnet. Here’s the photos we’ve got — and the data and specs on all variations of the next Honda Accord are below the jump. We’ll have specific information up and more photos on each variant tomorrow — but for tonight, here’s what we’ve got — just as we’ve got it.

taken from jalopnik.com

During World War II, the P-51 Mustang was hailed as a savior of aviation and certainly played a major part in ending the conflict. This long range fighter escorted Allied bombers over Europe and Hermann Goering, the head of Germany’s Luftwaffe, summarized the plane’s role by stating, “The day I saw P-51 Mustangs flying over Berlin, I knew the jig was up.” Today, at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas, the jig is up for the rest of the Ford Mustang tuners as ROUSH Performance unveiled the P-51A Mustang automobile which, at 510 horsepower and 510 lb.-ft. of torque, is sure to be held in as high a regard as the airplane has been in the history books and will help to save the streets from the invasion of the foreign brands.

“I’ve often said that there was never a Mustang built that I didn’t like and that includes both the car and the airplane,” said Jack Roush, an aviation enthusiast who currently owns two P-51 Mustang warbirds. “This is the type of product that ROUSH has wanted to produce for at least 10 years but the right platform, the right technology, and the right timing never intersected until now.”

Roush P-51A Mustang. Click image for more high resolution pictures.

The ROUSH P-51A is easily the highest horsepower Mustang that the company has ever produced, and represents the first time that internal engine components have been upgraded by ROUSH technicians in their Livonia, Mich., facility. It was determined that the only way to give the P-51A moniker its due was to completely break into the 4.6L, 3V and rebuild several of the functional internal components, which include a forged steel eight-bolt crankshaft, forged aluminum pistons with increased dish to lower the compression from 9:8 to 8:6, and forged steel H-Beam connecting rods. These upgraded parts were necessary for the stock Ford engine (which comes with 300 horsepower from the factory) to be able to withstand the additional power generated from the newest iteration of the legendary ROUSHchargerTM supercharger system.

Additional alterations include a custom aluminum upper and lower intake manifold for the high capacity air-to-water intercooler and ROUSHchargerTM. ROUSH installs a custom fuel rail and high-flow fuel injectors, a high-flow capacity fuel system, as well as a dual electronic throttle body.

The new ROUSH P-51A engine has a preliminary rating of at least 510 horsepower and 510 lb.-ft. torque. It is anticipated that final figures may even be slightly higher than this when final testing and calibration is approved by the ROUSH engineering staff.

The changes to the ROUSH P-51A don’t end under the hood. A ROUSH aerobody kit will be installed, which includes a front fascia, chin spoiler, hood scoop and rear spoiler. The ROUSH black high-flow grill is added along with cooling side shields to give the car the aggressive look it needs while stalking the streets.

Internally the car will come with ROUSH sport leather seating and custom floor mats, both with an embroidered P-51A emblem. The white face gauges and billet aluminum pedals will get a lot of use as the driver bangs through the gears with the ROUSH short throw shift lever and retro black ball.

For those who look behind the 18-inch ROUSH forged five-spoke wheels will see the vaunted Stage 3 suspension underneath this vehicle. Designed to handle even the tightest twists and turns, this suspension includes specially-engineered and tuned front struts, rear shocks, front and rear springs, front and rear sway bars and jounce bumpers. The front brakes are also upgraded with 14-inch front two-piece rotors and four-piston calipers. Each component was specifically engineered so that ride comfort was not compromised at the expense of the tremendous gains in performance.

As an interesting side note, the yellow and red accent colors on the vehicle come from those used by the 357th Fighters Group, Eighth Air Force ETO (European Theater Operations) who were unofficially known as “The Yoxford Boys” after a village near their base. Its victory totals in air-to-air combat are the most of any P-51 group in the Eighth Air Force and third among all groups fighting in Europe. The 357th flew 313 combat missions between February 11, 1944 and April 25, 1945 and is officially credited by the US Air Force with having destroyed 595.5 German airplanes in the air and 106.5 on the ground. Pilots in this group included Captain Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson who flew a P-51 named “Old Crow.” One of Roush’s personal P-51 fighters is painted as a replica of this airplane.

Pricing for the ROUSH P-51A Mustang has not been set, but will be announced shortly. The vehicle is slated to begin production in the first quarter of 2008 and will be limited to 100 vehicles. As with all ROUSH vehicles, the P-51A will carry an industry-leading 3 year/36,000 mile warranty.

taken from www.mustangevolution.com