Kobe is Smart

2011 Brabus Smart ForTwo

Not everyday do you spot an art thief in downtown China. Luckily, if you drive a Smart Car and have the words Kobe and Bryant in your name, you'll be able to spot those idiots a mile away. A recent ad was posted by Smart of China showing Kobe Bryant trying to catch a art thief in a Brabus Smart ForTwo. Don't underestimate these things. 98 horsepower is pretty powerful for a car its size. And since its so small, you'll be able to move through junctions and tight spaces with ease, that is, if you are catching an art thief. Check out the ad below to see the Brabus Smart in action with Kobe behind the wheel.

EDIT: I just found out. It's not even in China. This was shot in California.

Chrysler 300 S Concept (Photos)

[Source: Chrysler, WorldCarFans]

S stands for Sporty

2012 Chrysler 300 S Custom Concept

Chrysler's "Imported from Detroit" campaign continues with the unveiling of some sporty sedans. Here's one of them, the 300 S Concept. Think of it as a sportier version of the 300 C. The car gets sportier alloy rims, a new grille, tinted headlights, sporty trim, and a trunk-mounted spoiler. Inside, the leather seats are red with some white stitching in-between. It looks pretty good. No word on when this car will come out, but Chrysler has told me that they're going to launch this along with other S models later this year. Check out the pics on the blog and on my Facebook page to get a better glimpse of the car.

Electric Suit

2011 Tesla Roadster S

Remember back in 2008 when this car was first introduced? Jeremy Clarkson decided to take two of these out for a spin, only to end his test drive by breaking both of them. Well, according to Tesla themselves, he really didn't break either of them. They only ran out of energy most of the time. Unfortunately, over 350 million people were watching that episode and they believe that they were both broken. And Tesla was also very unhappy when Jeremy concluded his test drive by saying that the Roadster, in the world, "doesn't really work." Well, Tesla is now suing the BBC and Top Gear for libel and malicious falsehood. On Tesla's blog site, the Vice President of Communications, Ricardo Reyes, released this statement.

"The show's script, written before the cars were tested, has host Jeremy Clarkson concluding the segment by saying, "in the real world, it doesn't seem to work." ...Yet the show continues to air. ... The programme's lies are repeatedly and consistently re-broadcast to hundreds of millions of viewers on BBC channels and web sites, on other TV channels via syndication; the show is available on the Internet, and is for sale on DVD around the world." - Ricardo Reyes

Whether their claim is true or not, I don't know. What I do know is that the BBC and Top Gear are going by their claim and may as a well drop the suit. As for me, all I have to say to Tesla is, "It took you 3 years to finally realize this? Step ya game up!"

Power is Everything

2012 Porsche Panamera Turbo S

Porsche is a stubborn manufacturer. They think they can design all their cars to look like the 911, but honestly, it just doesn't work. When it comes to performance, though, their cars do stand out. Speaking of performance, have you met the all new Panamera Turbo S? It's still a weird looking 4-door, 4-seater saloon car, but it's much faster than the old Turbo. If 500 horsepower didn't please you, 550 horsepower just might make you go insane. 0 to 60 is done in, get this, 3.6 seconds. That's about as quick as a Pagani Zonda F. The top speed of this 190 MPH. Prices start at $173,200. So, this is an insanely fast, insanely expensive, and ridiculously looking car. Oh yeah, it definitely stands out. Check this car out on Porsche's website, then in New York where it makes its official debut there.

No Place to Hide

2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster (Courtesy of Road & Track)

Here it is, everyone, almost completely uncovered! This is the 2012 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster, which might make its official debut in New York at the International Auto Show along with the C63 AMG Coupe. Road & Track caught this car in action already prepping for what might be its debut in the big Apple on a side-street. As you can see, since it's a roadster, the iconic Gullwing doors have been replaced with regular doors. But, thankfully, the power output remains the same: 563 horsepower from a 6.2-liter AMG V8 engine, the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 in the world. 0 to 60 is done in just under 4.0 seconds on its way to a top speed of 197 MPH. Since it's a roadster, expect it to be a little heavier than its hardtop brother. Also expect it to be much more expensive that its brother, up from $183,000 to about $196,000 to $200,000. So you can expect all of this in the all new Roadster. The only thing bothering me now is when this car will officially debut. AMG Boss Ola Källenius told me months ago that this will debut in Frankfurt, Germany at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Now, we get news that Mercedes-Benz will unveil two new AMG cars in New York. One of them is C63 AMG Coupe. The other must be this Roadster. Well, the only way to find out is to tune in April 23, where I will be at the NY Auto Show taking pictures and blogging about all the awesome stuff there.

[Source: Road & Track]

M5 Shakedown

2012 BMW M5 F10 Rendering (Courtesy of BMWBlog and Gerald Alvarez)

Nope, sorry this isn't the M5 Concept due this Friday. This is just another rendering by Gerald Alvarez, which is actually somewhat spot on. Friday's coming any faster than this, but BMW will continue to wet our appetite of their new sports saloon by showing us what it's been doing. They've recently released a video where the M5 Prototype was busy doing a snow workout in the Alps. The car seems to handle snow just fine. If you listen carefully to the engine sound, you may notice that it doesn't "V8-ty". This is BMW's new 4.4-liter Twin-Turbo V8 engine which revs to 7000 RPMs.  The X5 M and X6 M use this same engine and if you watch any car videos with these SUVs, you can tell that they sound exactly the same. This is because of the new Turbo system BMW has introduced into its M-Division called Twin-Power Turbo. Now that the Turbos deliver more boost power to the engine, they also change the engine note. So, if you buy the M5 and listen the engine sound thinking it sounds like a Ferrari, that's normal. You may even be grateful. Anyway, back to the M5, 30 minutes of testing was filmed with the M5 Prototype. You can see the snowy action below.

Dark Rover

2012 Project Kahn Range Rover Sport Diablo

Who said the Range Rover had to be civilized? Land Rover certainly didn't. Project Kahn took advantage of this and have created this Range Rover Sport Diablo in order to scare your rich neighbors. As you can see, this dark Rover is kitted all around with 22-inch RS black rims, a custom Autobiography bodykit with black and red accents, red carbon side vents and some red rubber side steps. Inside is much more personal with a luxurious bespoke finish from Project Kahn themselves with exquisite leather that can be customized according to the driver's wishes. Performance is the same as any RR Sport Autobiography: a 5.0-liter Supercharged 510 horsepower V8 engine. 0 to 60 is done in 5.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 140 MPH. So, think of this as the devil finding shelter in your Range Rover, only he doesn't control you. You control him.

Midnight Launch

Shift 2: Unleashed: Need For Speed

Forget Hot Pursuit. Forget Gran Turismo. Forget any arcade racing game you've played or you used to play. THIS IS REAL. You're in the Driver's Seat. It's time for you to make your way up. You've got one run. Make a mistake, and it will cost you big time. Shift 2: Unleashed is out. Go get your copy and see if you can survive racing at its realest. I'll review this game very soon.

Crazy meets Crazier (Photos)

[Source: James Lipman]

Crazy meets Crazier

2011 Ferrari 599 GTO vs 2011 Porsche 911 GT2 RS (Courtesy of James Lipman)

How's this for a photograph? Two of the craziest supercars out there from Italy and Germany battle it out in the rain at the Nürburgring for crazy rights! The gray one has 661 horsepower out of an all new 6.3-liter Ferrari V12 engine. The latter has 620 horsepower out of an all new 3.8-liter Twin-Turbocharged Flat-6 engine. Both will do over 205 MPH and 0 to 60 in under 3.5 seconds. Both are extremely exclusive and cost over $300,000. Both have their own ways of approaching corners and leaving grins on drivers' faces after a few minutes of driving. Both are just absolutely bonkers!! Anyway, James Lipman recently posted pictures of these supercars on his website. I'll have them up here and on my Facebook page in a bit. Don't look for too long now. They might turn you into a speed freak!

Corvette + Turbocharger = Uh Oh!

2011 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport Convertible

If you're a Corvette owner, you know as well as I do that the only way to get more power out of that car is with a Supercharger. For those who haven't noticed, only a small portion of Vettes work well with a Turbocharger, like the ones built by Lingenfelter and Dallas Performance. Unfortunately, a small tuning company known as Hinson Motorsports learned this lesson the hard way. While recently testing their Twin-Turbocharged Vette, they managed to get it to Pagani Huayra-Speed, but after that, things went terribly wrong. The car managed to roll off the road twice into the grassy area where it skid to a stop. Luckily, the driver of the Vette was fine after the accident. The Vette wasn't however. So, take heed, young tuners of the next generation: unless you can tamper with the Vette's suspension and stability, never give it a turbocharger. The car does just fine with a supercharger. Take a look at the horrific accident below.

Mad Merc vs. Sweet Bike

2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe

BMW M3s beware! There's a new kid on the block. The all new Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe redefines sheer driving pleasure with raw power and speed. Under the hood of this Mad Merc is the remarkable 6.2-liter 451 horsepower V8 engine propelling the car from 0 to 60 in just 4.6 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 155 MPH. And since it's in coupe form, you can expect more crazy drifts and a much wider grin on your face when driving it. This is a fast car, but is it faster then, let's say, an italian superbike?

2011 Ducati 848 EVO

This is the Ducati 848 EVO, one of the greatest superbikes Ducati has ever created, right behind the 1198. Jason DiSalvo took it all the way to a victory at the Daytona 200 a couple weeks ago. A 140 horsepower Testastretta Engine powers this awesome bike all the way up to 160 MPH, about as fast as the Merc. So who would win in a race to the beach: the Steel Horse or the Mad Merc? Well, Mercedes experimented a bit by showing a commercial of who exactly does win such a race. It looks like their new-found relationship with Ducati does come in handy. Check out the race below.

This Isn't a Joke

2012 BMW M5 F10 Rendering (Courtesy of Jon Sibal)

BMW have officially planned to take all of the stickers and masking tape off of the M5 this Friday. Get Ready for that! The new sports saloon is supposed to have about 600 horsepower from an improved 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 engine. Top speeds will vary from 155 all the way to 190 MPH. Take all of the limiters off, this thing will be doing 200 with ease. It's taken BMW a couple of years to develop this car, so it ought to be very good.

M3 Pickup?

2011 BMW M3 E94 Truck (Courtesy of AutoBlog)

Believe it or not, the M3 you see here is real. BMW recently ran an experiment round the Nürburgring; What if the M3 were to lose the rear seats and only have room for, let's say, farming materials? So, say hello to the all new BMW M3 E94 pickup Truck. It still has the fantastic 4.4-liter 414 horsepower V8 engine which accelerates the truck from 0 to 60 in just 4.4 seconds on its way to a limited top speed of 155 MPH.

Front View

Since there's no weight in the back end, expect to pull some massive drifts when you put the hammer down. BMW has also told me that this car will only come in rear-wheel drive and have a 6-speed DSG gearbox. The flatbed itself is big enough to hold some farming materials as big as a small tree. It is rather remarkable that BMW would turn the best two-door sports saloon out there into a crazy two-door pickup. You can experience the awesomeness of this sports truck, never!

APRIL FOOLS!!

Everyone Loves the Manual

2012 BMW M5 F10 Prototype (Courtesy of AutoBlog)

Look Out Mercedes and Jaguar! The BMW M5 is back, and its bringing more power with it. We're talkin about BMW's new 4.4-liter Twin-Turbocharged 600 horsepower V8 that has been tweaked from the insanely fast X5M. BMW says this car will do 0 to 60 in about 4.0 seconds on its way to a limited top speed 155 MPH. They also recently told me that the car will be available with a 6-speed manual shifter, which should make you manual fans happy. I personally prefer their 7-speed DSG because it's easier to use and shifts faster than the manual. Either manual or automatic, if you live in Europe and decide to buy the car there, you will be given the option of raising the limiter from 155 to about 190 MPH. That's faster than the limit on the Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG. Could this be the ultimate German sports saloon? We'll have to find out. The car is scheduled to make its official debut sometime this fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Tune in then!

Godzilla takes on the Ring

2012 Nissan GT-R on the Nürburgring

Godzilla strikes again! This time, he headed for Green hell to see if he could perfect his old lap time, and he did, by a measly 2 seconds! With a new time of 7:24.22, the 2012 Nissan GT-R is faster round the 'Ring than the Porsche 911 Turbo, the Enzo Ferrari, the Porsche Carrera GT, the Pagani Zonda F Clubsport, and, get this, the Maserati MC12! It seems the extra power and less weight really paid off. Let's not forget that this car leaps from 0 to 60 in an astonishing 2.9 seconds! That's quicker than a McLaren F1. This car has really come a long way. Now it just needs to be faster so it can take its rightful place as Tokyo King of Speed. Take a look below to see Godzilla raging around the 'Ring.

Big Kids' Bike!

Parker Brothers Green Machine

If you're one for the big-wheeled tricycle, then you might love what I've just found. The Parker Brothers Choppers decided to supersize the popular big wheel for big kids to ride. You won't need pedals to work this thing because it comes with an 80-cubic inch Harley Davidson Evo engine. The acclaimed top speed of this thing is over 50 MPH, and that front wheel is 3-feet, 9-inches tall. That's pretty insane for a bike. Then again, this was built by the same people who recreated the TRON LiteCycle with a Harley Davidson and the Batman's BatPod with just custom parts. Unfortunately, if you are 6 years old and really, really want this, mommy's not gonna buy it for you because she'll say it's dangerous. Parker Brothers are only letting the big kids ride this bike. In fact, if you are even a big kid, you won't be able to ride this bike yourself because in order for this thing to be approved by the Department of Transportation, it shouldn't be steered via its rear wheels.

Mad Merc to the Rescue!!

2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG F1 Safety Car

If you've watched Formula One races on SPEED or whatever channel you get them on, you might've seen this car come out either in the beginning of a race or when the caution flag flies out. This Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG is the official Safety Car for the Formula One series. It has all the power and speed of the regular SLS, just with a fancy lightbar and some new rear lights. Former DTM driver Bernd Mayländer pilots this car, and it only comes out in times of need. It seems that AMG has become the significant Safety Team to Formula One racing. And now, they're team has just expanded.

2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate F1 Medical Car

Introducing F1's new ambulance: the 2012 Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate. When you find yourself in a fix during the Australian GP, this car will come to you in no time to see if you're okay. Hopefully, this car doesn't have to come out at all during the race. It is a good looking thing, but it's a medical car, which means it only comes out when there's been a terrible accident. Hopefully nothing like that happens this weekend. Anyway, look for the AMG F1 Safety Team doing work down under as the F1 season kicks off this weekend.

Shift 2 meets Hot Pursuit

2011 Lamborghini Reventon SCPD Interceptor

Truthfully speaking, NFS Hot Pursuit was one of THE best games EA has ever produced, and Slightly Mad Studios has decided to honor that game with a couple of VIP Rewards for Shift 2: Unleashed. If you have the game saved on your EA Account on any platform, you will receive this exclusive Lamborghini Reventon with the SCPD livery for use in the game. It has all the performance data of the regular Reventon, just with a cop car livery. Who wouldn't want that? And, as an added bonus, EA will let you drive your first open top supercar in the game.

2011 Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster NFS Edition

This Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster was specially built by Pagani for NFS with custom paint and livery. Only one exists in the real world, and it's a hardtop. Feel honored that you'll get to drive the only drop top Zonda Cinque NFS Edition in the world. Also, EA will give you 1000 Experience Points and an extra $10,000 towards a new car. So, if you haven't pre-ordered Shift 2: Unleashed yet, but you have NFS Hot Pursuit, you might as well pre-order it now if you want to get your hands on these cars.

科迈罗 Ke Mai Luo

2012 Chevy Camaro ZL1

Not very often do you see American Muscle cars heading to foreign countries. The Chevy Camaro's become a big name in Britain now. In fact, Top Gear's Richard Hammond has thought about buying this car. Well, GM is making another special exception for China. Ever since the 60's, we've called it the Camaro. But, starting next month, the Chinese will know this car by a new name: 科迈罗(Ke Mai Luo). Yep! The Camaro, or should I say Ke Mai Luo, is coming to China, and it's bringing all of its muscle with it. The 3.6-liter 312 horsepower V6 engine comes standard, and the Chinese have the option of choosing from a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission. No word on if the V8s will arrive as well. It is a good thing the Camaro was born here, because it's cheaper here than in China. Starting prices over there are ¥500,000, which is similar to $76,264. Over here, they start at a measly $22,000. The Ke Mai Luo is definitely a luxury car over there.

[Source: Chevy]

The World's Fastest Office

2012 Brabus 800 iBusiness 2.0

Some of you might've seen me post something about this car. That was only last year. Brabus has now decided to bring it back along with new tech and a much bigger engine. So welcome everyone, to the all new iBusiness 2.0, the world's most powerful and fastest office. What is it? It's a Mercedes-Benz S-Class that was been tweaked and tuned to be your workplace on the road. Under the hood is Brabus' own 6.3-liter Twin-Turbocharged 800 horsepower V12 engine producing 1,047lb.-ft. of torque. The result is a 0 to 60 in 3.9 seconds and an electronically-limited top speed of 219 MPH. That's electronically-limited. This car could reach 240 MPH if it wanted to. This is definitely the world's fastest office. It's rival, built by some engineer, had a top speed of 80 and broke down most of the time. Since this is German, and part of it was built by Mercedes-Benz themselves, it won't break down so easily. And inside, it really is an office.

Backseat View

A luxurious office, I should say. All the tech in the backseat is from Apple: the iPads, the iPods, the Video headrests, the TV screens, even the Mac Mini powering most of the technology in the car. All of this Apple stuff has been fine-tuned by Brabus so that the car and the tech are in sync while in work. How's this for an office; there are three iPads in the car. 3! Two in the back, and one in the front. And these aren't ordinary iPads. These are iPad 2's. Yep! So while you're on your to way to the airport or the conference center, you can have a little FaceTime chat with your co-worker or business partner, to make sure everything is in tact before you get there. And get this! Brabus have even created an app for each iPad 2 which allows you to control every bit of the Benz COMAND system, from the Radio to the Navigation System.

Front Seats View

Now, of course none of tech would be in sync if there was no internet. So, Brabus personally fitted the car with a Wi-Fi Network comprised of UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) and HDSPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) networking to wirelessly wire everything together. A 64GB iPod Touch is mounted in the rear center console and sends music through the Harmon/Kardon sound system or a pair of $500 Sennheiser Sound-Isolating Headphones, which can also be used to surf through 100 channels thanks to a built-in wireless DVBT (Digital Video Broadcasting - Terrestrial) TV Receiver.

Rear View

So, as you can see, this car was meant for the Trumps and the Hiltons and the Patels and the Jobs because it really does stand out. The iBusiness 2.0 Tech Package is available for every S-Class model, from the S350 BlueEffieciency to the S65 AMG. For the full package, which includes the 800 horsepower engine, you're gonna need either the S600 or the S65. Those are the only cars that will do the job. What is else is their to say? It's a fantastic car!

Passing of a Legend

Richard Hamann

It is a rather sad week for racing fans across the globe. Richard Hamann, founder of the Hamann Tuning company and Hamann Motorsports, was pronounced dead a few days ago after he lost his battle with Lung Cancer. This man was a racing legend. He participated in 700 races. Of those 700, he took the podium in 300 races and first place in 103. HAMANN was his very acknowledgeable tuning company. It's one of the few tuning companies that in my belief tune cars the way they need to be tuned. For example, Mansory will make an ugly car like the Porsche Panamera even uglier, just with more power. HAMANN, on the other hand, will take a good looking car, like the new 6-Series, and give it enough tweaks to make it go faster without losing its dignity, as seen here...

2012 Hamann 650i Convertible

They've only added minor tweaks to the already awesome Grand Tourer, and it still looks good. Man, what a legacy Richard Hamann had. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family and HAMANN Tuning. Richard Hamann will be missed. Check out the last car to come out before his death.

[Source: MotorWard]