Audi R8 GT Spyder tested at Silverstone

With only 333 units being produced, not many of us will have the chance to drive the Audi R8 GT Spyder, but British magazine AutoExpress managed to get their hands on the sports roadster and put it under extreme testings at the Silverstone race track. Did they think the GT Spyder was worth the extra $50K a potential customer would have to spend to buy it? Check out the video to get the answer to this question and make sure to let us know what you think about it!

As a reminder, the R8 GT Spyder is powered by a 5.2 liter V10 engine that delivers a total of 560 HP and 398 lbs-ft of torque. This amount of power is enough to sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in 3.8 seconds and up to a top speed of 196.97 mph.

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McLaren getting ready to tackle the Nordic region with Stockholm dealership

With McLaren Automotive’s massive expansion well under way, the British firm recently entered its 21st global market with the announcement that the brand will be entering the Nordics in the coming months with a new Stockholm dealership and showroom planned to be completed by the end of 2012.

After recently entering the Middle Eastern region, this latest move is yet another brave move by McLaren as it obviously believes that the Nordics should be a productive area for MP4-12C sales, as well as the additional McLaren models planned for the coming years.

Exclusive car specialists, Autoropa will begin selling MP4-12C’s this month prior to the completion of the Stockholm dealership. Autoropa has an illustrious history of dealing with high end exotic sports cars, with it actually being one of the very few authorised service workshops to perform maintenance on the McLaren F1.

“I am very pleased to confirm Autoropa as our Nordic retailer and a key partner in our plans to launch McLaren Automotive and the 12C around the world,” stated Antony Sheriff, McLaren Automotive’s Managine Director.

“With a rich motor racing heritage, and many sports car enthusiasts, the region will be an influential guide as to our success in Europe. In order to be part of the McLaren family, it is vital that our retail partners understand our business, our prospective customers and the technological innovations at the heart of the 12C. Autoropa was the obvious candidate in this regard and will make the perfect introduction in Sweden and throughout the Nordic region for McLaren Automotive,” he concluded.

Additionally, Fillip Larsson the Managing Director of Autoropa stated, “It is a huge honor to be part of the McLaren Automotive project. There is clearly a lot of excitement and great anticipation from customers for the brand to arrive in the Nordics. As a service partner for the legendary McLaren F1 supercar, I’ve witnessed first-hand the extraordinary level of service which McLaren offers customers. I’m very excited to now be involved in retailing and servicing the breathtaking 12C and the future models from McLaren.’’

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Ferrari California 2014

Unveiled back in 2008, the California shortly became one of the best sold Ferrari models, with about 70% from a total of 8000 units being sold going to first-time Ferrari owners. Despite these impressive numbers, the California is one of the most picked on Ferrari models because many consider it too soft to wear the brand’s name.

Well, naysayers, things are about to change. The California underwent some changes for the 2013 model year, including a few extra HP and a new Handling Speciale package that reduces body roll and transient response. Some may have been satisfied with these changes, but others may want more and that’s where the 2014 California is going to shine. Ferrari is about to unveil an all-new generation California (though it may not be called "California") and wants to have it ready by the end of 2013.

The new California will be powered by the same turbo V8 engine used for the upcoming Maserati Quattroporte and GranTurismo. It will be designed by Ferrari Centro Stile in Maranello and not by Pininfarina as the current generation. Design guru, Flavio Manzoni, is reporting that the new California will be inspired by the iconic 1960s Ferrari 250GTO, but will feature design elements used in the F12 berlinetta and the Enzo replacement. We expect much cleaner lines and Ferrari’s new face to be a couple of the obvious changes.

That’s all we have on the future California at the moment, but rest assured we’ll dig up more and pass them on as soon as we do. Stay tuned!

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2012 TagAz Aquila

Straight from the heartland of Russia comes a new, four-door coupe that actually looks pretty good in our eyes.

This car is the TagAz Aquila, a car that will be launched later in 2012 in Russia. No word yet if it will find its way outside of its country, but we certainly wouldn’t mind seeing it on our shores in the future.

The Aquila, as we already mentioned, is described as a four-door coupe, something the Porsche Panamera has been labeled as in the past. But unlike the German sports saloon, the Aquila is being pegged as a car that will carry high-end aesthetics, top-of-the-line equipment, and most importantly, an affordable price tag.

The Aquila will be powered by a 1.6-liter engine, a sign that you probably shouldn’t expect a whole lot of "coupe-like" speed. We’re thinking it will come with about 110-210 HP, depending on whether or not they slap on some turbochargers to help out. This would make it something more like a Hyundai Velosterthan a Porsche Panamera, but we’ll give TagAz an "A" for effort in their marketing ploy. Execution, not so much.

What the TagAz Aquila does have is a five-speed manual transmission, ABS, EBD, dual airbags, power steering, power mirrors, heated, power windows, door locks, air conditioning, front parking sensors, and rear sensors with a rear view camera.

TagAz is far from a household name in the industry and they need to establish themselves in a business that has too many big names. The Aquila is a pretty good step in that direction and it certainly helps that the starting price for one is just 400,000 rupees, which is around $12,000 based on current exchange rates.

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Lancia May Turn the Chrysler 300 into a Two Door

Ahh, rumors in the automotive world spread just about as fast as the rumor that the captain of the football team was kissing the head of the girls’ chess team under the bleachers at the homecoming dance… And we love ‘em. The latest rumor is an interesting one that actually has a fair amount of validity.

Lancia is one of the many companies under the protective umbrella of Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. and it loves to borrow its models from Chrysler, add a few small touches, and call it their own. One of the latest models to make the Lancia conversion was the Chrysler 300, which prances around Europe bearing the name “Lancia Thema” (image above). That’s not the rumor though, as we already know all about that.

The rumors being whispered are that Lancia really wants a full-size coupe for its European market and the only car available to possibly satisfy this itch is the Chrysler 300. Ask any custom coach builder and he will tell you that turning a four-door body into a two-door car is not as tough as you may think, but going the other direction is nearly impossible.

So, if Lancia decides to hack up the B-pillar on the 300, shorten the opening a little and slap two fewer doors on the 300, would this model make it to the U.S.? The two-door full size car essentially died with the downsizing of vehicles in the late-1970s, but a small niche market may be in order.

This also spawns the possibility of Chrysler finally satisfying its nostalgia buffs by taking the two-door blueprints that Lancia would create and turn that into a two-door Charger. The pair of extra doors have always been a thorn in the side of Charger buffs, so Chrysler could breathe a little extra life into both models – not like the 300 needs more life, but extra sales can’t hurt – by offering two-door models of each.

This is certainly an interesting rumor to ponder and we are more likely to see pigs fly before we see a two-door 300 and Charger, but we’re telling you there’s a chance.

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Mercedes S-Class AMG 2013

When Mercedes works on a new generation for one of their models, we can all rest assured that the AMG version to match will follow right behind it. Such is the case with the next generation S-Class: the standard version is set to be unveiled by the end of 2012 and an AMG version will be arriving a few months later.

Our spy photographers have caught the future S-Class AMG during a testing session at the Nurburgring race track, wearing the same light camouflage as the normal non-AMG cars. As you can see, when compared to the standard S-Class, the AMG version has received bigger air intakes, marked side sills, and a new rear bumper with a covered up diffuser. This prototype is still missing the quad exhaust pipes, but don’t worry, they will undoubtedly show up on the production version S-Class AMG.

The future Mercedes S-Class AMG will be powered by an AMG twin turbo 5.5 liter V8 engine that will deliver between 536 HP and 550 HP.

Expect to see the new generation Mercedes S-Class AMG launched sometime in 2013.

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Aston Martin Vanquish goes for another round of testing

While the new generation Vanquish won’t make its official debut until late August at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, Aston Martin is hell-bent on testing it to the nines at the famous Nurburgring race track. In fact, this is the second time in the past few days we have shared images of James Bond’s new company car completely uncovered.

The new Vanquish comes as a successor to the very successful DBS sports car, but according to numerous rumors, it will be about 75% new in terms of its design. The supercar will combine design elements from the One-77 supercar and the Project AM 310 unveiled at the 2012 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. It will also use plenty of carbon fiber to cover its goodies in lightweight style.

The future Aston Martin Vanquish is powered by a 6.0 liter V12 engine with an increased output to about 573 HP. This revised engine is mated to a new 8-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifter controls on the steering wheel.

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Kia Sorento 2013

After a number of testing sessions, the first details on the new Kia Sorento have finally been unveiled. The new SUV will make its official debut in September at the 2012 Paris Auto Show, with sales on the US market to begin in 2014.

As everyone expected, the mid-life refresh of the Kia Sorento includes a re-engineered bodyshell and enhanced powertrains for best-in-class fuel economy with lower emissions. The revised SUV will also come with an improved ride, handling, and refinement and additional convenience and safety features, as well as a fresh, new look for the exterior. This new look will consist of new headlamps with LED positioning lights, a new tailgate with LED rear combination lamps, new bumpers (front and rear) with vertical-axis fog lights, a larger area of body-color surface, and a new set of 19" wheels.

The interior gets improved materials, a new LCD instrument cluster, a new center stack with a 7-inch display screen, and a new console featuring a straight-gate selector with a leather-booted lever (on automatic transmission models).

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