Blog on 2040Parts

Fifth Gear Tonight: Porsche Boxster S, Ford Focus ST & the new Audi S8 (video)

A new series of Fifth Gear starts tonight with Vicki B-H racing a French Jet in a new Porsche Boxster S, Jason Plato testing the new Audi S8 & Jonny in the Ford Focus ST. Those nice people at Fifth Gear have been in touch asking if we’d like to run trailer information for the new Fifth Gear Series, just as we do for Top Gear. Why not, we thought?

Phil Remington 1921-2013

Phil Remington, fabricator, designer, engineer, known popularly as “Mr. Fix It” throughout a racing career that spanned almost every generation and genre of American motorsports, died Feb. 8 at age 92.

Redesigned Cadillac CTS to debut at New York auto show

Cadillac will debut the redesigned CTS sedan at the New York auto show in late March and put the car on sale this fall. The redesigned Escalade SUV is set to arrive in early 2014. The brand is targeting a retail sales jump of about 35 percent this year, General Motors executives told dealers Sunday at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Orlando, Fla.

Top Gear Tonight: Toyota GT86, Shelby Mustang GT500 race to Milan & Amy McDonald is SIARPC

Top Gear Series 19 Episode 3 tonight sees Jeremy in the Toyota GT86, a race to Milan’s San Siro Stadium in the Shelby Mustang GT500  & Amy McDonald is SIARPC. It’s episode 3 of Top Gear Series 19 tonight, and the first two episodes have been distinctly decent. Tonight’s episode looks promising too.

VW Cross Up! arrives ahead of Geneva 2013

Volkswagen has revealed a rugged, rufty-tufty version of the Up! City car – the VW Cross Up! – ahead of a reveal at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.

Driving with criminals

At first it had all the appearances of a routine police checkpoint, a simple little affair in which some warnings might be issued, possibly some speeding tickets. But otherwise our group of 18 or so U.S. automotive journalists driving a fleet of high-priced Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG sedans would be allowed to continue on our merry way through the Spanish countryside.

New Range Rover SOLD OUT in U.S.

It seems the 2013 Range Rover is proving so popular that Range Rover customers in the U.S. will have to wait up to a year for their cars. That pattern of demand for the new Range Rover seems to be the same in the U.S., with waiting lists of between 6 and 12 months for the first new Range Rover in a decade.

Autoweek in review: What you may have missed

A lot was going on at One Autoweek Tower during February's first week. Besides the Chicago Auto Show we talked Super Bowl commercials, Formula One testing and even reviewed a supercar. Here are some of the biggest stories from the week.

Holden Calais unveiled, previews Chevrolet SS

General Motors' Australian subsidiary, Holden, has revealed its new VF series Calais -- the rear-wheel-drive sedan that in top-of-the-line, V8-powered, left-hand-drive form -- will be exported to North America and sold as the Chevrolet SS. The new Calais sits at the top of what Holden describes as an “extensively upgraded Commodore” range, with right-hand-drive Australian sales set to get underway in June. The Holden Commodore and its more luxurious Calais derivative have underpinned General Motors' sales in Australia since its introduction in 1978.

Aston Martin SP10: V8 Vantage S Special Edition – not for UK

Aston Martin has revealed a new Special Edition V8 Vantage S – the Vantage SP10 – inspired by the GT4 Race Series. Not available in the UK. But in recent years automatic gearboxes have got very clever, and the modern auto ‘box can work the cogs better than Michael Schumacher on a good day.

New Kia Cee’d GT Turbo: First photo arrives

We have the first photo of the 5-door Kia Cee’d GT – a Cee’d with the engine from the Hyundai Veloster Turbo – ahead of a 2013 Geneva reveal. We already know that Kia are planning to launch the 3-door Pro_Cee’d GT with the engine from the Veloster Turbo because they’ve told us, and they’ve sent us some details of its specification and photos too. We also know that there will be a 5-door Kia Cee’d GT – with the same Turbo engine – although so far Kia hasn’t sent us details or photos.

Nissan 370Z Nismo for UK & Europe: Official

The Nissan 370Z Nismo – a titivated and fettled 370Z – has finally arrived for the UK and Europe and will debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. Nissan has fettled the 370Z Nismo for European roads and tastes and, although there’s a bit more power, the focus is on driver fun. That means the 370Z Nismo comes only with a six-speed manual gearbox and only as a coupe to keep things nice and stiff and keep the driver involved.

The Super Bowl's most refreshingly honest car ad

In 2000's High Fidelity, hapless record-store owner Rob Gordon -- played memorably by John Cusack -- opines, “What really matters is what you like, not what you are like." In the year 2000, I was 24 years old and was working on a punk rock magazine, an environment not dissimilar from Gordon's Championship Vinyl. The line made a lot of sense to me; it was a quiet, back-of-the-head maxim that informed much of what my friends and I did and how we saw people. It's a shallow way of looking at things, but for those of us who came of age amid the us-vs.-them liberal identity politics of the '90s, awash as we were in Public Enemy's political consciousness, the post-AIDS gay-rights push and the loud-fast feminism of the riot grrrl movement, there was a good chance that if somebody liked the things you liked, they thought like you and they were good.

Concept Car of the Week: Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Sport (1965)

Autodelta produced 112 Alfa Romeo TZs between 1963 and 1965. The TZ abbreviation – for Tubulare Zagato – refers to the innovative lightweight spaceframe chassis that kept the weight at an impressive 660kg and assured great performance both on the road and on the track. Out of those desirable TZs, Zagato bodied the vast majority but two of the chassis were also handed to rival carrozzerias Bertone and Pininfarina.

Toyota GT86 TRD: Price from £31,495 – just 250 for the UK

The Toyota GT86 TRD – a GT86 titivated by Toyota Racing Development – will cost £31,495 in the UK. Just 250 available. Now, Toyota has announced that the GT86 TRD will be going on sale in the UK on 1st March and will cost £31,495 for the manual version and £32,995 for the auto.

CDN/GM-PATAC competition deadline extended

We're now three months into the CDN-GM/PATAC Interactive Design Competition China, and here at CDN we're excited to see some many strong entries coming in. Because there has been such a flurry of quality entries leading up to the first round deadline, we're happy to announce that the deadlines have been adjusted to allow for more students to compete for two internships with GM in China. All entries must now be received by March 1, 2013 in order to qualify for judging.

Mercedes-Benz CLA180 cheats the wind

Mercedes-Benz claims its new CLA180 BlueEfficiency Edition will be the world's most aerodynamically efficient production road car when the European deliveries begin in June. The swoopy four-door sedan forms part of an initial five-car lineup of CLA models set for a public debut at the Geneva motor show in March. With an official drag co-efficient of 0.22, the CLA180 Blue Efficiency Edition undercuts the existing aerodynamic champion, the Mercedes B180 BlueEfficiency with the optional eco technology package, which claims a 0.24 Cd.

New Ford Fiesta ST starts production ahead of first deliveries in March

Ford has started production of the new Fiesta ST at its plant in Cologne ahead of first customer cars arriving in Ford’s UK showrooms in March. By the time the Fiesta ST arrived at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show it had turned in to a full production model – with little change from the concept – and we finally got UK prices for the Fiesta ST last month, with the promise that Ford would be getting the first STs to customers in March. That plan looks like it’s on track as Ford announce the Fiesta ST has now started to roll off the production line in Cologne (and even the first STs coming off the line get Ford’s orange statement paint job).

Toyota GT86 TRD (2013) first pictures and details

Toyota's performance arm TRD (stop sniggering, it stands for Toyota Racing Development) has breathed on the GT86 coupe. The GT86 TRD, of which just 250 examples are UK-bound, gets a subtle bodykit, bigger wheels, a tuned exhaust and a couple of badging trinkets, but crucially, no extra power from the 2.0-litre boxer engine. A mistake, given that the price is up by £6500?

Citroen Technospace concept car (2013) first pictures

Don't be fooled by the concept car ruse: this is the new Citroen C4 Picasso in almost showroom-ready spec. Citroen hasn't even gone to the trouble of fitting massive wheels and cameras for mirrors to play up the concept car claim. This is Citroen's next compact MPV, due on sale in the second half of 2013. Citroen Technospace concept: the need-to-know The next Citroen C4 Picasso will use the company's lighter 'EMP2' underpinnings.

Rowan Atkinson’s McLaren F1 cost nearly £1 million to fix

Rowan Atkinson pranged his McLaren F1 in 2011 in Cambridgeshire and now, after a repair bill of £910,00, it’s back. We all know what a petrolhead Black Adder and Mr Bean actor Rowan Atkinson is, and most of the car world knows he owns a McLaren F1, and that he had a nasty accident in it in 2011. Rowan lost control of his F1 in damp and unpleasant conditions on the A605 near Peterborough and ended up going backwards in to a tree.

Citroën Technospace concept

Citroën has revealed its new Technospace concept ahead of Geneva, which previews the new C4 Picasso. The compact MPV concept – which measures in at 4,430mm long, 1,830mm wide and 1,610mm high – debuts next month in Geneva and appears to be a near-production version of the next C4 Picasso, with Citroën confirming it will be on sale by the end of the year. In comparison to the outgoing C4 Picasso, it shares some recognizable characteristics like the large windshield curving into the roof, together with the four-light greenhouse with blacked-out pillars.

Alfa Romeo 4C spied in Michigan

During the Detroit auto show in January, Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne told us -- in his own irreverent way -- that arrival of the long-promised Alfa Romeo 4C would be delayed once again. But as these spy photos show, testing on the sporty coupe continues even as a debut date remains elusive. This isn't the first time we've caught the 4C testing in the States.

New Bentley Flying Spur glimpsed in new teasers

Bentley has released a preview image and video previewing the new-generation Flying Spur ahead of its debut at next month's Geneva Show. From what we can tell, the pair of redesigned circular headlamps feature below the presence of a crease not seen on the outgoing model. There is also a new crease along the new model's shoulder line.

Rating the 2006-2012 Toyota RAV4

For those of you daydreaming of used Toyota RAV4 ownership, autos.ca has your guide to the little SUVs of the RAV 4's golden age, 2006-2012. Though Yeezy famously dissed the “Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel drive” or RAV4, people seem to like them. Automobile Magazine named it “Automobile of the Year” in 1997.

VW Beetle GSR Limited Edition gets 207bhp

Volkswagen are launching a limited edition of the Beetle – the VW Beetle GSR – with yellow and black paint job and 207bhp. The Beetle GSR stays relatively faithful to the paint job on its granddad with the bonnet and boot of the GSR in black, as are the roof and mirrors, and there are yellow and black stripes with ‘GSR’ lettering on the sides, all setting off the yellow paint job and 19″ alloys completing the exterior. Oddly, despite the GSR paying tribute to its 1970s predecessor, you can also order your GSR in Platinum Grey or Black. Inside, the new GSR gets R-Line racing track sports seats with cloth upholstery and yellow stitching )although our Colonial cousins get full leather) and a leather steering wheel with the build number – 1 to 3,500 – on a badge on the wheel, R-Line dash, GSR gear stick, leather handbrake cover and black mats with yellow trim.

Subaru VIZIV Concept & new Subaru Forester at Geneva 2013

Subaru are debuting a new crossover/SUV concept at the Geneva Motor Show as well as the new Subaru Forester and Outback diesel CVT. Subaru are heading to the 2013 Geneva Motor Show with a new crossover concept  - Subaru VIZIV Concept – but has failed to give us any real information. So we don’t know if the VIZIV (the name is supposed to mean ‘Vision for Innovation) is a replacement on the way for a current Subaru, or an all new car.

Kia Cross GT SUV Concept arrives ahead of reveal in Chicago

Kia has revealed their concept for a new large SUV – the Kia Cross GT Concept – ahead of a reveal at the Chicago Auto Show. Underpinning the Cross GT are the same underpinnings the impressive Kia GT Concept we saw at Frankfurt in 2011 had, to create a new SUV that is a chunk bigger than the Sorento (213mm longer with a wheelbase 399mm more) but, thanks to a swooping roofline, is 41mm lower. Power for the Hybrid Cross GT comes from a 3.8 litre petrol V6 and an electric motor which produce around 400bhp and 500lb/ft of torque, driven to all four wheels through an eight-speed auto ‘box.

Golf Mk 6 bows out with new VW Golf R Cabriolet

Volkswagen is finally delivering the VW Golf R Cabriolet Mk 6, just as the Golf Mk 7 hits the road, but it does without 4WD. But it’s taken until now – 2013 and after the Mk 7 Golf arrived – for VW to fulfil the promise of more powerful open-top motoring in the Golf with the arrival – following a Golf R Cabrio tease video at the end of 2012 – to finally reveal it. Just as you’d expect, the Golf R Cabriolet is mechanically similar to the Golf R in that it gets the same 2.0 litre turbo four cylinder petrol engine that delivers its power through a six-speed dual-clutch auto box.

VW Golf R Cabriolet (2013) first official pictures

Volkswagen has officially revealed the Mk6 Golf's swansong: the production-ready Golf R Cabriolet. First seen at the 2011's Worthersee enthusiast show, the new Golf R Cabriolet packs the same 266bhp engine as its hard-top sister, but loses its all-wheel drive underpinnings. It's now a front-driver, like a regular Golf GTI.