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Volkswagen Confirms Audi S1, Jetta R
Volkswagen confirmed today that an Audi S1 and a Jetta R are in the pipeline, but quashed rumors of an upcoming Polo R model. In an interview with drive.com.au, Dr. Ernst Linder, responsible for developing the Polo GTI, said that an Audi S1 would be offered with the familiar 1.4L twincharge unit and 7-speed DSG…
Pointless Tuner Car Of The Day: Dodge Journey By Irmscher
Whatever you think of the Dodge Journey’s subjective attributes, nobody can deny that it’s a family hauler that is the further thing from a performance vehicle. But somehow, German tuner Irmscher found it pertinent to modify a Dodge Journey with some kind of aggressive body kit, racing stripes, a chrome tailpipe, a “sports steering wheel”…
World Time Attack Challenge Attracts the Best from Japan and the USA [video]
The World Time Attack Challenge, held at Australia’s Eastern Creek International Raceway near Sydney, has attracted a deep field of local and international competitors including top American teams Sierra Sierra Enterprises and their Mitsubishi Evo 8 and Factor X Motorsports Development and their awesome Acura NSX. It may be an easier commute for the Japanese…
World’s Fastest Jeep SRT-8 Goes 9’s, Has Sports Cars Scratching Their Hoods
Running 9 seconds in the quarter mile is quite a feat for any sports car. It takes come serious modifications to get a Toyota Supra or Chevy Corvette to go that fast. And just recently we reported on the first Nissan GT-R to break the 10 second barrier. So imagine how surprised we were to…
AC Schnitzer Tunes BMW X6 M
The BMW X6 M continues to be a confused child in our eyes in the crossover segment. The twin-turbocharged 4.4L V8 tosses out 555-hp and 501 ft-lbs of torque, numbers that rival the much larger and more popular Porsche Cayenne Turbo. But BMW sticking their coveted M-badge on a SAV (or SUV, whichever you’d like…
3D Design Beautifies BMW Z4 With New Aero Bits
Things have gotten very interesting in Japan now that many tuners are expanding the term JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) to encompass European vehicles. Japanese tuner 3D Design specializes in tuning BMWs and has made quite the splash in its young American presence. The company is already quite popular with the newer model E90 and E92…
Wretched Excess: Hennessey HPE1000 Combines Camaro Styling, 1,000 Horsepower
If you want the performance of a Bugatti Veyron in an all-American package (that’s one tenth the price), look no further than Hennessey Performance Engineering’s HPE1000, a $65,000 upgrade for the Chevrolet Camaro SS. The stock 6.2L LS3 engine is discarded in favor of a 7.0L LSX variant, and a complete twin-turbocharger system is installed….
Wald International Shows Off New Wheels, We’re a Little Underwhelmed
Wald International is one of Japan’s premier tuner of high-end automobile brands. But as of the last recent years their brand name has lost some of its luster – strangely as the brand has also increased in popularity on this side of the Pacific. So when we got word that Wald would be showcasing a…
Chevrolet Trailblazer Convertible Inspires Cries Of Despair
Believe it or not, this Chevrolet Trailblazer convertible (a one-off, thankfully), is not some backyard redneck conversion, but a professionally done job used for the Rose Bowl parade. With more passenger and cargo room the a Jeep Wrangler, the Trailblazer convertible is also a more unique alternative, but the vehicle comes with a few limitations….
Russian Marksman Make Automotive Art With Automatic Weapons
The Japanese are known for their calligraphy. The Swiss invented Helvetica. Now the Russians are creating beautiful stenciled art work – on the bodywork of an E36 BMW 3-Series. With AK47s. Apparently, the BMW in question was headed to a museum exhibit dedicated to the political turmoil of the early 1990’s, when Russia was a…
Design Q Gives Range Rovers Wings, Plus Other “Desirable” Features
The whole term of VIP has really progressed over the last few decades. When it comes to automotive, there’s an entire VIP trend that outfits cars with a low-to-the-ground ride height and wildly aggressive wheels that poke beyond the fenders. This style, extremely popular in Japan, normally sees outfitted black vehicles with dark tint and…
One-Off Ferrari SP1 To Debut At Concorso Italiano
When a standard Ferrari just isn’t enough, there’s always Ferrari’s Special Projects unit, a special section of the company dedicated to creating custom coachwork for very wealthy clients who work in tandem with Ferrari to ensure that their visions are aligned. The new, Japanese-based car, known as the SP1 is going to be making its…
Driver Jumps Out Of Burning Lotus Exige At 24 Hours Of Nurburgring (Video Inside)
In a truly heroic display of automotive badassery, Roger Green, a writer for England’s own Evo magazine, jumped from his burning Lotus Exige race car during the 24 Hour race at the Nurburgring, Germany’s famed race course affectionately known as “The Green Hell.” If the inferno wasn’t enough, Green’s brakes also failed, forcing him to…
Young Camaro Wants To Be Old, Ends Up Looking Like Red-Headed Step-Child
In a perfect example of a good concept with poor execution, this brand new Chevy Camaro sports a retro-style 1969 Camaro SS front end. Sure the idea behind it is interesting, giving the Camaro more of a traditional, old school hot-rod look to the new-style body. But let’s face it; modern car design lines often…
Gemballa Closes Doors After 30 Years of Madness
Well, we probably could have called this one. German super-tuner Gemballa finally closed up shop this week, ending a 30-year reign as one of Europe’s top tuners. Gemballa was known as one of the most outrageous tuners of Porsches and Ferrari’s, and with cars like the Mirage GT and Avalanche GTR800, have proven themselves…
Volkswagen Scirocco Goes 1-2-3 at Nurburgring, Paves Way for Bio Natural Gas
A month ago we put the spotlight on VW’s Scirocco GT24 CNG Race Cars, announcing that they’ll be competing at the Nurburgring 24-hour race in the class for cars with alternative power. The race has come and gone and VW has made a solid statement with the sweep of the podium with a 1-2-3 finish….
Top Secret Releases Nissan GT-R R35 Parts
There’s a sort of an irony in the Top Secret brand name; they’re not one bit a secret in the tuner world at all. There are few companies that have stood the test of time like Top Secret has, always being on the forefront of parts research, design and manufacturing. They are also one of…
Gazoo Racing Lexus LFAs Dominate Respective Class at 24 Hours of Nurburgring Qualifying
Gazoo Racing is fielding a pair of Lexus LFAs this weekend at the famed 24 Hours of Nürburgring race. These V10 racecars are out to prove a point; the Lexus LFA is a true contender on and off the track and a genuine entry in the supercar world. Despite unsuccessful entries in the past with…
GReddy Turbo Kit Unleashed for Nissan GT-R R35 [with Video]
Last month we posted up the video of SP Engineering’s record setting pass in a pair of Nissan GT-R’s equipped with GReddy’s TD06SH 20G turbo upgrade kit. A video has now surfaced showing the details of GReddy’s turbo upgrade kit for the Nissan GT-R and it’s worth a watch, even if you don’t own one…
Volkswagen Golf GTI Excessive Edition Debuts at Worthersee Tour GTI Meet
Volkswagen has a long history of unveiling wild SEMA-esque cars at the annual Worthersee GTI Meet and this year proved to be no different. While its not the Bentley W12-powered widebody GTI, the GTI Excessive is a more realistic street car and certainly gets our motors running. The car features flared fenders and a complete…
Brabus T65 RS Vanish is a Mercedes SL65 AMG Black Series on Performance-Enhancing Drugs
So how do you go about making something good, better? How about after it’s better, even more better? Well, that’s exactly what Brabus has done with its T65 RS Tuning for the SL65 AMG Black Series. Mercedes-Benz‘ SL65 is good. The AMG Black variant is better. Arguably much better. Now comes Brabus’ package on the…
ONYX Concept Tunes 2010 Range Rovers; Reminds Us of Scion xB
ONYX Concept is an interesting tuning company based out of Dublin, Ireland. They market their brand as a Bespoke Automotive company, customizing cars for only the most distinguished of vehicle owners looking for a high degree of personalization and attention to detail during their build. While they also work on Bentleys, Aston Martins, Porsches, and…
BMW M3 GTS Officially Launched in Europe With Performance Stats and Video
BMW‘s M3 GTS track machine has been officially approved for sale, in Europe. The M3 GTS has 6 more horsepower than a stock M3, but is 154 lbs lighter than the standard car, and comes loaded with important track bits like one-piece bucket seats, harnesses, a roll cage and a fire extinguisher system. The only…
Vernal Equinox Video Provides Drifting Entertainment, Not Much Substance
We’d be kidding ourselves and the entire world when we say we watch videos on YouTube looking for substance or a plot. When it comes down to it, car videos are like porn for us. We don’t care about a story, we’re drooling over the action. Vernal Equinox is a fancy 12-minute flick by French…






