There has never been a sports car like the XL Sport concept being showcased by Volkswagen in a world premiere at the Paris Motor Show. A car that uncompromisingly furthers the development of the lightweight sports car in its very essence. A 270 km/h driving machine based on the XL1, the most efficient car of all time. Efficiency and emotion compellingly recombined. At the rear of the XL Sport sits one of the finest achievements in engine technology – the V2 adapted from the new Ducati 1199 Superleggera, the world’s most powerful two-cylinder motorcycle. (more…)

The all-new Subaru Levorg sports tourer concept made its world premiere this week at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, hinting at a new vehicle currently under development for market launch in Japan in 2014. The name ‘Levorg’ comes from a combination of the words ‘Legacy’, ‘Revolution’ and ‘Touring’, and the concept blends the practicality of a tourer with the stylish design and feel of a sports car. The front of the Levorg features Subaru’s unified design motif, the hexagonal grille, while the shape of the new ‘hawkeye’ headlights helps emphasise the car’s low, wide stance. Its sleek profile is optimised for high aerodynamic efficiency and conveys the Levorg’s performance potential, yet also leaves no doubt about its practicality and touring credentials. The Levorg concept sees the introduction of an all-new 1.6-litre horizontally-opposed direct injection turbo (DIT) Boxer engine, which produces 168bhp and 184 lb ft torque, designed to offer smooth performance and greater environmental efficiency. The Levorg has also been engineered with a new high-performance 2.0-litre DIT Boxer engine in mind, producing 296bhp and 295 lb ft torque.  (more…)

Ahead of the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show, Honda has showcased the latest Civic Type R development car at its in-house test track in Tochigi, Japan. The currently camouflaged car is being put through its paces as part of an extensive testing process taking place in Europe and Japan, ahead of its much anticipated launch in 2015.  (more…)

Records fall and dreams come true with the debut of the Nissan GT-R Nismo. This race-oriented model delivers “factory tuned” supercar dynamics with revolutionary enhanced aerodynamics and ultra-precise handling. The Nissan GT-R is already established as one of the best performing supercars in the automotive sphere, and now Nissan has drawn on decades of racing experience gathered by Nismo, the brand’s motorsport specialists, to develop the ultimate Nissan GT-R.

The Nissan GT-R Nismo features exclusive styling that embraces the longstanding racing philosophy of form following function. It has numerous motorsports-inspired technologies to enhance the car’s performance through optimised aerodynamics, suspension and powertrain, creating a well-balanced machine that is at home on both the road and track.

The Nissan GT-R Nismo will be available in Japan in late February 2014, U.S. and Europe later in 2014.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says this is the fastest Nissan GT-R ever. “With a 7:08.679 lap time, we can authoritatively say that the Nissan GT-R Nismo* holds the volume production car lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschliefe, which is the gold standard of high performance achievement.”  (more…)

TOKYO, Japan, September 6, 2012 – Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that it has newly developed a technology for the continuous welding of the dissimilar metals of steel and aluminum and applied it for the first time in the world to the subframe of a mass-production vehicle, a key component of a vehicle body frame. Honda will adopt this technology first to the North American version of the all-new 2013 Accord, which will go on sale in the United States on September 19, 2012, and will expand application sequentially to other models.  (more…)