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2015 VW GTI makes movie magic with a heaping helping of GoPro

Quick, what do a Volkswagen GTI and a GoPro have in common? Well, the answer is quite obvious. They've both become an ever-present item at track days and autocrosses over the years. Now, though, they're finally teaming up.
Volkswagen has announced that anyone that buys or leases a new, seventh-generation GTI before June 30 will get a free GoPro Hero 3+ Black Edition. Buying a $25,000 car and getting a free, $399 video camera doesn't seem like a half-bad bargain.
To highlight this point, and show what both the GTI and a GoPro can do, Volkswagen enlisted its World Rallycross driver, Tanner Foust, to zip about on a closed course behind the wheel of a 2015 GTI that's been fitted with its body weight in cameras. The result is the cool video you see below. Scroll down, and then let us know what you think.

Nissan teases new pickup on Twitter [w/video]

Nissan is celebrating 80 years of building pickup trucks by teasing its latest one on Twitter ahead of a June 11 reveal. Official information about the new vehicle is essentially nonexistent at the moment, but there are some clues to extrapolate from.
There's a special member of the #Nissan family on the way. Due date: June 11th. pic.twitter.com/OkQ0GkXypV

- Nissan (@Nissan) June 2, 2014

Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato could be bound for limited production

Lamborghini has been seriously upping its production overt the years. When Audi took over in the late 1990s, the company's production was measured in the 200-unit range. Now it's making over 2,000 cars every year. But at the same time, Sant'Agata has been focusing on low-volume production as well, with a separate assembly line dedicated to putting together concept cars and limited editions like the Sesto Elemento and Veneno. And now it may just have another on its hands.
That would be the Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato, a unique coachbuilt supercar based on the Gallardo and unveiled last week at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on the shores of Italy's glamorous Lake Como. It was commissioned as a one-off custom for noted Lambo and Zagato collector Albert Spiess, but reports suggest that it could be put into limited production.
The viability of the project would likely depend on how many orders the Italians might garner for an expanded production run. Whether the project would be undertaken at Lamborghini's special projects facility or off-site by Zagato remains to be seen, but you can bet it would fetch a pretty penny or two, despite the fact that the platform on which it's based is now over a decade old and has since been replaced by the newer Huracán.

Honda Super Cub first vehicle to receive 3D trademark in Japan

The term "iconic" gets thrown around a lot, but if there was ever a design worthy of the honorific, surely it's the Honda Super Cub. That's not just our opinion, though: it's the official word from the Japanese Patent Office, which has recognized the classic scooter's shape with a three-dimensional trademark.
The category was introduced in Japan back in 1997 to immortalize distinctive designs, and is subject to very strict criteria. In fact, this marks the first time it has been applied to a vehicle - and one of the few industrial products to be awarded the recognition.
Little wonder it was applied to this little wonder, too. With over 87 million units made since its introduction in 1958, Honda claims the Super Cub to be "the world's largest selling vehicle," with production taking place at 15 factories in 14 countries and sales in 160 markets around the world.

Nissan sells 3,117 Leaf EVs in May, climbs over 3,000 for first time ever

Chalk up a big win for the Nissan Leaf. In May, the world's most popular electric vehicle sold a record 3,117 units, the first time any pure electric vehicle has sold over 3,000 units in a month in the US (unless Tesla managed that feat but rolled the number into a quarterly report). This marks the 15th month in a row of record Leaf sales and the seventh where the Leaf was the top EV seller in the US. The challenge bar is set for someone to step up to compete with this all-electric wunderkind. Chevrolet did sell over 3,000 Volts once, in August 2013. The Leaf's one long-standing competitor, of a sort, is the Chevy Volt, which used to regularly outsell the Leaf but moved only 1,684 units in May. That's still an increase of 4.8 percent over 2013 but is part of a 4.5 percent decline in year-to-date Volt sales for 2014 compared to last year. The last time the Volt outsold the Leaf was October 2013. Chevrolet did sell over 3,000 Volts once, when it moved 3,351 in August 2013. Let's take another look at those 3,117 Leafs sold last month. They represent a 45.8 percent increase over May 2013, when 2,138 Leaf EVs were sold, so someone is doing something right in Japan and Tennessee. So far, Leaf sales in the US are up 36.4 percent year-to-date, to 10,389 EVs. That's just under half of the 2013 total, and it was accomplished in five months. In 2013, Nissan sold a total of 22,610 Leafs. Anyone want to hazard a guess where the total will be at the end of the year? As always, we'll have our detailed monthly sales write-up including other plug-in vehicles as well as hybrids and diesel car, up soon. For now, though, the big news is big Leaf sales. Read Nissan's press release below. Nissan Group reports May 2014 U.S. sales May 2014 May 2013 % Change Nissan Group Total sales (units) 135,934 114,457 +18.8 Nissan Division May sales 125,558 106,558 +17.8 Infiniti May sales* 10,376 7,899 +31.4 NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Nissan Group today announced total U.S. sales for May 2014 of 135,934 units, an increase of 18.8 percent over the prior year and a May record. Nissan highlights: Nissan Division set a May record at 125,558 sales in the month, an increase of 17.8 percent. This marks a monthly record for Nissan division in 14 of the last 15 months. May was the best-ever month for Nissan LEAF with 3,117 sales, an increase of 45.8 percent over the prior year. In May, LEAF passed 50,000 total U.S. sales since launch, further establishing it as the leader among electric vehicles.

Leno and Ian Callum pilot Jaguar XK120 at 2014 Mille Miglia

Jay Leno has been in a British mood recently with his videos highlighting the McLaren P1, 1962 Norton 650SS and Steve McQueen's 1956 Jaguar XKSS. He's keeping the streak alive this week with a look at driving a Jaguar XK120 in the 2014 Mille Miglia historic rally with Jaguar Design Director Ian Callum.
The video show off Jay Leno's Garage in top form. It's way more than just Jay driving the 1,000-mile route from Brescia, Italy, to Rome and back. He also includes interviews with Stirling Moss about winning the race back in 1955, and racer Martin Brundle about what it's like to drive a long-nose Jaguar D-Type this year.
Today, the Mille Miglia is only for historic cars, and it has a much more relaxed pace than the original all-out event. However, this isn't entirely a cruise. Leno seems scared at times talking about it because the drivers are free to ignore the speed limits and open the cars up as much as they are willing to. The roads aren't shut down for regular traffic, either, and things can be dangerous.

Audi reveals updated RS7 Sportback in Europe

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Audi revealed a few mild updates to its A7. It even ported those changes over to the warmed-up S7 performance version. All that was missing was the full-steam RS7, and that's precisely what we have here.
Now before you get all excited, note that the new RS7 packs the same powertrain as the model it succeeds, but then again, the existing RS7 hardly lacked in the power department. The 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 still churns out 560 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque, transmitted to all four wheels through an eight-speed automatic. Revealed initially for the European market (with US details presumably to follow), the 0-62 kilometers per hour time is quoted at 3.9 seconds, so the 0-60 mph time ought to match the 3.7 seconds of the preceding model.
What has changed are the subtle tweaks Audi has made to the exterior and equipment upgrades inside. The grille now features has a horizontal section at the bottom with the Quattro logo emblazoned across like all other recently revised RS models, flanked by new headlights (Matrix LED units for the European market). Inside the cabin the air-con vents and shift paddles have been reshaped, and the new MMI system ports over from the new A7 and S7 with 4G LTE connectivity and a Bang & Olufsen sound system.

Submit Your Questions for Autoblog Podcast #383 LIVE!

We're set to record Autoblog Podcast #383 this evening. Check out the topics below or drop us your questions and comments via the Q&A module. And don't forget to subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes if you haven't already done so. To take it all in live, tune in to our UStream (audio only) channel at 10:00 PM Eastern tonight.
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #383
Ferrari 458 Speciale

This is what a Lexus RC-based 'four-door coupe' might look like

It feels like there is a secret law in Germany mandating that every domestic automaker there must offer at least one model with a four-door coupe bodystyle like the BMW Gran Coupes, Mercedes-Benz CLS and Audi A7. Several of the German brands even have the swoopy sedans in multiple sizes. So far, Lexus has stayed out of that fray, but maybe not for long, if a recently spotted test car makes it to market.
The brand is known to be testing a highly styled four-door coupe, roughly the size of the GS, under heavy camouflage. Little is known about the new model at the moment, but its existence makes sense. If it really wants to take the on Germans, Lexus is going to have to fight them toe-to-toe with competing models - especially with ones understood to have high margins.
Pictured above is a rendering from artist Theophilus Chin imagining a slightly smaller take on the genre based on the RC coupe, which he calls the RC GT. His design leaves the original shape almost untouched, but shortens the front doors to allow room for a rear doors under the arching roof. His GT would be aimed more against the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and rumored Mercedes-Benz C-Class four-door coupe, rather than the larger models Lexus actually appears to be targeting with its vehicle under development. His concept certainly nails the look, though, and while it might not have a basis in reality, we thought that it's well-resolved enough that you'd want to take a look, if only as a "what could've been" flight of fancy.

2015 Ford Mustang's curb weight appears to be anyone's guess

Ford Mustang enthusiasts rejoiced when they first learned that the all-new sixth-generation model would feature a fully independent rear suspension (IRS) and the option of a turbocharged 2.3-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder in addition to its naturally aspirated 3.7-liter V6 and 5.0-liter V8 offerings. Yet some of that excitement has been suppressed with a growing concern about the upcoming coupe's curb weight - Ford has released plenty of information about the vehicle, but it has kept absolutely silent about its mass.
After many of us speculated that the new model would shed some weight, after all, we all know that excess poundage is the enemy of performance and "lightweighting" is the engineering buzzword of the moment. However, our story last week contradicted that logic when Steeda Autosports, a company that has been given early access to the new model, stated on its website that "the 2015 Mustang ended up gaining 200-300 pounds in this remake." The report had enthusiasts audibly squirming in pain.
But it now appears that Steeda's statements may have been anything but scientific. The company, seemingly in a backpedal, clarified itself on Mustang6g.com today, saying: "Based on our experience working with IRS Mustangs in the past we estimated what the weight addition will be. In addition current industry trends with new cars show additional weight being added for various new safety and comfort features."

Mitsubishi shows off MiEV Evolution III for Pikes Peak

In May 2012, Mistubishi unveiled a completely unexpected version of the i-MiEV electric jellybean to challenge the climb up Pikes Peak, the MiEV Evolution. In 2013, the company unleashed the MiEV Evolution II. For 2014, well, you can probably guess. Say hello to the MiEV Evolution III. The latest, ahem, evolution of these cars features redesigned chassis and bodywork as well as a 50 kW boost to the electric motors, up to 450 kW, which translates to a 67 horsepower increase up to 603 hp. Two of these bad boys will tackle the 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) later this month in the Electric Modified Division at the hands of drivers Greg Tracy and Hiroshi Masuoka. The race starts at 9,390 feet and ends at 14,110 feet above sea level and takes place June 29. Mitsubishi hasn't yet managed to win the EV category in. The first Evolution crashed during practice and last year Masuoka came in second in the EV division while Tracy came in third. The 2013 winner was Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima in the Monster Sport E-Runner. Will the third time be the charm? Mitsubishi Motors to Compete in the 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb for Third Consecutive Year Pair of advanced MiEV Evolution III all-electric racecars to compete Mon, Jun 02, 2014 - Cypress, California - Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. (MMNA) will compete in the Electric Modified Division of the prestigious 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb (PPIHC) with a pair of technologically-advanced MiEV Evolution III 100% electric-powered purpose-built racecars in the 92nd running of the "Race to the Clouds" on June 29th near Colorado Springs, Colorado. First run in 1916, the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is a treacherous 12.42-mile/156 corner road course through the Rocky Mountains in Colorado commencing at an elevation of 9,390 feet and finishing at 14,110 feet – nearly 3 miles above sea level. The Pikes Peak race is the second oldest motorsports event in the United States after the Indianapolis 500. "Pikes Peak is an excellent laboratory for testing our advanced MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) technology," states Don Swearingen, executive vice president Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc.

Ford is building this sweet back-to-basics SUV in Brazil

We're use to forbidden fruit teasing us in Europe. Hatchbacks and diesels from Renault, Citroën, Peugeot, Skoda, SEAT and Alfa Romeo have been a regular torment that we've grown accustomed to over the years. This vehicle, though, is one piece of forbidden fruit we aren't entirely sure we can get over. We need it.
It's called the Ford Troller T4, and if you accidentally read that as either "reborn Ford Bronco" or "Americanized Land Rover Defender," we wouldn't be rushing to correct you. It's a basic, badass SUV, and is the first new vehicle to come from Troller since Ford gobbled it up in 2007. For those with longer memories, you'll recognize this vehicle from the concept that preceded it, the Ford T-R Concept. The production model remains remarkably true to the T-R, as well as past Trollers, but it's a slightly more modern look overall, with LED taillights, contrasting colors
You'll have to bear with us on the details, as we've been forced to rely on the notoriously literal Google Translate to convert the original Portuguese into English, which means some of the details were lost along the way.

Mercedes-Benz MLC interior snapped for the first time

Mercedes-Benz is back testing its new MLC, the lifted, 'four-door coupe' crossover that will challenge the BMW X6 for the title of least utile utility vehicle. We've already shown you exterior images, along with a peak at the AMG variant and now, we have our first look at the new Benz's cabin.
The interior looks like pretty standard fare for Mercedes. The center console sports a similar setup for the COMAND infotainment system as the new C-Class, while we can spot what looks like a sort of terrain management system closer to the passenger's side.
The center stack, meanwhile, looks similar to what we've seen on other Mercedes products. The dash, meanwhile, features a wide band of brushed aluminum with a leather-lined dash. The steering wheel also looks borrowed from the C-Class.

New Porsche 4-cyl engines to range from 1.6L to 2.5L

Recent rumors of a turbocharged, flat-four-engine from Porsche for the Boxster (pictured testing above), Cayman and maybe other models go back over a year. The latest scuttlebutt indicates that there could be three variants on the horizon with 1.6-, 2.0- and 2.5-liter displacements and power as high as 360 horsepower.
Car magazine in the UK claims to have access to the specifications for the project and thinks the 2.0- and 2.5-liter versions are guaranteed for production for the Boxster and Cayman. However, it believes a question mark still looms over the 210-hp 1.6L because the engine would go into a new, smaller sports car that still doesn't have a green light for production.
Regardless of displacement, the new fours would be turbocharged and direct-injected. The 2.0-liter would produce around 286 hp and 295 pound-feet of torque, and the 2.5-liter would make about 360 hp and 347 lb-ft. Earlier reports pegged some parts sharing with the current flat-six.

18 McLaren F1s gather for owners club meet in Tuscany

It's not every day that you see a McLaren F1 on the road. Seeing two in the same place is the approximate automotive equivalent to seeing a leprechaun riding a unicorn. But eighteen? We were recently at the McLaren factory in Woking, and while there were a few notable examples on display or hidden in this corner or that, we still didn't see that many of them there. That's what makes this video so remarkable. Shot in Tuscany during a meeting of the McLaren F1 Owners Club, this video shows a dozen "standard" F1s, joined by an additional six F1 GTRs. Together that makes for one in every six McLaren F1s ever made. And as if that weren't enough, a couple of new P1s joined in, with a few examples of the 12C and 650S tagging along in a – get this – support capacity. Now you know it's a special event when you've got McLarens serving as support cars. Scope out the footage below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: CarloDelucis via YouTube McLaren Coupe Performance Videos

2015 Chrysler 200S AWD

I love road trips. Honestly, one of the best parts about this job is the freedom we're given to experience the open road, whether at new car launches or while bombing around with whatever we're testing on our home turf. But the longer-form road trip is equally special to me, and it's something I'm always eager to do. Air travel stinks - that's not news. So if I can drive, I will. And without our dear TSA to fight with, I can pack all the chainsaws and gallon jugs of chocolate milk that I want.
So when it came time to attend the 2014 New York Auto Show this past April, I thought, "Why not drive?" Typically, the route from downtown Detroit to Manhattan is something like 10 hours, but I decided to bake some extra time into the journey and planned for the vast majority of my travels to be off the beaten path. Doing the "avoid expressways" route allows you to see parts of America you've never encountered before, and to meet people with stories and opinions that you've never heard. It's a great way to travel if you have the time. There's something uniquely serene about seeing the country in a great car on a great road.
Let's talk about that "great car" line for a moment. Ideally, long stretches of backroads are best done in something fast, comfortable and involving - a Porsche 911 comes to mind. Or, another school of thought says to pick some fun little spitfire like the always-lovely Mazda MX-5 Miata, for top-down, sun-drenched fun. But for this trip, I chose the 2015 Chrysler 200, in fully loaded S guise with all-wheel drive. Now, settle down; I'm not about to compare it to either the Porsche or Mazda. The point I'm making is this: after 1,500 test miles under my butt, I can emphatically state that the new 200 is indeed a great car in its own right.

Lamborghini gets to work on Huracan LP610-4 Super Trofeo

We all know the story of how Automobili Lamborghini got its start. The short of it is that Ferruccio, who had already started a successful tractor business, wanted to stick it to Enzo Ferrari, so he started making sports cars of his own. Lamborghini, however, never embraced motorsports to the same degree that Ferrari has - dabbling in Formula One engines in the early '90s and the occasional foray into GT racing - but these days the Raging Bull marque is getting more serious about racing. It partners with Reiter Engineering to field competition versions of its road-going supercars, and organizes its own one-make series with individual championships around the world.
That's where the new Huracán comes in. While the Ferrari Challenge has progressed from the 348 to the 355, 360, 430 and now the 458, the Lamborghini Super Trofeo has always been centered around the Gallardo. That's because the series only kicked off in 2009, and the Gallardo had been in production since 2003. But now that the Gallardo has been replaced by the Huracán, the Squadra Corse team is hard at work on their new Super Trofeo racer.
To that end, Lamborghini has recruited racing drivers Fabio Babini and Adrian Zaugg to conduct development work on the Huracán LP 610-4 Super Trofeo. Babini is a GT racing veteran who took a class win at Le Mans in 2001, while Zaugg came up the formula racing ladder, competing on A1GP and GP2 before signing on as a Lamborghini factory driver.

Japanese automakers kick in $800k for new charging-station company

Cynics may say that gathering $800,000 (total) from four of Japan's largest automakers is merely a rounding error. Still, Toyota, Nissan, Honda and Mitsubishi, along with the Development Bank of Japan, are putting those funds to good use. So, that's something. Last week, those five entities officially founded Nippon Charge Service LLC. The company was established to promote plug-in vehicle charging installations across Japan and the automakers seeded it with 80 million yen, or about $786,000 US. Those funds will be used to help business owners deploy charging stations at convenience stores, highway-side locales and other locations that will make it easier for plug-in vehicle drivers (of Toyotas, Hondas, Mitsubishis and Nissans, obviously) to get their juice. The automakers first announced they'd collaborate last year, when they said they'd work with the Japanese government to more than triple the country's publicly accessible chargers to about 17,000 units. No targets were disclosed as far as how many charging stations would be deployed this time out, but, in a move similar to the EZ Charge system in the US, Nippon Charge Service will also have universally-accepted charging cards available by the end of the year to drivers all of those brands' plug-in vehicles to make the charging process a little more seamless. Check out Honda's press release below. Japan Automakers Advance Electric Charging Infrastructure with New Company, Nippon Charge Service -Established to help build charging infrastructure for electric-powered vehicles (PHVs, PHEVs and EVs)- Toyota Motor Corporation Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Development Bank of Japan Inc. TOKYO, Japan, May 30, 2014 - Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Honda Motor Co., Ltd., and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation jointly established a new company, Nippon Charge Service, LLC, on May 26 to promote the installation of chargers for electric-powered vehicles (PHVs, PHEVs, EVs). The goal is to help build a charging network that offers more convenience to drivers in Japan. The new company will promote the installation of chargers, for the good of society and to expand the use of electric-powered vehicles. Related industries are also expected to benefit. Development Bank of Japan Inc.

Cameron's house from Ferris Bueller finally sells for $1M

We don't typically report on real estate here at Autoblog, but what we have here is no ordinary building or plot of land. This Chicago-area house was immortalized in the 1986 classic Ferris Bueller's Day Off as the childhood home of Cameron Frye, Bueller's best friend, but more importantly, as home to the (fortunately replicated) Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder that played, as much as Matthew Broderick himself, a starring role in the film.
The modernist house was designed in 1953 by A. James Speyer, who studied under architectural legend Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (who incidentally designed the gas station in Montreal where we shot a 1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta some six years ago). The glass pavilion that was used as the garage where that Ferrari was showcased in the movie was added in 1974, and was used in the mid-80s for filming the movie.
Fast forward to 2009 when the house and the accompanying pavilion were put on the market, listed at $2.3 million. But with no buyers, the price began to drop: first to $1.65 million in 2011, then to $1.5 million last summer and down again to $1.3 million later last year. Now five years on the market, the house has reportedly finally sold for $1.06 million - less than half its original asking price.

Airbag fault on 1M recalled Jeeps getting second look from NHTSA [UPDATE]

UPDATE: Here is the statement we received from Chrysler regarding NHTSA's query: "Chrysler Group LLC advised the National Highway Traffic Administration of the six reports and, in accordance with the Company's long-standing practice, is cooperating fully with the resulting investigation. Customer safety is paramount at Chrysler Group. Customers who are concerned may call 1-800-853-1403."
It appears that Jeep's repairs for nearly one million Grand Cherokees from 2002-2004 and Liberty models from 2002-2003 might not be over yet. The vehicles were first recalled in November 2012 because the front airbags could suddenly deploy without being in an accident. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a recall query into them because of reports of inadvertent activation on some already corrected vehicles.
The original problem affected over 919,000 vehicles worldwide, including 744,822 in the US, and was caused by a degrading circuit in the wires that control the airbags. In some cases the airbag warning light would come on just before the premature activation, but in other cases it would just happen. The automaker installed an "in-line jumper harness with an integrated electrical filter" meant to eliminate the power spikes believed to be the cause.

Real-life Bravado Banshee from Grand Theft Auto up for sale

Remember the Bravado Banshee that West Coast Customs built last year to promote Grand Theft Auto V? Given away by GameStop, the woman who won it says she's better off with money to send her two kids to college than with a race car, so now you can steal buy it on eBay.
Based on a 2006 Dodge Viper SRT-10, every exterior panel was redesigned to match the Banshee, and the red embroidered badging inside won't let you forget it. There's still that V10 up front that can make some kind of racket, and a SEMA-worthy stereo filling the entire trunk to make a different kind of racket. Oh, it's also got hood struts that have crapped out, so you'll notice the hood is held up with a wooden rod.
The auction ends on June 5, and you can make an offer or hit the Buy It Now button and hand over $170,000. Might be time to change the outfit and run a few jobs for some quick cash.

Jaguar designs Tour de France racing bike [w/video]

Jaguar is known for designing luxury sedans, and it's known for designing GTs. But once in a while it dabbles in a new area of transportation design. It's working on its first crossover at the moment, and even did a speedboat concept a couple of years ago. Now it's turned its attention to bicycles.
While many automakers have designed bikes in the past, Jaguar's project has a bit more of a direct correlation. It's been working with Team Sky - the outfit that has won the Tour de France two years running now - since 2010, furnishing the team with support vehicles for bicycle races around the world. But now it's stepping its collaboration up a notch by redesigning the team's bike.
Working with frame manufacturer Pinarello, Jaguar took the existing Dogma 65.1 racing bike design back to the drawing board. Jaguar's designers and engineers reshaped the frame tubes, seat post, front fork, derailleur and all the components attached to the frame, each part streamlined for aerodynamic efficiency. They ran it through Jaguar's Computational Fluid Dynamics processor 300 times then verified the results in the wind tunnel.

1928 Renault Type NN Tourer from Indiana Jones up for auction

It's uncommon for a film's sequel to surpass the original, and it's even rarer for the third movie in a series to be the best. However, that's arguably the case with Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Its perfect combination of exciting action set pieces, humor and great performances from Harrison Ford and Sean Connery might make it the pinnacle of the franchise. Now, a 1928 Renault Type NN Tourer with an on-screen role in one of the film's major scenes is heading to auction in the UK from Historics at Brooklands.
The Renault shows up in the fantastic tank chase scene late in the film where Donovan, the villain, rides in it for a time. For Indiana Jones filming in Spain, the car was painted and made to look dirty, but when the movie finished, it went to the UK for a repaint and engine rebuild.
The Type NN has humble beginnings for a movie star. Its design is quite utilitarian with a four-door tourer body, but the rear seats and interior panels are removable to expose its wooden floorboards and convert it into a makeshift pickup. That way, French farmers could load it with produce during the week and use it as a family car on the weekends. A four-cylinder engine with a claimed 50-mile-per-hour top speed might make tank chasing somewhat difficult in real life.

Has the 2015 Ford Mustang gained hundreds of pounds?

Automakers face competing interests when it comes to developing a new generation of vehicle. On the one hand, companies want to build their cars to be safer and better handling, with more equipment and maybe even larger dimensions over the model it's replacing. On the other hand, they strive to keep weight down to the benefit of both performance and fuel consumption. Usually something has to give, and in the case of the new 2015 Ford Mustang, those efforts may have resulted in a weight penalty of two or three hundred pounds.
This according to Blue Oval modifier Steeda Autosports, which states that "the 2015 Mustang ended up gaining 200-300 pounds in this remake". Despite the Mustang not being on the market yet, it would appear the leading Ford aftermarketer has been given early access to the 2015 model to help jumpstart its tuning efforts (a rather common development among trusted tuners). If Steeda's assertion is accurate, that would make the challenge of getting the new pony car up to speed for both Ford and aftermarket customizers like Steeda that much greater.
We're waiting for official word from Ford on the veracity of Steeda's claim, but if true, it's bound to be a bit of disappointing news for legions of Blue Oval performance enthusiasts. Watch this space for more.

VW to accelerate US model rollout

Volkswagen of America continues to see a sales decline, and the automaker is getting desperate to stop it. From January through April, Volkswagen sold 118,154 vehicles, down 10.4 percent from the year before. Something has to be done to stem the losses, and the business thinks it has an idea - introduce cars faster.
The new strategy is being spearheaded by VWoA CEO Michael Horn (pictured above) who wants to put the business on a five-year update, three-year refresh plan, according to Bloomberg. It would replace the current approach of adding new cars every seven years and refreshes after four. "We're working to shorten the lifecycle of the products to bring more new features and design elements, in terms of facelifts, to the market quicker," said Horn to Bloomberg. The change isn't set in stone yet, though. The company's management board has to sign off on it first and implementation wouldn't start until 2017. Talk about hurry up and wait.
If successful, it would be a much-needed change in direction for the company. Take the seventh-generation Golf and GTI for example. North America is just receiving them now over a year after many regions abroad. Or look at the ongoing debacle of deciding where to build the CrossBlue. VW is showing some signs of change with the 2016 Passat that is heavily rumored to receive a substantial refresh that goes further than the usual small changes.

Cosworth announces Power Packages for Subaru BRZ, Scion FR-S with up to 380 hp [w/video]

Cosworth stands on the list of the most famous engine tuners in the world with its DFV engine engine dominating Formula One for a time in the '70s. So when it teases plans to take on the FA20 engine from Subaru and Toyota found in the BRZ, Scion FR-S and Toyota GT86 abroad, our interest is indeed piqued. Cosworth is promising to take the 2.0-liter, four-cylinder boxer engine from its current 200 horsepower all the way to 325 hp and even 380 hp in a future track version through a series of staged Power Packages. At the moment, only the first stage is available that takes the mill to a potent 230 hp.
Cosworth says that its new strategy is to offer its upgrades in kits rather than individually so that it can be sure that everything works and fits when owners receive it. The Stage 1 Power Package emphasizes helping the FA20 breathe better and includes a nearly complete replacement for the stock exhaust system. There is a sports exhaust with four-inch, diagonally cut, polished tips and Y-shaped muffler, an overpipe front pipe with a spherical resonator and a new manifold header that is 22 percent lighter the standard unit. In addition to that, the kit comes with a software reflash, low temperature thermostat, Cosworth badge and plaque.
The stage one kit is available now, and stages two and three go on sale later this summer, according to its website. Autoblog contacted Cosworth for pricing information for the kits. We will update this story, if we hear back. The company also released a video showing off the exhaust upgrades. Scroll down to watch it and read the full release, below.

Tuner may sue Monaco hotel for damage caused by valet's injury

It's relatively common to hear about unethical valets taking a joyride and wrecking high-performance cars. However, a recent 'accident' in Monaco might be one of the weirdest cases ever. Of course, now the lawyers may get involved.
Andreas Belzek, owner of tuning firm Prior Design, was driving his highly modified, black with gold pinstripes, widebody Audi R8 (pictured above) to the Hotel de Paris in the famously rich city on the shores of the Mediterranean. Upon arriving, he was going to check in but wanted to park the supercar himself, which was against the hotel's rules. He protested to the valet but eventually gave in and handed over the keys. Then the problems began.
The Audi barely moved before the valet herniated a disk in his back and couldn't leave the car. The police and paramedics arrived to the scene, which had to be quite a crowd in a city as tiny as Monaco. To get the guy out, the rescue crew had to hook him to a special hoist and carry him out, according to Germany's Focus Online. Belzek claims the efforts to save the man caused roughly 10,000 euros ($13,622) in damage to the car's carbon fiber, Alcantara and Nappa leather interior.

Lotus hands Pastor Maldonado a new Evora S in Monaco

Being a Formula One driver has its privileges. First off, you get to drive F1 cars for a living. You get treated like royalty and fly around the world. And if you're lucky, you might get a supercar thrown at you once in a while. It all depends on which team you drive for.
Fernando Alonso, for example, has had countless Ferraris, Maseratis, Abarths and Jeeps thrown his way. Lewis Hamilton was a little disappointed not to get the keys to that rare McLaren F1 LM when he won the championship. But Pastor Maldonado just got his hands on a new Lotus Evora S.
Pastor who now, you ask? Pastor Maldonado. The first Venezuelan driver in F1, Maldonado won the GP2 title in 2010 then made the jump to F1, driving for Williams for the past three seasons, impressively winning the Spanish Grand Prix in 2012. Now he's at Lotus filling Kimi Raikkonen's seat, and took delivery of his white Evora - complete with 3.5-liter supercharged V6 and six-speed sequential gearbox - in Monte Carlo last weekend during the Monaco Grand Prix.

Neglected Rolls-Royce Phantom may be the saddest of all time

Rolls-Royce prides itself on exemplifying the pinnacle of automotive elegance. The brand is synonymous with quality and luxury. However, in the end even a Rolls is still just a car, and if you don't keep it up, it's bound to fail. That deterioration can be seriously fun to watch, though.
This 2005 Rolls-Royce Phantom might now be one of the worst cars on the planet and only has a little over 95,000 miles on it. The video claims that the original owner in New Jersey didn't make payments on the car for three years but rented the sedan out to people and used it for a livery service. Now, it's repossessed and would probably cost more to fix than it's worth.
This Phantom has had a hard life. We don't want to spoil too many of the broken pieces because they pile up to become increasingly absurd. However, the pièce de résistance must to be the broken Spider-Man umbrella in the door.

This is what Mercedes' new AMG GT is going to sound like

More details about Mercedes-Benz's forthcoming Mercedes-AMG GT continue to drip out. As opposed to launching the new sports coupe all at once, the brand has been slowly divulging information like its interior and some shadowy peeks on video. Even in testing, Mercedes is being cheeky by dressing it in bright green, tiger-striped camouflage that's hard to miss, but shows little. The latest trio of videos gives us a great idea of just how the GT sounds, though.
The engine for the GT isn't officially confirmed yet, but it's rumored to be Mercedes' new 4.0-liter, twin-turbo V8 that is also going into the next C63 AMG. It's hard to make out any typical turbo whistle in the videos, but the engine definitely has a growl, whatever its layout is. It's just the kind of aggressive, angry sound a sports coupe like this should have.
The GT is confirmed to debut sometime this fall, but at the consistent rate of the released details, we should know a lot more about it by then. Scroll down to give a listen to the future Mercedes halo model throwing some revs and starting up.