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Jay Leno brings a rotary-powered VW Beetle to the garage

It takes something really unique or inventive to pique Jay Leno's interest. His show, Jay Leno's Garage, has featured everything from concours-worthy classics to completely custom, home-built machinery. How do you get Leno to feature one of more than 20 million Beetles on his program? Stick a turbocharged rotary engine under the hood. The Beetle's owner, Mario Markakis, swapped the car's stock flat four-cylinder for the Wankel engine from a 1990 Mazda RX-7 Series 5 Turbo. The engine's 250 horsepower are fed through a reinforced version of the Beetle's stock four-speed transmission. That's about five times the original engine's output. It works well, with the car putting down some impressive times at the drag strip. Markakis did most of the work to the Beetle in his garage. In addition to the engine swap, he's modified the car's brakes, suspension, and interior. Check out the video to hear all the details of this custom Wankel-powered Volkswagen. Related Video: Celebrities TV/Movies Mazda Volkswagen Classics Videos Jay Lenos Garage rotary mazda rx-7

Next Mazdaspeed3 could look this good

Mazda showed off its brand-new 2014 Mazda3 at an event in New York City earlier this week, and we have to say, at first blush, we're pretty impressed. It looks fantastic - like a smaller, hatch'd version of the already sleek Mazda6 sedan that went on sale earlier this year. And with a 200-pound weight reduction, efficient Skyactiv gasoline engines underhood and Mazda's usual focus on driving dynamics above all, we're willing to bet that the new Three will be a pretty decent steer.
Of course, being enthusiasts, we're already setting our sights on the next-generation Mazdaspeed3, rendered here by artist Theo Chin. To our eyes, it's not a very imaginative transformation, but is likely a spot-on rendering for what the next car will look like. And it's really, really hot.
While Mazda hasn't exactly confirmed that the new Speed3 will be coming, sources within the automaker have indicated that a third-generation version of the MS3 is under development. Thing is, the Japanese automaker wants to give the standard Mazda3 some time to grow in the market, so we might not see the new Speed3 until something like 2016, with a possible diesel version to arrive before then.

Translogic 182: CXC Motion Pro II Racing Simulator

Translogic gets some seat time in the CXC Motion Pro II to test if the high fidelity racing simulator can impact our host's real-life track times. Host Jonathon Buckley hits the track at Auto Club Speedway of California in a 2015 BMW M4 to put down a baseline lap time before his virtual training session in the Motion Pro II. After learning the lines of the track in a simulated setting, Jonathon returns to the track to put his skills to the test. "We designed it, originally, as a professional training tool for race car drivers," says CXC Simulation's founder and president Chris Considine. "Make it authentic. Make it real." The Motion Pro II boasts "thousands of cars and track models," ranging from street cars, to rally and off-road vehicles. Will this hyper realistic racing simulator help Jonathon improve his lap time? Have an RSS feed? Click here to add Translogic. Follow Translogic on Twitter and Facebook. Click here to learn more about our host, Jonathon Buckley. BMW Mazda Technology Coupe Racing Vehicles Translogic Videos Original Video