Author: autoevolution

The team at Hennessey Performance Engineering finally took the wraps off their latest contraption, the very much anticipated Venom GT supercar. Producing a breathtaking 1,200 bhp, the Venom GT is, in fact, based on the Lotus Elise body, only powered by an American V8 powerplant.

The supercar has a production curb weight of less than 2,400 lbs (1,071 kg), while stopping power is delivered via Brembo brakes.

Power comes from a supercharged 6.2-liter LS9 V8, tweaked by Hennessey to a maximum… (read more)

How quickly things change in Formula One! One weekend, everyone screams boredom, and the other the same ones praise the high quality and immense show provided by the series. Following a quite boring Bahrain GP – as reviewed by several media Europe-wide – the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday provided overtaking maneuvers for almost the entire season.

Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher starting the race from the rear of the field – due to an incident in the first corner, Lewis Hamilton leavi… (read more)

Pleased with how things seem to be going in the US, Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed late last week the Italian manufacturer will strengthen its presence in the States by increasing its stake in Chrysler to 35 percent in the next two years.

"In the next 24 months maximum we must arrive at 35 percent of Chrysler," Marchionne said according to MSNBC. "The most important thing is that Chrysler is proceeding on a turnaround plan, the results are good."

&quo… (read more)

BMW’s EfficientDynamics technology has added another distinction to its portfolio. During the recently-held UK Fleet News Awards, the German carmaker has been named the Green Fleet Manufacturer of the Year, in recognition for the widespread introduction of Efficient Dynamics technologies.

BMW’s eco program manages to reduce emissions and improve fuel consumption, while maintaining or improving performance. This is achieved through the use of technologies like braking energy recovery, a start-… (read more)

Although Mark Webber apologized for his late incident with Lewis Hamilton – which saw both drivers going off the track with a couple of laps to go – the British champion did not hold back from calling the Aussie’s move silly.

In the late stages of the race at Albert Park, both drivers were chasing Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso for the 4th spot, but when Hamilton pulled an overtaking maneuver on the Spaniard on Turn 13, Webber failed to push the brakes at the right time and tipped the rear of the … (read more)

French manufacturer Renault revealed UK pricing for the Megane GT range, exclusively available with the TCe 180 petrol engine or the dCi 160 diesel powerplant. The GT versions, available for the Hatch, Coupe, Sport Tourer and Coupe-Cabriolet Renault Megane models, stand between the Privilege and Renaultsport versions.

Included in the new GT package are a sports chassis setting, new GT-design front and rear bumpers, 18-inch wheels, Renaultsport 250-specification seats with specific GT upholste… (read more)

The rumors surrounding a possible marriage between German giant Daimler and French manufacturer Renault are increasing in intensity, as a supposed acquisition of Renault stock from Daimler’s part is said to come as soon as next week. According to Autonews, Daimler is eyeing, for start at least, a small 3 percent ownership in the French manufacturer.

To avoid spending cash for the operation and calm down investors over the 2009 lack of a dividend, Daimler is said to be using treasury shares.
… (read more)

Despite the fact that it at announced it is pleased with the new car sales volume in the UK, Toyota is trying to further gain customer confidence in its products with a new offer. This will be marketed by Toyota under the theme Your choice, our promise.

A new financing programme is also destined to appeal to British customers, as Toyota offers finance rates from 3.9 per cent APR on European built cars, including UK built Auris and Avensis.

This great new programme not only represents super… (read more)

Although praising his team for the wonderful pit stop strategy during Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, Jenson Button seems to have orchestrated it all by himself. According to the team’s boss Martin Whitmarsh, the team actually asked the reigning world champion between pitting early for a fresh set of slick tires – when everyone was running on intermediate rubber – or wait for a few more laps.

As he noticed that the racing line on the Albert Park track had already dried out, Button told his te… (read more)

After the announcement made by American manufacturer Chrysler that it sent letters of intent to 50 of the dealers rejected last year as a first step to their revival, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) issued a statement expressing their support for the decision.

"The announcement by Chrysler today of its intent to reinstate 50 dealers is a move in the right direction. This, coupled with previous contracts or Letters of Intent awarded to 36 other closed dealerships, bring… (read more)

While most of us were watching the thrilling battle for points on Sunday, something truly amazing was happening in the rear of the F1 field. As Hamilton and Webber were trying to pass Alonso, Karun Chandhok was comfortably sitting in P14, praying that nothing mechanical would happen in the last few laps to spoil his first F1 finish in career.

Although 5 laps behind, the Indian became the first HRT F1 driver to finish a race in Formula One, something that is yet to be achieved by fellow newly … (read more)

When you hear the name Bambi, the first thing that comes to mind is Disney’s cute little white-tailed dear, a character that entered the world almost 70 years ago. So, it would be pretty difficult to put it in the same sentence with the word facelift. However, in the automotive world the association between the two comes natural, as Bambi is the name of a special trailer, produced by the European arm of Airstream.

The Bambi 422 trailer (this is the full name) has been redesigned for 2010 an… (read more)

Austrian manufacturer KTM seems to be on the way towards the production of a series-ready zero emission motorcycle. The orange brand showcased two versions of an electrically-driven sports motorcycle for the first time at the Tokyo Motorcycle Show the past weekend, both transporting the company motto Ready to Race into the future of mobility.

The offroad machine as well as the onroad bike have been on display at the show under the label KTM Freeride.

The company says the first Freeride mot… (read more)

As was to be expected ever since Friday, the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 race at Martinsville Speedway has been postponed until today (Monday) at noon, due to increasingly wet weather conditions.

The postponement came after rain began one hour prior to the scheduled start and kept up until the governing body decided to call it a day at 2:30 PM. For Monday, the weather forecast is favorable, NASCAR reports, with clouds to make their presence, but with only 10 percent chances of them turning … (read more)

Had McLaren Mercedes kept Lewis Hamilton on a single set of slick tires last Sunday, the team would have probably walked away from Australia with their first 1-2 of the season. That’s how the 2008 Formula One champion looks at it, as he once again hit his team for calling him to the pits for a second set of slick tires.

My tires were fine. I started off on a good set, got a good start, was up to a pretty good position, up to third, happy with everything and I was pulled in – I don’t know why … (read more)

The first Indian to race in the Formula One (although not very successful), Narain Karthikeyan, is now at his second… first, after he put India on the NASCAR drivers’ map this weekend, as he debuted, raced and finished the Kroger 250 race at the Martinsville Speedway.

Karthikeyan managed a somewhat modest 13th place for the newly formed Starbeast Motorsports. Karthikeyan was on the lead lap until lap 200, when a contact with Clay Greenfield spun him around and left Karthikeyan unable to ge… (read more)

The 2010 Shell Eco-marathon Americas student challenge reached extreme mileage the past weekend, with an astonishing 2,487.5 mpg, equivalent to 1,057.5 km/l, in the "Prototype" category. As for the "UrbanConcept" category, the winning vehicle achieved 437.2 mpg, equivalent to 185.87 km/l.

The challenge is destined to students, who are invited to design, build and test fuel-efficient vehicle that travel the farthest distance using the least amount of energy. Each winning te… (read more)

The race at Albert Park over the weekend was probably one of the most spectacular in years – since the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, we’d say – mainly due to the fact that there have been so many overtaking maneuvers through the 58 laps of action. With two laps to go, Lewis Hamilton tried his luck on passing Alonso, but the rear of his car was tipped by Mark Webber’s RB6 and both cars were sent into the gravel.

After the race, Webber admitted that he at least went down fighting and apologized to… (read more)

smart plans to showcase the advantages that the fortwo model offers in the urban environment by inviting inhabitants of six European cities to an open dialog on The future of the city.

The company is creating a smart urban stage, a display that will showcase future projects, which will start a European tour (Berlin, Rome, Zurich, Paris, Madrid and London) in the following twelve months.

"What will the future be like in urban areas and how will we move around? These questions have alwa… (read more)

American manufacturer GM debuted over the weekend the Sport Wagon version of the Cadillac CTS-V. Offering a preview of the future extended range of the CTS-V, the car was showcased at the 2010 New York International Auto Show (NYIAS).

The Wagon packs a 6.2l supercharged (Eaton Twin Vortices Series) V8 engine, mated to either a Hydra-Matic 6L90 six-speed automatic transmission with steering wheel-mounted shift controlsor a Tremec TR6060 six-speed manual. The engine develops 556 horsepower and… (read more)