Aston Martin Zagato

Built to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the DB4GT Zagato, the unnamed model features aerodynamic styling with a front lip spoiler and muscular rear fenders.

Despite being a concept, the car will make its racing debut, at the Nürburgring, later this month and Aston Martin is considering a production model that could be launched as soon as 2012.

According to Aston Martin CEO Dr. Ulrich Bez, "The DNA of both Aston Martin and Zagato has combined successfully to make some of the world's most desirable collector cars in the past and in this special anniversary year of the DB4GT Zagato it is appropriate to explore a modern collaboration."

Aston Martin V8 Vantage S

(one simply cannot employ so mundane a descriptor as “base” in connection with an Aston Martin) are a bit elusive. S means a little more motor, a little more brake, a little more rubber, a little less weight, some small trim distinctions, and, of course, a little more money. The engine is Aston’s familiar 4.7-liter aluminum V-8, with improved intake airflow, new mufflers, and new programming that keeps the exhaust system’s bypass valves open longer. The net is 430 hp and 361 lb-ft of torque, gains of 10 ponies and 15 lb-ft. Although it’s a small gain in output, the S’s new transmission (more on that in a moment) should help it whittle the Vantage’s 0-to-60-mph time down from the 4.3 of the last example we tested to about four flat. Beyond that, the menacing V-8 sounds that emerge when the bypass valves open up and the engine soars toward redline are almost worth the price premium on their own, with or without the extra thrust.

Aston Martin Virage

But what the word seems to mean in the exclusive dialect of Aston Martin automobiles is, “V-12 GT priced between the DB9 and DBS.”

The Virage and the two DB cars share the same architecture, versions of the same V-12 engine, and the same general styling—that last bit being something that can be said of all Astons except the Cygnet. Aston pitch people tell us that the distinction between DB9, Virage, and DBS is that each is tailored to meet “the needs of its owners.” What our jaundiced ear hears is that the Virage is for the buyer who imagines he needs something a little fancier than the DB9, but also needs to avoid the vast financial leap to the DBS.

Wants and needs get to be interchangeable at this price, so we’ll spell it out in terms we can all understand. DB9 pricing starts at $189,230. The base price for the DBS is $273,275. The numbers go up from there, culminating with the DBS Volante (convertible) with automatic transmission at a resounding $290,954.

Hyundai Veloster Rally Car

Rhys Millen drove his new Hyundai Veloster Rally Car into the spotlight at the Chicago Auto Show this morning. The purpose-built racer is fitted with a hand-built Hyundai 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine boosted by a HKS ball bearing turbocharger. As expected, the beast makes some serious power. According to Hyundai, the four-banger spits out out 500 horsepower and 600 pound-feet of torque. An Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox sends the power to an Xtrac permanent four-wheel drive system. The suspension is comprised of Proflex jumbo coilovers that help give this competition Veloster generous travel. Hidden inside the 18-inch HRE alloy wheels (wrapped in 245/40-18 Hankook racing tires) are 14-inch Alcon rotors up front and 12-inch Alcon rotors in the rear (six-piston calipers sit at all four corners). With a curb weight of just 2,656 pounds, the Veloster Rally Car's acceleration ought to be... um, sick fast.Check out the Veloster Rally Car this year, as it competes in the 2011 U.S. Rallycross Championship driven by Millen, Robby Maddison and Marcus Dodd. Millen and Maddison will also drive the Veloster rally cars at Summer X Games, where it will compete against Ken Block and Tanner Foust in their Ford Fiesta racecars, among others. Should be fun.

Bugatti 16C Galibier

Bugatti 16C Galibier concept – Click above for high-res image gallery

AutoWeek is reporting that the Bugatti 16C Galibier concept is going into production, and the ultralux bruiser will arrive in 2013. There remains 40 examples of the Veyron scheduled to be built, but when that is finished, AW says the Galibier will be prepped for a run of 300 units.

Instead of four turbochargers, though, the sedan will employ two superchargers affixed to the W16 engine and throw down something in the neighborhood of 800 horsepower. And compared to the super-duper coupe that got this whole thing (re)started, it'll be something of a bargain: just $1.5 million.

Might want to place an order for a bigger piggy bank...

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has been up to since getting the boot

If you've been wondering what former General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson has been up to since getting the boot, The Detroit News has the skinny for you. Henderson is now headed to Sunoco to fill in as the company's senior vice president, at least for now. The company is currently planning to spin off its SunCoke Energy arm during the first half of 2011, and when that happens, Henderson will become the subsidiary's chairman and CEO.

SunCoke produces metallurgical coke used to manufacture steel. The company currently operates plants in Virginia, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, and is currently building a second, high-capacity facility in the Buckeye State. That plant, in Middleton, is slated to produce 550,000 tons of coke while at max capacity.

Coke is formed by super heating coal to bond carbon and ash. The process burns off contaminates like water and coal tar to create an energy-dense fuel. Byproducts of the process are typically used to generate electricity, as in the case with the Middleton plant.

Henderson, a long-time GM man, held the company's reins for a short time starting in 2009, but was replaced with Ed Whitacre amidst concerns that the company's turnaround wasn't moving fast enough.

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Panoz launches newest sports car

The spirit of Le Mans--along with the spirit of the out-of-production Panoz Esperante--lives on in Panoz Auto Development's latest creation, the Abruzzi.

Named for the people from the south-central Abruzzo region of Italy, the Abruzzi draws its inspiration from the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where the car is making its world debut on Tuesday, and its styling from the 1935 Delahaye Type 135 tear-drop coupe.

"It is about the true spirit of Le Mans, a car you can drive from home to the racetrack, race it, and then drive home again," Panoz chairman and American Le Mans Series owner Don Panoz said.

A three-year production run for the Abruzzi "Spirit of Le Mans" road car begins late this summer, and Panoz said his company will build just 81--equal to the number of 24-hour races run at Le Mans since 1923. Each will carry cues from an individual Le Mans race year.

Panoz will homologate the car for Europe, and it will be sold in European countries only, priced at 400,000 euros ($480,000). Panoz refused to comment about whether he plans a U.S. version.

The Abruzzi is powered by a front-mounted, supercharged Corvette racing engine, a 6.2-liter V8 producing 640 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque. Power runs to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transaxle. A key technical improvement over the Esperante is a unique "Trifecta" cooling system, with rear-mounted radiators in addition to cooling systems that reduce temperatures of coolant as it flows in and out of the radiator. Panoz said that re-locating the radiators to the rear of the car improves top speed by cutting down on aerodynamic drag.

The car's body panels are formed from REAMS, short for Recyclable Energy Absorbing Matrix System, a composite-like material that is lighter, more durable and easier to repair than carbon fiber.

An Abruzzi GT2 race car likely will run its first event at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in October, followed by a complete American Le Mans Series campaign in 2011 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans next June.

Ford Start concept new

2010 Ford Start concept – click above for high-res image gallery

While Volvo's fate isn't perfectly clear yet, it appears that everyone might have been best served by Ford severing ties with the foreign branches of its Premier Automotive Group: Aston Martin, Volvo, Land Rover and Jaguar. True, Ford didn't get to fully benefit from the labor it put into the cars those brands are unveiling to accolades right now, but it spared itself the continued financial and brain drain on its core brands.

It was a drain that was also felt by the company's design arm, headed by J Mays. Referring to how thin The Blue Oval's design resources were stretched, Mays called the efforts "an inch deep and a mile wide." Part of it was that there were simply so many new models to keep track of, the other part being that so many of those cars had such vastly different requirements – an Aston couldn't look like a Lincoln, and even though an Aston could use Volvo's switchgear it shouldn't look anything like S80 or an XF.

Now the team can focus on wrapping the company's products and concept cars (like the Ford Start shown above) in the "Post-Kinetic" design language developed a few years ago. That, Mays says, is also easier because of Ford's rationalization of its platforms – something that also could not have been as completely without selling the company's PAG brands.

Gallery: Ford Start Concept

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Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black Edition

Aston Martin DBS Carbon Black Edition - Click image for high resolution images

If you've been patiently waiting - patience - hands on the new Black Carbon Edition of the Aston Martin DBS will be, should wait until the summer to take over. Oh, and a hundred dollars a suitcase full of banknotes. But if all you want is a look, we have good news for you. Because no matter where you are in the mainland United States, the probability that one carbon DBS coming to a city near you.

In a special demonstration of an exclusive partner of Aston audio Bang & Olufsen - the 13 speakers, 1000 watt sound system is DBS - a series of special tours organized carbon black America. Along the way are struck New York, Washington, Miami, Dallas, Chicago, San Francisco and Los Angeles. So if you live in Oregon, you're covered.

If you do not swing through a local distributor of Aston where the Carbon Black editions are in town, you will be filled a couple of DBS coupe with a special color Flick process and a black interior with carbon-Kevlar seats in black leather with silver v. suture with special wheels and badges.

Spoon Readying Performance Goodies for Honda CR-Z Coupe

One by one, Japanese tuners are approaching Honda's new CR-Z and applying their expertise to try to spiff up the firm's hybrid sports coupe. A little after Mugen's announcement on the launch of a new lineup of styling and performance accessories, Japan's Spoon revealed that it will soon release an array of goodies for the CR-Z.

The tuner said in its blog that it is currently working on a new sport suspension kit that will lower the coupe's ride height as well as on a high-performance brake system from Nisin and a new sport exhaust system.

It goes without saying that Spoon's offerings will include a series of aero parts, alloy wheels and interior accessories, while the tuner's site also makes word of a 'power unit' upgrade without giving out any specific details.

The latter is almost a little puzzling – who on earth wants a four-door sedan version

Scion iQ Concept - click above for hi-res image gallery

You know that Toyota iQ your cousin's seen running around Europe and Japan? It's making its way Stateside, first to next week's Detroit Auto Show, then to a Scion dealer near you as a hybrid. This is according to a scoop by Inside line. We've known for a while now that the iQ will be showing up as a Scion, just not for certain as a hybrid. Also, according to IL, the fate of the brand hangs in the balance. Also-also, they might (yay!) drop the name iQ.

That's right, the diminutive Toyota with the silly name is going to greet us as a youth-branded Scion. In multiple flavors, too. First will come a five-door hatchback, followed next by a four-door sedan. The latter is almost a little puzzling – who on earth wants a four-door sedan version – but then we recall all the other cars PR types tell us the American market forces into four-door guise and we're not surprised one bit. The Scion iQ will also come as a three-door hatch. Expect the five-door to show up first, towards the end of 2011.

The engine options are pretty interesting. If you so desire, a 1.3-liter four-banger will produce 93 horsepower. However, most folks will probably opt for the hybrid version. First of all, the gas and electric propulsion is so cheap that Toyota will be able to sell it for $15,000 or less. Second, expect a 1.5-liter four and some sort of electric motor to produce between 100 and 120 hp and return 60 mile per gallon. Not bad at all. Again, Inside Line ends their scoop explaining that if the iQ doesn't get youngsters buying Scions, nothing will. Er, make that nothing will have a chance to, as Toyota is likely to fold the brand.

Scion iQ Concept

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There are now so many Car of the Year awards

There are now so many Car of the Year awards given out that the whole idea of one vehicle being honored above all others has lost its impact. But when the giver of said award is Playboy Magazine, well, the honor means a little more. Why? Because Playboy doesn't pick a winner based on such tangible criteria as horsepower, miles per gallon or MSRP. They don't care so much about the fastest, greenest or most significant car in its segment. They care about cool. Which car is going to get you to that VIP event and make all eyes turn towards you on arrival? For 2010, Playboy says that car is the Porsche Panamera.

We can absolutely understand where Playboy is coming from here. You just have to imagine yourself as Hugh Hefner: Porsches are both cool and fast, but a Porsche that can accommodate me, my smoking jacket and three bunnies is worthy of a place in the Playboy Mansion garage and perhaps an X-rated car wash in the driveway.

Playboy gave out eight other awards in such categories as Best Horsepower Value (Nissan 370Z), Best Mean and Green (Ford Fusion Hybrid) and Best Reborn Beauty (Ford Taurus SHO) among others. You can check them all out in the press release after the jump, and while we're not sure how many automakers will place their new Playboy awards front and center in the corporate trophy case, we're sure behind close doors they're... well, let's not talk about what they're doing behind closed doors.

2010 Porsche Panamera

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Lexus is working on a very hot version of the GS luxury saloon

In these very last days of 2009, some Japanese magazines are spreading the rumor that Lexus is working on a very hot version of the GS luxury saloon, allegedly called GS-F, which will get the firm’s V10 engine used in the LF-A supercar, to rival BMW M5. Now apparently Lexus has responded to this by tweeting! They say that the V10 is bespoke to the LF-A and won’t be used in any other car. They didn’t comment on the existence of GS-F though.

So as it’s usually the case, there must be a GS-F in the works but it certainly won’t be getting the V10. This makes more sense actually, because as we’ve reported earlier, BMW will replace theV10 engine of the M5 with a twin-turbo V8 in the upcoming model. Mercedes too has plans to drop the big and thirsty V8s in favor of more efficient turbo engines, so even if Lexus is to rival the M5 or E63, they would come up with something in the same league.

And as a side note, the GS’s face is too dull for a weapons-grade V10 such as LF-A’s 4.8 liter! It looks good as a hybrid, but as a performance saloon?! The M5 will eat it for breakfast!

Renault SA is developing electric-vehicle lithium-ion batteries

French auto maker Renault SA is developing electric-vehicle lithium-ion batteries with two new suppliers, despite its heavy reliance on the Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.-NEC Tokin Corp. joint venture, Automotive Energy Supply Corp.

Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn earlier this year declared owning battery technology is a core requirement for any auto maker.

"We are ready to sell the battery to whoever is interested," he said in October, referring to the batteries from the AESC. "We are making it a core business, because we think the battery is going to be an essential piece of technology for our century.”

Last month, AESC announced it was raising production capacity from 65,000 to 100,000 units annually in Japan.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance is building a 100,000-unit battery factory in France with support from the French atomic energy commission and the French Strategic Investment Fund.

In South Korea, Renault Samsung Motors Inc. is working with SK Energy Co. Ltd. and SB LiMotive Co. Ltd to develop Li-ion batteries.

At a press event to introduce the new SM5 sedan, Renault Samsung CEO Jean-Marie Hurtiger tells journalists Renault plans to build EVs in South Korea and is working on projects with the two local battery makers.

SK Energy is a petrochemical and energy company that began making Li-ion batteries for mobile devices in 2005. SB LiMotive is a 2008 JV between Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH and Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. that recently announced its first contract with BMW AG.

Zoe 3-door hatchback concept one of four EVs Renault plans to build.

"We plan to produce Renault Group's electric vehicles in Korea,” Hurtiger says. “And once the government's plans are finalized, we will take our position as to when electric vehicles will be mass-produced in Korea."

The SM5 was unveiled at the Renault Samsung technical center in Giheung, where SB LiMotive also has its headquarters. Hurtiger says he expects South Korea to be a major supplier of EV batteries, thanks to a strong industry and strong support of the government.

The executive notes Renault will build the four EVs exhibited at this year’s Frankfurt auto show at four different plants, three of which have been announced.

Production is to begin in first-half 2011 for the Kangoo light-commercial EV in Maubeuge, France; Twizy 2-seater in Valladolid, Spain; Fluence sedan in Bursa, Turkey; and the Zoe, a 4-seat city car, in Flins, France.

SK Energy has developed six different Li-ion cells for hybrid, plug-in and battery EVs and was chosen in October to supply Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. HEVs – one of the projects of Daimler AG’s global hybrid center, which owns Mitsubishi Fuso.

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SB LiMotive has development operations in Giheung, Stuttgart and Orion Township, MI. In Springboro, OH, it makes nickel-metal-hydride batteries in an operation acquired from Energy Conversion Devices and is building a factory in Ulsan, Korea, for Li-ion battery production.

At the Frankfurt show, SB LiMotive President Young said he expects to begin series production of Li-ion batteries for hybrids in 2011 and EVs in 2012.

Renault invested $344 million to develop the third-generation SM5 midsize sedan, which uses many elements of the current Renault Laguna. Production began at the Busan, South Korea, plant in October, with domestic sales to begin in January.

The SM5’s 2.0L engines were developed by Nissan (gasoline) and Renault (diesel). Alain Diboine, who heads research and development at Renault Samsung, says the body of the new SM5 was developed at the local technical center for the first time.

Renault will sell the SM5 in Europe as a Renault, probably called the Safrane, which was the name of the car that preceded the first Laguna in the upper-medium segment. The auto maker currently sells the second-generation SM5 as a Renault Safrane in Middle Eastern markets.

The SM5 has 3-zone air conditioning, an air filter and perfume diffuser, bi-xenon adaptive front lights and a massage function for the driver that the auto maker says improves blood circulation and combats fatigue. In Korea, it will compete with the segment leading Hyundai Sonata.