As if scissor doors, gullwings, butterflies and those crazy Koenigsegg pivoters weren't enough to separate exotics from lesser cars, Ferrari is said to be working on another new door design that is both radical and practical. Go figure.

Autocar came across a patent filing showing a few diagrams depicting this unique door setup. What sets it apart is the fact that the new Ferrari door includes part of the front fender and hinges upward like the butterfly door from a LeMans racer. Apparently the opening is large enough and shaped in such a way that "occupants can place their foot directly behind the front wheel."

According to the patent application, that will make ingress and egress much easier for passengers in low-slung supercars, though the new door design is said to work just as well on front engined cars as it does for vehicles with their engines mounted aft or amidships. Even better, this design and its unique hinges are reported to be "easy and cost-effective to make," which should make it easier for the Dodge Chargers of SEMA circa 2012 to get in on the fun too.

We're still seeing an issue with the A-pillar and windscreen, but it looks interesting. We'll be sure to keep an eye out for any photos of these funky doors, but for now we're stuck wondering how hard it was for Ferrari engineers to use the supplied British sports car diagram in order to submit their application form.

[Source: Autocar]

Say it ain't so, Schu! The Daily Telegraph is reporting that seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher is close to signing on with the newly formed Mercedes Formula 1 team. Mercedes is the new name of the former Brawn GP team, the current Constructors Champion. After a stellar rookie season that saw this former Honda team clinch not just the Constructors Championship, but also the Drivers Championship for Jenson Button, they had a bit of a dropoff as Button bolted for rival McLaren.

That left a seat to fill at Mercedes and if BBC Sport's Eddie Jordan is to be believed, none other than Michael Schumacher is about to sign a one-year contract to return to racing in that very car. The deal, which would net Schumacher the same salary that Button turned down at Brawn GP in favour of McLaren, would finally see the German teaming up with Mercedes, who were in the past unsuccessful in their bids to lure him away from Ferrari.

Ferrari almost lured the retired champ back this season when Felipe Massa went down following the infamous spring incident in Hungary. The Champ's sore neck put a stop to that comeback, but apparently it got Schumi's juices flowing again. Signing with Mercedes would create something of a German dream team with Nico Rosberg in the other car. If the deal goes through, MS will be reunited with Brawn GP-namesake and current Mercedes team principal Ross Brawn, the man who guided Michael to all seven of his World titles.

Still just a rumor for the moment, the deal is said to give Schumacher the same salary Button turned down when he defected to McLaren. The Schumacher deal is just the latest volley in the silly season melee that has seen Kimi Raikkonen vacate his seat in order to make room for Fernando Alonso at Ferrari, which lost adviser Michael Schumacher as well. Whatever the future holds, it is only going to get more interesting. We'll keep you posted as things develop. Thanks to everyone for the tips!

[Source: The Daily Telegraph via Planet F1, BBC Sport | Image Source: Getty]

So you like the Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV, but you're struggling to justify the price. After all, it may be just as fast as the Reventón, but it only costs a third of that range-topping bull. You like that it's the latest limited-edition hypercar from Sant'Agata Bolognese, but will everyone think you're slumming by not getting the most expensive bull in the barn? Come to think of it, maybe you can hold out for the Reventón Roadster, which should easily surpass the coupe as the ne plus ultra in the Lambo lineup. Of course, you could just stick with your ordinary LP640-4 or LP650-4 Roadster a little longer and wait for the Murcielago replacement in a year or two.

When that so-called Jota finally debuts, it will bring with it a new carbon fiber chassis and an equally new direct-injected 6.0-liter V12 thought to be good for at least 700 horsepower. Yeah, that's probably the way to go. After all, the economy isn't exactly the best right now and plunking down $1.5M for a new car might make others unnecessarily envious. Haters. Of course, if you wait too long, you might find yourself debating waiting a little longer still for the Jota-besting halo car from Lamborghini, the rumored Urus.

CARS UK is quoting "a source close to Lamborghini" when they talk about this new halo vehicle, which is expected to take on all comers, especially that "FX70" Enzo-replacement coming out of Maranello. Using a modified Jota chassis, the Urus will go on an even stricter diet to make it a featherweight lighter heavyweight. It will drop the few bits of aluminum that are expected to be used on the Jota and go all carbon fiber. That, active aerodynamics, and a nearly 800 horsepower version of the Jota V12 in its engine bay should allow the Urus to challenge even the Bugatti Veyron with a sub-3-second 0-60mph time. The real question becomes -- Can you wait until 2012 for the Urus or will you buckle a year earlier and pop for the Jota in 2011? You know what, just get both.



[Source: Cars UK]

As we've already reported (stop tipping us on this!), yesterday a Texas man lost control of his Bugatti Veyron and ended up driving into the two-foot shallows of a nearby salt marsh. The driver claimed a kamikaze pelican that flew too low was to blame for the Veyron's bath. The Lufkin Daily News has now identified that driver as Andy House, the owner of Performance Auto Sales in Lufkin.

Perhaps too coincidentally, the company restores wrecked exotics for resale, which makes this whole situation seem like something akin to a mortician offing his own family members to drum up business. Unthinkable, for sure, and we hope it's not the case here as we'd hate to discover later that this Veyron was sacrificed as a publicity stunt.

Apparently a lot of people have been trying to reach Mr. House to discover exactly what happened. We're not sure what the connection is, but the group of interested callers is said to even include California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. We don't think the car has been terminated, but it might be a while before it's back.

*UPDATE: Now with incredible one-in-a-million video footage of the actual crash after the jump – and no, we don't see a pelican, either. However, we do hear explicit language, so this one is NSFW.

*UPDATE 2: Video working again.

[Sources: Lufkin Daily News; YouTube]

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McLaren Automotive has just dropped a new video, the first in a series, that promises to show the story behind the company's upcoming MP4-12C supercar. This first episode gives us a peek at the car's development background, introduces us to some of the key players in the process, and even gives us a look at some of the key venues in the gestation of the new Lamborghini and Ferrari fighter from Woking.

This first short film, which you can find after the jump, is entitled: Inside McLaren: developing the MP4-12C. Pretty straightforward then, as is the dialogue. Technical Director Dick Glover takes us on a brief tour of McLaren's facilities – Racing, Electronics and Automotive, which he describes as the heart of the operation. He even points out the F1 simulator, where drivers and engineers have worked on race setups for the past 12 years. The MP4-12C team gets to play in there, too.

Next up is Chief Test Driver Chris Goodwin. He talks about the tracks and roads used in the development process, tracks like the Nürburgring Nordschleife and the Top Gear track at Dunsfold, which happens to be close to the McLaren facilities. Chris also gives us an idea of the extreme temperatures the 12C has been tested in, from the Arctic to Bahrain. Episode 1 wraps up with an introduction to some of the key engineers on the team, including Simon Andrew, Rob Tyers and Steve Hayes.

All of this is punctuated with glimpses of the 12C in action, which is why we're really all here in the first place. As cool as the McLaren facility is, the car is the star. Follow the jump for the video and full press release from McLaren.

[Source: McLaren]

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While in Vegas for SEMA this year, we did our best to concentrate on the cars... and occasionally their hostesses. We deliberately stayed away from the thousands of individual products being introduced in order to spend more time on the cars, trucks, bikes and Snowbarus. Well, maybe we should have looked a little more closely at the products, or at the very least the wheels and tires. If we had spent more time in the lower level of the South Hall, we might have noticed a rather large crowd around the Nexen booth.

While the name might not be a household word, Nexen is a company with more than 50 years of tire-making experience under its steel belt. As impressive as that might be, it's not the reason everyone was standing around, mouths agape. The focus of their attention was a new tire by Nexen, one with an impressive 365 mm width and 24 inch diameter. As ridiculous as those numbers might be, they pale in comparison to the middle number in the equation.

You see, Nexen was showing off the very first 15-series tire. That's right, the world's first and only 365/15R24 tire. If you thought 35s looked like rubber bands wrapped around 19- and 20-inch wheels, this thing looks like a smear of black paint on that two-footer. We shudder to think of what the ride quality might be like, but we seriously doubt there will be any sidewall flex, mainly because there's no sidewall.



[Source: Nexen via Consumer Reports]

And with this official decree, let it be known that one custom 2009 Dodge Challenger, painted in a very familiar and regal blue shall be offered for sale to the highest bidder in Arizona in the year of our lord, 2010. The vehicle in question shall serve as a rolling tribute to Richard the 43rd. Long live the King!

Richard Petty was one of the winningest drivers in stock car history. With a record seven Daytona 500 trophies, 127 poles, 200 overall wins (including a record 27 -- and ten-in-a-row -- races in 1967), and seven championships in his 34-year, 1,185-race career, it's no wonder he's called The King. His legendary Chryslers, Fords and Plymouths bearing the number 43 were mostly built at his race shop in Level Cross, NC. Now all the king's men are working to build on his legacy under the newly formed banner of Petty's Garage.

The company plans to work on "museum-quality" restorations of vintage race cars, custom cars and high performance street machines. To kick off the new business, Petty's Garage has built a 2009 Challenger that will be sold in a Petty Family Foundation charity auction at B-J in January.

Painted in the trademark Petty Blue, it features a 585-hp Hemi 426, Pedders suspension upgrades, Brembo Gran Turismo brakes, a new center exit Corsa exhaust system, plus a Petty's Garage body kit consisting of custom front fascia, rear bumper cover, custom rocker panels and a rear spoiler. The inside gets the royal touch as well, with Petty's Garage branded seats and door panels. We saw the car at SEMA and it's a looker. You can read more details in the press release we've pasted in after the jump and check out the gallery from SEMA as well.

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You probably heard about the Dartz Prombron recently, the ultra-luxury armored SUV from Russia that would feature, among other ne plus ultra materials, leather pulled from whale penis foreskin. Why whale foreskin? Someone told them it was the best so they jumped on it. Unfortunately, the attraction didn't last very long. They have issued a release saying they will release the penis from their options list. Apparently the company has had a rethink on their choice of interior materials after receiving negative responses to their announcement from Greenpeace, the World Wildlife Fund, and even Pamela Anderson.

Personally, we think this might be more of a reaction to the new anti-whaling boat that the Sea Shephards have picked up for the upcoming season of Whale Wars: The newly rechristened Ady Gil, a 90 km/h semi-submersible tri-hull that holds the record for global circumnavigation. Whatever the reason, Dartz has Bobbitted the penis from the vehicle's spec sheet. In a brilliant press release that we couldn't possibly put into any better words, the company announced the change. Follow the jump to read the verbiage for yourself. Thanks for the tips, everyone!

[Source: Dartz via The Star, Jameslist]

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Soccer moms, NASCAR dads and empty-nesters rejoice! It looks like Toyota is going to debut its 2011 Sienna minivan in Cali next month at the 2009 LA Auto Show. Although the minivan market doesn't get a lot of playtime on enthusiast websites, the segment remains an important (if shrinking) one for full-line manufacturers. While Toyota's past minivans have ranged from the bizarrely interesting (Previa) to the drab but competent (current Sienna), word has it Toyota plans to introduce a van that will once again make it the segment's top choice.

No specifics have been released, but we've previously heard that the new Sienna would be shifting to the MC platform that Toyota uses for the Camry, Highlander, RAV4, Venza and even the Prius. Personally we're hoping for a lower, wider track, luxury vehicle with an available hybrid model. That, or something like the JDM Alphard/Vellfire we saw at SEMA. We'll have all the details and a bunch of live shots on December 2 when we see it at the Los Angeles Convention Center, but in the meantime, you can check out Toyota's brief press release after the jump.

[Source: Toyota]

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The Proud American and Bonneville Boss - Click above for high-res image gallery

Before our favorite weekly Southern California car gathering this Saturday, we had been told by a friend that he'd be bringing his new rocket truck. Rocket truck? What the heck's a rocket truck? Visions of rocket-powered pickups and semis running the quarter mile immediately came to mind. Did some drag racer sell Tom his race truck? Is that what he was bringing to the show?

As soon as we came around the corner we knew he hadn't. We knew this with absolute certainty because we saw a giant nosecone towering above the treeline. There was, in fact, a rocket-powered land speed record (LSR) car positioned at a launch-worthy angle atop a most amazing truck. Rocket, truck... Rocket truck. Makes sense now. But what was this thing and where did it come from? You can read the whole wacky story after the jump.

Photos copyright ©2009 Frank Filipponio/Weblogs, Inc.

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