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With a gazillion color options for every little part of the Bugatti Veyron, there's no reason why any two examples should be alike. (Except for maybe an inverse correlation between wealth and imagination.) So it would stand to reason that every Bugatti should be considered a special edition of one. And that certainly appears to be the case, as the French marque seems to bring out another special edition at every possible opportunity.

That opportunity last arose at the Dubai Motor Show, where Bugatti presented three unique examples of the Veyron Grand Sport, the vehicle that holds the title of "world's fastest convertible." Now the elite marque is returning to the Persian Gulf for the Qatar Motor Show with what appears (to our eyes, at least) to be one of the same examples, decked out in yellow and black – said to be founder Ettore Bugatti's favorite color combination. Thoughtfully, however, they've provided a brace of new real-world photos.

The lower part of the body has been done up in lacquered carbon fiber, the upper part in bright yellow and the wheels in black along. Inside, the center console has likewise been finished in black, with seats clad in yellow leather with black stitching and the inverse for the dashboard, wheel and shifter.

While Molsheim apparently didn't feel the need to give this particular example a unique name, they might as well have. And for a few euros extra, we're sure they'd be glad to. As it stands, Bumblebee's aristocratic Alsatian cousin is available for a princely 1.58 million euros – a little over two million in dead presidents. But if this particular color combination isn't to your liking, 45 out of the original allotment of 150 units are still available to order, with prices starting at 1.4 million euros. Check out more details in the official press release after the jump.

Convertibles have long been the chariot of choice for the devil-may-care crowd, and for good reason. Peeling the roof off of a vehicle has all sorts of negative ramifications, from safety concerns to handling woes and increased chances of skin cancer for those inside. Then there's the ever-present threat of foul weather. But who cares? You only live once and they're making more cars every day, right?

That logic may hold true for your $600 Chrysler LeBaron Convertible, but the argument gets a bit weaker when we're talking about a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe. The owner of one such vehicle recently parked their ride and left the big Rolls with its roof laid back just in time for a torrential downpour to set in. According to experts, the total damage may cost more than $100,000. The owner is said to have returned to the vehicle, seen its condition and walked away, unconcerned. Hit the jump to see the video for yourself.

What would a Nissan GT-R be without the racing pedigree that's helped make it what it is today? The truth is that we don't even want to know. But we don't have to, because the car known as Godzilla is as devastating on the race track as it is on the street.

Very different racing versions have been made to challenge the FIA GT1 World Championship and for Japan's own Super GT series, the latter powered by a naturally aspirated V8 to satisfy regulations instead of the twin-turbo V6 in the production model. Getting your hands on either of these, however, could prove a bigger challenge than passing one in a race. Fortunately, Nissan has just released a competition-spec GT-R you can buy.

Co-developed by Nismo (Nissan's in-house tuning department) and JR Motorsports (which campaigns a pair of GT-Rs in the aforementioned GT1 series), the GT3-spec model first debuted at the Magny-Cours circuit in France back in August, but is now available for order by privateer teams and gentlemen racers alike. It packs the same 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 as the production model, tuned to deliver 523 horsepower.

That may be slightly less than the current production model (due to the constrictions of GT3 regs) but the Nismo GT3 model also offers a fully adjustable suspension, stripped-out interior with roll cage and all the trimmings, extra cooling ducts and an aggressive aero package. The extra grip is where the extra speed comes from, and it can all be yours for a hair under 300,000 euros, or about $390k at today's rates.

Win on Sunday, sell on Monday. It's a marketing motto nearly as old as racing itself, but while today's NASCAR stock cars may have about as much in common with the cars they represent as a Halloween superhero costume from Walmart will actually give your kid superpowers, NASCAR remains the biggest spectator sport in America. So you can imagine that participating automakers would think themselves foolish to pass up the opportunity to make the connection in fans' eyes to cars they can actually buy at their local dealership.

That's why the "stock cars" packing Chevrolet engines carry the name and tacked-on fascia of the Impala SS, Dodge racers that of the Charger, while Toyota models are made to look like the Camry and Ford makes its racers resemble the Fusion. The Blue Oval has gone with the Fusion since 2006, but before that it was the Taurus, and for the better part of two decades prior, the Thunderbird. Now that Ford has released a radically redone Fusion, however, it has updated its NASCAR racer to reflect its new look.

Unveiled today at Charlotte Motor Speedway, the 2013 Ford Fusion NASCAR Sprint Cup car is the product of a year's worth of design and aerodynamics work, and it's intended to bridge the widening gap between production and race car. It will undergo what you can bet will be rigorous testing throughout this year in preparation for its race debut at the Daytona 500 in February 2013, but you can check it out now in our high-res image gallery and the pair of press releases after the jump.

Volkswagen has once again proven itself capable of crafting some seriously clever advertising, and with the Super Bowl quickly approaching, all eyes have turned to the automaker to see what the company has in store this year. In order to stoke even more interest, Volkswagen has released what it calls an ad for an ad in its "The Bark Side" spot. According to Automotive News, Volkswagen wanted to get fans excited about its spot for the Super Bowl and set about casting 12 dogs. The production team specifically chose the pups based on their resemblance to certain Star Wars characters instead of their vocal ability.

The clip was then shot just like a music video, both with all the dogs together and with each of them individually. The final track was crafted using a mix of archived dog barks which were then layered with new sounds from the dogs on stage. Certain barks were then pitched to catch the tune required. Hit the jump to check out the video once again, and then click on the Automotive News link to learn more about how VW's ad came to be.

The List is about fulfilling your wildest wheeled fantasies, and sometimes those wheels are bound and held in place by tank treads. Our latest episode takes Jessi and Patrick to Vikings country in the heart of Minnesota. It's Patrick's turn to indulge one of his childhood dreams, which means the pair will be piloting a small battalion of tanks through the woods and over, well... you'll just have to watch.


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Elevating The Muscle Car Rivalry To A Whole New Level



Ford versus Chevy. It's one of the greatest rivalries in the world, joining the likes of Coke versus Pepsi and Michigan versus Ohio State. While the Mustang and Camaro can't be credited as the first two vehicles to start the Blue Oval and Golden Bowtie wars, it's fair to say the two muscle cars kicked the battle into high gear in the 1960s.

Wherever there are rivals, you can be sure there will also be healthy levels of both respect and distaste for one another. In fact, emotions from Ford fans following the debut of both the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 culminated in Camaro lead engineer Al Oppenheiser being unwittingly cast in the lead role of another Downfall Hitler overdub spoof. Perhaps it was something he said...

Of course, none of this ZL1 versus GT500 smack-talk will amount to anything if either car isn't up to snuff. With that in mind, At Chevrolet's behest, we traveled to the Bondurant Road Course just south of Phoenix, Arizona to put the 2012 Camaro ZL1 through its paces.

Another winter naturally means more videos of snowy carnage, as Mother Nature teams up with an inclined road to befuddle even those drivers who are used to such conditions. This time the location is Bountiful, Utah on January 21, where a slick bit of downhill becomes an automotive Slip-n-Slide.

The video after the jump gets off to a slow start, but about a minute or so in, things start going really wrong. By the end, we can only wonder why drivers at the top of the hill noting the demolition derby at the bottom still decide to take their chances. We also wonder why the road wasn't, oh, closed – either by police or a good samaritan. Follow the jump to see the ballet of carnage for yourself.

Well, that didn't take long. The First Toyota FT-86 (a.k.a. Scion FR-S) has made its way to the dyno courtesy of the good people at HKS. How'd it do? The vehicle managed to spin the rollers at 170 rear-wheel horsepower, which dovetails with the 200 crank horsepower announced by Toyota and Subaru after calculating a 15-percent driveline loss. Of course, whenever HKS gets involved, you can feel safe betting your lunch money that forced induction won't be far behind. True to form, HKS showed off its handiwork on a drift car version of the new sports coupe from Toyota.

The FT-86 looks more than happy to dance through a few chicanes sideways, and we can't wait to see the vehicle go fender-to-fender with the best of them. Click past the jump to check out the dyno video for yourself.

2008 was one crazy, almost surreal year. It was the year when the economy took a nosedive, and the U.S. auto industry nearly ceased to exist. One of the last major decisions former President Bush made before he left office was to give Chrysler and General Motors a combined $17.4 billion to keep their doors open.

That money held over the two automakers for a few months, but The Detroit News reports that the Bush administration almost took a different tack. The New Yorker published a 57-page economic memo that was written by economist Larry Summers to President Elect Obama. The memo claims that President Bush was noodling an earlier bankruptcy for the automakers, backed by up to $100 billion in government financing.

By instead forwarding GM and Chrysler a bridge loan, Bush (pictured here with former Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli) effectively prolonged the inevitable and pushed the tough decision on to the next administration. But that could have been the best possible action to take – Summers was reportedly of the opinion that pushing the automakers through bankruptcy too early could have severely damaged the entire U.S. auto industry – not just at Chrysler and GM.

In the end, Chrysler entered bankruptcy in April, followed by GM in June. Chrysler no longer owes the federal government any money, though Uncle Sam still owns 26.5 percent of The General. As a result of the Bush administration's choices, the Obama administration is the one that gets the blame and credit (depending on your political viewpoint) for shepherding the two automakers through bankruptcy.

We have good news for you if you're missing the Tesla Roadster already. German manufacturer PG has unveiled the company's new Elektrus, a Lotus-based sports EV with some very wild styling. While the company has made a name for itself producing carbon-fiber electric bicycles, the Elektrus is its first crack at the automotive market. The Randall Boggs-inspired coupe uses a Lotus Elise chassis with bodywork comprised of carbon fiber and composite, though the company is keeping powertrain details to itself for the time being. We do know the vehicle's battery pack will afford Elektrus buyers a claimed range of around 215 miles and the whole package is said to weigh under 2,000 pounds.

The company also says the cells can be topped off in around eight hours from of a standard household outlet. With around 270 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, the Elektrus should be very quick on its feet. PG claims the vehicle can dash to 62 mph in under three seconds on its way to a top speed of 155 mph. Look for the vehicle to land with a gasp-inducing price tag of $367,700 at current conversion rates (including VAT) when it hits the market in Germany. Hit the jump for the press release.

Recognize that tag line? It was used in the first ad for the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, a 90-second spot devoted to resetting our image of Jeep and, subtly, America itself. Chrysler parent Fiat evidently thinks so much of the tagline that they've taken it to Italy for use in the ad campaign for the 2012 Fiat Panda.

Italy's had a tough time of late: just as it was trying to get Berlusconi and his "bunga bunga" in the rearview, its debt crisis went from 'critical' to 'euro-zone threatening,' austerity measures led to social and labor unrest, and now comes the capsized Costa Concordia and an Italian captain with the unique ability to trip and fall into a lifeboat before his passengers.

The Panda doesn't softly beat the drum of national spirit, it instead presents the Panda as just one symbol of what Italy can be if it is dedicated to working its way out of its funk. The Panda is so symbolic that, unlike in the Jeep commercial, the narrator never mentions the car. It's airing on Italian television now, and you can see it after the jump.

Few drivers have caused the kind of speculation that Kimi Raikkonen has in the past few years alone. Will he take a Ferrari payoff and make way for Fernando Alonso? Will he find another ride in Formula One? Will he make it in the World Rally Championship? Will he make a real go of it in NASCAR? Will he ever come back to F1? And if so, with which team? Well, the speculation can now stop – or at least change focus – because the 2007 World Champion has officially returned to Formula One.

After signing on with the Lotus team (previously known as Renault, and before that as Benneton and Toleman), Raikkonen has had his first chance to get behind the wheel of a modern F1 car since leaving the Scuderia at the end of 2009. The test took place over the course of two days at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, Spain. But since driving the current car with current tires would constitute an unfair advantage under the present regulations, Kimi was stuck driving the 2010 Renault R30 on demonstration tires (probably from the GP2 series) with a fresh coat of paint (and a new helmet design).

The acclimation run appears to have gone smoothly enough, but we'll have to wait until the start of the season in March to see if Raikkonen's still got what it takes. Then Raikkonen will be squaring off against a huge field of fellow former World Champions, including Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button. Follow the jump to watch the video clip.

There's no such thing as the perfect crime, but some criminals are clearly more perfect than others. According to UT San Diego, a man wearing latex gloves and sunglasses recently strolled into a Chase Bank in San Diego, pointed a gun at a teller and began demanding money. The teller wisely obliged, handing over $2,920 in cash before the robber took to his vehicle and fled in a white Ford Expedition. Onlookers were quick to jot down the vehicle's vanity license plate, which read ALMDUDE. It didn't take police long to track down the vehicle's owner, 27-year-old Robert Alm.

While we're not surprised to hear of a their using their own vehicle to flee a crime scene, using one with vanity plates proudly proclaiming the thief's name is something new. Alm has since been booked on suspicion of robbery. Police say the man is homeless and has been living in the Expedition.