Autoblog

Mitsubishi will no longer be absent from the starting grid of the SCCA Speed World Challenge with the new WORKS-prepared SWC Lancer race car. The tuning company that specializes in tweaking EVOs, in a partnership with Mitsubishi North America, will be hitting the racetracks next year against Mazda, BMW, Audi, and more with two-time U.S. Touring Car champion David Brown behind the wheel. The car received new front and rear coilovers, two-piece rotors with Brembo calipers, a racing clutch and flywheel, and a fully built Mitsubishi inline-4 among other racing necessities. Pending its final homologation, it will race the full 2008 season in the Touring Car class. Follow the jump for the full details in the press release.

[Source: WORKS]

When the Two-Mode Silverado Hybrid hits the market next fall, it will likely boast best in class fuel economy while still managing to tow 6,100 lbs. While it's not that hard to beat the most miserly of full-size pickups in the MPG dept., doing that without sacrificing very much of the truck's capabilities is what's most impressive about the Silverado Hybrid. GM quotes fuel savings to be 40% better in city driving, with a 25% improvement overall. The hybrid Silverado can also hit 30 mph in electric-only mode for up to one mile depending on battery's state of charge. We teamed up with Pickuptruck.com editor Mike Levine to interview Silverado Program Manager Carl Hillenbrand, and the long-time GM truck man had plenty to say about the general's greenest-ever pickup. Click the video above for more.

According to the judges, the fourth year of competition in the LA Design Challenge was the toughest to judge so far, with a host of innovative entrants that attempted to integrate a new mode of transport into every aspect of daily living. The Volkswagen Slipstream team, headed by Derek Jenkins, walked away with the trophy: a cyborg hand that plays Beethoven, equipped with scrolling LEDs displaying the title of the contest. Okie dokie. Anyway, the SlipStream can operate vertically for around town cruising and then lay itself down for high-speed cruises up to 250 mph.

A while back we posted on each competitor in the 2007 Design Challenge, of which there were eight. You can view them all here if you can't recall that far back, but they were an unforgettable bunch of sci-fi machines. We held an unofficial poll to find out which entrant you thought would win, and surprisingly the Volkswagen only received 5.8% of the votes in our poll, the absolute lowest ranked one of the bunch. Regardless, the SlipStream won the official prize, so go figure.

Click the image above for a high-res gallery of the FiveAxis Lexus IS-F

We've berated the styling of the Lexus IS-F at length, but throw the Southern California team over at FiveAxis into the mix and we're ready to drive it out the front doors of the LA Auto Show. The combination of a custom six-inch wide body kit, Satin Black Pearl Paint and Satin Bronze accents make this IS-F a sports sedan we'd be happy to roll in. The installation of FiveAxis' own custom 20-inch wheels (20x8.5 in front and 20x10.5 out back), swathed in the same bronze hue as the ducting, diffusers and exhausts, ties everything together, and the lowered ride height provided by the Tein adjustable coilovers brings it all down to earth, literally.

Performance is aided by a custom exhaust system and what FiveAxis is calling a "Stage 2" engine package. What that means is beyond us, but we're sure it's got potential. Slowing those undefined extra horses is a set of Brembos at all four corners: 380 mm discs with six-piston calipers up front and 345 mm plates grabbed by two-piston calipers in the rear.

Click on the image above to view in high resolution

The new Tiguan cute-ute factored big into Volkswagen's press conference at this year's LA show. And no wonder, as Vee-Dub is hoping its new small sport-ute sells big, especially in the all-important US market, and especially in California where nobody needs a truck yet everybody has one (and parks it next to their Prius).

Volkswagen of America revealed that Tiguan is priced to sell with a starting MSRP of just $22,490. With just two sport-utes in its lineup, that gives VW a huge price-point spread that stretches all the way up to $68,320 for the bigger Touareg 2 with the jumbo-jet-pulling V10 TDI.

Volkswagen is evidently hoping that the Tiguan will become the Golf of the sport-ute market after it hits US dealers this coming summer. Check out our gallery of the US-spec Tiguan below, and VW's official press release after the jump.

[Source: Volkswagen]

Click above image for high-res gallery of the Suzuki SX4 Makai concept

Suzuki was obviously trying to tap into the So. Cal. culture of the LA Auto Show when it tasked Andry Specialty Vehicles to create the SX4-based Makai concept. After lopping off the roof, shaving the door handles and adding a NACA-like duct in the hood, they sprayed down the sedan in orange paint and accented it with the silver rollover hoop that provides another mounting point to attach a set of surfboards. LED running lights add some subtle flavor and 19-inch CEC wheels fill the widened wheel arches that frame four-wheel disc brakes with Rotora calipers.

Although the exterior appointments are cool enough, our favorite feature is inside. Instead of fitting the concept seats – normally an ergonomic disaster – it looks like Suzuki made a trek to their corporate pool, plucked the chairs from around the frosted glass table and welded them inside. The results are equal parts style and functionality that give soaking surfers a place to rest without mucking up the standard cloth seats. It certainly won't score any points in the safety department (nor will the lack of seatbelts), but we'll give them a 6.2 for originality.

UPDATE: Another high-res gallery of photos from Frank Filipponio added

click above link for high-res gallery of the 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

Mitsubishi pulled the covers off the US-spec 2008 Lancer Evolution X, and the differences between your red, white, and blue steed and the one from its homeland are: the steering wheel is on the left, versions with the 6-speed SST auto 'box are called the MR (the 5-speed manual is the GSR), and the seat cushions are longer in order to fit longer American bodies.

The stripper RS model is not on offer here -- that's the one without a radio and power options. The differences between our GSR and the MR aren't many, but depending on your preferences they might not be minor. The standard GSR has a radio and power accessories, but does not come with a wing -- that would get added in the Sight, Sound, and Spoiler package, which throws in HID headlamps and a 650-watt Rockford Fosgate system. The optional package for the MR is the Technology Package, which adds goodies to the stereo system (like a subwoofer and hard drive), Bluetooth, navigation, and the Fast Key entry system.

When it comes to inner workings, the GS rides on 18-inch Enkeis. The MR gets 18-inch BBS forged alloys, as well as Bilstein shock absorbers, Eibach springs, and 2-piece rotors. Voila. Lancer Evo X pricing according to one source will be around $30,000 for the GSR, and $36,000 for the MR. Follow the jump to read the full press release and options, and check out our live shots of the car's reveal in the gallery below. Video of the live introduction is also available after the jump.

UPDATE: Video of the STI unveiling has been added after the jump.

Click the image above for more live shots of the Subaru Impreza WRX STI.

The Subaru Impreza STI just made its North American debut, and for those of us here in the States, life is good. Just like the JDM version, the STI benefits from a wider track and a longer wheelbase, but power is provided by Subaru's 2.5-liter boxer four making 305 hp and 290 lb.-ft. of torque. The sprint to sixty will be dispatched in 4.9 seconds, and Subie execs are touting the engine's new torque characteristics as more tractable and effortlessly exciting. Aluminum suspension components partner with inverted struts to keep all four wheels planted and providing motivation, while a redesigned DCCD allows drivers to select six different differential settings.

Pricing has been set at $34,995 and Subaru began taking orders today. Check out Subaru's official press release after the jump and our gallery of high-res live shots below.

UPDATE: Kicking Tires has learned that the 128i will start at a much more reasonable $29,375.

Click the image above for more live pics of the BMW 135i.

Our boy Omar over at eGMCartech passed along a tip yesterday that BMW had a plaque standing next to its 135i listing the available options and price of its turbocharged entrant into the sport compact scene. Finally, all the speculation shall come to rest. After weaseling our way onto the show floor before the doors opened this morning, we made a B-line for the Bimmer booth to check it out for ourselves. The 135i sat on its pedestal, but unlike every other model there, the telltale placard was absent. Five minutes of snooping later, we hit gold behind a wall and you can check out the entire pricing and options list after the jump.

Pricing for the 135i starts at $35,675 -- very close to what's been rumored since its unveiling in Frankfurt. While that's certainly on the high side of things, it's not until you start optioning up the coupe that things get out of hand. REALLY out of hand. Tick the box for an automatic, and you're up another $1,275. Want the paddle shifters? Tack on another $100. The premium package boosts it up another $3,300; navigation with iDrive, $2,100. And on, and on, and on. The only thing missing is the price of the rarified air in the cabin, but BMW was nice enough to provide the windshield for free.

Bottom line: if you MAX-OUT the 135i, you're looking at over $52,000. Considering that a base 3-series comes in at around $32k (stripped), you'd better be very confident with your decision to be the first on your block to sport BMW's new hotness.

click above image for more high-res pics

While wondering the halls of the LA convention center we happened upon this Mosler MT900S with an... interesting paint scheme. It's even got color-matched carbon fiber Dymag wheels and yellow brake calipers to go with the Big Bird interior. While it may look like it just dropped out of a bag of Skittles, this Mosler has an LS7 V8 on board with 550 horsepower and 490 lb-ft torque for a 0-60 mph time of three seconds flat. We'll take ours in Darth Vader black like the one George Lucas got, thank you very much.