Ferlito Motors Jaguar XF Superstars touring car - Click above for image gallery

Gallery: Ferlito Motors Jaguar XF Superstars touring car

Continue reading Race-spec Jaguar XF touring car debuts at Kyalami Superstars

Race-spec Jaguar XF touring car debuts at Kyalami Superstars originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: HSV ClubSport R8 Tourer

Baby got back: HSV launches ClubSport R8 Tourer originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Sep 2008 11:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: 2009 BMW 3 Series

Continue reading 2009 BMW 3 Series unveiled

2009 BMW 3 Series unveiled originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Jul 2008 09:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Click for hi-res gallery of the Audi R8 DTM safety car

Audi has announced that its superlative R8 sportscar will serve as the safety car for the ever-popular DTM touring car championship, having also served in the same capacity for the recently-concluded 24 Hours of Le Mans. Audi's performance division quattro GmbH prepared a pair of R8s for the German racing series - with the second serving as a "racing taxi" - but noted that, "because the R8 possesses the genes of a perfect sports car", little in the way of modification for duty was required.

The pair of R8 support vehicles made its debut at the Norisring Speed Weekend yesterday, where Mercedes-Benz beat out the new Audi A4 DTM with a 1-2 finish. Follow the jump for the press release and click on the thumbnails below for our high-resolution image gallery.

Gallery: Audi R8 DTM safety car

[Source: Audi Motorsport]

Continue reading Audi R8 debuts as DTM safety car

Audi R8 debuts as DTM safety car originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 30 Jun 2008 18:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Gallery: 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring

Continue reading Chicago '08 Preview: 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring finally arrives

Chicago '08 Preview: 2009 Hyundai Elantra Touring finally arrives originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 03 Feb 2008 00:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta is one of the most sought-after collector's cars of all time. It was the first true Ferrari; only 25 of them were built and only a handful remain in existence - these cars were raced, and raced hard. It was an especially big deal to classic automobile aficionados and Ferrari historians when s/n 0052 M was found after nearly fifty years in obscurity, stored by a collector in Arizona.

As exciting as it was to find a 166, nobody had any idea just how unique this car was until Ferrari expert Marcel Massini got it back to his workshop. Massini brokered the purchase of the car from the late owner's estate after his passing, and was commissioned for a full mechanical rebuild. The exterior was to be left as-is in reverence to the car's extensive racing history, but when Massini started disassembling the engine he found the car was actually fitted with a two-liter Formula 2-spec competition engine, with a gear-driven camshaft instead of the conventional chain drive. When the numbers were found to match, it became apparent that this was a factory prototype, built that way from the start, and not retrofitted somewhere down the line.

166 MM Touring Barchetta Speciale s/n 0052 M has a deep racing history, having competed at Le Mans, the Targa Florio, Mille Miglia and took the chequered flag at the 12 Hours of Paris. The restored machine, which appeared on the September/October '06 cover of Cavallino Magazine, re-emerged to the public at the 2007 Cavalinno Classic, and the guys at Ultimatecarpage.com were there to snap some photos. Check it out.

[Source: Ultimatecarpage.com]

Molto Speciale: Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta factory prototype originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Feb 2007 13:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

2007 5-series touring

Continue reading BMW quietly releases redesigned 5-series, M5 touring

BMW quietly releases redesigned 5-series, M5 touring originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Jan 2007 06:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Used to be there were known routes for washed-out F1 drivers to go. Couldn't make it in the big leagues, you could always go to Le Mans-style endurance sportscar racing or to touring cars, for example. But as the story we've been following has unfolded, the latest refugees from the top-level series have been spinning a different web, painting their unprecedented moves to NASCAR as a sideways one, not downwards. That doesn't mean they're without their options, though, as Audi has made clear.

Ingolstadt would be happy to welcome both Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve into their German touring car team. DTM has had its fair share of former F1 drivers, and after losing Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Audi is keen to fill his seat with other big names.

Touring cars are Europe's version of stock-car racing, and though maybe not as big as NASCAR is in the US, Germany's DTM series draws a big crowd and races on familiar road-course tracks. Montoya may be on a more solid track into NASCAR than Villeneuve, but neither of their futures in the series are secured, so a move to DTM for either is still far from out of the question.

Related posts:

• Update: Villeneuve's NASCAR deal
• Anyone got $18 million for Jacques?
• Villeneuve and Montoya close in on closed wheels
• Not coming for you, Ricky Bobby: NASCAR sans Villeneuve in 07
• Villeneuve headed for the Busch leagues
• Reports: Villeneuve signed NASCAR deal with Roush
• Mais, oui! NASCAR developing a French connection?

[Source: German Car Blog]

Audi DTM wants Villeneuve and Montoya originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Dec 2006 20:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While Audi has at times made some of its most powerful S4s and RS4s in Avant wagon bodystyle only, BMW has never made an M3 Touring. And technically, it still hasn't, at least not in name. But the new 335i M Sport Touring is pretty damn close.

With a twin-turbo 3.0-liter six, the 335i sports sedan is as quick as the outgoing previous-generation M3, but while the 335i may be deserving of the M badge as much as any M model has before, that's being saved for the new V8-powered M3. The 3-Series Touring wagon model is getting the same engine as the 335i, along with big 18-inch wheels, but also gets the added benefit of a 460-liter cargo capacity without compromising its sporting pretensions. Very nice.

The 335i M Sport Touring sells in the UK for £34,920 (you can save almost three thousand off that by going for the gentler 335i SE version and skip the M wheels). No telling if the kickin' family hauler will make it to the US, but we sure hope it does. 'Cause with wheels like those (and 28.8 mpg combined-cycle economy), who needs an SUV?

[Source: Auto Express]

Watch out, Audi Avant: BMW 335i M Sport Touring wagon originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 25 Oct 2006 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Our man John just reported in from the floor of the Paris Motor Show with images and info on the Chevy WTCC Ultra concept car.

Described as "a Chevrolet muscle car reinvented for Europe", the WTCC Ultra takes its name and inspiration from the World Touring Car Championship, Europe's version of stock car racing. Motivation comes from a 2-liter common rail diesel driving over 190 hp through the front wheels.

Compact and intimidating, we can only hope some of the car's aggressive styling elements will make it into new Chevys for the road. Imagine seeing this baby rapidly growing in your rearview mirror!

Related posts:

• More on the Chevy WTCC Concept
• Chevy WTCC Ultra concept to debut in Paris

More images (LOTS more images) and full press release after the jump.

Continue reading Paris Motor Show: Chevrolet WTCC Ultra pics and info

Paris Motor Show: Chevrolet WTCC Ultra pics and info originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 Sep 2006 05:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Alex Zanardi won his first race this year in the 15th round of the FIA World Touring Car Championship held in Istanbul, Turkey, on Sunday. Nothing special for a former F1 driver? It is when you remember that he lost both his legs in a Champ Car crash in Germany in 2001.

Zanardi pilots his BMW 320si using special hand controls, and managed to overcome the additional challenge to claim the checkered flag at Istanbul this weekend. This marks the second race the 39-year-old Italian has won since the accident, having taken the honors at Oschersleben last year.

"I'm really happy about my second win in the World Touring Car Championship," Zanardi exclaimed after the race. "My first win in Oschersleben was unbeatable in terms of emotions. However, my situation has not changed dramatically since then, as my legs have not grown back again."

[Source: Motorsport.com]

Zanardi wins Touring Car race in Istanbul originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Sep 2006 18:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

UPDATED

click on image to enlarge

More details are surfacing from Mercedes-Benz on the latest car in its fleet to get AMG's new purpose-built 6.3-liter V8, following the first image we featured in July. Based on the recently updated CL-Class - the grand touring coupe itself based on the S-Class sedan - the CL63 AMG sweetens the deal with 525 hp, capable of propelling this leather-lined cruise missile to sixty in 4.6 seconds on its way to an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph (a Mercedes standard).

In addition to the fire-snorting engine upgrade, the CL63 gets a full aero package (even more aggressive than the AMG Sport Package offered on the "standard" CL) and suspension upgrades, as well as the full host of Mercedes' electronic systems. A close-up shot of the wheels shows a monstrous brake package, while a shot of the rear seems to show an aerodynamic diffuser to minimize lift without the need for an ostentatious rear wing (there's a reason they call it a "spoiler").

No word yet on pricing, but the old axiom applies: if you have to ask, you can't afford it.

(Full high-resolution gallery and press release after the jump)

[Source: Mercedes-Benz]

UPDATE: Added full high resolution gallery and press release

Continue reading Bahn-stormer Special: Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG unveiled

Bahn-stormer Special: Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG unveiled originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Sep 2006 11:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.