Frank just sent this in for us to post, so here you go!

Porsche just released information about the 2009 edition of its legendary 911, sporting improved good looks and some serious mechanical tweaks designed to keep it at the head of the pack. Although the styling changes might seem minor, Porsche has switched to LED lighting front and back, and has made daytime driving lights and bi-xenon headlights standard across the Carrera range. Besides that,Porsche will also start offering what they call Dynamic Bending Lights on all models. Think nighttime cornering and lights that point into a turn. While those changes may be the first you notice, it will take a twist of the Le Mans-start-left-of-the-steering-wheel key to fully appreciate the 2009 911s. Read the rest of this entry »

Just got this through from our friend (and contributor) Frank Filipponio:

As a fitting tribute to racing legend Jim Clark, Lotus has just released information on its first special edition supercharged Elise, which they have named the Clark Type 25 Elise SC. The special edition green and yellow supercharged car is being built to honor the late, legendary Formula 1 driver, Jim Clark. The color combination emulates that of Clark’s Type 25 F1 car which he piloted to a world championship in 1963. Other features that distinguish this Elise from run-of-the-mill models are a standard hardtop, black and silver Lotus racing wheels, black leather seats, red trim and a wooden shift knob. No mechanical changes were announced, however, meaning buyers get the same 218 hp and 156 lb.-ft. of torque from the Elise’s supercharged 1.8-liter, straight-4. Only 25 units are to be sold, matching Clark’s racing number. The�Clark Type 25 Elise SC will only be available in the UK and Ireland at an asking price of £35,995. Full press release following:

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Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage – originally launched to widespread critical acclaim at the Geneva Motor Show in 2005 – is to receive significant technical enhancements, reaffirming the car’s position as one of the world’s most desirable and exhilarating sports cars.

While the universally distinctive and award-winning shape of the V8 Vantage is retained, the car benefits from a number of technical changes which include significantly up-rated engine performance from a new 4.7 litre power unit in both Coupe and Roadster variants. Other changes include revised dynamics to take full advantage of increased power and torque availability, improved Sportshift™ transmission software and a new sports suspension option. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re a little late to press with this one, so our apologies, but it’s worth presenting:

At the official opening of Aston Martin’s first ever dedicated design centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire, on Tuesday 11 December, Dr Ulrich Bez, Chief Executive Officer, thrilled an audience of more than seven hundred VIP guests with a surprise unveiling of a stunning new 600bhp performance concept car; the V12 Vantage RS.

The V12 Vantage RS concept is based on Aston Martin’s critically acclaimed V8 Vantage coupe, but the company’s design and engineering team have fully exploited the design flexibility of their unique VH architecture and the motor sport development of their 6.0 litre V12 engine to create a dramatic and production feasible concept car focussed on extreme performance and dynamics.

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Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is presenting the new Boxster RS 60 Spyder in Germany. From April 4, the most recent model in the successful Boxster series will be celebrating its first home appearance at the 18th Auto Mobil International (AMI) in Leipzig. The city is home to Porsche’s second production location, complementing the main factory in Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen. At the motor show there are other highlights to be appreciated, too: the innovative power train of the future Cayenne, with its Full Parallel Hybrid drive giving particularly low fuel consumption, and the Porsche RS Spyder racing car.

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Group Lotus plc unveils a new updated and significantly enhanced range of Europa’s at the 78th annual Geneva International Motor Show. The new entry level Europa is priced at £27,950 MSRP / €37,500, with the range topping Europa SE available for a competitive £32,995 MSRP / €41,500 (Euro prices are without taxes, delivery & other related costs).

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The Porsche GT3 RSR launches into the new model year with extensive modifications. The most powerful race car based on the Porsche 911, which last year scored wins at the 24 hour races of Le Mans and Spa as well as overall victory at the Nuerburgring 24 hours, competes in the GT2 class at international long distance races. The most distinguishing feature of the new GT3 RSR is the front end which received major improvements to the aerodynamics. The majority of innovations however are hidden under the weight-optimized body.

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Lotus Sport, the motor sport division of Lotus Cars Ltd, has unveiled the MY2008 Lotus Sport Exige Cup 260.  A direct development of the 2007 Exige Cup Car, this year’s car has a revised engine management system to take the maximum power output to 257 hp (260 PS), up by nearly 5 hp (5 PS) over last year. Bespoke performance enhancements created to offer a car with even greater levels of handling and acceleration capable of taming Europe’s most challenging race circuits.

The Exige Cup 260, once again represents Lotus’ most radical version of the Exige, with the track environment being its home and for 2008, the Lotus Sport Exige Cup 260 has full European homologation for road use (a must have for some competitive environments where a road legal car has to be entered).

There are further product changes: all Lotus Sport Exige Cup 260 cars now have a number of the 2008 Model year improvements from the road versions of the Elise and Exige, namely:

•    Instrument pack with new graphic design and expanded functionality
•    New alarm/immobiliser + single integrated function key
•    Variable Lotus Traction Control
•    Variable Lotus Launch Control

In traditional Lotus style, weight saving is paramount.  Weighing in at just 928 kg, the power to weight ratio is an impressive 271 hp / tonne (273 PS / tonne). Such a fantastic power to weight ratio alone of course does not make a superlative track car, so the Exige Cup 260 has a formidable list of standard equipment that includes Lotus specific LTS compound Yokohama A048R tires, 4-piston AP Racing front brake calipers, adjustable dampers and anti-roll bar, the latest FIA 6-point roll cage and sports driver and passenger seats.  The car can also be ordered as a Track version for track use only. The Track Version comes pre-fitted with an FIA approved 6-point roll cage, and 4-point harnesses. In addition, a wide range of motorsport specific options are also available with this version.

• 70 litre fuel cell (FIA approved)
• Yokohama A005 racing slick tires with Hi-Power silver 5-spoke ultra lightweight forged alloy wheels
• C64 6-speed gearbox with dog engagement and revised ratios
• 1.5-way adjustable plate-type limited slip differential
• Race specification battery with battery tray
• De-cat pipe
• Level 2 stainless steel sports exhaust - 104.0 dB(A)
• Black race seat - driver only (FIA approved)
• Black 6-point harnesses - driver only (FIA approved)

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Stuttgart. Presenting the new 911 GT2 at the Frankfurt Motor Show, Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, is proudly launching the most powerful 911 so far homologated for road use. Through its striking design with large air intakes at the front and the rear wing so characteristic of this very special model, the new 911 GT2 expresses the power and performance potential of the fastest-ever 911 right from the start even at a standstill. Available exclusively with rear-wheel drive and a manual six-speed gearbox, this high-performance athlete accelerates to 100 km/h in just 3.7 seconds and reaches a top speed of 329 km/h (204 mph) on average fuel consumption of just 12.5 litres/100 km (equal to 22.6 mpg imp) in the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), thus offering a level of fuel economy regarded as quite impossible in this performance class just a few years ago.

The power unit of the new 911 GT2 is based on the six-cylinder boxer engine of the 911 Turbo, with air supply by two exhaust gas turbochargers featuring variable turbine geometry (VTG). The 3.6-litre boxer engine achieves its maximum output of 530 bhp (390 kW) at 6500 rpm, with maximum torque of 680 Newton-metres maintained consistently between 2,200 and 4,500 rpm. With its unladen weight of 1,440 kg or 3,175 lb, finally, the 911 GT2 offers a power-to-weight ratio of just 2.72 kg/6.00 lb per horsepower.

The increase in engine power by 50 bhp over the ”regular“ power unit is provided in the new 911 GT2 by two turbochargers with a larger compressor wheel and a flow-optimised turbine housing raising turbocharger pressure to an even higher level. And for the first time Porsche’s engineers have combined the turbocharged engine with an expansion-type intake manifold – a genuine revolution on turbocharged power units.

The expansion intake manifold uses the principle of oscillating air in the intake manifold during the cooler expansion phase, keeping the temperature of the fuel/air mixture lower than in the 911 Turbo. This, in turn, means a significant increase in all-round efficiency, with fuel consumption down by up to 15 per cent under full load despite the increase in engine output.

The 911 GT2 offers new achievements also in terms of emission management and control: This is the first Porsche homologated for the road to feature a rear silencer and tailpipes made of titanium as standard equipment. This expensive material reduces weight by approximately 50 per cent versus a comparable component made of stainless steel to just 9 kg.

The new 911 GT2 comes as standard with PCCB brakes featuring brake discs made of a composite carbon fibre/ceramic compound ensuring maximum stopping power maintained with an extremely high level of consistency. A further advantage is that PCCB brakes reduce the weight of the unsprung masses versus comparable grey cast-iron discs by approximately 20 kg or 44 lb.

Yet another feature fitted as standard is the electronically controlled PASM Porsche Active Suspension Management. (PASM). The GT2 comes on 19-inch light-alloy wheels running at the front on 235/35 ZR 19, at the rear on 325/30 ZR 19 sports tyres.

The new 911 GT2 will be at dealerships in November 2007. The base price of the car in Germany is Euro 159,100.-, the market price including 19 per cent value-added tax Euro 189,496.-.

BMW UK has announced details of the new BMW M3 Coupé, a model that 21 years ago created an entirely new segment for super-high-performance compact cars. In the past two decades and three previous generations, the M3 has proved a success on road and track. Originally powered by BMW’s first 16-valve four-cylinder engine and subsequently by 3.0-litre and 3.2-litre powerplants, BMW M3 engines took top category honours on a record six successive occasions in the Engine of the Year awards. Racing derivatives have also won more Touring Car titles than any other car as well as numerous Endurance races.

Engine and Drivetrain
With DNA connecting the new M3’s engine to that of the BMW Sauber F1 Team, the racing link is maintained in the fourth generation M3. The new M3 Coupé engine develops 420hp at 8,300rpm and 400Nm of torque at 3,900rpm from its 3,999cc V8-power unit, and red-lines at 8,400rpm. To highlight the flexibility of the engine, 85 per cent of torque is available from 6,500rpm. Power is transferred to the road by BMW M’s six-speed manual gearbox and variable M differential which conveys up to 100 per cent of available power to the wheel with most grip.

Like its predecessor, the new V8-powered BMW M3 easily breaks through the magical 100hp per litre barrier, offering 105hp per litre. This engine powers the car from zero to 62mph in 4.8 seconds and on to a limited top speed of 155mph. However, these supercar levels of performance do not compromise economy with the car still delivering 22.8mpg on the combined cycle, being an eight per cent improvement over the outgoing car.

BMW EfficientDynamics
This relative frugal economy is delivered, in part, thanks to BMW’s EfficientDynamics programme. Far from only influencing the smaller-engined cars in the range, EfficientDynamics offers benefits to one of the most sporting cars offered by BMW, courtesy of Brake Energy Regeneration. This technology uses an Intelligent Alternator Control and Absorbent Glass Mat battery to recognise when the engine is on over-run and activates the alternator to charge the battery with what would previously have been wasted energy.

Another facet of BMW’s EfficientDynamics programme is lightweight technology. The previous-generation M3 CSL showed how carbon-fibre could be used by BMW in limited-volume production cars. The new M3 Coupé is the first full production car in its class to feature a carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic roof panel with exposed weave. In isolation, the carbon-fibre roof panel saves 5kgs over a conventional roof panel but it also lowers the centre of gravity to contribute to the M3’s benchmark driving dynamics.

The drivetrain in the new M3 Coupé features lightweight, but high-strength, materials. Using an engine block manufactured alongside F1 engines at BMW’s light-alloy foundry at Landshut, Germany, the new V8 powerplant weighs a mere 202kgs, 15kgs less than the six-cylinder engine it replaces. To further highlight the weight advantages, the crankshaft in the new engine is made from one complete forging and weighs only 20kgs. Additionally, the front axle components are constructed entirely from aluminium. Even the five-link rear axle, normally constructed from high-strength steel, has aluminium components to save weight. The control arms and dampers alone are 2.5kgs lighter than conventional parts.

Personalised settings
Like the larger BMW M5 and M6 models, the new M3 Coupé also features an MDrive button that brings together numerous personalised functions of the car. The settings for the optional Electronic Damper Control (Normal, Comfort and Sport), three DSC+ traction control settings and three specific engine control maps, plus the response rate of the Servotronic power steering can be controlled with one button on the steering wheel. Once the desired settings are created in the iDrive menu, part of the standard Professional navigation system, one push of the MDrive button transforms the M3 from a car to drive to the shops to a track day special.

All of these power, technology and lightweight innovations combine in the new BMW M3 Coupé to offer a car that is significantly faster around the infamous northern loop of the Nordschliefe. The outgoing M3 was capable of an 8mins 15secs lap but an official lap time for the V8-engined M3 Coupé has yet to be announced.

Coupé design but with BMW M flair
The new BMW M3 Coupé shares many design cues and components with the ‘standard’ 3 Series Coupé model. Only the doors, bootlid, windows and front / rear lamps are carried over. However, a number of subtle performance enhancements combine to deliver an unmistakably sporting outline. A striking powerdome and two air intakes in the aluminium bonnet cover the new V8-engine and help engine cooling. Primarily, the design of the front of the car is created by the need for significant volumes of air for the induction system. As a result, three large air ducts in the front lower valance keep the engine breathing.

In profile, the new M3 Coupé features 18-inch double-spoke light-alloy wheels as standard, with a striking 19-inch wheel available as an option. Another BMW M trait, a side gill in the front wing, also includes the side direction indicator and the M3 logo. Such is the performance of the new car, even the exterior door mirrors enhance the aerodynamic characteristics of the car and provide a degree of downforce.

From the rear, an aerodynamically-efficient diffuser emphasises BMW M’s trademark twin double exhaust pipes protruding from beneath the valance. The bootlid also features a discreet lip spoiler.