BMW 1-series M safety car for the 2011 MotoGP season.

This hardcore track version of the new BMW 1-series M coupe is the new safety car for the 2011 MotoGP season.
The only thing for the one-off safety car that remains unchanged from the production model is the twin-turbo 335bhp straight-six engine. The car has undergone drastic weight saving, including a new carbonfibre bonnet with added large air vents, plus the use of polycarbonate for the side and rear windows. A lightweight titanium race exhaust is also fitted “for the benefit of the spectators”.

See the official pics of the BMW 1-series M safety car

Styling modifications include a large fixed rear wing to boost downforce, and an additional splitter at the front of the car.
The M coupe’s adjustable high-performance suspension set-up gets a new race set-up with independently adjustable dampers. It features new 19-inch wheels equipped with 255/35 tyres at the front and 285/30 tyres at the rear.
Read the full story on the new BMW 1-series M road car
Vehicle height and camber of the axles can also be altered to suit different circuit characteristics. A six-piston fixed-calliper racing brake system completes the dynamic changes.
Inside, the car gets a rollcage, two bucket racing seats, an Alcantara-clad M steering wheel and a fire extinguisher.
The BMW 1-series M coupe road car will go on sale in the UK in price, priced from around £38,000.

See also Collection of Sports Cars

'Free power' with Brabus Tesla

Tuning company Brabus has teamed up with German electricity company RWE to create a ‘Green’ package for the Tesla Roadster.

The package includes a quick charging station for the owner’s garage and more than 18,500 miles worth of electric power, courtesy of RWE: this means that the Tesla Roadster can be fully charged in around six hours for an operating range of up to 220 miles.

See the official pics of the Brabus-tuned Tesla Roadster

Exterior features include carbonfibre splitter, spoiler, LED daytime running lights and 18-inch front and 19-inch rear Monoblock S alloy wheels. On the inside, the interior can be specified in a combination of perforated leather and Alcantara and even with a leather covered floor.

As with Brabus’s previous Tesla examples, the Roadster features sound synthesiser, which can replicate the grunt of a V8 engine, a race car or two futuristic soundscapes, according to the company.

Mini Countryman for Dakar

Mini’s new Countryman rally car will enter the 2011 Dakar Rally.

Rally specialist X-Raid is developing the all-wheel-drive crossover with funding from energy drink firm Monster Energy. It will also run a Monster Energy livery in the event, which starts next month in Argentina.

See a rendering on the X-Raid Mini Countryman

X-Raid previously ran the successful BMW X3CC rally car and won three FIA World Cup cross-country racing titles with the car. The Mini All4 Racing’s Dakar appearance will be its competitive debut, ahead of a part-time programme in next year’s World Rally Championship.

The X-Raid Countryman will borrow the X3CC’s 311bhp, 523lb ft turbodiesel unit. X-Raid will be hoping to better last year’s fourth and fifth places acheived with the X3CC as the Countryman has larger air intakes, a shorter wheelbase and a much lower centre of gravity than that car.

Mégane racer hints at hotter RS

Renault has revealed this tarmac rally version of the Renaultsport Mégane, which hints at a harder version of the road car that’s tentatively pencilled in for a 2011 launch.

The Renault Mégane RS N4 is built to Group N specification. It is powered by the road car's turbocharged 2.0-litre engine but is given a power hike from 247bhp to 266bhp, while torque is given a considerable boost from 251lb ft to 347lb ft.

See the official pics of the Renault Mégane RS N4

Other N4 upgrades include the road car’s Cup suspension and racing seats and harnesses. Larger brake discs are also fitted and a limited-slip differential is standard. Weight is also down, but Renault hasn’t quoted an official figure.

The harder version of the road car was scooped testing at the Nürburgring in the summer. Features of the rally car – more power, larger brakes and a stripped-out interior – are all likely to feature on the road car, in the mould of the R26R.

Driven: Lambo's new Murciélago

Lambo asked our man Sutcliffe to join them for a secret sign-off test at Nardo in Italy

The sound from the engine and exhaust is smoother and less grainy than in a Murciélago

This car feels both more refined and less physically intimidating than of old

The ride is calm and controlled in a way that a Murciélago owner simply wouldn’t recognise

It feels fundamentally better balanced, as if it has a much lower, broader centre of gravity

The kick of acceleration is genuinely outrageous in second gear

The SV feels clunky and old beside the new car

It feels as if it won’t tear your arms off and then kick you in the unmentionables

Next

Quite a cocktail, in other words, as long as you’ve got the balls to go with it

Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren

McLaren has unveiled this official new tuning kit for the discontinued SLR supercar.

Available for retro-fitting to existing standard SLRs, the kit – dubbed McLaren Edition SLR and revealed at the Essen motor show – includes an all-new aerodynamic body kit for added downforce as well as modified steering and suspension set-ups and interior touches for added exclusivity.

See a pic of the McLaren Edition SLR

Just 25 examples of the kit will be created, although no pricing details have been revealed by the company.

The Mercedes SLR McLaren went out of production last year after a production run of 2000 units. Mercedes launched its own supercar earlier this year, the SLS AMG, while McLaren Automotive's first bespoke supercar since the F1 – the MP4-12C – will be launched next year.

Hot petrol Honda CR-Z planned

Honda’s patented VTEC-i fully variable camshaft timing system, it is aimed at providing the performance of a typical 2.0-litre engine from a capacity of just 1.6 litres.

Autocar sources in Japan say the new engine is likely to come in two guises: a standard 160bhp model and a highly tuned 200bhp version aimed at matching the now defunct 2.0-litre VTEC engine in the Civic Type R. This more potent spec is likely to form the basis of a CR-Z Type R, tentatively due out late next year.

See pics of the Honda CR-Z Hybrid R concept

The new engine, which is also planned for the Jazz, Civic and Accord, forms an integral part of a downsizing program instigated at Honda. With forced induction and

Read Autocar's full road test of the Honda CR-Z

Plans for more than a hybrid engine for the Japanese Car of the Year come as sales of the two-door coupé have started to sag in the firm’s all-important home market.

Honda first hinted that it was planning to add another petrol engine when it unveiled the CR-Z Hybrid R concept at the recent SEMA tuning show in Las Vegas. Unlike the proposed production version, though, that car ran a turbocharged version of the CR-Z’s existing 1.5-litre engine rather than the new 1.6.

Proton makes a Mitsubishi Evo

Proton has revealed this Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X-inspired sports saloon concept at the Kuala Lumpur motor show in Malaysia.

The recently launched Proton Inspira is a re-badged version of the Mitsubishi Lancer four-door saloon with lightly modified front-end styling, and this Jebat concept version by Proton Design borrows its styling from the Evo X.

See pics of the Evo-inspired Proton Inspira Jebat

Powering the Jebat concept is a 237bhp, 253lb ft 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine petrol engine, although Proton hasn't said whether the car uses the Evo's all-wheel drive system. It can get from 0-62mph in 5.6sec and reach a top speed of 144mph.

Evo-inspired styling changes over the standard Inspira include a matte black finish at the front and rear, LED daytime running lights, 18-inch alloys, flared wheel arches, a new rear spoiler, bonnet louvres and a narrow rear diffuser. Inside, the concept gets Recaro sports seats with red stitching and a new in-car entertainment system.

Proton hasn't said whether it intends to put the sports saloon concept into production.

New venom for Viper

It appeared onstage for a few fleeting moments, more phantom than future sheetmetal. But like a ghost that won't go away or a car company that refuses to die, a reborn Viper has been penciled in for Dodge for 2012.

A concept version of the next American supercar was shown in September in Orlando, Fla., by Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne to a convention center filled with thousands of people—most of them notoriously talkative car dealers. But reports of just what exactly the next Viper will be are sketchy. Still, in speaking with numerous sources who were present, AutoWeek was able to construct a composite sketch of what this new supersnake could be.

A common theme emerged: The Viper had a distinct Italian theme with an unmistakable American presence. Descriptions ranged from “beautiful” to “sexy with a lot of muscle” to “different” and, of course, “a classic.” That's high praise from a dealer body starved for new cars and trucks and still reeling from two years of choppy waters for Chrysler.

The car shown in Orlando was painted bright red and had flashy lights, perhaps LEDs. The windows appeared to have a teardrop shape, and the curves and flares were a bit more pronounced. One source compared it to the 1998 Viper. The size and shape were close to that of the current generation, although there were more angles and lines. The Italian sports-car vibe was especially evident stretching back from the A-pillar.

“It looks like it's about to open up and attack you—like a Viper,” one impressed source said.

The fact that any Viper was shown is remarkable in some ways. The supercar business was put up for sale in 2008 and then taken off the market after Chrysler successfully emerged from bankruptcy. The Viper factory in Detroit, dubbed the “Snake Pit,” was the new company's first plant to reopen.

It's “firmly in the product fold,” a spokesman said. “It's going to remain true to its roots.”

Powertrain specifics remain unknown, but a V10 has always been the Viper's signature feature. As Chris Marshall, president of the Viper Club of America, put it: “The main concern for the true Viper purists is the big-displacement engine.”

And considering all that Chrysler has been through in the last two years, that's not the worst problem to have. Viper Nation can rest with some assurance that a new snake is poised to strike in 2012.

Next Zonda - new spy pics

These are the clearest spy shots yet of Pagani's successor to the Zonda as it continues development ahead of its debut in spring next year.

Known internally as C9 — although the car is unlikely to carry that badge — the new model is set to mark a radical shift in Pagani’s engine configuration, transmission set-up, and even its manufacturing processes, raising the ultra-supercar stakes in the process.

See the best spy pics yet of the new Pagani C9

At the new car’s heart will be a powerplant that introduces forced induction into Pagani’s range for the first time. The C9 will use a 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V12 engine, producing around 700bhp and more than 730lb ft of torque. It is a bespoke powerplant developed exclusively for Pagani by Mercedes' AMG department.

The engine offers considerably more power and torque than any of the road-going Zondas’ normally aspirated motors, but the new unit will be Euro 5 compliant. Pagani says the car’s CO2 figure will be “50 per cent” lower than that of its rivals.

Read more on the new Pagani C9

The engine’s prodigious power and torque are unlikely to be transferred to the road through a version of the SL65’s five-speed, torque-converter automatic transmission. Instead, the Pagani will use a seven-speed sequential set-up, sourced from British transmission specialist X-trac.

As this disguised test hack reveals, Pagani isn’t moving too far away from the proportions of the Zonda with the new car; however, the firm does appear to be integrating the side-mounted air intakes more effectively than the Zonda’s, which sit proud of the main bodywork. The car also features deep, Enzo-like scallops in the bonnet, to help with cooling.

Watch the Pagani Zonda R on video

The C9 will have gullwing doors, and its chassis will be made from the ultra-expensive, ultra-lightweight carbon-titanium material that Pagani first used on the Zonda Cinque. Pagani sources say the car will weigh “the same as a Zonda F”, which puts its kerb weight at around 1230kg. That’s at least half a tonne less than a Bugatti Veyron.

Crucially for Pagani, the C9 will also be homologated for sale in the United States, a market that has been closed to the supercar firm in the past because the Zonda never complied with the country’s Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation regulations.

Watch the Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster on video

This potential growth in sales is, in turn, said to be giving Pagani a production headache. The facilities required to upscale its figures to more than 40 units per year, including greater carbonfibre manufacturing capacity, have apparently prompted the firm to consider moving its factory.

The new model is likely to make its public debut at the Geneva motor show next March. It won’t introduce a major price rise — but as a Pagani, it’s unlikely to be cheap, either. Expect a figure of around £800,000, roughly the same as the outgoing top-end Zondas.

Pagani’s original model will continue to be produced, in tiny numbers and on demand, alongside the C9

Next Porsche 911 - new spy pics

These are the best spy images yet of the next-generation Porsche 911 in testing ahead of its official launch at next year’s Frankfurt motor show.

Codenamed 991, the heavily re-engineered coupé and cabriolet are set to go on sale in the UK in October 2011. They will get freshened exterior styling, a higher-quality interior, more powerful yet highly fuel-efficient six-cylinder boxer engines, sharpened dynamics and a greater list of high-end options.

See the spy pics of the new Porsche 911 in testing

As with today’s 911, the front-end structure, complete with its MacPherson strut suspension, has been designed to be shared with the Boxster, a third-generation model of which is due to reach the UK in March 2012. The rear end, with its reworked multi-link suspension, remains largely unique, and the steering uses an electro-mechanical set-up.

The new car is marginally longer and wider than the existing 911 but the basic silhouette, while stretched slightly, remains largely unchanged, including the screen angles and length of the front and rear overhangs. The biggest change is the widened wings, which have been designed to accept wheels up to 20 inches in diameter.

Read the full inside story on the next Porsche 911

Again, there are no major changes to the 911’s styling. Headlamps and tail-lights have been altered slightly and given new LED graphics, while the exterior mirror housings now sit outboard on the doors rather than in the blanked-off quarter panel at the base of the A-pillar.

The engine line-up is based around upgraded versions of Porsche’s six-cylinder, direct injection petrol unit, boasting incremental increases in power and torque and slight reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.

When UK sales get under way in 14 months’ time there will be a 3.6-litre engine with 365bhp and 295lb ft in the Carrera. It will be joined from the outset by a revised 3.8-litre powerplant delivering 415bhp and 325lb ft in the Carrera S.

See Autocar's exclusive artist's rendering of the new Porsche 911

Both engines will come with a six-speed manual gearbox as standard; the seven-speed PDK (Porsche Doppel Kupplung) unit is an option, with shift paddles behind the wheel. Automatic stop-start and a brake recuperation system are also planned, helping to provide a claimed 12 per cent gain in city driving economy for the rear-drive Carrera and Carrera S.

Further variants will follow in time, including more powerful versions of the Turbo, GT3 and GT2.

Peugeot RCZ 1.6 THP 200 Sport

It’s the RCZ 1.6 THP 200 – and it might very well be the hot Peugeot you’ve been waiting for. Literally.

For the last few months, deliveries of Peugeot’s RCZ coupe have been forging ahead full steam, but only to those prepared to be satisfied with the French manufacturer’s lesser versions – the 154bhp petrol- and 161bhp diesel-engined models.

Over the last couple of weeks, however, the very first official RCZ 200s have arrived in Britain. And, on the evidence of our first UK steer, they’re worth every moment of that wait.

See the test pics of the Peugeot RCZ 1.6 200

What’s it like?
Peugeot hasn’t done itself many favours with the marketing of this car. Its name suggests it’s simply an RCZ with a healthy extra portion of power, when in fact the 200 has significantly different chassis, tranmission, steering and braking systems than the rest of the RCZ range.

Unlike an RCZ THP 156, the RCZ 200 has 197bhp and 203lb ft to call upon. Unlike the lesser petrol, it has a bolstered MacPherson-style front suspension with a thicker anti-roll bar, that uses the bigger wheel hubs of the Peugeot 407 and Citroen C5.

Unlike the RCZ 156, it comes with a smaller steering wheel and a shorter gear lever as standard. It also gets a shorter-ratio six-speed manual ‘box and bigger front brake discs.

And those myriad little differences combine to make this RCZ a much more convincing and cohesive driver’s car. First of all, that extra power and shorter gearset makes it feel much quicker: night-and-day faster than a 156 petrol above 60mph, not least because 4th, 5th and 6th gears are that bit shorter.

It’s still not quite quick enough in a straight line to keep up with a VW Scirocco R or Megane 250, but at least the RCZ is now in the same league as those cars. Just.

And yet it’s not the added performance of this car that’s the real turn-up, but that overhauled chassis. It allows this RCZ to turn into corners with even more roll-free immediacy. With that smaller steering wheel, low silhouette and such a wide front track, this car darts at apexes with more abandon than most front-drivers.

That uprated chassis provides for better body control and much better wheel control too. Peugeot claims the 200’s spring and damper settings aren’t vastly different to those of the lesser RCZs, and yet it’s got much better vertical body control than our 156 at high speed, and rides with more fluency and better bump absorption.

Should I buy one?
If you’re sold on the RCZ, this this is without a shadow of doubt the model to have. Although it’s more tautly suspended, it rides and handles better than any other model in the range.

It’s also in the same VED tax band as the 154bhp petrol, and capable of returning better than 40mpg, is only marginally less economical.

So if you’ve been biding your time for the fastest RCZ, be safe in the knowledge that you’re also getting a car that seems much sweeter and better sorted than any of its rangemates; a car with real dynamic polish. It may not quite have the power of other sub-£30k options, but it’s every bit the real deal.

Peugeot RCZ Sport 1.6 THP 200
Price: £22,750; Top speed: 147mph; 0-62mph: 7.5sec; Economy: 40.9mpg; CO2: 159g/km; Engine: 4 cyls, 1598cc, turbocharged petrol; Power: 197bhp; Torque: 203lb ft; Gearbox: 6-spd manual