2016 Jaguar XF: Lighter in Weight and Heavier on Tech

With its redesign for 2016, the Jaguar XF follows the full-size XJ and the new XE into the house of aluminum. In addition to the attendant weight loss, the new XF also sees a major increase in its tech offerings, while its engine lineup is sharply reduced.

The switch from an all-steel structure sees the mid-size luxury-sport sedan, which first made its debut for the 2009 model year, shed considerable mass. Jaguar is quoting a 132-pound weight loss for the rear-wheel-drive model and an impressive 265-pound cut for the all-wheel-drive version. Helping matters is the fact that the car has not grown any larger. The overall package size is retained, but the car’s wheelbase grows by two inches. The wheelbase stretch yields more rear-seat room, a welcome development. However, Jaguar is claiming bumps of less than an inch in rear-seat knee- and legroom, which is less than we might have hoped.

The new styling is largely evolutionary, not surprising given that the previous car ushered in Jaguar’s current design language. Although the whole car is new, the most noticeably fresh elements might be the headlights (available as full LEDs), the taillights (which take their cue from the F-type’s), and the elongated greenhouse that now includes quarter-windows in the C-pillars.

Aston Martin Announces 2016 DB9 GT, Updates to Vantage and Rapide S

There’s something about the older Aston Martins in the company’s lineup. The Vantage GT, while outclassed on paper by the Corvette Z06 and the Jaguar F-type V8, manages to retain an analog sports-car feel that’s wholly charming in its own right. And the DB9, despite 11 years in production, remains an involving, lovely thing to drive. It is, perhaps, the most idyllically Aston Martin of all the models the company sells. However, the last example we drove was still using Volvo’s typefaces from Aston’s days as part of Ford’s Premier Automotive Group. The new DB9 GT fixes that. More importantly, it offers more power.

The 5935-cc V-12 (which AM refers to as a 6.0-liter) gets a bump from 510 to 540 horsepower. It’s still a distant cry from the Ferrari FF’s 651-horse wind-’em-up whopper or the Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG coupe’s 621-hp spine extractor, but AM V-12s have always been pleasant engines with a wonderful snarl. We will not shake a stick at these 30 new ponies. Aston claims 4.4 seconds to 60 and a 182-mph top speed. Unlike the Rapide and the Vanquish, which have moved to an eight-speed automatic gearbox, the DB9 GT still makes do with six cogs.

Inside, the GT receives Aston’s AMi II touch-screen infotainment suite, an update to the AMi system that arrived in the Vanquish. The company claims its revised menu structure makes it more user-friendly.

Outside, the revised DB9 gets a black-painted splitter and rear diffuser, black-anodized calipers, and a GT-engraved fuel-filler cap. Revised headlights and taillights round out the package. If you’d like, the new rear lamps can be fitted with carbon-fiber inserts. If that’s not enough of the wonder plastic for you, the side strakes, splitter, and diffuser can also be crafted from the stuff. And if black calipers don’t cut the Grey Poupon, Gaydon happily offers alternative colors.

Inside, the grand tourer now features “GT” badging embroidered on the seats. Coupe customers get a microsuede-wrapped steering wheel, while Volante buyers will be set up with a more traditional, leather-covered tiller.

Speaking of the wheel, Aston notes that the unit is inspired by the helm of the ripping One-77. The price for all this new finery? It starts at $202,775.

Read More >>>

2016 Jaguar F-type Manual and AWD

One of these days our Save the Manuals campaign will arrive at its inevitable end. Even if the ol’ stick shift wins a battle every now and then, newer, smoother, and faster transmission technology is dominating the war. We’ll be devastated to concede victory, but our work as the enthusiasts’ advocate won’t end with manual transmissions.

That’s because there’s another just cause waiting in the wings. We’d call it our Save Rear-Wheel Drive Movement. As power escalates to obscene levels, carmakers are sending torque to all four wheels to get that grunt to the ground. Going fast is great, but all-wheel-drive systems also add weight and compromise handling.

Which brings us to the 2016 Jaguar F-type coupe and convertible, cars that simultaneously fight the good fight and force all-wheel drive onto a sublime rear-drive sports car. Two years after the F-type debuted, a six-speed manual is optional with some engines while other powertrains are now mated with all-wheel drive as standard equipment.

Read More >>>

The Ferrari Enzo WRC

Amazing Ferrari Manufacturing Factory Tour - YouTube .

Armoured Vehicle Race - Fifth Gear

Rolls-Royce Dawn

Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo Wagon Concept

2016 Honda Accord V-6 coupe

2016 Mercedes G-Class (G500) Off-Road Test - YouTube .

Bentley Bentayga

With a claimed top speed of 187 mph, Bentley boasts that the Bentayga will be the fastest SUV in the world. The claim is made possible by a twin-turbo 6.0-liter W-12 that makes a mighty 600 hp and 664 lb-ft of torque; an eight-speed automatic drives all four wheels.

The interior can be configured to seat four or five; only the finest leather will cosset those lucky posteriors. Diesel and hybrid powertrains will be offered in the future; the Bentayga goes on sale in early 2016.

Drifting Contest, BMW M4 vs Lexus RC-F (2/3) - Fifth Gear - YouTube .

TOP 10 World (Heavy) UTILITY HELICOPTERs 2014 (VIDEOs) - YouTube .

2016 Toyota Prius Driven!

Hybrid cars in general, and the Toyota Prius in particular, have become so much a part of the fabric of the automotive scene that it’s easy to forget that the original Prius went on sale in Japan less than 20 years ago. And it didn’t come to America until 2000.

Yet since 1997, Toyota has hawked more than 5 million Prii of various descriptions around the world. As such a mainstream model, it gets regular updates every six years, so we’re here to give you the lowdown on the 2016 version.

Like so many traditional sedans of yesteryear, the new Prius is longer, lower, and wider. The length increase is 2.3 inches while the other two change by only 0.6 inch, but the net effect is to give the ’16 Prius a sleeker and slightly more athletic stance. While the overall profile retains the wedgy teardrop look that began with the 2004, second-generation Prius, the body panels have a few more creases and bulges to provide more visual interest. LED headlights and taillights are both smaller and more distinctive than the current model’s, and the hoodline dips markedly lower.

Read More >>>

U.S.-Spec 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia/Giulia Quadrifoglio

“I am Quadrifoglio! I need turbos for my six-hole!” We like to imagine an anthropomorphic Giulia, a Metallica T-shirt pulled up over its cabin, front wheel-arms pointing skyward, reared up on its haunches like some great Rothian beast. The highest-performing variant of Alfa Romeo’s new sedan is a hot rod of sorts, after all, even if there’s not some great Roots-blown Hemi poking impossibly skyward through its hood. And while most of the noise over the past five months has been about the cloverleaf-badged machine, Alfa has dropped a little knowledge about the lesser Giulias prior to the cars’ U.S.-spec reveal at the L.A. auto show as well. Not every BMW customer buys an M3.

Not every Porsche customer wants a Cayman GT4. The bottom line demands a competitive product for those who don’t require maximum performance.

As such, Alfa has joined the other players in the segment in the four-pot 2.0-liter turbo club. The FCA unit boasts that its MultiAir2-equipped engine “will deliver a class-leading 276 horsepower and world-class levels of performance, efficiency, and refinement.”

In the competitive set, BMW’s four-cylinder makes 240, Benz’s 241, Audi’s 252, and Cadillac’s 272. A prerequisite for participation these days is the availability of all-wheel drive. Alfa would like you to know that it will be available. Otherwise, they’d like to go back to talking about the Quadrifoglio.

Read More >>>

2017 Buick LaCrosse

We’re hopeful, however, that the new-for-2017 LaCrosse will change that. General Motors claims to have put the LaCrosse through the same type of weight-loss regimen as the Cadillac CTS and the Chevrolet Camaro, 10Best Cars awardees that are spectacular to drive. Another new GM product that recently lost a lot of weight is the new Chevy Malibu; the LaCrosse uses a longer-wheelbase version of the Malibu’s Epsilon II platform. The engineering team claims that this LaCrosse is nearly 300 pounds lighter than the outgoing car; fully half of that weight drop comes from a lighter steel structure.


Just as encouragingly, the LaCrosse uses GM’s new 3649-cc V-6, which also appears in the CTS and the Camaro, among other applications. For LaCrosse duty, the engine will produce about 305 horsepower and 268 lb-ft of torque (final numbers aren’t yet blessed by the SAE). That’s just barely more than what the old 3.6-liter V-6 in the previous LaCrosse mustered, but this V-6 will have less weight to contend with. It also pairs with a new eight-speed automatic (controlled by a funky new by-wire setup called Electronic Precision Shift) and comes standard with auto stop-start. All of that should aid the cause of fuel economy, although EPA figures are not yet available.

Read More >>>

2017 Lincoln MKZ Spied

What It Is: A Lincoln MKZ sedan, spied wearing telling camouflage around its front and rear ends. While everything between the MKZ’s wheels looks unchanged, the swirly cover-up applied to the front fascia, headlights, and hood hides a series of styling tweaks that aim to bring Lincoln’s mid-size luxury sedan in line with the newly debuted Continental flagship.

Why It Matters: The 2017 Continental, which was displayed as a concept at this year’s New York auto show, gave form not only to Lincoln’s swagger, but also its new design language. (Here are recent spy photos of the production Continental.) It may be slightly anodyne, but the new look definitively ditches the split-wing grille design currently applied to every other model in Lincoln’s lineup, and it appears that the company is going to transition many of its cars’ faces to match the Conti’s—and soon. The MKZ’s midcycle refresh is as good a time as any to slap on the new mug, and you should expect to see similar facelifts of additional models in the coming years.

Platform: This being a midcycle refresh, the MKZ’s front-drive-based CD4 underpinnings (shared with the Ford Fusion) will carry over. As for the stylistic changes, we can see a large opening in the camouflage to feed air to a Continental-style rectangular grille; even though there’s a spear running down the center, we’re confident that it's merely part of the cover-up.


Other Continental-like styling cues include the headlights, which aren’t as sweeping and tapered as they are on today’s MKZ. There’s a new LED element tracing the bottom of the headlamps, and the lower fascia seems less busy. Even though this prototype’s rear end is wrapped in swirly paper, the taillights are curiously exposed—and unchanged. A closer inspection reveals new, reshaped exhaust pipes, but otherwise the tail looks the same. Lincoln may not need to change much, however; the MKZ’s full-width taillights are perhaps its most distinctive feature, and the look happens to match the treatment on the Continental.

This 2017 MKZ test mule appears to have a new wheel design, although it likely won’t be offered to customers in this cool black-painted finish, and the unseen interior will probably revert from frustrating capacitive-touch controls to actual physical buttons—because logic—and adopt a version of Ford’s Sync 3 infotainment with over-the-air updating capability.

Lamborghini Huracan Vs Range Rover Sport Street Racing !!! - YouTube .

Lamborghini Veneno: Just Three of These Will Ever Exist

Lamborghini is evolving its styling language, and it’s more evident than ever in the Veneno shown at the Geneva auto show. Based on the Aventador LP700-4, it will be built in exactly three units, plus the company's demonstrator car. What is the reason for showing another supercar, given that Lamborghini has not yet delivered its ultra-low-volume Sesto Elemento to customers? It's the company's 50th birthday, which it celebrates in May. And the Veneno—named after "one of the strongest and most aggressive fighting bulls ever," as Lamborghini informs us—presents the perfect way to celebrate.

The fissured skin of the Veneno hides the Aventador's carbon-fiber monocoque, plus aluminum front and rear subframes. A pushrod suspension with horizontal spring-damper units betrays its racing aspirations. The interior is largely carried over from the Aventador and is clad in carbon fiber. The Veneno is fitted with Pirelli P Zero tires on 20-inch wheels up front and 22-inch wheels in the rear. Center-locking hubs allow for quicker changes—and they look great.

Power comes from the incredible L539 6.5-liter V-12 engine, upgraded here to produce 740 horsepower. The extra power—the Aventador packs 691 horses—was found by enlarging the air intakes, allowing for higher revs, and modifying the existing exhaust system. Power is channeled to all four wheels through the seven-speed, single-clutch automated ISR transmission, an ultra-quick unit that shifts with all the subtlety of a club strike when you select the track-ready "Corsa" setting. Top speed rises to a lofty 221 mph, four more than the Aventador LP700-4, and—not coincidentally, we think—the McLaren P1.

Read More >>>

Raptor Rescue: 2015 Toyota Tacoma TRD vs F-150 Raptor Snowy Misadventure - YouTube .

Best of Formula Offroad Extreme Hill Climb!- YouTube .

Extrem off road 8X8 TRUCK TATRA - Truck trial - YouTube .

2016 Toyota Prado

Now in it’s 20th year on the Australian market, the Toyota LandCruiser Prado continues to be an incredibly important vehicle for this market’s top-selling brand.

The Prado, as we know it, has been a favourite among the Toyota faithful for the two decades it’s been on sale (indeed, it’s been the top-selling SUV on the market, full-stop, since its launch in 1997) despite being increasingly lumbered with ageing engines.

That fact has changed with this new 2016 Prado though. Things might look much the same outside, but there’s a welcome all-new diesel engine that’s a significant step forward, especially in terms of noise refinement. There’s also, finally, a new six-speed automatic transmission.

The petrol V6 engine option, which represents a tiny percentage of sales (less than two per cent this year to date), has also been tweaked a little. However, due to time constraints on the local launch this week, we didn’t get a chance to test it.

Read More >>>

2016 Hummer HX

The 2016 Hummer HX Concept is a compact 2-door SUV Offroad, which was revealed at the International Auto Show by General Motors .

The aim of the 2016 Hummer HX to position the Hummer brand in a smaller and less expensive market segment. Vehicle Development, called Hummer H4, began in 2004 and the new model should be such, Jeep Wrangler. The Hummer HX was lower in 2008 than both the H2 and H3. It was created by a V6 engine with 3.6 l (220 cu in) powered with a six-speed automatic.

The 2016 Hummer HX adds with other Hummers an idea of ​​body-on-frame with independent front and rear suspension, four wheel disc brakes, and full-time four-wheel drive. The 2016 Hummer HX shown with a slant back configuration, wearing a matte olive color scheme inspired the desert, and featured removable doors with visible hinge pin and removable composite fender flares, which are attached with quarter-turn fasteners quickly.

The matte olive color of the exterior has also been extensively coated on metal sheets inside applied. The floor was a rubberized material. The 2016 Hummer HX 4 seats , along pair of bucket-type seats in second row. The removable rear seats allow the cargo hold.
The 2016 Hummer HX console includes a compartment for mobile phones and MP3 players without conventional radio, built-in speakers and the  single connector for digital audio players or similar devices. The 3 designers who were new to the General Motors, Kang Min-jung, Robert Jablonski,  and native of South Korea, and David Rojas, born in Peru, on development of the 2016 Hummer HX.

Tyrese surprises Vin Diesel with birthday gift - YouTube .

Lana's Next Lamborghini - YouTube .

Cristiano Ronaldo - Best Super Cars - YouTube .

2016 Ford Focus RS

An American Ford engineer was posted to Europe in the mid-1990s. Upon arriving at the company’s European headquarters in Cologne, he was offered a choice of company car. Once he’d had a chance to realize how boring most European Fords were at that time, he immediately opted for an Escort RS Cosworth.

To Americans, the “Cossie” was fanboy fantasy. A turbocharged, four-wheel-drive rally homologation special, it’s always ranked near the top of the list of Great Performance Models Ford Denied Us. The engineer loved it, used it to transport his young family, and refused to return it. Eventually he was shipped back to Dearborn, Michigan, leaving the Escort behind.

His name? Raj Nair, now Ford’s VP of product development and chief technical officer. And although there’s no officially acknowledged link between his one-time choice of company car and his decision to turn the new Focus RS into a global superstar, we’re calling it a compelling coincidence.

The first two generations of Focus RS were front-drive, with the most powerful RS500 sending 345 horsepower through just two tortured tires. But Nair says this third-generation car was designed to be four-wheel drive from the get-go, using a clever new system that we can anticipate seeing in other Fords soon. It has twin electronically controlled clutches on the rear axle, one for each side. Up to 70 percent of the available torque can go to the rear, all of which can then be marshaled to either wheel for torque vectoring. Under cornering, the outside rear gets more oomph to assist turn-in and reduce understeer. Ford also promises that the system has been set up to allow power-on drifting, something demonstrated at the official unveiling in Ford’s Cologne factory by “project consultant” and YouTube hoon-king Ken Block.

Read More >>>

2016 Ferrari 488GTB: The Twin-Turbo 458 Replacement

What It Is
Face lifts are for old ladies, not Ferraris. So let’s call the 488GTB an update to the 458 Italia, based around a new turbocharged V-8. Et tu, Maranello? That’s right, even Ferrari is giving up on natural aspiration for the sake of fuel economy.

Why It Matters
As great as the 458 still is, it’s about to become the oldest car in its profoundly fashion-conscious segment. The revised styling will keep it fresh for several more years, while the turbocharged 488’s power hike and aerodynamic improvements will make it quicker. Speed never goes out of style.

Platform
The 488 sticks with a modified version of the 458’s aluminum structure, which has served well. Ferrari says the 488’s dry weight of 3020 pounds is 22 less than the 458’s. But it’s still heavier than the carbon-fiber McLaren 650S.

Powertrain
The new twin-turbocharged 3.9-liter V-8 has 488-cc-per-cylinder displacement, hence the name. With 661 horsepower, it’s substantially more powerful than the California T’s turbocharged V-8 and is claimed to rev to 8000 rpm.

Competition
Lamborghini Huracán, McLaren 650S, Ford GT (especially in France).

What Might Go Wrong
Will the faithful endure Ferrari’s typical two-year waiting period if the turbocharged engine fails to deliver the full-lung arias of the 458’s V-8? Will the tifosi accept the inherently lumpier power delivery of a turbo?

Estimated Arrival and Price
Early 2016. Pricing not confirmed, but the 458 starts at $245,690 and when did a Ferrari ever get cheaper?

Credit :CarAndDriver .

2017 Chevrolet Corvette Zora ZR1

What It Is
The mid-engined Corvette that GM has teased us with—and that Don Sherman has demanded—for about half a century.

Why It Matters
Moving the engine rearward enables significantly improved acceleration and braking performance. Fresh exterior proportions should woo new customers even as they tip some old ones into cardiac arrest.

Platform
While the aluminum space frame and composite coachwork matrix continues, only a few structural and chassis parts will graduate from the current C7 Vette. Low production volumes will give GM an excellent excuse to show off advanced technology, such as door structures formed from sheets of magnesium.

Powertrain
For this top-hole Zora ZR1 version of the C8, we’re betting on a supercharged small-block V-8 with the fortitude to top Chrysler’s 707-hp Hellcat V-8. It will collaborate with a dual-clutch automatic transaxle. Later in the C8’s life, the engine bay could host a naturally aspirated DOHC V-8 or a twin-turbo V-6. In the likely event that Chevy decides to play the i8/NSX game, the front end is package-protected for electric motors.

Competition
Ferrari 458 performance at a Porsche 911 Turbo price should send ripples through the blue-blood clique (Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Mercedes-AMG, Porsche).

What Might Go Wrong
Development delays might force GM management to leash the beast for a bit. Or, this could all be a recurring dream.

Estimated Arrival and Price
The 2017 model should arrive in dealerships by the end of next year. Expect a sticker starting at $150,000.

HUMMER H1, H2, H3 vs Jeep Wrangler vs Land Rover Discovery [Off-Road 4x4] - YouTube .

2016 Range Rover Sport - Remote Control - YouTube .

2016 Range Rover Evoque Convertible Spied: Wait, They're Actually Building It!?

What It Is: Possibly this year’s best automotive reason to scream “Aaaaaargh!” at the skies while emptying any handgun you happen to be holding into the uncaring heavens, just like in Point Break. That, and also a cabriolet version of the Range Rover Evoque.

Why It Matters: Land Rover has threatened to do this for some time. The company brought an Evoque cabriolet concept to the Geneva motor show back in 2012, and we’d heard in the summer of 2013 that production had been approved. But then things went silent. Most of us figured that the good folks in Coventry had been taking too many drugs, or maybe not quite enough, and that like most such clearly ludicrous ideas it had been quietly dropped.


These shots are confirmation that didn’t happen, with the convertible version seemingly set for launch later this year as part of the Evoque’s midcycle refresh (which, Land Rover recently announced, will include full-LED headlamps). As such, it really will be boldly going where only Nissan and AMC have gone before. There have been plenty of SUVs with removable roofs—think Jeep Wrangler or Land Rover’s own icon, the Defender—but this will join only the wonderfully dumb Murano CrossCabriolet and the early 1980s AMC Eagle Sundancer among those that can be considered full-fledged convertibles. Which means that Land Rover is either well ahead of the curve or set to be laughed out of court.

Platform: It’s an Evoque without a roof, and although the decapitation will give Land Rover’s engineers some structural issues to solve, it shouldn’t be too hard for them to integrate some underbody reinforcement. Another question, albeit one that’s likely to be asked only very rarely by the sort of people who buy it, is how the Evoque cabriolet will cope if asked to perform any half-serious off-roading—with its roof up or down.

Read More >>>

2016 Land Rover Range Rover SVAutobiography: A Story of Wealth and Privilege

While the world waits for the first ultra-luxurious SUVs from the likes of Bentley and Rolls-Royce, tycoons fancying a tall seating position are left few choices. They could drop a nearly a quarter of a million bucks on a rip-snortin’ Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, and we’re pretty sure Mercedes-Benz is going to churn out another mega-expensive variant of the G-class. Neither of those options is particularly subtle—in fact, we’re pretty sure the six-wheeled Mercedes G63 AMG 6x6 absorbs subtlety like a collapsing star sucks in light. No, for the truly discerning, there has always been the Range Rover, but if you’re keen to spend gratuitously, might we recommend the new Land Rover Range Rover SVAutobiography?

For starters, you know it’s fancy right off the bat because its name contains 34 letters. Most important, however, is the “SV”. We’ve seen Land Rover, we’ve seen Range Rover, and in the past few years, we’ve seen the “Autobiography” moniker applied to the top-shelf, ultra-luxurious models. That’s the case here, too, but the SV name—derived from Jaguar Land Rover’s SVO “Special Vehicle Operations” division—imparts a spicy undertone to the Autobiography’s otherwise sandalwood-smooth scent with a not-so-genteel application of power and handling.

The Autobiography’s Life Story, Told Biographically
For an extra whiff of, well, speed, Land Rover has bestowed upon the SVAutobiography the very same 550-hp 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 used in the high-performance Range Rover Sport SVR. The previous ne plus ultra Range Rover, the long-wheelbase Autobiography Black, made do with a 510-hp version of the same engine. We’d say an extra 40 horsepower and 41 lb-ft of torque (the SV has 502 lb-ft!) would be a useful upgrade on its own, but Land Rover didn’t stop there.

The long-wheelbase-only SV also inherits a new exhaust system with “a subtly enriched engine note,” Brembo front brake calipers, and a new front grille featuring a Graphite Atlas (gray) finish and polished chrome garnishes.

See More >>>