Set to appear in the upcoming movie "Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen" as well as to celebrate General Motors 100-year anniversary, the Centennial Concept is sparking a bunch of intrigue. Borrowing many styling cues, like the split rear-window from the ’63 Sting Ray, this new Corvette concept definitely had some thought put into it. No word on whether or not this could hint at the upcoming Corvette C7.

Source: Jalopnik

Audi Japan has entered a very exclusive collaboration with The Peninsula Hotel Tokyo, formerly a domain only of BMW and Rolls Royce. Hotel guests which stay at one of their suites (starting from 981,750 Yen = ~9000$ per night) can use the Peninsula-branded Audi R8 for their driving pleasure inside and outside of Tokyo. The Audi R8 Peninsula Tokyo Special comes in Peninsula green with a golden Peninsula logo on the side and the interior features cocos and cognac colored leather. All modifications are provided by Audi Exclusive.

Source: German Car Blog

Volkswagen’s incentives are typically some of the least dramatic out there. In a market where most car brands are forced to advertise huge cash-back figures — especially on their SUVs and large trucks — Volkswagen rarely offers too much on the surface, despite sluggish sales of many of its aging models.

That’s not the case this month. Volkswagen is offering 0% financing on all of its 2008 models until Sept. 30. Some are available with that rate over 60 months — including the Passat, Beetle convertible, GTI and Touareg — while some are available with 0% over 36 or 48 months. Visit Volkswagen’s site for a full list of deals.

Source: Kicking Tires

A German taxi driver and a Spanish MBA student will race a Nissan 350Z in a 24-hour endurance race in Dubai. The ride is their prize in a Nissan-sponsored video-game competition that required them to outrace competitors in both the virtual and real worlds.

Lars Schlömer, 28, and 23-year-old Lucas Ordoñez beat out more than 25,000 competitors to earn their spots on the Nissan racing team. The eight-month competition began with thousands of Europeans fighting to produce the quickest lap times in Playstation 3's Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. The fastest two entrants from each country then advanced to a final round, which swapped the controller for a steering wheel as 22 finalists competed on Britain's Silverstone racetrack. A panel of judges observed the five-day academy and later selected Schlömer and Ordoñez as the winners. Both men will now complete an intensive four-month driver training course with the Nissan racing team to earn their racing licenses and prepare for the January event.

The competition also provides insight into the oft-pondered question: Can a great video gamer be a great racing driver? The folks at the GT Academy believe they've proven that it's possible.

"I would now absolutely recommend to people that they get into Playstation before they come to us," said Steve Deeks, chief director of the GT Academy. "All these guys arrived at Silverstone knowing about sequential gearboxes, oversteer, understeer, driving lines, et cetera. A keen driver from the streets would not have half the knowledge. And the reaction time and ability to cope with the pressure they have had coming through the gaming part of the competition made them very well equipped from day one."

Source: Inside Line

The sport package that we showed off just a bit ago of the HKS GT570 Racing GT-R now has a dyno video accompying it. To sum it up - 562HP. The HKS GT570 Racing Package includes HKS aluminium hard pipe kit, HKS silicon hose joiners, HKS wastegate actuators for standard R35 GT-R turbos, HKS Electronic Valve Controller boost controller and HKS dump and front pipes.

General Motors plans to show a production model of its Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric vehicle as part of the automaker's upcoming 100-year anniversary celebration this month. The automaker, which formally celebrates the 100th anniversary Sept. 16, so far has shown only concept versions of the Volt.

"The rumors that a production version of the Volt will show up at the celebrations are true," a GM source told Automotive News Europe. "The car will be a true representation of what the production version looks like and be somewhat different from the concept versions."

The car will be shown to employees and media at GM headquarters in Detroit.

Source: Automotive News (subscription required)

If you’re the kind of person who finds that the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG could do with a bit more oomph, then Brabus’ new tuning package might just do the trick for you. The German tuning firm’s new B63 S performance kit consists of free-flow high-performance metal catalysts, sport air filters and newly programmed ECU with custom mapping for ignition and injection. Together these components result in an increase the standard 6.2-liter V8’s output from 457 HP to 530 HP while peak torque grows from 442 to 479 lb-ft.

According to Brabus, the sprint from 0 to 62 mph is shortened from 4.5 to 4.1 sec while 124 mph is reached after 13.1 sec, down from 14.5 seconds. Buyers can choose between two versions of the Brabus Vmax unit that allow the B63 S to reach a top speed of 188 or 197 mph.

In addition to the performance kit, Brabus also offers a wide range of accessories for the C63 AMG including a limited-slip rear differential, 19-inch wheels complete with Yokohama or Pirelli high-performance tires in size 235/35 in front and 265/30 on the rear axle, a height-adjustable coil-over suspension and 380mm brake discs with 12-piston aluminum fixed calipers on the front axle and 360mm discs with 6-piston aluminum fixed calipers on the rear.

Source: CarScoop

A study tested men's and women's responses to the roaring engines of three luxury cars, in addition to an everyday vehicle. The 40 participants listened to the recordings of a Maserati, a Lamborghini and a Ferrari, along with a Volkswagon Polo, before having a saliva specimen collected.

They believed loud noises, such as the revving of an engine, were likely to have an arousing effect on an individual's physiology. By measuring levels of testosterone, a hormone which indicates arousal, the study was able to measure the car's stimulating effects.

The results found 100 percent of female participants had a significant increase in testosterone secretion after listening to the Maserati, compared to only half for men. Men fared better at the sound of a Lamborghini, with 60 per cent showing a testosterone increase.

Psychologist David Moxon, who conducted the study commissioned by motor insurer Hiscox, said: "We saw significant peaks, particularly in women. "The roar of a luxury car engine does cause a primeval physiological response." He added the sound of an average car engine actually led to a decreased level of testosterone.

There you have it folks. Buy those sports cars and make sure you bring a towel.

Source: Telegraph

"A car made out of wood, you say?"

Indeed. Joe Harmond, a student who developed the "Splinter" car concept, is actually going ahead and moving from the computer phase to the building phase. Craziness! This mid-engine, rear-wheel drive laminated wood supercar will be powered by a supercharged 4.6L and is projected to have around 600HP. Cooling will be provided by four air-to-water intercoolers. Follow his build in the source link below.

Thanks for the tip, Undergroundram!

Source: Joe Harmon Design

Dealers will begin accepting orders for the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS and the V6-powered 2010 Chevy Camaro coupe in October. Production will begin in mid-February, and cars will be in dealerships by mid-March 2009.

"We think there could be pent-up demand," said Rhadigan, explaining why orders are being taken well in advance of the car's appearance in showrooms. "The advice is to get to your Chevy dealer sooner than later." He noted that buyers "may have to put a deposit down" to get in line for the Camaro, but that requirement is completely up to Chevrolet dealers.

Rhadigan said that the idea of taking orders well ahead of production is not unique to the Camaro: Chevrolet dealers did the same thing with the Malibu and Traverse. He would not disclose volume predictions for the Camaro SS or the V6 Camaro.

Source: Edmunds

We're looking at the 2008 Ford Shelby GT500KR and 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, but we're imagining a '68 Shelby GT500KR staging next to a Corvette with one of the 427-cubic-inch V8s on the Connecting Highway in Queens, New York, probably sometime during the Nixon administration. We don't know how the cars are tuned or which driver has the better hole-shot technique, but we're calling our street race in favor of the Vette.

As hurricane season ramps up in the south, General Motors is weathering a rough storm of its own these days. GM's stock price is hovering at barely double-digit levels, the profitable truck market has significantly eroded, and there's a general malaise blanketing the auto industry. You'd think America's largest automaker would be loading up on Lexapro.

But officials from the General were hopeful at a meeting here yesterday. Susan Docherty, GM's North American vice president of Buick, Pontiac and GMC, even suggested that if one of her three brands were to get its own version of the upcoming Chevrolet Volt, it would almost certainly be Pontiac.

"My personal take: I think [the Volt] would make a great Pontiac," Docherty told PM. "What greater brand than Pontiac to charge ahead with that technology?"

We've already heard that GM may offer a Cadillac version of the Volt. And since the Volt's "E-Flex" powertrain has been such an expensive project for the company, it will need to diversify those resources across at least three brands. In fact, GM has said the Volt is its single most important future project. So much so that we recently reported it could lead to less engineering resources for the next-gen Corvette (the one after the Corvette ZR1).

GM is attempting to limit the overlap of vehicles within the company. So a Pontiac version of the Volt would have to stand apart. Our best guess? Since Pontiac is GM's most youthful and sporty brand, its version of the range-extended plug-in hybrid would need to have responsive handling, quicker acceleration and its very own—and very striking—exterior design.

Source: Popular Mechanics

Chrysler’s HEMI V8 engine dates back more than fifty years, going back to the first ‘FirePower’ units from the 1950s and culminating with the third-generation design found in the carmaker’s current lineup. While the future of the legendary V8 is in doubt, there’s still plenty of life in the powerplant as it is set to appear in a range of new models including hybrid SUVs, performance muscle cars and workhorse pickups.

Chrysler has extensively updated its 5.7L HEMI V8 range for the 2009 model year, making it more powerful and more fuel-efficient. The new engine debuts in the 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 and will eventually appear in other 2009 models including the 300 sedan and Challenger coupe.

Engineers improved engine breathing and added new technologies, including variable valve timing (VVT) to boost power and torque levels throughout the rev range. They also expanded the number of models with Chrysler’s fuel-saving Multi-displacement System (MDS) operation and lowered the idle rev level.

Numerous other hardware upgrades were implemented to build on the quality, reliability and durability reputation of the engine. These include crankshaft structural upgrades, a dual-mass crankshaft damper, floating pin piston design, valve spring design and oil pump capacity increase for VVT.

The end result is output rating of 380hp and 404lb-ft of torque – up 10% and 8% respectively over the previous 5.7L unit. At the same time, fuel economy has been improved by roughly 4% in most applications. When mated with the hybrid system in the Dodge Durango Hybrid and Chrysler Aspen SUVs, power levels rise to 385hp but torque slips to 380lb-ft. The new 5.7L HEMI V8 is manufactured at the Saltillo engine plant in Mexico.

Source: MotorAuthority

The 2009 allocation of the Audi R8 has been sold out. As of July 2008, there is an 18 month waiting list to get behind the Audi supercar. But that’s not stopping Audi from releasing new images of the R8 for us to drool over make buyers even more restless to get their delivered.

Refresher (although you really shouldn’t need one by now): Power comes from a 4.2 liter FSI direct-injection V8 producing 420-hp with a peak torque of 317 lb-ft. 0-60 mph comes in 4.4 seconds with a top speed of 187 mph. Pricing starts at at $113,700 for the manual version - the automatic starts at $122,700.

Source: eGMCarTech