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Honda Gets Super Busy for 2013 Tokyo Auto Salon with a Barrage of Concepts and Tuned Models

Honda will be unleashing a host of new production and prototype vehicles and motorcycles at Japan's largest aftermarket event, the Tokyo Auto Salon 2013 that runs from January 11 to Sunday, January 13, 2013.

The first car that caught our attention is the S2000 Modulo Climax study of Honda's roadster model that ceased production in 2009.

It's featured in a Candy Red paint and sports a newly designed front end with a chrome brace-like strip, a new rear bumper and a series of other customizations both inside and out.

As one of its newest model series, the "N" family of mini cars that includes the tall, van-like N BOX and N BOX + models and the retro-inspired N ONE hatch, will be under the spotlight, with Honda to display the cars dressed in both production and concept parts from the likes of its in-house tuners, Modulo and Mugen.

There’s a very good reason why Jackie Stewart named the “old” Nürburgring the Green Hell and why Formula 1 doesn’t race there any more: it’s too bloody dangerous.

Still, the Nordschleife track hosts other race series up to this day and is the place where manufacturers hone their latest cars and advertise their lap times, while on certain dates, it is also open to the public. This means that anyone can pay the ticket and drive around the 20.8 km (12.9-mile) circuit.

The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe and the Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang are two different cars from two separate schools of thought that we seriously doubt will ever be cross-shopped by consumers even in North America where they are both available. In Europe, even if one wanted to, you can't officially buy the Ford.

Despite their many differences, there's one thing that both cars lay claim to being good at: straight line acceleration, and it is this aspect of the two sports models that UK car magazine EVO set out to put to the test with a good ol' fashion drag race.

The late legendary NASCAR racer and team owner Dale Earnhardt Sr. had famously said, “Second place is just the first place loser”. Sebastian Vettel, who on November 26 won his third consecutive Formula 1 world championship with Red Bull Racing (RBR), thinks along the same lines: “When you win, everything is crazy. When you lose, you have time for yourself, no one is interested”, he says.

Everyone is certainly interested in Vettel and Red Bull Racing, which also won its third constructors’ title in a row this season. What makes their accomplishments even more astonishing is the fact that the RBR team was formed in 2005 and its first win came in the 2009 Chinese Grand Prix.

So far, the F-Type has gained nothing but praise. That’s mainly because of its looks, though, being a two-seater open-top sports car with a choice of three supercharged engine options that send power to the rear wheels must have helped, too.

Jaguar brought in three TV presenters to sample prototypes of the F-Type on the Snetterton track and the roads around it. To be fair, their job description is not entirely accurate.

Yes, they are employed by television channels such as BBC, ITV, Sky Sports and Speed Channel to host or comment on car shows and racing series but their resume is much richer than that: they all are former world-class professional racing drivers, too.

We might not know them personally, but there are people around us in this world who inspire us to stretch our abilities and come out of our comfort zones to make our life meaningful.

One such gifted individual is Bartek Ostalowski from Poland. What makes Ostalowski so special is that while he had the misfortune of losing both of his arms in an accident back in 2006, he never let go of his life or his passion for motorsports and cars.

In fact, the 26-year old Pole did the exact opposite pursuing his dreams of becoming a professional racing driver. He not only competed in the Polish Championship Rally Raceway Cross and the Polish Cup, but now he's also mastering the art of drifting.

As another year reaches an end – there's only 19 days left – many of us reflect on all things done in that passing year.

For YouTube channel owner and auto enthusiast Marchetinno, it’s all about the great sports cars he managed to capture on camera.

In particular, Marchetinno compiled a 12-minute long video with the best sports- and super-car sounds, ranging from pocket rockets like the Abarth 500 to the Swedish exotic Koenigsegg Agera R and pure racing models such as the Porsche 911 GT3 and F1 cars.

Porsche is far from done showing off its most prized version of the 991-generation 911, the all-new GT3 Cup racing model, but if you're expecting to see the car roar through a circuit with no other distractions in this new video, we're sorry to say, you will be disappointed. Read more »

VW's Polo R WRC is a 220HP, €33,900 Celebration of its Entry into World Rallying [106 Photos]

Like every year, the 2013 World Rally Championship’s first race will be the Monte Carlo Rally. Even though the event won’t start until January 15, VW chose the Principality to host the launch of both its 2013 WRC racer and the road-going version that will make its motor show debut at next year’s Geneva Salon.

The Polo R WRC, which was displayed last March as a concept during the Wörthersee Tour festival, is a limited edition based on VW’s supermini that will be produced in just 2,500 units priced at US$33,900 (US$43,800) a pop. The order books open on Tuesday, December 11, though the first customers won’t receive their cars until September 2013.

A white paint job with blue and grey stripes, an aggressive front bumper with large intakes that’s supposed to echo that of the racer’s, 18-inch “Cagliari” wheels with 215/35 tires and a rear roof spoiler and diffuser make this limited edition Polo stand out from lesser versions.

When you have a brand-new model in your showrooms, it doesn’t really make sense to have participants run your own one-make series with an older generation car. Even more so if you are Porsche and the car in question is the 911 that takes part in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup.

Well, that’s stretching the truth a bit: the racers aren’t based on the base 911 Carrera or Carrera S but the hardcore GT3 – hence the GT3 Cup moniker for the model that the company claims is the most successful racing car ever, having sold 2,385 units since 1998.

With the seventh generation 911, code-named 991, been on the roads for more than a year now, it was about time the Stuttgart automaker rolled out its successor. That happened yesterday during the “Night of Champions” event at the brand's R&D center in Weissach.

The all-new 911 GT3 Cup is powered by a 3.8-liter flat-six with 453HP (460PS), 10HP more than the 997 GT3 RS-based model it replaces, delivered 1,000 rpm lower, at 7,500. Power is directed to the rear wheels via a six-speed dog-type gearbox developed by Porsche Motorsport that, for the first time in a Porsche Cup car, is operated by paddle shifters.

If there’s one thing we know about Porsche is that, no matter how many SUVs or sporty saloons it may churn out, it will never tinker with the trusted, 50-year old 911 philosophy. Truth be told, it did try to kill it once, back in the 1970s with the 928, but it failed – so it was a lesson it must have learned well.

That recipe isn’t just about maintaining the iconic shape and the flat-six engine hung out behind the rear axle; it’s also about launching a whole bunch of new variants of each generation.

After an 18-year absence, BMW returned to the German Touring Car Championship, i.e. the DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters) this year to fight off archrivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi.

The obvious choice for the model its racer would be based upon was the M3 coupe. DTM organizers had changed the rules and enforced many restrictions in order to ensure close competition – so every last detail was crucial in the M3’s battle against the A5 Coupe and the C-Class Coupe.

Things are moving really fast in the 21st century. We’re not talking about cars, alone, but technology in other fields, too. More particularly, image-capturing technology: forget the megapixel race on your cameras – the latest and greatest is all-around, 360-degree video capture and control.

A Norwegian company called "Making View" has created the ViewCam 360, a compact camera that captures 360-degree, 4K x 2K video at 25-50 fps (frames per second) and weighs only 1.3 pounds (600 grams).

If you're an avid fan of the art of drifting, you can't go wrong with Japan's D1 Grand Prix or D1GP professional drift series, unless, of course, you stumble upon the wrong car.

We can't say for sure if Gazoo Racing's mini-me Toyota 86 (JDM version of the Scion FR-S) was plagued by a technical problem or if there was nothing wrong and it simply played the role of the rodeo clown, but either way, we can't say we were impressed by its entrance on the track at a recent D1GP drift event in Odaiba, Japan.

The original Nissan Juke R with a twin-turbocharged V6 heart transplant from last year's GT-R that beats to the tune of 545-horses is no doubt one of the craziest and fastest crossovers ever to be offered for sale by any car manufacturer.

It's also one of the most expensive as it carries a price tag of €500,000 or close to US$650,000 at today's exchange rates.

But it isn't alone when it comes to insanely powerful Jukes as one Russian owner has created his own vision of the Juke R fitted with an unspecified engine pushing out 750-horses.

The best way to convince consumers about a new technology is to showcase it on the track or at least put a racing spin on it. Diesel engines aren't anything new by any means, but the push to get American buyers to give them yet one more chance is.

Together with next year's launch of the new 2014 Mazda6 equipped with a 2.2-liter Skyactiv-D diesel engine in the States, Mazda will also field a racing version of the sedan during the 2013 Grand-Am series.

Those of you who like stereotyping vehicle brands and their owners may find a thing or two to say about the participants in what we can only assume to be an amateur street race between a tuned, fourth generation Chevrolet Camaro Coupe and a reportedly turbocharged, E36 BMW M3.

The race for the Camaro came to an end as fast as it accelerated when one of its wheels decided to it was time to call it quits and follow its own independent path.

As promised, Chevrolet lifted the wraps off its 2013 NASCAR Chevrolet SS racecar today during a special event in Las Vegas. Even if you're not a fan of NASCAR racing, you'll be interested to know that the competition SS incorporates design cues from the upcoming production 2014 Chevrolet SS.

We'll remind you that all NASCAR racers feature a generic body with some minor modifications that include the funny looking decals that resemble the head- and tail-lights. To understand the relationship between a production model and its NASCAR sibling, check out Ford's Fusion racer in our previous post here.

"As a passionate race fan, the debut of the SS NASCAR race car is a genuinely exciting moment for me,” said GM North America President Mark Reuss during the presentation of the car in Las Vegas.

Despite being renowned primarily for its luxury cars, Bentley has a rich history in endurance racing that dates back to 1928. It took 73 years for it to return to the tracks but when it did, it once again achieved victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Speed 8 in 2003.

That win also marked the end of the British brand’s racing program. A decade later, Bentley decided to engage in motorsports once again, starting from the end of 2013. It will do so with the Continental GT3, which was launched in concept form in Paris and made its U.S. debut at the LA Auto Show.

So you think that the Lexus LS is a traditional luxury sedan for customers ripe in age with deep pockets who don't care about race tracks and performance numbers?

Well, that may hold true for the regular LS, which was recently redesign adopting a more modern appearance, but that's definitely not the case with the concept pictured here and which was prepared by Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG).

Based on the pre-facelift Lexus LS, the TMG Sport or TS-650 Concept is a track ready, high-performance saloon fitted with a 5.0-liter twin-turbocharged engine capable of reaching 9,000 rpm while delivering 641hp (650PS) and a peak torque of 710Nm (524 lb-ft).

An eight-speed transmission drives the car's wheels (we still don't know if the concept is all- or rear-wheel drive).

According to the Japanese carmaker's motorsport division, "its aerodynamics were developed in TMG's wind tunnels and significant development has been dedicated to handling."

Auto Parts

Honda Gets Super Busy for 2013 Tokyo Auto Salon with a Barrage of Concepts and Tuned Models

One Ring to Crash Them All and Into Armco Bind Them: Watch 2012’s Nordschleife Accidents

EVO Drag Races Shelby GT500 Mustang and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe

How Red Bull Racing Bought Ford's F1 Failure for $1 and went on to Win 6 Titles

Jaguar F-Type Prototypes Driven by Three World-Class Racers

Meet the Most Amazing Drifter in the World; Pole Who Lost Both Arms will Leave You Speechless

Best Sports Car Sounds of 2012 Video is 12 Minutes of Pure Aural Awesomeness

Porsche Details New 911 GT3 Cup While Displaying it on the Track

VW's Polo R WRC is a 220HP, €33,900 Celebration of its Entry into World Rallying [106 Photos]

Seventh Son: Porsche Unveils 991-Based GT3 Cup Racer [w/Video]

Porsche Teases 991-Based GT3 Cup Racer, Road-Going 911 GT3 Must Be Close

BMW Celebrates DTM Dominance with New M3 DTM Champion Limited Edition

Check Out New 360-Degree Camera that Allows for Capturing and Viewing All-Around POV Videos

Mini-Me Toyota 86 / Scion FR-S Doesn't Make the Cut at D1GP Drift Event

Watch a DIY Nissan Juke R from Russia Hit the 1/4 Mile in 10.48"

Meet the New Diesel-Powered 2014 Mazda6 Grand-Am Series Racer

Chevy Camaro Loses a Wheel while Street Racing a BMW M3 [NSFW]

2013 Chevrolet SS NASCAR Racer Hints at Production SS and Possibly Even Next Commodore

Bentley Continental GT3 Racer Makes its U.S. Debut at the LA Auto Show

New Lexus LS TMG Sports 650 Concept Featuring a 641HP Twin-Turbo'd V8

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