So you think that by playing Gran Turismo 4 till your calloused thumbs and bloodshot eyes shriveled like baked raisins you’ve mastered the Nürburgring. Well, here’s a man who’s probably clocked more hours on the racing simulator than anybody in the world, the mastermind behind it, Kazunori Yamauchi. In this video, he gives driving impressions of the Nissan GT-R around the legendary German road course, which he tackled in the wet and in the cold. Yamauchi’s company, Polyphony, was also responsible for the digital performance display in the GT-R. It’s the confluence of three masters of their respective fields - cars, circuits, and simulators.
Auto Express has more scoops than Baskin Robbins today. This time it’s about Mazdaspeed/MPS tuned versions of the Atenza and Demio. Details are sketchy at this point, but the Atenza will have around 280hp and a close-to-production concept version will appear at the Paris Motor Show this October.
The Cold War-style competition to develop the most massive weapon of mass hoonage has reached another level. In one corner, you have the Mitsubishi Evo X MR, whose power has been pumped up to 305hp flowing through a paddle-shift SST transmission. In the other, the Subaru Impreza WRX STI Spec C, slimmed down via aluminum body panels, thinner glass and a smaller fuel tank. Power upgrades are unknown as of yet. The Auto Express article also mentions a hi-po version of the Legacy is in the works, code named S402.
Another day, another limited edition. This time, it comes from a land down under, where the 680 Suzuki Swift RE2s will honor the little car’s JWRC successes. Unfortunately, rather than a special stage dirt flinger, the RE2 is more or less an appearance package with an iPod port. Still, 3000 dollars’ worth of rims, shiny alloy pedals, RE2 badging and fiberglass body parts isn’t bad, even if they are Australian dollars. An accompanying edition of the Swift S, which basically consists of a cruise control button on the steering wheel, is limited to just 500 units.
Nissan 360 is not some long-lost kei car from the 60s, it’s a press junket in exotic Portugal where journalists can drive any Nissan product made anywhere in the world, gathered together at one location. In other words, a paid vacation where you can listen to the automotive equivalent of a time share pitch. One interesting nugget to come out of the event, however, is this silhouette of the 370Z, in case you were just dying to know how the wheel arches were going to look. Check out the lucky bastards at Autoblog’s coverage of the event.
You knew it was coming; here it is. Mazda confirms that the 6 will be sold in North America starting this fall. It differs from the Atenza in that it’s slightly larger but they did a good job of keeping the looks similar. Unfortunately, no wagons for us. It will be sedan only.
The Mitsubishi Colt is the size of a Honda Fit but contains a DOHC MIVEC turbo four generating 154hp in the Version-R, a crazy factory tuned, um, version by Ralliart. Now there’s a even crazier version of that, in the Colt Version-R Special. In addition to all the Version-R goodies like Recaro seats and rear seats molded for two passengers (as opposed to a bench-like slab for three), the Version-R Special has been seam welded throughout for ultra stiffness. With it, Mitsubishi intends to set a time below 1min 10sec at Tsukuba circuit. The Version-R Special will have a numbered badge proving its limited status and come in an exclusive blue color.
Apparently, the upper crust is so thick in jolly old England that there’s even a magazine for chauffeurs called The Chauffeur (not just Chauffeur, but The Chauffeur because these people are so rich that even the hired help is uppity), and it has just named the Lexus LS 600h L its Car of the Year. Jeeves, your chariot awaits.
Yet another entry in the endless parade of special edition cars marching onto Japanese roads. Not content with just calling a Toyota Corolla a Toyota Corolla, the model comes in Axio (read: sedan) and Fielder (wagon) sub-models. On top of that, there’s the X Special Edition, released April 24, which includes HID headlamps and a pollen-reducing climate control system. The Fielder comes additionally with a LED brake light-equipped rear door spoiler. The X Special Editions comes in exclusive colors Gray Silver Metallic for the Axio and Crystal White Pearl Shine for the Fielder.
