Friday, 7 October 2016

Lexus LC500 Caught on Video Doing Laps at the Nurburgring

Lexus LC500 Caught on Video Doing Laps at the Nurburgring

Lexus LC500 Caught on Video Doing Laps at the Nurburgring

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Lexus has taken the all-new LC500 testing on the Nurburgring as it gets ready to begin deliveries early next year.

Sporting a 5.0-liter V8 engine, the Lexus LC500 will have 471 horsepower and 398 pound-feet of torque when it arrives at dealerships next year. The luxury coupe was first announced with 467 hp and 389 lb-ft of torque, but at the 2016 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, Lexus LC chief engineer Koji Sato revealed that it got a slight bump in performance thanks to improvements made to the car's intake and exhaust.

SEE ALSO: Lexus LC GT500 Competing in 2017 Super GT Season

The Japanese luxury automaker claims the LC500 is the most dynamic car it has created since the LFA supercar. Unfortunately, it doesn't sound as amazing as the LFA's V10 while making laps on the track, but it still does sound plenty mean.

Discuss this story on our Lexus Forum

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Nominees for 2017 World Car of the Year Award Announced

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The shortlist of nominees for the 2017 World Car of the Year award have been announced, with Audi and Kia leading with three entries each.

The awards are organized by a non-profit committee of automotive journalists from around the world (22 different countries) and have been an annual occurrence since its inception in 2004. To be eligible for a World Car of the Year nomination, the vehicle must be new and must be available for sale in at least five countries on at least two continents.

The top three finalists will be announced at the 2017 Geneva Motor Show, and the winners will be announced at the 2017 New York Auto Show. Last year's winner for 2016 World Car of the Year was the Mazda MX-5 Miata.

The full shortlist is below:

Nominees for 2017 World Car of the Year: Buick Lacrosse, Buick Envision, Chevrolet Cruze, Chrysler Pacifica, Audi A5/S5, Audi Q2, Audi Q5, Volkswagen Tiguan, Honda Civic, Infiniti Q60, Mazda CX-9, Subaru Impreza, Toyota CH-R, Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Genesis G80, Kia Cadenza, Kia Rio, Kia Sportage, SsangYong Tivoli/Tivoli XLV, Skoda Kodaiq, Fiat 124 Spider, SEAT Ateca, and Jaguar F-Pace.

Nominees for 2017 World Luxury/Performance Car of the Year: Cadillac CT6, Cadillac XT5, Lincoln Continental, Audi R8 Spider, BMW 5 Series, Mercedes E-Class, Mercedes-AMG GT Roadster, Porsche 718 Boxster/Cayman, Honda NSX, Lexus LC500, Bentley Bentayga, Range Rover Evoque Convertible, Hyundai Genesis G90, and Volvo S90/V90.

Nominees for 2017 World Urban Car of the Year: BMW i3, Smart Brabus, Smart Cabriolet, Citroen C3, Citroen E-Mehari, Suzuki Baleno, Suzuki Ignis, and Ford Ka+.

Nominees for 2017 World Green Car of the Year: Chevrolet Bolt, Chevrolet Malibu, Tesla Model X, Audi Q7 e-tron 3.0 TDI, BMW 740 e iPerformance, Mercedes GLC 350 e, Honda FCV Clarity, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Prius Prime, Hyundai Ioniq, and Kia Niro.

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5 Things You Should Know About the 2017 Hyundai Elantra Sport

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Just in time for fall, Hyundai is (pumpkin) spicing things up with its compact sedan. 

The new Elantra Sport is finally here and is easily going to be the most fun compact car the brand has ever offered in North America (yes, even counting the Veloster).

With 201 horsepower and 195 pound-feet of torque blasting out of its 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, we couldn't wait to drive the new Elantra Sport around an autocross circuit. After a few laps, it became clear that there are some important things to share with you before we take it out for a thorough shakedown early next month.

The Exhaust Actually Sounds Good

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Compact cars, even sporty ones with turbocharged engines, aren't typically known for awesome noises. They typically have buzzy, annoying soundtracks, but that isn't the case with the new Elantra Sport, which sounds rowdy and tough. Think of a rally car, and you'll have a great idea of what this car sounds like. The noise reverberates off nearby buildings and echoes into the distance. It's unlike anything Hyundai has ever put on a factory car before. In fact, the designers looked at how loud a car can legally be and made the Elantra Sport that loud.

The Elantra Sport sound this good thanks to a special North American-spec airbox that Hyundai says allows for more sound with less baffling. This is due to the use of a porous material on the intake tube that lets the sound spread better.

Two Sporty Transmissions

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A sporty car needs to have a sporty gearbox, and two transmissions are available in the Elantra Sport. The most obvious choice is the six-speed manual transmission, which feels great and is similar to what we experienced in the Veloster Rallye. The other offering is the seven-speed dual clutch automatic, which is fast to swap gears once the car is in motion, but kind of sluggish off the line. Keep in mind that the models we tested were prototypes, and the final products could be more refined when they arrive.

Sportier Tires

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I was overjoyed to hear that the new Elantra Sport will come from the factory with more aggressive rubber around its 18-inch wheels. The Hankook Ventus S1 Noble tires are described as ultra high-performance all-season tires, meaning they will provide excellent grip and responsiveness, which is exactly what a compact car like this needs.

Around the autocross course, the tires were predictable and responsive while handling the abuse doled out by speed-hungry automotive journalists.

Better Brakes and Handling

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Hyundai made several important modifications to the normal Elantra in order to make the Sport model more fun to drive. The biggest change is the use of a multilink rear suspension rather than the torsion beam axle found in the standard Elantra. There's also a thicker front stabilizer bar (24 mm vs 22 mm), higher spring rates in the front and rear shocks, and stiffer dampers. The Elantra Sport also has a quicker steering rack and features a different steering tune compared to the regular Elantra. Finally, braking gets an improvement thanks to larger diameter front rotors, which are now 12 inches compared to 11.

Upgraded Interior

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The changes aren't all performance oriented, however, as Hyundai has updated the interior of the car as well. You'll notice subtle but attractive red accents inside the car, including stitching on the steering wheel, seats and shift boot. The steering wheel is also flat-bottomed for that extra sporty touch and features a cool red stripe on the bottom center.

The gauges are upgraded, too, with a sporty look that places the zeros directly at the 6 o'clock mark.

There's much more to discuss when it comes to the Elantra Sport, and we can't wait to see how it fares after a full week of testing. While there's no new Honda Civic Si out there, this Hyundai may be able to fill the gap for those looking for a sporty compact sedan.

Discuss this story at our Hyundai Elantra Sport Forum

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First Official Trailer for The Grand Tour Promises a Show Full of Hijinks

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After teasing Top Gear fans for what seems like ages, the former hosts of the popular motoring show have released the first official trailer for The Grand Tour.

The new show, which stars Jeremy Clarkson, James May, and Richard Hammond, is an Amazon original series and is highly anticipated because the of how poorly the revamped Top Gear has performed.

The trailer previews the all-too-familiar banter and unmistakable chemistry between the three hosts and gives us a glimpse of what to expect when the show starts airing weekly on Amazon Prime starting on November 18.

So far, we can see epic road trips and challenges, drifting supercars, explosions, crazy antics, and basically everything people loved from Top Gear before the trio left the show. Watch the full trailer above.

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Ambitious Company Wants to Make this Cheap 3-Wheel Electric Car a Reality

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A new company has an ambitious plan of building "the most attractive, affordable, and practical electric car ever with base price starting at $10,000."

That company is called Sondors, founded by Storm Sondors, who raised $10-million and delivered 15,000 electric bikes. The Sondors eBike has since become the largest electric bike distributor in the U.S. and is currently sold in 67 other countries worldwide. And like the electric bike, Sondors plans on cutting out the middleman by allowing buyers to pre-order their cars online before they are custom built and delivered to their doorstep.

SEE ALSO: Elio 3-Wheel Car Priced at $7,300, But There's a Catch

The Sondors electric car is a three-seat, three-wheeled vehicle and the company plans on offering three different range options: 50 miles, 100 miles and 200 miles. The car's body will be made of aluminum, while the three-wheel design will help create less drag.

The company is offering just under $1-million in common shares of Sondors Electric Car Company at $12 per share, with a minimum investment of $120. In addition to equity, each investor will automatically be added to the company's reservation list and once the car is available for sale, they will be among the first to buy it. Investors will also have the option to gift or sell their reservation.

Learn more about Sondors by watching the video below.

Discuss this story on our Alternative Fuel Forum

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AMG Pacer from Wayne’s World is Heading to Auction

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The original 1976 AMC Pacer used in Wayne's World is crossing the auction block.

Sporting a baby blue paint job over the original yellow exterior, several modifications were made for the film, including tow hooks welded to the front subframe, 0.25-inch steel plates welded to the rocker panels for camera supports, and both the heater and air conditioning have been removed. The rear wheelhouses were also modified to fit speaker boxes, while a hole was drilled in the roof for the now-famous licorice dispenser.

According to the auction listing at Barrett-Jackson's website, "every effort was made in the car's extensive restoration to bring it back to its movie condition."

SEE ALSO: Top 10 Cheapest Cars from the 2016 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction

Every bolted-on body part was removed and the exterior body was stripped to bare metal. The bumpers and original wheels were also rechromed while the body was refinished with Nason base coat/clear coat to match the movie color. Inside, the seats and headliner have been recovered, while the all interior panels and the dash have been refinished.

The only part of the restoration that isn't true to the movie are the upgraded speakers and stereo, as the 10-inch restoration speakers are not functional since there was never an amp in the car. The stereo however, does work so you can do your own rendition of "Bohemian Rhapsody."

The car will cross the auction block at Barrett-Jackson's Las Vegas 2016 auction running October 13 to 15.

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