2013 VIA VTRUX Suburban

Recently, we introduced you to the VIA VTRUX, an electric pickup truck with a range-extending gasoline engine. Now we are set to bring to you the SUV variant from the same company.

VIA is headed up by former GM executive, Bob Lutz, so these all-electrics are based on Chevy models. The VIA VTRUX SUV, which is also dubbed the Suburban, is based on the 2011 Chevy Suburban, but with a vastly different drivetrain underneath it.

With all of the hybrid SUVs hitting the marketplace, we honestly wonder if there is room for an electric SUV of this nature. Sure, we have the Tesla Model X SUV showing up at some point in the coming years, but it is not your "typical" SUV. The VIA VTRUX Suburban is a traditional SUV that simply lacks the traditional gasoline power.

So, how doe this VIA SUV hold up to its hybrid competition, some of which comes from its own donor company, GM?

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2012 Lamborghini Aventador by Capristo

German tuning firm Capristo specializes in aftermarket modifications and the Lamborghini Aventador is the epitome of a performance supercar. Put these two together and you have the recipe for a perfect collaboration. While not in the same vein as Mansory when it comes to audacious packaging, Capristo knows how to dress up a supercar with aesthetic enhancements. For this program, the tuning firm opted for subtlety, stripping down the Aventador and its plastic components in favor of carbon fiber.

These external components include the central front lip, the front and side air intakes, the rear vents just below the taillights, and the diffusor. In addition, the Italian supercar also gets a new mirror finish 1.4828 stainless steel exhaust system that comes with remote-controlled adjustable flaps.

After taking out 40 kg/88 lbs of excess weight, Capristo was able to shave off a tenth-of-a-second from the supercar’s 0-62 mph acceleration time from 2.9 seconds to 2.8 seconds. On top of that, the car’s top speed also increased to 220 mph, up from the standard 217 mph top speed of the standard model.

Capristo did all of that without tweaking the engine, making the whole program more impressive. With a 6.5-liter V12 engine that produces 700 horsepower, this Capristo-tuned Aventador is a true high-powered beast on wheels.

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2014 Chevrolet Corvette already for sale on eBay

While we are still waiting for some official details from Chevrolet for its seventh generation Corvette, you can already bid for one on eBay. This may be the perfect chance for someone to be the very first owner of the upcoming Corvette C7, or the first person to be scammed into sending money to an unknown source for the Corvette. Also, don’t get fooled by the current bid - it’s only $4,250 - because this is just a deposit for the car. The full amount will have to be paid upon receiving it and if you decide to back out, they get to keep 10% of your deposit.

While the summary on eBay doesn’t offer many details on the next C7 Corvette, it does reveal that the future sports car will keep its usual V8 engine, mated to either a six-speed manual or an automatic gearbox. The specific Corvette on eBay is only the base model, but the winner of the bid can add any options he wants once it is paid for.

The Chevrolet C7 Corvette is set to arrive in mid-2013 and rumors say it will be powered by a 5.5L small block V8 engine that will deliver about 440 HP.

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Lexus revives sedan lineup and confirms LF-A Roadster for 2014

Lexus may have pulled one over on us by revealing an LF-A contest instead of a special edition LF-A supercar, but at least we’re getting some good news to put us in better spirits. A Lexus insider has revealed that the company plans to revive its sedan line-up, adding a coupe based on the wild LF-LC concept, possibly a coupe derived from the GS, and a new, smaller five-passenger crossover. The biggest news, however, is the launch of a roadster LF-A for mid-2014.

Next to the changes we’ve seen so far in the GS, ES, and LS, Lexus will also be working on a re-engineered IS for the spring of 2013. It will be built on a shortened version of the GS platform and will feature the same 2.5-liter and 3.5-liter engines, as well as a new exterior design that will differentiate it from the IS. Next, there will be a GS Coupe - placed between the IS-C and LF-LC - priced at about $60K.

As for a production version of the LF-LC concept, it has been confirmed for late 2014 as a competitor for the Aston Martin Vantage and the Porsche 911 Turbo. Lexus’ SUV line-up will see redesigns for the RX and LX in 2014 and 2015 respectively, while a smaller CX will compete against the Audi Q3 and BMW X1 and will arrive in the fall of 2013.

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2013 Scion FR-S by Fox Marketing and Takata Racing

The countdown towards one of the most highly anticipated auto shows of the calendar year has officially began.

Well, technically, there really is no official countdown leading up to this year’s SEMA show in Las Vegas. But don’t tell that to the guys over at Fox Marketing, who seem to be gearing up for the event with a couple of Scion FR-S projects.

A few weeks ago, they teased us with a program they’re building for Yonaka Motorsports. Now, they’re releasing another program, this time for Takata Racing. Confused? Don’t be.

Similar to the Yonaka FR-S, the Takata version will be a race-prepared model of the Scion sports coupe, complete with lively decals and a new body kit that includes a front grille, side splitters, and a rear racing wing, among other things.

Details on the car’s engine program are still vague at this point, but Fox Marketing has given indication that the Takata Racing FR-S will carry what they’re saying as the only HKS-powered supercharged in the US.

How much of an improvement will that give to the FR-S’ output is still unknown, but the mere mention of ’supercharger’ already has us salivating to find out.

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2013 Honda Civic WTCC Race Car

The new Honda Civic is getting its first taste of official racing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship. In preparation for its full entry in the 2013 season, the Civic WTCC race car is going to be thrown into the fire beginning at Suzuka in October. From there, it will enter three races and will be driven by Tiago Monteiro.

With October less than two months away, the Japanese automaker is giving its new racer one last test run at the Vallelunga circuit, near Rome, Italy. The car itself is based on the European Civic hatchback model where it carries a host of special aero packages, including an extended front and rear skirt, a large rear wing, and an interior that’s been fully customized to handle the rigors of full-fledged auto racing.

Most importantly, the Civic WTCC will not be carrying a standard engine, but rather a bespoke 1.6-liter 4 cylinder direct injection turbocharged HR-412E engine. No details on output have been released yet, although Daisuke Horiuchi, WTCC Development Project Leader at Honda R&D, has said that this particular engine could have a future in production models.

"We believe the innovations that have led to this revolutionary engine will also lead to benefits beyond the race track, helping us to further increase the efficiency of our road car engines," he said.

Looks like there’s more to the Honda Civic WTCC Race Car than meets the eye. Could it be that whatever lies under the hood of this race makes its way out of the track and into public streets in the future?

While it’s tempting to find that out now, it’s probably more important for Honda to give the race car the full shakedown first leading up to its racing debut at Suzuka this October.

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McLaren Dubs the V-12 as "a Thing of the Past"

We mentioned a few months ago about how advancements in turbocharging is starting to render V-8 and larger engines obsolete. As much as readers may not have wanted to hear that, it is true. For additional confirmation, we now have supercar builder, McLaren, in our corner.

In a recent interview with De Telegraaf’s Autovisie, McLaren managing director, Antony Sheriff, was quoted saying that “the V-12 engine is a thing of the past” and “the engine belongs in a museum.” Just as we pointed out, Sheriff claims that a boosted V-8 can pump out the same horsepower and more torque than a naturally aspirated V-12, plus it is lighter, less complex, and boasts better fuel economy.

Sheriff went on to further solidify our stance, as he explains that turbocharged V-6 engines may have a place in the supercar world as replacements for naturally aspirated V-8 engines. Granted, this is only the opinion of one automaker and it is not one of the big-three supercar builders – Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Porsche – so it doesn’t mean the V-12, V-10, and V-8 engines are going away just yet.

Having said that, we still hold firm in our belief that, in the next decade, the V-12 and V-10 engines will not be able to survive in a world of $5-per-gallon gasoline. Inside of this time period, smaller displacement engines and electric motors will replace these large, fuel-hungry engines. For now, we at least know that McLaren is on-board with the much-needed changeover.

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2013 Opel Insignia OPC

After bringing the standard Insignia facelift out for a few test runs, Opel is now testing the OPC version of the sedan in its new version. The model is expected to be launched along with the standard version, sometime at the end of 2012.

Just like the standard model, the exterior changes for the Insignia OPC version will be minimal. They will include newly designed bumpers with different air intakes, a new grille, a new rear bumper, and new tail-lamps.

The interior will also be redesigned and will get a larger satnav/info screen with new buttons placed on top of the screen. The air outlets are newly shaped with a chrome strip around them, while the dashboard will receive more chrome in order to make it look more exclusive.

Under the hood, Opel will mostly focus on improving the car’s fuel economy, even though it is very possible to see some improvements for the 325 HP 2.6 Liter V6 engine.

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2013 Toyota GT-86X Drift Car by Speedhunters and KW

The fellas over at Speedhunters.com have found a pretty good way to spend their time. Together with KW, the two companies have paired up to build a special Toyota GT-86 drift car that comes with a ridiculous body kit and an even more ridiculous Toyota Supra engine. It even has a cool new name: the 86X.

To give the car a decidedly drifty look, Speedhunters and KW fitted a TRA Kyoto 6666 Customs GT Rodeo Special Rocket Bunny wide body prototype fender conversion on the sports car to go with a new livery design that was done by the fine folks over at As Technical University. In order to give the car a full drifting dress down, the entire interior was modified to serve its drifting purpose. Instead of the usual digs that come with a GT-86, KW and Speedhunters took all the unneeded components out in favor of FIA seats, a GS Performance steering wheel, a Takata FIA harnesses, an automatic circuit breaker setup, custom dashboard switches, a throttle pedal assembly, and a custom steering column.

The 86X Drift Car will also be set up with two different 2JZ-GTE Supra engines, one of which produces 640 horsepower and 605 lb/ft of torque. The second engine - a 3.4-liter 2JZ-GTE Supra engine - will produce a staggering 800 horsepower and 738 lb/ft of torque. The powertrain is then mated to a four-speed transmission from Mid-Valley. The car also uses an Advanced Clutch Technology (ACT) triple disc race clutch and an ACT custom flywheel, a driveshaft courtesy of Ingar at Powertrain, and rear axles by The Driveshaft Shop.

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2012 Lamborghini LP760-2 Aventador by Oakley Design

We have tremendous respect for tuning firms that are able to make a car like the Lamborghini Aventador that much more amazing. Not many have been able to pull it off, but after Oakley Design’s work on the Ferrari 458 Italia, we knew they’d be one of the few to make it happen. To illustrate just how fantastic this package fits with the Aventador, Oakley Design will only be producing five units, and three of them have already been sold.

Focusing on the looks alone, anyone can see the sportier appearance given by the addition of a larger airbox, an intake feed pipe diameter, a titanium exhaust system, and a new set of lighter and wider wheels. Those additions only hint at what’s going on under the hood. Oakley Design worked up the Aventador so that it became 253 lbs lighter than the standard model and, with the help of an ECU remap, 60 HP stronger. The V12 engine now delivers a whopping 760 HP, up from the standard 700 HP. Another impressive feature for this package is that the power will be sent to the rear wheels; no all-wheel drive for this baby. No word yet on how these extra 60 ponies and their delivery will affect the car’s performance, but expect to see a slightly better 0-60 mph time than the 2.9 seconds provided from the factory model.

UPDATE 05/20/2012: Oakley Design has unveiled a new set of images for their LP760-2 package based on the Lamborghini Aventador. The images show the 1st unit of only 5 set to be produced.

UPDATE 08/06/12: Option Auto has released a couple of videos featuring the Aventador LP760-2 by Oakley Design. In the first video, the French magazine gives out details about the car similar to a brief rundown of what you can expect with it. The second video, on the other hand, is a good ’ol fashion track shakedown. Check out the videos after the jump!

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mazda cars Video: Driver Reigns In His Out-Of-Control 900-Horsepower Miata

There are some videos that are flat-out awesome and there are others that you can’t help but watch and just say “dayum, that was sick!” The above video just so happens to be a card-carrying member of the latter group. As a fellow Miata owner, I am slightly biased here...

This dude not only dropped an RB26 engine from a Skyline into his second-gen Miata, but he also pulled off one of the most bad-ass saves we have ever witnessed. This Miata launches from the starting tree and all is well, as it pulls away from its competitor until suddenly the back end of the Miata starts wagging its 900-horsepower tail all over the track.

The quick-acting driver manages to pull the reigns on this wild ride and get her going straight again. After all of that the Miata still crossed the finish line in just 16 seconds, which is faster than the majority of the cars on the road today.

The video ends with the guy operating the camera catching up to the slick driver and asking him what happened. It turns out that the car overheated and popped a freeze plug, which caused the coolant to spill all over the track. When you mix any liquid, especially coolant, with slick tires and 900 ponies, you are definitely in for just a little bit of tail action...

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Kahn GMT Timepiece by Kahn Design

We know, we know. It caught us by surprise too. British tuner Kahn Design has a new project, except that this one doesn’t have anything to do with wheels.

What it is though is something that a lot of watch enthusiasts will surely enjoy: the Kahn GMT Timepiece.

Yeah, it’s a watch. Designed in the UK by Azfal Kahn himself and manufactured in Switzerland, the Kahn GMT Timepiece is the epitome of a watch that comes with a classic, no-frills style that embodies the company’s tuning reputation. The white face is finished in white and matches really well with the full soft leather strap that exudes that classic look we’re talking about.

It’s ideally suited to be worn as a casual watch of informal set-ups and it also has time zone references of just about every major city in the world, allowing you to keep tabs on just about every time zone there is.

All told, the Kahn GMT Timepiece makes for a dandy watch on your wrist, proving that the British tuner has far more skills than we thought they had.

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2013 Lincoln MKT Town Car Fleet

Regardless of how odd it may look to have a bulky crossover SUV, like the MKT, replacing the equally bulky, yet outdated, Town Car sedan in Lincoln’s lineup, you can’t resist saying that it just might work. It’s equally luxurious as the Town Car and far larger, allowing passengers to stretch out a little more. One complaint about the Town Car that has somewhat carried over to the MKT is the cost to fuel it.

The last Town Car got a wallet-draining 16 mpg city and 24 mpg highway and the MKT was not much better at 16 to 17 mpg city and 23 to 25 mpg highway, depending on options. Well, for fleets later on in the 2013 model year, Lincoln is addressing this concern by offering a 4-cylinder engine – that’s right, a 4-cylinder Lincoln...

This variant will not be made available directly to the public, as it will be a fleet-only model. It will boast a 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine that pumps out 235 ponies and 260 pound-feet of torque. That’s a 65-horsepower drop from the now-standard V-6 engine, but only a 15 pound-feet decrease in torque. Where the EcoBoost engine comes into play is the fact that it gets 20 mpg in the city and 28 mpg on the highway, that’s a 3 to 4 and 3 to 5 mpg increase, respectively.

It achieves these increases by not only offering two fewer cylinders to fuel, but also that it is only available in front-wheel drive. The lack of an AWD variant may seem like an issue to many non-fleet, but look at any fleet of Town Cars and you’ll find out that they are all rear-wheel drive, so that’s not a concern to fleet owners.

The Lincoln MKT Town Car Fleet is expected to debut later in 2012 and will come in at a base price of $49,845. There are no details on whether the options list is thinned out from the current MKT, but we assume it will all remain the same..

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UltraLuxum CXL is a boat McLaren lovers would fall head over heels for

McLaren’s stature in the auto industry as one of the pre-eminent supercar makers in the world is pretty secure. So if you know that your company is looking peachy in the eyes of most, you’re going to need to dive into new territory to find a new challenge.

Apparently, they’ve found that challenge in designing boats, particularly the UltraLuxum CXL, a ridiculous-looking boat that was co-developed by McLaren Applied Technologies. The boat features "state-of-the-art craftsmanship," which, when you look at the renderings, seems to be an understatement. It has retractable outer beams that can be used to stretch the boat out at 23 meters wide across open water and a svelte 11 meters across enclosed spaces.

The multiple decks are also a unique characteristic of the UltraLuxum CXL, further giving proof as to how huge this boat really is. Then there’s the equally expansive interior that features a master cabin, four guest cabins, three crew cabins, a lounge, a dining room, a kitchen, and last, but certainly not least, an optional garage where you can presumably stow a car like, say, the McLaren MP4-12C.

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