Autoblog

It being Thursday night and all, we'd be surprised if you haven't scrounged the interwebs to find last Sunday's Top Gear episode – the most review-rich show in over two seasons. Hammond pitted the Audi RS6 Avant against a duo of downhill skiers, the Mitsubishi Evolution X and Subaru Impreza WRX STI battled it out for the umpteenth time and Clarkson found an eager dance partner with the Mercedes-Benz CLK63 AMG Black. It was a show that reminded us of why we fell in love with Top Gear in the first place, even though it fell short of the high-water mark set by its previous small-screen masterpieces (DB9, Veyron and the V8 Vantage vs. 911 vs. M6 on the Isle of Man, just to name a few). Regardless, we've post the show in bite-size clips after the jump and if that isn't satisfaction enough, hit up Final Gear for the full episode. Also, if you haven't picked up an MP3/video player/iPod converter that hooks up to you TV, do it already. Watching the fiery trio on the big(ger) screen does the show – and it's videography -- justice.

Click above for more pics of the Mclaren SLR Speedster.

Following yesterday's revelation that Mercedes and McLaren were preparing to launch a special lightweight version of their SLR supercar, a batch of spy shots plus a spy video have surfaced, giving us a sneak peek at the limited-edition roadster prior to its anticipated unveiling by McLaren-Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton towards the end of the month.

The images – which appear to have been released by the manufacturer itself – confirm our previous report that the roofless supercar will have little in the way of protection from the elements, with an F1-sized wind deflector screen as the only thing between the driver and the wind rushing by at breakneck speeds. Inspired by the original '50's-era 300 SLR, the new speedster will be faster than any previous SLR and be built in a small serial of 75 examples.

Click on the thumbnail images below to view more, and follow the jump for the spy video.

[Source: PistonHeads, eMercedesBenz]

Click above to view the video.

We've said it before, but it warrants repeating: it takes a special kind of crazy to take an epic supercar like a Ferrari or a Lamborghini and tune it like you would a Mustang or even a Porsche. Fortunately, Novitec and EDO are just such a breed of crazy. We've brought you news of the former's modified Ferrari 430 Scuderias and 599 GTBs and the latter's Lamborghini Superleggera, Maserati MC12 and Audi R8 (to name just a few), but never side by side. For that, you may follow the jump and thank those zany Germans for pitting a Novitec Rosso-modified Ferrari 575M Maranello against an EDO Competition-tuned Lamborghini Gallardo. You'll need four and a half minutes to spare, but not fluency in German... "vroom" is international.

[Source: YouTube via Autoblog.nl]

Click above for a gallery of high-res pics.

When the 2009 Chevy Traverse goes on sale in September, it will be the fourth, eight-passenger Lambda-based crossover to come from GM. The bow-tie CUV will carry the lowest starting MSRP of the quartet, and it will also carry the most power, with 288 hp and 270 lb.-ft. of torque, along with the highest towing capacity of 5,200 lbs.

Hit the jump to view several comparison videos that pit the Traverse against one of its main competitors, the Toyota Highlander. The first video is a walk-around of the Traverse to point out unique styling points, and from there it's all competition. We judge everything from the interior volume to the driving experience, and then take the two CUVs into uncharted territory -- the track. Enjoy!

Follow the jump to watch the video

Those of you steeped in drag racing lore are undoubtedly familiar with the 1968 HEMI-powered Dodge Darts and Plymouth Barracudas. These limited edition, track-bound '68 package cars brought out some of the biggest names in drag racing and helped solidify the automaker as a force to be reckoned with down the 1320. When Dodge unveiled the Challenger drag race package at SEMA, we knew the Mopar crew had something serious up its sleeves, and we've got an exclusive clip of what's to come.

Chrysler isn't releasing the details on this non-street-legal, drag-race ready model yet, but earlier reports suggest an overall weight savings of around 800 pounds by stripping the interior down to the bare essentials (one seat, a set of gauges and no sound deadening material), nixing the wipers and A/C and replacing many of the body panels with composite material. The front brakes will also be modified, along with the rear end and front crossmember, and a roll cage is assuredly part of the package. As for power, expect a big HEMI V8 under the hood producing over 500 hp and close to 500 lb.-ft. of torque. All of that is speculation for now, but expect official word from Mopar shortly. Check out our exclusive video after the jump to keep you satisfied in the interim.

Click above to view the video posted after the jump.

Okay, Mio's Knight Rider GPS unit is now officially "hella" cool. Engadget snagged some video of the startup sequence, and we're overcome by nostalgia for 1984. We're not excited to the point where we've gone digging for vintage Le Tigre polos or pulled that zombie leather jacket (the Thriller replica, natch) out of deep closet storage, but seeing that sweeping light bar and watching the flanking LEDs twinkle to the dulcet tones of William Daniels brings back sunny memories for those of us that lived it the first time around. Even cooler is that there's a bank of 300 names to choose from, so odds are good that KITT will greet you personally – that closes the sale right there, we officially want one.

[Source: Engadget]

Many actors loan out their famous faces to make some extra coin in foreign markets without over saturating their image here in the States. Big screen tough guy Sylvester Stallone is no different, and since he hasn't had a good financially successful picture since Demolition Man, he was probably pretty excited when Volkswagen of Brazil came calling. Following the jump are two VW commercials for the VW Gol hatchback. The first one is a minute and a half long, and features a Rambo-style helicopter vs. sub-Polo Gol battle royale. And the second one involves a group of curious onlookers honing in on the Gol as it sits parked on the side of the road. Both ads feature a rough-looking Stallone showing up at the end, and even though he only utters a few words, a Portuguese-speaking dub is needed. Hillarious, and kind of sad at the same time. Thanks for the tip, Carlos!

[Source: Argentina Autoblog]

Click above to view video after the jump

At this rate, by the time Honda actually releases the production version of the successor to the NSX, we may well have seen more video and photos of the prototypes running at the 'Ring than we ever saw of the original. Thankfully, for those of us into really fast cars, the Nürburgring is a public place with a variety of roadside vantage points where people can view the latest and greatest supercars in action. The crew at Germany's Auto Motor und Sport seem to have staged videographers at all the available viewing locations to capture three minutes of footage that they have posted on YouTube for the rest of us to enjoy. There's some good stuff here, including the last few seconds where the driver is clearly pushing the new Honda as the back end slips a little wide before coming back. We're all waiting anxiously to see how this one matches up against the GT-R, ZR1, and LF-A. Check out the video after the jump.

[Source: Temple of VTEC]

The 2009 Dodge Ram is still a couple months from hitting the showroom floor, but we got a chance to check it out during a visit to the Chelsea proving grounds at the Chrysler media event. While we can't tell you how the new Dodge Ram drives, we are pleased to give you details of the revolutionary RamBox. We wanted to tell you how much we could fit into the bed mounted storage, but all we had was Mike Levine from Pickuptrucks.com. Follow the jump to view Mike as he tries to jam himself into one very confined space. Mike's a skinny guy, so he comes a lot closer to squeezing into the RamBox than you might think.

When you're winging a vehicle as expensive and powerful as a purpose-built Dodge Viper drift car, being fearful will only lead to a bad ending. Sam Hubinette doesn't have any such compunctions while sliding sideways at 90 miles per hour. Should he inadvertently hit the wall, whoops. Fretting over potential contact will likely only make it inevitable. The hairy-chested car guys over at 0-60 were hanging out at the third round of Formula Drift competition in Englishtown, NJ, and caught up with the Skidding Swede for a few minutes while shooting a larger video of the competition. The smoky event saw Hubinette's Viper place second to Tanner Foust's Nissan 350Z. Foust, you'll recall, is one of the hosts of NBC's domestic "Top Gear." Good to know he can drive. Now's your chance to take shots at drifting and complain about how it's not racing, and doesn't require any skill, though we assure you it is, and it does. You still don't have to like it. Video posted after the jump


[Source: 0-60]