Luxury auto news

Video: Man creates DIY Lexus LS 400 convertible with Sawzall

We love four-door convertibles, reciprocating saws and watching other people make bad decisions, so the video seen here is a bit like our perfect YouTube cocktail. In it, the owner of a slammed Lexus LS decides he's had enough of living under the oppressive shadow of his sedan's roof. While at StanceWars Belgium 2012, he decides to fire up a generator, plug in his trusty sawzall and go to town. Not surprisingly, the sheetmetal on the roof gives up quickly, and the whole extraction takes less than eight minutes from start to finish.

Hilariously enough, it starts raining just as the owner makes the final cut. How's that for a sign from the universe? Scroll down to check out the carnage... just be prepared for the painful sound of shredded metal.

Continue reading Man creates DIY Lexus LS 400 convertible with Sawzall

Video: Mercedes releases even more drift-happy C63 AMG footage from Laguna Seca

Mercedes-Benz and its AMG division wanted to thank the two million viewers of its various videos, so it dropped a C63 AMG at the top of the Corkscrew at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca and recorded it drifting down. The treat was wasn't as sweet as it should have been due to an editor who got a bit too happy with the "Cut" button, and watchers said as much.

So, in a nice bit of "Here, let's fix that," AMG has uploaded aerial footage of the uncut drift. Now that we know AMG takes requests, feel free to leave them in the Comments section. On your way there, scroll down to check out the new vid.

Continue reading Mercedes releases even more drift-happy C63 AMG footage from Laguna Seca

Does BMW's new 6 Series Convertible work in yellow?

Perhaps it's merely the era, perhaps it's the shapes of modern cars, but you just don't see large numbers of sports cars and supercars drenched in wildly luminous colors anymore - the Lamborghini Gallardo maybe the only exception. A sky blue Porsche 911 or a dandelion Ferrari were once nothing special; now a white Ferrari is avant-garde.

Not so for the driver of this BMW 6 Series convertible, who doubled down on a special-order Atacama Yellow paint job - not vinyl wrap - from the factory for his 6. Bimmerpost forum member X-Vert caught this in NYC while it was waiting to have some work done. While we personally shy run away from cars in incadescent colors, and even though the girth of the 6 Series makes for a Great Wall of Yellow, with the black top and black wheels we think it's not bad at all. It's not for us, but it's not bad.

Yet the image deceives: it has been 'Shopped to disguise the fact that the wheels aren't really black. They're yellow. And that changes everything... To see the beast fully resplendent, head on over to Bimmerpost.

Video: Ferrari 458 Italia flips at Laguna Seca

There's the right way to tackle the infamous Corkscrew at Laguna Seca and then there's the way that puts your Ferrari 458 Italia into the catch fence and on its roof. Ryan Ockey recently gave the latter option a shot during the Ferrari Challenge at Mazda Raceway with predictable results. All of the safety equipment both in the car and at the track worked as intended, however, and the driver walked away with little more than a bruised ego. There are no solid reports as to what caused the flying Ferrari, but rumor has it there may have been a brake failure.

Unfortunately, the 458 Italia had to be pulled from the gravel trap by a tow truck, which meant a long, painful slog downhill on the Italian exotic's roof. Check out two videos of the carnage and the rescue to see what we mean. Jump forward to two minutes in on the second clip to see things go downhill for Ockey.

Continue reading Ferrari 458 Italia flips at Laguna Seca

Report: Cadillac Escalade to get new lease on life in 2014

Known for unmitigated excess to some, the Cadillac Escalade embodies over-the-top transportation for oil barons and high-rolling hip-hop stars. The Detroit Bureau quotes an unknown senior Cadillac official saying, "We were finding that for everyone turned on by that image there were four (potential luxury buyers) who were [turned off]." Add in national gas prices flirting with $5 a gallon, and the Escalade seemed destined to join the flamboyant fins of the 1959 Eldorado.

But The Detroit Bureau says GM saw too much profit in the tanker-sized truck and plans to refresh it in early 2014 as a 2015 model. The Bureau predicts the SUV will continue to be body-on-frame with the new 2013 Chevrolet pickup underpinnings holding it all together. It's probably safe to assume the luxury will be upsized, the engine uptuned and the price upjacked.

Report: Lexus moves to trademark spindle grille

Apparently the new Lexus spindle grille is here to stay. According to the Kaizen Factor blog, Toyota has filed numerous trademark applications in both the United States and Canada for various spindle grille designs.

The main differences in the designs are the inserts, either a zig-zag mesh like the current F Sport models of the CT, IS, GS, RX and LS, or a horizontal pattern like the non-F Sport models. But there's also a new "vertical bar" design revealed by the filings, which the report speculates may be applied to the next-generation IS.

Toyota has also filed paperwork to trademark the basic spindle outline with no insert, according to the report. For what it's worth, Lexus isn't the only Japanese automaker that's using a grille with this general shape...

Spy Shots: Audi R8 facelift comes into focus

These are spy shots of the facelifted Audi R8 that we expect to see later this year. You'll need to look very closely at the front to see where the lifting and tucking has been done: new LED headlights inside a slightly reworked grille. Around back are round tailpipes like those on the R8 GT.

This is a refreshed model that will hold us until the 2015 Audi R8 arrives - the one with the carbon and aluminum chassis, more power and no manual transmission on offer. That last fact is tragic enough because we still love sports cars with sticks, but descends into the catastrophic since the six-speed manual available now is outstanding. We're sure the next-gen coupe will be awesome, but we'll enjoy this one while we have it. Check it out in the high-res gallery of spy shots above.

Cadillac releases trunkload of new XTS images

Maybe it's just having downloaded 50-plus images of the new full-size Cadillac, but the 2013 Cadillac XTS is starting to grow on us. And not like a fungus, but like a jumbo CTS - one fitted with Magnetic Ride Control and HiPer Struts, all-wheel-drive and Brembos. And a trunk that's enormous enough that GM says the XTS "is in a league of its own," promising "room for five or more suitcases."

So maybe that enthusiasm might be premature - or better reserved for the ATS - but we've got someone driving the big Caddy this week. We'll have a full report soon.

Spy Shots: Mercedes-Benz S-Class ain't no bag lady

We've seen weirder camouflage. But despite the fact that this next-generation Mercedes-Benz S-Class prototype looks like it drove through a garbage bag warehouse, we now have a very clear glimpse at some of the new car's details - namely, the shapely front fascia.

Merc's new flagship takes many of its new design cues from the F700 concept that debuted back in 2007, specifically the larger, more upright grille and the redesigned headlamps that now incorporate LED running lights (just like what we've seen on the new SL and GL models). The big sedan's overall shape doesn't change too much from the car that's currently on sale, though things seem to be a little swoopier for this new generation.

Under the hood, we can expect Mercedes' latest engines to be on tap, including the 4.6-liter twin-turbocharged V8 as well as some V6 options. Naturally, an AMG model will follow suit, likely using the new 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 in the S63 AMG.

Look for the redesigned S-Class to officially bow later this year.

Report: Chinese-market Land Rover Freelander and Range Rover Evoque to use Chery engines?

A couple of developments on the recent Jaguar/Land Rover joint venture are being reported in Chinese media based on a report in China's Economic Daily News. The 130,000-capacity factory planned for Jiangsu is epected to mint its first vehicle in 2014, with numbers given for the breakdown so far as: 43,000 Land Rover Freelander 2s, 34,000 Range Rover Evoque models (called the Aurora in China) and, according to Google Translate, "the joint venture brand vehicles of 23,000 Jaguar sedan."

We're not sure if that really means 23,000 Jags will be made, since that would be a six-fold multiplier of Jaguar's 2011 sales in China. The quoted Land Rover production would only be doubling its sales tally from 2011, even though the brand's sales were up 105 percent in Q1 of this year. There will be a separate joint-venture brand created between JLR and Chery as well, so that could be a part of it. Futher on, the plan is for the plant to expand to a capacity of 250,000 units.

More interestingly, the locally-made engines will be JLR's 3.0-liter V6 alongside two Chery motors, a 1.6-liter TGDI turbo and a 2.0-liter TGDI, with plans to "gradually introduce" the Chery engines into the Land Rovers. JLR engineers are said to be moving to China to continue joint development of the TGDI motors, which has apparently been ongoing. Until those are ready, JLR will import its 240-horsepower, 2.0-liter motor.

The report in China's 163.com is also interesting for the regulatory and business context it provides on the joint venture, with government rules mandating the minimum amount of investment and the establishment of R&D centers. The tie-up is said to be a boon to Chery's fortunes in light of the assertion that Chery's "operating conditions are not ideal" and that getting the "core technology" for its own brands had "become the top priority of the project approval." Official approval of the JV is expected later this year.