Nissan 370Z S-Tune begins to get official with new images and info

Nissan has released official images of the NISMO 370Z S-Tune, and the photos show a much more hardcore of version of the Japanese brand's new rear-wheel-drive sports car than we saw debut at the LA Auto Show last month. Buyers will be able to choose between the full-on body kit above with a new lower chin spoiler, "extension nose piece", rocker moldings, rear valance and rear wing or a toned down version. Those larger deep dish, five-spoke aluminum wheels are also an option, as are a stainless steel exhaust system, upgraded S-Tune suspension, additional body braces and S-Tune brake pads. Nissan already has an official website up in Japanese extolling the virtues of the 370Z S-Tune, including an opening intro video that flies around the car. Check out the new official pics in high-res, as well as detail shots of each NISMO component, in the gallery below.

[Source: 370Tech.com via AutoFiends]

Audi R8 V10 debuting in Detroit, cabrio coming in 2010

While other automakers are dropping out of the Detroit Auto Show left and right, Audi is heading to Motor City with guns blazing, beginning with the 2010 Audi R8 V10.

Car and Driver decided to put the rumors to rest that the updated super coupe is officially coming to Detroit, packing a 5.2-liter V10 putting out 520 hp and 398 lb.-ft. of torque. Aside from the obvious aural and performance differences, the V10-powered R8 will make use of a pair of larger dual exhaust tips rather than the V8 model's quad outlets. Expect new wheels, upgraded brakes and a few changes to the interior as well.

The oft-rumored Audi R8 Spyder will hit the European market in late 2009, with sales beginning in the U.S. sometime in 2011. According to C&D, the reason for the delayed Stateside launch is due to dealers that "have their hands full allocating coupes." Whatever that means. The R8's stylistic party pieces – it's side blades – will be shrunken down to accommodate a power-operated soft top, and the interior will carry over unchanged.


[Source: Car and Driver]

Audi likely to delay early 2009 decision on US production

Over the past year, Volkswagen and Audi have set some remarkably aggressive goals for the US market, including the pronouncement that Audi would double its sales in the States to 200,000 units by 2015. Audi has fared well in 2008, even managing a slight sales increase in October while virtually every other automaker saw double-digit declines. However, holding your own in such a market is not a good way to double sales. Part of the the plan for multiplying its volume included building Audi's in the US, either in cooperation with parent Volkswagen or all by its lonesome. But without financial recovery in sight, CEO Rupert Stadler is justifiably hedging on whether the four-ring brand will make a production decision in early '09. The 200,000 annual sales target is also looking far less likely for 2015. Stadler has said the company will know in a year or two if its sales target is still feasible.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Bentley prepares to weather a tough 2009

Ever since Bentley came out from under the shadow of Rolls-Royce after the Volkswagen takeover in the late 1990s, the marque has been on a roll. The venerable British brand started getting its first bespoke designs in over half a century, which paid off in a huge spike in sales. After topping 10,000 sales for the first time in 2007, Bentley is feeling the same force of gravity as everyone else (except Audi it seems) this year. So far sales have dropped by 30 percent in 2008 and the Crewe factory has already cut production by 15 percent. Further cuts are likely and Bentley is providing assistance to dealers who have too much inventory. With the situation on Wall Street unlikely to abate anytime soon, it appears that Bentley's 37 U.S. dealers will be feeling the pain for a while longer.


[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

Mitsubishi Evolution X FQ400 coming with 405 hp

Autocar snagged a handful of pics and some initial specs of the UK-only Mitsubishi Evolution X FX-400, and as suspected, the hotter Evo is a road-going version of the ADR Motorsport-prepared sedan that successfully campaigned this past September in the 24-Hour Britcar Championship.

The turbocharged 2.0-liter 4B11 will put out approximately 405 hp and 400 lb.-ft. of torque thanks to a new turbo, retuned ECU and center-exit exhaust. As opposed to the outgoing FQ400, the Evo X-based model won't use a race clutch, so puttering around town should be bit more bearable, and due to the FQ400's prodigious output, the twin-clutch SST gearbox – which can't handle more than 331 lb.-ft. of torque – won't be used. Despite this, expect the FQ400 to lay down 0-60 times of around 3.5 seconds, 0.6 seconds faster than the Evo X FQ360.

In addition to six-pot calipers, upgraded brakes and 18-inch wheels, the FQ400 will feature a new aero kit that includes additional cooling intakes, vents, a larger air intake in the hood and ducts cut into the side skirts to aid rear brake cooling. Production will be limited to 100 units, unless demand calls for more, but considering the price – between £45,000 and £50,000, or £14,500 more than the FQ-360 – 100 examples should just about do it.

[Source: Autocar]

Spy Shots: Jaguar XF-R

The Jaguar XF-R is almost complete, and the house of the saltant feline looks to retain its suite of exceptionally modest modifications for the hottest version of its hottest seller. Outside, the car gets hood vents and larger intakes for better breathing, and a sliver of a trunk spoiler hovering over quad tailpipes out back. Larger wheels wearing lower profile rubber hanging off of a seriously firm suspension will be on the menu, all the better to harness the signature trait of an R car: the 500-horsepower supercharged V8 up front. We'll see it some time next year, our bet is at the Geneva Motor Show in March.

[Source: Global Motors]

2009 Audi R8 LMS

Audi unveiled at the Essen Motor Show its GT3 racing spec car known as the R8 LMS. The car should cost €262,000 - about $333,000 (base price for a regular R8 is about €107,000.) Any customer expecting extra comfort will be sadly disappointed. Instead paying almost two and a half times the normal rate for an R8 gets owners a completely track-ready car with an extra two cylinders (now ten in total) and 500+ horsepower.

Part of the requirements for the GT3 racing class means the R8 LMS ditches the all-wheel drive system for a rear-wheels only. A new six-speed sequential manual transmission was developed for the car as well as the wind-cheating body kit and huge rear spoiler.

The R8 LMS will be available to private race teams by fall of 2009. They will be seen throughout various European race series, including the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring. During the season these cars will still be a rare sight, as Audi only plans about eight cars for that year.