In addition to the just revealed 2008 JCW Mini Cooper S , we've also got some great shots below of the new 2008 JCW Mini Cooper Clubman S. It's the first time JCW's gotten a hold of the Clubman, and the photos look great -- better even the faux JCW Mini Cooper Clubman S we'd seen already. Unfortunately, we won't have a press release for a few more minutes so for the time being you'll just have to make do with the shots we've got below. All we can tell so far is it's got similar badging to the more-mini Mini.  read more »

Just in time for the Geneva Motor Show next month, the automaker all about the cars that are so small they're Mini has seen fit to release a bevy of shots and all the deets on their two big reveals for the show. The first is the official reveal of the John Cooper Works package for the 2008 Mini Cooper S . Other than the press shots we've got below, here's what we know about the up-powered Cooper S from a quick glance of the press release which we'll have up below the jump shortly. UPDATE: Full press release below the jump!  read more »

Porsche's German leadership team in Stuttgart has just announced the appointment of a new minister of all things Bruce to run Porsche's Germans in Atlanta. The new president and CEO of Porsche Cars North America is none other than Detlev von Platen, who will succeed Peter Schwarzenbauer, who has just been named to the management board of Audi AG. So who is this von Platen? Well, he's coming stateside from his stint in the trenches and hedgerows of Porsche France where he served as the CEO of all that is froggy and precise. Detlev's got some hella big shoes to fill. Under Schwarzenbauer's leadership, Porsche Cars Nor-Am placed four consecutive sales records. Not too shabby if you ask us. For Porsche's sake, we hope the new fearless leader's able to do similar work. Full press release in all of its precision after the jump.  read more »

You know who we don't spend enough time talking about? Max Hoffman. Max Hoffman? Yeah buddy, Max Hoffman. Those of you with steel trap memories will remember that Hoffman was the guy who convinced Mercedes-Benz to build and import the 300 SL, a car we all agree is six degrees of triple-rad. Hoffman also had Frank Lloyd Wright design him both a home and a Jaguar dealership in Manhattan and he's responsible for bringing the Porsche 356 Speedster to American soil. The BMW 507, too. What a guy.  read more »

The letter F is an auspicious one in Lexus lore. Back in the mid-'80s, when the Lexus brand was still in the planning stages, Toyota insiders referred to the prospective luxury division as "Circle F." And the car that put Lexus on the map, the LS 400, was known internally as Flagship One, or F1. For 2008, the letter F is back: The company has decided to crash the ber-sport sedan party with the 2008 Lexus IS-F , a hard-edged performance car based on the IS-series sedan and aimed squarely at perennial magazine-cover fodder like the Audi RS4, BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.  read more »

Add Audi to the list of automakers who plan to add an electric vehicle to their lineup. The German automaker's top executive says Audi sees tremendous opportunities for electric vehicles and will roll one out within 5 to 10 years, promising "by then we will offer cars without exhaust emissions." "Electric cars offer great opportunities, which we have already seized on," Chairman Rupert Stadler said in an interview with German magazine Welt am Sonntag . According to a Google translation of the interview, Audi is devoting a tremendous level of resources to the project. " Our research capacity within the group is larger than many competitors," Stadler said. Audi has bet heavily on clean diesel technology being an effective way to improve fuel economy without sacrificing performance - its gorgeous R8 TDI concept car offers 500 horsepower and a stump-pulling 737 pound-feet of torque, and the R10 diesel racer has dominated Le Mans. But Stadler says he expects electric drive trains to join diesels in dominating the market within a decade - particularly in urban areas. So what would an electric Audi look like?  read more »

I don't know about you, but every time we're getting one of our cars tuned by a high-end German company we always say to ourselves, "Sure, the extra 300bhp from the V12 they're shoehorning into our E30 is going to be nice, but what we really want is a gourmet dinner." Wish no more, friends; AC Schnitzer is here to help. By installing a rooftop fine dining experience at their facility in Aachen, they're ensuring fast car loving foodies needn't go unfed.  read more »

(from Hamann Press Release) Design and technology rejuvenation: The HAMANN tuning programme for the new BMW 6-series When it comes to exclusively refining BMWs, HAMANN-Motorsport is one of the first addresses. Again, the Laupheim-based company gives proof to this by introducing its latest refinements for the new BMW 6-series. By developing an entire tuning programme not only for the coupe, but also the convertible, HAMANN-Motorsport renders an additional sportive and individual touch to the facelift already applied by BMW . Already the design elements create this impression and increase the aerodynamics as well. The front- and rear spoiler reduce the buoyant forces of the HAMANN 6 -series which has a significant effect on the car?s handling and agility. This is also achieved with an additional pair of side skirts which significantly calms the air flow between both axles. The roof- and rear spoiler also ensure the necessary surface pressure on the asphalt. Mainly on country roads with winding sections, the HAMANN-aerodynamic package unfolds its strengths and generates pure enjoyment of driving.  read more »

Taking a page out of its MINI playbook, BMW appears to be setting up some very clever guerrilla marketing to promote the 2009 BMW 1-series. Rather than shovel another recycled "look at the amazing precision of this new car" advertising campaign at us, BMW may be going in a different direction for the tossable new sports coupe and convertible.  read more »

A new Audi A8 is in the works but development is still in the early stages and so far only engineering test-mules wearing current-generation sheet metal have been sighted. This artists rendering shows a potential new look for the next A8, revealing a streamlined shape with new head and taillights and plenty of dramatic character lines. The chrome-laden front end of the current version will also likely be toned down somewhat for the next-generation, though the essential form of the car will remain more or less the same as most of the upgrades will be happening beneath the surface. The current Audi A8 has been on sale since 2003 and since that time has only received a minor facelift to keep it fresh alongside the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Lexus LS and soon-to-be superseded BMW 7-series. However, the minor styling changes implemented during the recent facelift will have to soldier on for a few more years as the next-generation D4 A8 isnt expected to make its international debut until late 2010.  read more »