After the big Super Bowl blitzkrieg , we all kind of knew the media marketing on Iron Man would muscle it's way beyond mere trailers, and it just has. The culprit?  read more »

To meet growing demand in China for vehicles like the 2009 Audi A4 , only 2.36 inches longer, Audi has just unveiled the A4L, an A4 with an extended wheelbase. The lengthened wheelbase should show itself in the backseats, which have increased legroom proportional to the stretch. This creates a vehicle that should sit somewhere in between the regular A4 and the A6 in both price and space and is an indicator of the lengths car makers are now going to pursue sales the worlds fastest growing car market, China. "The long-wheelbase version of the Audi A4 is being produced exclusively in China for the Chinese market.  read more »

Audi's apparently taking the TT Clubsport Quattro — the same show car we spotted looking much more production-like earlier this month — to the Wrthersee Tour. That's the same Tour we could make neither heads nor tails of a few days later when Audi revealed their A3 TDI Clubsport Quattro concept . At least now we understand why we're seeing the Clubsport Quattro's exterior aluminum und shteel looking a little less concept-like and a little more prt--porter, it's the interior that's got us flummoxed. Audi's thrown caution, and apparently "shteel," to the wind.  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 »

Ready yourself for the inevitable screed of Clarksonian denigration ending in successively more nonsensical similes for how awful the Audi S3 and S3 Sportback featuring the flappy paddle shifters of the S-tronic transmission are. For the new model year, the S3s get the twin-clutch six speed selectable automatic transmission hooked to the 265 HP, 258 lb-ft 2.0 TFSI engine. The result will be hatefully despised as silly, but will make the car run to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, that's two-tenths faster. Rubbish!  read more »

The Italian state police have just received a customized Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 capable of 203 MPH to catch your ass anywhere you go. This Lambo isn't only about speed; it's also pretty smart, equipped with all kinds of high-tech police gadgets. An automatic number plate recognition system can track and send plate data in real-time to central control rooms, while a forward-looking camera is capable of data-logging GPS information to the video information and transmitting the live feed to offices in real-time. That vestigial trunk up front is put to good use as a first-response medical platform and refrigerated box for high-speed organ transport. Check out complete details, some sweet gallery images and two videos of the car and some light, police-sanctioned hoonage below of this completely useless police car that still would now take the top spot on our list of the top ten coolest police cars .  read more »

(from Lamborghini press release) The Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo : The worlds fastest one-make series Next year will see Lamborghini launch an all-new race series the worlds fastest one-make series. In May 2009, the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo takes to the track with its first race. By the end of October, it will have completed 18 races on famous European circuits, supporting popular series like the Deutsche Tourenwagen-Meisterschaft (DTM), the FIA GT Series and the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC).  read more »

Last week saw a heated debate over the entry of the 1925 Rolls-Royce Phantom 1 Jonckheere Coupe. Was it beautiful or a mockery, art or excess, folly or fantastic? According to the votes, 80.3% of you believed it a worthy entrant, so those questions have an answer. Now we switch gears entirely, from a tribute to form to a celebration of unquestionable function. In modern history, Land Rover has been nothing if not there to see things happen. It is said that a Land Rover is the only vehicle some people will ever see. Beginning in post-war Britain in 1946, an unbroken chain of workhorse machines has performed the duties set forth by their owners, never rusting, rarely failing. That progression has left us with a paragon of uncomplaining, uncomplicated virtue: the Land Rover Defender.  read more »

I believe there are certain things you can never have too many of. Good pairs of jeans and shoes. Pocket knives. Friends with pickup trucks. Real Mexican joints. Books. And of course, sports cars from the early 60s that competed at LeMans in your Fantasy Garage. We've already got the two best (the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe and the Ferrari 250 GTO, respectively) so let us now induct the most beautiful; the British/Italian hybrid Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato.  read more »