Out of all the motorsports events in a year, one that is dearly close to our heart is the 24 hours of Le Mans. There’s something special about this competition and its spirit, not only because of it’s rich history, but also because of the legends it gave birth to.

Last year, Audi won the 24 Hours competition of Le Mans for the 9th time, by this proving that it can endure things as Ferrari’s creations. Last year, the Audi R15 TDI shined in all its glory and there are simply moments that should be captured on film, for our grandchildren to watch.

Expectations, drama, intensity and hopes gather around the last minutes of the race, as the teams fight for survival on the track. It is an impressive display of passion, engineering and a bit of magic. This is a video made of all those moments.

“If you don’t get a single piece to fit perfectly, you just won’t have enough to clinch victory.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Le Mans is never the achievement of a single individual. We win together or we lose together.”

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Audi 24 hours of Le Mans – the 2010 victory

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X FQ400

More info about the Evo's future has been revealed this week. This time, the Japanese automaker confirmed that there will be an Evo XI, but it will not be "advancing the concept in the same way as before." This is both good and bad news. Good because we now know for certain that there is going to be a successor to the Evo X, and bad because it will probably be an entire different car, not following the Evo breed as the rest of the generations.

In an interview given to Autocar by the company's global product director, Gayu Eusegi, he said that although there still is a demand for the Evo, they have to redirect the model towards the EV technology. This created a lot of mixed feelings after the Geneva show and now the automaker's president and CEO, Osamu Masuko, said that the production of the current Evo will continue just as planned, while for its successor, "regulations and market feedback will dictate its engineering package and architecture."

Autocar predicts that the Evo XI will have a diesel-electric hybrid powertrain, designed in order to save the model from the tightening economy and emissions regulations, while at the same time preserving its trademark mid-range shove.

Mitsubishi's engineers hope that by combining a clean-diesel torque with an electric motor, the Evo XI will be able to do the 0-60 mph sprint in less than 5 seconds, while at the same time reduce CO2 emissions under the 200 g/km mark.

The handling of the Evo XI will be entrusted to an updated version of the company's highly rated four-wheel drive system, known as S-AWC, which integrates steering, braking and traction control.

Source: Autocar.co.uk

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Mitsubishi EVO XI Confirmed

The Renault Alpine factory in Dieppe has rolled out the 1,000^th Clio Gordini RS model this March, less than a year after its introduction. The model is commercialized in 18 countries, most of them in Europe.

If you recall, the French automaker revived the Gordini name at the end of 2009 when they've presented the Twingo Gordini RS. Other models from this lineup include the Twingo Gordini and the recently announced Wind Gordini, which had its official debut this month at the 81^st edition of the Geneva Motor Show.

Back in the days, the Gordini designation was used for Renault's high-performance models, but nowadays these cars come with improved styling and more equipment, with no technical upgrades at all.

50% of the Twingo RS and Clio RS models sold by Renault in Europe have the Gordini nameplate and its traditional renowned white stripes. According to the French automaker, the Twingo RS is the second best sold car of the A sport segment, with a 25% market share in Europe's biggest five markets in 2010. As far as the Clio RS is concerned, the model has 16% market share in the B sport segment.

Source: Renault

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Renault Produces The 1000th Clio Gordini RS

Ford Ka Grand Prix

A new limited edition of the Ford Ka has been announced this week, but it will only be available for the Netherlands market. Dubbed Grand Prix, there are going to be only 120 units produced and sales will commence in just a couple of days. Although the Blue Oval said that the car is inspired by racing, we can't take them seriously if we look under the bonnet where we'll see that it has only a tiny 1.2-liter engine (fitted with the automaker's Auto Start-Stop system) that develops 69 hp. Most likely, Ford must have been thinking only about the design of the car, which is a little bit racing-ish.

Ford Ka Grand Prix

The paintwork of this Ford Ka features contrasting vivid colors and that stripe that the company refers to as "pretty". They've fitted the car with a big rear spoiler and 16-inch alloy wheels. The grille, stripe and the side mirrors are painted in a different color from the rest of the bodywork. The cabin comes with seats colored in red & white, along with red leather for the steering wheel, gear knob and handbrake lever. In addition, white trim can be found on the door panels, steering wheel and dashboard.

Ford Ka Grand Prix

The Ford Ka Grand Prix comes as standard with four airbags, ABS, AC, electric windows, remote central locking, and audio system with CD player, height-adjustable steering wheel and driver 's seat, plus heated door mirrors.

Ford Ka Grand Prix

The base price for the model is $15,580, and it is going to be available in two liveries: Sunrise with Chrystal White accents or for 200 Euros more, Chrystal White with Sunrise accents.

Source: Carscoop

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Ford Ka Grand Prix Announced

Chevrolet Colorado Concept

I'm not a big fan of pickup trucks but I have to admit that this Chevrolet Colorado Concept looks very cool and modern. The car will have its official debut at the Bangkok International Motor Show and it previews the production model that will be launched later on this year in Thailand.

Chevrolet Colorado Concept

This concept is an extended-cab mid-size pickup that sports polished aluminum accents, a prominent grille, along with LED-infused headlights. It sits on 20-inch alloy rims, wrapped around Cooper Zeon off-road tires.

Chevrolet Colorado Concept

The cabin of this concept has been fitted with a dark wood trim, leather seats, and chrome accents. Other goodies include the dual-zone climate control system, along with a generous 7-inch touchscreen display for the infotainment system.

Chevrolet Colorado Concept

The pickup truck is powered by a 2.8-liter turbodiesel engine that has been mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox that sends the power to an AWD system.

Source: General Motors

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Chevrolet Colorado Concept Revealed

Ford C-MAX by Loder1899

The engineers over at Loder1899 have unveiled this week their latest tuning program for the Ford C-MAX. They've described this styling & performance upgrade as transforming an "unpopular geek" into "one of the most popular jocks". It comes with a new front spoiler (249 Euros), a tailgate-mounted spoiler (159 Euros) and a faux rear diffuser (290 Euros). Other goodies include a 35mm reduced ride height module (169 Euros), along with a generous choice of rims which range in sizes from 18- to 20-inches (365 to 688 Euros each).

Ford C-MAX by Loder1899

The MPV's 2.0-liter TDCI engine has been fitted with a revised ECU (849 Euros) that increases the output to 188 hp (190 PS / 140 kW) and 288 lb.-ft (390 Nm) of torque, from the standard 161 hp (163 PS / 120 kW) and 251 lb.-ft (340 Nm). With this extra power available, the Ford C-MAX can do the 0-60 mph sprint in 8.3 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 163 mph (263 km/h).

Ford C-MAX by Loder1899

Source: Loder1899

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Ford C-MAX, Tuned By Loder1899

G-POWER X6 M TYPHOON S

I really don't understand why tuning companies choose to launch performance packages for the BMW X6 as it has to be one of the ugliest cars ever made. Anyway, they took the "M" model and played with it both inside and out and they've come up with the G-POWER X6 M Typhoon S. It has the same bodykit as the Typhoon S X5 M that costs almost 7,000 Euros.

G-POWER X6 M TYPHOON S

This bodykit includes a new more aggressive front fascia, a ventilated bonnet, carbon fiber rear diffuser, along with sport springs that lower the SUV's ride height by 1.2 inches (30mm). In addition, buyers have the possibility to choose the massive 23-inch Silverstone RS alloy rims, wrapped around in Michelin performance tires, for "only" 8,865 Euros.

G-POWER X6 M TYPHOON S

Under that new hood, the engineers at G-POWER have remapped the ECU of the twin-turbo V8 4.4-liter, and they've also installed a stainless steel sport exhaust system, new connection pipes between the turbochargers and the cylinder heads, along with new exhaust manifolds – the price for all of these upgrades is 13,526 Euros.

G-POWER X6 M TYPHOON S

Thanks to these modifications, the BMW X6 M can output 715 hp (725 PS / 533 kW) and 656 lb.-ft (890 Nm) from its tuned V8 power unit, which is 168 hp (170 PS / 125 kW) and 155 lb.-ft (210 Nm) more than the standard version. With these extra muscles under the hood, the SUV can now do the 0-60 mph sprint in only 4.2 seconds, before reaching a top speed of 186 mph (300 km/h).

Source: G-POWER

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G-POWER X6 M TYPHOON S Revealed

European-spec Fiat 500C

You probably know by now that the Fiat marquee has returned to the United States and the first model that made it to the dealerships is the funky 500. It seems that the Italian automaker will bring to this year's New York motor show the cabrio version of the car, dubbed 500C. Although nothing is certain at the moment, it will look just about the same as the European-spec model.

Some of the modifications that the car will feature over its European sibling include the retuned suspension, a reinforced body structure, along with various modifications for reducing the noise, vibrations and harshness. Similar with the coupe version, power for the cabrio will be provided by a 1.4-liter MultiAir engine that cranks out 101 hp (102 PS / 75 kW) and 98 lb.-ft (133 Nm) of torque. This engine can be paired to either a 5-speed manual gearbox or an optional 6-speed automatic transmission.

At the moment there is no information regarding the price tag for the Fiat 500C, but we do know that it will arrive in dealerships later this spring.

Source: KickingTires via WCF

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Fiat 500C Heading Sateside

Last week J.D. Power and Associates revealed the 2011 Vehicle Dependability Study where we find Ford's luxury division Lincoln on the first place, ahead of Lexus and Jaguar. In comparison to last year, the industry overall dependability has improved, but car manufacturers still have issues with new features and technologies.

The recent study takes into account the issues experienced in the last twelve months by more than 43,700 original owners of 2008MY cars. JD Power determines the overall dependability by the level of "Problems" encountered "Per 100 vehicles (PP100)". The lower the score, the higher the car's reliability. The good news for this year is that the overall car dependability averaged 151 PP100, which is the best since the creation of this comprehensive study.

Lincoln, to my surprise, was the top brand with a score of 101, 13 more in comparison to 2010. Ford's luxury division was followed by Lexus, Jaguar, Porsche and Toyota. The most reliable car is the Porsche 911, with only 68 problems per 100 units.

Toyota also did a pretty good job as six of their models came first in their segments, which is a record for the Japanese automaker: 4Runner, Prius, Sienna, Tundra, Tacoma and the Lexus RX, Scion xB. They were followed by Ford with their Fusion, Mustang models and the Lincoln MKZ and Navigator models. In third place came General Motors with the Buick Lucerne, Chevrolet Tahoe and the Cadillac DTS. Honda was up next with the CR-V, Fit and the Acura RL. Other cars that managed to top their categories were the very ugly BMW X3, the Mercedes-Benz CLK and the Mazda MX-5 (aka Miata).

Although this study is showing healthy signs in reliability, J.D. Power and Associates stresses that the car manufacturers still have a lot of problems with the electronic features, like audio, navigation and entertainment systems, along with the newest safety features implemented, like tire pressure monitoring systems.

Source: Carscoop

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2011 U.S. Vehicle Dependability Study Puts Lincoln On The No 1 Spot

Last week, a guy tried to recreate the commercial that made one of the most powerful statements in Lexus’s history: the wine glass ad. As you could imagine, he failed.

But Lexus heard about this and they said it could be done. So they took a 2011 LS460 and a 1990 LS400 into the garage and revved them up to 4000 rpm. So Lexus proved, once again, that it sticks to the promises it makes. Watch the video below:

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Lexus proves itself once again