Vilner Poshes Up Classic Land Rover Defenders

Land Rover's timeless Defender is a rugged, durable and extremely capable off roader, and as such, it falls behind when it comes to luxury. But where there's a will (and plenty of cash to go around…) there's a way.
Vilner, which is a Bulgarian design studio, said it was approached by a "Russian oligarch" (a.k.a. a business magnate) who wanted to turn the wick up on a short- and long-wheelbase Land Rover Defender by customizing their interiors.
The Bulgarian tuner accepted the challenge and revamped the cabins of both models with boatloads of high-quality nappa leather and alcantara, while also adding sound insulation throughout the interiors.
A new infotainment system with a 600W audio receiver and a 15-inch LCD screen hooked up to a DVD player, along with LEDs for the instrument panel complete the upgrades.

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Bentley Motors to Auction Unique Collector's Items

An array of one-off items created by artisans from the tooling, woodshop and styling teams at Bentley Motors are heading to the auction block to raise money for The Prince’s Trust, which is a youth charity that provides practical and financial support to 14 to 30-year-olds.
The graduates from Bentley Motors have handcrafted a variety of collector's items ranging from display objects such as a chess-set with pieces tooled from aluminium set on a veneered board, to an impressive table created from a polished V8 engine from the Mulsanne and a cutlery-set engraved with the Bentley emblemcommissioned by Robert Welch.
Bentley says that around twenty different pieces will go on sale, with all of them, aside from the Robert Welch cutlery set, having been designed and assembled on-site at the Bentley factory in Crewe.
Michael Straughan, Bentley’s Member of the Board for Manufacturing commented: “The design brief for the auction was to create a unique and desirable item based upon the core materials, parts and processes that are used to build cars such as the Mulsanne and the Continental GT."
All items will be auctioned online at www.bentleybespokeauction.com with bidding to commence on September 1.

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ABT's New Audi RS3 Sportback Packs

German tuning firm ABT Sportsline has decided that the latest Audi RS3 Sportback requires a bit more punch and has prepared a new power package for the hot hatch from Ingolstadt.
In factory outfit, the four-wheel-drive model is powered by a 2.5-liter turbocharged 5-cylinder engine generating 340-ponies and 450 Nm (331 lb-ft) of torque, good enough for a 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) acceleration time of 4.6 seconds.
ABT offers buyers a choice of two power kits that lift output to 420-horses or 470-horses and a menacing 630Nm (465 lb-ft).
Other modifications include a custom-made lightweight exhaust system and a set of 19-inch ABT wheels available in numerous designs and shades.

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GM's New App Lets you Call your Car

OnStar has announced a new mobile application for GM vehicles fitted with its RemoteLink system. The app allows drivers to search for a destination on their smartphone and send it directly to their cars via text message or voice mail. The system can store up to five endpoints.Once the driver starts up his or her car, the route will be readily available and navigation will be activated.
“RemoteLink’s navigation enhancement offers our customers another choice in how they get directions, whether they’re in their car, on their computer or using their compatible smartphone”, said OnStar’s director of advanced system design Steve Schwinke.
The enhancement is already available for download on Android and iPhone app stores.
So in a few years you will text or call your car, which by then will be driving itself, and order it to come and pick you up. Sounds a bit like a cheesy David Hasselhoff ‘80s TV series, unfortunately without the front mounted scanner bar or, most importantly, the money dispenser…

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Bob Lutz Returns to GM as Advisor

No matter the age, a petrol head like Bob Lutz can't stay away too long from the car industry. In fact, even though GM's former vice president and product czar had retired in the May 2010, the 79-year-old has been providing advice to the firm's executives without pay ever since.Now, GM decided to formally hire Lutz as an advisor to provide counsel to the senior leadership team of the company.
"Lutz will be available to executives on a part-time consultancy basis effective immediately," GM said in a short statement. "He brings a wealth of experience built over the course of more than 40 years in the industry, including two stints at GM. He has also been a senior executive at Ford, Chrysler, BMW and was CEO of Exide Batteries," the company added.
Lutz's advisory work at GM is expected to include product development as well as marketing and communications.
"In most cases, it'll just be reinforcing the direction they're already on. I couldn't be more pleased with the way the company is being run, with the way the products are being marketed, with the pricing, and, of course, I'm very familiar with the future product," Lutz told the Detroit Free Press. "I think a lot of it will be saying, 'Wow, that's good, keep it up,' and occasionally I'll offer some critical comments."

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Video: Jet Skiing on the Roads of New York

Stuck in a neighborhood with enormous volumes of water doesn't exactly sound like an ideal setting for entertainment, or at least that is what most people would like to believe.
Some folks, however, found a way to make the best of a really bad situation. Like this guy who took out his jet ski and had a blast on the empty (pun intended) roads of Oceanside, New York after the passing of Irene.
Click past the jump to watch him in action.

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McLaren Preparing New Models Including an MP4-12C Cabrio and a Lamborghini Aventador Rival

When the launch of your first and your second road models are separated by close to two decades (19 years to be exact), then you hardly qualify as a car manufacturer.

That is the case with McLaren: production of the extraordinary F1 begun in 1992 and stopped almost 100 cars later in 1998. Deliveries of its second production model, the MP4-12C, have just begun. Therefore, McLaren may be a big name in Formula 1, but it lacks Ferrari’s cache and experience in production models.

The Woking-based company plans to change this –and soon. The MP4-12C is just the first of a range of supercars that McLaren Automotive plans to launch in the next years –hence the new £40m ($63 million) McLaren Production Center factory and the brand’s rapidly expanding dealership network around the world.

Furthermore, as we reported, the company is planning to spend no less than $1 billion in the next few years to develop its new range. The brand’s managing director Anthony Sheriff said that McLaren has already spent £250 million ($400 million) in building 73 MP4-12C prototypes and covering more than 625,000 miles (1.0 million km) in development.

Obviously, you don’t make this kind of investment for just one model. McLaren even built eight crash prototypes to ensure that the carbon fiber monocell tub met all global safety standards.

That’s because it will underpin not just the MP4-12C, but all future McLaren models which will also feature a mid-engine layout. It may cost more to develop, but in the end, it proves more economical because you don’t have to invest in developing a new chassis or tooling equipment.

The 3.8-liter V8, 600HP MP4-12C, code-named P11, is positioned in the middle of McLaren’s range, rivaling models such as Ferrari’s 458 Italia and Lamborghini’s Gallardo. So far, it has proven a worthy, and in the track at least more capable, adversary. Moreover, McLaren made some last minute changes.

According to a report from Motor Trend, the next model in McLaren’s range bears the code-name P12 and is placed above the MP4-12C, as a successor to the 1992 F1 and a rival to hypercars such as Lamborghini’s Aventador.

It will deliver 800HP or possibly even more, but its weight will be similar to that of the MP4-12C because it will use carbon fiber in the crash structures and the body panels, which in the 12C are made of aluminum.

It will also feature more aerodynamic and electronic aids, such as active aero and brake steer, making sure that the handling matches the performance.

The P12 will be followed by the P13, placed below the MP4-12C and intended to rival cars such as the Porsche 911 Turbo and Audi’s V10 R8.

Each model will also have different variants: for example, the 12C already has the GT3 racing version, and an open top is on the designing board. Sheriff insists that all new cars “will be true McLarens. Everything we do will have performance and handling that’s the best in its segment.”

How many cars does McLaren intend to make? Its annual capacity doesn’t exceed 4,000 units. So if you subtract the 1,300 MP4-12Cs and, as sources within the company claim, 2,500 P13s, that leaves just 200 of the top of the line P12 per year.

When can we expect the new McLarens? Sooner than you’d think: the P12 is said to be shown in 2013, and the P13 just one year later.

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2012 Toyota Camry Appears in Different Form in Ukraine

After this week's world premiere of the North American market 2012 Camry, Toyota is now preparing the debuts of its mid-size sedan in other regions of the world. First up is the Ukrainian version, which will most likely be offered in the same form in other surrounding markets including Russia.

While both iterations of the 2012 Toyota Camry share the same body and platform, the Ukrainian model sports a different and more prominent front-end design with bespoke headlamp units, bumper, hood, grille and front fenders.

The profile remains the same while at the rear Toyota's designers extended the tail lamps and restyled the deck lid that now features a subtle lip.

Inside, the changes seem to be limited to the region-specific trim and color options plus a different glove box design.

Toyota Ukraine said the new 2012 Camry will be offered locally with a choice of 2.5-liter four-cylinder and 3.5-liter six-cylinder gasoline engines, and prices starting from US$33,050, with more details to be available before the end of the year.

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