And you might have thought the Super Sport will be the last Bugatti Veyron to come into our consciousness. Would’ve been perfect, really, especially since it now holds the title of fastest production car again.

But Swiss tuning firm Masonry won’t leave it at that, creating a one-off Bugatti Veyron that makes even Ferrari drivers look poor. Just check out the carbon fiber bits, copper bodywork and gold interior in this one.

Dubbed the Masonry Bugatti Veyron LINEA Vincero d’Oro, the car gets a revised front end with a shorter hood and new bumper. The stock headlights are swapped our in favor of V-shaped LED headlights. The car also gets a new aero kit, with rear air outlets and a new diffuser.

The striking bits feature polished carbon fiber bits with copper thread weaved into it. And the Midas touch has been used to color the wheels, door handles, grille, roof trim and fuel cap with gold. The golden atmosphere’s found inside as well with a gold mood LED lighting, seats, door trims and steering wheel. Talk about bling.

Tesla caused quite the excitement when it came out with the Roadster – probably the first true green mean machine – leading some to believe that the market’s ready for such a vehicle.

Too bad for the company, Tesla’s losses continue to mount, posting a loss of $38.5 million for Q2 of 2010. That makes it a string of losses since the company’s founding in 2003.

To be fair to Tesla, the Roadster has created a decent following and development does cost quite a lot. Tesla expects losses to continue until it comes out with a the Model-S by 2012.

Currently, Tesla’s making money selling the Roadster and electric tech to companies like Toyota and Daimler. Still, this makes you wonder whether electric performance vehicles are a viable product in today’s world.

So the Pagani Zonda R happily trounced the Ferrari FXX lap around the Nurburgring to claim the title of fastest production car to go around in just 6:47.

The car is powered by a 6.0L V12 that dishes out 740 hp and 524 lb-ft of torque. The Zonda R can go to 62 mph from standstill in 2.7 seconds and go all the way to 218 mph.

Here’s a mini-documentary featuring the awesome feat.

Now that Volvo’s owned by the Chinese, there seems to be no stopping the Asians to take on the long-time powerhouses in the luxury executive vehicles – the Germans.

Volvo announced that the company will be making an executive saloon car that will take on the likes of the Mercedes S-Class and the BMW 7-Series.

The new owners of Volvo (Chinese automaking giant Geely) want to see the company build flagship executive cars to compete directly with BMW and Mercedes.

So with a marquee like Volvo, we can all hope that Geely can stop making those pathetic Rolls-Royce imitations that they’ve been making.

Source: Autocar

Just when we thought that the Zonda will quietly fade away as Pagani develops its replacement, some other person decides to keep the Zonda magic alive by building a one-off Zonda dubbed the HH.

The car’s built by an anonymous US customer who got a Cinque and tweaked it to his hearts’ (and pocket’s) content.

The convertible utilizes many of the parts from the standard but replaces some with the lightest performance parts that can be fitted to the car. The parts include a carbon-titanium (titbon according to James May) tub and exhaust and carbon ceramic brakes.

The car’s powered by the Cinque’s AMG V12 mated to a proper manual transmission.

The Citroen DS3 might be the hot supermini today but the Fiat 500 will definitely go down in history as one of the most cheerful little cars of recent years.

Fiat’s not done milking the 500 yet, coming out with this – the BlackJack limited edition. Only 200 units of the BlackJack will ever be built though it can be bought online.

The BlackJack will feature 1.2 and 1.4L Sport configurations. The modifications are mostly aesthetic – matte black paint, 16-inch alloys in matte black, and special floor mats.

The 1.4L version will also get sporty red brake calipers. Sales of the car is expected to commence this week.

Interesting twists and turns this Formula 1 season. After years of not-so-impressive performances, Mark Webber might just find 2010 to be his year.

The Red Bull pilot manage to place first in the Hungarian GP to take the driver’s championship lead, wrestling it away from former leader Lewis Hamilton when the McLaren driver retired.

Joining Webber at the podium are Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso and Webber’s Red Bull teammate, Sebastien Vettel. The race was a bit of a disappointment for Vettel who just squandered six out of seven pole positions this season.

Alonso got a lucky break after Vettel was penalized for not maintaining the proper distance when the safety car went out.

The McLaren boys had a tough race, with Hamilton retiring and Jenson Button only managing to finish eight in the race.

So I guess there’s no use trying to change things. Even the upmarket sports car makers are embracing the green revolution and die-hard gearheads can only hope that it’s because of the legislative pressure.

Porsche is bent on delivering hybrids. The firm has confirms that the Porsche Panamera Hybrid will be launched next year. Not really sure how many people would be interested in getting the hybrid of the butt-ugly saloon but Porsche’s hyping it pretty good.

Porsche also confirms that the 918 Spyder hybrid supercar concept will be pushed into production. The car is set to be (sort-of) the successor to the fleet-topping Carrera GT. The 918 Spyder is hoped to be Porsche’s ultimate showcase of its hybrid technology.

And the figures aren’t shoddy too. Powered by a 500 bhp V8 and two electric motors that combine for 218 bhp allowing the car to sprint to 62 mph in 3.2 seconds and go all the way to 198 mph. The car also boasts of a mind-boggling 78 mpg.

Porsche claims that the concept has been well-received by the public and loyal customers hence the push.

MINI announced that it will be returning to the World Rally Championship next year. Their car? A WRC version of the Countryman and the team will be run by British motorsport group Prodrive.

The WRC just recently imposed a new 1.6L turbo, four-wheel drive regulations so the Countryman WRC will be limited to such specifications. MINI has been planning for its comeback for “several years” now.

The company aims to use its racing heritage to boost its motorsport profile. In turn, the publicity can help bolster sales of the production cars.

Testing is set to begin later this year. No word yet on who will be tapped to drive the Countryman WRC but Marcus Gronholm has been tipped to be behind the wheel.

And Ferrari did it again. They made Rubens Barrichello do it for Michael Schumacher and they made Felipe Massa do it for Fernando Alonso in the recent German GP.

Ferrari should have been content with the one-two finish but they had to make Alonso come out on top. The pass came on lap 49. Alonso easily overtook Massa in turn six.

Ferrari race engineer Rob Smedley allegedly told Massa, “Fernando is faster than you. Can you confirm you understood that message?” While Massa argues that his decision to let Alonso pass was his own, the message from Smedley does come off as a violation.

The case has now been forwarded to the World Motor Sport Council and Ferrari’s slapped with a $100,000 fine. It’s not as dramatic as the dead-heat attempt done by Barrichello and Schumacher but it’s twice as ugly for Ferrari.

Check out the meaner version of Merc’s range-topping coupe – the Mercedes CL63 AMG – just around a month since the company revealed the updated standard version. The car is set to slug it out with the likes of the Bentley Continental GT.

Powering the car is a new 5.5L twin-turbocharged V8, replacing the naturally-aspirated 6.2L V8 engine. The new engine dishes out a mean 536 bhp and 590 lb-ft of torque. That’s 18 more than the old car. An sports pack can up the numbers to 563 bhp and 633 lb-ft.

Mated to the engine is an AMG seven-speed multi-clutch transmission that’s based on the seven-speed automatic in the old CL63. The powertrain allows the car to get from standstill to 62 mph in just 4.5 seconds and a limited 155 mph. The sports pack can trim the time by 0.1 second and go all the way to 186 mph.

Added features are an automatic start/stop system and a brake regeneration system that aids the alternator during acceleration. Those green tech gives the CL63 AMG a return of 26.9 mpg which isn’t bad for a 5.5L V8.

It’s the comeback of the street racer classics. First, Toyota decided to collaborate with Subaru to create the FT-86 – their supposed replacement for the classic Corolla GT/AE86 drift machine. Then Mazda decided that they’ll come out with a follow up to the RX-7.

Nissan will not be standing by idly and insiders report that the company is considering creating a replacement for the 200SX. For the longest time, Nissan focused on developing the higher-end Z cars and the GT-R but with competitors poised to create cars for the lower end of the sports car market, Nissan has to react..

The 200SX will be slotted below the 370Z but will sport a rear-wheel drive platform. The challenge for Nissan, though, is to find a capable platform that will be able to match the performance that they need.

I thought it was quite fantastic that Top Gear a huge star like Andy Garcia drive in the Kia Cee’d last week. Now, BBC has announced that a couple of Holywood stars will be appear next week.

And as far as star power is concerned, there are few that can probably trump Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Both will be dropping by the Top Gear hangar to be the Stars in the Reasonably-Priced Car segment. How cool is that?

The two will undoubtedly be plugging their latest film, Knight and Day which will be premiering in London. Clarkson will definitely have his hands full.

“We’ve have never, ever had two bigger guests,” said a statement on the TG website.

Now we can see how well Prius drivers cope with the Cee’d.

Just a thought – is the manual transmission dying? Many other writers have been writing about so-called manual ‘box death watches and that the auto might just be a de facto standard in the industry in the near future.

I’ve always considered the manual as the “proper” gearbox. I haven’t driven anything with a flappy paddle gearbox do for me, the control of the traditional manual is absolutely tops. In addition, manuals for the longest time offer better economy over automatic.

Though, I have to admit that my new i10 sports an automatic gearbox. No one can probably contest the ease and comfort that a automatic gearbox gives. The auto in that car is crap, I should say, and it gives a pretty bad return on a small car.

However, with dual-clutch transmission starting to give better economy and even better control over the stick shift, only fewer than 1% of drivers go for a stick these days.

Via: USA Today

Mazda’s been teasing us with news of the possible RX-7 replacement and here’s another unconfirmed rumor – the replacement might get a turbo.

The new car is rumored to be badged as the RX-9 and will continue to pack the Renesis rotary engine from the old RX-7 and the RX-8. This is despite the RX-8 ending its production run and has been criticized for poor torque and poor fuel economy.

Still, Mazda is looking into slapping on some added tech to help the engine deliver better torque and economy. One option is to slap on a turbo, an electric turbocharger even, to help the car cope.

As far as the design would go, Mazda is looking into using its Nagare design language on the car.

There’s nothing like reading news about super pricey supercars getting effed up. We do find it sort of amusing (even hilarious) when it’s because of middle-aged millionaire who have nary the driving skill for such beasts crashing them.

But sometimes, it can be the automaker’s fault. How many Lambos have we seen burnt to a crisp? Now, we’re not sure yet if this was Ferrari’s fault or the drivers but check out the charred remains of what used to be a brand spanking new Ferrari 458 Italia.

This happened in France. The engine caught fire after the car was taken through a mountain pass. We can all just wonder if the 570 hp 4.5L V8 was to blame for the car’s demise.

Not really a huge fun of larger cars but BMW fans and CUV fans would probably get a kick of the leaked images (thanks to the internet) of the new BMW X3 M. Yup, that M badge makes this just a bit more bad-ass.

Performance-wise, the car boasts of a lowered sports suspension, stiffer dampers, and variable sports steering. Lowered suspensions – now that does ruin the point of getting a taller vehicle.

On the outside, the X3 gets a full M body kit with side skirts and sporty bumpers. The wheel arches have also been modified wheel arches to fit the 19-inch alloy rims.

Inside, the car gets a leather sports steering wheel with flappy paddle gear shifters. The front seats can also be had with Pearlpoint cloth-leather trim.

The normal X3 will come out later this year and the M Sport package by early 2011.

Lotus has got a new business plan and it’s bent on sticking to it. Lotus announced previously that the company is intent on moving upmarket.

For the longest time, Lotus made its keep building small performance vehicles. Only recently did they create a larger supercar in the guise of the Evora. But a new supercar to be slotted above the Evora is on the way. A concept is even due for unveiling at the Paris Motor Show.

Lotus is still pretty cryptic with the details of the new car but with its goal of taking on the likes of Ferrari, Lambo and Aston Martin, we can all expect that it will be interesting how much oomph Lotus can bring to the rumored Esprit replacement.

With an ex-Ferrari man on Danny Bahar running the commercial side of things, the intent will be there. Fans can just hope they can deliver technically.

Fiat’s got it right so far in creating awesome small cars. The 500′s selling so well. Now, Fiat’s planning to add more stages of tune to the new 900cc turbo two-cylinder TwinAir engine.

The first one will be found in the updated 500 later this year. The engine will dish out 84 bhp and will be priced like the 99-bhp 1.4L gasoline. There might be a 15 hp difference but the TwinAir promises to be 30% more efficient.

The other will dish out 64 bhp and corresponds with the current 1.2L output and the third will dish out a whopping 105 bhp to match the range-topping 1.4L.

105 bhp from a 1.0L? Very nice.

So when was it when four on the floor’s considered bad-ass? Now, the game’s into upping the number of speeds in the transmission for optimal performance and fuel efficiency.

Today, seven-speed auto boxes are pretty common but Mercedes-Benz plans to up the ante by developing a nine-speed transmission.

This new transmission will be mated to large displacement engines to give the powertrain better improvements in economy and emissions.

The idea goes, the more gears, the less revs the engine needs to get into speed. The less you put your foot down to get revs, the more economical.

However, the number of gears have an engineering threshold. Merc claims nine is the maximum possible technically as well as acceptable to drivers.

I could just hope that Shelby SuperCars give the whole speed record thing a rest.

Bugatti just recently reclaimed the speed record for a production vehicle through an effort in the new Veyron Super Sport model that clocked 267 mph.

The Veyron initially lost out to SSC’s Ultimate Aero in 2007 when the Aero blasted the Veyron’s former record by clocking a 256.23 top speed.

But now that the Italians have reclaimed the title, the American car firm is not intent on producing a new car and is prepared to push the limits with the new car.

“We’ve been working on a new project to debut before the end of the summer. Not much can be said at this time except that we’ll be upping the ante on all fronts,” Shelby said in a statement.

And you think Korean cars’ 5-year “standard” warranties are more than competitive. Watch out, ’cause Chevy’s about to throw in a sneaky left hook at everyone in the industry by offering an 8-year warranty for the Volt.

General Motor’s confident since the battery “exceeded (their) performance targets and is ready to hit the road,” according to GM director Micky Bly.

But before you start considering getting the Volt, keep in mind that the 8-year/100,000-mile warranty will only cover the car’s battery pack.

The Volt is GM’s answer to the blossoming electric car industry with hopes of bringing the fight to rival Toyota and put a dent at the Prius’ hybrid dominance.

While, it’s the longest-ever in any electric car, what’s the point of having your batteries covered while the rest of the car won’t?

Sometimes, you just have to know when to shut up. That’s a lesson Bruno Senna just had to learn the hard way. HRT F1 booted out Senna from his position after he erroneously sent a scathing email to his boss.

Reports say that Senna made very harsh criticisms on HRT boss Colin Kolles’ handle on things only to send the email to Kolles. Maybe Senna doesn’t use Gmail or forgot about the undo feature.

HRT replaced Senna and gave his driver’s seat to Japanese driver Sakon Yamamoto for the British GP. Initially, it was played as a business move to tap revenue streams from Japan.

It’s inevitable. A faster version of Ferrari’s new road car – the 458 – is coming and it’s finally here. Check out the new 458 Challenge. It’s basically a meaner and faster version of the Italia tweaked to participate in various race series starting 2011.

The Challenge packs the same direct-injection 4.5L V8 engine in the regular car that dishes out 562 bhp and 9000 rpm. The Formula 1-style gearbox has been revised to feature racier gear ratios and

The car’s put on a diet too with panel thickness reduced and increased use of carbon fiber and Lexan (plexiglass). The suspension’s stiffer, a lower ride height, and Brembo brakes from the 599XX.

Its performance promises to be even better than the old F430 Challenge car, lapping the Fiorano test track in just 1:16.5 – two seconds quicker than the F430 Challenge.

Toyota head honcho Akio Toyoda said that he’s okay with reviving the Supra warhorse though claims that there might be some opposition from some in the company.

The Supra had been Toyota’s sports GT car until the company opted to stop its production in 2002. The company then refocused on producing mass production people cars.

However, Toyota’s giving sports cars another take this time around with the development of the Subaru-co-developed FT-86/FRS replacement for the old RWD AE86. A new MR2 is also under development.

The Supra’s scheduled for a 2013/2014 launch and is on track. The new car will most likely pack a V6 hybrid powertrain.