Moss and Dewis recreate Jaguar history by starting the 2012 Mille Miglia!

60 years after they tackled the 1952 Mille Miglia in a C-type Jaguar equipped with a prototype disc-brake system, Sir Stirling Moss and his co-driver, Norman Dewis, today recreated history by taking the start of the 2012 event, now the world’s most prestigious regularity rally.

Once again, the pair were behind the wheel of a Jaguar C-type, this car being chassis XKC 005 – the very car which, later in 1952, Sir Stirling Moss drove to victory in a sports car race in Reims thereby recording the first ever competition win for a disc-braked car.

Toyota to increase V6 engine production in Alabama

Toyota announced it will expand its Huntsville, Ala. engine facility to increase North American production of V6 engines. The approximately $80 million investment will bring total plant investment to more than $700 million. Approximately 125 new jobs will be created, increasing employment nearly 10 percent to 1,150.

The expansion will allow Toyota Motor Manufacturing Alabama, Inc. (TMMAL) to build an additional 216,000 engines each year, boosting total V6 annual capacity to 362,000. A new 300,000 sq. ft. building will be constructed. The increased production will begin in March 2014.

Bentley Continental W12 and V8 models join historic cars in Italy

W.O. Bentley’s gift for creating cars that combined the speed of a thoroughbred racing machine with an enviable reputation for strength and comfort, allowing them to effortlessly cover hundreds of miles, is set to be underlined once again at the 2012 Mille Miglia when two 4½ litre Bentley Blowers take on the classic 1,000 mile endurance test.

Despite having a combined age of over 160 years, the Bentley Blowers are showing no signs of slowing down. The 4½ litre Supercharged ‘Birkin Blower’ – raced extensively by the legendary Le Mans winner and Bentley Boy Tim Birkin – has already successfully completed the Mille Miglia in 2005 and 2011.

Four Toyota GT86 and one Lexus LFA to compete in the Nurburgring 24 Hours this weekend

The Nürburgring has played an important role in the development of Toyota’s latest generation of high-performance cars and this weekend the daunting German circuit will see the Lexus LFA and GT86 demonstrating their race pace in the 40th running of the ADAC 24 Hours race.

Gazoo Racing will be back at the famous Nordschleife to field the LFA (in the SP8 class) and two new race-prepared GT86 (SP3 class). The team personnel, including technicians and drivers, will include Toyota employees from Japan, taking part to hone their skills and craftsmanship, gaining experience that will feed back directly into the work developing future vehicles.

New 2013 BMW 135is. Continues BMW’s “s” model tradition

In the long standing tradition of high performance BMW “is” models, BMW today announced an enhanced performance version of the 1 Series Coupe and Convertible called the BMW 135is. The 2013 135is Coupe and Convertible focus the qualities that made the 135i such a success amongst driving enthusiasts – with more performance, enhanced sound and dynamic design details. Both the new 135is Coupe and Convertible are scheduled to arrive in BMW Center showrooms this fall with retail pricing set at $44,145 and $48,845 respectively (including $895 destination and handling).

Both models are equipped with BMW’s award winning TwinPower Turbo 3.0-liter inline-6 engine (N55) featuring Valvetronic throttle-less intake technology, direct injection and a single twin-scroll turbocharger. For the 135is, the engine has been tuned to increase peak horsepower to 320 hp (+20 hp increase) and 317 lb-ft of torque (+17 lb.ft) while maintaining the same emissions level and MPG ratings of the 135i. A Performance exhaust system complements the increased engine performance and provides a sporty exhaust tone. The engine cooling system has been upgraded to match the additional performance output by adding a larger, and more powerful radiator fan and an auxiliary radiator.

Development of plug-in hybrid Porsche 918 Spyder super sports car enters next phase

The Porsche 918 Spyder is on the road. Driving trials of the super sports car of the future has progressed a step further with completion of the initial prototypes. The 918 Spyder will go into production at the end of September 2013 as planned, with the first customers receiving their vehicles before the end of that year.

“What we are doing with the 918 Spyder is redefining driving fun, efficiency and performance,” said Wolfgang Hatz, Member of the Executive Board Research and Development of Porsche AG.

All-new 2012 Toyota Yaris

With sales up 140 percent in April and 70 percent for the year, the 2012 subcompact Toyota Yaris proves to be an outstanding choice for performance, comfort, fuel efficiency and safety.

The all-new Yaris comes in three-door and five-door liftback models, with available five-speed manual or four-speed electronic automatic transmissions. Powered by an efficient 106-hp four-cylinder engine with Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i), it’s EPA-rated to achieve 30 mpg city and 38 mpg highway with the manual and 30 city/35 highway with the automatic.