CHEVROLET CORVETTE ZR1

THE DETAILS
Price: $106,520
Powertrain: 6.2L/638-hp*/604-lb-ft*/supercharged V-8/6-sp manual
Vital Stats: 0-60: 3.3 sec/quarter: 11.2 sec/EPA: 14/20 mpg. *SAE certified.

Stop by CorvetteGuys.com and check out their large selection of ZR1 Wheels.

AUDI R8 4.2 FSI QUATTRO R TRONIC

WHY IT'S ON OUR HIT PARADE: We'd love it for design bravura alone, but the R8 runs like a Wall Street profiteer, carves turns with the finesse of Michelangelo working marble, and treats its two occupants to the velvet touch of a Golden Door Spa.

COOL FACT: Actor Alex Rocco, who awoke to find a bloody luxocar grille sharing his bed in 2008's famous R8 Super Bowl commercial, played Moe Greene in the ad's inspiration, 1972's "The Godfather."

SUM UP: The Area 51 supercar.

THE DETAILS
Price: $126,600
Powertrain: 4.2L/420-hp/317-lb-ft/V-8/6-sp auto-clutch manual
Vital Stats: 0-60: 4.1sec/ Quarter: 12.6 sec/EPA: 13/18 mpg

Lexus RX450h the new third generation RX

THE CAR THAT LIVES AT THE INTERSECTION OF DOING SOMETHING GOOD FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND DOING SOMETHING NICE FOR YOURSELF.

The RX is the best-selling Lexus, and one in five sold is the hybrid version. It’s no surprise, then, that with the new third generation RX—the second to have a hybrid powertrain—Lexus is treading very carefully.The design is a careful evolution, both inside and out. The car is slightly longer and wider but manages to look sleeker than before. The interior retains the traditional Lexus virtues
of comfort (on even bigger, cushier seats) and refinement (with available semi-aniline leather for a still more luxurious feel). Lexus has joined the Germans by adopting an iDrivestyle
controller instead of a touch screen for its optional navigation system. But rather than a knob you twist and push, the Lexus control (called Remote Touch) works more like a joystick that you move from side to side or forward and back, and then make a selection by pressing buttons on the side of the unit. It takes some getting used to.



Other new options don’t require a learning curve, such as the head-up display and the curbview
camera; the latter is located in the right-side mirror, and at low speeds it shows an image of
what’s alongside the car. The hybrid model supplements its previous ECO indicator, which lights up when you’re driving efficiently, with a selectable ECO mode, which changes the responsiveness of the throttle and instructs the climate control to use the A/C compressor more judiciously. There’s also an EV mode, which extends the threshold before the engine starts, up to a still modest 8 to 10 mph.

The changes aren’t dramatic, but Lexus has given its cushy suburban hybrid a slightly greener tinge. Lexus engineers identify four elements that underpin the brand’s hybrids: performance, quiet refinement, low emissions, and fuel economy. In this redesign, the latter received the most emphasis.Whereas the standard RX350’s 3.5-liter V-6 is little changed (adding 5 hp for a total of 275 hp),the RX450h got a whole new gasoline engine. Replacing the old 3.3-liter is a new 3.5-liter V-6 that runs on the more efficient Atkinson cycle. EPA numbers for the front-wheel-drive RX hybrid are up by 1 mpg city and 3 mpg highway, to 28/27 mpg. The all-wheel-drive version adds 2 mpg all around and is now rated at 28/26 mpg.



Despite the increased fuel economy, the RX pecking order has been preserved, with the hybrid
again out muscling the standard RX350. The hybrid’s total power output is up by 27 hp, to 295 hp, and both the gasoline engine and the electric motors make more torque. Against that, however, is the car’s weight gain of more than 400 pounds. Still, the RX hybrid accelerates quickly and smoothly. Once again, the all-wheel-drive model adds a third motor/generator, which is the sole source of propulsion for the rear wheels. In either version, the start-up and shutdown of the gasoline V-6 is seamless, but in steady-state cruising on level ground, there is
the faintest surging as the batteries switch between charging and assisting. In the chassis
department, the new RX is treated to a wider track and a new rear suspension—control
arms replace struts and intrude less into the cargo hold. There’s also an optional sport suspension, but it’s not likely to keep BMW X5 engineers up nights. The electric power steering, now on both RX models, is better than most, linear and not over boosted.

BMW 730 Ld SE Carbon

Find a brand new or used BMW 730ld Carbon Exclusive saloon. Search for dealers offering low online prices on new, nearly new and approved BMW used 730ld carbon saloons including the 730ld SE Stratus and 730ld SE. Many of our preferred dealers offer competitive finance† deals and organise fast UK delivery to your door. Search Carbag for your next luxury tourer or saloon; supermarket prices with first class service.
BMW 730 Ld SE Carbon
Cylinder specific anti-knock control
Digital diesel electronics (DDE)
Six-cylinder in-line diesel engine with four-valve technology
Six-speed automatic gearbox with Steptronic
19 - inch Ten-spoke alloy wheel style 231
Servotronic steering
Driver and passenger, front and side airbags
Head and side airbags front and rear
Alarm system with remote control and engine immobiliser
Anti-lock braking system (ABS)
Anti-roll bars, front and rear
Brake lights with LED technology
Dynamic stability control (DSC incl. DTC)
Front foglamps
Headlight wash, high-pressure system for cleaning headlights
High-beam assistant
Multi-level cruise control
Rear park distance control
Parking brake with auto-hold function, electomechanical
Rain sensor with automatic headlight activation
Seat belts - Automatic seat belt height adjustment, front
Seat belts - Rear seat belt system with three three-point seat belts
Seat belts with inertia reels at the front with pyrotechnical belt latch tensioner, adaptive belt force limiter and belt restrainer
Side impact protection and roof crossbar
Tyre puncture warning system
Xenon headlights
Rear child seat ISOFIX attachments
Part electric seat adjustment
All round anti-corrosion system
Comfort exit stepless door brakes
Exterior mirrors- aspheric, tinted, electrically adjustable, body-coloured and heated
Heated screen washer nozzles
Automatic air conditioning with individual driver and front passenger controls (including automatic air recirculation)
Centre arm rests, front and rear
Info display, analogue instruments combined with liquid crystal display
Rear-view mirror, automatically dimming
Sunblind - rear windscreen, electric adjustment
Window lifts front and rear, electrical, with open/close fingertip control, anti-trap facility and comfort closing function all round
Electric steering column adjustment with memory
Multi-function controls on steering wheel
Single CD player, radio, six speakers & AUX input point
Professional navigation system
On-board computer
Revised iDrive controller & control display (with 6.5-inch monitor)
Voice control
Metallic paintwork

Toyota Verso crams three rows into Corolla-sized package

Toyota officially unveiled the latest version of its slick looking, Euro-centric people mover at the Geneva Motor Show this week. Called the Verso (not to be confused with the Nissan Versa), the three-row, five-door hatchback wears handsome sheetmetal with lines that are definitely "in family" for Toyota. For as much as we like the outside, the instrument panel has Scion disease. Center gauges. Please stop it. That third row also has severely limited legroom, but it's still a neat trick to fit so many perches within a Corrola-sized footprint, even if some are occasional-use grade. The Verso will likely delight for bopping across the moorland, but you might need to have your legs removed so you'll fit in back.

BMW Alpina B6 GT3

BMW tuner par excellence Alpina is returning to the motor racing scene for the first time in two decades with the new B6 GT3, which the pseudo-works firm unveiled for the first time here at the Geneva Motor Show. Based on the 6 Series, the B6 GT3 features a unique radial supercharger fitted to its 4.4-liter V8 to drive 530 horsepower to the rear wheels – in proper Bavarian style – in what looks to be a compelling competition package.

Alpina itself will be fielding a pair in the European FIA GT3 series and at "selected 24-hour endurance races" (Nurburgring, Le Mans... we're looking at you), but the B6 GT3 will also be offered to private teams. Alpina has fitted adjustable everything to the car and a full array of electronic control systems to ensure that gentlemen racers – not just professional drivers – will be able to handle it and so that the car will qualify for a wide array of racing series. We're looking forward to seeing the green menace tackling the Green Hell soon, but in the meantime had to content ourselves with checking it out at Alpina's show stand here in Geneva where it was displayed alongside the new B7 Bi-Turbo, which we'll have for you shortly.

Porsche celebrates 250,000th Cayenne

the Cayenne has been nothing short of a blockbuster sales success for the German automaker that's normally associated with lightweight, technologically-advanced sportscars. To drive that point home even further, Porsche has just announced that the 250,000th Cayenne has rolled down the assembly line at its plant in Leipzig, Germany. This vehicle happens to be destined for Austria, but Porsche is quick to point out that the SUV gives it access to markets like China, Russia, Latin America and the Middle East that would typically shy away from the brand's sportscar roots.

The specific Cayenne to hit the quarter-million mark happens to be powered by a six-cylinder diesel engine, another stark departure for the automaker that had once worshiped only at the high-rpm altar of petrol.