Arnold Schwarzenegger gets a $250k Mercedes Unimog

From yahoo;
“Just a day ago we were reminiscing about that time former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into the law the most sweeping curbs on greenhouse gases in the country, rules that drive the federal government’s march toward a 54.5 mpg average by 2025. About the same time, Schwarzenegger was in California picking up his new ride, a five-ton Mercedes-Benz Unimog pickup customized to a value estimated at $250,000. The earth underneath its tires will be safe, all right.

Schwarzenegger, the 65-year-old actor and bit player in the recent “The Expendables 2,” has long been known as a fan of military-grade trucks, and was a chief reason AM General and General Motors eventually built civilian versions of the Hummer military vehicle. During his time as governor, Schwarzenegger changed his stripes, touting fuel-efficient models and even converting one of his trucks to run on hydrogen.

But after leaving office and some changes in his personal life, Schwarzenegger seems to be exploring the world of high-end machinery again; we caught him earlier thisy month checking out the field at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. Thursday’s pickup of his diesel Unimog followed a test drive in Germany of the Unimog with its customizer. These trucks aren’t sold by Mercedes in the United States, but see duty around the rest of the world as construction, forestry and military haulers, and are renowned for their off-road prowess.

While the $250,000 figure in customizing by German firm Mertec sounds high, it might also involve a fair bit of legal work; newer Unimog U1300s generally aren’t legal on American roads; they can barely top 60 mph, and getting one registered for public driving in California may have taken months. Then again, having an ex-governor as a customer couldn’t have hurt.”

More pics here; http://www.benzworld.org/forums/unimog/1663091-arnold-schwarzenegger-visits-museum-unimog-u1300.html

Lamborghini Urus Concept in Pebble Beach

From autoblog;
“We crawled all over the Lamborghini Urus Concept, and even took the time to open the doors and sit behind the wheel of the utility vehicle at “The Quail: A Motorsport Gathering” during the festivities at Pebble Beach this past weekend. While there has still been no official announcement of whether or not the concept has received a thumbs-up for production, all indications are that the program is moving forward for a launch around 2015.

As we have mentioned previously, this Lamborghini is expected to be built on modified PL73 architecture (underpinning the next-gen Audi Q7, Volkswagen Touareg, Porsche Cayenne and Bentley EXP 9 F Concept). Our bet is that it will be powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8, an engine shared with the new Bentley Continental GT V8, making in excess of 600 horsepower (possibly with the help of hybrid technology). With a targeted curb weight of 4,400 pounds, it will not only be the most powerful SUV on the market but one of the lightest and quickest, too (the BMW X6 M has 555 horsepower and weighs 5,324 pounds).

Rub elbows with the well-to-do on the Monterey Peninsula, and their excitement seems to indicate the market is ready for 3,000-plus copies of a $180,000-plus sport-ute from the Italian exotic sports car maker. The fiery Urus Concept seems to have everything going in its favor. Now, all it needs is a green light.”

More pics and video here; http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/22/lamborghini-urus-concept-is-warmly-welcomed-at-pebble-beach/

2012 Audi RS4 Avant [w/video]

From autoblog;
“This is the B8 generation of the Audi A4 and, as with any A4 generation, there’s no small wagon quite as scintillating as an RS4 Avant. The U.S. has never been gifted with this heavy hauler, and that is just one of life’s many injustices. Even with the previous B7 generation that Audi pushed hard to popularize worldwide, the stunning Avant never came to the U.S. In fact, the only wagon we’ll be getting for some time from Audi is the A4 Allroad, which feels like a token consolation prize.

This all seems an odd choice by Ingolstadt since the U.S. was quite a good market for the last RS4, but there’s rationalization in the air. Audi is building the RS4 only in the Avant variation, while it’s sticking coupe-wise with the RS5, then later adding an RS5 convertible. So we’ll still get our fair share of Rennsport in two-door form.

But if you studied your Audi-ology, the small RS Avant is where it’s at.

We were allowed onto the precious Red Bull Ring in bucolic Austria for many laps in the now-450-horsepower (was 414-hp through 2008) third-gen RS4 Avant. The company’s familiar 4.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 still produces 317 pound-feet between 4,000 and 6,000 rpm. Though this new draggin’ wagon weighs 187 pounds more than last generation’s already hefty model, a new crown-gear center differential with torque vectoring (introduced with the current RS5), its 40:60 default torque split, added horsepower at the still-glorious 8,250-rpm peak and improved options that pep up the steering and dynamics make this Avant feel tremendously more happy being pushed around than any of the previous RS4s.

In our jobs as testers, we’ve frankly been driving an inordinate number of single- and bi-turbocharged sporting cars lately, not enough supercharged ones, and only the occasional singing naturally aspirated road rod. So it was great to rev this car’s free-breathing eight-cylinder along the straights and turns of a track well suited to the densely packed Quattro sausage, ever moreso because our last experience in the B7 RS4 Avant was on a thoroughly inappropriate obstacle-course type “track” marked by cones that we felt like killing. It succeeded only in showing how inappropriate any RS car is on a DMV motorcycle circuit.

Having said that, the Red Bull Ring is artfully simple but not an especially long circuit. As a consequence, we never engaged anything beyond fourth gear of the seven-speed S-tronic gearbox. Right out of the pits, though, we were free to rev for as long as we pleased. This engine begs for it and dropping below 3,500 rpm only reveals the clunky side of the S-tronic tranny, as well as the fact that for everyday use at low revs, you may as well buy an S4 Avant or even a top trim A4 Avant with the attractive S-line look and larger wheels. That will save you oodles of dough in the process.

It really is sad that there’s no six-speed manual transmission available to go with the longitudinally mounted FSI V8 and “true” Torsen form of quattro. We were begging for it at several moments, but the S-tronic performs at its very best with the naturally aspirated ingredient and accompanying high revs. Downshifts are much more readily conceded through the left shift paddle here versus any lower-redline turbocharged setup that refuses our downshift whims oh so frequently. In the end, we definitely adapted. The slight left and uphill dogleg section right out of the pits was the place to gun it most, and shifts right at 8,200 rpm were perfectly rewarding.

The RS4 Avant also did extremely well in the few hard bends we encountered. With plenty of track width to use and a resultant better line to and through, the heavy little Avant (4,123 pounds) let itself go to great effect. Admittedly, the test car used here had every bell and whistle aboard to make all of this even more possible – optional variable ratio dynamic steering, sport suspension Plus with hydraulic dynamic ride control, rear sport differential and the added carbon ceramic brake discs with six-piston calipers. Add all of this to a car that would already start at around $80,000 and we’re envisioning a little sport wagon with the big price of around $95,000. Zing-o!

But let’s just selectively choose not to listen to that financial argument for a moment because this car kicks and hauls a lot of ass. This is also a chief reason why people in general are so passionate about the Audi A4 Avant Quattro: They just want the danged thing so bad and the setup is slick beyond reproach. The RS4 Avant presents myriad reasons not to buy it for the majority of folks not interested in throwing their monies at a deep, dark niche. But for those who let their lust outweigh their reason…

Acceleration from 0 miles per hour up to 60 mph would easily happen in 4.4 seconds with the Audi Drive Select interface set to Dynamic all around. The Torsen-based crown-gear Quattro system is also much improved over the dull neutrality of the previous generation, so you actually have some say in the line the car takes when calculating curves at hot speeds, not to mention nudging its tush out just like you planned in your head.

This multi-windowed speedster needs all of those options mentioned already, and that can make us angry. How come, on an RS trim car, we have to pay extra for the added 57 pounds of the rear sport differential? This is the marketing department feeling overly cocky about their perfection of the options list mystique. C’mon, Audi, if we’re committing to an RS relationship, give us the damned whole hog in the base price.

The standard 19-inch Continental ContiSportContact tires – 265/35ZR19 98Y – showed little wear and tear to the shoulders of rubber after a full day of use on the track. If you want an undue beating at any cost, go for the optional 20-inch setup. (But trust us, the 19s are way better.) As if Audi knew the good Contis weren’t providing quite enough of a sports car tune in their infrequent squealing, there is the Boysen-engineered optional sports exhaust, which was also aboard our car and what a tune it doth provide. (Check out the track video above for some sense of it.)

So, no, we’re not getting it in the U.S., which is sad because passionate U.S. customers “get” these Euro specials arguably moreso than the home crowd. And you could justify bringing it here, too, since this engine on the new chassis improves fuel efficiency and emissions by some 26 percent over the B7 generation. Sure it’s bloody costly, but just think of the trees you’ll save!

At least we get the entire same powertrain/chassis in our RS5 body variants.”

More pics and video here; http://www.autoblog.com/2012/08/14/2012-audi-rs4-avant-first-drive-review-video/

BMW Reveals V-12 Powered Z3 Prototype

From motorauthority;
“BMW’s Z3 roadster, built from 1996 – 2002, wasn’t exactly the Bavarian automaker’s finest effort. Essentially a parts-bin car, it’s primary claim to fame was affordability, and it was relatively successful in bringing the BMW roundel into a new batch of buyers’ garages.

Early Z3s were underpowered, equipped with a 1.9-liter four-cylinder engine that produced a modest 138 horsepower. By the second year of production, a more powerful 2.8-liter in-line six debuted, offering a semi-impressive 189 horsepower.

Later M versions of the car delivered as much as 240 horsepower, raising its entertainment value considerably. As photos released by BMW M on Facebook show, however, the Munich automaker may have once considered a V-12 option for its two-seat roadster.

Three images show a BMW M-built Z3, powered by what’s likely a 5.4-liter M73 V-12. Used in the E38 7-Series, the E31 8-Series and even the Rolls-Royce Silver Seraph, the aluminum-block engine would have produced in the neighborhood of 326 horsepower and 361 pound-feet of torque.

Despite its aluminum block construction, it also would have put a significant amount of weight over the front wheels, which isn’t exactly a good thing in a short-wheelbase, rear-drive roadster. BMW isn’t providing details on the car, so we suspect it was built simply as a proof of concept, to show that a production V-12 could be shoehorned into the Z3.

If production was ever considered (and that’s a big if, given the cost of the V-12 engine), we’re pretty sure that handling issues killed the project in its infancy. Still, we’d be willing to give it a go on a dry racetrack with lots of runoff room.”

More pics here; http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1078303_bmw-reveals-v-12-powered-z3-prototype

918 Spyder prototypes begin testing

From Porsche NA;
“Atlanta. The Porsche 918 Spyder is on the road: Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, Stuttgart, has taken the driving trials of the super sports car of the future a step further with completion of the initial prototypes. The 918 Spyder is planned for production at the end of September 2013, with the first customer deliveries currently scheduled for the United States late in 2013. “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.

The prototypes, their camouflage harking back to historical Porsche 917 racing cars, signal the final touches to the 918 Spyder. The focus is on the interplay between the highly sophisticated individual drive components. The combination of combustion engine and two independent electric motors – one on the front axle and one in the drive line, acting on the rear wheels – poses completely new demands on the development of the operating strategies. “They are therefore a critical component in this vehicle into which we have put all of our expertise and capacity for innovation,” said Wolfgang Hatz. These operating strategies and the development of the software to go with them are one of Porsche’s core competences. Both of them have a major influence on the extreme driving fun to be had with the 918 Spyder and they make possible a unique combination of minimal fuel consumption and maximum performance. The initial results of the driving trials are in line with the high expectations placed on the 918 Spyder.

The super sports car is designed as a plug-in hybrid vehicle combining a high-performance combustion engine with cutting-edge electric motors for extraordinary performance: on the one hand, the dynamics of a racing machine boasting more than 770 hp, on the other hand, fuel consumption in the region of three litres per 100 kilometres. Moreover, Porsche is breaking yet more new ground with the technology demonstrator with spectacular solutions such as the full carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) monocoque with unit carrier, fully adaptive aerodynamics, adaptive rear-axle steering and the upward-venting “top pipes” exhaust system. In the process, the 918 Spyder is offering a glimpse of what Porsche Intelligent Performance may be capable of in future.”