In a country where exotic cars are (seemingly) as common as Camrys, the police are most certainly in need of a vehicle that can keep up. So the Abu Dhabi police service in the United Arab Emirates has just unveiled its secret weapon, a 485-hp Nissan GT-R.

Not much else is known about the car, but if you look around back you’re sure to notice the clever phrase, “We ensure you safety… in the fastest way.”

So it looks like we might be seeing a lot more Porsche GT2s pulled over on the side of the highway in Abu Dhabi.

GALLERY: R35 Nissan GT-R Police Car

For the first time since the car’s world premiere at the Frankfurt Auto Show, Mercedes is getting ready to display its new supercar. This time, however, it will be on U.S. soil at the LA Auto Show.

Inspired by the 300SL Gullwing, the new SLS AMG is the first ground-up car to be built by Merc’s high-performance AMG division and uses AMG’s first “from scratch” engine. That engine, a 6.2-liter mill, makes 563-hp and 479 ft-lbs of torque in the SLS – enough to propel the company’s new flagship sports car all the way to 62 mph in 3.8 seconds and on to a top speed of 196 mph. Helping achieve that low sprint time is a sophisticated double-clutch automatic transmission, that can be operated via paddle shifters. The SLS is the first production Mercedes to get double-clutch technology.

The engine uses a dry-sump lubrication system (great for serious abuse), as well as a transaxle. That transaxle layout means that the tranny is located out back (for an ideal weight balance of 48/52) and it attached to the engine by a carbon fiber driveshaft.

The curb weight is just 3,571 lbs, due mostly to the fact that this is the first model Mercedes has ever produced with an all aluminum chassis and body. Weight is also saved by using carbon ceramic brakes and light weight wheels, that measure 19×9.5-inches up front and 20×11-inches in the rear. Tires measure 265/35/19 front and 295/30/22 rear.

We’ll be sure to bring you plenty of photos with live coverage of the LA Auto Show starting December 2nd.

See AutoGuide’s Live 2009 LA Auto Show Coverage Here Starting December 2nd

GALLERY: 2010 Mercedes SLS AMG

GALLERY: 2010 Mercedes SLS AMG Frankfurt Debut

Under new ownership by Chinese heavy machinery maker Sichuan Tengzhong, Hummer will move forward with plans to introduce a smaller and more efficient H4 model. Previewed in concept form as the HX (above), the H4 would be lighter and more fuel-conscious, but wouldn’t give up on the brand’s hard-core attitude. It would be designed as a rival to the Jeep Wrangler in rugged off-road performance.

According to brand CEO Jim Taylor, the H4 would come to market in about three years, followed a year or two later by an even smaller and even more fuel-efficient H5 model.

The sale of Hummer to China’s Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co. Ltd. is expected to be finalized by December 1st, although judging by the fact that GM still hasn’t managed to sell Saab or Saturn, that date might be pushed back – or the sale might not happen at all.

[Source: Autmotive News via LeftLaneNews]

Having just been the focus of a private showing at the SLS Hotel in Beverly Hills, the all-new 2011 Buick Regal will get its official public world premier at the LA Auto Show in just a few weeks time.

With the car, General Motors is taking aim at luxury rivals like the Acura TSX in the entry-level sport/luxury market. Normally, you’d expect a Buick to underperform in this dynamic segment but Buick insists the Regal will be up to the task, even touting the car’s Autobahn upbringing. After all, the Regal is based on the same chassis as the award winning Opel Insignia, which was made in (and for) the German market. This is also the same chassis used for the new Buick LaCrosse, but is shortened by four-inches between the wheels and shrunk by 6.7-inches in total. The smaller overhangs should make for a more dynamic driving experience, as should the standard 18-inch wheels.

Under the hood, Buick will offer two engines – both of which are four-cylinders. Initially, the base engine model will be available with the same 2.4-liter direct-injection 4-cylinder as found in a lot of GM’s products lately. It will make roughly 182-hp and get 30 mpg on the highway. Later an optional 2.0-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder will be offered with 220-hp and 258 ft-lbs of torque and get 29 mpg highway. Both engines will come standard with a six-speed automatic transmission that features driver shift control.

When the turbocharged model launches in the summer of 2010, it will also come with a new Interactive Drive Control (IDC) option that will let the driver choose from three settings (Sport, Tour and Normal) for the suspension, throttle, steering and transmission. Cool stuff!

The 2011 Buick Regal will go on sale in the first half of next year. Only the 2.4-liter model will be offered in top-level CXL trim, with the turbocharged motor arriving in the Summer and other trim levels after that.

See AutoGuide’s Live 2009 LA Auto Show Coverage Here Starting December 2nd

GALLERY: 2011 Buick Regal

The team at Heffner Performance have finally completed their initial Stage 1 twin-turbo package for the Audi R8. Running on pump gas and using just 6 psi of boost, the two turbochargers boost output from the 4.2-liter V8 engine from 353 rwhp to 536 rwhp, a gain of over 50 percent. A more powerful 100 octane version is also being worked on which is expected to produce in excess of 600-hp. In addition, Heffner also plans twin-turbo applications for the V10-powered R8.

The Heffner car is actually not the first turbocharged Audi R8. The first such car was built by German Audi tuner MTM for a private client in the Middle East. It was a matte-black car that reportedly made 888-hp and debuted at the Dubai Auto Show several years ago.

Heffner Performance is well-known in elite tuning circles for twin-turbo applications for the Dodge Viper, Lamborghini Gallardo and Ford GT.

See after the jump for a dyno graph:

Continue Reading…

Say you’re shopping for a new car but you have to pretty strict requirements: you need plenty of cargo room, and the ability to hit 60 mph in about 4 seconds. Cadillac has just the car for you! According to a recent report in Car& Driver, GM product boss Bob Lutz has confirmed that the 556-hp CTS-V will be available as wagon.

“You’ll be able to get the CTS-V any way you want,” he said in a recent interview, alluding to the fact that the V will also be offered in the current sedan form, as well as in the upcoming coupe.

Sales aren’t likely to be very high in North America, but the CTS-V Sport Wagon should help the Cadillac brand expand in Europe, where there has long been a contest between the German automakers to build ridiculously powerful wagons like the 580-hp RS6 Avant and the 518-hp Mercedes E63 AMG wagon.

No timeline for the production version has been given, but with the CTS-V Coupe expected to debut at the LA Auto Show in a few weeks time, the CTS-V Sport Wagon is likely to arrive roughly a year later. It would also make sense for the debut to take place in Europe.

[Source: Car&Driver]

When asked if a turbocharged version of the Camaro might make it to market, GM product boss Bob Lutz said, “perhaps.” The immediate response to this is to get all excited and start saving up your pennies for the car. Then again, Lutz may have used the “perhaps” word in the same way parents do when asked: “Can I have a pony for Christmas?” In other words, it is possible, but anything is possible, so don’t bet on it.

Still, these days there’s no telling what General Motors might do and just recently at the SEMA Show, the company did display a twin-turbocharged V6 Camaro (pictured above) that was built in house and designed with the help of car guy Jay Leno. GM claims the turbocharged Camaro gets V8 power with V6 fuel economy. Chevy has already confirmed that one of the Jay Leno Camaro’s SEMA co-stars, the Camaro Synergy, will go into production.

A twin-turbo Camaro, even if it was built, would most likely not arrive until the next generation of the car. In the mean time, Lutz is dong what he’s paid the big bucks to do – get people excited about General Motors.

GALLERY: Jay Leno Twin-Turbo Camaro

[Source: InsideLine]

Mercedes has just announced announced the ML450 Hybrid 4MATIC model is ready for purchase… sort of. The first complete product to use the two-mode hybrid system built by the joint General Motors, Daimler, BMW and Chrysler hybrid technology group will only be offered as a lease.

The ML450 Hybrid will be made available for either 36 or 60 months, at either $659 or $549 per month. Mercedes says this is due to a limited supply of batteries.

Mercedes appears to be following the Lexus hybrid plan, using hybrid-electric technology to achieve the power of a larger engine with the fuel consumption of a smaller one. The ML450 uses a 3.5-liter V6 engine and two electric motors to make 335-hp and 381 ft-lbs of torque. Unlike the S400 Hybrid, it will be able to operate exclusively on electric power for short periods of time. Its fuel economy is rated at 21/24 mpg (city/highway), which is roughly the same as the ML350 Bluetec diesel at 18/25 mpg. This is also a 46 percent improvement over the fuel economy rating of the similarly-powerful ML550.

GALLERY: ML450 Hybrid 4MATIC

Official release after the jump:

Continue Reading…

Despite continued rumors to the contrary, the next iteration of the Chevrolet Impala will not be rear-wheel drive. In an interview with InsideLine, GM’s product boss Bob Lutz, definitively stated that the car will put power to the front wheels. Lutz would only give vague details about the car, which is probably all he has, considering how far away the production version is.

Earlier reports have pegged the next Impala’s launch for 2013 as a 2014 model, by which time the current vehicle will be a fossil. Lutz said the car will be larger and get more equipment but will continue to have a strong focus on fuel economy. He also said it will be designed to more competitively meet with new models like the Ford Taurus, however, by 2014, Ford is likely to have an even newer Tarus on the market.

In addition, the new Impala, which will be based on the same architecture as the upcoming Cadillac XTS flagship sedan (and built alongside that car in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada), and will be compatible with GM’s new hybrid technology. So expect hybrid versions of both the Impala and XTS.

[Source: InsideLine]

Somehow Nissan will bring a successor to the Titan pickup truck to market, although it’s not known how or when. In an interview with InsideLine, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn said that the Titan will remain. “”Titan will have a replacement,” he said. “We are staying in the large pickup truck market.”

The next Titan was expected to be a rebadged version of the new Dodge Ram, but Chrysler canceled plans for that project shortly after emerging from bankruptcy protection.

That being said, Nissan may continue to use an updated version of the current Titan’s platform, which also underpins vehicles like the Armada, Pathfinder, Xterra, Frontier and Infiniti QX56..

[Source: InsideLine]