After announcing the IS350C F-Spot Special Edition earlier this week, Lexus has now provided us with the first photos of the sporty drop-top. Priced from $57,500, it will be offered in only Tungsten Pearl (above) or Obsidian. Unique to the Special Edition is a set package of F-Sport goodies including: new 19-inch forged wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport tires, upgraded front and rear brakes, lowering springs, Bilstein shocks, sway bars, a new F-Sport grille, as well as F-Sport floor mats, an F-Sport shift knob and F-Sport badging.

The package also features black leather seats with blue stitching, while standard features include heated and ventilated front seats with wood trim, Bi-Xenon HID headlamps with Adaptive Front lighting, Lexus Navigation, a rear back-up camera, Voice Command casual-language voice recognition system and Lexus Enform with Safety Connect.

Just 100 F-Sport Special Edition models will be offered, with sales beginning later this month. The car will officially debut at the New York Auto Show on March 31st and we’ll be sure to bring you plenty of live photos then.

GALLERY: 2010 Lexus IS350C F-Sport Special Edition

Official release after the jump:

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The Aston Martin Rapide took a long time to finally come to market and it seems like it’s taken almost just as long to go on public display. First shown in concept form at the Detroit Auto Show way back in 2006, the Rapide had its world premiere at the Frankfurt Auto Show last Fall. Since then both the LA and Detroit shows have come and gone, with Aston a no-show. Finally, North Americans (or at least New Yorkers) will get their first look at the Rapide when it goes on public display at the NY Auto Show in April.

Powered by an incredible 5.9-liter V12 engine that makes 470-hp at 6000 rpm and 443 ft-lbs of torque at 5000 rpm, the four-door Rapide is offered exclusively with a six-speed automatic transmission. It gets Aston’s typically long front-snout and an ultra luxurious interior. Pricing for the new model starts at $199,950 ($215,000 CAD), vastly higher than segment rivals the Maserati Quattroporte and Porsche Panamera, ensuring exclusivity.

AutoGuide will bring you more on the Rapide with live coverage of the New York Auto Show starting March 31st.

In the mean time, browse through the massive gallery of photos below.

GALLERY: Aston Martin Rapide

The Orange County, California, District Attorney has announced plans to file a civil lawsuit against Toyota. The suit is over safety concerns with Toyota vehicles, and comes as Toyota has recalled over eight million vehicles worldwide due to several different safety issues. The suit aims to stop Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. from “continuing to endanger the public through the sale of defective vehicles and deceptive business practices.”

Toyota has issued a statement saying that it, “has not received the complaint and is not in a position to comment on pending litigation.”

Orange county District Attorney Tony Rackauckas will hold a press conference later today to announce the lawsuit.

See more Toyota Recall News Here.

[Source: WallStreetJournal]

When the Nissan GT-R finally made its way over to the Stateside, people rejoiced that we’d finally be able to get our hands on one of Japan’s finest creations. Over the past couple of decades, the Nissan Skyline GT-R moniker has become infamous and synonymous with performance and excellence. The initial exclusivity and price tag of the GT-R has still made it a rarity to see on the streets. That price has just gone up a little for 2011, with the GT-R now set at $85,060.

Only available in Premium trim, the 2011 GT-R now offers more standard features in the tech department: Bluetooth, USB iPod interface, XM NavWeather and NavTraffic, auto on/off headlamps and speed-sensitive windshield wipers. Changes from 2010 are minimal, with slight tweaks to the suspension, additional clear coat on the front and rear bumpers, new rear cooling ducts and slightly darker wheel center caps.

As we always love saying, why mess with a good thing? And the Nissan GT-R is more than just a good thing. And even at the increased cost, it’s still a bargain.

The official Nissan press release available after the jump.

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After its debut at the Geneva Auto Swow last week, Audi has released several videos of the new RS5, including some track footage alongside the original Quattro – the car that started it all. Taking after the Quattro, the RS5 is a mean machine with sexy styling. It is powered by the same 4.2-liter V8 found in the RS4 or R8, but output has been upped to a total of 450-hp at 8250 rpm, while maximum torque of 317 ft-lbs is available from 4000 to 6000 rpm. Combined with Audi’s S-tronic dual-clutch 7-speed transmission, quattro all-wheel drive and a 3,803 lb curb weight the RS5 can accelerate to 62 mph in 4.6 seconds.

Featured for the first time on the RS5 is Audi’s new crown-gear differential, which allows for up to 70 percent of the power to be distributed to the front wheels, or as much as 85 percent to the rear wheels. Under normal operation, the RS5 has a 40:60 rear-bias. In addition, the RS5 features an electronic limited slip differential, that slows the inside wheel in a turn when wheel spin is detected. Plus, an optional sport differential will be made available, distributing power between the rear wheels.

The RS5 sits 0.79 inches lower than the A5 and comes standard with 19-inch wheels (20s are optional). Other highlights include 14.37-inch, 8-piston front brakes, as well as optional carbon-fiber brake discs. There’s also Audi’s drive-select program to control different levels of throttle response, steering, transmission gear changes, the sport differential and even the exhaust system. As for the big rear spoiler, it pops up at speeds above 74 mph and automatically retracts at 50 mph.

Check out both videos after the jump:

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If the Pagani Zonda R promo video isn’t the coolest thing you see today, please post a link to what is – because we really want to see it. The hardest-core of Paganis, the Zonda R is a track-duty version of the Italian supercar, weighing just 2,359 lbs and powered by a 6.0-liter AMG V12 engine that makes an incredible 750-hp and 524 ft-lbs of torque. That’s enough for a 0-60 mp time of just 2.7 seconds, using a mid-engine, rear-drive setup with a paddle-shift sequential gearbox that’s three times as fast as anything Ferrari has.

Built specifically for the race track, it gets an FIA homolgated roll cage and racing seats with five-point safety harnesses, which are needed to keep the driver in place. After all, the Zonda R can pull incredible g-forces, with 3,307 lbs of downforce that allows the car to (theoretically, anyway) drive upside down.

The Pagani Zonda R will be produced in a limited number with Horacio Pagani signing each vehicle. The cost of ownership is extraordinary, with an MSRP of 1,460,000 Euros or roughly $1.9 million.

Check out the video after the jump:

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Every March for the last few years, drifting fans nationwide stay glued to the Internet for news and videos of their favorite drifters and teams. With the Formula DRIFT season opening up in April on the Streets of Long Beach, teams all over the nation are out testing their off-season changes, new cars and even new drivers. The Bergenholtz Brothers, Ron and Ed, are no strangers to high-horsepower motorsports. They made groundbreaking changes to the world of FWD drag racing, capturing two NHRA Pro FWD championships while campaigning their Mazda 6 race car. But recently they’ve been searching for a new challenge and with drifting gaining speed, momentum and more importantly, sponsors, the Bergenholtz Brothers turned to a new automotive passion.

Recently they announced the signing of Joon Maeng to their team in order to pilot the RX-8 that they built last season. Joon Maeng had been a privateer with his Nissan 240SX for the past couple of years, making some noise amongst all the high-profile competitors that all carry heavy sponsors. It seemed like a great fit when it was announced that Joon Maeng would be piloting the Bergenholtz Racing Mazda RX-8. It was even cooler when they announced their title sponsor would be Full Tilt Poker along with Nitto Tires.

While drifting started out being coveted with Japanese rides from Toyota and Nissan, when it made its splash stateside, domestic muscle has taken center stage. The rumble of the V8 against the screaming turbocharged four-cylinder made the crowd go wild and was something that no one else could witness anywhere. Not even Japan. So it’s great to see the Bergenholtz Brothers throwing a rotary into the mix, pushing over 600whp and 480 ft-lbs of torque to the rear wheels of this sideways machine. So let’s satisfy what the fans all want, check out the first testing video of the season after the break with Joon Maeng behind the wheels of the Bergenholtz Racing Full Tilt Poker Nitto Mazda RX-8. What a mouthful!

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Chrysler is moving ahead with plans to deliver its light-duty Ram pickups with a diesel option, sourced from none-other than the automaker’s long-time heady duty diesel partner, Cummins.

Joe Veltri, VP of product planning at Chrysler told PickupTrucks.com that they are currently in discussions with Cummins, commenting that, “There’s no contract [with Cummins], but [a light-duty diesel] is in our plan.”

Chrysler had planed to introduce a diesel for the Ram 1500 already, but any existing contracts were voided when Chrysler filed for bankruptcy over the summer. The rumored new engine is said to be a 5.0-liter V8 that Veltri says could also be used in the heavy duty pickups as well, something that would certainly give Dodge (or the new Ram brand we should say) a unique offering in the light-duty truck segment.

With talks ongoing, there’s still no word on when a light-duty diesel Ram could make it to market.

[Source: PickupTrucks.com]

Suzuki is looking to get back into the U.S. auto market in a big way and to do so it launched the Kizashi mid-size car last year to compete with hallmarks like the Toyota Corolla and Honda Accord. Initially offered with only a 4-cylinder, Suzuki doesn’t want anyone walking away from its dealerships wanting for power and so the automaker is expected to deliver a more powerful V6 model. A Suzuki rep told the folks at LeftLaneNews that Suzuki has, “more exciting Kizashi product news to share” in New York, leading to the obvious conclusion of the V6 model’s debut.

When the 4-cylinder was launched, Suzuki also showed off a V6 prototype car, which featured a 3.6-liter V6 making 260-hp. The prototype also included a more aggressive bodykit, which we expect will be a part of the high-end V6 model’s package.

We quite liked the 4-cylinder model when we reviewed it last year, which offered a more dynamic driving experience than most mid-size sedans, making us eager to see how the V6 delivers.

We’ll be on hand to bring you live coverage of the New York Auto Show starting March 31st.

[Source: LeftLaneNews]

Ahead of its official reveal later today, Ford has released several images of the Taurus-based Police Interceptor. Ford will offer a Taurus cruiser to take over for the Crown Vic, which is set to finally be eliminated for the Ford fleet in September of 2011.

Ford still hasn’t released any info on the new car, but we’re excited about the potential of an SHO version, using Ford’s powerful and efficient EcoBoost twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6. Interestingly, unlike the Crown Vic and pretty much most police cruisers, the Taurus isn’t rear-wheel drive. Standard Taurus models are front-drive, while the SHO comes exclusively in AWD.

This new Taurus Interceptor is just the latest domestic model to join the competition for police fleet sales, with Dodge’s Charger Interceptor and Chevy recently announcing an all-new cruiser, based on the Australian Zeta rear-drive platform.

GALLERY: Ford Taurus Police Interceptor