After being kicked out of the WRC for cheating, and then coming back to win the championship in 1999, it’s safe to say that Toyota has had an interesting history with the World Rally Championship. Whatever you think of the team, their white and green Castrol livery is still one of the most iconic examples in all of motorsports.

Toyota representatives were spotted attending a rally event in Portugal, sparking rumors of a comeback for the Japanese automaker, but rally insiders were quick to quash these rumors.

Speaking to MaxRally, Malcolm Wilson of the Ford factory team said that there was nothing to substantiate rumors of a return for Toyota. “I spoke with them and they made it clear they are not just looking at rallying but all disciplines. It was purely a fact-finding mission from my understanding but it’s good to see they are showing an interest and even considering the WRC as an option.”

Toyota has won 43 rallies and 3 world championships, with famous drivers like Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol behind the wheel.

[Source: MaxRally]

Posting identical numbers to its sister car, the Ford Fusion Hybrid, the Lincoln MKZ has garnered an identical EPA rating of 41 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway.

This might be a snooze to some, but the MKZ Hybrid bests its nearest rival, the Lexus HS250h, by 6 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway. The MKZ Hybrid is also a much more discrete looking vehicle, which may or may not work in Lincoln’s favor. We’ll find out when the car goes on sale this fall.

[Source: Autoblog]

Shaquille O’Neal is undoubtedly one of the greatest basketball players of all time, but his acting and music careers have not been so spectacular, with the athlete being nominated for a Razzie Award for “Worst Actor”. Shaq also has an interest in custom cars, but we’ll let you be the judge of this example, a Ferrari 456, that popped up for sale on Ebay.

Thankfully devoid of Shaq’s signature “Superman” motif, this Ferrari 456 was given some choice modifications to enable the 7’1″ O’Neal to ride in the car. The rear seats were removed to make room for a longer seat rail, so that O’Neal could achieve a driving position that was somewhat comfortable. A custom removable glass roof, something not previously available on a Ferrari 456, was also installed to give Shaq some more interior room.

For just under $39,000, it’s one of the cheapest modern Ferraris out there, but it’s also automatic and has some modifications that purist types would likely wretch at.  But you get the provenance of owning Shaq’s old car, and one of the world’s only custom 456s.

[Source: Jalopnik]

A Gaithersburg, MD man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for drunkenly crashing his car into an elderly couple. The driver of the other car was none other than Edwin Collier, a retired judge. The same judge, in fact, who had let the drunk driver, Rene Fernandez, off with probation after his first DUI conviction in 1998.

Fernandez, who claims the day of the accident was the first drink he’s had since 2005, swerved into the oncoming lane and hit Collier and his wife head-on, causing life-altering injuries for the retired couple. They have since been forced to sell their two homes and move, after injuries to their legs prevent them from walking up stairs.

Lawyers for the Colliers are using this incident as a call-to-action for DUI reform, claiming that high-priced defense lawyers are simply too much for inexperienced prosecutors to handle, and subsequently too many people are getting off with not enough punishment.

What do you think? If judge Collier had thrown the book at Rene Fernandez the first time around, could this incident have been avoided?

[Source: Gazette]

Danish racing driver Jan Magnussen, best known for his work as a factory driver for Corvette Racing in the ALMS and 24 Hours of Le Mans, is scheduled to join fellow Scandinavian Mattias Ekstrom at the upcoming NASCAR Sprint Cup race at Infineon Raceway. We’re not sure what’s behind the Viking invasion of NASCAR these days, but we suspect it may have something to do with Hagar The Horrible.

According to Magnussen, “It feels great. I have always wanted to try NASCAR and I am very grateful to Phoenix Racing for giving me the chance.” The Dane will be driving the No. 9 car for Phoenix Racing.

“We are thrilled to have a driver of his caliber to drive for us at Sonoma. Jan has tested NASCAR Sprint Cup cars before and his CV speaks for itself. He is going to give us a chance not only to quality good, but to be in the top fight,” said Phoenix Racing team boss James Finch.

The NASCAR race at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California takes place this weekend (June 19/20).

[Source: TouringCarTimes]

The venerable Range Rover has been given a few upgrades for 2011, including an all-new 4.4L diesel engine displacing 309 bhp and getting 30.1 mpg. The new diesel is also coupled to an 8-speed automatic, which should filter down to the rest of the lineup soon. The new Range also gets a rotary knob similar to Jaguar’s, rather than a traditional gear selector.

Outside, new wheels and a new front fascia complete the mid-cycle changes. Some of the options should filter down to North America, but don’t expect the diesel to hit our shores any time soon.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Gordon Murray is eager to stress that his firm, Gordon Murray Design, is not in the business of producing cars, especially not his new T25 city car. “We’re not a car company; our business is selling intellectual property for the production process,” Murray told Auto Express.

Murray’s proclamation comes on the heels of his announcement that he has already sold the design of the T25 to an unnamed European company and a Japanese design firm, but Murray won’t reveal their identities. With the T25, and his new iStream manufacturing process, Murray is pursuing a new business model, whereby a design is licensed to several different companies who produce their own version of the car.

After he finishes the electric version of the T25, dubbed the T27, Murray said that he will build a superlight Mazda MX5 rival as well as a supercar to compete with the McLaren MP4-12C.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Volkswagen fanatics looking for two-wheeled transportation, your motorcycle has arrived. Long dormant motorcycle brand Horex is being revived by a group of German industrialists, and the new bikes will be powered by a VR6 engine, long a staple of VW’s Golf and Jetta lineup.

Rather than the familiar 2.8L or 3.2L VR6 used by VW, Horex designed a bespoke unit displacing 1.2L. Coupled with a supercharger, the unit makes an awesome 200 horsepower at 8500 rpm.

In light of Volkswagen’s move to small displacement, forced induction engines, the Horex VR6 would be an interesting addition to some of their smaller cars, although the seemingly peaky power delivery may not be appropriate for anything but high performance driving. Nonetheless, as gearheads we’re automatically attracted to these sorts of novelty powerplants and are hoping to see more in the future.

[Source: Motorcycle.com]

Nissan‘s GT-R might now be better-known for its grenading transmission than for its legendary performance. At least that’s true if your life revolves around an internet car forum.

Back in 2008, a member of NAGTROC posted that his local Nissan dealer wanted to charge him $20,000 to fix his GT-R’s busted transmission, which broke because he used the launch-control feature with the VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control) off. The owner, a Mr. Torres, claimed that as the advertised 0-60 mph time of 3.4 seconds could only be achieved with the launch control and VDC off, he was within his rights and the part should be fixed by Nissan under warranty.

Nissan refused and even forced owners to sign a form saying that driving with VDC off could void their warranty, unless VDC was turned off in order to get out of mud or snow.

Not satisfied with his situation, Torres took Nissan to court in a class action lawsuit, which was settled in September of last year. The details of that settlement have now been made public.

In it, Nissan denies all fault, stating that, “Nissan denies all the allegations in the lawsuit. More specifically, Nissan denies that there was a design or manufacturing defect, denies misrepresenting the performance capabilities of the 2009 GT-R, and denies that it refused to honor customer warranties for resulting damage without disclosure.”

As a result of the settlement, Nissan is now offering 2009 GT-R owners an upgrade to their transmission software. Nissan will also not deny warranty coverage for those who used their GT-R with the VDC off prior to receiving notice from Nissan. Then, in the best slap-in-the-face you can get from a car company, Nissan tossed in a $75 coupon for owners who sign the paperwork to get the transmission upgrade.

As for Torres, he did manage to come out on top, with Nissan agreeing to pay him a total of $31,500, including $25,000 for the transmission.

Hit the link below to see the documents.

[Source: DragTimes]

As we suspected when Fiat first launched the Abarth versions of the 500C and Punt Evo, the Italian automaker will soon deliver higher-performance Esseesse trim levels as well. Both models will get more powerful engines, with the Punto Evo’s 1.4-liter turbocharged Multiair increasing from 165-hp to around 180-hp. An even stiffer suspension and more capable brakes will also be included. As for the 500C, it will increase from 138-hp to roughly 160-hp from its non-Multiair 1.4L turbo.

Also due for both models is a faster shifting automatic gearbox. And according to AutoCar, a dual-clutch auto-box is set to debut in the next few years. The new Esseesse models are set to be announced in November.

While we don’t and won’t get the Punto Evo in North America, we’re eagerly looking forward to an Abarth-tuned Fiat 500 and really hope the Esseesse models will also be available here.

[Source: AutoCar]