We all know the story of the infamous Frozen Gray BMW M3 Limited editions, the exorbitantly expensive special color M3 that costs nearly $20,000 more than a standard car while delivering very little compared to a standard car.

One enterprising member of Bimmerforums managed to secure one of the 30 places made available by BMW North America, and like any good capitalist, attempted to sell his spot on the waiting list for $2500 to someone else with more money than brains. Originally, the poster was looking for $83,000, for his Frozen Gray Coupe,  or a $5,400 premium on a vehicle he hadn’t even taken delivery of.

Unfortunately for this gentleman, a BMW dealership employee who spoke with Jalopnik threw a wrench into his plans, by stating that slots cannot be sold, as the owner has 10 days to work out a deal with a local BMW dealership. If no deal is made, the next person in line will be contacted and offered the right to buy the car. Check out the original thread here.

[Source: Jalopnik]

The RMR Hyundai Genesis PM580 is about as far removed from a Hyundai Genesis as you can get, but its still pretty damn cool. With a tube frame steel chassis, an active differential and a 650-horsepower 4.1L V6 – all with a curb weight of under 1,900 lbs - the PM580 is a serious machine, and one that you will never ever see on the road. If you’re not going to Pikes Peak, check out the gallery below and take in how badass this one-off racer really is.

Gallery: RMR Hyundai Genesis PM580

10,000 cars is a minuscule number for most car makers. It’s thought that most major car makers (think The Big 3 or Toyota) can pump out close to that many in a day. For a specialist supercar maker, 10,000 cars is a massive amount. If any supercar was going to do it, it would be the Lamborghini Gallardo.

The Gallardo has been a smashing success for Lamborghini, spawning countless special editions since its 2003 inception, and helping Lamborghini expand to 45 countries across the world. The 10,00th Gallardo, painted Midas Yellow, will be destined for China, where “Lamborghini Day” will be celebrated on June 25th, featuring a multi-car exhibit including the 10,000th Gallardo.

Hit the jump for the full press release

[Source: Lamborghini]

The International Engine Of The Year Awards have been announced, and the big winner this year was Volkswagen’s 1.4L TSI, a miracle of an engine that packs both a turbocharger and a supercharger to coax 178 bhp out of just 1.4L. The full list of winners is below the jump.

[Source: International Engine Of The Year Awards]

Hit the jump for the full list

Best New Engine Of 2010 – Fiat 1.4L Multiair Turbo

Green Engine Of The Year – Toyota 1.8L Hybrid

Best Performance Engine – Mercedes 6.2L AMG V8

Sub 1-Litre Toyota 1-Litre

1-1.4 Litre Volkswagen 1.4L TSI

1.4-1.8 Litre BMW PSA 1.6L Turbo

1.8-2.0 Litre BMW 2-Litre Twin-Turbo Diesel

2.0-2.5 Litre Audi 2.5L Five Cylinder Turbo

2.5-3.0 Litre BMW 3-Litre Twin Turbo

3.0-4.0 Litre BMW 4-Litre V8

Above 4.0 Litre Mercedes 6.2 AMG V8

Kicherer wanted to make their own “Black Series” version of the Mercedes-Benz SLS, similar to the Mercedes-Benz SL65 AMG, and they succeeded in capturing the color pallet of the lesser Benz, if not the incredible ostentatiousness of the car.

With a revised exhaust and ECU putting out 620 horsepower rather than the stock 563, the SLS gets a pretty decent power bump, but the owners are likely the type to need to show the world that they spent big money on upgrades. Kircherer gives them what they want with a matte black vinyl wrap, a front spoiler and rear diffuser, adjustable suspension and big 20″ wheels.

No word on how much these upgrades cost, but if you have to ask, you clearly can’t afford them.

Nobody could ever accuse the previous generation Kia Optima of being interesting or fun cars. But that looks set to change when the new model debuts with bold new styling and a 274-horsepower 2.0 four-cylinder turbo engine.

While previous pictures of the Optima have only been taken in studios with favorable lighting and re-touching, these candid shots of the car in a parking lot still look great, especially in black.  Cues from Kia’s new design language and present throughout, and the car has a very sharp, Audi-like quality to the exterior. The interior, unfortunately, does not look at good, but recent Korean offerings have been on par with other Japanese offerings, and to match the superlative German interiors would require Kia to negate the significant savings their cars offer over the competition.

The Optima will go on sale towards the end of 2010, and while pricing hasn’t been announced, expect it to undercut its rivals, including the Sonata, by a fair margin.

[Source: Motor Trend]

Check out Optima Forums for more information.

It’s crazy to think that only five years ago, the Ford Mustang V8 put out 300 horsepower and put up 17 mpg in the city and 23 mpg on the highway. This year’s Mustang (technically a 2011) V6 will put out 307 horsepower and deliver 19 mpg in town and 30 mpg on the highway – not bad progress for half a decade.

Ford wanted to see just how far they could push the fuel efficiency of their new six-cylinder Mustang, and they set out to Bristol Speedway in Tennessee, and let the Mustang lap the oval circuit for as long as was possible on one tank of gas. After completing 1,457 laps (776.5 miles) at an average speed of 43.9 mph, the Mustang returned 48.5 mpg.

Keep in mind that the dreadfully slow speeds and controlled nature of the stunt means that these numbers have absolutely no bearing on the real world, but it’s a cool stunt nonetheless, and a sign of the times when the focus is on the fuel economy, rather than acceleration numbers of Ford’s pony car.

It’s hard to believe that the Gran Turismo series has been around for nearly 13 years. The original Gran Turismo for Playstation was a watershed moment in video games, combining import car modifications (before they were cool) with the most advanced racing simulator at the time.

Looking back on the original is a bit like driving a car you idolized in childhood; it seems crude and a bit disappointing now, but the charm is still there; luckily, every successive game has gotten better and better, with the physics and graphics becoming more advanced and the car list ballooning to include even the most obscure vehicles.

Despite being delayed for nearly half a decade, racing game fans are still awaiting the launch of Gran Turismo 5, and Sony is throwing them yet another bone with this so-called “trailer” that features footage from all 5 games. Hardcore fans will recognize tracks like Trial Mountain and Special Stage Route 5, while seeing some neat features from GT5, like the in-car camera and NASCAR racing.

Hit the jump to see the video

[Source: Top Speed]

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Ever want to pay $87,000 for a Volvo with a name so long you can barely pronounce? Now you can, with the Heico Sportiv Volvo V70 T6 AWD R-Design, a hopped up V70 wagon made in a limited run of 100 units and retailing for almost 90 grand.

The 325 horsepower wagon will hit 60 mph in under 6 seconds and has a lower ride height, some unique cosmetic bits and bespoke alloy wheels to make it look more menacing and less wagon-like. Inside, a cocoa brown leather interior and a custom badge plate remind you why you just plunked down Porsche 911 money for a car that will likely lose 70% of its value in a few years. At least it looks good.

[Source:  Carscoop]

Hiromu Naruse, Toyota’s chief test driver and the man widely regarded as the father of the Lexus LFA, died in a car crash today on a German highway near the Nurburgring race track.

According to reports, Naruse veered into an oncoming lane while piloting a prototype of the Lexus LFA Nurburgring edition and hit a BMW 3-Series, being driven by two other test drivers. The BMW drivers survived the crash but one reportedly is in critical condition.

Hit the jump to see a German news report on the incident.

[Source: Autoblog]

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