As part of MINI‘s 2011 Cooper lineup and debuts at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show, an announcement has been made that a John Cooper Works Tuning Kit will be available for the MINI Cooper S, MINI Cooper S Clubman and MINI Cooper S Convertible. The tuning kit will raise horsepower to 200-hp and torque to 186 ft-lbs, with an overboost function that increases torque even more to 199 ft-lbs.

The John Cooper Works factory tuning kit includes an optimized engine management (reprogrammed ECU) and a new air filter system. Both these simple modifications are the reasons for the horsepower upgrade. The tuning kit boosts 0-62 mph acceleration to 6.8 seconds while raising top speed to 145-mph.

In addition, enthusiasts will also be able to purchase a new muffler with stainless steel exhaust tips, and 18-inch Cross Spoke Red Stripe wheels.

No pricing for the John Cooper Works Tuning Kit or other accessories has been announced yet.

MINI will debut the new tuning kit in Geneva alongside the new Cooper SD lineup as well as the Rocketman concept. Check back March 1st for full coverage here.

GALLERY: 2011 MINI Cooper John Cooper Works Tuning Kit

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Consider this little disappearance an “extended vacation.” After shutting down operations in Longbridge back in 2005, MG has now returned to the UK, by way of China, with the British-built MG 6.

MG Rover imploded in spectacular fashion back in 2005, but since then they have been hiding out in China. Owned by Nanjing Automobile Group, they have been building models such as the hatchback MG 6, pictured, and the occasional MG TF kit assembled in the Longbridge plant.

But now the MG 6 has returned in European specification, which mostly means a far nicer interior for discriminating consumers. Three trim levels will be offered, and all cars will come generously equipped with keyless ignition, power everything and air conditioning. The only engine so far will be a turbocharged 1.8-liter four, good for 158 horsepower. A 1.9-liter diesel will come next year.

The car will be built in Birmingham, England, and will go on sale in April.

[Source: World Car Fans]

There are Cheerios on the floor, crackers wedged in between the seats and apple sauce is smudged all over the seat. Yep, you can tell that a kid is onboard… but how can you protect your vehicle’s interior from the damages of your messy little ones? You may want to pick yourself up the Munchkin Auto Seat Protector and Tote.

Protect your car seats with this handy helper that defends it from spills and other messes. Made with a no stain backing that won’t mark seats, the Munchkin Auto Seat Protector is easy to use and attach. This means you can send it along with the kids when they are getting a ride with someone else. Plus, the tote features expandable storage space so you can bring along all the little extras that make the car ride go faster.

You can buy it from Amazon for $24.99.

[Source: Gadget Grid]

There are a million ways to say “Thank You.” And just one of those ways is to put the names of thousands of Facebook fans on a Porsche.

Porsche’s Facebook fanpage recently broke the 1,000,000 fan mark, and to celebrate, the automaker built a 2011 911 GT3 R Hybrid racer that is adorned with 27,000 fans. Outfitted in Facebook’s color scheme, fans of Porsche will “like” this signature car – in fact, you can check out a micro-site launched by Porsche to see if you’re name is on it. If you want to take a closer look, the car is on display at the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, Germany.

The “Thank You” campaign also recognizes the fact that Porsche has achieved the fastest 1,000,000 Facebook fans in automotive history. To become a fan of Porsche, you can click here. You can also watch a video of the car being outfitted with the signatures after the jump.
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To celebrate its 125th anniversary, Mercedes is following up the SLK Grand Edition with a new SL Grand Edition package that will be available for SL300, SL350 (not available in North America) and SL500 models. Pricing for the package also ranges depending on which trim model you’ll be outfitting, with the SL500 being around $6,530 while the SL300 model will cost around $9,700.

Included in the Grand Edition package are Nappa leather seats, door trim, steering wheel, a start button on the shifter and an AIRSCARF personal warming system in the front headrests. Mostly interior upgrades, the Grand Edition moniker can also be seen throughout the interior and exterior of the vehicle. Minor amenities include silver air vents, paddles, keyless start, chrome air shot, match-painted air lamps, a third brake light and a set of 19-inch AMG wheels.

All-in-all it’s a nice package for SL owners, though a little bit on the high side given what’s included. Those 19-inch AMG wheels are a pretty penny on their own though.

GALLERY: Mercedes-Benz 2011 SL Grand Edition

[Source: Top Speed]

Although Chrysler initially planned for an ambitious 165 dealer roll-out for their Fiat brand, so far only 12 dealers nationwide are operational, 8 more expected by the end of the week.

Fiat said in September, 2010 that it wanted to see their dealerships open by the end of February, but only 30 to 40 franchises will have their facilities open by mid-March. At this rate, 130 of the dealerships should be running by September, 2011. With that said, dealers are only expected to get their inventory sometime towards the end of March. Fiat USA head Laura Soave stated that Fiat was “…a tiny bit behind schedule”, and we applaud her diplomatic way of framing the issue.

[Source: Automotive News]

Read AutoGuide’s 2012 Fiat 500 Review Here

Going green has perhaps never looked better as Bernie Towns teams up with Speedriven to produce this CNG-Powered Mercedes-Benz SL 600. Not only is the car nicely built in the aesthetics department, it packs around 800-whp and over 1,000 ft-lbs of torque out of its 5.5L twin-turbo V12 powerplant. This helps it get down the quarter mile in merely 10 seconds, but Speedriven and Towns has more plans.

Their current goal is to claim the title of world’s fastest CNG-powered car, which currently belongs to Hohenester’s Audi A4. The A4 was able to hit 226.55-mph back in 2009, and Speedriven is hoping with some more tweaks to the aerodynamics they are hoping it’ll support speeds in excess of 240-mph.

Plans to achieve more power includes fitting on a new turbocharger system and completing the natural gas conversion. Their intention is to break the speed record when it debuts in March at the Texas Mile event.

[Source: Worldcarfans]

GALLERY: Speedriven CNG-Powered 800-hp Mercedes SL 600

Continuing their absolute dominance over the Ferrari aftermarket, Novitec has released photos and information on their 599 GTO 888 tuning program. Novitec Rosso is the first company to offer upgrades for Ferrari’s 599 GTO and it’s quite the complete project. With 888-hp (from 670-hp stock) and 636 ft-lbs of torque, Novitec clearly focused its attention on the powerplant and performance.

Taking the twin-compressor 6.0L V12 to new heights, Novitec optimized both superchargers and added a large water-to-air intercooler to cool the system. An intake manifold was also designed and manufactured and features high performance air filters and injectors.

Naturally, Novitec also outfits the 599 GTO with a high performance exhaust system that sports a quad-tipped setup coated in black. An ECU retune was done to ensure all the changes were optimized.

Aesthetically, Novitec kept it simple applying a special silver paint with yellow cross stripe and white patches, all reminiscent of Ferrari’s 250 GTO race car. Along with lowering the vehicle with Novitec’s suspension, a set of Novitec Rosso NF4 21-inch and 22-inch wheels were installed.

Interior upgrades can be ordered in any desired leather or Alcantara color combination.

GALLERY: Novitec Ferrari 599 GTO 888

Ever wonder what happens when you have a first generation Porsche Boxster 986 lying around surrounded by a ton of automotive-building talent? Look no further to Elite Projects out of Sweden where their talented team of designers and builders have released the cleanest widebody Porsche 986 that we’ve ever seen. We can even overlook the busy graphic design scheme on the car to appreciate just how well executed the project is.

Unfortunately we don’t know a ton of details on the project, but it looks as if Elite Projects Sweden transformed their 986 Porsche Boxster into a GT Racing machine and has even taken it out to the track. What we do know is its wheel setup, which is comprised of iForged’s Track Edition TE-14V wheels finished in a brilliant silver. Up front is a pair of 19×8.5 while the rear features a nice and wide 19×12 pairing.

Clearly the entire build is very well executed from bumper to bumper and was truly built and bred to be a track machine. We’ve love to see just how clean the car would be with just a solid shade of paint, but alas, kudos to Elite Projects for not scaring us when we saw Porsche 986 widebody in a post title.

[Source: Elite Projects Sweden via Vincent Wong]

GALLERY: Elite Projects Sweden Widebody 986 Porsche

You know all about the Lamborghini LP700-4 Aventador by now, but here’s something you haven’t seen before – a shot of the interior. AutoGuide will be at the Geneva Auto Show starting Monday, and will have live shots of the Aventador, but in the mean time, this is all you get.

[Source: Lamborghini]