For those that don’t know what an MMO is, it stands for Massively Multiplayer Online and has become a huge genre in online gaming. Essentially any game that allows hundreds to thousands of people to coexist in a a video game environment is considered an MMO. One of the more popular MMO racing simulator games is iRacing, and the game recently added the Cadillac CTS-V Coupe race car to the list of participating vehicles.

To make the addition of the CTS-V racer into the game as realistic as possible, the iRacing team worked closely with Cadillac and Pratt & Miller Engineering. Pratt & Miller Engineering are the ones in charge of building the real race cars. By using iRacing’s standard “micrometer-precise” modeling system, high-grade recording of the CTS-V’s engine will make its way into the game.

You can check out more information about iRacing here.

We got an up close and personal look at the Mopar’s take on the Jeep Compass, which they call the “True North” edition, today at the Chicago Auto Show.

The modifications gave a bit of practical improvement while leaving the SUV’s off-road ability untouched. Among those changes, front and rear brush bars offer the Compass’ underside some protection. Beyond that, the Mopar treatment is strictly cosmetic. A two-tone burnt orange and matte black finish make it look more aggressive, as do the larger fenders.

Inside, the car gets neoprene seats, which is a cool touch for a vehicle aimed at outdoorsy types. The dashboard also gets tilt and pitch gauges, which would be a cool edition for a trail rated vehicle if we hadn’t touched them and the carbon fiber shifter knob was also a cool touch. Unfortunately, the unit felt like flimsy and poorly attached. Finally  The car also got an improved sound system which we could see working well during beach nights or camping trips where the flip-down rear speakers get their best use.

Have a look through our gallery and lend us your thoughts in the comments section.

GALLERY: Mopar Jeep Compass “True North”

Of all the special edition vehicles Mopar has on display today at the Chicago Auto Show, the Dodge Dart is probably the most attractive.

It’s also the most radically different looking of the four vehicles we had a chance to see today thanks to the sweeping carbon fiber hood with an aggressive-looking hood scoop that looks down towards a black grille. Those colors work well against the car’s red paint, especially with the 18-inch black aluminum alloy wheels which set this special dart aflight.

Mopar also graced the car with a better air intake and exhaust and retuned engine computer to make an extra 30 horsepower, bringing this version up to 210 total.

Inside, the car gets similar treatment as the exterior. A matching color scheme and piano black trim set the Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute well apart from the stock model — if you’re into the racer boy look.

Click through our gallery and tells us your thoughts in the comments section below.

GALLERY: Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute

Today we took a first-hand look at the most powerful of the four vehicles Mopar doctored up for this year’s Chicago Auto Show, the Mopar Chrysler 300 ’12.

In case you don’t recognize that name — it’s actually just a dressed up Chrysler 300, albeit with a price tag that jumped about $10,000 over the entry-level Hemi 300. For $49,700, you get a somewhat sinister black-and-chrome color scheme helped by blue pinstripes that set the car’s lines back in sight. 20-inch glossy black rims complement the matching grille and paint job.

The 300 ’12 interior is full of black leather with blue stitching to match the striped outside. The seats also get blue Mopar emblems embroidered in them, though they look gaudy in a car at that price.

You won’t find any engine changes here, the same 5.7-liter Hemi V8 making 363 horsepower is mated with a 5-speed automatic transmission, but it’s going to feel more punchy off the line thanks to a more aggressive differential. Drivers may also notice improved handling thanks to a stiffer suspension.

Have a look at our gallery and tell us what you think in the comments section below.

GALLERY: 2012 Mopar 300 ’12

What better way to sell  your car than an outrageous YouTube video?

Lettrage Perfect Design, a company in Lavaltrie, Quebec that sponsors modified cars is seen here with a C6 Corvette, and way too much spare rubber.

Watch as this driver creates a smoke show in front of a small crowd. The driver then does a few donuts and calls it a day, but not after showing us a fresh pair of (probably) rear tires that are ready for “the next show.”

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Two very special Jeeps were recently handed over to F1 pilots Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso to help the two pro drivers get around all the snow falling in Maranello these days. The pair of Scuderia Ferrari drivers each received a Ferrari-styled Grand Cherokee SRT8, the quickest and most powerful Jeep ever built.

Both vehicles feature a special trim with exclusive styling details and the bright, Rossa Corsa shade from Italian exotic automaker, Ferrari. Now that Chrysler-Fiat is all one happy family, it makes sense for the Chrysler Group to leverage the most valuable asset in its alliance, the Ferrari brand.

The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 packs a 6.4L Hemi V8 with 465-hp and 465 lb-ft of torque and has a 0-60 mph time of just 4.8 seconds and a top speed of 160-mph. The pair of personalized Grand Cherokees are the first of the new SRT8 high performance version to hit European shores. It will go on sale this summer in Europe.

“We are excited and proud to be able to hand over the exclusively personalised ‘Ferrari-style’ versions of the most powerful and fastest Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 of all time to two of the most talented drivers in the world,” said Beth Peretta. “We are sure Fernando and Felipe will feel perfectly at home at the wheel of these cars that take styling cues from Ferrari with Rosso Corsa bodywork and that represent the pinnacle in terms of performance for the Jeep brand. Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 offers all who love driving, a unique combination of the amazing capacity of the Jeep on road and track, with the pinnacle of personalised style and technology.”

GALLERY: Ferrari Style Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8

When tuning company Hennessey Performance out of Sealy, Texas makes an announcement, it’s usually something fantastic. In this case, they posted details on their site about a new McLaren MP4-12C concept that wrings an extra 208 horsepower out of the car’s 3.8-liter V8.

They manage the incredible feat by performing major surgery on  the drivetrain, dropping in everything from a better intercooler, exhaust, air intake and much more into the mix. Of course, the company backs all its tweaking with a warranty. Click here for the full specs.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Hennessey without a wickedly redefined look. As per ususal, that philosophy is alive and well. The car will get a new set of wheels, a CarbonAero body upgrade that compliments the wheel color and delivers a two-tone look and a redesigned custom interior.

Normally such an awesome machine wouldn’t be a laughing matter, but we have to make fun of the Texan lads a little. They claim on their site to have taken the MP4-12C from “mild to wild.”

While we don’t doubt the concept’s capacity for rambunctious hoonage, calling anything bearing the McLaren badge “mild” is a little like saying habanero  peppers are tangy. Sorry Hennessey.

There aren’t price details listed yet, but this is just a concept car. In case you hadn’t already figured it out, this is one of those cases where having to ask the price means you can’t afford to play. If this one makes it to market, expect a healthy margin on top of the $229,000 base price for the mild version.

Mopar has treated us to some automotive delights this morning by releasing Chrysler vehicles decked out with Mopar parts in celebration of the aftermarket parts companies 75th anniversary. The Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute is a race inspired package that takes the already sporty looking Dart to a new level of performance.

The exterior of the Dart GTS 210 has gained several matte black trim pieces including a lower chin spoiler, side sills, rear spoiler and rear-diffuser panel. A carbon fiber hood complete with large air scoop takes some weight off the Dart and makes it look good. The Dart GTS 210 will run on 18-inch, 10 spoke forged alloy titanium-colored wheels which look fantastic against the ruby red paint.

The interior of the Dart GTS 210 will carry on the black and red theme with red Katzkin leather seats accented by black stitching. Piano black trim is used on the shifter bezel, cup holder bezel and dash vents bezel. To top it all off the Dodge Dart GTS 210 gets a suede clad instrument panel with red accent stitching.

For performance, Mopar has added an improved air flow intake, a low back pressure exhaust system and finer tuned fuel/air mix in the cylinder to pull 210 horsepower out of the regular 180 horsepower engine.

The Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute will be on display at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

GALLERY: Mopar Dodge Dart GTS 210 Tribute

Discuss this story at DartForum.com

Chrysler released details on the Mopar Jeep Compass “True North” today, along with three other vehicles meant to mark their 75th anniversary, all of which will be on display at the 2012 Chicago International Auto Show.

Here’s what we’ve learned about the modified Compass since we published our earlier story featuring photos of all four cars.

First, we’ve found that Mopar knows better than to tinker with a Jeep owner’s pavement-optional perspective. They say it’s still an off-road capable, trail-rated vehicle, though nothing Mopar does really adds, or subtracts anything. The only modification that makes the “True North” Compass any more viable in the bush is the added brush bars on the front and back that might keep your undercarriage a bit safer from rocks.

That said, this is anything but a rock crawler. Realistically, most Compass owners probably don’t go off-roading unless you count driving on the beach or through a snowy parking lot.

The modifications are superficial, but at least they make the Compass look a lot cooler. For example, the two-tone burnt orange and matte black grille and bumper make the car look less like a boring suburb spelunker and more like a stylish SUV. The same matte black accents surround the front and rear fog lights and run along the edge of the fenders and fascia.

The interior really plays up the Compass’s appeal to the young outdoorsy types it’s aimed at. Mopar even added neoprene seats. Yup, the same synthetic rubber material that half the stuff in REI is made of. It’s a cool touch that screams out to people who own CamelBacks and Nalgene bottles.

A center stack gauge pod holds pitch and roll meters if you do decide to take that risky first trip into the wild, though you won’t be doing it without modern amenities. Aside from little interior touches, the last big change is a Kicker sounds system the company says transforms the car into a “rolling high-end sound studio.” We’re not sure what sort of audio work people do on camping trips, but maybe you can enlighten us in the comments box below.

GALLERY: 2012 Mopar Jeep Compass “True North”

The Mopar ’12 300, as it’s being called, is a souped up version of the 2012 Chrysler 300.

Earlier today we published a story featuring a gallery with four Mopar-modified cars, which will appear at next month’s Chicago International Auto Show. Since then, the company released detailed information on them. Here’s what we’ve learned about the Mopar ’12 300.

On the outside, the car features a black on black look that suggests improved performance. A single blue pinstripe runs from the front fender to the tail lights, keeping the car from looking more like a piece of auto-shaped obsidian than a sedan.

20-inch glossy black wheels with a matching blue stripe are wrapped in Goodyear Eagle F1s. Just above those wheels, the car sports “Mopar 75” fender badges that feature the Mopar Blue “omega” logo.

The interior is “monotone” black with die-cast aluminum paddle shifters, a thicker steering wheel and blue stitching. The sound system gets a boost too, featuring a 506-watt Alpine 9-speaker system.

Nothing changes under the hood aside from a new Mopar engine cover. The same 5.7-liter Hemi V8 making 363 horsepower is mated with a 5-speed automatic transmission that powers the rear wheels.

That power will feel a little different though, thanks to a more aggressively geared differential, which gets swapped from 3.06:1 to 3.91:1.

Though the 300 isn’t known for it’s nimble cornering, the Mopar ’12 edition will feel better than the 300C, which is minimum level Hemi version, thanks to a stiffer suspension.

The brakes also get a bit better, though it’s marginal for a car that weighs more than 4300 pounds. The Mopar package moves us up to bigger front brakes featuring two pistons over the standard single piston versions.

Before you buy one of these things, take a good hard look at what you’re getting. Sure, it looks different, but you had better be in love with the looks because at $49,700 you’re paying more than $10,000 for what amounts to a lot of makeup and marginally improved performance.

GALLERY: Mopar ’12 300