Luxury sportscar manufacturer Aston Martin is celebrating a milestone as they now have over 1-million fans on the social networking site, Facebook.

In celebration of this milestone, Aston Martin will lets its ‘fans’ design a special one-off vehicle by answering a series of questions. The most popular answer will decide the specification of “The Millionth Fan Car.”

Aston Martin is creating some interior and exterior color schemes specifically for this special edition. As a thank you to all those who participated in this campaign, Aston Martin will send each fan a downloadable certificate of the final design.

The chosen car and design will be built at Aston Martin’s Gaydon facility in March 2012. This car will then be displayed at many public events during the year.

Aston Martin’s popularity has seen a big rise in the last six-months as over 280,000 fans have ‘liked’ their Facebook page. This might be due to their expansion in markets such as India and South America recently.

Also in celebration of this milestone, Aston Martin will reduce the price of their iPhone app from $5.00 to $0.99, but only for a limited time.

The ultra-limited production Jaguar XKR-S will get a droptop companion sometime in 2012, with Jaguar unveiling the 2013 Jaguar XKR-S Convertible at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show on November 16th.

With a 5.0L supercharged V8 making 542 horsepower and 502 lb-ft , making it the most powerful Jaguar ever produced. The coupe can hit 60 mph in 4.2 seconds while reaching speeds of 186 mph. Expect the droptop to be just a tick slower due to the added weight. Jaguar will also show the C-X16 concept in North America for the first time, giving domestic show goers a glimpse of the amazing turbine powered concept.

[Source: Motor Authority]

Lotus Elise and Exige sports cars manufactured between June 1, 2004 and November 30, 2006 are subject to replacement of a faulty oil cooler line, which may be prone to leak oil or suffer from the line detaching completely. If attention isn’t given at a timely matter, the defect can cause slippery oil to coat the tires, smoke, or even fires.

This defect was first brought to Lotus’ attention after reports of smoking and in one case, a fire. Repairs will be performed at no cost to Lotus owners. Dial for Lotus, (800) 245-6557, or you may the call NHTSA vehicle safety hotline at (88) 327-4236

New rules to Britain’s MoT inspection program, used by the government to declare whether vehicles are roadworthy or not, could end up costing motorists thousands of dollars for non-essential repairs.

European Union regulations, which Britain is subject to, require that electronic stability control systems must be checked, and any vehicle that doesn’t pass will be declared unfit for British roads. One reader of British magazine Auto Express complained that he recieved a bill of $2,715 to fix the system in his Vauxhall Astra compact car, when the system was fitted as an option. The reader noted that an Astra that didn’t have the system at all would be declared road worthy.

Systems like airbags, catalytic converters and factory-fitted Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems will also be tested, and any defects could result in similarly expensive repair bills. This issue has left us wondering whether the OEMs are setting us up for a fall by making these systems so costly to repair, leaving some owners to abandon their perfectly good vehicles for a new car, rationalizing their purchase as an alternative to throwing money at an old car.

[Source: AutoExpress]

Following in the footsteps of the Aston Martin Cygnet, Lotus will introduce their own City Car, apparently dubbed the Ethos, in late 2013.

First unveiled at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, the Ethos will be powered by a hybrid powertrain or possibly a fully electric system like the Nissan Leaf. The concept used a 1.2L three-cylinder engine with a hybrid system that allowed for 37 miles of electric driving and a total range of 310 miles. Pricing is said to be set at $45,000.

GALLERY: Lotus Ethos Concept

[Source: DuPont Registry]

The last Jaguar to offer all-wheel drive was the X-Type, a compact sedan that was ignored by the U.S. marketplace. But that isn’t detering Jaguar from planning to offer AWD on their XF and XJ sedans.

With a significant portion of Jaguar customers based on the East Coast, Jaguar needs to offer AWD for customers in the snowbelt, despite it being “cost prohibitive” according to Jaguar boss Adrian Hallmark. Hallmark said that AWD is a major selling point for brands like Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, and if the brand wants to keep up its momentum among luxury buyers, it needs to offer AWD.

[Source: Car and Driver]

After decades of borrowing powertrains from Ford, Renault, Toyota and other OEMs, Lotus has revealed some of the first pictures of a working engine, designed and built in-house.

From the photo released on Facebook, the engine appears to be a DOHC V8 with a racy looking intake plenum and airbox setup, similar to an Italian supercar engine. No word on whether individual throttles, direct injection or any sophisticated technologies will be employed.

Expect to see the engine in products like the upcoming flagship Esprit, assuming those vehicles actually make it to market.

[Source: Facebook]

The Lotus Cup USA Series will begin its season on September 2nd at New Jersey Motorsports Park, followed by a second round at Lime Rock Park In Connecticut on October 20th.

The inaugural East Coast events kick off the series, which features both open lapping days and a time trial event. The idea is to let Lotus customers experience their car on a closed course, and operate them in the way they were intended to be driven.

Participants will also be able to receive professional instruction behind the wheel of an Evora as part of the aptly named “Evora Performance Driving Experience”.

Fans of the Land Rover Defender have long feared the vehicle’s demise amid intensifying regulations and waning interest in off-road vehicles, but Land Rover isn’t giving up on their iconic product.

A report in a British magazine suggests that an all-new Defender will debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show, using the same underpinnings as Land Rover’s capable LR4 SUV. A new range of in-house 4-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines will be employed, as well as Land Rover’s Terrain Management System, which can adjust the entire driveline to cope with various off-road situations.

[Source: Auto Express]

Lotus will be packing heat this year at the upcoming Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance with the Evora GTE Road Car Concept and the Exige Matte Black Final Edition.

The Evora GTE Road Car will be unveiled to the world for the first time at the McCall’s Motorworks Revival event Wednesday night, August 17 at the Monterey Jet Center. This high performance Evora was built for the sole purpose of being successful in the new global motorsport GTE category. The Evora will crank out 420-hp with a sequential AMT racing gearbox sending power to the wheels via ultra-light forged alloy rims with center-lock hubs and Pirelli P-Zero Corsa tires. The sports car will later be shown within the Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill on August 18-20 before being moved onto the Concept Car Lawn for display for the rest of the weekend.

The US Premiere of the North American only Exige Matte Black Final Edition will premiere within the Lotus exhibit on Peter Hay Hill on August 18-21. This Exige gets bumped up to 257-hp, a stealthy paint job and black Alacantara sport seats. Only twenty-five of these vehicles will be produced, each with their own number plate.