There was a time, not so long ago, when Porsche decided they didn’t need to participate at the North American International Auto Show because Detroit, Michigan wasn’t the right demographic market for their products.

Oh, how times have changed. Not only has Porsche returned to the venue, but they are staging a World Premiere of one of their most important models, the latest 911 Cabrio (991 Coupe pictured above).

Those who will be in Detroit (that includes us) will be the first to lay eyes on the drop-top version of the 991-generation model Cabriolet.

Bernhard Maier, a Porsche AG board of management member for sales and marketing said; “The USA is and remains an important market for Porsche with good growth prospects. Detroit was deliberately chosen for the world premiere of the new 911 Cabrio because the USA is far and away our largest 911 Cabrio market.”

The latest generation of 911 will go on sale on our turf next month, with the Cabrio following a few months later. So if you’re rich and you know it, you now know when to visit your local area Porsche dealer.

The MG SV-R is a car most people in North America (or anywhere else for that matter) haven’t even heard of. But it did exist for a short time, and we’re glad it did. So how did it come about?

The project started when MG Rover, wanted a halo car for their brand, to raise the company’s profile and keep it in business. So what MG did was look for a suitable car to form the basis for their new sports car (this would save them tons in development money), and mold it into something unique.

What they got was the underpinnings of the Qvale Mangusta, a car that started out in life as the De Tomaso Bigua. With the underpinnings secured, MG went all out and hired automotive designer Peter Stevens.

Steven’s is most well known for penning the iconic McLaren F1 supercar, and he soon got to work to clothe the chassis he was given. The end result might not be to everyone’s taste, but it is most certainly interesting.

To power their new sports car, MG made a deal with Ford to get both the 4.6-liter V8 from the Mustang, and a 5.0-liter V8 crate motor. They also got some supercharged 4.6-liter V8s from Ford SVT division. The motors were then sent to Sean Hyland Motorsports in Woodstock, Ontario in Canada to tune them to MG’s specifications. As a result, the base 4.6-liter engine was good for 320 hp, while the 5.0-liter and the supercharged 4.6-liter V8s were good for 385 hp. At launch time, there was talk of much more power to come, but nothing came of it.

Power was fed to the rear wheels via a Tremec 5-speed manual gearbox, and when launched properly would sprint from 0-60 mph in 4.9 seconds, and onto a top speed of 175 mph. So while not the quickest or fastest sports car ever made, it’s certainly respectable.

Despite having a high profile client like Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean, Johnny English), who ordered a dark green example, MG struggled to sell their latest sports car in big numbers. All in all, just 82 examples are believed to have been produced between 2003 and 2005, of which 42 were the more powerful SV-R versions.

The car pictured above is believed to be the very last complete SV-R ever produced by MG. This car was once the star of the 2005 Italian Motor Show. Sadly the MG Rover group soon went into administration and this car stay locked up for three years, before the cars current owner bought it and registered it in 2008. Since then it has covered just 800 miles. In a way, this silver on black example is almost like new and comes with such original goodies as an MG Racing car cover, an SV-R collector’s DVD, hardback book, an MG jacket, T-shirt and key ring. All these items are also described as brand new.

If you are intrigued by this left-hand drive example (which makes it rarer than rare), you can bid on it at the Silverstone Auctions on November 4, 2011. This car is part of the Walter Hayes sale, which includes many other tasty collector cars.

This MG SV-R is expected to fetch around $55,000, a bargain for what could very possibly be a desirable future classic.

GALLERY: MG SV-R

[Source: Silverstone Auctions]

One of the most respected names in the automotive business is Gordan Murray. Not only was he the designer behind some of the best Formula 1 race cars back in the 1980′s, he was also the mastermind behind the McLaren F1 road car, which is still widely respected as the best supercar ever made.

Having recently worked on such projects as the Caparo T1 and his own Gordon Murray Design T.25 city car, he has now pulled the wraps off his latest creation, the T.32.

Also known as the Teewave AR.1, the project was green-lighted by carbon-fiber specialists Toray Industries Inc. Toray wants to get into the business of making their own car, rather than just supplying panels for other manufacturers.

So Toray employed the services of Gordon Murray to design and develop their new car, which uses the running gear out of the Mitsubishi iMiEV. This 63-hp electric motor can propel this 1,874 lb. sportscar from 0-62 mph in 11.4 seconds, and onto a top speed of 91 mph.

However, the AR.1 is designed to be more of an urban sportscar, and thus its 0-31 mph acceleration time of 4.4 seconds will ensure it can easily keep pace with other traffic.

As with all electric vehicles, most people are more interested in charging times and range. The Teewave AR.1 will take six-hours to fully charge and can travel 116-miles before needing recharging.

Murray reveals that it took just nine months from concept discussion to running prototype. No dates have been given as to when this vehicle will go on sale, in which markets or how much it will cost.

There once was a time when Toyota used to have many sporty coupes in its line-up, like the MR-2, Celica and even a Camry V6 coupe. However, their flagship model was the Supra, a car that could keep up and beat almost anything offered by the Germans or the Americans at the time.

In the last decade, Toyota had axed all its sporty coupes, with the Supra bowing out in 2002, leaving many fans wanting for more.

Over the last few years, the rumor-mill has been busy with talk about the resurrection of the Supra, most of which revolve around a slightly toned down version of the Lexus LFA.

While Toyota officially denies these rumors, according to some insiders, a skunkworks project is underway and we could see a new Supra by 2014. Whether it be based on the FT-86 or the LFA platform (or something entirely new) is not known. Either way, sportscar fans can’t wait to see the fifth-generation Supra. Neither can we.

[Source: CAR]

While not everyone is a fan of the new Chevrolet Camaro, it appears that it actually has more admirers than one would think.

Not only has it been the best selling sportscar for the last two years, it is now also the most popular car on Facebook. With a fan-base of 1.8-million, the Camaro , it has out numbered any other car on this social media site.

The site also proves that the new Camaro is attracting a younger crowd, as 60% of fans are between the ages of 18 and 34. With fans uploading photo’s of their Camaro’s, its community is getting bigger and stronger with time.

It will certainly get stronger still when later this year, Chevrolet will launch the Transformers Edition Camaro, and the powerhouse Camaro ZL1, which features a supercharged V8 capable of producing well over 550-hp. A muscle car with muscle, we like the sound of that.

[Source: egm CarTech]

First came the Audi TT, followed by the TTS a few years later. Now Audi fans in North America will finally be able to park the TT RS in their garage, at least those who have $56,850 (not including destination charges and other fees and taxes) to spend on a new car.

This hottest version of the TT comes equipped with a 2.5-liter, five-cylinder motor that features TFSI direct injection technology and a turbocharger/intercooler setup. The result is a powerplant that produces 360-hp and 343 lb/ft of torque.

Power is fed to all wheels via the famous Quattro system, and the only gearbox being offered is the six-speed manual, so this will be a true drivers car.

The TT RS comes well equipped, wearing 19-inch alloy wheels and a big fixed rear spoiler. Inside you get 10-way power sport seats, BOSE sound system and an Audi navigation system that provides real-time traffic updates.

It has been a few years since Audi has offered an RS-model to the North American buyer, with the last one being the 2007 RS4. The TT-RS should be on sale sometime this summer.

In commemoration of the Jaguar E-type’s 50th anniversary, a 91.9-foot tall sculpture has taken center stage for this years Goodwood Festival of Speed.

This gigantic steel structure constitutes nearly half a kilometer of steel pipes, which were originally intended for use as a gas pipeline. The material for this structure was donated by Tata Steel, a subsidiary of Tata Motors, which currently owns Jaguar. It looks massive and with a curb weight of 336,000 lbs. it is heavy too.

This structure is the work of Gerry Judah, who has been working on it since January. It took 10-days to erect it and the work was undertaken by a firm that usually builds bridges.

Typically the annual monument at the Goodwood Festival of Speed incorporates cars on it, but Judah didn’t want that, saying; “The E-type is famous for its shape but too small and delicate to hoist into the air. I thought I would like to express the form of the car itself without any embellishments. Everyone recognizes the E-type, the shape speaks for itself. You can’t compete with it, you can’t digress from it.”

The festival starts today and will run until July 3rd.

BMW is getting ready to launch a more affordable sports car for 2014 called the Z2. The Z4 was a fabulous roadster however it has moved upmarket and BMW is hoping to produce a simpler successor to the original Z3.

It has been reported that BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer is not exactly a fan of the Z2 but, the board understands the brand cannot surrender this segment to be monopolized by the Mazda Mx-5.

Plans are leading us to believe that the Z2 will be a soft-top roadster and it is unlikely to be front-wheel drive. It is still up in the air as to whether the new roadster will be RWD or AWD.

Plans to launch a front wheel drive UKL1 platform for future BMWs and Minis was met by significant public outcry, convincing BMW to utilize a 4wd system if production commences affecting the Z2 as well.

There would be both positive and negative aspects of using an all-wheel drive system. Benefits include better traction as well as a broader appeal to consumers. On the other hand, weight, space and cost are all affected by the awd possibility.

Three different turbocharged 2.0-liter four cylinder engines would be used producing between 170- 272-h There may also be a 2.0-liter turbodiesel alternative in works, producing 184-hp or 204-hp.

[Source: Car]

Lexus has just released a new advertisement highlighting the LFA supercar as well as the company’s technological innovations. This new ad focuses on new technologies critics thought Lexus was not capable of designing and the Japanese automakers commitment to sustainability. “It is not about simply making incremental strides and improvements, but about taking giant leaps in innovation,” said Dave Nordstrom, Lexus vice president for marketing.

This new ad entitled “A New Era of Lexus Innovation” highlights the development process for the Lexus LFA’s V-10 and carbon-fiber components. The LFA’s high revving engine screams through the entire ad, while being put through hairpin turns on the track all the while the sophisticated components inside the car are explained. The soundtrack and narration add to the experience and overall the commercial is worth checking out. The sound of the 4.8-liter V-10 sounds absolutely flawless.

Check out the video after the jump!

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Ferrari is holding a world design contest to develop the Ferrari of the future. Ferrari, in collaboration with with Autodesk, the technical partner and supporter of the project, is challenging students to develop the Ferrari hypercar of the future with the latest generation technologies and materials, while preserving the iconic performance and elegance associated with the legendary Italian automaker.

Students must focus on lowering fuel consumption,alternative powertrains, and hybrid technology while also emphasizing driving pleasure and weight reduction through their models.

Fifty presigious international design schools began the competition, and now there are seven finalist schools, from all over the world. The finalists include: IED and IAAD from Turin (Italy), the London Royal College of Arts (UK), the European Design Institute Barcelona (Spain), Seoul’s Hong-ik College (Korea), the DSK Supinfocom (India) and the College For Creative Studies in Detroit (USA).

The winner of the design contest will be announced on July 19, including a grand prize of an internship at Ferrari in Maranello, Italy as well as cash prizes. Autodesk will also award the student team that best used Autodesk Alias software to communicate their design and demonstrate their process of design.

[Source: Ferrari]