Enjuku Racing’s SEMA Hyundai Genesis project is looking ready to roll into this year’s SEMA Show with its supercharged LS1 V8 engine swap. We first broke the news about their swapped project earlier last month, and now the folks over at Enjuku sent over photos of the completed Genesis along with a short video of the supercharged LS1 firing up and sounding healthy while taking its maiden voyage.

At the Johannesburg International Motor Show in South Africa, Toyota introduced their latest 5-door hatch in TRD supercharged form. The Auris TRD will feature a supercharged 1.6L with 178-hp and 149 lb-ft of torque, up 48-hp and 31 lb-ft from the standard model and looks to be launched sometime in November.

Kia will be joining in on the B-Spec racing series fun by offering race-prepped versions of the new 2012 Rio 5-door, joining the likes of the Mazda 2 and Honda Fit. The B-Spec racing series is designed for low-budget racing enthusiasts featuring compact hatchbacks with little to no engine modifications. Kia will be working with Kinetic Motorsports to get Rio 5-Doors ready to race and is planning to announce more details at the upcoming 2011 SEMA Show.

The Honda CR-Z was always intended to be a car with a split personality. When docile, the hybrid system allows the CR-Z to reach 39-mpg. Then, if prodded, the sporty hybrid promises to deliver sports car levels of driving excitement. However, in its current state, the CR-Z has been more Dr. Jekyll than Mr. Hyde.

Lexus intends to drum up excitement across its 2012 lineup by offering a series of limited edition models. Lexus has massaged its LS flagship with a sport-tuned air suspension as well as a 19-inch 10 spoke wheels and Brembo brakes. The interior receives sport seats at the front and a two tone leather trim throughout. This Lexus LS460 Sport Special Edition is expected to cost over $77,000.

The SEMA Show is sneaking up on us again and one of the first vehicles we’re learning about is the ARK Performance Hyundai Veloster.

Meguiar’s is sending nine of the world’s top show cars from around the world to this year’s SEMA Show, holding its first ever Car Crazy International Vehicle Showcase. These nine cars along with their owners will be brought in from all over the globe and will be on display front and center right outside the Convention Hall, next to Meguiar’s Car Crazy TV Stage. All week long, both the vehicles and their owners will be a major attraction of this year’s SEMA Show.

They’ve only been racing two seasons, but Kia Motors America’s motorsports program has now achieved championship greatness, thanks to Nic Jönsson wining the driver’s title and solidifying Kia in the Team Championship in the Street Tuner class of the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

The much maligned styling of the Nissan Juke is in many ways overcome by its impressive driving characteristics. Still not convinced? Then perhaps the Nissan GT-R powered ‘Super Juke’ will help change your mind.

Photos of a wildly modified Lexus LS surfaced last week and now we have the first video of the car lapping the Green Hell.

Called the Lexus LS TMG Edition the car was built by Toyota’s Motorsports Division, although it’s not clear for what purpose. Spy photos of inside the Toyota garage where the car is housed (along with a custom LFA GTE race car) have revealed that it makes 650-hp, from a 5.0-liter engine, although it’s not known if this is a V8, V10 or if it sports forced induction.

The car certainly raises questions as to why Lexus seems to be developing a Mercedes AMG S-Class fighter, or if this is perhaps just some wild one-off intended for the Tokyo Auto Salon.

Watch the video after the jump:

Limousines often symbolize wealth and celebrity status. To travel in one means that you’ve either arrived or are celebrating a special occasion, which, usually calls for a little more excess than normal.

A selection of photos of what is reported to be a new Lexus LS-F model testing at the Nurburgring are circulating the net this morning, but there’s more to this story. Several weeks back pictures of the car first hit the net along with photos of an upcoming LFA GTE race car that will be campaigned at the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year. At the request of Toyota those pictures were taken down, but they did not disappear and have reemerged now that the car has been spied again – and this time there are detailed specifications as well.

Fox Marketing has built some crazy rides in the past for SEMA, including several widebody Lexus vehicles blending the best of luxury and sport into one attractive package. For this year’s show, it looks as though Fox Marketing has teamed up with Honda to show off what its new 2012 Civic Si can do in the customization department. Several 2012 Civics were handed out by Honda to some of the country’s most well-known builders, and Fox Marketing is the first to disclose some details on what they’ll be doing on theirs.

Sebastian Vettel’s Version of Infiniti‘s FX is now official, packing 414-hp, improved aerodynamics, 21-inch wheels and carbon fiber components giving the FX over 101-lbs in weight savings. The special edition FX was designed to Sebastian Vettel’s vision and built by Infiniti in just six months and is based on the V8 FX50S Premium. And best of all, we’re glad Infiniti and Vettel changed more than just the FX’s good looks on their collaboration.

Back in 2010, Mugen introduced its first version of the current generation Honda Civic Type-R with just a limited production of 20 units. And perhaps because they still have four of them left over, Mugen Euro decided to go back to the drawing board, finding new ways to entice owners to scoop up this version of the Civic Type-R.

Twin turbo experts in everything from Dodge Vipers to Lamborghini Gallardos, Heffner Performance has introduced a “bolt-on” twin-turbo system for the Ferrari 458, boasting that it’ll increase the factory horsepower rating by 257 ponies, bringing it up to an astonishing 820-hp. Perhaps more shocking is that Heffner claims the setup can do all this on just 5-psi of boost… and on pump gas.

When it was first revealed that Infiniti was planning a Sebsatian Vettel edition model, the immediate assumption was that it would be some sort of G37 Coupe. Not so.

Prepping your IS-F for the track just got a lot easier thanks to a new line of performance parts released by Toyota‘s TRD performance division.

Lexus has announced its plans for the 2012 CT 200h model, adding a new car and the F Sport Package as an option to buyers. The F Sport Package originally debuted last year at the Australian International Auto Show (seen above) and will feature F Sport-tuned suspension, 17-inch wheels in a high-gloss finish, mesh front grille, metal front scuff plates, perforated leather steering wheel, leather shift knob, aluminum sport pedals, and metallic trim on the dash panel. Options for seats include black NuLuxe trimmed seats or perforated black leather-trimmed seats.

The Hyundai Veloster is expected to be a hit with enthusiasts and the tuning crowd, and if the hatchback’s home market of South Korea is any indication, it’s off to a great start.

Enjuku Racing, best known for campaigning several Nissan S13 chassis through Formula Drift and capturing the NOPI Drift championship one year, is turning towards a whole new chassis for SEMA this year. Starting with your run-of-the-mill Hyundai Genesis Coupe, the crazy minds at Enjuku Racing have decided that a supercharged LS1 powerplant would look much better in the engine bay.

There’s a huge list of reasons why anyone would want to buy a Toyota Prius these days. But despite its decent cargo space once the rear seats are folded down, the Prius has its limitations when it comes to really transporting anything of significance.

Google has been campaigning its self-driving Toyota Prius for quite some time now, bragging that the machines have logged hundreds of thousands of miles with only one accident – when they got rear-ended at a light. But now history has been written with reports that Google’s Prius caused its first at-fault accident, ironically rear-ending a newer generation Prius. Perhaps Google’s Prius was a little jealous of its newer, hipper, third-generation counterpart?

Students at the Ohio Technical College, in conjunction with American Suzuki Motor Co., have joined forces to build a customized Grand Vitara SUV.

Hyundai Germany has announced a limited production of just 50 units for a Genesis Coupe GT, inspired by the Hyundai Schuhmann Motor Sport Team. The team is famous for campaigning a Genesis Coupe at the Nurburgring 24-hour race. The Genesis Coupe GT will come with the standard 3.8L V6 powerplant with 306-hp and 266 lb-ft of torque but will feature a quad-tipped, stainless steel exhaust.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Mugen’s hot CR-Z RR Concept, but more photos have been released and there’s no reason not to share. Unfortunately, there are still no plans to releasing any of the parts or the vehicle and this version of Honda‘s sporty hybrid will remain a show car. Produced by M-TEC in Japan, the Concept shows off Mugen’s abilities to customize the function, style, performance and agility of the hybrid CR-Z.

The folks over at AMS have been working hard at setting records with their Alpha Series  Nissan GT-R and the Alpha 12 has now become the world’s first 8-second GT-R down the quarter mile. What makes the pass even more remarkable is how many of the GT-R’s standard features are kept intact, including air conditioning. Oh, and it’s also quite steetable.

AMS claims that the Alpha 12 GT-R makes around 1500-hp and according to their data log, the GT-R went from 60-mph to 130-mph in 3.34 measly seconds. That is also a record for any street car to hit 130-mph from 60-mph. AMS estimates that the top speed of the Alpha 12 GT-R is around 230-mph and with a final drive upgrade could hit a over 250-mph.

Check out the video of the record setting run after the break.

Subaru recently captured the 2011 Rally America National title, and to show off its road to success the automaker has released a short film titled “Gunning for Gold”.

The film debuted in Los Angeles and shows off Subaru Rally Team USA’s two talented drivers, David Higgins and Dave Mirra. The film features various rally racing clips and behind the scenes look as the team prepares for each competition with their Subarus.

Subaru is currently competing at X Games 17 looking to extend its success in the Rally Car and Rallycross events. Higgins has already captured a bronze medel at his first ever X Games in the Rally Car event. In the film, both drivers are seen behind the wheel of a 550-hp Subaru Impreza WRX STi.

Check out the video after the break.

Some say that imitation is the best form of flattery, but this time around we don’t think the guys at Five Axis are flattered. Back in 2009, the creative team of designers at Five Axis produced one of the coolest concept cars yet, the widebody Scion iQ.

The barter system is alive and well, it seems, with the offer of a free goat (the animal kind, not the Pontiac kind). But it’s not what you think—on many different levels.

Infiniti has embarked on a one-off project, donating a 5.6-liter 400-hp engine from the full-size Qx56, to help students from a local community college build a luxurious boat.

We’re not really sure how we missed this when it first surfaced at the Thailand International Motor Expo in 2010, but now we’re hungry for more information on it. Mazda‘s Mazda2 entered the subcompact market with mixed reviews, some wondering if it really has a place in the market. Mazda brands it as a performance-oriented machine in a small package, but its 100-hp, 1.5L powerplant says otherwise.

If Mazda had presented the Mazda2 to the American market with this Mazda2 Monster however, we’d be more inclined to think that the vehicle is indeed a sports car in a subcompact body. Unfortunately we scoured the Internet looking for more information on this hot sedan, but came up empty.  What we can notice is that it’s decked out with carbon fiber components – from the hood to its front lip and blister fenders while the rear gets a trunk replacement and spoiler – and an aggressive set of wheels gives this Mazda2 a monstrous stance. The race-inspired theme continues with a Bride driver-side seat.

It looks as though this was an actual Mazda demo vehicle in the Mazda booth at the 2010 Thailand International Motor Expo, so we’re thoroughly perplexed on what happened to it after that debut and why it hasn’t surfaced elsewhere. We certainly think it’s worth finding out more, so if anyone has any pointers as to this Mazda2 Monster’s existence – please share!

Check out a video of the Mazda2 Monster after the break.

[Source: Farm of Minds]

Toyota‘s miniature city car, known to us as the Scion iQ, is clearly a budget-friendly subcompact but who is to say that you can’t have a little fun and comfort while driving it? After Vilner transformed the Smart ForTwo they set their eyes on the next city car project this time keeping the modifications strictly in the interior. Looking to add luxury with the iQ’s eco-friendliness, Vilner fills the interior with brown Napa leather and Alcantara throughout.

If you can wrap your head around that breathlessly exciting headline, then you can begin to understand the significance of a £49,995 Subaru taking on the likes of Ariel, Lexus, and Nissan’s GTR—and destroying them.

There’s a whole lot of head-scratchers out there in the world of automotive customizing and this one may rank towards the top.  Mazda‘s Miata is similar to BMW‘s Z3 in that they’re both convertibles.

Lexus of Australia is using the Australian International Motor Show to gauge interest in a sportier CT200h packed with aerodynamic and performance enhancements to the hybrid hathback. The CT200h Concept was inspired by the Gazoo Racing Nürburgring CT race car, and could feature elements that Lexus may introduce into the local Australian market.

Honda‘s Japan-only Honda Fit Shuttle just got a whole lot more exciting and sporty thanks to Honda’s cohorts at Mugen. The Fit Shuttle is taller and longer than the Honda Fit we’re used to here in North America, making it more practical  but arguably not as appealing to hip youngsters. Fortunately Mugen’s rendition of Honda’s Fit Shuttle puts the sport and fun back into the Fit.

It looks as if Vilner had a light bulb go off recently, discovering that there’s a market for custom luxury interiors for various vehicles. Recently they decked out a MINI Cooper with a Bentley-styled interior package, and now they’ve added their fine touch to Infiniti’s EX and FX models. For the EX, Vilner went with a yachting theme, while the FX features your standard interior upgrades to add more luxury to the SUV.

Japanese tuner, Takero’s, is currently developing some aerodynamic pieces for the Honda Fit under its RS label, potentially offering a more affordable alternative to Mugen. The company’s demo car, however, shows the best of both worlds, with Takero’s body parts mixed in with Mugen’s. Most notably is there front bumper replacement, which is a less aggressive design than Mugen’s Fit and features a carbon fiber lip and carbon fiber front grille.

At this year’s event, which runs from July 15 to 17, a very special Subaru is hoping to take the crown as the fastest car on this challenging 1.2-mile track. This special Subaru is an Impreza STi that has been tuned by Cosworth. The model is called the STi CS400 and produces 395-hp. Apart from the power gain over the standard model, the car also gets lighter 18-inch wheels by Pro-Race, and six-piston caliper brakes by AP Racing.

Okay, so it’s heavily modified. But nevertheless, a sixth generation Toyota Celica (1994-97 model years) set the fastest time on the climb to Goodwood House this past weekend, beating many other race cars, including recent Formula 1 machines.

It looks like Mugen isn’t stopping with its CR-Z Concept. Along with that 200-hp supercharged hybrid the famed Honda tuner is rolling out a motorsports-inspired CR-Z at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Proof that the Prius isn’t just for greenie eco-nuts, Toyota has just released a new Prius Plus Performance package for the world’s most popular hybrid. Just don’t look for added performance under the hood – even if the parts are made by Toyota Racing Development (TRD).

Who says driving around a van has to be boring? The all new third-generation Nissan Quest, known as Elgrand in Japan, just got a whole lot wilder thanks to the tuners over at Impul. Though these styling packages are made for the Japanese Elgrand front-end, those ambitious enough to outfit it to their USDM Quest should be able to proceed with a little effort. The result will be a one-of-a-kind looking van, and we’d love to see one driving around in North America.

Lexus’ moment to shine is coming soon with the Monaco Royal Couple’s wedding, and more photos and a video of the one-off LS600h Landaulet featuring a special transparent roof has been released to the public. The event will take place on July 2nd, when the Royal Couple will head from Rocher down to the Monaco Harbour and the Sainte-Dévote chapel in true Lexus luxury.

The all-electric Nissan Leaf had a triumphant outing at Pikes Peak this past weekend, netting itself the win in the electric production class with Chad Hord behind the wheel. Even though it didn’t claim the EV record that AC Propulsion did, the Leaf proved to be a formidable production race car turning in a time of 14 minutes and 33 seconds.

Apparently shiny gold wraps are already out of style, and in the land of bold and flashy cars, a matte gold Nissan GT-R has surfaced. And surprisingly, this GT-R in Dubai, UAE looks pretty darn good in its matte gold shade.

Gran Turismo’s creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, has taken his GT500 “Stealth” GT-inspired Nissan GT-R to a class victory at the 24 Hours of Nurburgring. Complete with his team comprised of Tobias Shulze, Michael Schulze and Yasuyoshi Yamamoto, the GT-R battled through a dramatic race full of mechanical issues to claim 36th overall, but first-in-class.

This is a great follow-up to Yamauchi’s class victory last year in a Lexus IS-F in the four-hour Nurburgring VLN race, but this year he didn’t have to settle for fourth place in his class. Despite having to spend time in the pits addressing their mechanical issues, the time was able to officially complete 134 laps in 24 hours, 2 minutes and 26.9 seconds with a fastest lap time of 9:17.707.

Now if only his team of developers could work that quickly on Gran Turismo 6. Check out a video of the GT-R in early Sunday morning action after the break.

[Source: GT Planet]

The Lexus LFA may sport one of the highest price tags in the exotic car market, but until now it’s been missing an all-important Nurburgring lap time.

Lexus has never released an official time for the car, but leading up to this past weekend’s 24 Hours of Nurburgring, the Toyota luxury arm took a Nurburgring Edition LFA for an exhibition hot lap. Even though it wasn’t classified as a full-on attempt, Gazoo Racing driver Akira Iida put in an impressive 7:22.85 in the LFA, putting it in 10th place overall on the fastest production vehicle list.

With that time being three seconds off the Corvette ZR1, which costs just a third of the price, even Lexus fanboys aren’t thumping their chests. That may soon change, however, with reports that there are plans for an official run in the future.

Was Iida going balls-to-the-wall, or was he sand bagging? Time will tell.

[Source: LexusEnthusiast]

The famous 1991 24-Hours of Le Mans winner, the Mazda 787B will be featured at this weekend’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Ex-Formula 1 driver and Le Mans veteran Mike Wilds and current Mazda works driver Mark Ticehurst will be racing the 787B up the hallowed Goodwood hill for the festival this weekend. The race car returns to mark the 20th anniversary of its famous victory in the demanding 24-Hours of Le Mans.

Abflug has made a reputation for themselves for having some of the most extreme body kits in the world. Some may call their creations outlandish, but there’s no denying that they push aggressive designs to the edge. Their widebody Nissan GT-R is one of their craziest kits yet, even up against some of their insane Supra creations.

Based out of Japan, Axell Auto looks to work on a variety of complete car tuning kits with a strong focus on Toyota-branded SUVs and vans. In fact, the Nissan GT-R is the only sports car that they even dabble in, and that’s probably because they know just how important the R35 GT-R is to Japanese enthusiasts. One thing is for sure though, every one of their aero kit offerings are as aggressive as can be, and their widebody GT-R is no different.

It’s been quite a while since Mugen and Honda had this much buzz surrounding a car. And while some are still rolling their eyes at the thought of a modified hybrid, Mugen is definitely poised to prove that you can have your cake and eat it too, finally announcing full specs of its supercharged CR-Z.

Travis Pastrana looks to be going head-to-head with Ken Block on and off the track for 2011. Debuting his new 2011 Subaru WRX STi race car and livery through a viral YouTube video, Pastrana decided to spoof one of Block’s most popular videos by employing the assistance of scantily clad ladies, just not the ones we’re used to seeing.

Funny enough, Mad Media production company are the masterminds behind this video, who were also the creators of Ken Block’s 2011 Ford Fiesta reveal. Clearly it’s all in fun as Pastrana is just taking a jab back after Block called Travis out for “forgetting how to turn right.”

Pastrana will be competing at this year’s X Games RallyCross hoping to claim his third Rally Gold. Throughout the video, Pastrana highlights how he plans to one-up Block throughout the year, including attendance at more events than Block. It looks like Boost Mobile is getting their money’s worth.

The famed creator of Gran Turismo, Kazunori Yamauchi, has returned to racing on the track with a Nissan GT-R that has clearly been inspired by the GT500 “Stealth” GT from Gran Turismo 5. His team recently participated in the four-hour Nurburgring VLN race and looks poised to compete in the 24 Hours of Nurburgring.

We’d love to be the jerks and crack a joke that the Nissan Cefiro turned Lamborghini Reventon out in China has been thrown into the impound yard for being such a disgrace but we won’t kick a man while he’s down.

General Motors has officially announced pricing for the 2012 Chevrolet Sonic. The sedan has been priced to start at $14,495 and the five-door model will start at $15,395.

Toyota will be bringing an interesting blend of past, present and future cars to this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Climbing up the famous hill this year featuring Toyota’s moniker includes their GT One sports car, Dynojet Racing’s Avensis, a rare MR2-based Group S rally car, the famous “King of Africa” Celica Twin Cam TA64, WRC Corolla and this year’s Dakar Rally class-winning Land Cruiser. In the factory cars department, Toyota will be showing off its Yaris Hybrid concept, Auris Hybrid and Prius Plug-in Hybrid.

Honda is truly out to prove a point that CR-Z owners can have their cake and eat it too. This isn’t the first time we’ve spotted Honda’s CR-Z Racer, created by Honda Performance Development (HPD). The vehicle debuted at SEMA 2010 and hit the track at the Thunderhill 25 Hours. And now it’ll show its stuff in front of a huge crowd at one of the most famed races in motorsports, the 24 Hours of Le Mans.