#PerformanceCars

Mercedes predicts that it will sell half again as many AMG models in 2014 as it did the year before.

The plug-in hybrid British supercar that captivated attention at several international auto shows has officially been sold out.

There’s a performance sub-brand coming from Korean automaker Hyundai.

Ford announced on Wednesday that Fiesta owners would be able to buy specially fitted vinyl wraps of bacon images for their cars.

Expected to make its final debut next year, the Mercedes-Benz CLA 45 AMG showed up in spy photos today.

Toyota is launching the GT 86 and Scion FR-S around the world and Indonesia’s release took place last Friday to the tune of a couple smoking tires.

Update: The price referred to in this story does not reflect American pricing. We now know that the Juke-R will cost around $590,000 in U.S. dollars.

In a surprise move, Nissan announced that it will offer production versions of its insane Juke-R concept though only on a per-order basis and in a limited supply.

What happens when you scoop a Nissan Juke’s guts out with a mellon baller and replace them with pure testosterone? In case you forgot, it’s the Juke-R.

Since the early ’60s Chevrolet has used the SS badge to designate (mostly) performance oriented cars, though the harlotous name stuck itself to a few undeserving hosts over the years.

More than half a decade later the automaker has finally patented the iconic SS brand, prompting us to wonder why. It seems especially strange given that over the last 51 years, the company has never taken issue with stamping its performance variants as such.

As if there weren’t enough possibilities for the Chevrolet Camaro already, the automaker announced today that it will introduce a new 1LE performance package to further augment the already-muscular Camaro SS coupe.

In Frankfurt last year, Ford teased us with a new Fiesta ST concept. Shown initially in three-door form we were initially worried we wouldn’t get this spiced-up version so you can perhaps imagine our delight when a five-door concept materialized a couple months later at the LA Auto Show.

Chevrolet is laying claim to sports car bragging rights this year after accounting for more than a third of total U.S. sports car sales with their Camaro and Corvette.

“We challenge any company to bring two cars to compete with the Corvette ZR1 and Camaro ZL1, dollar for dollar,” General Motors North America president Mark Reuss said. “They will discover what enthusiasts already know – that Chevrolet Camaro and Corvette are the world’s best performance cars for the money.”

The Camaro outsold its closest competition, the Ford Mustang, by almost 18,000 cars last year with a total 88,249 units.

According to the company, that figure is expected to grow when the ZL1 Camaro goes on sale this month. The ZL1 is the fastest production Camaro ever built: It sports a 6.2-liter supercharged LSA V8 that makes a road-ripping 580 hp. We’ll have our own verdict on the ZL1 soon — we’re out taking our first drive today.

Chevrolet recorded a 2:52.4 lap time in the ZL1 Camaro around the Grand Course at the Virginia International Raceway, which they say is more than six seconds faster than Ford’s Shelby GT500.

Similarly, the ZR1 Corvette is the fastest production car to come from Chevrolet. Its 6.2-liter LS9 V8 makes 638 hp and 604 lb-ft of torque, allowing for a  2:45.6 lap time.

While it’s sometimes difficult to believe statistics and figures released by a company when they did the testing, we can say a few things with authority.

First, the ZR-1 Corvette and ZL-1 Camaro are both stupid-quick machines that compete in the top level of their segment. Second, they’re both a hell of a lot of fun to drive. Third, given their excellent price-to-power ratio, you’re probably not going to care that the sale numbers suggest you’re likely to see someone else driving “your car” on the road.

You can watch the footage of both the ZL1 Camaro and the ZR1 Corvette taking on the Grand Course below.

Mercedes revealed its new Formula 1 Grand Prix car, the MGP W03 during a low key press conference at the Catalunya circuit near Barcelona, Spain. However, alongside the open wheeled machine, which also saw 2012 season drivers Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg attend, Mercedes AMG also unexpectedly unveiled its next iteration of the SL 63 AMG.

Like the regular 2013 SL, which goes on sale this summer, the AMG model sports a lightweight aluminum and magnesium shell that shaves off some 276 lbs of mass, compared with its predecessor.

Power comes from 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 that cranks out 529 horsepower, while cosmetically, the new AMG stands out via an aggressive looking aero package with a prominent front air dam, rocker panel and rear bumper cover extensions. There’s also AMG specific LED front lighting and a revised grille opening, plus a rear deck spoiler and quad trapezoidal shaped exhaust tips.

Although not many details have been released ahead of the car’s official debut at the Geneva Motor Show next month, we can report that the new SL 63AMG will incorporate the aluminum folding hardtop featured on the previous generation and likely Mercedes’ automatically tinting MagicSky Control glass roof. Stay tuned for further details as they become available.

Watch a Video of the SL63 AMG at the track along with the new Mercedes F1 car after the jump.

[Source: Autoweek]

We’ve already done previews on them. Now, we can reveal the new Audi S6, S7 and S8 in all their glory. Some may question whether there’s in fact a need for all three, but with Audi seemingly hell bent on filling every niche possible in the market, they’re with us nonetheless.

Although a major re-design of Ford‘s pony car is scheduled for 2014, possibly as a ’15 model, the Blue Oval isn’t letting weeds grow beneath the current car. For 2013, it’s promising a few changes, including styling updates and a bump in power on GT models.