BMW showed off a new concept version of their former M1 supercar at the Concorso d’Eleganza supercar show at Villa d’Este. The BMW M1 was in production from 1978 to 1981, with a 273 hp 3.5-litre inline-6 engine, created as a road-going version of the M1 racecar. Since then, BMW hasn’t had a true supercar in their line-up, even though they are arguably the most sporting manufacturer of passenger cars ever. Read more… »

BMW, Hyundai and Hummer all have new GCC-spec cars lined up for the latest model year. Read more… »

The 2009 Mazda 6 has finally been launched in the United States. It is interesting to note that the American version is actually a bit longer compared to the GCC model, with unique front and rear designs. Even better are their engine choices. Read more… »

Ask and ye shall receive! After repeated requests from our readers, asking me to review the old Aurion, I finally caved in and asked Marwa, Toyota’s friendly PR lady, to arrange one for me, even though it is a year old now. She threw me this Sharjah-registered tester for two days, setting up the car for me within a week of my request. Read more… »

The compact Audi Q5, designed to go against the BMW X3 and the Mercedes-Benz GLK, has been unveiled at the Auto China show in Beijing. While it brings absolutely nothing original to the table, initial unconfirmed reports suggest it will be built in China. Read more… »

The awesome new Opel Insignia sedan is all set to replace the aging Vectra in Europe by this summer. Opel is sort of an abandoned nameplate in the GCC, as even parent company General Motors Middle East doesn’t bother mentioning Opel in their list of brands any more. Too bad, because this new model has to be the most stunning interpretation of a midsize sedan yet. Read more… »

Mercedes-Benz is world-debuting the production-version of the compact GLK at the Auto China fair in Beijing on April 20. Read more… »

It might seem like I am being overly negative about VW. But I honestly am not. It just seems that way, considering the amount of fun VW stories that are simply falling into my lap. This story happens to be about the origins of the “Touareg” name. Time for a short-but-fun history lesson. Read more… »

Since we hung out at the Times Square Mall after testing the Altima Coupe, I guess it is now a good time to reveal that we’ve reached a deal with auto-accessories superstore, Yellow Hat, whereby they’ll supply or install various car accessories or products free-of-charge on our cars, so we can review them, as well as describe how the install went. Read more… »

We have a familiar car over here, but only from the driver’s seat. The cabin is shared with the Altima sedan, with the exception of an actual handbrake replacing the sedan’s parking foot-brake and three front cup-holders, so Coupe buyers only have two cup-holders up front. Other differences include cramped rear legroom, a manual passenger seat for quick rear access, possibly less headroom, and very interesting exterior styling, even if a bit bloated-looking. Read more… »

The Dubai Grand Racing Weekend has drawn to a close. If you are interesting in the highlights, attached is the press release from the Dubai Autodrome providing a good summary. Read more… »

The American-built 2009 Honda Pilot has been unofficially unveiled in the United States. To be called the Honda MR-V in the GCC, it is definitely not a looker. It seems like Honda’s original design team went on vacation after the Civic redesign back in 2005, and hasn’t returned ever since. Read more… »

Since Bentley gave us our most expensive test car ever, at Dhs 1.3 million, I figured I’d write a bit more on it. Considering Aston Martin wanted proof of age, website demographics, blood group, etc, just to take out their Dhs 800,000 DB9 for 6 hours (which they never did give eventually), it was a leap of faith for Bentley to give us their Arnage R for four whole days on request, no questions asked. But all things considered, the 6.75-litre twin-turbo V8 is one hell of a motor. Read more… »

At the Chinese Auto Show in Beijing next week, Hyundai is going to unveil the 2009 Elantra. Read more… »

An American website called gaywheels.com announced the VW Golf, also known as the Volkswagen Rabbit in the States, as their top-researched car for this year, being most popular among their users. Second is the VW Eos. At number six is the Mexican-built VW Jetta. Not to be outdone, the Audi A3 is at number five. Now you know where you stand if you own a VW. Read more… »

This car is seriously crazy. Built like a limousine inside and out, the Bentley Arnage R drives like a muscle car from two decades ago. It is also the most expensive car we’ve ever tested. Read more… »

Nissan has been testing a quicker prototype version of their new GT-R sports car at the German Nurburgring racetrack. The standard GT-R is already faster than the Porsche 911 Turbo, at 7:38 minutes for one lap, and Nissan had promised to beat the exotic Carrera GT in the future. It appears Nissan has done the unthinkable. The quicker new version, called the GT-R V-Spec, has been casually timed at 7:25 minutes. Read more… »

The original tiny Nissan Qashqai seats five people at most. To address an extended market, Nissan of Europe has unveiled the extended Qashqai, with seating for seven, simply calling it the Qashqai+2. Read more… »

Auto accessories superstore Yellow Hat is giving away tickets to the finale of the five-round Grand Racing season, which is taking place on April 11 and 12 this month at the Dubai Autodrome. All customers who buy Dhs 100 worth of products from their Times Square Mall store will receive an invite to the Grand Dubai Racing Event. Read more… »

I am rubbing my hands together right now with an evil grin. Enough said. Read more… »