A rendering of an Audi RS8 has appeared up on the Audi-centric website Fourtitude.com. Wait, an RS8? Simmer down—while we’ve not heard of any plans for Audi to add an RS version of its A8 sedan, we’re running the speculative photo because, well, an RS8 would be rad-tacular. If it were to happen, of course. (For more photos head on over to Fourtitude’s site.)

Currently, Audi’s biggest four-door comes in regular A8 grade—available with a diesel V-6, a supercharged V-6, and a twin-turbo V-8—and high-performance S8 guise, which gets a hotter version of the A8's twin-turbo V-8. There has never been an S8-topping RS8, but given that Audi’s been applying the RS treatment to machines like the Q3 recently, anything is possible. The best part of this fantasy? In order to top the S8, the RS8 would need to pack significantly more than that A8's 520 horsepower. Yes.

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MARC URBANO, JOHN LAMM, AND THE MANUFACTURER

What It Is: Audi's upcoming, race-bred hypercar, based directly on the R18 e-tron Quattro Le Mans racer that took victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans last year. Audi intends to use the new car, known internally as Scorpion, as a rolling showcase of the technologies the brand has developed throughout its racing endeavors. A design has yet to be finalized, but there are several proposals on the table, including a retro take on the future of racing as well as something that would closely resemble the R18. This rendering is our best interpretation of where the ongoing development of the car is at presently, following along the R18-inspired design that we understand to be favored within Audi.

Production of Scorpion likely will be limited to 333 units, as were the R8 GT and the A1 Quattro. That relatively low limited production run will save the company from the embarrassment of being unable to peddle all of its "limited" models, as has happened to Porsche with its Carrera GT and to Mercedes-Benz’s SLR McLaren.

Why It Matters: Scorpion will give Audi an instant presence in the ultra-high-performance segment, and its diesel-hybrid powertrain will sufficiently set it apart from the competition. It also serves as a morale booster for Audi's racing team and engineers, as well as the design department. On top of that, Scorpion will serve as a halo for diesel technology as a whole—something we’re sure Audi wouldn’t mind considering the number of TDIs that have been added to its lineup recently. The R8 V-12 TDI concept—had it been built—would’ve served a similar purpose, but probably came too early. Now, it would seem, the time is right.

Platform: Scorpion will be based on the architecture of the R18 race car. The centerpiece of the racer is a carbon-fiber monocoque, which has been reinforced using aluminum honeycomb. Audi will use as much of the structure as possible, but it’s likely that the monocoque will need to be modified for street use. Suspension and other chassis components will be made from aluminum to help save weight. The hypercar will receive advanced aerodynamics, which should assist in keeping the machine stable and tactile at speeds exceeding 200 mph.

Powertrains: This car's engine will be taken directly from the R18 e-tron Quattro and will be paired with a front-mounted hybrid module that’s yet to be specified. (Speculation of an upgraded version of Audi's more pedestrian 3.0-liter V-6 TDI residing underhood is inaccurate.) "It wouldn't make sense to use anything but the R18's racing engine in the Scorpion," a source at Audi tells us.

The R18’s 24-valve, 3.7-liter diesel is a V-6 situated at 120 degrees, and is fed by a single turbocharger. In race trim, this engine produces “more than” 500 horsepower and “more than” 625 lb-ft of torque, but its intakes are restricted. Output should be elevated for production to, say, 600 horsepower, plus the electric motor. When it’s all said and done, Scorpion should be capable of churning out more than 700 horsepower. The diesel will drive the rear wheels, while the fronts will be driven by the electric motor. We expect to see a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, but that’s not finalized and there are other unknown (outside of the project, anyway) options on the table.

Competition: Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, Porsche 918.

Estimated Arrival and Price: Scorpion remains roughly three years away from production, so don’t expect to plunk down a deposit until some time in 2016 or maybe even 2017. As far as how large of a deposit it’ll take to hold one, Audi has the sticker prices of McLaren’s P1 and Ferrari’s LaFerrari in its sights, so don’t expect anything less than a cool million.

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Here we are at the 24 Hours of LeMons’s first visit to Monticello Motor Club, where 120 or so teams and their alleged race cars ran the gauntlet of our grueling inspection regimen. We saw a lot of old friends today, some of whom had upgraded to cars that fit the LeMons Way of Life™ so perfectly that we didn’t even notice the usual swarms of BMW E30 3-series cars that always infest races in the LeMons Eastern Region.

Legend of LeMons Dave Morrow broke the monotony of a string of E30s by bringing this brown AMC Gremlin. Now, what’s the only thing that could make a Gremlin even better?

Yes, a supercharged GM 3800 V6 and T-5 manual transmission! We can’t find a single weak point in this extremely rational plan for racing success.

Just when we were thinking there’d be no way to top the supercharged Gremlin, this car rolled up. You’re looking at a brown AMC Hornet, a type of car that has an illustrious LeMons history. We were expecting to see a boring 304-cubic-inch V8 under the hood, or maybe even a somewhat wilder 343.

Nope, Rally Baby Racing (you may remember them as the perpetrators of the first and still only Mercedes-Benz R107 in LeMons) went ahead and added a cheap Chinese turbocharger to the AMC 258 six under the Hornet’s hood. Note the blow-through setup using an ammo box to surround the stock 2-barrel Carter carburetor. This setup should be both powerful and reliable on the race track.

At that point we figured, OK, we’ll have to create a special trophy for the winner of the Blown Kenoshawagen matchup. Then we realized that we were seeing more BMW 2002s than usual. Way more 2002s.

We saw a dead-stock 2002tii with Kugelfischer fuel-injection. We saw a 2002 with super-cheaty suspension and M43 swap. We saw everything between those extremes; in all, we saw six 2002s. You can get rusty examples of these cars for cheap, so we believed the budget stories of some of the 2002 teams and scoffed at some others. Perhaps we need a trophy for the best-performing 2002… but it will all depend on how compelling the AMC battle turns out to be.

Of course, we’d rather see bigger and more luxurious vintage BMWs. For example, this E3 2800 that showed up. It’s rusty, it’s painfully stock, and we put it in Class C with the forced-induction AMCs.

The Twin-turbo taxi was back, this time with a 24? monitor to enable the driver to be confused by even more information from the Megasquirt fuel-injection system.

Incomprehensible and disturbing team costumes abounded.

The Volvo 262C Bertone team has upgraded to a Bert One concept (get it?) and spent the day confusing everybody at the track.

The Turbo Chevette is back!

Three Pedal Mafia brought their Sea Sprite, their Sharkmobile Honda Wagovan, and their V6-powered Triumph TR7, wrapping up the whole package with a nicely executed Jaws theme.

And, of course, we had one Peugeot 405 Mi16 towing another through the inspection. Check in Saturday night to see how the first day’s race session works out!

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The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive boasts a 120-mile range and 738 horsepower, but don’t believe for a minute that you can enjoy both at the same time. When pushed to its full potential, the electric SLS won’t make it two laps around the 12.9-mile Nürburgring Nordschleife. This great conundrum—manage the battery range or exercise the car’s muscle—makes the great power of the SLS ED sort of, well, a limp proposition.

But who are we kidding? Those that can afford the $500,000-plus electric SLS will have people to worry about range anxiety for them. When deliveries begin later this year, the Electric Drive will be a very quick, very fun novelty toy—batteries included—for fewer than 200 well-heeled Europeans. (There currently are no plans for U.S. sales.) For Mercedes-Benz and AMG, the electric gullwing is a research test bed exploring the future of electric propulsion and high-performance vehicles.

Quick to Discharge, Slow to Charge

The 60-kWh lithium-ion battery pack and the software that manages it were developed by the Formula 1 experts at Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains. The 1208-pound pack contains 864 South Korean battery cells encased in a carbon-fiber box that acts as a structural element when bolted to the SLS’s aluminum space frame. HPP’s experience with F1’s Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) was key to extracting big power from the battery, but the engineers didn’t make any strides when it comes to recharging the puck. Unless your garage is wired up like a public charging space, a full charge takes 20 hours—and that’s with 220 volts.

With four electric motors making 185 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque each, the total output of the electrified gullwing tops even that of the SLS AMG Black Series. Yet asking for all 738 lb-ft lacks the expected drama. The Electric Drive is undeniably quick off the line—we estimate 60 mph arrives in 3.7 seconds—but you won’t hear a chirp from the tires. That’s because torque is routed through fixed-ratio gearboxes that cover the entire speed spread, from creeping up to a stoplight to hitting the governor at 155 mph. To add some theater to the otherwise silent electric-car experience, AMG pipes a sci-fi soundtrack through the SLS’s eleven stereo speakers. “Idling” creates a whirring warble, like a UFO landing in a Warner Brothers cartoon, and there are similarly fantastical sounds for start up, acceleration, cruising, and braking.

Because the four-wheel-drive electric SLS has driveshafts where the gas-powered car’s front springs and dampers reside, AMG engineers redesigned the front suspension. The control arms have been replaced by a multilink setup and the coil-overs are mounted horizontally and actuated by pushrods. Other chassis changes include an electrically driven hydraulic steering pump (rather than a belt-driven unit) and standard carbon-ceramic brakes. Shift paddles behind the wheel adjust how aggressively the regenerative braking cuts in when you lift off the accelerator.

Hey, Everybody, Watch This!

The electric SLS’s primary party trick is a function of the four electric motors that power it. With each motor dedicated to driving a single wheel, the Electric Drive’s computers have precise control over the forces that make a car change directions. Accelerating and braking each motor independently of the others turns this 4700-pound brute into a ballerina. The level of torque vectoring—what AMG calls “Torque Dynamics”—can be set to one of three modes. In Comfort, the SLS Electric Drive can’t hide its 900-pound surplus over the gas model. The electric car is reluctant to change directions and the steering is sluggish. With the body always a step behind the wheels, the SLS feels more like an S-class than a half-million-dollar sports car.

Switching to the most aggressive setting, Sport Plus, affects a transformation unlike any adaptive suspension or torque-vectoring differential we’ve ever experienced. Turn-in is defined by Lotus-like immediacy. The body moves perfectly in sync with the wheels and the driver’s intentions. The steering is prescient, and yet the four-corner torque control means you also influence your heading with the right pedal. If you underestimate a corner, simply squeeze on the throttle to tighten your line—not to induce oversteer but to increase the yaw moment. The outside wheels accelerate, the inside wheels slow, and the Gullwing tucks in, darting for the inside. This four-wheel torque vectoring redefines the expression “steering with the throttle.” And while it’s unlike any car we’ve ever driven, this is the kind of electric car we can easily get behind.

Something to Look Forward to

The hyper-exclusive, ultra-expensive SLS AMG Electric Drive is an anomaly in the world of battery-powered cars. It’s too radical to serve as basic transportation and its range-limited battery keeps it from being a real track toy. Instead, its purpose is to serve as a development bench and proving ground for using smaller multiple motors rather than a single large motor. If the idea of dedicating a motor to an individual wheel becomes common practice, we’re looking forward to a future of hybrids and electrics.

VEHICLE TYPE: front- and rear-motor, 4-wheel-drive, 2-passenger, 2-door coupe

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE $550,000

ENGINE TYPE: four AC permanent synchronous electric motors, 185 hp, 185 lb-ft; combined power rating, 740 hp, 738 lb-ft; 60-kWh lithium-ion battery pack

TRANSMISSION: 1-speed direct drive

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 105.5 in
Length: 182.6 in
Width: 76.3 in Height: 49.7 in
Curb weight (C/D est): 4700 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 3.7 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.5 sec
Top speed: 155 mph

FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA combined driving: 85 MPGe

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As BMW enters its 15th season as the official car of MotoGP, it’s gifting the series’ safety-car fleet a brand-spanking-new M6 Gran Coupe. As the latest M car to hit consumers, the M6 Gran Coupe is a natural fit for safety-car duty. Besides, the burliest Gran Coupe looks unbelievably cool even before BMW adds a light bar, so there’s that.

The M6 Gran Coupe safety car gets the typical complement of doo-dads relevant to making it both highly visible and, er, safer. There’s a unique front fascia adapted to accomodate a pair of LED driving light arrays, black wheels, black grilles and fender vents, an Akrapovic exhaust system, Recaro racing seats, and of course, a roof-mounted light bar. The mostly white M6 Gran Coupe gets further amped up with an M-signature blue, purple, and red stripe job. Serving alongside the Gran Coupe is an M6 coupe introduced for last season and an M5; there’s also an M3 coupe for the safety officer, two M550d xDrive Touring (wagon!) medical cars, and two S1000RR HP4 safety bikes.

The new M6 Gran Coupe safety car with the whole MotoGP support gang.

The M6 Gran Coupe safety car made its debut at last weekend’s MotoGP season opener in Qatar. But if you’re determined to see this particular fleet of M-badged safety vehicles in the metal, the next stop on this season’s MotoGP calendar is the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, later this month.

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Cue dramatic music—Bugatti has released a preview image of . . . a pair of aircraft hangar doors slightly ajar. Okay, so that’s just the cutesy image Bugatti posted to its Facebook page, but it was accompanied by the promise that “the latest example of exceptional Bugatti performance” is on its way. It’s not clear whether the next big thing from Bugatti is even a car; rampant speculation within the Car and Driver office pegs it as anything from a Bugatti Edition Gulfstream V jet to the fastest-opening, highest-horsepower production doors of all time, or perhaps a high-performance cargo dolly developed specifically for use in that giant warehouse where the government keeps the Ark of the Covenant.

More likely, however, is that the next expression of exceptional Bugatti performance is the rumored replacement for the Veyron Super Sport. Speculation persists that the Super Sport’s successor will pack upward of 1600 horsepower in an effort to return the production-car speed record to Bugatti—recently lost to Hennessey’s Venom GT. It’s just as probable, though, that the French marque will reveal some kind of special-edition Veyron model. The Veyron is on its way out, meaning Bugatti’s got to keep churning out limited-edition rides to keep the car’s already high profile, uh, high. The Shanghai auto show kicks off this week, so Bugatti could be previewing a China-centric special edition. (We’d list all of the unique Veyron variants that have spawned in the past few years, but it’s far easier to direct you to search “Bugatti Veyron” on our site.) There’s a slim chance Bugatti could be rolling out its four-seat, ultra-expensive Veyron successor, but it’s not likely. Well, neither is a Bugatti-branded private jet—even if it does make tons of sense.

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With the help of two banks, federal tax credits for EV purchases, and math that even Wall Street would find fishy, Tesla now has an official loan program for the electric Model S sedan. Company founder (and noted pugilist) Elon Musk announced the news himself earlier this week, calling the deal a “revolutionary new finance product,” enabling buyers to get a $79,995 Model S for just $500 per month. Apart from the misrepresentation of the monthly price, there’s little that’s revolutionary about the loan deal—including the presence of hidden costs. If, then, Tesla truly is the car company of the future, one might call the company’s new financing offer the three-card Monte of the future.

63 monthly payments of $1097, excluding taxes and registration fees, for the 60-kWh model.63 monthly payments of $1252, excluding taxes and registration fees, for the 85-kWh model.A down payment of 10 percent of the purchase price is provided by one of the partnering banks, US Bank or Wells Fargo.US Bank or Wells Fargo gets the buyer’s $7500 federal income tax credit for buying an EV, plus any eligible state tax credits.After 36 months (but only until 39), buyers can sell their Model S back to Tesla for 43 percent of the original purchase price.

Other than the buyback program, this is a pretty standard bank loan for a new car—including the decent 2.95-percent interest rate. Note, though, the fact that US Bank and Wells Fargo essentially are advancing tax credits, using them as a down payment now, and then collecting buyers’ money later from Uncle Sam. This sounds like a giant payday loan.

The crux of the problem is Tesla’s use of an interactive calculator to determine what it calls a “true cost of ownership” for the Model S. This fatuous little feature allows people to enter their own variables—cost of gasoline over the next three years, how many miles they drive per year, what their time is worth in dollars per hour—and should your numbers match those Tesla has preselected as defaults, the company figures the real expense of a Model S is $500 per month. This isn’t just a “you’ve got to read the fine print” issue, nor is it really a problem with trying to assign a dollar value to minutes saved by driving in carpool lanes. The website setup could be misleading to most readers, makes fine print hard to find, and the calculator itself can be contradictory and makes unreasonable price comparisons.

Not $500 Per Month? Why Didn’t You Say So?  It would be bad enough if Tesla was saying that the Model S effectively costs $500 a month once you factor in all the other savings from owning an EV instead of a comparable gasoline-engined car, but here, we don’t even get that kind of double talk. On its homepage and the Model S page, Tesla is presenting the “$500 per month” number without so much as an asterisk, let alone a “from” or “starting at.” To any reasonable viewer, we think, it looks like that’s the out-of-pocket cost through some available finance or lease deal. But it isn’t. Tesla’s web site shows the bogus price, then invites readers to, “Explore the True Cost of Ownership.” This is probably insufficient to signal that the “$500 per month” number is only the result of acrobatic math and that monthly payments under the normal financing deal will almost definitely be twice that high. If someone doesn’t click through to the calculator page, they simply won’t know. This is comparable to a car dealership putting an ad in the newspaper saying “Zero down payment! $199/month! ” only to tell you on the showroom floor that the ad means one can choose between having no down payment or paying $199 per month, not both. And that would be totally prohibited advertising.Sorry, That’ll Be An Additional $2250. Once entering the calculator, or “True Cost of Ownership” section, things get worse. Nearly all the costs are described and calculated in three-year terms, because that’s when the “guaranteed resale value” option comes into the picture. That’s fine, but the fuel savings calculator nestled among these references to the buyback program defaults to driving 15,000 miles per year. Nowhere on the page does Tesla mention that the buyback program explicitly limits mileage to 12,000 per year, and that any miles in excess are charged at $0.25 apiece. Only if a shopper manages to dig up the PDF of terms would they learn that actually, to get the fuel savings from driving 15,000 miles a year, they’d have to pay an additional $2250 in mileage penalties.

Potentially Deceptive Price Comparisons? The “Business Tax Benefit” section also is potentially deceptive. Tesla describes the legitimately big potential for tax deductions if a Model S owner drives their vehicle for business. What Tesla doesn’t say is that any vehicle, EV or not, driven for business purposes is eligible for tax deductions. That’s not a problem unto itself, but considering that half the calculator hinges on savings of driving a Tesla Model S versus a conventional gasoline-powered car, Tesla might be considered to be making deceptive price comparisons. The fine print on the page only exacerbates the problem, stating, “This calculator is intended to give you an idea of how much you can save by driving a Model S compared to a gasoline sedan.”

The sad part of this price comparison quagmire is that Tesla doesn’t need to do it. Its Model S is, flatly stated, very cool. The sedan looks great, drives well, is quick, and is a rolling piece of advanced technology. Orders are ample, and people who have already put down deposits still face a wait of several months for their cars. Yes, Tesla has said it wants to become a larger-volume automaker—although the feasibility of this is questionable—but a true lease program with lower monthly payments would be a far more effective way of achieving this goal. Even normally cautious commentators have been harsh about this “revolutionary new financial product,” and Tesla’s stock price has drifted downward since it was announced. Tesla should keep its focus on its cars being high-tech, not its loan programs.

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Moments after Chevy shocked everyone with the scalding new Camaro Z/28, we began our own scalding-fast process: chasing down GM execs for all the details and back story on this beast. Obtained through some official channels and some channels that were, well, less so, here are the five coolest things we learned:

When it became clear, back in the fall of 2010, that Chevy was working on a slayer version of the Camaro—one that would supposedly cure the car of its obesity, its ponderous feel, its tendency toward understeer—the assumption was that the final product would take the Z/28 badge. It wasn’t just our assumption, either. Apparently, show and photo prototypes had been built with the Z/28 badge. But purist GM execs intervened. However awesome the car was, they said, something with a supercharged 6.2-liter V-8 didn’t meet the original spirit of the high-revving, stripped-out, Trans Am–ready Z/28. Badges were pulled and replaced with ones reading . . . ZL1.

There was, however, a prototype burbling through GM’s networks of shops and test facilities that was suitable for the Z/28 heritage. For many years, a few execs and dedicated engineers had been looking to install the charmingly violent 7.0-liter LS7 V-8 in something besides the Corvette. Something ready for a race track but somewhat tolerable for the street. Something special. Australians got the steroid-ravaged Holden HSV W427 in 2008, the highest-performance version of the Commodore sedan—and a car that shares its basic Zeta platform with the Camaro.

Yes, Steve. As in “I’m going to take Steve out to the track today and beat the ever-loving crap out of him.”

Not long after Dan Akerson arrived as the new CEO at GM, one gearhead executive took him out for a ride in a Z/28 mule. “You need to put the board of directors in this car to have them experience it.” The board obliged, and their reaction? “This is unbelievable.” Suffice it to say, that was a glowing green light to go ahead with development and production.

5. Recent prototypes apparently are lapping test tracks as quick as, well, stuff you’d never imagine it could keep up with.

No Bothan spies died to bring you this information, but one source had us swear to secrecy about the names of cars that Z/28 prototypes are beating on test tracks. With its 300-pound weight advantage over the ZL1, single-minded chassis tune, and incredibly sticky rubber, the Z/28 is a monster we can’t wait to experience for ourselves.

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In January of 2012, Cadillac revealed the ATS sedan. That car is designed specifically to target the BMW 3-series and similar sports sedans, and it has allowed the third-generation CTS, which just debuted at the New York auto show, to abandon the segment-stretching mission of its predecessor and make a serious run at the mid-size luxury segment. Now that the new sedan is a real thing, we thought we’d check our sources for the latest on the brand’s coupe and wagon plans.

So what’s to become of the CTS coupe and the CTS wagon, which are based on the outgoing model? According to sources very close to Cadillac, the coupe and the wagon will carry on as they are for the time being. The 2014 sedan is scheduled to go into production at GM’s Lansing, Michigan, plant this fall, and we understand that the coupe and wagon will be built alongside the new sedan for “at least a year.” We wouldn’t bet on either model surviving longer than that.

We’ve also again confirmed that the all-new CTS will not spawn a wagon variant. The wagon existed for three primary reasons: 1) The second-gen CTS was tasked with reintroducing the brand to Europe, which loves wagons; 2) It required very little alteration and extra cost; and 3) The wagon helped Cadillac present an image of a full-line automaker. But the five-door accounted for just seven percent of all CTSs sold last year—roughly 3500, one in three of which were high-performance V models—and the brand doesn’t see a good reason to offer a new one.

But a reasonably sized Cadillac coupe will carry forward, although not among the CTS line. Once the current two-door shuffles off this automotive coil, it’s highly likely that we’ll see the sheets pulled from an ATS coupe. Such a coupe will provide Cadillac the opportunity to reach more entry-luxury buyers—70 percent of ATS buyers are migrating from other luxury brands, and an additional body style gives Caddy another weapon with which to battle Audi, BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz.

While we’ll mourn the loss of two CTS variants, we’re told Cadillac’s lineup still will see net growth despite these losses. And don’t forget that V versions of both the ATS and the CTS are on the way within the next couple of years. For those upset about the wagon’s imminent demise, well, you have at least another year to buy a brand-new CTS five-door—we recommend you follow one third of the herd and make yours a V.

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If you were one of the 33 major directors of the Indianapolis 500, you’d now be tooling around in one of the new Chevrolet Camaro Hot Wheels edition convertibles. Chevy lined up 33 of the softtop Hot Wheels Camaros at the Brickyard and gave one to each director—well, for a time, anyway; those directors will be expected to return them eventually—as a way of highlighting both this special-edition Camaro and the run-up to the 500 in May. The bow-tie brand hasn’t put a number on how many Hot Wheels cars it will build, but if past special editions are any gauge, expect around 1500 to see the light of day.

As is the case with the coupe, the premium for the Hot Wheels convertible is $6995. What do you get for nearly seven grand? Well, everything that comes with the Hot Wheels coupe, save for the ZL1's rear spoiler. For starters, there’s the obvious blue-metalic finish with a matte-black racing stripe running from nose to tail, accented by bespoke, red-trimmed 21-inch wheels that carry a tag of $4780 all by themselves. Hot Wheels badging is added to the front fenders, the grille, and the decklid, but, perhaps, the coolest add-on is the flame detailing on the rear fenders. Inside is a black-leather interior featuring the famous Rick Irons–designed Hot Wheels logo on the seats and the floor mats.

When it comes to powering the Hot Wheels Camaro, there are two engine choices available: The 323-hp, 3.6-liter V-6 or the 6.2-liter V-8. Both engines can be had with either a six-speed manual or a six-speed automatic, however, the eight-cylinder’s output changes depending on which transmission is selected—400 horsepower with the auto or 426 with the stick. Regardless of which transmission is bolted to the eight-cylinder, it gets an active-exhaust system, which gives us all the encouragement we need to keep the right pedal firmly matted.

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The chrome “V-12” badge on the cover of the owner’s manual is the only place you’ll find a direct reference to the BMW 760Li’s engine configuration. Not a single exterior emblem declares the lofty cylinder count. In fact, the mightiest 7 looks essentially identical to its lesser siblings, even after the lineup’s subtle refresh for 2013. Whatever. Buyers who plunk down roughly $50,000 more than the cost of a V-8 750Li don’t need some stinking badge to tell the world they’re driving something special. Indeed, demonstrating the 760Li’s superiority is simply a matter of flooring the gas pedal.

The twin-turbocharged, 6.0-liter V-12 under the hood shuttles a burly 535 hp and 553 lb-ft of torque through a new-for-’13 eight-speed automatic. Rear drive is the only option with the V-12, as the driving gods intended. Ripping away from a stop, the 760Li reels in the horizon like Bill Dance hauling in a smallmouth, and acceleration is so rapid that the head-up display’s digital speed indicator can’t keep up. Numbers skip from 32 mph to 45, 67, 131, and so on, right up to the governed 155-mph top speed.

We hit 60 mph in a ridiculous-for-this-size 4.3 seconds, and 130 mph arrives in fewer than 16. We’ve tested an A8L 4.0T to 60 in fewer than four seconds, but that car features launch-aiding Quattro and weighs some 500 fewer pounds. This Bimmer catches up and passes it above benchmark speed, as it should for its price. Bend the 760 into a turn, and it feels somewhat smaller than it is, but there’s no denying its substantial heft. It can nevertheless be considered nimble—and newly standard active anti-roll bars help maintain a reasonably flat cornering attitude—although the steering lacks the ultimate precision of, say, a Jaguar XJ’s. That’s a more rewarding sled to pilot than the 7-series, and it placed ahead of a prerefresh 750Li in a comparison test won by an A8L. In terms of other 7s, this V-12 car isn’t as racy as the slightly more-powerful Alpina B7, but it is more expensive.

A $4000 M Sport package is available—it’s largely a cosmetic upgrade, but does add performance tires—but our car instead packed the $5200 BMW Individual package, which brings Merino leather seats; a faux-suede headliner; “BMW Individual” badging for the wheel caps, decklid trim, and door sills; darkened exterior trim; and 19-inch wheels with performance tires. (The M Sport and Individual packs can’t be ordered together.)

We further basked in a $3700 Bang & Olufsen audio system, a $2700 rear-seat entertainment system, and a $2600 night-vision camera and display (surprisingly excellent at spotting cops hiding in shadowy medians). This 760 also came with a $500 parking assistant, $2400 active cruise control with collision mitigation, and a $1700 gas-guzzler tax. Total: $159,395. Excluding the BMW Individual upholsteries and interior trims, the only option our car lacked was the $200 massaging rear seats. We were crestfallen.

The, ahem, affordable 12-cylinder luxury-sedan universe is, as it has always been, a small one. And since Jaguar ditched the XJ's V-12 option over a decade ago, the 760Li’s only direct competition lies with the Mercedes-Benz S600 and Audi A8L W12. In a rational world, the 760Li and its competitors really don’t have a point. Their V-8 counterparts are plenty powerful, lighter, far less expensive, and look nearly identical, and they’re often quicker and nimbler, to boot.

But rationality and restraint have little place in this segment. Except in regard to badging, of course.

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

PRICE AS TESTED: $159,395 (base price: $142,795)

ENGINE TYPE: twin-turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 48-valve V-12, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 364 cu in, 5972 cc
Power: 535 hp @ 5250 rpm
Torque: 550 lb-ft @ 1500 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 126.4 in
Length: 205.3 in
Width: 74.9 in Height: 58.3 in
Curb weight: 5033 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 4.3 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 9.6 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 15.9 sec
Rolling start, 5–60 mph: 4.7 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 2.3 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 2.6 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 12.5 sec @ 115 mph
Top speed (governor limited): 155 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 158 ft

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 13/20 mpg
C/D observed: 13 mpg

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Power, sumptuous luxury, clean styling.

Price and thirst, lack of massaging rear seats pretty much a deal killer.

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KGP PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE MANUFACTURER

What It Is: A Frankenstein test mule assembled for evaluating what we think will eventually become the 2015 Lincoln MKS. Sometimes in development, an altered version of a known vehicle—in this case, a Ford Fusion—will be used as a baseline to gather data for an upcoming model before the styling is finalized. This particular mule makes use of the Fusion’s CD4 platform that’s been modified to emulate the beefier stance of the MKS’s platform, and the somewhat-crudely attached derriere replicates the general aero shape of the future MKS. It may look like a botched Fusion, but this mule consists of a number of powertrain and aerodynamic fittings that will preview the next-generation MKS.

Why It Matters: Serving as the brand’s flagship, a new MKS provides Lincoln with another, nay, its best opportunity yet to insist that it’s more than just a collection of overpriced and fully loaded Fords. As Ford’s lineup continues to get more attractive and more inundated with optional features, the necessity of Lincoln’s existence becomes less and less.

Platform: Our best intelligence suggests that the next-gen MKS will arrive on Ford’s D3/D4 platform, which underpins the current MKS, the MKT, the Ford Taurus, the Ford Flex, and the Ford Explorer. There are rumors that the MKS could be the first full-size vehicle to make the jump to Ford’s CD4 platform, which serves as the foundation for the Fusion and the MKZ. We’re not as convinced about such a scenario as any cost savings realized in sharing this platform would be negated by the large number of changes that would be required in order to handle the MKS’s larger dimensions.

Powertrain: We expect that base-engine duties will be served by Ford’s 3.7-liter V-6, likely joined by the 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder and the 3.5-liter EcoBoost V-6 as optional powerplants. Our photographer claims this particular mule exhibited a “strong engine and exhaust note,” which could indicate the availability of Ford’s upcoming Nano range of V-6 engines—although we’re told these new mills likely won’t be available until at least a year or two after launch. The choice of front- and all-wheel-drive versions will continue.

Competition: Acura RLX, Cadillac XTS, Infiniti M, Lexus LS.

Estimated Arrival and Price: Considering this mule appears to be in its infancy, we don’t expect the new MKS to be revealed until some time next year. Pricing shouldn’t be affected too much by the redesign, but expect the current base price of $43,765 to inflate by a few grand.

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Are no auto-show surprise reveals sacred anymore? It seems as though in recent years, the number of image leaks that spill the beans on automakers’ big production- and concept-car reveals before their scheduled debut has only increased. Case in point: It appears as though BMW’s X4 crossover concept has shown up naked on the same website—AutoWP.ru—that last month leaked photos of Mercedes-Benz’s CLA45 AMG just before its New York auto show debut. (It’s worth noting that the same Flickr user, upcomingvehiclesx, who leaked photos of the new Cadillac CTS, also has posted the shots of the X4 concept.)

The X4, for those scratching their heads, is going to be to BMW’s X3 what the X6 is to the X5—a coupe-ier, less-practical, and more attractive version of an existing, relatively pedestrian crossover. Given that the blue X4 concept images have popped online now, we’re guessing the crossover is set for a debut in the not-so-distant future, meaning a Shanghai auto show reveal is a pretty safe bet. As for the X4's looks, well, it’s pretty darn attractive. The concept is a bit dressier than the X4 rendering we published nearly two years ago, but the basic elements are there: A sharply sloping roofline; a high, chopped tail; gaping front intakes; and an aggressive stance.

Don’t expect the concept’s style to be radically scaled back for production—after all, the 2014 BMW 4-series looks pretty much identical to the 4-series concept BMW showed off at this year’s Detroit show. Smaller wheels and less-fussy intake detailing probably will make up the majority of the X4's changes from show floor to showroom. (To give you a little idea of what to expect, we’ve included an updated rendering of the 2014 X4—painted silver—below.) It will borrow its running gear from the X3, meaning it will get a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder and a turbo inline-six and either offer, or come exclusively with, all-wheel drive. Look for the X4 to hit dealerships next year; it will be produced at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina plant where the X3, X5, and X6 are built.

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As F1 racing stages a comeback here in the States—this season it’s on NBC Sports, not to mention the new track down in Austin, Texas—along comes a movie about the sport that could move it closer to the forefront of the public’s mind. From none other than director Ron Howard comes a new flick, Rush, about the epic 1976 driver battle between Niki Lauda and James Hunt for the Formula 1 world championship. Now, we’re a lot better suited for reviewing cars than movies, but based on the trailer for Rush, it’s looking like a must-see for any race fan.

Hunt is played by Chris Hemsworth and Lauda by Daniel Brühl, while Olivia Wilde and Natalie Dormer also are in the mix. The ’76 season was characterized by Hunt and Lauda’s on-track rivalry, which at one point saw Lauda nearly killed at the Nürburgring. We’re just spitballing here, but our bet is that with detail-oriented Ron Howard at its helm, Rush should be far better to watch than the only other non-documentary open-wheel racing movie in recent (we reiterate, recent) memory, Driven. That movie had Sylvester Stallone in a lead role, so, yeah. It will be interesting to see whether Rush turns out better than 2010's Senna, the excellent documentary that chronicled the life and premature death of F1 prodigy Ayrton Senna. Check the trailer out for yourself below and let us know what you think in the comments section:

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Infiniti’s sporty FX crossover has had a busy two years, receiving a face lift for 2012 before swapping its base 3.5-liter V-6 engine for a 3.7-liter for 2013. Besides adding more power, the new V-6 brings a displacement-driven name swap from FX35 to FX37. Even more flux is on the horizon, thanks to Infiniti’s recently announced lineup-wide naming overhaul. Next year the FX37 becomes the QX70; confusingly, the same badge will be applied to the V-8–powered FX50, and the moniker change isn’t expected to coincide with a redesign or update. To those reading this review of the FX37 in 2014, simply replace any mention of FX37 with QX70.

VQ Doesn’t Stand for Very Quiet

As does the 3.5-liter it replaces, the FX37’s 3.7-liter V-6 belongs to Nissan’s VQ engine family. Variations of the same engine long have powered Nissan’s 370Z and Infiniti’s G37 and M37, and it is being added to the smaller EX crossover’s engine roster this year, too. The good news is the powerplant’s power. In the FX37, it makes 325 horsepower and 267 lb-ft of torque without turbos. The bad news is it’s coarse and unrefined. Push hard, and a faint vibration occurs in the shifter, steering wheel, and pedals. The engine’s unique baritone wail mostly sounds good, but it’s better from outside the car—inside, it can sound slightly thrashy.

Unfortunately, to really hustle the FX37, you’ll be spending plenty of time at or near the six-cylinder’s 7500-rpm redline, where the sound is especially unpleasing. The 3.7-liter doesn’t make its maximum rated 325 horsepower until 7000 rpm, while all 267 lb-ft of torque aren’t available until an also-lofty 5200 rpm. All things being nearly equal—our FX37 was a negligible 67 pounds heavier than the last FX35 we tested, a 2009 all-wheel-drive model, and the engine spins through the same seven-speed automatic transmission—you’d expect the FX37 to outperform the FX35. Instead, it ties the old model.

The FX37 hit 60 mph in 6.1 seconds, 100 mph in 16 seconds, and reached a top speed of 142 mph, figures identical to those we recorded for the 2009 FX35. This likely can be attributed to the 3.7-liter’s 22 additional horsepower and 5 more lb-ft of torque arriving 200 and 400 rpm later than in the 3.5-liter, dulling their usefulness off the line. The FX37’s only advantage is in the quarter-mile drag and in reaching 120 mph, both trials that it completes a tenth of a second quicker. Besides returning an unremarkable 16 mpg under our supervision—a 2-mpg improvement over its 2009 predecessor—the engine offers no discernable difference in performance. (According to the EPA, the FX37 rates 1 mpg better on the highway than the FX35.) The rest of the driving experience also is unchanged, meaning you get nice handling at the expense of a firm and borderline harsh ride, plus numb steering. A March snow prevented us from quantifying the 2013 FX37 AWD model’s roadholding ability, but we suspect 265/50-20 rubber would at least match if not surpass the 0.82 g of lateral grip managed by our last test car’s which wore skinnier 265/60-18 tires.

Luxury Crossover, Same as Always

Buyers will see a discernable $1295 price increase over the 2012 FX35, regardless of the number of driven wheels. (Infiniti also offers buyers a lower-priced rear-drive model, although only with the V-6.) Our FX37 came fully loaded with three option packages that bumped its price from $47,395 to a reasonable (given the equipment) $57,945. The Technology bundle ($2950) includes adaptive cruise, rain-sensing wipers, and adaptive headlights, plus some nanny items such as lane-departure warning, and forward collision warning. The Deluxe Touring pack ($3300) brings 20-inch wheels, attractive quilted leather upholstery, maple wood interior trim, and heated and cooled front seats, while the Premium package ($4300) adds navigation, an eight-inch touch-screen display, the very necessary Around View monitor with parking sensors, and electric steering-column adjustment.

The FX37 still offers uncommon style and athleticism for its segment, although some might consider its rakish looks to be one-upped by BMW’s X6. With this style comes a tight cabin, but Infiniti has evolved and now has the more family-oriented end of the luxury crossover segment covered with the larger JX35, er, QX60. We just hope Nissan/Infiniti plans to improve its six-cylinder engine by the time the FX’s replacement arrives, given that next time around it might be the only engine option as the company is giving up on V-8s.

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 5-door wagon

PRICE AS TESTED: $57,945 (base price: $47,395)

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, port fuel injection

Displacement: 226 cu in, 3696 cc
Power: 325 hp @ 7000 rpm
Torque: 267 lb-ft @ 5200 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 7-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 113.6 in
Length: 191.3 in
Width: 75.9 in Height: 65.0 in
Curb weight: 4391 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 6.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 16.0 sec
Zero to 130 mph: 36.5 sec
Street start, 5–60 mph: 6.6 sec
Top gear, 30–50 mph: 4.0 sec
Top gear, 50–70 mph: 4.4 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.5 sec @ 96 mph
Top speed (drag limited): 142 mph
Braking, 70–0 mph: 169 ft

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway: 16/22 mpg
C/D observed: 16 mpg

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Quick, rorty exhaust note, slick looks.

Unrefined engine, slick looks make it difficult to see out of, more naming upheaval coming, for 2014.

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On Friday, we inspected the 121 entrants to the first-ever There Goes the Neighborhood 24 Hours of LeMons, held at the Monticello Motor Club. On Saturday, we enjoyed a great Alfa-vs-Ford-vs-(Saab-engined) Nissan battle for the lead. On Sunday, the surviving cars battled for victory. Let’s see which teams went home with new trophies!

The winner on laps, believe it or not, was a Nissan 300ZX with a goofy Saab 900 Turbo engine swap. When we saw Rust In the Wind win in New Hampshire last year, we thought the team might be a one-hit wonder (having watched the Rust In the Wind guys struggle for two years to even finish a LeMons race), but they held off the Pro Crash Duh Nation Alfa Romeo Milano and won this race by a fraction of a lap.

Saab engines have been extremely fragile in LeMons, Nissan Z31s have been nearly as breakdown-prone, and an engine swap with this much fabrication introduces whole new categories of failure points. Rust In the Wind paid their dues (in this photo, we see them taking the Most Heroic Fix trophy at the 2011 Connecticut race) and now they’ve got a little run of East Region LeMons victories going.

Elmo’s Revenge and their increasingly wretched-looking Saturn SL2 have been around LeMons racing since way back in 2009, and they’ve been trying to claw their way to a Class B win in race after race. Finally, they did it!

Winning Class C for the second time, we’ve got the Punisher GP Peugeot 405 Mi16. These cars present a real classing dilemma for the LeMons Supreme Court; on paper, they’re pretty quick… but in practice, they nearly always blow up. Do you class them according to potential or according to real-world experience? So, we put the team’s two Mi16s in Class C with a 15-lap handicap.

Yes, Punisher GP brought two of these cars to the race, with one towing the other to get to the track. The #917 car won its class, while its #405 sister car fired a connecting rod through the windshield of another car and oiled down the track in the most recent in a series of Peugeot 405 Mi16 engine vaporizations.

Because we had so many BMW 2002s at this race (six of them, ranging from agonizingly horrible rustbuckets to fully cheated-up hot rods), we created a special trophy for the one that got the most laps: the I Got 2002 Problems But a Win Ain’t One Award. Shockingly, the winner of this trophy was Jynweythek Engineering and their unspeakably awful 1974 2002tii.

Jynweythek Engineering has insisted on keeping their factory Kugelfisher fuel-injection system intact, which means that they averaged about 0.8 laps per race during the previous two years (the photo above shows their car in a typical pose at the 2011 Charlotte Motor Speedyway LeMons race). This time, though, their 2002tii did 298 laps, finished in P59, and beat some much faster (and Weber-equipped) 2002s.

The Most Heroic Fix trophy just had to go to the Cougar Hunters and their ’99 front-drive Mercury Cougar. This team endured a long, long weekend of near-constant wrenching, but it all paid off when they took the checkered flag at the end.

The first thing that happened to the Cougar Hunters was a catastrophic engine-compartment fire during practice on Friday. The wiring harness went up, the intake manifold melted, and the brake and clutch masters were consumed by the flames. So, the team hit every junkyard within 100 miles and found (most of) the parts they needed to (sort of) make their car run again.

Their Cougar got back on the track late on Saturday. Success! Well, until eight laps later, when the clutch went out. Then it turned out that nearly all the fasteners holding the engine to the transmission were corroded solid and snapped off. Fun with EZ-Outs ensued, and then more fun with other fire-damaged stuff that they hadn’t fixed very well the first time. In the end, though, they made the Mercury run, completed a total of 116 laps, and went home with a cool-looking trophy.

Usually, the I Got Screwed award goes to a team, but this time we felt compelled to give it to the Monticello Motor Club, whose well-heeled members had to put up with a full weekend of distressing scenes like this one.

The Organizer’s Choice trophy was earned by Fatty’s Fruit Loops and their ’97 Honda Accord. In addition to having managed to turn a pretty good car into a really bad car (sort of the opposite of your typical silk-purse-from-sow’s-ear story), the Fatty’s Fruit Loops guys showed up with a roll cage that wasn’t even close to passing the tech inspection. No problem, they said, we’ll make a new one tonight. And they did just that.

Even with many mishaps (including a wheel falling off due to a team member forgetting to tighten the lugs) and a freezing wind howling through the paddock all weekend, the members of Fatty’s Fruit Loops kept smiling the whole time and enjoyed their race more than all the BMW E30 teams combined.

Everyone at the track was very excited about the battle between two brown AMC products, a supercharged Gremlin and a turbocharged Hornet. The Gremlin had a slightly stiffer suspension and a bit more power, finished in 60th, and the team let LeMons Supreme Court Judge Alex Vendler take a stint behind the wheel. For all these things, the Judges’ Choice award!

The Gremlin turned out to be much quicker than anyone expected (its best lap was a 1.42, just five seconds behind the best lap of the overall winner), but it suffered from a few brake-related mishaps.

The top prize of LeMons racing is the Index of Effluency, given to the team that accomplishes the most with the car that least belongs on a race track. Sometimes this choice is very difficult, but it was easy this time: the very tippy Rally Baby Racing 1975 AMC Hornet took the big trophy.

That’s a turbocharged AMC 258-cubic-inch six, complete with Carter carburetor inside an ammo-can pressure box. Amazingly, this rig functioned all weekend. Congratulations, Rally Baby!

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