The multi-award-winning 458 Italia

Maranello, 19th May - The Ferrari 458 Italia continues to go from strength to strength and has garnered over 30 international awards in its short career. Yesterday, it added two further plaudits to that collection at the International Engine of the Year Awards when its V8 was voted “Best Performance Engine” and “Best Engine Above 4 Litres”. 

The success being enjoyed by the 458 Italia with both critics and public alike crosses all borders– it has won awards in a host of different nations from the USA to the Far East and Europe. In the US, the mid-rear V8 was named "World Performance Car of the Year". It was also named “Car of the Year” by the Robb Report and topped the New York Times rankings.  
On the other side of the Atlantic, the discerning British motoring media proved equally enthusiastic. In fact, the 458 Italia scooped both BBC Top Gear Magazine’s “Supercar of the Year” and “Car of the Year Awards”. Staying in Britain, CAR magazine also named the 458 Italia “Performance Car of the Year 2010”, as did Auto Express and What Car. It triumphed too as the Daily Telegraph’s “Car of the Year” and TV programme Fifth Gear’s “Fast Car of the Year”. The 458 Italia also enjoyed an enthusiastic welcome from the German and Italian public with the result that it voted “Sports Car of the Year” by the highly reputable Auto Moto und Sport and Quattroruote magazines. 

Continuing around the world, the authoritative Car Middle East magazine declared the 458 Italia both “Car of the Year” and “Supercar of the Year” also. In China, Top Gear, Auto Moto und Sport, Robb Report and the popular X-Car website all named it “Car of the Year”. 

Lastly, in Japan, the 458 Italia was Engine’s "Best Car of the Year", proving that the Ferrari’s extreme sportiness has a genuinely worldwide appeal.

The New Luxury Among Us...

Whether through sales, performance or reputation, the BMW 3 Series has been the benchmark for sport sedans for generations.

                                            

That's a good mountain to stand atop. The entry-level sport sedan is usually the most popular offering for luxury automakers. It often draws buyers into the brand, hopefully staying loyal as they move up in life — and can make larger monthly payments.

                                   

When the 3 Series was redesigned for 2012, the company put a new turbocharged four-cylinder under the hood instead of the standard six-cylinder that had powered it for decades.

BMW wasn't alone in this play for improved fuel economy among luxury nameplates. Mercedes-Benz's C-Class swapped out a base six for a turbo four-cylinder. Cadillac introduced an all-new ATS sport sedan with a turbocharged four. And the stylish Audi A4? Well, its turbocharged four has been a favorite of ours for years.

                                                 

This trend was enough for us to develop a Challenge around it. We also examined the features you should look for in this class and at this price.

This was a Challenge to the 3 Series and to the segment. Were these new engines in the most affordable models that good? What about competitors packing traditional six-cylinder (or even rarer turbocharged five-cylinders) at a similar price? Do only automotive journalists fawn over the 3 Series or would a real shopper choose it as well? 

                                  

We started out looking at eight cars, but ended up with six:

2013 Acura TL

2013 Audi A4

2013 BMW 328i

2013 Cadillac ATS

2013 Mercedes-Benz C250

2013 Volvo S60

When we decided on the contenders for this Challenge, we knew that both the Lexus IS and the Infiniti G37 were going to be redesigned, so we did not include them. We used Cars.com's listing inventory and the automakers to determine a price cap of $46,000, including destination charges.

                                 

We put the cars through nearly a week of testing. We spent a day at the track, driving the cars around a road course that tested them for handling, road-gripping, tight turns, acceleration and, of course, intense braking. We also took them out to the drag strip to get zero-to-60 times, quarter-mile times and 60-to-zero braking distances.

We took them on a 180-mile course that stretched from the valleys to mountains to the desert of Southern California, with lots of twisties, wide-open freeways and surface streets. We used this course to get real-world mileage for each car.

                                

We had the experts spend a day taking each car, back-to-back, around a course that included two freeway segments, rough surface streets and stop-and-go traffic. Finally, we spent a day with a couple who are in the market for one of these cars. Without giving away too much, they left liking a car they were not even considering when they arrived.

2015 Nissan GT-R Nismo

 

 

 

 

 

 

A few days ago, Nissan confirmed that its in-house performance division, Nismo, is preparing for big updates for the future.

One of the biggest surprises offered by the performance division will be a Nismo version of the current Nissan GT-R.

The future Nismo version will be based on the 2014 GT-R and will add a series of updates that will transform the GT-R into a real track machine, while keeping it perfectly suitable for the road. No other details have been provided, but it’s pretty easy to imagine what the future GT-R Nismo will bring on the market.

On the exterior, Nismo will work on improving the car’s aerodynamics, so you should expect lower front and rear bumpers, wider wings and sill side skirts, plus a huge wing at the rear. On the interior, the Nismo GT-R will get special suede-trimmed Nismo sports seats with red stitching, plus a redesigned steering wheel, pedals, gauges and gear knob.

Under the hood, the 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-6 engine will be tricked to deliver at least 25 horsepower over the standard 545 horsepower.

 

 

 

 

Nissan executive vice president, Andy Palmer, had a conversation with Autocar and revealed a few snippets of information on the 2015 GT-R Nismo. On the exterior, the majority of the changes will be limited to aerodynamic efficiency and downforce. Additionally, he stated that Nismo will also tune the GT-R’s 3.8-liter engine beyond its base horsepower, stating that "there will be an extra kick" and that they are aiming for the production car record around the Nurburgring.

 

In a conversation with the folks at Top Gear, Nissan let slip that the Nismo GT-R would pack “more than 570 horsepower,” plus include improved handling and looks. We figure we’ll see around 575 horsepower by time it is all said and done.

 

 

An engineer working on the GT-R Nismo reportedly told AutoExpress that the 2014 GT-R Nismo will hit 60 mph in an astonishing 2 seconds, making it quicker than the Bugatti Veyron and the track-tuned Ariel Atom V8. We will find out whether this report is correct or not in November, as we expect Nissan to unveil the new GT-R Nismo at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show