Mercedes knows that thanks to tighter emissions regulations and the increasing price of fuel, mpg is as important as bhp these days. So that’s why the new E-Class Coupé looks so sleek. It just so happens to be the most aerodynamic series production car on sale. The new diesel unit in the car I drove produced 500nm of torque from just 1600rpm, so this thing pulls like a train! Check out the full review here.

When Vantage owners told Aston Martin that their car needed more ‘oomph’ Aston listened. Say hello to the new 4.7-litre 420hp V8 Vantage. From the outside there was certainly nothing wrong with the V8 Vantage—it’s a stunning-looking car, no matter which angle you look at it. I reckon it looks even better than its big brother, the DB9, too. Check out the full review with tons of pics!

A BBC correspondent has discovered a new uprising in Baghdad near Jadriyah Lake in the south of the city, but this time it’s motor racing. Featured in the video are a couple of Pontiac Firebirds, a Chevy Camaro, Toyota Celica and an old BMW 5-series. They might not be the ultimate racing machines, but considering the situation over there it’s pretty awesome that they have started racing as a pastime. Check out the video!

Hennessey Performance has modified the Nissan GT-R to be even quicker than it already is. How fast? How about 0-60mph in 2.8 seconds without launch control!

Volkswagen is planning to sell a range of clothes made out of the tartan fabric from the seats of the new Golf GTI MKVI. The material will also be offered in rolls so that fans will be able to use it to make kilts, caps and, well, anything they like from it.

Just to clarify this is not an April Fools! We found this out last week on the launch of the new Golf MKVI GTI, where one of the VW press guys said “We had lots of requests from enthusiasts for the trim out of the Golf GTI MKV but it wasn’t possible to offer it as an accessory. However, we are hoping to be able to with the new car. At the moment we are looking into the production process to see if it is possible to set up a system where we can get the fabric off the production line and sell it to the public.” I think this might just end up on the aftermarket scene with people trimming seats with the fabric–maybe you could upgrade an old GTI with the new tartan!

Owners of earlier-generation 4.3L V8 Vantage complained that it didn’t have enough grunt, so Aston made it a 4.7 and added a few tweaks. So I went up to Aston Martin to take one for a few days–and now, parked outside a stunning building in a sea of Aston development cars, is my Peugeot 306. The Vantage sounds awesome with a butterfly valve in the exhaust that engages at 4000 rpm. I’ll keep you posted on how I get on with the new Vantage, and if I actually give it back…

Some people have said about the new Golf 6 that it’s more like the Golf 5.5, due to the similar looks to the outgoing model. However, aside from the exterior cosmetic tweaks, the new Golf is actually hiding most of its changes under the skin. So what better way to check it out than to use this cool draggable X-Ray? We also did a comparative video review to highlight the changes with the new model. Enjoy!

We decided to make our new game topical for issue 13 and give you a chance to help Chrysler from going bankrupt. You get money from bailouts, movie deals, good reviews and twinning up with Fiat! Click here to play the game!

Last week I managed to get taken for a ride in this in the V12 Vantage, and although the video is not out yet I can share this awesome exclusive gallery of images taken by our photographer, along with all the details.

The i20 is the new supermini that has been designed to take on the likes of the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa and actually it sort of looks like a mash up between the two. The i20 I drove even came in a ‘lively’ green colour similar to that offered on the Ford Fiesta and Mazda 2.

The top spec Style version has alloys and optional half leather on the comfortable seats. The dash is well laid out and has a solid feel, apart from the bit you can plug your USB or iPOD into. It wobbles about like it’s not actually attached and as if it was added as an afterthought.

The 1.4-litre petrol is the most powerful version you can get, with 100hp, but it certainly isn’t fast. Hyundai, like most manufacturers at the moment is fighting to get higher mpg figures and this means the gearing is longer and you really have to drop through the gears to get any decent acceleration.

The steering gives you good feedback from the road, but feels artificially heavy at speed. If you try to thrash the i20 it really doesn’t like it – drive it hard and as you bang it into 2nd the steeringwheel wriggles with torque steer.

The i20 range starts at £8,645 and of course you get Hyundai’s five-year warranty. It’s not quite as fun to drive as the market leaders but many supermini drivers won’t really care or notice. With that warranty and reasonable price the i20 should do well for Hyundai.

The first 3-series to come sporting the M badge arrived in 1987 in the form of the E30. It was the car to have in the late 1980s. It was built as a performance road car before being homologated for racing, which it did, with huge success.

The M3 badge still lives on today, but perhaps in a slightly more common form than the E30 of twenty years ago. However, the latest version, the E92, provides just as many sideways thrills and spills as its predecessor. Its 420bhp V8 is one of the best educated engines in the business and slingshots the car from 0-60 mph in 4.7 seconds. Check out the full video review at iMotor.

Ford has finally released the long overdue press statement on the Focus RS, and to make up for the delay it’s 9,000 words long! However, we just picked out the interesting figures for you and put together a gallery of all the new pictures.

As we had already reported (but is now confirmed…) the Focus RS will start from £24,995 (around $35,000 US), and it will have a 300 hp engine that will shoot the fast Ford from 0-62 in 5.9 seconds and go on to an unlimited top speed of 163mph.

Continue reading after the jump!

Continue reading "Ford Focus RS: Faster Than a GT" »

I saw the story Ron Honig put up the other day about the Allegheny stainless steel car and it jogged my memory to some images my old man sent me quite a while back. These are pictures of the actual car as it is now in the factory and it looks awesome. Apparently the cars were loaned out to the salesman who had made the most sales that year and when it was retired it had over 200,000 miles on the clock! The car is insured for $1.5 million dollars in case you were wanting one…

Continue reading "More Pics of the Stainless Steel Car" »

We have made a few games at iMotor before, but I must admit this one is the most addictive! Using your arrow keys to balance the drift, see if you can set the record for the most laps. You can choose classic drift cars like the Nissan 200sx, but you can also try it out in a Routemaster bus! To get your name on the leader board click here!

Oh yes it’s a triple whopper. Check out this video of a guy doing a burnout on his bike in the back of an El Camino that is also doing a burnout on the back of a truck, which is yes, you guessed it… doing a burnout.