An interesting sculpture by RoboSteel will be getting unveiled at the 2010 MPH The Prestige & Performance Motor Show. This sculpture will be crafted from recycled steel and will be shaped to look like a unique supercar. The sculpture will be unveiled at Earls Court, London, between November 4th-7th, 2010 and at the NEC, Birmingham between November 11th-14th, 2010. At the end of the show the supercar sculpture will be auctioned off in order to raise money for charity.

The ‘alien-like’ supercar of the future will weigh more than 500kg and will be more than one meter tall. Built using thousands of individual parts, the sculpture took approximately750 hours to finish and will be shipped to the UK in four different pieces. When those pieces get to their destination, workers will have to reassemble the sculpture before it goes on display in Earls court.

“This is the first time we’ve used our design concept to create a supercar. The initial design for the car was created by our art designer Toonrama. The RoboSteel concept supercar is based on the complex designs and structures of south Indian temples and the Kirtimukha sculptures that are positioned at the entrance to these temples. Dave Murphy from Dublin Ink has added an Alien theme to a second design drawing. RoboSteel will use both drawings to craft the Alien Supercar and we are really looking forward to this project.”

Press release after the jump.

Unique supercar sculpture under construction for MPH originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 2 September 2010 22:00 EST.

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Ferrari has finally issued a safety recall of the 458 Italia. Yes, finally.

After a disastrous few months that featured no less than five 458s inexplicably catching fire, the Italian supercar maker has finally conceded that there may, in fact, be something wrong with their new pride and joy.

Ferrari finally issued the recall after discovering that a certain adhesive material they used to attach a heat shield under the car’s rear fender has the potential to catch fire when subjected to high temperatures, which, in turn, could lead to a fire in the car’s engine. From all the photos we’ve seen of the burning 458s, each one of them looks to have taken place in the rear end of the car, which could indeed point to the adhesive as the main culprit behind the 458 barbecue fest.

To fix the problem, Ferrari has designed a new heat shield material that can replace the use of the defective adhesive by attaching it with rivets thereby completely removing the adhesive material that has caused all of these fires. So, if you happen to own a still-to-catch-fire 458 Italia, it’s absolutely a-must to contact your dealer as soon as possible and have this egregious problem fixed. You never know; if you don’t act quickly, that fire just might catch up to you and your beloved supercar.

Ferrari officially recalls the 458 Italia originally appeared on topspeed.com on Wednesday, 1 September 2010 20:00 EST.

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Bentley is all about elegance and luxury, and those that know the name well understand that the brand takes good care of its reputation as one of the auto industry’s most esteemed car brands.

If you’re a young designer looking to make a name for yourself, creating renderings should serve as a good way to not only hone your skills, but also – if they’re good enough – to get some attention for your work.

Alexander Kotlyarevsky’s rendering of this Bentley R-Type certainly fits that bill. Keeping true to the British marquee’s reputation as a luxury automaker, Kotlyarevsky’s rendering comes with an elegant styling that’s also infused with some aggressive, modern touches that highlight the concept’s classic yet modern look.

More than the aesthetics, the young designer also gave this concept quite a powertrain featuring an 8.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine that produces a mind-boggling 800 horsepower and 1600 Nm of torque with a 0-60 mph time of 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 240 mph.

Judging the book by its cover, we give a lot of credit to Kotlyarevsky for the cutting-edge look of the R-Type concept. It’s certainly something we’d endorse to the folks over at Bentley.

Bentley R-Type Concept originally appeared on topspeed.com on Tuesday, 31 August 2010 18:00 EST.

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After a year of having its share of ups and downs – more on the latter, actually – Chrysler is in the middle of reinventing itself with the hopes of returning to its former place as a competitor in the auto industry. As part of their efforts, the US brand is aggressively marketing both its Jeep and Dodge brands with a series of carefully-planned commercials to ensure consumers that the rough patches have passed, and that the company has come back better and stronger than ever before.
As part of this campaign, Chrysler has released a number of commercials featuring the all-new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee with the latest one being appropriately called, “Stronger”.

In the ad, Chrysler details the painstaking lengths that go in building Jeep’s new flagship SUV while carefully pointing out the importance of the vehicle in the company’s attempt to restore the brand’s image and reputation. As the ad ever-so poignantly says, Chrysler isn’t “building just a car, it’s building a company.”

Video: Crysler’s reinvention continues with new Jeep commercial originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 29 August 2010 23:00 EST.

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Transformers 3 is currently filming in Chicago, and when you are in the right place at the right time, you sometimes get the chance to see things such as this.

In these video you will see a Corvette Stingray Convertible Concept, a Mercedes-Benz E-Class, a Ferrari 458 Italia (no, it’s not on fire), some NASCAR vehicles, and a new, upgraded Bumblebee Camaro. If that isn’t enough to get the testosterone flaring, then we might as well let you know that there is also racing, shootings, and a few fights! Hopefully this is enough to make you forget that the beautiful Megan Fox will not be returning to Transformers for this edition.

Transformers 3 will be out in theaters starting July 1st, 2011, so we’ll have to wait about a year to see these beauties in action, but we’ll keep our eyes out for any trailers or pictures that will give us an insight on the latest vehicular heroes.

Hit the jump because there is a lot more to see!

Videos: Transformers 3 in Chicago originally appeared on topspeed.com on Sunday, 29 August 2010 12:00 EST.

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So, you’re stuck in morning traffic, about to be late for that big meeting. What in the world are you going to do? As the cars creep slowly forward you fill with rage, eventually ripping off the steering wheel and running into the office. Time to calm down because that 40-minute jam is nothing compared to what’s going on in China.

Traffic around Beijing and Zhangjiakou has gotten so bad, that a jam is now stretching for 60 miles. It’s not like it has only been that way for a morning either. Cars and people have been backed up since August 14th. China doesn’t anticipate anything fixing the situation until road workers have finished their road repairs on September 13. Not to mention the broken down vehicles and new accidents that have occurred.

Despite their government leaving them, many have begun to play card games and street vendors have set up food shops at very high prices. Just imagine how things would go if that happened in New York City.

Chinese Traffic Jam Just Keeps Growing originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 28 August 2010 23:00 EST.

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To be honest, none of these cars are in our price range. We’ll get that out of the way just in case somebody starts dreaming of owning one of these bad boys someday.

Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, there’s a nice collection of some of the world’s most luxurious – and expensive – supercars on Jameslist courtesy of Prestige Cars Abu Dhabi’s extensive collection of Mansory-tuned machines. The fact that there’s ‘prestige’ and ‘Abu Dhabi’ in the name should give you an indication of what type of cars are included in the collection.

The price tags of these cars are not being disclosed because, quite frankly, none of us can afford to buy any of them. Maybe we can buy a grille or a door panel, but even those would probably cost us an arm-and-a-half.

But if your curiosity is getting the better of you, we’ll s—-the beans on what cars are included. There’s a blue and gold Rolls-Royce Ghost, a Bentley Vitesse, an Aston Martin Cyrus, a G-Wagen Couture, a Porsche Cayenne Chopster, and a Bugatti Veyron Vincero.

Not exactly cars that you’d call affordable, huh?

Prestige Cars Abu Dhabi lists plethora of supercars on Jameslist originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 27 August 2010 23:00 EST.

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Remember that “accidental email” we received earlier this month that announced the Lotus models that would be showing up at the Paris Auto Show? Well, we know one of those models is the Evora S since that was simply stated in the communication, but the second model was just titled the Lotus Auto and didn’t have many details to describe this mysterious vehicle. Now we hear that this second model is the Lotus IPS (Intelligent Precision Shift).

The IPS version of the Evora gives the driver the option of being able to switch from manual paddle shift to automatic drive modes. There is also a Sport mode for that extra oomph and control for the driver.

The Lotus IPS combines an automatic 6-speed gearbox with a Lotus developed transmission control with a 3.5L V6 engine. This combination allows the vehicle to produce 276hp at 6400rpm and 258 lb ft of torque at 4700rpm. The 0-60mph sprint is made in 5.3 seconds and its top speed is limited to 155 mph.

“The Evora IPS is set to broaden the appeal of the Evora and reach out to a slightly different market. We hope it will be popular with established automatic locations such as Asia, the Middle East and the US. It’s been a long time since Lotus created an automatic and we’ve spent a great deal of time refining this one to make sure that it perfectly complements the Evora drive experience.”

Press release after the jump.

Lotus Evora IPS originally appeared on topspeed.com on Friday, 27 August 2010 10:00 EST.

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After many stories about whether or not the Audi A1 will be coming to the US, we finally get some news on the S version of the smallest model in the lineup: the S1. The new Audi S1 is expected to be unveiled at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show and will come to compete with models like the Mini Cooper S and the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA.

The S version will be distinguished by chrome door mirrors, a gloss black diffuser, S1 badges, and, of course, a new set of 18-inch twin five-spoke alloy wheels.

However, the most distinguished thing about the upcoming S1 is the fact that it will be the first Audi S model to be offered in front-wheel drive only. That’s right, no quattro 4WD for the Audi. Instead, this hatchback will be sending the power to just the front two wheels.

Under the hood there will be a tuned version of the 1.4-liter supercharged and turbocharged petrol engine already available in the A1. The result is an output of 200 HP, a sprint from 0 to 60 mph in less than 7 seconds, and a top speed of 140 mph.

Audi S1 coming in front-wheel drive only originally appeared on topspeed.com on Thursday, 26 August 2010 21:00 EST.

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