Say Goodbye to the V8 Lincoln Navigator

Since this is an obvious "No soup for you!" situation, we thought we should start with the good news. Lincoln has confirmed that the full-size Navigator SUV will see another generation.

But Ford's new strategy towards better economy figures means that the Navigator will no longer benefit from a V8 engine and will gain a EcoBoost V6, as MotorTrend reports, quoting Lincoln's director Matt Van Dyke.

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China-Only Koenigsegg Agera R Zijin Spotted - Gets Solid Gold-Plated Interior!

If you have the money, ultra-exclusive automakers, like Koenigsegg will build your car however you want it, to the full extent. Just such an example of a car was recently spotted in China - the Agera R Zijin. The unfamiliar Chinese word translates into purple gold, and that`s exactly what the car is - purple on the outside, and gold on the inside.

The special one-off exterior finish - a brilliant purple which really looks good on the Swedish hypercar, is complimented by the solid gold-plated interior. Not all of the interior is covered in gold, but the centre console, steering wheel trim, the air vent surrounds and various knobs and buttons are made from the precious metal - it would`t be our first choice to decorate the interior of our hypothetical Koenigsegg, but it does not look as bad as some may have expected.

It is utterly-decadent and highly-opulent nevertheless.

To counter the weight of all that gold, this particular example of the Agera gets the full 1040 hp version of the five-lifer twin-turbo V8 motor, so performance should not be a problem.

Check out the gallery below to see what we`re on about.

News Source: carnewschina.com and cheshuoshuo.com

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South Africa Gets Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8 Alpine Edition

The 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee is an imposing vehicle, and the extra sporty bits bolted onto the SRT8 model further accentuate those traits. Now, Jeep has launched a limited edition model, for the South African market, called the Alpine Edition. Keep in mind that this is the pre-facelift model, as the one with lots of LEDs has just been revealed at the 2013 North American International Auto Show.

The Alpine Edition, limited to just 95 examples, comes only in white, with contrasting 20-inch rims, finished in Black Vapor Chrome. The sporty touches don`t stop here, as the car also gets a very noticeable black grille, badge and various other details, all of which are finished in glossy black.

The car gets no performance mods to speak of, being powered by the same 6.4-liter Hemi V8, which makes 462 hp and 624 Nm of torque, catapulting the large SUV to 100 km/h or 62 mph in five seconds dead, before topping out at 257 km/h (160 mph). A light turbo kit will fix the problem for some, who may want even more power from their SUV - keep in mind that 462 hp may be a lot, but in the Grand Cherokee it has a lot of weight to lug around.

Pricing for the Alpine Edition starts at 834,990 ZAR, which roughly equates to €71,100 or $94,400, and it is already available for purchase at South African Jeep dealers.

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GM CEO Dan Akerson is ‘Proud’ of the New Corvette C7

And why wouldn`t he be - it is not only an excellent modern interpretation of the classic ‘Vette recipe, with great styling, a substantially better interior than its predecessor, a high-tech engine which is still a V8 and high tech construction - it even uses carbon fiber for the hood and roof!

The GM CEO, Dan Akerson, recently stated: “If you really want to transform this company from just playing it kind of four-corner stall, as they say in basketball — but go on offense, you are going to have to take some risks [ . . . ] It’s a statement about American ingenuity — it’s about technology and, frankly, our risk-taking. This is the first car that was designed start to finish-post.”

They plan to sell around 35,000 C7s per year, despite the fact that sales of the old model reached a 50-year low, back in 2010, when only around 13,000 were sold. Still, this new car is a far more appealing prospect, and from what the people behind it say, it is a much better all-round car - a more usable one which works well both on the road and on the track, thanks to selectable driving modes.

This high-tech new ‘Vette will give Chevrolet a much-needed image boost, above all - it won`t really be a money-maker for GM, but more of a ‘halo car’ for the Chevy brand.

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Chevrolet Will Make Right-Hand Drive Variant of Corvette C7 Stingray!

American cars are becoming increasingly popular in the UK, and while until now there was never enough real demand to warrant the building of right-hand drive models, that`s all about to change with the all-new Chevy Corvette C7 Stingray.

According to autoexpress.co.uk, the new Vette will make its way to the British Isles with the steering wheel on the right side, yet it has not been specified exactly when this will happen - it is at least two years away, though.

Corvette Chief Engineer, Tadge Juecheter said: "There is no plan to build a right-hand-drive version in the short term [ . . . ] In the long term it's something we definitely want - to make this a more global car - but it won't be for a couple of years."

The British publication also asked Juecther about the engine choice for the C7, hinting at the possibility of a smaller engine making its way under the bonnet. He replied: "It already is a smaller displacement engine, I think of it as a 3.1-litre V4 that has an extra four-cylinders when you need them," hinting at the fact that the new Vette has cylinder deactivation tech.

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2014 Corvette C7 Stingray Looks Great in Blue

The very recently-revealed Chevy Corvette C7, which is reusing the ‘Stingray’ name has attracted a lot of attention, so we thought we`d give it a new lick of paint, to see what it looks like. We tried to make it blue, with yellow calipers - we`re not sure yellow calipers will eve be available, but they sure do look good on the blue car.

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Hennessey Venom GT Breaks 0-300 Km/H World Record

The Hennessey Venom is a scary car, and all you need to do is take a quick look over its performance specs and you`ll immediately see why. Powering this monster hypercar is a 7.0-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, which makes it one of the fastest road cars on the planet.

Now, as if to certify its performance credentials, the Venom has just beaten the world record for the 0-300 km/h or 0-186 mph sprint. In the time it takes an entry-level city car, with a one liter engine to get to 100 km/h or 62 mph, the Venom GT could kill you three times over!

It achieves the sprint in 13.63 seconds, which makes the single fastest accelerating car in the world, up to the specified speed. The people from Guiness were there to confirm the performance, and the fact that the Venom GT did manage to surpass the Koenigsegg Agera R by 0.9 seconds.

This is not the first acceleration record recently broken by the Venom GT, as the American hypercar was also reportedly able to reach 370 km/h in 20 seconds dead!

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