It is probably not surprising that one of the leading manufacturers of Electric Vehicles is based in California's Silicon Valley. Having built over 300 Roadsters to date, Tesla have now released the first details of a second model. Known as the Model S, it marks the company's expansion into the family car market. Very pleasing to the eye, the Model S is also kind on the environment and cheap to use. At a base price of $50,000, it is not cheap to purchase but extensive use should more than make up for that. Sadly we have to wait a further two years before the car will hit the showroom floors. Unlikely to be ever seen in a showroom is the Mercedes-Benz F-Cell Roadster Concept. Created by trainees and students, the funky two seater combines the basic design and layout of the 1886 Benz with a state-of-the-art fuel cell engine and cues from modern Formula 1 cars. Hyundai is also going green at the upcoming Seoul Motor Show with this Blue-Will Concept. It features a hybrid drive train that includes a brand new direct-injected petrol engine.
One of Spain's most successful racing car manufacturers of recent years, GTA Motor, will now enter the supercar world. Temporarily known as the GTA Concept, the mid-engined coupe will be powered by a 720 bhp V10 engine. Full details, including the name, will be revealed towards the end of April.
At the recent Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance American coachbuilder Bohman & Schwartz was extensively featured. Winning the special Bohman & Schwartz class was this very elegant Duesenberg SJ Convertible Coupe. You can expect our full Amelia Island report with a packed 300-shot gallery in the next few days.
This weekend the 2009 Le Mans Series will kick off at the Catalunya Circuit near Barcelona, Spain. One of the main support races is once again the Classic Endurance Racing (CER) one-hour enduro. One of the cars to line up is this Chevron B31 Hart. We will be at the track the whole weekend and will publish a detailed report early next week.

In the first half of the 1960s Ferrari's domination in the GT-class was absolute; no other manufacturer had won the class at Le Mans since it was established in 1959. Coincidentally that was exactly the same year that Carroll Shelby snatched the overall Le Mans win away from Ferrari in his Aston Martin. Since then the chicken farmer from Texas had set up shop for himself and at the start of the 1964 season he had his sights firmly set on the GT World Championship. He knew very well that beating Ferrari would take something special, so he had stylist Pete Brock design a slippery version of the highly successful AC Shelby Cobra. The end result was the now legendary Cobra Daytona Coupe, which was named after the track it made its debut on. The breathtaking machine was a whole 20 mph faster than the Roadster on the back straight of Riverside. At Le Mans it ended Ferrari's reign in the GT-class and finished a highly commendable 4th overall. In the following one and a half season, the Cobra Daytona dominated. In 1965 the Shelby American team was crowned World Champion. Rule changes rendered the cars obsolete, ending the program prematurely.
Today all six Cobra Daytonas are accounted for and remain as one of the most important racing cars to come out of the United States. Back in 2000 one sold for $4 million and this May another will be offered at auction and it could sell for in excess of $10 million. Both these cars and two others (including the 1964 Le Mans winner) are included in our spectacular 30-shot gallery, which serves to illustrate an in-depth article that includes both the general history and a brief look at all six cars separately.

This past Saturday the 2009 American Le Mans Series kicked off with the 57th annual Sebring 12 Hours race. 'Sebring' is the most legendary of the American road races and not surprisingly attracted an all-star grid. Present this year were manufacturers like Peugeot, Audi, Ferrari, Acura, BMW and Porsche and drivers like Le Mans legend Tom Kristensen, Indy 500 winner Dario Franchitti and current Formula 1 star Sebastien Bourdais.
Providing even more excitement was the debut of no fewer than three brand new racing cars; the Audi R15 TDI and Acura ARX-02a LMP1 cars and the BMW M3 GTR GT2 machine. While built to exactly the same regulations the Audi and Acura represent two completely different philosophies and still clocked similar times, very competitive in most sessions. The BMW struggled to find the pace and eventually did not have the reliability to make up for it.
Patron Highcroft Acura racer David Brabham celebrated his father's Formula 1 Championship winning effort at Sebring 50 years ago by driving Sir Jack's old Cooper T51 around the track.
After the green flag dropped on Saturday morning, the Sebring 12 Hours once again showed why it holds a legendary status. The very close fight for the overall lead was only settled in the dying minutes of the race. Sebring's reputation for being tough on men and machine was underlined; only 14 cars managed to cross the finish at 10:30 pm.
We were present for every session of the 2009 Sebring 12 Hours race. It was our first ever visit to the American Le Mans Series and hopefully not the last. The results of our labor can be found in this detailed report and an exclusive 160-shot gallery. We also added five of our favorite shots to the wallpaper section.

Saturday, 10:30 am local time, this year's edition of the legendary Sebring 12 Hours will kick off. One of the most talked of cars in the race is the brand new Audi R15 TDI. It represents a complete redesign compared to the three time Le Mans and two time Sebring winning R10. What remained was the TDI diesel technology but both the chassis and engine have been developed from scratch. The German engineers focused on creating a better balanced racing car, which has resulted in some very interesting solutions. Greatly contributing to the improved weight balanced is the V10 engine, which is shorter than the R10's V12 but still displaces 5.5 litre. No doubt the most striking feature of the new Audi racer is the aerodynamics package. Where most other manufacturers use sharp, clean lines, the R15 features a blunt nose and numerous subtle aerodynamics devices. What also is very obvious is the exceptionally low height of the car. From any angle, the R15 is an absolutely unique racing car.
The build up to the race has been ongoing since Monday and the new Audi has been among the top runners in every session. While it was pipped in qualifying, the R15 remains our favourite for the race win on Saturday. Providing a unique insight into this high-tech machine, we have compiled an exclusive 18-shot gallery, including a revealing look at the new engine.
Our full report of the race will be published early next week. For those of you in the United States, Speed TV will air 10 hours of the 12 Hour race live, so dial in before 10:30 am Eastern time.

Over the weekend the beautiful Amelia Island, off the coast of Florida, hosted the annual Concours d'Elegance. With close to 300 cars entered (most of them very interesting), our report is taking a little longer to complete. However, to give you a first glimpse of the show, we today take a closer look at one of the 'Best of Show' winners; the Voisin C20 Mylord Demi-Berline. This unique machine expresses Gabriel Voisin's outstanding art-deco styling more than any of his others. Powering the very low machine is a highly unusual sleeve-valve V12 engine. The win was the result of an extensive restoration that was completed just days before the concours. It was a well-deserved win for one of our all time favourite cars.
Continuing the recent trend of 'leaking' photographs of camouflaged test-mules of upcoming models, Mercedes-Benz released the first pictures and information on the SLS AMG. It is the first complete car developed in-house by AMG and combines modern engineering with old styling cues like the 'Gullwing' doors. Aluminum is used for the car's body and spaceframe chassis as well as the 571 bhp engine. The SLS is set to make its debut in the fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
In Geneve Lamborghini showed the final version of the Murci�lago Coupe and now they bid farewell to the Roadster with a limited edition. Dubbed the Murci�lago Roadster LP650-4. As the name suggests, it comes equipped with a 650 bhp version of Lamborghini's V12 engine. It can be distinguished by a special colour scheme and unique decals.
Finally, we want to highlight the Brawn GP BGP001 that has dominated the recent Formula 1 tests. It may be too early to tell but it seems that Honda's withdrawal from the sport was not very well timed.

From 1934 onwards Grand Prix racing was very much a German affair; Mercedes-Benz dominated and only compatriots Auto Union were able to challenge them. The enormously powerful racing cars created in this era still baffle to this day. By 1937 the unlimited supercharged engines produced well over 500 bhp for which the primitive tires and suspension design were no match. Something had to be done to slow the cars down and for 1938 a displacement limit of 3-litre for blown engines was introduced. Mercedes-Benz' answer to this challenge was the exquisite W154, which featured a brand new V12 engine. The beautiful twin-cam, supercharged engine produced a hefty 460 bhp to the end of its development span. In the following two seasons W154s won 11 of the 16 races they competed in. The W154 pictured in our feature gallery was regularly raced in 1938 and 1939, and was eventually used by the great Juan Manuel Fangio after the War.
The Italians were tired of seeing thir cars beaten by the 'Silver Arrows' and late in 1938 decided to have the next edition of the prestigious Tripoli Grand Prix run under 'voiturette' regulations. With a 1.5 litre displacement limit, these were very literally 'small (Grand Prix) cars'. Both Maserati and Alfa Romeo had competitive cars for this class making an Italian victory highly likely. Mercedes-Benz however was determined to defend their 1938 win. In order to take part in the race they constructed a 'voiturette' racer of their own, the W165. It was created by combining a new V8 engine with slightly smaller version of the W154 chassis. Two cars were entered and due to the very limited time available, the second car was completed on the boat to North Africa. It was more than sufficient and the Germans scored a smashing 1-2 victory. It was the only time these cars were ever competitively raced. Our detailed article on the W165 is illustrated with images of Hermann Lang's winning example.

In little over a week the 57th annual Sebring 12 Hours race will kick off. The season opening classic of the American Le Mans Series, ranks as one of the hardest races in the world. The very bumpy track puts man and machine through more abuse than in most races twice the length. We will cover 'Sebring' in detail for the first time this year and it promises to be an epic race. To warm you up before the event we today take a closer look at one of the former winners and a brand new challenger for the 2009 honours.
The Italian rivalry between Maserati and Ferrari in sports car racing during the 1950s brought about some fantastic machinery. Topping all of them is the ferocious Maserati 450S. Powered by a 4.5 litre quad-cam V8 engine, it remained the most powerful front-engined sports racer for many decades to come. Due to regulation changes, it was only eligible for the World Championship in 1957. In that year, a win in the Sebring 12 Hours was scored by Juan Manuel Fangio and Jean Behra and the 450S almost brought Maserati the World Championship. From 1958 the Works racers were all sold to the United States where they were raced with great success by the likes of Carroll Shelby and Jim Hall. Our exclusive 24-shot gallery depicts an amazing six of the seven surviving examples.
Together with Peugeot and Acura, Audi is one of the top contenders for victory this year. The German manufacturer has dominated the race in recent years with the R8 (6 wins) and the diesel engined R10 (2 wins). For 2009 they have developed the brand new R15 TDI, which is no doubt one of the most interesting new racing cars of the last decade. Other than the years of experience, very little was carried over from the R15's highly successful predecessors. The chassis, aerodynamics package and V10 engine are all brand new. The goal was to get a better balanced and more drivable car than the V12 engined R10 was. After one teaser shot a few weeks ago, Audi has now pulled the curtain off the R15 TDI

This weekend one of the most important Shelby Cobras in existence will be offered during the RM Auctions sale at the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. Chassis CSX2142 was one of two special Hard-Top equipped machines that were raced in the 1963 24 Hours Le Mans. Although the Cobra's debut in the classic endurance race was far from perfect, it did pave the way for the eventual class victory in 1965. In recent years the car has been carefully restored by Simon Hadfield and raced in some of Europe's greatest events. Our gallery shows the car at the Tour Auto in 2005 and during the Goodwood Revival last year. We will be in Amelia Island to see if it reaches its $1-1.4 million estimate and will bring a full report on the Auction and Concours shortly after.
Although not present in Geneva, Spanish supercar manufacturer a.d. Tramontana did launch a new version of their unusual machine in recent weeks. Dubbed the Tramontana R, it uses a Mercedes-Benz AMG sourced V12 engine. Considerably lighter than the original version, it can accelerate to 100 km/h in 3.6 seconds.
One of our absolute favourite cars on display in Geneva was the Perana Z-One. By combining Zagato's lines with a bespoke tubular chassis and LS3 Corvette engine, the South African company have created a highly desirable car. It will nevertheless be very sharply priced, to 'bring Zagato back to the masses.'
Even longtime Porsche-tuner RUF have joined the green craze with the Greenster Concept. The car uses a full electric drivetrain sourced at Siemens, which produces an impressive 362 bhp and 950 Nm. RUF expects the production version to be even more powerful. Compatriots Opel launched their version of the 'Volt', dubbed the Ampera. If the company survives long enough, it will be available to the public in 2011.
Old fashioned excitement was provided by Wiesmann, who launched the MF4 Roadster. It is offered with a choice of two BMW engines; the high-revving M3 V8 or the more docile 4.8 litre V8.

At this week's Geneva International Motor Show the exotic and concept take center stage. Following our in-depth report, we would now like to take a look at eight of the most exciting new machines on display in Geneva.
One of our absolute favourites was Lamborghini Murci�lago LP670-SV. This 'Super Veloce' could very well be the final version of the Italian manufacturer's top-of-the-range model. By bumping the power to 670 bhp and cutting the weight by 100 kg, Lamborghini have certainly created a worthy farewell for the Murci�lago. The changes compared to the stock model for the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Bleu Centenaire are far model subtle. Built to celebrate the marque's 100th anniversary, the one-off version features many unique trim features. That combined with the striking blue paint makes it our favourite Veyron version.
Italian design houses Fioravanti and Italdesign were also well represented in Geneva. The former showed the LF1 Concept, which is a very interesting design study for an F1 car of the future. The Namir Concept continues Italdesign's striking design theme. As always the car is fully functional and uses a rotary/hybrid propulsion system.
Dutch specialty manufacturer Spyker launched the production version of the C8 Aileron, which was previewed at last year's show. It is the second generation C8 Spyker and is more mature in every respect. Later in the year a Spyder version will join the Aileron range.
We were not quite as happy with the Ferrari 599XX; it may have been one of the most potent cars on display in Geneva, it is designed for track days only and not for serious competition.

Tomorrow the Palexpo exhibition center will open its doors for the first of eleven public days of the 2009 edition of the Geneva Motor Show. During the past two days the gathered media was treated to an exclusive preview of all the (new) cars on display. Despite the grim economic situation all major and a vast majority of the specialty manufacturers have set up shop in Geneva to show their latest wares. And they had plenty of exciting machinery to display again this year. What was different was the general atmosphere and the more modestly appointed stands, both a clear result of the difficult times.
For us car enthusiasts there were more than a handful of new releases to marvel about ranging from hot-hatches from Alfa Romeo and Mazda to all out supercars from Italian experts Lamborghini and Pagani. Additionally there were many smart small cars that should be plenty of fun to drive and also friendly to the environment. Hopefully the economic problems will be over real soon, so we can see many of these on the roads.
As always our reporters were on the showfloor for two days to soak up all the news at the world's most prestigious motor show. All our work has resulted in a brief report and an exclusive 280-shot slideshow, which includes all of the highlights. In the following days we will take a look at all of the new cars individually.

With less than two days to go before the Geneva Motor Show opens its doors, we take one final look at the upcoming releases. Ferrari's stand will feature two new versions of the stylish 599 GTB. The first is the 'Handling GT Evoluzione' (HGTE), which sports a special handling package. Even more interesting will be the FXX inspired 599XX but unfortunately no pictures of this car have been released just yet. Equally exciting, be it at a slightly more modest scale, will be the Fiat Abarth Grand Punto SuperSport. With a turbo-charged 180 bhp engine and a retro paint scheme it is set to make the enthusiasts' hearts beat faster. Using another Fiat Abarth as a base, Frank Rinderknecht created the Rinspeed E2. Exceptionally conventional for his standards, the E2 uses a 160 bhp engine that can be tamed to 60 bhp for frugal drives through the city.
Design houses always take center stage in Geneva and this year is certainly no exception. Italy's Zagato will take the wraps off the Perana Z-One. Using South African built underpinnings, the two-seater sports car may very well enter production later this year. That will not be very likely with the I.DE.A ERA Roadster. The concept car marks the I.DE.A Institute's return to Geneva after an absence of ten years.
In addition to the Motor Show news, we want to highlight two new racing cars ready to hit the track this season. The most interesting is no doubt the Nissan GT-R FIA GT. As the name suggests, it is destined for the FIA GT championship. Built to the new for 2010 GT1 regulations, it will be already raced in 2009 by Gigawave Motorsport in four rounds. Although no front-runner in the past Formula 1 season, the extensive rule changes may give the Force India team renewed momentum. Over the weekend they shook down and tested the VJM02, which uses a McLaren/Mercedes sourced drivetrain.