Autoweek Daily Drive — Tuesday, January 29, 2013

HOME   |   CAR NEWS   |   CAR REVIEWS   |   RACING   |   AUTO SHOWS   |   VIDEOS   |   COLLECTOR   |   SUBSCRIBE Tuesday, January 29, 2013                  The Lamborghini Aventador kickoff event started in Florida.... Lamborghini Aventador Roadster takes to the air(strip) Lamborghini kicked off its 10-day Aventador LP700-4 Roadster media launch and dealer-education program on Monday, and it started off with a bang. Actually, with a roar. Five new Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadsters took to the south runway of one of the busiest United States airports for a photo shoot, some video and...   Classic speed culture thrives at Mooneyes Hot Rod and Custom show Whether we're captivated by vehicles such as the rotary-powered Mazda Cosmo or fascinated by publications like Garage Life...   Charity for Arie Luyendyk Jr.? Just when racing can't get any stranger… Look what happens when I take my eye off the global ball for a day during the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona: Apparently all the starving children have been fed, the homeless dogs and cats and been adopted, and the fiscal cliff...   2013 Mercedes-Benz GL450 4Matic review notes EDITOR WES RAYNAL: I'm loving the new Mercedes-Benz GL-class family. Drove the diesel last weekend and was mighty impressed. I like this V8 gas version, too, but think I'd get the diesel because it's...   Looking back: 1993 Chicago Auto Show Enthusiasts may most remember the reveal of the twin turbo Toyota Supra at the 1993 Chicago Auto Show. Looming in the background, though, was a potential battle between domestic and Japanese automakers over alleged “dumping”...   Tristan Vautier makes the jump to IndyCar Tristan Vautier is the latest Firestone Indy Lights champion to make the move to IndyCar. Vautier, a 23-year-old Frenchman, confirmed to Autoweek that he has... You May Have Missed...   Revolutionary steering wheel on Lotus E21 could change racing Engineers for the 2013 Lotus E21 car worked overtime to create a unique Formula One driving experience for Lotus F1 drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Romain Grosjean.It takes a close examination of the buttons on the new steering wheel (click on the photo to get a larger version) to appreciate the number...   Watch Lotus F1 team launch E21 car here Lotus kicked off the Formula One launch season with the unveiling of its E21 on Monday. Watch the launch here.NOTE: The replay of the Jan. 28 launch begins at approximately the 1:05.00 mark of the above video....   The Rolex 24 at Daytona: What's the buzz? Some people loved it, some people hated it. Some people just wanted to listen to Clint Bowyer. Anyway you look at it, the Rolex 24 is still one of endurance racing's biggest events. Fans took to Twitter to talk about their experiences and opinions on the race. So what did you think of the event?...   Rolex 24 at Daytona: Has infield party overshadowed the Rolex 24? Perched upon their motorcycles, two police officers scanned the infield of Daytona International Speedway. The Rolex 24 was well underway, and the cool night was filled with the sounds of roaring engines.The sun was setting. In minutes it would be dark. They knew they might be in for a long...   Jaguar reveals third teaser for Desire Jaguar revealed the F-Type at the Paris auto show last September. Later, the automaker announced plans to create a short feature film titled Desire, in conjunction with production company Ridley Scott Associates, starring the car. We haven't been following the production of the film -- which will...   Hyundai's Super Bowl ads highlight speed Having been batted about regarding their fuel-economy claims, Hyundai has decided to use their Super Bowl ad dollars to highlight the raw power of the Sonata Turbo and the Genesis R-Spec sedan.We find the above Sonata ad a whimsical piffle, featuring a couple utilizing their family sedan's...   2014 Maserati Quattroporte auctioned in Naples, FL One lucky and charitable person walked away from this past weekend's Naples Wine Winter Festival $340,000 lighter but with a set of keys to a 2014 Maserati Quattroporte sedan, one of the first in the United States. The event is held every year in Naples, Fla.Proceeds from the auction will benefit...   Corvette Stingray convertible to debut at Geneva motor show The convertible version of the redesigned 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray will make its world debut at the Geneva motor show in early March, sources confirm to Autoweek. Also, the Stingray convertible will go on sale as a 2014 model and could be in dealer showrooms by the end of this year.Press...   Lotus reveals new 2013 E21 Formula One car The Lotus Formula One team on Monday revealed its 2013 E21 race car, the first 2013 F1 car to reach the public eye when the team conducted an online launch broadcast.Overseen by technical director James Allison, the car is inevitably outwardly similar to last year's, which is likely to be the case...   GRID 2 adds Brands Hatch, Yas Marina to track lineup Codemasters GRID 2 driving simulator will return to consoles and Windows PCs this summer. The game company has released the trailer/marketing video above to keep our appetites whetted until then.In the video, journalist Chris Harris gets a drive in a McLaren MP4-12C at the Brands Hatch circuit in...   Detroit auto show draws more visitors The North American International Auto Show in Detroit closed on Jan. 27, and after two weeks of previews and public days, organizers say it was a success.Detroit's Cobo Center hosted 59 new-car reveals, 5,212 journalists from all over the world, 28,326 industry professionals and 748,809 public days ...   2013 Subaru BRZ long-term review Arguably one of the most important car launches of 2013, the debut of the Subaru BRZ set car lovers' hearts afire, across not only the Autoweek staff but the collective enthusiast universe. The formula speaks for itself: With its compact, rear-drive, lightweight ethos, the BRZ is designed for those ...   Bring a Trailer: 1954 Meteor Rideau Skyliner Meteor was an automobile brand owned by Ford and sold only in Canada. It gave Canadian Mercury dealers a low-cost car to sell in its market, to compete with Canadian Pontiacs. One of the rare survivors is now on sale through our friends at Bring a Trailer.This glass-top 1954 Meteor Rideau Skyliner...   Mumford's Brizio-built '27 Track Roadster wins AMBR As is often the case with the great roadsters, the Kelly Brown Track T has been a known commodity in rodding circles for somewhere around 30 years. All it needed was to finally get built and finished.For a while it was in the shop of Stevie Davis, the famous tin man who could shape anything into...   Travis Pastrana's risky transition to NASCAR Travis Pastrana sits on top of the world of extreme sports. Thus most people would think that making the move to NASCAR is riskier than any of the stunts that have brought fame to the 29-year-old daredevil. Many aspiring NASCAR drivers used to start with small teams, small budgets and very little...   Sonoma gets another name change and other NASCAR notes After 11 years as Infineon Raceway – before that it was Sears Point Raceway -- the 1.99-mile road course northeast of San Francisco is now officially simply Sonoma Raceway. It is one of only two Speedway Motorsports Inc. properties -- the other is Kentucky Speedway – without the word...   Behind the scenes of Lotus E21 Formula One launch with James Allison There are few rule changes for 2013, although new Pirelli tires will give the teams something to think about. The stability means that, once again, the car designers are looking for minute gains in every area. Here, Lotus technical director James Allison explains some of the thinking behind the new ...   Danica Patrick and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are dating: What's the buzz? On Friday Danica Patrick confirmed what many NASCAR insiders already knew: She and fellow Sprint Cup rookie Ricky Stenhouse Jr. are dating.After a weekend of the Patrick/Stenhouse Jr. saga, most fans seem to leave the pair alone and let them get on with their relationship. Below are a number of...   Team boss Eric Boullier expecting Lotus to take next step with E21 Lotus F1 team boss Eric Boullier wants his team to take a further step up from last year and re-establish itself as a major player.In 2012, the former Benetton and Renault team finished fourth in the World Championship, and Kimi Räikkönen won a race.“I think it is fair to say that great...   American motorsport program still a work in progress for Volkswagen On Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, Volkswagen's Director of Motorsport, Jost Capito, conducted a roundtable discussion to talk about VW's future in American motorsports. While the general consensus from the director, who has been in the position since May, is that there are no big...   We break down the results from the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona: Autoweek TV Watch out for spoilers as we review the results of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.Also in this episode: Ford, Nissan and Daimler will collaborate on fuel-cell tech, and Mini reveals two Brit-themed special editions. TRANSCRIPT-- Chip Ganassi takes his fifth at Daytona.-- Ford, Nissan and Daimler are ...   Williams F1 plans expanded role for Susie Wolff Susie Wolff will have an expanded role as Williams F1 development driver in 2013.The DTM racer will have more time in the simulator and in the actual car. In fact, Wolff will give the Formula One race team's new car, the FW35, its first miles in an aero test at Idiada, Spain, next month.“Last ... CLICK HERE TO UNSUBSCRIBE from the Autoweek Daily Drive E-mail or to sign up for other Autoweek e-mail products. 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