Aston Martin's Low-iQ Cygnet Caught on the Streets of Düsseldorf

If we had to give a prize for the most ridiculous new car of 2010, it would go hands down to Aston Martin's Cygnet luxury mini. The British firm's pint-size model is nothing more than a Toyota iQ (Scion iQ in North America) decorated with fancy-pansy wraps - something like those silly replicas we show you from time to time with an even sillier price tag.

The Cygnet won't go on sale before early 2011, but apparently, Aston Martin has already began shipping cars in Europe, most likely for use by the firm's dealers, though this particular example may have been used by a company exec. This here left-hand drive example with British license plates was spotted by a forum member of Autogespot on the roads of Düsseldorf, which is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. For more photos of the Cygnet, follow the break.

Source: Autogespot

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VIDEO: RC Drifters at the 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon

Drifting usually involves insanely powerful tuner cars, lots of smoke and some highly skilled drivers. But it turns out that you don’t even have to have a driver’s license to drift like a true professional. Don't believe us? Then just take a look at the radio controlled car in the video after the break, which was provided by Carscoop’s very own Phil Alex, attending the 2011 Tokyo Auto Salon.

By Csaba Daradics

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Embarrassing Replica of Rolls Royce Phantom Built on BMW 750i V12 E32

This custom monstrosity of a Rolls Royce Phantom replica is based on one of the last elegant BMW 7-Series models, the late 1980s-early 1990s E32, and was found for sale on a Polish used car website. There are so many things wrong with the build that we don't know where to start, but the flashy Rolls Royce sticker on the steering wheel could take the prize for being the worst item on the car...

The Phantom clown clone is built on a V12-powered 750i with the seller asking a laughable €56,653 (around US$75,500 at today's exchange rates) for the car. More photos after the break.

Source: Otomoto via Motofilm

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Mazda RX-8 Club Malaysia Organizes Mega Gathering in Kuala Lumpur, Creates Awesome Video Trailers

Our friend Shawnz, who you may remember from the Mazda RX-8 Coupe project we showed you last February, sent us these teaser trailers from a video that is currently being prepared to showcase a very large gathering of the rotary-powered sports cars that was held on the streets of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.

In Shawnz's own words: "The event took place on 27th Nov 2010 at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The total registered cars were 99! Damn, one more member and we would of reached the magic number of 100... The full video clip will be out pretty soon, possibly in mid-February... (fingers crossed)."

As you can see in the trailers after the jump, the convoy of Mazda RX-8s was so large that police escort was needed. We'll bring you the full video as soon as it comes out.

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Police Recover BMW 750i xDrive that was Stolen During the Detroit Auto Show [with VIDEO]

The BMW 750i xDrive that was stolen during the 2011 Detroit Auto Show has been found. The $95,000 car was discovered at a gated apartment complex near Telegraph and Glendale Street, in Detroit’s West Side. Detroit police said the wires to the tracking system had been cut, but the Bimmer was probably ditched due to the massive media attention surrounding the case. Authorities seized the vehicle for further processing.

The 7-Series was used by BMW officials and guests during the press days of the Detroit motor show. Although it was a crime of opportunity, as the handler left the keys in the car and stepped away for a second, the thieves weren’t amateurs and were able to annihilate the GPS tracking device fitted to the $95,000 luxo-barge. Video report available after the break.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: WXYZ

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Lotus Evora Tries Out Police Uniform in the UK

Lotus has loaned a brand new Evora to the boys in blue at the Central Motorway Police Group (CPMG). The police-liveried version of the British sports car was officially revealed at this week's Autosport International Show at Birmingham’s NEC. Once its show duties are over, the sports car maker will hand the keys of the Evora to West Midland's police officers who will then trial the car for a two week test period.

Gino Rosato, Director of Corporate Operations at Lotus comments: ‘Lotus is proud to take part in this and similar initiatives to help create a safer road culture for our customers and other road users. We believe that you do not have to compromise fun for speed and to that effect we build sportscars that are fun to drive within legal limits! We will be working with Officers from CMPG to teach them how to get the best from the Lotus Evora at our test track to ensure that any high-speed activity is as safe and effective as possible.”

PC Steven Rounds from, CMPG said: “The Lotus is a visually stunning machine which offers us the opportunity to engage with the public, reinforce and promote the life-saving messages of road safety.”

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The Sweeter Side of the Tokyo Auto Salon 2011

Almost every show has them and the Tokyo Auto Salon is no exception. We're talking of course about the booth professionals. We'll be bringing you more spicy pictures from the floors of the Tokyo tuning show later on, but for now, here's a taste of some the lovely ladies that smiled at Phil our camera.

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Tokyo Auto Salon 2011: Nissan 350Z Poses as a Porsche Drag Queen with a Panamera Face...

The Tokyo Auto Salon is always a blast featuring all sorts of unique tuning proposals, like this here Porsche wannabe. When our Tokyo show man Phil sent us the above photo, we assumed it pictured a Porsche -possibly a Boxster- wearing some kind of extreme bodykit. We were quickly proved wrong, however, when he sent over an image of the interior as well as short video, and revealed that the Porsche Panamera-faced tune was actually a Nissan 350Z Roadster!

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NOx, Hydrocarbons and Worse – What’s Else is Coming from your Exhaust Pipe?

As automotive consumers, we think we’re pretty well informed. We read all the blogs and all the magazines, pouring over the all important numbers: 0 to 60 times, miles per gallon and – increasingly – CO2 emissions. That last one is interesting, as it’s only come to the mainstream public’s attention in the last seven years or so. Anyone would think that the only noxious chemical cars put into the atmosphere are CO2, but you’d be wrong.

Nitrogen oxides (NOx), hydrocarbons, diesel particulates and carbon monoxide are also put out by our daily drivers. Think of the worst parts of cigarette smoke and the fumes from burning plastic and you’ll have a good idea what I mean. Premature births, lung cancer and smog – all attributable to these noxious chemicals.

You may be surprised at the vehicles that are very good on CO2 and very bad on NOx and hydrocarbons. By adding the two together, we get a milligram per kilometre rating. So here are the best and worst from the UK’S Vehicle Certification Agency:

UK's best performers

Skoda Yeti 1.2 105PS 49mg/km

Nissan Qashqai+2 2.0 71mg/km

Honda Insight 1.3 IMA S/SE 73mg/km

Porsche Cayman S 3.4 79mg/km

Honda Insight 1.3IMA ES-T 5dr 82mg/km

UK's worst offenders (mg/km)

Nissan Pathfinder 2.5 dCi 190 1,150mg/km

Seat Ibiza SC 1.2 12v 70PS 1,026mg/km

Citroën C5 1.6i THP 1,010mg/km

Audi A4 3.2 FSi Multitronic 999mg/km

Mercedes B-Class B160 BlueEfficiency 994mg/km

Would you believe that a 2.5L Volvo V70 estate is in some ways better for the environment than a 1.3L Fiat 500 with start-stop engine tech? Try 201mg/km versus 484mg/km. And would you of guessed a Porsche Cayman S would be, in one way at least, better for the environment than a Mercedes-Benz B160 BlueEfficiency?

It just goes to show that the more you know the better off you are. One can only hope that, in time, these details will appear on the same stickers that tell us mpg and CO2 emissions so car buyers can make a fully informed choice.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: VCA via Telegraph

Tokyo Auto Salon 2011: Notice anything Strange with this Picture?

Those of you who stayed with us last night (East Coast time), probably followed Phil's live coverage of the first day of the Tokyo Auto Salon 2011, which runs from January 14 to 16. We'll have more from the Makuhari Messe convention center tonight, but for now, we'd like to draw your attention to this particular photo.

At first, you'll probably focus on the glitzy, star-studded Mercedes SL roadster with the gold grille, but look a bit closer on your right and you may see something very strange and perhaps disturbing...

Find of the Day: Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Spider for $310,000

Found hidden amongst a bunch of used, older generation Alfa Romeo models in Autotrader's used car listings, is this extremely rare 8C Competizione Spider. The 450HP V8 Italian exotic has been put up for sale by Connecticut-based Miller Motorcars, with the dealer stating it is a one-owner example driven a mere 825 miles since new and that it's one of 20 cars made for the U.S. market out of a total run of 500 examples (we must note that to our knowledge, Alfa Romeo built 35 Spiders for the USA).

The dealer adds that the original sticker was $328,477, with the price of this white-colored example set at $310,000. So what do you say; is this Ferrari/ Maserati-derived, Alfa Romeo-badged exotic worth its price tag or would you look elsewhere if you were lucky enough to have this kind of cash laying around in your bank account?

Source: Autotrader via VWvortex

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