Mercedes celebrates the 60th birthday of its iconic SL roadster with the release of a short clip that chronicles the whole evolution of the model, from 1952’s 300SL all the way up to the recently unveiled R231 version, with its new aluminum bodyshell (a first in Mercedes-Benz’s history).

Just as a quick reminder, the new Mercedes SL comes with a 3.5-litre V6 engine producing 306 hp and 370 Nm of peak torque (for the SL350 version) and a 4.7-litre V8 unit producing 435 hp and 700 Nm (for the SL500). Both engines use a 7G-TRONIC PLUS automatic transmission.

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The Lamborghini Museum in Sant’Agata Bolognese is the focus of the sixth part of this documentary exploring this maker’s history and production from an insider’s point of view.

Born in 2001, this very impressive museum covers the entire history of the exclusive car maker in all its aspects. The photo gallery highlights Lamborghini’s milestones and it includes black and white stills of old production lines as well as advertising shots and pictures of all the different vehicles.

Within the historical models on display on the ground floor you can find some gems such as the first 350 GT built by Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, the Miura S, the Espada, the Urraco and the Silhouette as well as some prototypes such as the Countach 001 and the Lamborghini LM 002. On the other hand the first floor is dedicated to more contemporary vehicles such as design, concept, exotic and racing cars. It also includes an area displaying everything you need to know about Lamborghini’s marine motors such as the Toro.

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The fifth episode of this Lamborghini documentary focuses on the Gallardo, and in particular on two models: the Gallardo LP 570-4 Super Leggera and the Gallardo Spyder.

The Super Leggera’s structure can be summed up in an ultra-light body stretched over a tubular frame, and thanks to the extensive use of carbon fibre this vehicle has been crowned the lightest in the Lamborghini range. With a top speed of 325 km/h (202 mph), the LP 570-4 Super Leggera only comes second to the Aventador in terms of performance.

The Gallardo Spyder was first unveiled at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show as an “al fresco” version of the v10 super sports car. Needless to say, watching this video only makes you wish you could jump immediately in one of these jewels and spend the rest of your life cruising from riviera to riviera.

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Here’s the fourth part of this amazing Lamborghini documentary, and today we explore what’s going on behind closed doors at the Lamborghini factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese. These historic premises at the moment accomodate more or less 850 employees, who work meticulously to produce the iconic super sports cars in an environment as neat and clean as an operating theatre.

Lamborghini’s exclusive production line only delivers an average of a dozen units a day and features a mixture of hi-tech and hand craftsmanship, which ensures vehicles are assembled to the highest quality standards.

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Fiat releases new official images, a video (after the jump) and more info about their new Punto, which is just about to debut on the market. The revamped 2012 version of the Fiat Punto is something more than a mere restyling: the term ‘restyling’ in fact wouldn’t do justice to the sort of heavy upgrade that the long-running Fiat hatchback has just endured, which affected the model in both shape and content. The new range comes with a new engine line-up too, making it even clearer that the new range represents a huge step forward in the comparison to the outgoing Punto Evo series. From an aesthetic point of view the new Punto for the year 2012 retrieves some elements of the more successful Grande Punto series, that debuted in 2005: the rear bumper in fact loses the contrasting insert, the indicators move closer to the air intake and the redesigned front bumper is now painted in the same color of the fairing. By the way, three new exterior colors have been added to the paint options: Blu Profondo (Deep Blue), Rosso Elegante (Elegant Red) and Grigio Affascinante (Fascinating Gray). Besides, the car now rolls on new 15″ alloy wheels.

As for the engine range, the 2012 Fiat Punto (which has no ‘Grande’ or ‘Evo’ tags attached to its name) will be made available with the following petrol options: a new 0.9-litre TwinAir unit delivering 85 hp at 5,500 rpm and 145 Nm from 2,000 giri/min; a 1.2-litre producing 69 hp; a 77 hp 1.4; a 1.4-litre MultiAir engine producing 105 hp and 1.4 MultiAir Turbo producing 135 hp. On the diesel side we have a brand new 1.3-litre Multijet II unit available in three power configurations - 75, 85 and 95 hp - while for the bi-fuel team we have petrol/LPG and petrol/methane powertrains combined with the aforementioned naturally aspirated 1.4-litre engine. All these engines will come with standard Start-Stop system and gear shift indicator.

The newly added 0.9-litre TwinAir unit boasts an average fuel consumption of 24 km/l, with CO2 emissions rated at 98 g/km only. The customer that will choose this engine will also be given an extra option for color of the livery, the exclusive Verde Energetico (Energetic Green), which can be mated to a black rooftop. The whole range will be available in three versions - Comfort, Sport and Fun to Drive - each one of which will be available in six different trims: the more traditional ‘Pop’, ‘Easy’ and ‘Lounge’, the dynamic ‘Racing’ and ‘Sport’ and, for those more focused on the ‘green’ side of things, the ‘TwinAir’.

Continue reading: 2012 Fiat Punto: pictures, video and info

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The commercial starring the new Kia Soul that got aired during the recent XLVI SuperBowl was nothing new as it was honored by the Nielsen Automotive Advertising Awards as“Automotive Ad of the Year” last June. This ad is staged in a modern day metropolis populated by hamsters, where a few of them dressed up as hip-hop stars hang around in the city with their new South Korean crossover, with a background tune blasting off the speakers. Surely a nice ad that deserved a re-run.

The Kia Soul was unveiled at the latest New York Motor Show and is available with either a 122 hp 1.6-litre engine coupled with a 5-speed manual transmission or a 2.0-litre unit producing 142 horsepower that can be mated to a the same 5-speed manual or a 4-speed automatic transmission.

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One of the commercials that Chrysler had aired during the last Superbowl was not dedicated to any specific model, it was a sort of statement about Detroit’s new found fighting spirit recited by Hollywood’s legend Clint Eastwood. The striking speech - which was shown during the half time break - appeals to the patriotic heart of the US to not give up, even though it’s a tough time for the home economy, and can be considered the second chapter of the famous Eminem ad that was broadcast during the same event last year. Definitely well made.

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If you’re a true Lamborghini fan, you can’t miss the third episode of this documentary, which describes what’s going on around Lambo’s HQ in Sant’Agata Bolognese. And I’m saying around because the most striking thing in this footage is probably Lamborghini HQ’s car park, where fans regularly flock in to show off their super sports cars, or just to view the unusual parade which includes rare and exotic specimens.

The place has become the world’s largest gathering of 12-cylinders, where you can see the most extravagant models cruising around as in a quite surreal catwalk show. Enjoy!

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In the wake of the recent restyling of the Bmw X6 M, a face-lifted Bmw X5 M gets now introduced by the German carmaker sporting more or less the same modifications applied to its bigger sister, which were not that many anyway. We are talking about a small upgrade that doesn’t really affect the overall look of the car, which was introduced just three years ago and still feels quite fresh and modern. The revamped X5 M in fact shows slightly different head lights, larger air intakes on the front and new tail lights, now featuring LED technology. Speaking of which, BMW will also offer a full-LED head lamps set as an optional extra, which will be made available in the US for 1,900 dollars.

Other distinctive features of this new X5 M include blue-painted calipers, new multifunction ‘M’ seats and Mogello Red leather upholstery, which replaces the ‘old’ Sakhir Orange trim. The model’s signature 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 unit - delivering 555 hp and 678 Nm of torque - has been left untouched, implying that its performance figures remain the same too: 4.5 seconds to hit the 100 km/h mark (62 mph) from standstill and 250 km/h (155 mph) of top speed. In the US the new facelifted X5 M will be 1,600 $ more expensive than the outgoing range.

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The commercial starring the Chevrolet Silverado that will be broadcasted tonight during the XLVI SuperBowl is set in sort of post-apocalyptic scenario, where the pick-up truck from Chevy emerges from a pile of rubble and begins traveling through the ruins of town with a pale gray sky and fuming volcanos in the background. The ad is obviously focusing on toughness and vigour of the model, and is scheduled to air during the first quarter of the game.

The Chevrolet Silverado is powered by a 6.6-litre V8 Duramax engine that develops 370 hp and allows this heavy beast to reach 100km/h (62 mph) from standstill in less than 9 seconds. The vehicle comes with a Allison 1000 6-speed automatic transmission, which is replaced by a Hydra Matic gearbox on the less powerful 6-litre V8. The Silverado has been designed to deliver in any situation and weather condition, to the point that it can be switched on even at -30 degrees.

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