It’s Official: Mercedes-Benz Unveils Hot C63 AMG Coupe Black Series

Well, it was no big secret (not after some tell-tales spilled the beans facing the Germans’ wrath) that Mercedes-Benz was planning to unveil the Black Series edition of its C63 AMG Coupe during the German Grand Prix at Nürburgring.

Now the company has gone ahead as planned and revealed the C63 AMG Coupe’s hardcore sibling, the C63 AMG Coupe Black Series. The most potent version of the C-Class Coupe does not stray away from the successful formula of the models that carried the Black Series tag before it.

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Lexus Invites Magazines to Drive 2013 GS, will be Offered Only with V6 Engines, gets Netbook-Sized Screen

Following the announcement on the time and place of the premiere of the all-new 2013 Lexus GS 350 –that would be the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 18th for those of you that didn’t read our previous story- the Japanese company lifted the embargo on the first test drive of the car in the States.

Invitees include names like Car&Driver, Autoweek and Motor Trend. Naturally, the exterior of the pre-production test cars were bagged in plastic, but their interiors were largely free of camouflage (see links below for photos) revealing an edgier LF-A-esque design with lots of stitched leather on the dashboard and a gigantic 12.3-inch information screen above the center console.

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SCOOP: 2012 Renault Scenic Compact MPV getting Ready for its First Facelift

One of Europe’s most popular people carriers, the Renault Scenic, is about to receive its first cosmetic refresh to stay ahead of the fierce competition in the compact segment.

The current, third generation of Renault’s minivan was launched onto the European market in 2009 and is available as the five-seat Scenic and the longer 7-seat Grand Scenic. Though we can’t be 100 percent sure, the prototype caught by our spy photographers appears to be the shorter Scenic model.

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Official: All-New 2013 Lexus GS 350 to Debut in August at Pebble Beach Concours

This year’s edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance that takes place in California on August 18 will see Lexus lifting the veil off the next generation of its GS premium sedan, which we recently showed you testing at the Nurburgring racetrack in Germany.

Lexus teased the new GS with the LF-Gh Hybrid concept study at the New York Auto Show in April.

"Our customers have been waiting for a new GS that's more intense in every way," commented Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager. "They'll soon discover this GS was well worth the wait."

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All-New 2012 Porsche 911 Spied on Camera Undisguised!

One could try to explain why such a hotly anticipated new model like the 2012 Porsche 911 was caught out in the open alone (?) and almost completely undisguised, but why bother; it is what it is and you can enjoy the clip and get your first unobstructed view of the 991 in the video after the break.

We’ll just remind you that the next generation of the 911 is due to be unveiled in a world premiere at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in mid-September.

The most famous Porsche model series of all, will mostly likely be offered in two basic flavors at launch, the Carrera with a 350HP 3.4-liter flat-six and the Carrera S powered by a 3.8-liter boxer delivering around 400 ponies.

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Scoop Quiz : Is this the 2012 Porsche 911 Turbo S?

Show any Porsche 911 to someone old enough to remember when Memorial Day was called Decoration Day, and chances are he or she will probably know the brand and model of the car. But ask someone to tell your which version they’re looking at and you’ll have a pretty hard time getting the right answer unless they’re a true Porschephile.

Take this 911 for example; even our experienced scoop photographers aren’t 100 percent sure about this 2012 Porsche 991 prototype that they bagged testing in Europe.

The chunky rear section with the blistered wheel arches and air-intakes along with the double wing at the back featuring a fixed lower part and a retractable upper section, leave few doubts that this is the new 911 Turbo.

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Official: 2012 Mercedes SLK AMG gets New 422HP 5.5-liter V8 with Cylinder Deactivation Mode

Despite rampant rumors on the development of a turbocharged V6, Mercedes-Benz has chosen to continue with a naturally aspirated V8 engine in the next generation of the SLK AMG that is due to make its first public outing at the Frankfurt Motor Show this fall.

While we only get to see a fuzzy photo of the 2012 SLK 55 AMG, the firm with the three-point star emblem revealed plenty of details around the roadster model’s new eight-cylinder engine.

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SPIED: All-New 2012 Fiat Panda Caught Stretching out in the Sun

The car that helped Fiat get back on its feet at the turn of the century, the nuova Panda, will soon give its place to an all-new model that was snagged by Carscoop’s photographers during hot weather testing in Europe.

It's hard to picture the styling details with the heavy cladding and camouflage on the prototype, but it’s evident that new model will retain the shape of the tall-bodied, second generation Panda.

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Coming Soon: 2012 Porsche 911 Teased in Official Video

The wait for the next evolution of the Porsche 911 is almost over. In fact, we’re so close to the launch date that the German firm has just entered the teasing phase releasing the first official video of the sports car shot during hot weather testing in South Africa.

The public will have its first chance to see the new 911, codenamed 991, at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show in September. What we know up until now is that, the 911 will look like, well, a 911 – don’t forget, it’s all about evolution when it comes to Porsche's most famous model.

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SPIED: Armored-up 2012 Mercedes A-Class Completing Final Tests Before it Takes on the BMW 1-Series

Unlike its famed Bavarian rival, which at one point was almost absorbed by Mercedes-Benz, the Stuttgart automaker continues to cover up and hide its prototype models in chunky plastic armor instead of the psychedelic wraps used by the BMW Group and other carmakers these days.

The five-door hatchback you see pictured in these latest spy shots is the upcoming 2012 A-Class, which has been redesigned to offer Mercedes-Benz a more direct rival to the BMW 1-Series, Audi A3 and to a lesser extent, the Lexus CT 200h.

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BMW Marks Returns to DTM with New M3 Coupe Concept Racer

New DTM racing cars are like public transportation: you wait for ages and then , all of a sudden, three or four buses appear at the same time. Just yesterday we posted Audi’s new entry into the German Touring Car Championship or, as it’s more commonly known, DTM (Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters). Today, BMW pulled the wraps off its new own DTM racer based on the coupe version of M3.

And mind you, unlike Audi, BMW revealed the M3 in the flesh clad in carbon fiber and looking quite menacing with its matte paint, flared wheel arches and aerodynamic package.

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Frankfurt Rumors Fuel Design of 2012 Volkswagen CrossPassat

Recent rumors have suggested that Volkswagen may introduce a high-riding, faux-crossover Variant of its latest generation of the European market Passat, as early as at the forthcoming 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show.

And while we can’t confirm the rumormill, what we can do is show you a very well executed rendering of the VW Cross Passat made by a talented reader of Autoblog.nl.

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New Audi A5 Coupe DTM Racing Concept to Replace A4 Sedan from 2012

Get excited DTM fans because there’s a new kid coming to town. We’re talking about Audi’s freshly revealed A5 Coupe racecar, internally named “R17,” that will replace the four-door A4 with which Audi has conquered the DTM title four times since 2004.

Ingolstadt’s new touring model is based on the facelifted A5 Coupe that was presented earlier this week and it complies with the new technical and safety regulations that will come in effect in the German touring model championship next year.

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BMW Drops 250 Photos of the New and Possibly Last RWD 1-Series Hatchback

We have already seen and reported on the brand-new 2012 BMW 1-Series, which was revealed a couple of months ahead of its world premiere, which is scheduled for the rapidly approaching Frankfurt Motor Show this September.

Nevertheless, if the first batch of photos didn’t do the trick for you, you’ll be happy to know that today, BMW released a massive gallery with some 250 pictures of its compact sized hatchback, which may very well be the last version to feature a rear-wheel drive layout as the Bavarians are rumored to be planning a switch to a front-wheel drive platform for the next generation model.

But enough with the talking. Hop over the jump to check out all the high-res gallery.

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Congratulations, it’s a Doblo: New Opel Combo in Passenger Car and Panel Van Trims Breaks Cover

Meet the new Opel Combo, GM Europe’s latest offer in the light commercial vehicle segment that will also be available in a passenger car version.

In case you didn’t notice, Opel’s newcomer is based on the Fiat Doblo van with the exterior styling changes over the Italian model limited to the design of the front bumper that somewhat awkwardly incorporates the German firm’s family grille.

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2012 Toyota HiLux Pickup Truck gains Refreshed Looks and More Powerful Diesel

Toyota has blessed its European market HiLux pickup truck with a mid-life facelift for the 2012 model year. The cosmetic surgery starts with the exterior that gains a redesigned front end sporting a different grille dressed in chrome, new bonnet, headlamps and front bumper. The changes continue with the redesigned front and rear wings, a new crop of 15- and 17-inch steel and alloy wheels, plus new door mirrors. Read more »

2012 Audi S5 Range Updated, Coupe Drops 4.2 V8 in Favor of Supercharged V6

Along with the introduction of the regular versions of its refreshed A5 series, Audi also presented the updated S5 range. The most important change concerns the S5 Coupe in which the outgoing model’s naturally aspirated 4.2-liter V8 engine with 354-horses and 440Nm (324.5 lb-ft) is replaced with the same 3.0-liter supercharged V6 found in the Sportback and Convertible S5s. Read more »

2012 Toyota Yaris: New Gallery with 86 Photos and UK Pricing

Toyota today announced prices for its next generation Yaris hatchback in Europe including the UK where the supermini is available for order now with first customer deliveries to take place in September.

The new Yaris is available in three- and five-door body styles with British buyers offered a choice of four grades (T2, TR, SR and T Spirit) and three engines including 1.0 and 1.33-litre petrol units and a 1.4-litre D-4D turbodiesel. On-the-road prices start from £11,700.

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2012 Audi A5 Coupe, Convertible and Sportback Receive a Mild Facelift

Audi today unveiled the facelifted versions of its A5 range which includes the Coupe, the Sportback and Cabriolet models. The company’s goal was to freshen up the A5’s exterior looks and to improve both their driving dynamics and fuel economy.

The 2012 Audi A5 range is available exclusively with direct injection engines featuring forced induction and stop-start and energy regeneration system as standard. As a result, Audi says fuel consumption has been decreased across the range by 11% on average and CO2 emissions by as much as 22%.

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Spy Shots: New 2013 Porsche 911 Turbo Shows Off its Aero Bits

The next Porsche 911 will make its world premiere in base trim at the forthcoming Frankfurt motor show this September, but this will only be the first chapter of the 991 saga as the Stuttgart-based firm plans to create an entire range of sub models.

The 911’s lineup will eventually grow to include numerous body styles such as coupe, convertible, Targa and speedster models as well as a variety of standard and limited production versions ranging from the entry level Carreras in two- and four-wheel drive layouts to the GT-spec track racers and the almighty Turbo, which our spies caught testing in Germany.

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