SPIED: 2013 Land Rover Range Rover Spotted Testing, we get Our First Peek at the Interior

We have another round of spy shots of the all-new 2013 Land Rover Range Rover. While the exterior of the British firm's luxury SUV continues to wear plenty of camouflage, our scoopsters were able to snag the first photos of the Range Rover's interior.
If you pay close attention to the pictures, you'll notice several changes including the repositioned main air-vents that are mounted on the same level as the audio and navigation screen on the current model. Right below we find a massive screen for the infotainment system that takes plenty of real estate on the center stack.
The lower console is also new and seems to be positioned slightly higher than before.

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Video: BMW Alpina B6 GT3 Flies Over Safety Barriers and Crashes Onto Concrete Wall

The spectators at last weekend�s ADAC GT Masters championship at the N�rburgring witnessed a horrific crash involving Alex Plenagl and his BMW Alpina B6 GT3 racecar when the driver lost control of the vehicle and strayed off the course at a high speed.
Plenagl�s Alpina flew over the safety barriers, passed through a BMW sign and crashed onto the concrete wall.

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Sportier MINI Countryman JCW Edition Spied Working out at the Nurburgring

Carscoop�s spy photographers have snapped some of the first images of the sportiest edition yet of the Mini Countryman bearing the John Cooper Works logo. The�high-hoon version of Mini�s urban crossover model will come with all the usual styling upgrades and performance modifications we�re used to seeing in the other JCW models.
First and foremost, the Countryman JCW will get a juiced up version of the Cooper S� 1.6-liter twin-scroll turbo engine. Being that the Countryman is much heavier than the other Mini JCW variants, engineers may further hone the four-cylinder powerplant to deliver more than 211-ponies it normally produces, possibly approaching the 230HP mark.

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SPIED: 2012 BMW 3-Series Sedan Starts Taking Shape

The new, sixth generation of BMW�s 3-Series sedan, codenamed F30 is almost upon us and as a result, we�re seeing more and more prototype models with less camouflage making their appearance on the road or in this case, testing on the N�rburgring circuit in Germany.
Being that the 3-Series has been the backbone of BMW�s success over the years, it doesn�t come to much of a surprise that the F30 remains close to the current model in terms of design.

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SPIED: New 2013 Porsche Cayman Shows its Face on the �Ring

The new 911, code-named 991, isn�t the only new model that Porsche is working on these days. The second generation Cayman is getting ready for its debut.
We�ve ve already seen the first camouflaged prototypes of the 2013 Cayman, but now it seems that Porsche is gearing up its development program and testing the car in Nurburgring in view of the anticipated 2012 launch, which will coincide with that of its open-top sibling, the Boxster.
Even though the shape is familiar and closely follows the lines of the current model, every panel in the bodywork is, in fact, new. The second-gen Cayman will bigger in all dimensions, including the wheelbase, to provide more ample space for the driver and his or her passenger.

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2012 Bentley Continental GTC Speed Scooped in the Alps

Back in May, we saw Bentley trying out the drop-top version of its subtly evolved 2011 Continental GT, the GTC, at the Nurburgring racetrack. Now, our spies have spotted Bentley�s people working on the more athletic GTC Speed in the Alps.
Like the standard Continental GTC, the Speed shares the sharper styling cues of the coupe model launched last year adding a more aggressively designed front bumper with new openings, hood air vents and a discreet boot lid spoiler along with larger alloy wheels to the mix.
The GTC Speed will benefit from the revisions we saw on the coupe and which include a redesigned dashboard with an updated instrument panel and a new touch-screen interface plus new seats and trim materials.

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VIDEO: Lexus LF-A Nurburgring Edition Laps the Nordschleife in 7:22.85

A Carscoop reader from Japan tipped us off about this video showing the new Lexus LF-A Nurburgring Edition (or at least that�s what the Youtube poster claims we�re seeing here) lapping the famous Nordschleife circuit in 7 minutes and 22.85 seconds. The poster videotaped the run from a video screen set beside the LF-A Nurburgring Edition.
According to the person who shot the clip, Lexus raced the car just before this past weekend�s 24-hour Nurburgring endurance race kicked off.

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2011 24-hour N�rburgring Race: And the Winner is�.

Porsche triumphed in the 2011 24 hours of N�rburgring, with the 911 GT3 RSR of Marc Lieb, Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Lucas Luhr crossing the line after 156 laps and 3,958.968 km (2,462.044 miles), a new record for the legendary endurance race in the demanding Nordschleife.
The Porsche 911 GT3 RSR first led the race at Saturday evening, at 23:25, and then its drivers held on to it for the following 16 hours and 35 minutes, or 108 laps.

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Aston Martin Rapide Auction Proceeds Given to Toyota to Aid Tsunami Victims

Last month we reported that Aston Martin�s CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez, announced that he would auction off his company car, a fully-loaded 2009 �Concours Blue� Rapide, during this year�s annual Bonhams event at Newport Pagnell on June 21.
The buyer was furniture designer and Aston Martin enthusiast David Linley, who paid �100,000 ($160,000), which was handed over to Toyota which can better direct it to charities providing aid to victims of the recent earthquakes and Tsunami that devastated Japan.

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BMW Faces Problems at 24h N�rburgring Qualifier, M3 GT No7 Crashes

The first qualifying session for the 24 hours of N�rburgring did not go exactly as planned for Team BMW Motorsport, as the number 7 M3 GT driven by Dirk Muller crashed in the Karussell two hours into the session. Prior to that, the car was 8th overall, with Dirk Werner lapping the Nordschleife at 8:32.302.

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BMW Launches Lighter and More Powerful New M3 CRT Special, Limited to 67 Units

This is BMW�s new hardcore M3 sedan, the CRT, which stands for Carbon Racing Technology. To be produced in a limited run, the M3 CRT was unveiled during a pre-race BMW M event ahead of this weekend�s N�rburgring 24-hour race.
The special edition model combines the body style of the M3 sedan with technology from the M3 GTS coupe, topped off with the use of carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) to further reduce the car�s weight.
BMW said the M3 CRT represents the worldwide debut of a new production process for carbon-fibre reinforced plastic components in the automotive industry, adding that we will see the same materials on the upcoming i3 EV hatchback and i8 hybrid sports coupe, due to enter volume production in 2013.

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BMW 1-Series M Coupe

The BMW 1-Series M Coupe is pretty fast on paper. Reaching the 60 mph (96 km/h) mark in just 4.7 seconds is no small feat, but nowadays, it seems that performance cars need to have a respectable �Ring� time under there belt to command respect. Now, a forum member of the 1Addicts fan site who calls himself "SteveD" claims that the Ring time for the 335-horsepower strong M model is 8 minutes and 12 seconds.

If true (and according to the N�rburgring lap times list posted on Wikipedia), this means the entry-level M model is 10 seconds faster than the E46 M3, on par with the E86 Z4 M Coupe, but 7 seconds slower than the E92 M3.

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2012 Corvette Z06 Smashes Previous Model�s �Ring Time by 20 Seconds [with Video]

As promised, GM released the N�rburgring lap time of its modestly tweaked for the 2012 model year, Corvette Z06. The most important change for the 2012 model is the available competition-orientated Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Zero Pressure tires, which helped the Z06 turn around the �Ring in just 7:22.68.
The lap time is 20 seconds faster than the previous-best Z06 lap time, recorded in 2005, and just 3 seconds behind the 638-horsepower 2012 ZR1, a video of which you can see in our previous posting here.

However, GM noted that in 2005, the Z06 was timed from a standing start instead of the rolling start technique used on the latest Z06 and ZR1 models.

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New MINI JCW Coupe Racer to Debut at 24h of Nurburgring

Well, that was quick. Just three days after unveiling the MINI Coupe, the firm�s first-ever two-seater coupe model, and even though its flagship version won�t be available to the public before autumn, the company presented the MINI John Cooper Works Coupe Endurance (yes, that�s quite a mouthful, so we�ll just call it JCW) racer.
And, what�s more, its public debut will be in one of the most demanding endurance races of the world, the N�rburgring 24 hours at the legendary Nordschleife, the place which Jackie Stewart has famously christened �the Green Hell�.
The MINI JCW Endurance is powered by a tuned version of the standard 4-cylinder, 1.6-litre engine that features a twin-scroll turbocharger as well as direct injection.

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Porsche Ready for 24h N�rburgring Race with 911 GT3 R Hybrid

One of the most important racing events of the year in Germany is the 24-hour race of N�rburgring, which will take place this weekend (25/26 June). Porsche will enter the endurance race with eight factory cars, most prominent of which is the updated version of the 911 GT3 R Hybrid that led the event for eight hours last year in its first outing.
For this year, the organizers have changed the rules, restricting the flat six�s output to 448 hp which is directed to the rear wheels. But the hybrid system that features two electric motors driving the front wheels adds another 200 hp.

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