Lamborghini is keen to expand its product range with its upcoming Urus utility vehicle. But that doesn't mean the marque is done developing its top-of-the-line supercar. In fact, there are rumors flying around of numerous derivatives of the new Aventador. But few are as surprising as the speculation surrounding a possible four-seat version.

According to Motor Trend, the Bolognese automaker is preparing a concept version of the Aventador with a longer wheelbase, a pair of small rear-hinged suicide doors (think: Mazda RX-8) and an extra pair of seats in the back. It wouldn't be the first time Lamborghini has presented a four-seat model – there are, after all, several in its back catalog, including the aforementioned Urus, the LM002 SUV that preceded it and the Estoque concept as well – but a mid-engined 2+2 is still a bit of a rarity in the industry.

The anticipated Aventador GT concept is tipped to be unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in March, but that's not all Sant'Agata is said to have in the pipeline. A roadster version is tipped to debut this January at the Detroit Auto Show with a more usable form than the Aventador J one-off displayed in Geneva last March. And a hardcore SuperVeloce model is tipped to arrive within a couple of years with as much as 800 horsepower.

Getting away from the Aventador line, the lightweight, Sesto Elemento concept could be ready for (limited) production by next year. Lambo's volume model, the Gallardo, is reportedly due for another facelift scheduled to debut at September's Paris Motor Show before its replacement (based on the next-generation Audi R8) arrives at the Frankfurt Motor Show one year later.

News Source: Motor Trend

Disaster can strike just about anywhere, but the likelihood – and severity – often increases the further you are from civilization. That's what one couple in Washington State found out when they went camping with their Toyota 4Runner along the Barlow Pass in the northern Cascade mountains.

When a storm approached they sought shelter, but fortunately didn't hide inside their Toyota. A hundred-foot-tall hickory tree fell on it, crushing the back portion of the SUV. With emergency and park services apparently refusing to help, it took them a while to get a few friends out their with chainsaws to cut the tree away from the Toyota. But once they did, they were astonished to find the truck not only started, but drove them back into town where they were able to call for a tow.

Of course, the truck was virtually irreparable, but the very fact that it got them to safety after being crushed by a giant tree has the owners looking at another 4Runner – and with good reason. Are we surprised by the Toyota's fortitude? After that now-legendary Top Gear Hilux abusefest, nothing surprises us.

Click here to watch a video of the crumpled Toyota in action, then follow the link to the forum for more images.

Head overseas and you may run into a Chrysler 300 wearing a distinctly foreign badge: that of Lancia. The awkward stepchild of the Fiat group rebadges Chrysler vehicles as their own and gives them nameplates from their own back-catalog. Lancia calls its rebadged 300 the Thema, but aside from the handle, it's pretty much the same. But could Chrysler's Italian cousin prompt the development of a coupe version?

According to the latest churn of the rumormill, yes, it could. Chrysler has already used the platform for the two-door Dodge Challenger, a vehicle that isn't officially offered in Europe. When Auburn Hills wanted to offer the Dodge Magnum in Europe, it gave the low-slung power-wagon bodystyle to the 300, but with that model out of the way, why not a two-door?

The question for us, of course, is – were Lancia to go ahead with such a development – could it make it back over to North America? An Italian-designed American two-door might satisfy a market (however small) that was last filled in the late 1980s Chrysler TC by Maserati and the Pininfarina-designed Cadillac Allanté.

Click here for a short video on the Lancia Thema.

News Source: Autoblog.nl

Years ago Caterham was just another kit-car company making "continuation" examples of the Lotus Seven. Now it's got its own LMP-style track car on the market, a new road car on the way, its own Formula One team, a composites division and an engineering consultancy. So who do you credit for the transformation? Ansar Ali. But he's on his way out.

Ali took over as managing director of Caterham in 2005 after he and his partners bought out the founders, and proceeded to expand the operation into the burgeoning conglomerate it is now. Last year, however, the company was taken over by Tony Fernandes, who paired it with what was then known as the Lotus F1 team (now branded as Caterham).

Despite Ali and Fernandes appearing to work well together since the change in ownership, Caterham has announced Ali's departure - ostensibly "by mutual consent", according to the announcement below. In his place, former CFO Graham Macdonald steps up as chief executive.

News Source: Caterham

In the wake of the devastating earthquakes that rocked northern Italy in late May, Ferrari announced an auction to raise money towards relief efforts. That online auction is now in the books, with benefactors giving generously to help the afflicted victims while netting some prize-worthy collectibles.

The biggest-ticket item is a 599XX track car (pictured above) that went to an American bidder at 1.4 million euros - equivalent to nearly CAD$1.8M . The car will be signed by Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo and F1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa, who will deliver the car to its new owner personally at the Italian Grand Prix.

A nose cone from an F60 (Scuderia Ferrari's 2009 F1 car) sold for 23,000 euros (approx. CAD $30K), an engine from the constructors' championship-winning F2008 racer went for nearly twice its reserve price at 80,000 euros (~ CAD$100K), with other items including helmets used by Alonso and Massa and a racing suit worn by Giancarlo Fisichella.

Click past the jump for more info.

Never has there been a season in Formula One as hotly contested as this one. Not only does the field contain an unprecedented six world champions -- accounting for a whopping fourteen titles between them -- but each of the seven grands prix so far this year has been won by a different driver. And each time the leaders play leap-frog in the standings.

The question has been how much longer this could possibly go on. Surely one driver would emerge as the clear frontrunner take a second checkered flag home on Sunday. Right? Keep reading to find out.

That Michael Schumacher has been less than successful in his return from retirement is no great secret. The seven-time world champion – empirically demonstrable as the best driver in the history of motorsport – has yet to score a single podium finish in the past three seasons since returning to the grid. To his credit, the German driver has stuck it out in an effort to rediscover the pace that put him and Ferrari on top for so many years prior to his retirement. But surely he's due for a win sometime soon. He has, after all, done it a staggering 91 times before.

Pirelli just so happens to agree. The Italian rubber company that supplies all the tires to Formula One is expecting that Schumacher could stand to claim the checkered flag in the European Grand Prix this weekend at Valencia. And they ought to know: Schumi has always been a driver who knows how to get the most out of his tires – particularly during the good old days when Bridgestone was creating special compounds around his driving style.

If Paul Hembery, Pirelli's motorsport guru, proves right, it would make for the eighth race winner in as many grands prix so far this season. And in the process it would prove that Schumacher hasn't lost his touch, or has found it again. Although Schumacher has won the European Grand Prix six times before – more than any other driver – those were all at the Nurburgring. The race was only moved to Valencia after he retired. And of course with five other world champions on the grid, each of them younger and at least as hungry for the win, it's still anyone's race. We'll be watching to see how it goes down.

News Source: Autosport

We don't envy the British for many things – certainly little in the dental or gastronomical fields – but they do know how to put on a car show, we'll give them that. While the conventional London Auto Show may not be at the same level as the shows in Frankfurt, Paris or Geneva, the English take things one step further with moving expositions that put any other to shame. Forget Top Gear Live, we're talking about the Goodwood Festival of Speed that's coming up soon, and the Cholmondeley Pageant of Power that just concluded.

Dubbed the Goodwood of the North, Cholmondeley is built around a similar idea: take some drool-enducing supercars and race them up the hill on the grounds of an old castle. This year's event included Aston Martins, Bentleys, Bugattis and Lamborghinis aplenty. But the fastest vehicle there was a Caterham.

Beating the 62.68 lap record set by Lamborghini in 2010, the Caterham SP/300.R set a new record at 61.89 seconds. Granted, it's not worth quite the same in bragging rights as, say, a Nurburgring or Laguna Seca lap record, but all things being equal, it shows just what Caterham and Lola's new track car is capable of.

In case your unfamiliar with Cholmondeley, click here to watch a video of the hill climb from this year's event being run in a Radical SR3 SL.

It's been less than a year since Porsche released its latest iteration of the iconic 911 range, and along with it the more powerful Carrera S model. And already the German automaker is offering an upgrade.

Released by the Porsche Exclusive department, the Powerkit ups the output from the 3.8-litre flat six from 400 horsepower to 430. As a result, the 911 Carrera S coupe equipped with the PDK dual-clutch transmission and the Powerkit is quoted at four seconds flat to 100 km/h (62 mph), with a top speed raised by four kilometers to 306 km/h (190 mph) or 308 km/h (191 mph) with the manual. It appears to be the same package that was fitted earlier to the exclusive 911 Club Coupe.

While output and performance has been heightened, Porsche quotes no changes to the car's fuel consumption figures. The changes are carried out by a remapped ECU, new cylinder heads and camshafts, a variable intake system, an additional radiator and a low-backpressure exhaust. The Sport Chrono dynamic engine mounts are also part of the package, and there's a host of aerodynamic enhancements – including a ducktail spoiler – on offer as well.

Scroll down for the full press release and scope out the retrofitted Carrera S in the high-res image gallery above for a closer look.

News Source: Porsche

The UK has a burgeoning car market filled with all sorts of cars we don't get here in Canada. So to get buyers' attention, automakers need to make a real splash. To that end, Skoda has erected a fresh take on one of the island nation's oldest landmarks... only in a more automotive form.

Dubbed "Citihenge", the installation is inspired by the ancient Stonehenge in Wiltshire, recreated out of old cars. It was built over the course of three months under the direction of renowned installation artist Tommy Gun, and put in place in less than 12 hours. Using eighteen scrap cars weighing a total of 36 metric tons, each of the henges measures five meters tall by five meters wide and is made to withstand force-12 hurricane winds. Still, it can be entirely recycled.

The installation was erected on the south bank of the Thames next to London's famous Tower Bridge just in time for the summer solstice, and marks the arrival of the Skoda Citigo (the Czech version of the Volkswagen Up!) in the British market.

News Source: Skoda

Most tend to think of Pininfarina as the company that designs Ferraris. And indeed it is. Most every Ferrari to leave the factory in Maranello over the past several decades has been styled by Pininfarina. But that's far from the only thing the famous design house and coachbuilder has done over the years.

Aside from the endless stream of other automakers for which Pininfarina has designed cars, the studio has also styled all manner of other products, from coffee machines and desk chairs to yachts and monorails. The list is virtually endless, and to highlight that point Pininfarina is displaying its wares at the Italian Cultural Institute at London's swanky Belgrave Square during the Olympics.

If you're planning on heading to the British capital for the games and are as enamored of Italian design as many of us here at Autoblog are, it looks like it may be worth checking out.

Click here to see what we mean in the high-res image gallery and hit the jump for full press release details.

News Source: Pininfarina

Back in the late 1970s, several Formula One teams were experimenting with six-wheeled F1 cars. The idea was to reduce drag and increase downforce while improving traction – they did, after all, manage to increase the contact surface of rubber to road while decreasing the height of the individual wheels. They showed considerable promise, but as with many developments in F1, they were quickly banned.

Tyrrell, March and Williams all toyed with the formula, and the results varied. But not since they raced have they all been in one place at the same time. And now they will as the organizers of the Goodwood Festival of Speed are bringing them together for this year's drive up the hill.

Spectators will be able to see the the Tyrrell P34 (pictured above), the Williams FW08B and the March 2-4-0. While the former two have been at Goodwood in previous years, this will mark the first time that the March will be there for the event – fitting since Goodwood is the seat of the Earl of March, patron of the event. Check out the official announcement after the jump.

Forgoing the usual succession of variants and upgrades, the launch of an all-new Ferrari is typically a momentous occasion. Particularly when you're talking about Maranello's top-of-the-line V12 supercar. And yet, since the Prancing Horse marque unveiled the new F12 Berlinetta several months ago in Geneva, we've heard and seen little of the 740-horsepower monster. Which could be why we took notice when we came across this new video clip of the F12 lapping the Fiorano test track for which its predecessor was named.

Of course, we could simply be excited because the F12's high-revving 6.2-litre 12-banger emits one of the most delicious exhaust notes known to man. Or because whatever lucky hot-shoe was anointed with the pleasure of ringing out the Berlinetta's neck got it nice and sideways a couple of times. After all, what's the point of channeling over seven hundred horsepower to the rear wheels if you can't break those fat strips of rubber loose?

Click here to see what we mean in the video below.

It may be a while before Bernie Ecclestone is successful in his plans to float Formula One on the Singapore Stock Exchange, but that doesn't mean that he and his employers at CVC Capital Partners can't begin selling off chunks of their business.

Out of a valuation of US$9.1 billion, CVC sold off US$1.6 billion worth of Formula One to funds managed by Waddell & Reed Investment Management and Ivy Investment Management last month. That amount was augmented this week by another half-billion, bringing their total investment (and CVC's divestment) up to 20.9 per cent, or US$2.1 billion.

Because the buyers are primarily interested in the financial value of the business and presumably less in its day-to-day operation, we wouldn't expect much to change in how F1 is run. However, we wouldn't be surprised to see Formula One Management take a more proactive approach to marketing and promoting the series if the new shareholders are interested in capitalizing on their investment.

News Source: Autosport

Image Credit: Graham Hughes / AP