McLaren MP4-12C priced from €200,000

You heard right; McLaren has officially priced its MP4-12C at €200,000 in Germany and £168,500 in the UK. So far, there’s no word on U.S. pricing. For that low price, buyers can expect to slide into a carbon-fiber body structure with a 592-horsepower, twin-turbocharged, 3.8-liter V8 nestled in just the right spot. 

As you might have guessed, those with the means will be allowed to a certain level of customization, especially in the cabin. McLaren says that it will offer a total of 14 different trim variations indoors along with a host of performance upgrades. You know, in case that kind of power in a 2,866-pound chassis just isn’t enough for you.

The go-faster tricks include a sports exhaust system, carbon-ceramic brakes and a slew of lightweight wheels. McLaren is only planning on cranking out 1,000 MP4-12C models in the first year of production, each of which will be turned out of the company’s new manufacturing facility that’s expected to be up and running by the middle of next year. 

That gives us just over six months to start sticking away our lunch money for one of these beasts. Hit the jump for the full press release.

Mini to get new design head as Hildebrand exits

Mini, perhaps more than any other automotive brand in the world, is defined by the style of its vehicles. Sure, Minis are decent performers and score pretty well on the fun-to-drive quotient, but the initial attraction of the brand is often due to the brand’s excellent execution of “the look.”

And, beside Alec Issigonis, the designer behind the iconic original Mini, this successful design language can be most directly attributed to Gert Volker Hildebrand, who up until now served as the head of the Mini Design Studio. That means Hildebrand is responsible for the reborn Cooper from 2001 and its siblings, the Convertible, Clubman and Countryman. He also oversaw the designs of the Mini Coupe and Roadster concepts from 2009, which are now nearing production.

A tough act to follow, no? Certainly, but it would seem the mantle will be ably handled by Hildebrand’s replacement, Anders Warming, who currently serves as head of Exterior Design, BMW Automobiles. Warming is attributed with recently updated models from BMW that include the Z4, 5 Series and, most recently, the 6 Series Concept Coupe.

Brabus brings the girth with Mercedes SLS Widestar

What’s more important, speed or girth? Brabus says can have your proverbial cake and eat it too with its new Widestar kit for the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.

Upgrading on their previous offering (and sounding like a minivan), the Widestar SLS benefits from a carbon fiber body kit with a 20mm wider rear track, encompassing Brabus Monoblock F Platinum Edition wheels available in a variety of colors and finishes and coated in either Pirelli or Yokohama low-profile rubber (275/30ZR-20 front and 295/25ZR-21 rear).

Brabus is also offering an electronically adjustable suspension with Bilstein shocks and Ride Control system, a titanium exhaust with quadruple tips that squeezes out an extra 10 horses, while the interior can be outfitted with a number of extras you can read all about in the press release after the jump.

Fiat to supply Opel with a range of vans

Fiat and Opel have been dancing at arms length for years. The relationship looked like it could grow closer as a result of GM’s recent downsizing, but the Italian automaker didn’t end up acquiring the General’s European operations in the end. The two automakers have, however, announced a new arrangement that will have Fiat supplying Opel and its British counterpart Vauxhall with rebadged versions of its Doblo van.

Not even taking into account impending platform-sharing with Chrysler, Fiat already produces a number of vehicles with or for other automakers, including commercial vans with PSA Peugeot-Citroën and the compactSX4/Sedici with Suzuki.

The Opel vans will be produced at Fiat’s Tofas plant in Turkey, with several derivatives planned, including chassis cabs, cargo vans and passenger vehicles. They’ll be sold in Europe and overseas markets (but not in North America), replacing the Opel Combo that itself was based on a Fiat platform that underpins the Corsa.

EVO’s Chris Harris takes on the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport

We know what resident lucky bastard Autoblog contributor Rex Roy thinks about the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. Now we get another perspective on the hypercar courtesy of EVO magazine’s Chris Harris. His thoughts? Occasionally frustrating, yet worth every penny. Harris laments that he gets an amazing sensation of speed yet he has to be off the gas almost as quickly as he gets on it. The 267-mph Veyron Super Sport just moves too quickly for everyday situations.

Since it is Chris Harris behind the wheel, we’re treated to a nice patch-laying takeoff before he launches into a discussion of the car. The clip, which you can find after the jump, also treats us to a little over a minute of no talking… just footage of the car. Wonderful.

2011 Subaru Impreza WRX

One point three inches. How much difference can it make? That depends on what you’re measuring. If you’re comparing the 2010 Subaru Impreza WRX to the 2011, that small measurement makes all the difference in the world.

If you’re a Subie fan, you’ve already read our First Drive. The headline news for the 2010-to-2011 changeover is that the WRX gained the STI model’s widebody fenders and 1.3-inch wider track. Wanting to know whether the growth in girth made any difference to the affable and relatively affordable WRX, we decided to spend some quality time in the example you see here.

We learned plenty. Many things work well for the practical enthusiast. Others, not so much.

New Hyundai Azera/Grandeur caught in motion

We’ve seen spy photos of it running through Europe and renderings of what it will look like unmasked. Now we have clear footage of the 2012 Hyundai Azera/Grandeur as it rolls down the highway. The lines stay very true to what we saw in the rendering and the result is a uniquely-Hyundai, stylish full-size sedan. The big Hyun’s ‘fluidic sculpture’ design language comes through without being shoved in one’s face and the overall aesthetic of the car is quite appealing, with a look that reminds us of a slightly larger and more refinedSonata.

We’re really looking forward to seeing this one in the flesh, but for now all we have is the video that is waiting for you after the jump.

Startech sets sail with the Land Rover Defender Yachting Edition

Think of yachts and you’ll likely conjure up images of opulence and luxury. The Land Rover Defender 90, less so. Don’t get us wrong here: the Defender is one of the most capable and desirable off-roaders ever devised. But to that end, it’s typically a spartan and bare-bones affair. That is, until Startech came along.

The German tuning house has taken the Defender and given it a yachting theme with such touches as a brilliant white paint job, illuminated running boards, and an interior that’s literally decked out in teak wood trim, offset by navy blue leather and Alcantara. There’s also the color-keyed headlamp surrounds, grille and Recaro seat shells, plus 16-inch wheels. Have a closer look in the gallery below and get all the details in the press release after the jump.

Mazda celebrates turning 90, looks back at logos

Mazda turns 90 years old this year, and during the Japanese automaker’s near-century of building cars, it has stayed true to the Zoom-Zoom ethos that defined it. One thing that has changed over the years, however, is its logo. In 1936, Mazda entered the world of automobile manufacturing and hit the ground running with not one, but two logos: a simple “Mazda” written in script and a triple “M” symbol that was said to be both a tie to its headquarters – home of Hiroshima City and the sense of speed and agility that Mazda puts into its cars. That triple M also served to stand for Mazda Motor Manufacturer.

Over the course of Mazda’s 90 years, its logo would be changed four more times. Today, The stylized M more closely resembles outstretched wings and the Laguna Seca Blue font below it shows just how dedicated Mazda is to making cars that are, at their core, fun to drive.

Take a look through the gallery below and travel through a timeline of Mazda logos.

Next Dodge Viper confirmed for 2012 rollout, won’t be Alfa 8C-based

According to The Detroit News, most of the rumors we’ve been hearing about the next Dodge Viper aren’t true. The meanest of the Dodge models won’t be riding on a modified Alfa Romeo or Ferrari platform when it bows anew in 2012 as a 2013 model. The Pentastar has said while there may be some similarities to the 8C Competizione, the Viper will make use of entirely unique underpinnings and will carry significantly different proportions compared to the Italians. Part of that means doing away with the snake’s iconic long hood in favor of a design with a little more balance.

What’s more, Dodge head Ralph Giles tells the Detroit daily that the Mopar supercar won’t utilize a Ferrari engine for its power, though he stopped short of saying whether or not the old 640 horsepower V10 will survive the vehicle’s rebirth. That means that a new lump may surface, though the number of cylinders and how much horsepower it will produce remain a mystery.

Lamborghini planning two-tone Gallardo special edition

Back in 2005, the Lamborghini Gallardo had been on the market for two years, and the LP560-4 was still three years away. So to spruce things up a bit, the Bolognese automaker came out with the Gallardo SE. The special edition of 250 examples were differentiated primarily by its two-tone color scheme, offsetting the primary color with black trim, inverted on the interior. Now reports indicate that Lamborghini could be planning a repeat.

The new two-tone Bicolore edition is said to be in the works, this time based on the current LP560-4 model that’s now been on the market since 2008. Like the original Gallardo SE, the new model would also likely get a new set of wheels, while a small power boost could be in the cards as well. Sources anticipate the new two-tone Gallardo to bow at the upcoming Detroit Auto Show with deliveries beginning early in the new year.

Browse through the fresh gallery of high-resolution images below for a trip down memory lane and a refresher on what we might expect from the new model.

Mazda latest automaker to mull plant in Mexico

According to The Wall Street Journal, Mazda is seriously considering a new plant in an emerging market, with Mexico being mentioned as the most likely target in order to have a base to enter additional markets in South and Central America. Of course, a plant in Mexico might also be used to supply vehicles to the United States by virtue of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

If Mazda does indeed build a new plant in Mexico, it’s likely to partner with SumitomoCorp, which holds three percent of the Japanese automaker’s shares. Ford, from whom SumitomoCorp acquired those shares, is also thought to be a possible, though seemingly less likely, partner on the project.

GM studying how to double or triple Chevy Volt production

How’s your math? If you have 240,000 “potential buyers” but only 10,000 vehicles to sell them in the first year, what can you do? If you’re General Motos and the item in question is the Chevrolet Volt, then you look for ways to seriously increase the number of Volts you can build (and, of course, sell).

That’s exactly what CEO Dan Akerson says his company is trying to do, looking to double or triple production rates of this very important car. The problem, according to GM North America President Mark Reuss, is the bottleneck created by the limited number of battery cells that vendor LG Chem can produce for GM. The current plan is to make around 10,000 in 2011 and 45,000 in 2012. That 2012 number has already been increased from 30,000.

Upping the production numbers is good for GM for another reason. According to Steven Rattner, who was President Obama’s former auto bailout chief and worked intimately with GM, “At least in the early years, each Volt would cost around $40,000 to manufacture (development costs not included).” GM won’t confirm this number, but increased production will get the company, presumably, better economies of scale and thus lower production costs.