VIDEO: 2012 Lamborghini Jota / Murcielago Spied Screaming Around the Nurburgring

Earlier this week, we showed you a batch of spy photos of next year's Lamborghini Murcielago replacement that may or may not be called Jota, as some sources suggest. Today, we bring you one of the first videos of a prototype model being driven on and around the hallowed Nordschleife race track - and yes, that's a Porsche 911 taking a shot at it from behind.

You can read the full story and check out the scoop gallery in our previous post here, but as a refresher, Sant'Agata's new range-topper is said to benefit from a more powerful V12 engine as well as a lightweight composite construction. The Italian supercar is expected to make its world premiere at the 2011 Geneva Salon next March.

Via: es.Autoblog

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Alfa Romeo Vittorio Jano Sport Wagon by Marco Procaccini

A few months back we showed you Marco Procaccini's Vittorio Jano design study for an Alfa Romeo 159 replacement (see here). The slinky fastback notably featured an aggressive front end treatment and a C-Column / rear glasshouse design somewhat reminiscent of the Lotus Evora.

Now Marco is back with a more practical Sport Wagon variant of the Vittorio Jano which -in theory- is 50 mm longer and 10 mm taller than its saloon sibling.

The Sport Wagon features a face lifted front bumper with LED running lights a la the HSV E2 series and a rear end profile possibly inspired by the Peugeot 308 SW wagon.

You can see more pictures and video of the Vittorio Jano Sport Wagon below.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: Marco Procaccini

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Desert Drifting a Sonata: Knowing When to Stop is a Sign of Wisdom...

What happens when you live in / near the desert and have a bunch of money to waste? Cars get destroyed, that's what. Here's a small clip of somebody taking their Hyundai Sonata out for a little slideways action and utterly shredding the rear passenger side. I'd venture to say it's totaled, considering the rear wheels aren't meant to be pushed up into the wheel well like that.

Also, how fast do you have to be going to launch the spare tire out of the trunk? If anyone knows what event this was or what specifically was going on (other than putting that poor white Sonata into a mound of dirt), give us a shout.

By Phil Alex

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2011 Camaro SS Convertible Neiman Marcus Edition, Now on Video

Following on from Tuesday's presentation of the special edition version of the forthcoming 2011 Camaro SS Convertible that will be offered in this year's Nieman Marcus Christmas catalog, Chevrolet released the first videos of the car with GM's people talking us around the design details.

The Nieman Marcus edition of GM's drop-top muscle car will be produced in a limited run of 100 units, each powered by a 6.2-liter V8 engine with pricing set at $75,000 a piece. The regular Camaro Convertible will be given its public premiere at the Los Angeles Auto Show in late November. Click through for the videos, or check out our previous post for all the details on this special edition (but obviously overpriced) model.

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New South Park Episode Takes on NASCAR - With Teaser Video

Being avid fans of South Park here at Carscoop, we couldn't pass up the chance to show you a preview video of tomorrow's [October, 6] mid-season premiere episode of the animated series titled "Poor and Stupid" that takes a humorous stab at the world of NASCAR.

In the teaser after the jump you can watch bad-boy Eric Cartman getting ready to take on the pros at NASCAR with the help of Leopold "Butters" Stotch as his crew chief. "Don't worry, Butters," says Cartman, "I've learned everything I can about being poor and stupid. I'm ready for NASCAR." Ouch...

Via: Jalopnik , Source: South Park

Fresh Videos of New Lancia Stratos Shot During Final Testing

The developers of the New Stratos have released some new video footage of their Ferrari F430 Scuderia-based supercar. The first clip shows WTTC and former Formula-1-Pilot Tiago Monteiro fine-tuning the chassis of the New Stratos at Balooco test track, Italy, while the second video is from the final wind tunnel test that took place on September 13th at Pininfarina's plant in Turin.

We're still waiting for the full technical specs and performance numbers but for now, head over the jump to watch the two aforementioned videos plus one more with the owner of the one-off supercar, Michael Stoschek, tackling the Arosa hillclimb in his classic Lancia Stratos Group 4.

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Opel's Hot GTC Paris Concept: Live Photos and New Video Trailer

Meet the star of Opel's Paris Motor Show stand and probably one of the best looking concepts of this year's show, the GTC Paris Concept that will spawn next year's three-door Astra model.

Even though the mainstream variants of the production Astra GTC will lose the muscular bumpers, LEDs and tall 21-inch wheels of the design study, it's safe to say that what you see here is more or less what you'll get when the car arrives in Opel and Vauxhall showrooms across Europe in 2011.

For those wanting something closer in looks to the concept, there's good news as the flagship OPC model is expected to keep most of the styling features including the chunky bumpers.

The same goes for the GTC Paris Concept's direct injection and turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine with 290-horsepower that strongly hints at the specifications of the Golf R / Scirocco R-rivaling Astra GTC OPC model, which is also due in late 2011.

For full details on Opel's Paris Show attention-grabber, hop over to our previous story here.

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Paris Show: Lotus wants to Take on Aston Martin Rapide with New Eterne Sports Saloon

In an attempt to enter the 4-door coupe market, Lotus brought a sedan - you read that right - to the Paris Motor Show. The Eterne is the new Lotus 4-door (other Loti saloons include the 377HP twin-turbocharged Lotus Carlton / Omega of the early 1990s, and they sure are cool); it uses a Lotus-tuned new bad boy engine borrowed from Lexus.

This means that sitting under the hood is a high-output forced-induction 5.0-liter V8. As with the Esprit and Elite, the Eterne will offer optional hybrid power and KERS.

An added bonus is available AWD. The Eterne provides seating for four passengers in an 1,800-kilo package that will cost approximately £120,000 [~ US$190,500 at today's exchange rates] before options.

Clearly Lotus sees a market for a prestigious high-performance 4-door with hybrid power, because Dany Bahar plainly states, "We truly believe that there is a market for the Eterne. There is nothing else like it out there both in terms of design, capacity and performance. The biggest difference between the Eterne and it's class competitors is that it's not an evolution of an existing two-door model, it's a deliberate and considered stand-alone creation. It's the ultimate four door sports car."

Hey, who am I to argue with capitalism? For that money, though, I'd just buy a Fisker Karma and go on a nasty vacation.

By Phil Alex

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