A Lotus Elise (or in this case, the higher-end Exige) with a V-8? Yeah the prospect is pretty crazy, but if there was anyone that specializes in craziness, it is Hennessey. The company has been talking for a few years about its Venom GT super car.

Last year it was unveiled in production guise, as a super elise, with a host of upgrades to turn it into a super car. Chief being its twin-turbocharged V-8 from the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1. Three power outputs are available: 725, 1000 and 1200 horsepower. This is all in a car that weighs just 2,400 pounds.

The company builds five copies of the $950,000 Venom GT per year, and it says it has already sold two of them for the 2013 model year. Now, the company is dropping the Venom GT’s top for the Spyder model. The Spyder, as always with convertibles, will command a premium of $150,000 over the coupe model.

Chief Executive Officer Don Goldman says dropping the top enhances the whole experience: “With the hardtop in place, the Venom GT offers a very visceral, raw, driving experience….with the hardtop removed, the wind and the growl of the twin turbo V8 will offer our clients an even greater driving sensation.” Check out the Hennessey Venom GT Coupe (Hennessey hasn’t released a Spyder gallery yet) in our gallery below.

Toyota FT-86 Concept, Toyota GT-86, Toyota 86, Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ – wow has this car had a lot of names or what? There has been wall-to-wall coverage of Toyota’s much-anticpated enthusiasts entry.

We’re sure it is a welcomed change for Toyota, who has mostly endured negative coverage pertaining to recalls, quality issues and well…boring products. In the United States, the car is badged as the Scion FR-S, and it was just revealed in Los Angeles with few changes and a cheapened interior versus its Toyota counterparts. We thought the era of rebadging was over, but apparently Toyota didn’t get the memo – there are very few changes between the Toyota, Scion and Subaru models.

Now, two new videos have been released from Toyota and Subaru. The Subaru one shows some nice live shots of the car in motion, while Toyota opts for a video-game-like approach in its video that lets us hear the 2.0-liter boxer four-cylinder exhaust note. You can check them both videos below, and let us know what you think of the car in the comments. Is it a hit? Will it find a place in the hearts of enthusiasts? It certainly is different than anything Toyota has been trying in a while, and that is good to see.

Polestar? Interesting name…..it is the moniker Volvo slapped on for a new line of power upgrades available direct from the company. Aftermarket chips are out there that aim to boost engine power outputs, but when you have a car that is new or just a few years old, voiding the warranty isn’t too bright of an idea. BMW was the first out with their Power Kit line of engine horsepower boosts, and Volvo followed suit. As far as we know other manufacturers aren’t doing things like this.

Could this trend catch on? We aren’t sure, it depends if there is demand for an expensive package like this. You wouldn’t think at Volvo there would be, but according to Chris Dauerer, Volvo Cars of North America vice president of customer service the company has received “tremendous feedback from our customers.”

Its surprising given that throughout its history, Volvo has never been known for driving excitement. Its core message of safety might have something to do with that, but we think it more had to do with styling and driving experience. The company tried its hand with R models for a while, but ditched them after poor sales.

Today’s Volvos are a lot more engaging to drive and to look at than ever before. Polestar is available on models using Volvo’s 3.0-liter turbocharged T6 engine, which powers XC60, S60 and XC70 models. The software tweak boosts power by 25 horsepower and 30 pound feet of torque, to 325 hp and 355 lb-ft. The upgrade starts at $1,495 and goes on sale December 5th.

At the Los Angeles International Auto Show, Porsche showed off the new 911, but its big (literally) debut was the Panamera GTS. It sounds really expensive doesn’t it? Well it is, but it isn’t the top dog in the Panamera lineup. It takes its spot in third place. The most-expensive title goes to the Turbo S, which dings the register at $174,175. Ouch. That makes it $98,000 more expensive than the base model V-6. Next is the Turbo, at $137,675, then the $110,875 GTS.

The GTS is the most powerful naturally-aspirated Panamera, generating 430 horsepower (up by 30). Porsche says its a Panamera for driving purists, with stiffer standard air suspension (normally optional), a widened rear track and suspension and brake hardware shared with the Turbo. And, while most manufacturers go to great lengths to insulate the cabin from noise, Porsche uses a “Sound Symposer” that includes an acoustic tube to pipe in engine sounds to the cabin.

Yeah, last we checked that is an enthusiasts item. To celebrate the arrival of the Panamera GTS, Porsche has released this new video of the car at the track. Given Panamera’s ability to seat four passengers, it emphasizes that with three race-suited passengers. Check it out below. Love it or hate, the Panamera is definitely something special.

Lotus stole the Paris Auto Show in 2010 with a whole host of new concepts. While the company has been saying they are all headed to production, launching them all would be a huge feat for a small company such as Lotus. The funding and manpower needed are just beyond the level they are at right now.

What is definitely coming though is a successor to the Esprit super car. It is scheduled to arrive in late 2013. For years Lotus has had an engine sharing relationship with Toyota. The Elise, Exige and Evora are Toyota powered, and many expected that partnership to continue with Lotus in the future.

The Esprit was rumored to have Lexus V-8 power, possibly the 5.0-liter V-8 from the IS-F or even the 4.8-liter from the LFA. But, Lotus has other plans in mind. The company has spoke with Autoblog and made it official: it is developing a new 4.8-liter V-8 power plant of its own. In “base”form it will make 570 horsepower, and it will offer a higher specification engine that will offer 620 horsepower, without the use of turbocharging. Impressive.

Look for the new engine to power the Esprit, Eterne and Elite. Lotus has big plans to be sure, and to underpin all these models a modular platform architecture is being developed. It will be able to provide the basis for front and mid-engined designs. How’s that for modular?

One minute of pure sound. That is the title of this new video of the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Coupe, and it lives up to that. Aural feedback from a properly tuned engine is one of the joys of driving. Few don’t enjoy the race car screams of a Ferrari or the burble of a muscle car, even not all want those sounds in the vehicles they drive everyday.

The C63 AMG coupe is a jewel in an era where many manufacturers are turning to smaller-displacement turbocharged. Not that we have anything against those (we don’t), but it is nice to see some naturally-aspirated big V-8′s out there still. Mercedes plopped a naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V-8 into its smallest coupe to turn it into the C63 AMG. It makes 450 horsepower, and the Black Edition ups the ante even further with 517 hp. This video shows what that engine sounds like being flogged around a dreary track in Germany.

Is this the next Saab 9-3? And more importantly, shouldit be the next Saab 9-3. That is the question. Saab’s most recent concept car, the Pheonix, had a name chosen for what the company hoped would happen – seeing Saab rise from the ashes after being declared dead. Anyone paying attention (and a lot that aren’t) know the roller coaster Saab has been through in just the past year.

And boy, it goes back even farther than that. We’ll spare you the details though. Chief Executive Officer Victor Mueller and company have pulled every rabbit out of their hat that they can, and their latest deal involves a Chinese buyout. Yes, wholly and completely Chinese owned.

Pang Da and Youngman have submitted a bid, which was accepted by the Saab, that an investment of around $850 million in future product. That’s the kind of cash Saab needs to survive, not little lifelines thrown to it every three to six months.

Future product on the drawing board includes the next-generation 9-3, Saab’s volume product. This will give Saab a thoroughly modern lineup, hopefully enabling it to reach profitability after these dreadful past few years.

We’ve always had a soft spot for Saab in our hearts, which is why we are glad to see something regarding new product. A new sketch has been leaked on the internet, which could possibly be the next-generation 9-3. It mixes elements from the 9-5 and past Saabs (check out that roofline), and the result is very good looking; at least as good-looking as a grainy black-and-white sketch can be. The sketch isn’t just hearsay either, it has been leaked from a Saab pitch to the Sweden’s National Debt Office and the European Investment Bank in January.

Looking good. Saab designer Jason Castriota says the new car will be a bit smaller than the one it replaces, and that it will draw on the company’s heritage. It better be an amazing hit product, because that is what Saab needs right now. Whether it hits the road or not will depend on Chinese governmental approval of the Saab deal, and any bumps in the roads in between. We’d like to think the drama is over now, but how many times have we hoped that about Saab…….

Zoom-Zoom has been Mazda’s tagline for a while, but in regards to the Mazda6 sedan, it seems to have lost some of that sparkle. For awhile, the 6 was highly regarded for its dynamics. The current car has faded into the background.

Think about it; when is the last time you’ve really heard it mentioned as a serious contender? Yeah, we thought so. The new Takeri concept gives us a look at Mazda’s plans to bring it into the spotlight again. The Shinari concept showed a look at future Mazdas, but it was more of a pure concept.

The good news is the Takeri is pretty stylish. The Takeri ditches the cartoonish look of the current 6 for elongated, flowing lines and an aggressive front end. The result is a whole lot more upscale. This new design language is called “KODO: Soul of Motion. “The Shinari and Takeri concepts preview Mazda’s new look for the entire lineup, meaning the 3 will probably show similar themes.

Inside, the design is minimalist and driver-focused, although it would likely get a lot more complicated on its way to production. Style isn’t the only component needed for people to take a serious look at Mazda though. The best strategy would be for Mazda to reassert itself offering a mainstream mid-size sedan with a truly engaging driving experience. If they can do that again, Mazda will win a lot of enthusiasts back over.

With the V-Series lineup, Cadillac has dispelled any lingering notion that it isn’t capable of producing some of the world’s best performance vehicles. The CTS has gotten a lot of accolades in standard form, in addition to high praise for the V-Series lineup.

When it first launched back in 2003, the CTS was designed to compete in the compact entry-level segment. While it is priced in that range currently, with the next-generation car that launched in 2008 it moved up to mid-size status. The ATS is coming, looking to rectify that situation with a vehicle aimed squarely at the BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and other sedans in the segment like the Infiniti G37. If it is going to have any hope of competing with those cars, dynamically the ATS will have to be up to snuff.

To make sure it is, Cadillac has tested the car exhaustively at the Nurburgring track in Germany. To document that testing, Cadillac has released a new video series called “The Journey.” You can check it out below. Let us know what you think; can Cadillac produce a credible 3-Series fighter? We think so, but we’ll find out for sure at the North American International Auto Show in January.

If there is one brand that has been happy to oblige enthusiasts with all manner of performance cars over the past few years, it has been Audi. It has successively brought out variants of the R8 (V-10 FSI, R8 GT) as well as with other models up and down the lineup.

The Audi TT-RS is the most powerful version of the TT available, and we’re sure glad it made its making its way to the United States. Initially, it was supposed to be sold in Europe only, along with the RS5. What’s up with that? However, Audi has decided to bring both cars here for North American buyers.

RS is the most powerful line of performance vehicles at Audi, but French magazine L’Automobile reports that Audi could turn up the heat on the TT-RS to even higher levels TT-RS Plus. Whoa!

What does a TT-RS Plus mean exactly? More power, and less weight: a fantastic combo if we’ve ever heard one. A new TT-RS plus could drop weight by 130 pounds while boosting power by 25 hp, bring the total to 385 from its 2.5-liter turbocharged five-cylinder.

Weight would be reduced primarily by throwing out the rear seat, along with the use of other lightweight components. The exterior would be differentiated by a unique set of alloy wheels, along with a fixed rear wing. We’re not so sure about the rear wing (a bit cartoonish for our tastes), but the rest? Yes, please.