Car Throttle

Whilst 2011 is nearly over *weep* we've decided to celebrate with a rather special, one-off Car Throttle post. It's the first "Team Talk" article we've done, and the task for the premiere edition? Each of our writers were asked to come up with their favourite car of 2011. The rules were simple; it could be any production car but it must have seen daylight from a factory this year...obviously. Without much further ado, introducing Team CT in alphabetical order. Adnan's CT 2011 Car of The Year: Porsche GT3RS 4.0 Some might call this a cop-out vote given that the Porsche is well, an already fantastic high performance marque, and the 911 is nothing short of brilliant especially with the recent 991 revision. However, whilst the GT3RS 4.0

I'll get straight to the point, this is the fastest and most powerful convertible Jaguar have ever made. If you happen to be near or in Los Angeles you can go and see it in the flesh with your own eyes at the LA Motor Show this week! The XKR-S cabriolet is fitted with the same 5.0L Supercharged V8 that you find in the coupe which produces 542bhp and 502 lb ft of torque. That means 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds and going up to 100mph only takes 4.5 seconds longer. This all adds up to a limited top speed of 186mph. To make all these figures possible, the supercharged V8 has had changes to the fuel mapping system and an active exhaust

Jaguar has already shown sketches of their concept for the Frankfurt show, and now pictures of the real thing as well as some details have surfaced.  While some other *cough, Honda* manufacturers have promised us a Hybrid sports car, then given us a weird hatchback with 122 horsepower, there might actually be something to Jaguar's sports-car hybrid, which they say is bound for production. Called the C-X16, right off the bat it's a winner: It's damn pretty.  The styling is instantly recognizable as the work of Jaguar's Ian Callum, designer of multiple Astons and Jags.  Strictly a two-seater, the C-X16 (or whatever it will wind up being called in production) will slot below the XK as an entry-level Jaguar sports car- something they promised us

Need a moment of zen today?  Then plug in your speakers, turn it up, and just listen to it. It's a compilation of footage from the 2011 Rallye Legend Boucles de Spa, a gathering of classic rally cars that's a yearly occurence.  Old (RWD) Escorts, stage-prepped air cooled 911's oversteering wildly, just... just watch it.  It's beautiful.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khmBVFjBrIc

My goodness.  Feeling more in tune with your inner Chi now?  Not yet?  How about footage from 2010?  Take two and let me know how you're feeling later.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-M8jsU2E8eE

It's already too late to go see the action this year (it was held Feb 18-19), but for more info on the event you can visit the organizational page at Race-Rallye.be.  The language

Hard to believe, but the outlandishly styled Dodge Charger has been with us since late 2005. It's been one of a few bright spots in Chrysler's lineup in the past few years, posting good sales numbers every year.  Why?  Simple - it's a large, rear-wheel-drive traditional sedan with a choice of either sensible (2.7L, 3.5L V6) or proper engines (5.7L, 6.1L Hemi V8's).  It's popular with midlife crisis middle class white people because it looks like a thugged-out gangster mobile.  It's popular with recreational pharmacists for the same reason.  It's also popular with law enforcement because, with a 5.7L Hemi, it can catch those recreational pharmacists.  Sure, the headroom in the back's a little tight, the trunk's a little small, and the interior quality is nothing

Technology is awesome.  I mean, you knew that. High technology has long been one of the selling points of the most exotic sports cars and sedans.  Things like night vision, laser guided cruise control, rain sensing wipers - stuff that would have been considered science fiction back in the 60's is reliable reality today.  But what's more awesome than high technology for the upper echelon of society?  High technology for everyone when it trickles down. Ford announced the  engine lineup for the 2011 F-150 quarter-ton pickup truck yesterday.  Now, normally, we don't give much of a rat's posterior about pickups here at CarThrottle - due to the ox-cart suspension, center of gravity comparable to a Zamboni, slow pushrod motors and a shortage of gears, and the

Bentley's Continental GT, introduced in 2003, is still a superstar in my eyes. Of course, in terms of the uppermost echelon of automobiles, it's not just long in the tooth, it's already got one foot in the grave.  For 2011, Bentley is giving the Continental GT a healthy redesign both aesthetically and mechanically, making it both prettier and better suited for today's... unusual economic climate. On the outside, Bentley has tweaked the Conti's now-familiar shape to bring it more in line with the new Mulsanne super-sedan, giving the brand some stylistic linearity.  The rear "haunches" (fenders to us plaebians) are more sharply defined, as is the character line atop the front fender that extends to the front.  The grille is more upright, and the headlights are

I was wondering when this was going to happen. Magic 8-Ball says that the next iteration of Audi's S8 flagship will have a big, Lamborghini V10 sitting 'neath the bonnet and it will be cranking out, gulp, 620 horses. Since both Audi and Lambo are owned by the same corporate parent (Volkswagen) I always thought something like this was going to take place. One of the main reasons given for Lambo's jump in quality was the fact that they are being managed by former Audi guys. Also, there was that Audi R8 show car for a while back that had a Lambo V10 in it. So, it makes a whole lot of sense that Audi could write up a request via inter-office mail and ask

When Subaru introduced the current generation of Impreza 3 years ago, one thing was missing: an STI sedan. Sure, you could get the fire-breathing STI in nifty (and arguably better-looking) five-door hatchback form, but it was a bit strange to not be able to get an STI sedan.  Subaru has finally seen fit to remedy this, and along with the updated Impreza/WRX lineup for 2011, you can now get your fire-breathing rally homologation special in four-door format. This is the first time that US consumers will be able to choose a body style for their STI since the model first went on sale here in 2004.  The 5-door will remain in production, but now there's a four door to chose from as well.  And being a four-door

There are a lot of nice things to say about the current WRX sedan. It's way more comfortable than the old ones, it feels less like a McDonalds toy inside, that 2.5L turbo flat four is epic, and it still is one of the quickest ways to get from Point A to B when there are curves and nasty stuff in between.  What you couldn't say, though, was that it looked good.  In fact, it sort of looked like a fat Corolla with a hood-scoop. Well, no more!  Today, images of the 2011 WRX leaked out ahead of it's debut at the 2010 New York Auto Show, and the improvement is drastic.  The main visual difference are the STI-style flared fenders, which increase the track width