Car Throttle

Custom, custom, custom. Let me say that again, custom. I'm not just ripping off a catchy EA tagline when I say "It's in the name" because it really is - the smart BRABUS Tailor-Made is tailored to you and it's likely you won't find another one on the road quite like it. So when this fortwo Cabriolet rocked up on my doorstep, I ignored the annoying lack of capitalisation on smart and fortwo and took it for a test drive. The results? Well you can see the funky video on YouTube and in the embed above: 2011 smart BRABUS Tailor-Made ForTwo Review (phew that's a mouthful!) Not familiar with the badge? The chaps behind smart were the same ones behind the swatch customisable watches in the

Not a single "drops it's top" pun eluding to ladies riding in a Porsche in that headline.  Aww, dammit.  Ruined it already.  To the shock and awe of approximately three people, Porsche debuted the drop-top version of the new (991) 911 in the flesh today. That means that everything which is new on the 991 Coupe is also new on the Cabriolet.  For gearheads, let's talk power.  If you want to ruin your Trump Toupee in a righteous hurry, either of the Cabrio's available engines will do it for you.  The base 911 Carrera Cabriolet has a 3.4L 24v flat-six, now with direct fuel injection.  This one's good for 350bhp,  and can be had with either a 7-speed manual (no typo) or the 7-speed PDK twin-clutch. 

Every car lover's calender starts with a new batch of machines on show in Motor City. I'm talking, of course, about the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. The city is famous for being the beating heart of the American motor industry and at the start of every year all the world's manufacturers congregate and show off their new products to see what our stateside friends think of their latest offerings. Here's a half-time round-up of the motors on show for 2012 from each stand from the day so far. Bentley Two new Continentals broke free from the covers at the Bentley stand; the V8 coupe and V8 GTC Cabriolet. Little differences to tell these from the bigger W12 on the outside include a gloss black

Before the much anticipated '991' 911 coupe has even touched British tarmac, Porsche have announced the new 911 Carrera convertible which starts from £79,947 and is on the road from March 2012. Usually new convertibles in this day and age have very fancy and complicated folding metal roofs but supercar manufactures tend to stick to fabric roofs. Old fashioned I know but fabric roofs save weight and space compared to folded metal roofs which pretty much fill the boot and weigh more than a dining room table. In this case there's an engine in the boot so a fabric roof is pretty much the only choice Porsche have. Speaking of engines there's a couple of flat 6 petrols to choose from for the Carrera Cabriolet. A 3.4L

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

The Continental SuperSports sits at the top of Bentley's range, as the halo performance variant of the Phaeton-based Continental range.  It's a bit out of place in my mind, to be honest:  carbon fibre this and that, parcel shelf instead of a back seat, E85 flex-fuel capability, a horse-ton of horsepower, Darth Vader-on-meth styling, and a top speed that clears 200mph by a comfortable margin are not things one associates with an "old money" traditional British luxury brand.  Still, it's awesome in an "I don't quite understand this" sort of way - there's no obvious reason for it's existence, but aren't you glad it exists in the first place? Well if you're a fan of the Continental SuperSports, by the transitive property you should be even

Porsche has been adamant about the need to add new models to the lineup. Sources say there could be as many as three coming over the next few years. One of the new models that was recently introduced is the Panamera four-door sedan. A cabriolet variant of that car could be coming quickly. The cabriolet itself hasn't been officially confirmed, but there has been many comments about new models from executives. A recent one was by Porsche development chief Wolfgang Duerheimer speaking with Automobilwoche "We have a broad range of 14 derivatives of the 911 that are very successful, so it stands to reason we should diversify the lineup for the Panamera as well." Reports are saying the car would be a two-door, not a convertible version

The appeal of the Saab 9-3 Viggen is enigmatic, to say the least. Objectively, it's not that great of a car.  It's reasonably quick (2.3L turbo I4 with 235bhp in a small car will do that!) but suffers from an awful shift linkage, massive wrist-snapping torque steer, and a chassis as stiff as cooked spaghetti in convertible form. Still, I have this deep-seated urge for a Viggen (as you can see in my recent post here).  They have character.  And I like torque steer.  Also, they're quite photogenic. This beautiful Viggen-in-the-sunset picture comes courtesy of the most talented Flickr user Mugley, who seems to have an affinity for blowup sex dolls and jackal masks in his unique photography.  Takes all types, I suppose.  The clarity of