The 2014 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 is already billed as the fastest production Camaro the General has ever built. To squeeze every bit of performance out of the potent pony car, GM engineers have done the unthinkable — cut a hole in the Chevy bowtie emblem.

Since the Z/28 concept was shown at the New York Auto Show a year ago, engineers have been perfecting the track-honed capabilities of the reborn performance package moniker. During testing, an engineer noticed thatthe bowtie badge was hindering airflow to the engine. Out came the Dremel.

Once the emblem’s traditional gold portion was hollowed out, the motor received three additional cubic meters of air per minute. The result was a engine oil and coolant temperature drop of two degrees Fahrenheit during “extended track sessions.” And with that, the “Flowtie” was born.

The new grille, with just a chrome outline of the Chevrolet badge, will come standard on all 2014 Z/28s. According to GM, it is one of 190 Camaro parts unique to the Z/28.

Its other bespoke parts, whether extracting every last one of 500 horses out of its all-aluminum Corvette V8 or keeping weight down to 300 pounds below that of the Camaro ZL1, have been well documented and lend to the Z/28′s core mission of race-readiness. Watch the video below to see the Flowtie in action.

And now for your viewing pleasure, a miniature Subaru WRX STI racing a stick bomb. “What’s a stick bomb?” you may ask. Apparently, it’s a hundreds of popsicle sticks placed under tension. Once said tension is released, a wave of “exploding” sticks propagates down the pre-laid path like a row of falling dominoes.

Now, at first (or even second or third) glance it may not seem like there’s a lot of correlation between a stick bomb and Subaru’s turbocharged compact, and there probably isn’t aside from the fun factor. That, and the slight issue of scale, is why the car racing against the snake of tongue depressors is a radio control model of the 2015 WRX STI.

It’s not any old WRX STI, though. The flared fenders, large wing and livery are all indicative of the endurance version slated to run the 24 Hours of Nurburgring on June 19. The real life car on which it’s based has had its standard 2.0-liter boxer four tuned to about 350 hp on reinforced engine internals, up 45 hp from 2.5-liter mill in the street legal one you can buy.

According to stick bomb aficionados a wave can travel anywhere from 22 to 145 mph, depending on the type of stick used. The one in Subaru’s video doesn’t appear to reach quite those velocities, but it’s an amusing way to kill two minutes from a manufacturer known for life-sized cars that are just as entertaining. Watch the video and the “making of” below.

BMW-owned Rolls-Royce has confirmed it will launch its first-ever gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid model in two or three years.

The company explains its clients rarely demand more fuel-efficient cars but it needs to adopt cleaner powerplants in order to comply with looming emissions regulations on both sides of the Atlantic.

Rolls-Royce took its first step towards electric mobility in 2011 when it built an all-electric version of the Phantom sedan dubbed 102EX (pictured) and showed it to 100 potential customers around the world. The project was canned when Rolls’ target audience unanimously decided it was unwilling to accept the long charging time and the limited range associated with battery-powered cars.

Rolls execs believe a plug-in hybrid drivetrain is the best way to lower gas mileage while living up to its clients’ altitudinous expectations.

“A Rolls-Royce cannot come with any kind of compromise, and both the recharging times and the range were not acceptable for our buyers – but with hybrid technology that is no longer a problem,” explained CEO Torsten Müller-Otvos.

Rolls-Royce has not revealed any technical details about its upcoming plug-in hybrid system but it hints the bulk of the components will be sourced from the BMW parts bin in order to save money on research and development.

“We are now a completely self-sustaining business, but technology like [a plug-in hybrid drivetrain] is so expensive to develop that without BMW, Rolls-Royce would probably not have survived,” added the CEO.