Volkswagen-owned Škoda has introduced the Fabia Combi R5 concept ahead of its debut at the Wörthersee GTI Meeting that kicked off in Austria this morning.
As its name implies, the concept is half Fabia Combi, a station wagon aimed at busy families, and half Fabia R 5, a heavily-modified version of the city car designed exclusively for rallying. It gains numerous aerodynamic add-ons including a front splitter, flared fenders all around, side skirts, a rear air diffuser and an oversized trunk-mounted spoiler. A black, white and green paint job and 18-inch 11-spoke alloys borrowed from the rally-bound R 5 wrap up the look.

Like the rally-bound Fabia, the Fabia Combi R5 is powered by a turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that spins all four wheels via a five-speed sequential gearbox. Škoda has not revealed how much power the turbo four pumps out, but the wagon is undoubtedly a lot more powerful than its regular-production family hauler counterpart.

The Fabia Combi R5 concept will not be added to the Škoda lineup as-is. Every year, the vast majority of the wild one-offs that Volkswagen and its sub-divisions unveil at the Wörthersee GTI Meeting remain at the concept stage.

This year, enthusiasts headed to Wörthersee will also see the Škoda FUNstar, a Fabia-based concept built by a team of young apprentices, the Audi TT clubsport turbo technology concept, a rolling display of Audi’s future tech, the Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport concept, a 265-horsepower hot hatch designed to celebrate the nameplate’s 40th birthday, and the Golf GTI Performance concept, which was built by apprentices from the ground up.

BMW has announced it will travel to the Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance in Italy to introduce a brand new concept called 3.0 CSL Homage.
As its name clearly implies, the show car pays homage to the 3.0 CSL coupe that tore up race tracks across Europe during the 1970s. BMW’s teaser image reveals the concept will be a retro-inspired modern interpretation of the original CSL fitted with a big wing out back, flared fenders and a yellow paint job with black accents.

Interior pictures are not available yet, but BMW explains every element in the cabin is deemed to be absolutely necessary. Anything superfluous has been left out in order to shed as much weight as possible, meaning the 3.0 CSL Homage is most likely not fitted with a touch screen, an HVAC unit and thick carpet.

BMW has chosen not to reveal what the concept is powered by, but the company explains its latest concept relies heavily on carbon fiber in order to keep weight in check.

Like most of the stunning concepts that BMW introduces at the annual Concours d’Elegance, the 3.0 CSL Homage will remain a one-off design study that will not get the green light for production. However, the current 6 Series is a direct descendant of the CSL so it’s not too far-fetched to imagine the concept’s design could influence the next-gen 6 that is scheduled to debut before the end of the decade.

The Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance will kick off on May 22nd. Stay tuned, BMW fully unveil the 3.0 CSL Hommage concept online a few days before the show, and the automaker has promised to debut a second all new concept during the event.

Rolls-Royce has revived a historic nameplate for its forthcoming new car, known as the Dawn.
The modern car will pay homage to the Silver Dawn (pictured), a drophead introduced in the early 1950s as the first Rolls-Royce to be offered with a factory-built body. The luxury automaker was still only building the chassis into the ’40s, leaving the body to be added by third-party coachbuilders.

Like the Silver Dawn, the new car will be built for top-down, open-air driving. It is said to represent the next step in the company’s renaissance that began in 2003 with the launch of the Phantom and later introductions of the Ghost and Wraith, though additional specific details remain unclear.

“Our new Rolls-Royce Dawn promises a striking, seductive encounter like no other Rolls-Royce to date,” said Rolls-Royce chief Torsten Mueller-Oetvoes. “It will be the most social of super-luxury motor cars for those beautiful people who wish to bathe in the sunlight of the world’s social hotspots.”

Recent spy shots suggest the Dawn is likely the Wraith’s Drophead counterpart, originally announced in 2013 and now in late development. Pre-production prototypes have been spotted with a form that closely matches the Wraith, sharing the same headlights, LED light strips and rear-end, but with a more conventional coupe-like roofline rather than a fastback silhouette.

Power is expected to be provided by a 6.6-liter twin-turbocharged V12 engine, delivering around 620 horsepower to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Those ‘beautiful people’ will get a chance to pick up a new Dawn in the first quarter of 2016.

Toyota is reportedly working on an updated GT86 (Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ) with more power and a fresh look.
The revamped coupe is said to use the same 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine as the existing models, but with friction-reduction tweaks and a more efficient manifold design that will likely boost output by around 10 horsepower and 8 lb-ft of torque, unnamed sources have told Motoring. The modest power increase is said to be coupled with a seven-percent improvement in fuel efficiency.

The chassis is expected to be outfitted with new Sachs damper and a reinforced rear subframe, both contributing to improved handling and ride quality. Toyota’s racing department allegedly worked to extensively retune the chassis.

The exterior is also said to be due for a refresh, with “major body panel redesign” featuring a new hood, redesigned headlights and an enlarged lower grille. The styling will reportedly be more aggressive, with the biggest changes to the lower section of the front end. A new rear diffuser and repositioned exhaust outlets are expected to distinguish the back end.

The company is expected to introduce the mid-cycle revision sometime next year, potentially arriving for the 2017 model year in Scion and Subaru trim for US buyers.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has begun taking orders for the 2016 Dodge Viper ACR.
Introduced just days ago, the new package revives the range-topping American Club Racer designation that was originally introduced in 1999 and brought back again in 2008. The latest ACR keeps the tradition alive with the latest braking, aerodynamic and tire technology to further reduce lap times.

The 2016 ACR features exclusive 15-inch carbon-ceramic two-piece brake rotors squeezed by six-piston Brembo calipers. The upgraded brakes help slow down the Kumho Ecsta V720 tires, built specifically for the ACR and capable of delivering 1.5-g cornering forces.

Lightweight carpet, a minimalist three-speaker audio system and manual seats help keep curb weight down and maintain 50/50 front/rear weight distribution. Handling is further enhanced by 10-setting, double-adjustable Bilstein coil-over racing shocks and track-focused alignment. An available Extreme Aero Package provides nearly a ton of downforce at top speed, with a gigantic adjustable dual-element rear wing, rear diffuser, new hood, extended front splitter and additional dive planes, all clad from carbon fiber.

The Viper’s hand-built 8.4-liter V10 engine produces 645 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. Output remains unchanged from the basic model, but still claims the title of highest torque of any naturally-aspirated production car engine in the world.

The fastest street-legal Viper track car ever can be purchased for $117,895 (excluding freight and gas-guzzler tax), commanding a $33,000 premium over the standard model. Production is slated for the third quarter.