Porsche has received trademark protection for the term “GT5,” hinting at a new high-performance variant under development.
The GT5 filing, which was submitted alongside a request to protect the GT4 name, was approved by Germany’s trademark office late last year, according to Autocar.

The company has used GT1, GT2, GT3 and GT4 branding for various cars, matching their respective positioning in various sports-car racing classes, however there is no current racing series that uses the GT5 moniker.

Porsche has begun to treat its racing-inspired naming scheme as its own proprietary branding for road-going cars, leading to a public dispute with Aston Martin over the “Vantage GT3″ nameplate. The latter company later renamed its special-edition car as the Vantage GT12 to avoid further conflict.

The German trademark filing has led to speculation that Porsche could be building new high-performance range-topping variants of one or more models that don’t currently have a GT1-GT4 predecessor, such as the Panamera, Cayenne or Macan.

The Cayman GT4 is the latest model to receive the designation, adding 911-sourced components, bigger brakes and revised suspension. With a 3.8-liter flat-six engine, tuned to produce 385 horsepower, the GT4 laps the Nürburgring’s North Loop in just 7:40.

The company is planning to offer flat-four engines for its Cayman and Boxster lineup sometime next year. It is unclear if the GT5 name might be used for one of the new variants, as a rumored 2.5-liter engine is said to produce even more power than the current Cayman GT4′s six-cylinder unit.

Mazda has detailed the new Bose sound system developed specifically for the fourth-generation MX-5 Miata.
The audio technology was optimized for an acoustic environment that changes depending on roof position, posing particular challenges when the top is down and the cabin is filled with additional ambient noise.

Bose tuned the system with two different equalizer settings, one for open-air driving and another for top-up cruising. The audio company’s ‘AudioPilot’ tech monitors noise levels and provides an additional layer of active compensation for wind and road noise.

The separate EQ settings and AudioPilot technology have been used in existing vehicles, but Bose claims its new UltraNearfield speaker is an entirely new innovation that will make its debut in the new MX-5. Rather than using standard speakers in the headrests, Bose developed two-inch ‘nearfield’ drivers that allegedly improve performance when placed as a pair in each headrest.

“TrueSpace technology creates a wide sound stage, even though the speakers are just inches away from the listener,” the company nots. “The music envelops the driver and passenger, it’s spacious and natural, and remarkably, it doesn’t fade in the breeze.”

The four headrest speakers are paired with 6.5-inch drivers in each door, along with one-inch neodymium tweeters located in each A-pillar. Bass is delivered by a 5.25-inch woofer housed in a six-liter enclosure located under the front passenger footwell. All of the speakers are driven by a seven-channel amplifier tucked away in the convertible-top storage space.

The reintroduction of the Lincoln brand comes with many readjustments to the way business is conducted today. The 2015 Lincoln MKC Black Label AWD is a textbook example of the new style that is now in vogue. It was introduced right around the time actor and Lincoln spokesperson Matthew McConaughey began receiving payments to drive a Lincoln.
One of the brand’s new hallmarks is the addition of the Black Label Studio. Designed to turn owners into members, it borrows directly from the Lexus playbook. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to the eye of the beholder, but still the Black Label Studio will offer personalized service including sales people showing up on your terms at your house, workplace or at the dealership.

The Black Label experience also offers themes, which include interior designs. Our MKC AWD was based on the Oasis theme that “evokes a desert spa sanctuary” through its cream and tan tones. Membership does have its privileges, too, as owners can receive free anytime car washes and annual car detailing.

What is it?
The MKC Black Label is the high-zoot (Premium Utility Vehicle) version of the Lincoln brand’s Compact Crossover Utility Vehicle. Four doors and a hatchback with room for five passengers, it is the same size but slightly different profile as its cousin the Ford Escape. Alongside the Lincoln MKZ, it is now on sale in China and accounts for around 70-percent of sales there.

Our tester was powered by the available 2.3-liter EcoBoost turbocharged engine, with direct injection and variable twin-cam timing that produces V6 power from an inline four-cylinder package. Making 285-horsepower and 305 lb-ft of torque, it features high-strength pistons with cooling jets for durability, and a cylinder head that incorporates its own exhaust manifold. Three-port pulse turbocharging also helps to eliminate turbo lag. Both engines are mated to a Selectshift six-speed automatic transmission, which can be operated in manumatic mode via steering wheel-mounted paddle shift levers.

From a suspension standpoint, the MKC is equally slick. Using continuously controlled damping, sensors scan the road surfaces 46 times every two milliseconds, and depending on the driver-chosen parameters, can accommodate comfort, normal and sport settings for a personalized drive style. That combines with electric power-assisted steering to offer satisfying road feedback.

A lower-powered 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine is available with a buyer’s choice of front- or all-wheel drive. Buyers of the top flight 2.3-liter EcoBoost receive the exclusive AWD option.

Other features help to separate the Black Label from the also rans: Approach detection projects the Lincoln logo on to the ground as a form of puddle light, while an ambient glow illuminates the interior. Additionally, ours was equipped with the “foot access” rear hatch that opens and closes with the sweep of a foot under the rear bumper. Sweep it open, and after stashing your loot, sweep it closed once again.

Park Out Assist joins Active Park Assist to help with chores of getting in and out of tight spaces. Adaptive cruise control is also along and can speed up or slow down as far as a stop, depending on the traffic in front of you. An audible alarm sounds if the sensors anticipate an imminent shunt, while lane keep assist keeps you within the stripes if and when you become inattentive.

What’s it up against?
Lincoln is shooting upwards, and aiming for targets that include the Range Rover Evoque, the Mercedes-Benz GLK, Audi’s Q5, BMW’s X3, and the Acura RDX. From just the leather alone, we’d say Lincoln is in the ballpark.

How does it look?
The MKC starts with a robust platform that is shared with the Ford Escape in the states and the Ford Kuga elsewhere. But their respective bodies feature design cues, which separate them quite noticeably. Look past the rather obvious Lincoln winged grille, for example, and you’ll notice the MKC’s higher beltline while the roofline swoops down for a more aerodynamic, hunkering down look. LED running lights are on either side of the grille, which now features aero-tuned functional shutters.

While the standard MKC is fairly zooty to start with, the Black Label ups the quotient and features an abundance of chrome to accent the deep Chroma Couture premium paint. What color is that, you ask? We wondered the same thing, but in reality it’s very close to dark brown metallic.

And the inside?
We’ve always admired the interior of the standard MKC. In fact, we think it is one of the best interiors produced by the Blue Oval to date. Being a Black Label-spec model, Lincoln pulled out all the stops so the range-topping MKC features open pore wood trim as well as the Bridge of Weir Scottish leather, which has been polished and smoothed for a higher quality luster than skins found in other vehicles. Lincoln has been using that company as a leather supplier dating back to the 1950′s. That’s the upside. On the downside, we think the starter and gear selector buttons still appear rather cheap for a vehicle that aspires to luxury stature.

The adjustable driver and front passenger seats offered multiple adjustments for long-distance comfort. Active noise control is on board to cancel distracting sound waves. But the real sound waves we wanted to hear came from the THX II premium audio system. Pioneered by movie mogul George Lucas and his team, it even offers a test tone that is exactly like the THX bass note that you would hear before the start of a movie at the local cineplex. Kick back your seat recliner, turn the audio way up, push the button and enjoy. That alone is almost worth the price of admission.

The Ford Sync system with its eight-inch touchscreen returns along with the MyLincoln Touch connectivity suite to control navigation, telephone, entertainment and vehicle settings. They interface with an always-on embedded modem that connects smart phones with the MyLincoln mobile app, among others.

Inside there is plenty of safety equipment, including airbags located on every surface. So much so, it almost resembles a children’s bounce house.

Cargo space is average for the segment, with 25.2-cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row. Fold them forward, and the capacity grows to 53.1-cubic.

But does it go?
From the start, it was love at first stab, of the accelerator, that is. The last time we encountered a 2.3-liter engine, it was motivating, or at least trying to motivate, a Ford Fairmont and Pinto. Worry not. This is not that engine. Instead we find a totally new, two-stage, turbocharged in-line four-cylinder engine that thinks it’s a V6. Talk about punching above it weight class. So good is this engine, that it also finds itself in the 2015 Mustang.

A strong starter, this Ecoboost pushes the nearly two-ton vehicle to a 0-60 time of 6.8-seconds, which is probably a tick off the pace of some of its six-cylinder competitors.

The Lincoln Drive Control allowed us to change the drive feel from the wallowy side-to-side lilt of the Normal setting, to the softer Comfort setting and finally the firmed-up Sport setting with its throttle remap and firming of the steering rack. Standard torque vectoring helped to make it more composed through the turns.

Offering a quiet ride thanks in part to active noise cancellation, our 3,989-pound Black Label MKC, according to the EPA, is capable of 18 city/26 highway. We averaged 21 mpg in a combination of city and highway driving.

Leftlane’s bottom line
Arguably Lincoln’s most evolved vehicle to date, the MKC Black Label AWD pushes the brand closer to where it actually should be, if they want to play long in the luxury segment. Sure, there still may be just a little too much plastic inside, but through the use of other high-grade materials, it’s clear that the designers and engineers, if not the higher-ups, actually do get it.

2015 Lincoln MKC Black Label AWD base price, $48,700. As tested, $57,500.
Black Label Equipment Group, Chroma Couture Premium Metallic, $1,750; 2.3 Ecoboost engine, $1,140; THX Enhanced Audio System, $995; 20-inch Metallic Painted wheels, $1,145; Technology Package, $2,295; Climate package, $580; Destination, $895.

Photos by Mark Elias.

Aston Martin has confirmed that Alabama is the top contender for the automaker’s second global factory.
Alabama is the “obvious choice” for a new plant that will be primarily focused on building the upcoming DBX crossover, Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer told Automotive News.

The company hopes the DBX will eventually account for more than half of its worldwide sales volume, with most of the crossovers likely to be bought in the US and China. The company would have to establish a joint venture to build a factory in China, and it could be challenging to sell a built-in-China DBX in the US market.

Alabama already hosts assembly plants for Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota, with annual production numbers approaching one million units and worth $6.6 billion, according to the Alabama Department of Commerce.

The company recently rejected rumors that the DBX would be built upon a Mercedes-Benz platform. Both companies share other technologies such as engines, however, and proximity to Mercedes-Benz’ Alabama plant could be a selling point for an Aston Martin factory.

Palmer suggests the company is still considering building the DBX at its home factory in Gaydon. The move would require significant expansion as annual production volume ramps up from its current level of 4,000 and hits the sales target of 15,000 units by the end of the decade.

With the lid lifted on the Targa 4 GTS and the GT3 RS, Porsche engineers are now turning their focus to the mid-cycle refresh for the rest of the 911 lineup. Our spies managed to nab some nearly camouflage-free shots of that 2016 911 while undergoing shakedown testing at the Nurburgring.
Being a 911, no radical design changes are in the cards. However, the 2016 911 will sport a few design changes from the model currently in showrooms.

At the front the new 911 will retain its signature round headlamps, but the internal design will be tweaked. The front of the new car also features a new bumper intended to boost aerodynamics and improve cooling.

At the rear of the car we find restyled taillights as well as a new exhaust system. You’ll also notice a large air vent at the top of the 911′s deck lid, which will be needed for the line’s updated powertrains.

Starting later this year, virtually every 911 will come standard with turbo power. The base Carrera is expected to ditch its 3.4L flat-six in favor of a new 2.9L turbocharged flat-six. Despite that decrease in size, the new Carrera will boast 400 horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque. The up-level Carrera S will keep its 3.8L flat-six but a turbocharger will be added, which should bump power to 530 horsepower and 520 lb-ft of torque.

Look for the 2016 Porsche 911 to debut later this year at the Frankfurt Motor Show before hitting the market in early next year.