Volkswagen most expensive car

If you’ve never heard of Skoda, it’s essentially a Czech version of Buick, building mildly upscale but nondescript cars as part of the mighty Volkswagen Group empire. Lately, though, Skoda has tried to change its humdrum image.Every year, VW gives a big “thank you” to its fans by unveiling a series of concepts from its different brands at the Worthersee festival. So far this year, Skoda has already teased a cute Fabia FUNstar pickup truck, but it’s following that up with something a little more aggressive.The Skoda Fabia Combi R5 concept is what the Czech brand imagines it would be like to combine a rally car and a station wagon.Although the name isn’t as recognizable as Audi, Ford, or Subaru, Skoda has a long history in rallying. Its latest Fabia R5 rally car debuted last month in the Czech Rally Championship, winning its first race.Skoda decided to capitalize on the win by turning the Fabia R5 into a wagon. So it took a stock Fabia Combi and … [Read more...] about Skoda’s Fabia Combi R5 concept Hulks out with rally-car styling

I often tell folks that, for a very specific reason, Stuttgart is the most beautiful city in Germany. It’s true that there’s plenty to see and do downtown, but for car aficionados like myself, the main attractions are unquestionably the Porsche and the Mercedes-Benz museums that are located on the outskirts of the city.All told, there are approximately 80 cars on display in the Porsche museum that generate a combined output of over 23,000 horsepower.Easily accessible by metro, the Porsche museum is a three-story building that’s split up into several sections. These include Porsche-related cars built before 1948, Porsche street cars built after 1948, Porsche race cars built after 1948, one-offs, cars engineered by Porsche, and the company’s current models. All told, there are approximately 80 cars on display that generate a combined output of over 23,000 horsepower.The displays occasionally change and cars inevitably get moved around, but visitors are certain to … [Read more...] about Walking through a century’s worth of Porsche street cars, race cars and one-offs

If you’ve just inherited a small country, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class Pullman just might be the car for you.The highly-anticipated, range-topping Mercedes sedan could be the largest and most expensive car of its type when it goes on sale next year.Not only will the Pullman cost around $1 million in fully armor-plated form, it will also be 21 feet long, according to a new report from Bloomberg. That’s about 16 inches longer than an extended-wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom.What will Mercedes do with all of that extra space?The Pullman will reportedly feature three rows of seats, but they’ll be nothing like what you’d in a minivan or crossover. The rear four seats will face each, limousine style. There will also be a partition separating the passengers from a chauffeur, so they can plot world domination in peace.The gargantuan proportions, limo-style seating, and optional armor recall the new car’s namesake, the 600 Pullman. The 600-series Mercedes were the … [Read more...] about Mercedes-Benz’s $1 million S-Class Pullman: World’s largest (and most expensive) sedan

The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is officially the fastest production car in the world – again. It hasn’t gotten any faster, and neither has its competition, but the Guinness Book of World Records has changed its ruling on a technicality that temporarily disqualified the 1,200 horsepower legend.Last week, Guinness ruled that Bugatti had made an illegal modification to the Veyron SS for its 267.8 mph record run at Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track in Germany in 2010. Bugatti disengaged the car’s electronic speed limiter, which normally restricts it to 258 mph.In an official statement released last Friday, Guinness said disengaging the speed limiter wasn’t significant enough of a change to warrant removing the Veyron’s crown.“Having evaluated all the necessary information, Guinness World Records is now satisfied that a change to the speed limiter does not alter the fundamental design of the car or its engine,” Guinness said.All … [Read more...] about Back on top: Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is once again the world’s fastest production car – for now…

The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport may have just lost the title of “World’s Fastest Production Car” on a technicality, but all is not lost. The Super Sport’s open-roofed twin, the Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse, is officially the world’s fastest open-topped production car.Chinese race driver Anthony Liu took the Grand Sport Vitesse to 254 mph on Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessien test track, the same place where the Veyron Super Sport hit 267.8 mph in 2010.The record was certified by independent adjudicators from Germany’s TÜV. The Guinness Book of World Records, which recently stripped the hardtop Veyron SS of its record because Bugatti disengaged the car’s speed limiter, hasn’t weighed in.The Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse is essentially a topless version of the Super Sport. It has the same quad-turbocharged W16 engine, which produces 1,200 horsepower and 1,106 pound-feet of torque. It also features similar aerodynamic modifications and a … [Read more...] about Hold onto your hat: Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse is the world’s fastest open-top car

We’ve been pretty jazzed about the Volkswagen XL1 ever since it was unveiled earlier this year. The reported 261mpg hypermiler seemed to embody everything we at Digital Trends want in a car, save supercar performance. The XL1 is distinctively beautiful, features tons of cool tech – including video cameras and color screens in place of side view mirrors – and unbeatable eco-friendliness thanks to its two-cylinder diesel engine and electric motor hybrid drivetrain.Word has come, though, that the XL1 might not be as wonderfully economical as VW lead us to believe. In a recent Automobile first drive report; author Georg Kacher claims he achieved some 160mpg during his six-hour test drive from Lucerne to Geneva.While Kacher understandably emphasized that he “only” achieved 160mpg, we’re a bit disappointed.Yes, those figures are great but a 101mpg drop from the sticker estimates is not good. It’s not good at all. Sure, compared to the Accord Plug-in, … [Read more...] about VW’s XL1 proves not as eco-friendly as we thought, achieving 160mpg in real-world driving – but could become a sports car

“What will it take to get you in this car?” It’s a question dealers often ask, even though they don’t have much to offer. Gas coupons? Free floor mats? Major incentives are few and far between. However, things are different at Mercedes-Benz’s Maybach. The German luxury brand is offering $100,000 cash back on its 57 and 62 models.Mercedes is getting rid of Maybach, so the $100,000 incentive is the automotive equivalent of a store-closing sale. When the brand was launched in 2002, the goal was to sell 1,100 cars per year, but in 2010 only 157 Maybachs rolled out of dealerships.Lopping $100,000 off the sticker price still makes for a pretty expensive car. The 57 will cost $276,300 with the incentive; the larger 62 will cost $327,700. However, all that money buys a lot of car. The two models’ names refer to their wheelbases, a limo-like 57 inches or 62 inches. Both models are powered by a twin-turbocharged 5.5-liter V12. It makes 543 horsepower and 664 … [Read more...] about Maybach offers $100,000 cash back on soon-to-be discontinued luxury cars

The Volkswagen Microbus may be an icon of the 1960s, but it continues to roll on in other parts of the world. However, that will end in 2014, when Microbus production finally ends due to new safety regulations in Brazil, the only country where the Bus is still sold.According to Autocar, the last Microbus will roll off the assembly line on December 31, 2013, the day before new laws requiring driver and front passenger airbags, and anti-lock brakes, in every new car sold in Brazil. Obviously, this aging hippie doesn’t have any of those features, and upgrading it would not be practical.Still, the Microbus has had a pretty good run. Launched in 1950 and officially called the Type 2, it was originally intended as a van version of VW’s Beatle. The first versions used the same air-cooled boxer-four engine as the Beatle, but 2012 models use a water-cooled 1.4-liter four.The Microbus became a success, and spawned several variants including a cargo van and a pickup truck. Whatever … [Read more...] about Bye-bye bus: Volkswagen ends Microbus production after more than 60 years

The Aston Martin V12 Zagato is a gorgeous car. Its streamlined nose, voluptuous flanks, and torpedo-like taillights put it at the peak of automotive styling. It’s also fairly unnecessary: the stock V12 Vantage it’s based on is already a good looking thing, so why did Aston’s own designers hand it off to Italy’s Zagato styling house?It is part of a legacy that goes back 50 years, when Aston Martin and Zagato collaborated on the now-classic DB4GT Zagato. Aston isn’t the only car company to turn to Zagato, either, and Zagato isn’t the only Italian styling house.Italy is where these unique automotive enterprises, part industrial firm, part custom car shop, part laboratory, thrive. Firms like Zagato, Pininfarina, Italdesign Guigiaro, Bertone, and Ghia have left there mark in the sheetmetal of countless cars, from one-off concepts to humble hatchbacks. They aren’t car companies, but they have built a lot of cars.Today, styling is an integral part of … [Read more...] about Italy’s styling houses: They’re not car companies, but they’ve built some great cars