Autoblog UK

If you're looking for an unusual Christmas decoration, Porsche Gelderland in the small Dutch town of Heteren could provide you with some inspiration. The local dealership has had a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S completely coated in chocolate. Master chocolatier Jan Blancken melted 175 kilos of the stuff and used it to covert the bodywork of the Porsche. For good measure, he spread a few kilos of white chocolate onto the headlights. The photo gallery shows each stage of the creation of this masterpiece which is set to decorate the showroom in the run-up to Christmas. The Porsche has 385 horsepower tucked away under its sweet bonnet. The technical specification of the brown racer will now presumably have to be supplemented with its calorie count.

Since 2004, a string of muscle cars from the sixties and seventies have been making a comeback. Mustangs, Challengers and Camaros can again be found in places other than America. Iconic names bristling with new technology sell well. All that's actually still missing is a retro version of the Firebird, Pontiac's last great cult car.

In 2009, General Motors announced Pontiac's demise due to the worldwide economic crisis. Unfortunately for fans, there won't be a successor to the Firebird. But in the USA, there's one customizer itching to turn dreams into reality. For many years, drag racer John Lingenfelter has belonged to the cream of the US tuning scene. At the SEMA show in Las Vegas, the Indiana-based tuner displayed a Pontiac 455 T/A built on Chevrolet Camaro underpinnings. Lingenfelter intends to gauge the public's response before finally deciding whether to put the Firebird into production. One thing in favour of this relaunch must surely be the performance of the V8 engine under the shaker scoop that should put out 655bhp.

Every New Year, sales of calendars boom and men's hearts beat faster at the sight of the glossy pictures produced by Pirelli, Hugh Hefner or some other nice publisher. The month indicated is relatively unimportant. It's the girls that make the year bearable. Of course, it doesn't always have to be naked flesh hanging there on the wall. The sight of heavy construction equipment also appeals to the boy inside of every man. Childhood memories of playing in the sandpit are rekindled. Twelve of these fascinating monsters were photographed by Bauforum24 for Heavy Equipment Calendar 2010. Take a quick look at the gallery...

Organisers of the Los Angeles Auto Show invited design studios based in Southern California to set out their vision for Mobile Teens in 2030 (Youthmobile 2030). Studies were drawn up by design studios at General Motors, Audi, Honda, Nissan, Mazda and Toyota. 2009 is the sixth year that this Design Challenge has been held. The winner will be announced on Press Day at the Los Angeles Auto Show, 2nd and 3rd December 2009.

Car Hero by General Motors can drive itself and is steered by mobile phone (that's if they are still around in 2030). Audi designers submitted two very bold design studies, the eSpira and the eOra, that are guided to their destination by hand movements (not a good idea for those of us who are not at our best in the mornings but nevertheless need to get to work). Nissan's V2G is an eco-friendly electrically powered car. This e-car has an aerodynamic egg shape and six wheels. In Mazda's Souga, the car's two occupants sit diagonally behind one another. According to its designers, buyers of the Souga will configure the car to suit their needs. Both Nissan and Toyota designers believe that, in 2030, vehicles travelling in the rush hour will often be joined together in groups of two or more. The Toyota's appearance can be digitally altered and tyre friction converted back into energy.

The new compact 5008 MPV is Peugeot's fourth new offering this year. They're really putting their foot down at Peugeot. Despite the credit crunch, new registrations are up for the French manufacturer with the lion on the bonnet. Their success is down to an extensive small-car line-up and a large range of low-emission vehicles, plus their efforts at breaking into new segments of the market, as with the new Peugeot 5008. Pleasing, flexible and offering good value for money, the car takes consumers by surprise. Fans of the marque have had to wait a long time for such an MPV. All good things are worth waiting for... so the saying goes. How true when referring to the 5008.

There's going to be an addition to Volkswagen's luxury marque. The Veyron supercar is getting a big brother. The model is still at the design stage but is now being presented to customers around the world. With the Bugatti 16C Galibier, the manufacturer intends to offer a saloon as well at a future date.

First pictures show that this Bugatti has an elegant shape with a long bonnet, which opens on both sides. This high-class motor car has the obligatory two-tone colour paint job. Doors and wings are made of polished aluminium, the remaining bodywork is carbon fibre. And the rear is sheer poetry. In the cockpit, your gaze immediately alights on the small round gauges. And what do you see? A speedo needle that goes up to 260mph! The Galibier is four-wheel drive and, as in the Veyron, power comes from an 8-litre, 16-cylinder 1,001bhp engine with two-stage supercharging.

Iconic tuning brand Gordini is set to return. French manufacturer Renault announced in Paris that the Gordini name will be reintroduced for a new series of high-powered small cars. Renault Sport is to develop these models. First car in the new Gordini line-up will be a converted 133bhp Twingo Sport. Model launch is scheduled for late November and sales will commence in spring 2010. A second 201bhp Gordini-badged car will be unveiled in 2010, based on the Clio RS.

The current wave of nostalgia should increase sales for the French marque. The Gordini name has been synonymous with fast cars from France since the Thirties. Amedee Gordini, born 1899 in Italy, even built Formula One racing cars. Gordini's biggest success came in 1964 with the Renault R8, which secured four out of five top places on the Tour de Corse rally.

The latest E-Class range is gaining an additional model in the shape of the traditional T model estate. This vehicle is popular mainly in Germany, and the home market continues to take around half of all the E-Class Estates produced. But the numbers sold will probably never overtake those of the saloon. Whereas with other manufacturers, estate cars often outsell saloons of similar construction, the E-Class Estate is a vehicle for discerning individuals. In some respects, the estate car is a more exclusive version of an E-Class, just like the coupé. That's shown rather impressively in that 50% of buyers are self-employed and 25% are managers, and by the fact that the T version is mainly for leisure and family use.

Apart from souped-up cars, the SEMA Show in Las Vegas has, of course, the hottest girls of any motor show in the world. Some of the girls' body bits are far superior to any of the cars. This is Part 2 of Motor Show Girls in Las Vegas...

A quite special hot rod was on display at the SEMA Tuning show, a1934 Ford EcoBoost Hot Rod. This superb example is from tuning company, Detroit Street Rods. It's the first rear-wheel-drive EcoBoost car ever. Under its blue bonnet, a 3.5-liter V6 lump from Ford's EcoBoost range pumps out a colossal 400bhp. A ZZ Top album is ready and waiting in the CD player.