Autoblog UK

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.

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.

At motor shows around the world, exhibitors have recently vied with each other to present an image of modesty. Not so in the US gambling mecca of Las Vegas where the biggest names in auto tuning are currently flexing their muscles at the SEMA convention (3rd - 6th November). The American tuning and accessories industry had a turnover of over $30bn last year, a trend that looks set to continue. The abbreviation SEMA stands for Specialty Equipment Market Association. Trade representatives from more than 100 countries are expected to attend the event which is being held on 180,000 square metres of exhibition space.

There are around 2,000 exclusive models on display. This show has the lot, from beefed-up muscle cars and pick-ups to show cars and the full gamut of tuning components. To nobody's surprise, the Mustang once again registers as the most 'pimped' vehicle, with no fewer than eight different versions of the sports car on display. Probably the most interesting of these comes from the Ford Racing Team, who are producing the Mustang Cobra Jet in a limited edition of fifty units. Every single one of the 2010 version has been sold already, so a wistful glance at the gallery below will have to suffice.

The grand finale to the 2009 Formula One series did great credit to the organisers in Abu Dhabi and to the victorious Red Bull team. In the futuristic setting of the Yas Marina Circuit, Sebastian Vettel claimed his fourth win of the year and finished runner-up in the drivers' championship. Following the retirement of pole-sitter and race favourite Lewis Hamilton, Vettel's victory was never in any doubt. Team-mate Mark Webber held off a determined attack by Jenson Button over the last couple of laps to make it the second one-two victory for Red Bull of the season. Button had to settle for the third spot on the podium but was at least able to celebrate in style the title that he had already secured in the penultimate race in Brazil.

With the Veritas RS III, Vermot AG are trying to recreate the looks and feel of a sports car from the 40s or 50s. The prototype caused quite a stir when it was unveiled last year. At the Salon Privé show in London, it effortlessly won the Best Super Car of 2009 award. Now, as this super sports model goes into series production, Vermot have released new photos of the Veritas RS III Roadster.

As you would expect of a super car, this will be a relatively small-scale production run. At the company's headquarters in Gelsdorf (Rhineland Palatinate), they expect to have sold out of the complete edition of 30 vehicles by the end of the year. Deliveries to the first batch of customers will then commence in January 2010. Vermot will be charging a basic price of 345,000 euros (£310,000). For this princely sum, customers can expect a racer that sprints from 0 to 62mph in under 3.2 seconds. Maximum speed is claimed to be 214mph (347 km/h). The 15-strong workforce operates in three teams: chassis, bodywork and cabin interior. Each Veritas takes eight weeks to assemble, and at any one time, three will be in production. The RS III has a 1+1 layout with a covered passenger seat available only as and when required. The whole production process is conducted according to the strictest quality norms and the final result fully complies with homologated EU standards. A couple of days ago, a test drive was staged at Brands Hatch (Kent) in the context of the Trackdays event. Potential purchasers who went for a spin in the demo model were thoroughly impressed.

Mercedes have given the boys and girls at AMG a free hand and just look what they have come up with: one of the most exciting cars available today. Sporty through and through, possessing luxury aplenty and with an historical pedigree - that's how to build a supercar and show that German engineering is still in the premier league. One perfect technology package consisting of, aluminium space-frame body shell with gull-wing doors, AMG 6.3L, front-mounted V8 engine having dry sump lubrication, rated at 571bhp and 650 Nm, transaxle-mounted seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and sport's chassis with twin aluminium wishbones, guarantees superior driving dynamics and fun of the highest order The bad news, as always, is the price. At around 178,000 euros (£164,000), it's not exactly peanuts. But we can all have our dreams, more so than ever, given the present climate.

Mazda will not only be bringing along some new engines plus a recently developed automatic gearbox to this year's Tokyo Motor Show (24th October - 4th November) but will also be showcasing their Kiyora compact concept. The new diesel engine from Mazda goes by the name of SKY-D and features (amongst other things) high-pressure piezo injectors and a two-stage turbocharger. Fuel efficiency has been boosted by 20 percent compared with Mazda's current 2.2-litre diesel engine. And at the same time, Tokyo will be seeing the Kiyora make its world debut. This metro-style concept has been designed for a felicitous combination of eco virtues with driving dynamics within the compact car segment. The technically advanced drivetrain components from the SKY concept together with lightweight construction materials reduce fuel consumption by the 1.3L engine to an amazing 91mpg (3.1 litres per 100km).

Abarth's new rally car is coming out soon. The 500 R3T is set to make its debut at the 51st Rally di Sanremo. This latest Abarth is powered by a 180bhp 1.4L turbocharged petrol engine with a sequential six-speed gearbox. We are told it will weigh in at just 1.080 kilos, i.e. the minimum permissible in the R3T class. The rally version of the Abarth 500 will be competing next year in this category for turbocharged vehicles with a capacity of up to 1.6 litres.

The mother of all motorsport video games is about to spawn offspring. Since March 2005, a team of programmers has been working on probably the biggest project in the history of computer gaming. Back in 2008, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue gave a preview of what fans could expect from Gran Turismo 5. And as the developers revealed at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, the project is now 65% complete. The complement of vehicles to play around with has meanwhile reached the 1,000 mark, including some ideas inspired by the current clutch of electric and hybrid motors. A sophisticated 'physics engine', which is capable of simulating highly realistic roll-overs and damage, will be used for all the models featured. The final package will incorporate 20 different race locations. And when the different track configurations are taken into account, players can switch between 70 scenarios, as well as choosing between game settings. In arcade mode, they can select either solo or dual-player with the further option of split-screen display. The popular GT mode allows players to embark upon a racing career and compete in races around the world. Depending on performance, players can further boost their chances by designing new cars or tuning existing ones. There is also the online mode, in which up to 16 players can compete against each other on the internet. The pictures in the gallery certainly testify to the quality of visual design.