Auto News 5

The Chevy Corvair's swing axles and heavy tail are implements of the devil, at least according to Ralph Nader's Unsafe at Any Speed diatribe. Paul Siano, the creator of the mid-engine Siano Special, doesn't buy any of that. He has owned, modified, and drag-raced Corvairs for more than half of his seventy years without suffering a single unintended spinout.

The current-generation A6 is one of the last vehicles in Audi's lineup not wearing Audi's new design language from nose to tail. A 2008 refresh added the new corporate face, but the 2012 model gains sheetmetal nearly identical to that of its larger A8 sibling all the way to the rear bumper. The only real differences between the two models, apart from size, are different wheels, headlights, foglights, and a slightly different grille. Even the headlights, despite the elongated, jagged shape resemble those on the A8.

Enter the i8
We're about to have our first encounter with one of the most significant new cars of the new decade. Engulfed in blue smoke and accompanied by red laser effects, BMW's new hybrid supercar enters the pitch-black stage. Wearing blue swirl-pattern camouflage, the white coupe marks the high end of BMW's ambitious project i portfolio, and will likely be badged i8 when it comes to market in 2013. Together with a megacity vehicle, the i8 will kick off carbon-fiber revolution at BMW. Rear engined and initially available only as a hybrid, the i8 is the most efficient BMW sports car ever conceived.