While these photos are far from solid proof, it definitely begins to shed some light on the Porsche Hybrid question. Aside from the interesting Batman symbol that has somehow found its way onto the front, there is a noticeable addition to the driver’s side of the hood as well.

Even more interesting is the lightning bolt sticker that is in the center of the aforementioned bulge. It is not yet known what the function of this new piece of hardware is, but if that sticker is any indication, it could very well be a new hybrid platform.

Making this even more likely is the eye-witness accounts that claimed almost no noise as the Porsche drove off.

We are still waiting for an official comment from the German
based automaker.

The handling package was first revealed during the Geneva auto show last March. This week the Ferrari 599’s handling was put into test by none other than legendary Michael Schumacher who’s on the pedestal for winning the F1 championship seven times.

The HGTE is engineered to give the Ferrari owner a more dynamic and sporty driving experience. The package includes modifications on the springs, calibration of the shock absorbers, anti-roll bars, and lowering of the ride height.

Schumacher took the 599 for a 20 lap drive in Fiorano. The record of the Ferrari 599 in the circuit is recorded at 1 minute and 26.5 seconds. That is really considered a fast lap taking into consideration the record of the F40 which is 3.1 seconds slower. The F430 and the F50 take 3.6s more to finish a lap.

The lap times of Schumacher were not released but the car was tested as part of the company’s Pilota driving courses. The courses are designed for Ferrari owners skills to handle their cars to its full potentials without sacrificing safety both on the race track and the road.

The Pilota driving course is offered in several levels— Challenge, Evolution, Advanced, and Basic. An On Ice training is given in certain countries like Italy, Japan, China, and the U.S.

The new A7 4-door coupe will be rolling of stores as a 2011 model. Audi is beefing up its Neckarsulm factoriy by spending millions of Euros to produce the A7. The production of the new member of the brood will start late next year, so American consumers will most likely enjoy the new car by 2011.

According to an insider, the A7 will get a variety of engines under its hood. There are buzzes that a V10 capable of producing about 600hp will be fitted in. Hybrid versions using the combo of diesel and electric engines are also said to be on the works.

The ordinary A7 is expected to have a V6 engine. The base model may get a 2.8L V6 engine capable of giving out 204hp. A notch higher will be a 3.0L powerplant that gives 300hp to the car. The S7 variant of the car will be equipped with V8 4.0L engine that adds another 94hp to the equation. The RS7 will be the ultimate setup with 600hp.

The high end models will have their engines coupled with a dual clutch system while the lower end models will be coupled with either an automatic eight speed or a six speed manual gearbox.

The stock Audi TT-RS has a turbocharged 2.5L 5-cylinder powertrain under its hood that can output 340hp and an excellent torque of 325lb-ft.

The first stage of the boost involved some inexpensive adjustment done by Mcchip and the power was raised to about 380hp. The torque jumps to 406lb-ft which can literally outpace other sports cars in the market today. The torque is really impressive given the 2.5L displacement. What Mcchip did for the second stage which takes the figures to 400hp will be revealed in the future.

Mcchip had to modify some settings on the engine management system and increase boost pressure to jack up the performance of the Audi TT-RS. The extra punch makes the top speed of the TT-RS 186mph up from the standard 155mph. Getting from 0 to 62mph was also greatly improved from 4.6 seconds to an amazing 4.1 seconds.

The enhancements are great but the real jaw dropping figure is the price of the chip the Mcchip used to tune the TT-RS. The small chip that unlocked the supercar-like performance is just $1,275.

The car tuning firm also offers other pimping features a lot more expensive than the microchip. A custom alloy wheel goes for $9,357 and adaptive shocks will cost another $1,600.

The interlocking ring was originally the branding used by the Auto Union when it was formed in 1932. Audi fanatics have nothing to worry about though since the rings will be staying on the grille of their favorite car.

The Audi logo has been updated. Designers gave the interlocking rings more shimmer and clearer cuts to make them more defined. So the rings are staying with Audi only presented with a different lighting perspective to make it even look better.

The font of the Audi name also gets a makeover. It is a lot simpler and more modern as the company decides to use a sans-serif font which loses the curvy look of the previous badge. The letters also get a more intense red for its color.

The revision of the interlocking rings and the Audi name comes in time for the car maker’s 100th year founding anniversary and right on the spot before the resurrection of the Auto Union.

The brand of the Auto Union is owned by the Volkswagen Group and they plan to use the nomenclature to represent their ten-brand fleet. The move will also aid in preserving the independent image needed by Porsche.

The interlocking rings symbolized the union of the four car makers, Audi as being one of the old brands. The other companies were DKW, Wanderer, and Horch. The Auto Union flourished in motor sports during the 1930’s until it was halted by World War II. The transformation of the brand ended up with the 1985 rise of the Audi AG.

The planned changes are very minor considering that the Audi Q7 is one of the most competitive big SUVs in the market right now, rivaling the BMW X5 and the next-gen M-Class from Mercedes-Benz.

A new tail lamp LED setup will be in place. Audi will also make available options for LED daytime lights and turn signals.

The 2010 Q7 will also have the latest version of Audi’s MMI, joystick control, 3D navigation map, and Sirius traffic data. The driver or occupant can actually say that they are hungry and the system will lead them to the nearest restaurants.

The Q7 has a history of good ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It is also considered one of the safest vehicles in Audi’s fleet with Top Safety Pick recognition from the IIHS or the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The 3.6L variant has a fuel economy of 14 mpg on city driving and jumps to 20 while cruising the highway. The 4.2L Q7 goes for 13mpg on city streets and 18 mpg on the highway.

The 2010 Q7 rolls out of Audi dealerships this month with sticker price starting at $47,725. The turbodiesel variant goes for at least $51,725. Consumers can get a $1150 tax credit if they buy the Q7 considered as a green vehicle.

“This is an extraordinary artifact,” Murray Smith told the Litchfield County Times.

The car is owned by the Collier Collection, a private historic sports car collection in Naples, Fla. Mr. Smith, the event chairman of the Vintage Festival, was instrumental in bringing it to Lime Rock. “This is a very tricky, sophisticated car to run,” he explained. “In 1937, they could reach 240 miles an hour and the average track speed was 172 miles per hour.”

Silver Arrow was the nickname given to the Mercedes-Benz (and Auto Union) Grand Prix cars from 1934-’39. The name was later used for the Mercedes Formula One and sports cars that ran from 1954-’55. This year, Mercedes celebrated the 75th anniversary of the Silver Arrow racers at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.

According to Mr. Smith, the W 154 Silver Arrow last ran in 1939 at the Yugoslavian Grand Prix. It was driven by Manfred von Brauchitsch, who finished second, while setting the fastest lap.

Earlier this week, Gert Straub, a test driver and engineer for Mercedes-Benz, drove the Silver Arrow around the 1.53-mile track at Lime Rock. Despite its age, the car’s supercharged 3.0-liter V-12 engine makes around 500 horsepower and is said to be capable of nearly 200 miles an hour.

The Silver Arrow will not compete in the weekend’s races, but visitors to the Vintage Festival will be able to the see (and hear) the Silver Arrow fire up and turn laps around Lime Rock on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.

But when it starts up with a growl, the world tilts on its axis. The look is pure is Aufrecht and Melcher, but that sound…cherry bomb? Flowmaster?

Then the car pulls away, with AMG test pilot and five-time German Touring Car champion Bernd Schneider behind the wheel, and your ears begin to tell even grander lies to your brain.

Schneider pins the throttle and the sounds waves — nein, shockwaves — that emanate from the twin pipes immediately end all V-8 musclecar imagery. The throaty, idle wuffle rips into a fast running roar over the rise of turn one — the revs rising impossibly high for such a large-displacement engine. When he lifts in the braking zone of turn two, a millisecond of silence is immediately shattered by pops and crackles of unburned fuel sizzling in the exhaust system. He cracks off one, two rev-matched downshifts, hits the apex, and then is gone — taking the car, that sound, and everything you thought you knew about Mercedes-Benz along with it.

It’s all very confusing, and only gets worse when he pits a few laps later and it’s your turn to run.

It’s a lot to take in, this bellowing, bewinged beast — all snout and tidily truncated tail. They say the SLS’ 6.2-liter, 563 horsepower V-8 engine sits behind the midline of the front wheels, but when you stare at all that real estate up front, it just seems ludicrous. There’s so much acreage at the prow, what goes there? Another engine? (Actually, the dry-sump oiling system).

She’s strangely attractive though, far better looking in person than in photographs. The eyes are wide set, pushed to the corners and separated by a broad mouth, split horizontally by a wing and ring. Back, way back, is the tiny cockpit, inset about a hand’s width from the front fenders — the widest point of the car. A subtle character line runs the length of the car, from the headlights back along the fender, skimming the slender stalks of the side mirrors, before terminating at that small, sumptuously sculpted booty. But enough gawking, how do you get in?