Porsche Cayman S Black Edition (2011) first pictures

Worried that Porsche's stripped-out Cayman R is a little too hardcore, but still want its power increase and don't want to pay extra for air-con? Then you want the latest special edition Porsche, the Cayman S Black Edition.
Porsche Cayman S Black Edition: the performance mods

Limited to 500 copies worldwide, the Black Edition features a range of minor tweaks beyond its dark paint, and top of the list is a tiny 9bhp increase to a Cayman R-matching 326bhp. The torque figure remains unchanged (at 273lb ft), but the 0-62mph time improves one-tenth to 5.1 secs, to sit neatly between the 5.2secs of the Cayman S and the 5.0secs of the Cayman R. Spec the optional PDK dual-clutch transmission and that'll drop to five seconds dead, and the extra-cost PDK Sport Chrono Package takes a further 0.2secs off the total. Top speed raises by a sarcasm-inducing 1mph, to 173mph for the manual, and 172mph for the PDK edition. Fuel consumption and CO2 figures are unaffected by the Porsche Cayman S Black Edition's engine tweaks.
Porsche Cayman S Black Edition: the cosmetics

Boxster Spyder/Cayman R wheels don a brake dust-hiding black paintjob, and deliver an extra half-inch of extra tyre width to the road, and are an inch bigger than the 18s that come as standard on the Cayman S. Standard bi-xenon adaptive headlights complete the exterior transformation.

Inside, the Porsche Cayman S Black Edition gets sat-nav, an auto-dimming rear view mirror, and oddly, retains the standard partial-leather seats rather than a full helping of deceased bovine dermis. You do get Porsche crests embossed into the headrests though.
Porsche Cayman S Black Edition: the blackness

The Cayman R Black Edition is indeed black. The paint, wheels, dashboard and interior trim, seats, steering wheel, gearshift and dials are in the monochrome colour scheme, with an allowance for white lettering on the instruments and controls. The door sills carry stainless steel 'Black Edition' badging and there's a special Black Edition plaque on the glovebox lid to denote special edition status.
Porsche Cayman S Black Edition: the price

You can own a Porsche Cayman S Black Edition from September 2011, with prices starting at £50,420 for a manual model. Given the extras that Porsche includes, that price is less than if you attempt to specify a regular Cayman S to match the Black Edition (trust us, we've tried). So this car's saving grace is that it offers a bit of value for money if you're looking to pay homage to the Batmobile.

Land Rover Defender (2011) goes EV for safari concept

The Land Rover Defender is one of the less-likely candidates to be gaining an EV drivetrain. But here it is: the Land Rover Electric Defender Game Viewer Concept, built for zero-emissions silent transport of tourists around Africa's wildlife parks.
Land Rover Defender EV: the lowdown

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) South Africa worked with local specialists Barker Performance Products and UK-based lithium-ion battery supplier Axeon to create the Electric Game Viewer concept. Out went the 2.4-litre four-pot turbodiesel engine, to be replaced by a bespoke Axeon Li-ion battery pack and integrated battery management system. The entire EV power-pack sits in the nose, to ensure that the Defender retains its ground clearance and wading capability.

A 59kW, 330NM electric motor with 10kW regenerative capability drives the Defender through the existing four-wheel drive transmission, so it remains fully capable of operating off-road. Perfect for creeping up on sensitive rhino and the like.
What's the Defender EV's range? I don't fancy getting stuck in the wild...

JLR quote a range of 50 miles assuming an average speed of 40mph over an eight-hour tourist game viewing drive - three times the duration of a typical tourist trek. In addition, there's a 12-mile reserve should the Defender EV have to drive further or faster over the course of the day.

As a single-purpose vehicle on set routes, range anxiety shouldn't be an issue, with the Defender EV being charged back at base after each journey.
So who came up with the idea for the Defender EV?

The project began following an enquiry from from Londolozi, one of South Africa’s private game parks, who were seeking an ecologically-friendly vehicle for their tourism programme. After conversion into a game viewer by Barker Performance Parts and integration of the Axeon EV drivetrain, the vehicle was tested at the Gerotek Vehicle Testing facility near Pretoria by JLR engineers and test drivers.

As well as retaining the off-road capabilities of the standard game viewer conversions, the silence of the EV drive means that the Defender EV can get visitors closer to the animals in the game park - particularly handy for Londolozi's photo safari tour for wildlife photographers. An additional benefit to go with the zero-emissions technology.
Is the Defender EV only for Africa?

At this point the Defender electric Game Viewer is a concept only, and its launch at the Indaba 2011 tourism conference in Durban, South Africa emphasises the commercial target market for the vehicle. But the EV technology could easily be applied to other applications requiring zero emissions or silent running, so this may not be the last we see of the Defender EV conversion.

Volkswagen Golf GTI 35 (2011) first pictures

Volkswagen has just announced the 35th anniversary model of the Golf GTI. Like the Golf GTI 30 before it, this is a limited edition hot hatch loaded with extra kit and power.
How powerful is the VW Golf GTI Edition 35?

The special Golf musters 232bhp from its 2.0-litre turbo, a sound 20bhp hike on the regular Golf GTI. Look out for the '35' badging on the car's flanks, giving the game away subtly.

Nobody sitting inside the Golf GTI anniversary edition will be in any doubt; the snug-looking bucket seats are embroidered with 35 logos, and there's the requisite golfball gearstick.
When will they launch the Golf GTI Edition 35?

VW will formally unveil the new Golf hot hatch at the 2011 Wörthersee hot hatch festival in Austria. The event celebrates all things VW and fast, and Wolfsburg now routinely unveils new product at the event.

The VW Golf Edition 30 was shown in Austria at the summer festival too.
How much faster is the VW Golf GTI 30?

That we don't know yet. Further performance figures and details will be confirmed in June 2011, when the car goes on sale.

The price in mainland Europe has been confirmed at 30,425 euros (£26,600).

Ford Focus ST (2012) development pictures

It’s been over six months since Ford unveiled the Focus ST concept at the 2010 Paris motor show, and with the production ST’s launch looming large for early 2012, the Blue Oval has started its PR push. These are the first shots of prototype STs testing at Ford’s Lommel Proving Ground in Belgium.
So what do we know about the new Ford Focus ST?

That it’ll look very different from this mule – production STs will feature a huge, Audi-esque, one-piece front grille. However, look closely at this camouflaged and you’ll still spot new sills, a discreet rear spoiler, and a suitably lower stance thanks to ST-spec suspension. Not visible in these two shots is the new central exhaust, which Ford of Europe’s head of exterior design Stefan Lamm and his team forced through the engineering process.

Hiding behind that big grille will be Ford’s latest 2.0-litre turbocharged and direct-injected Ecoboost engine. The Blue Oval’s engineers are aiming for 247bhp and 266lb ft, up from the old ST’s 222bhp and 236lb ft. 'It’s fundamentally built on the Mondeo’s 240PS engine,' Ford of Europe’s powertrain development boss Andrew Fraser admitted to CAR. 'But there are changes, to the turbocharger, the intercooler, the intake system, and the exhaust – just subtle enhancements to ensure less restrictive induction and reduced back pressure. And the most important thing is there has been lots of engine calibration'.

And coming out of the central exhaust will be a lot less CO2 than produced by the outgoing ST. 'We're aiming for [mpg in] the mid-30s,' revealed Fraser. 'And somewhere south of 180g/km. Those are 20% improvements'.

A six-speed manual gearbox will be the only transmission option, power will go to the front wheels, and we hear an estate version is under consideration as well.
So far, so good…

Yes, but the new ST will be an ST under the skin: the trick Revo-Knuckle front suspension and mechanical differential from the Focus RS are off limits. Instead, 247bhp and 266lb ft will be controlled via the torque vectoring system that’s standard on every Focus and uses the front brakes to distribute power accordingly.

Matthias Ton, chief program engineer for Ford's global performance products, promises the new ST will improve on the old car's ride, handling and steering. The latter is particularly important, as every new Focus features electric power steering, which notoriously offers less feedback than a conventional hydraulic set-up. The most recent part of the Focus ST's development schedule has seen it undergoing cold weather testing in northern Europe, with a specific focus on the steering.

There are currently 60 pre-production ST prototypes being put through their paces in Europe and North America by Ford's Team RS and SVT engineers, on everything from famous Californian driving roads, the Nurburgring, German autobahns and good old British B-roads.

'The new Focus ST is eagerly awaited around the world, which is appropriate as this is our first global performance model,' said Jost Capito, Ford’s famous director of global performance vehicles. 'It must live up to Ford’s reputation for producing affordable yet exciting and sporty versions of its smaller cars that reward and delight enthusiast drivers'.

BMW M5 F10M (2011) track test video

BMW M has released new video footage of the upcoming F10M M5 performance testing at the BMW Miramas test centre in southern France.
Is this BMW M5 video worth risking a sneaky peek at the office?

If you like the M5 or fast cars in general, yes. Compared to previous entries in the M5 teaser video campaign this one shows the BMW M engineers creating enough wheelspin and oversteer to make us think that they're auditioning to work in the motoring media.

The video, at nearly four minutes long, shows M5 prototypes largely stripped of camouflage sheeting being put through their paces on the test circuit, as well as undertaking some low speed incline testing on a 32 degree gradient. What we can see conforms with the M5 Concept shown at the 2011 Shanghai motor show.

Apart from the aforementioned tyre abuse, you also get clear shots of the new M5's instrument panel, showing the M-DCT transmission's shift mode selector and adaptive damping display. BMW M engineers discuss the development work (dubbed into English) and unsurprisingly enough they're delighted with how things are progressing with their 570bhp supersaloon. Funny that.
When does the new BMW M5 hit the showrooms?

As Jethro Bovingdon revealed in the May 2011 edition of CAR GAMES, the production M5 will be unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show, with first UK cars set to arrive in November 2011. M5 prices are estimated to begin at £70,000, putting it about £5000 above the Jaguar XFR, and £3000 below the current Mercedes E63 AMG.