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Hiromu Naruse: ‘Godfather’ of the LFA ‘Not Famous Enough’

Hiromu Naruse & Lexus LFA Last year we reported the death of Hiromu Naruse, Toyota’s chief test driver and a man considered to be the ‘Godfather’ of the Japanese performance car, and particularly the Lexus LFA, a car which consumed the last decade of his life and became the final testament to his enormous skill. At 67, Naruse-san was still as involved as ever, and it was whilst driving a Lexus LFA with the Nurburgring Package he met his end on a public road near the Nurburgring. A track, incidentally, he had driven more than any other Japanese driver.

Renault is reviving the Gordini name for high-performance models

They don't sell Renaults in the United States anymore, but it's worth noting that the French automaker is reviving the Gordini name for high-performance versions of the Twingo and the Clio. The name pays homage to Amedee Gordini, a mechanical whiz known as "the sorcerer" for taking production-car engines and making them competitive on the great racetracks of Europe. The Gordini versions of the Twingo and the Clio will wear the trademark light blue paint with a pair of white stripes running from nose to tail and centered over the driver.

AMG Vision Gran Turismo concept shows off ahead of PS3 appearance

Mercedes-Benz has revealed a spectacular new virtual sportscar concept created by its in-house design team for inclusion in Sony's new PlayStation 3 game "Gran Turismo 6." Called the AMG Vision Gran Turismo, the brawny-looking gullwing coupe is to be revealed as a model at the opening of Mercedes-Benz's new research-and-development center in Sunnyvale, Calif., on the eve of next week's LA Auto Show. Yet despite the unveiling in 1:1 scale, the new two-seater is destined to remain a feature of the virtual world as the first in what Mercedes-Benz is billing as a series of Vision Gran Turismo vehicles to be unveiled in the near future. While the virtual properties of the AMG Vision Gran Turismo mean it will only ever see running as a high-resolution graphic within the new "Gran Turismo 6" game, this hasn't deterred Mercedes-Benz from providing it with detailed styling and mechanical data -- elements of which are said to provide solid hints to the upcoming GT AMG due to be unveiled in mid-2014 as a range-topping replacement for the SLS AMG.