Nissan IDx concepts bring back budget racers

Nissan channeled its inner Datsun for the Detroit auto show on Monday. The Japanese brand showed off its IDx Freeflow and IDx Nismo concepts, which we first saw in Tokyo. The brand cited the new ways people buy and customize cars as the reason for the classic yet eye-catching style.

Hennessey reveals Venom GT supercar

Texas tuner Hennessey Performance is taking a page out of the playbook of Carroll Shelby--drop a huge American V8 into a lightweight British chassis. The result is the Hennessey Venom GT, which melds high-performance Chevrolet Corvette and Lotus technology into a furious supercar. Borrowing from the Cobra's now-iconic template, the Venom GT broke cover on Monday and will come with the ZR1's supercharged 6.2-liter V8 modified to push out 725 hp.

Bertone Jaguar B99 GT concept (2011) at the Geneva motor show

Bertone B99 GT – the racing version Next to the fully-trimmed B99 show car on Bertone's stand is an exterior mock-up of a GT2-class racing B99.  Two additional electric motors up front mean the GT has 972bhp all wheel drive capability.  A carbonfibre splitter, diffuser and flat undertray are matched with a massive bootlid wing.  There's enormous side-exit exhausts for the range-extender generator, a 100mm lowering job and a lurid green paintjob.  It’s an extreme way for Bertone to highlight the dual images of luxury and performance that Jaguar has in its heritage – particularly since there aren’t currently any saloons in the FIA GT2 series.  Perhaps they should have painted it in a '70s Broadspeed XJC touring car livery to get the full effect. More details on the Bertone B99 exterior design Bertone claims that it has modernized classic Jaguar three-box saloon design with the B99, with Bertone’s design chief Mike Robinson and his team drawing inspiration not just from past Jaguars, but the stealthy big cat that lends its name and image to the brand.  They coined the slogan "Cunning Glamour with Race-Bred Innovation” to embody the B99’s design… but from the two cars on the stand it looks like reconciling those disparate aims in the one vehicle may have been a bit beyond them. The roofline has been shortened and lowered in proportion to a conventional three-box body, inspired by a Jaguar cat stalking its prey.