410 Sprint Car Isky Tool Room 9955 Rad Valve Springs on 2040-parts.com

First Sight: Mercedes-AMG GT

“If I was to buy any sports car that wasn't a Mercedes, it'd be a Porsche 911,” says Mercedes' head of design, Gorden Wagener. “But when you see the two cars together, we think ours has the edge.” He's talking about the new Mercedes-AMG GT, a front-mid engined, two-seater sports car that's unashamedly aimed at higher-end 911s, and we've come to see it at Mercedes' Sindelfingen studio.  The GT replaces the larger SLS, and is seen by Wagener as the best example yet of his 'sensual purity' design philosophy: “The SLS is very much [he gestures] line, line with a surface in between. With the GT we started with the surface and worked to refine and reduce the number of lines.” Elements of the SLS's platform have been carried over, so the GT measures the same 1,939mm wide.

Lamborghini by Giugiaro uncovered

At a recent visit to Giugiaro, this 50 year old unnamed Lamborghini, never before seen, suddenly appeared like an undiscovered Shakespeare manuscript, discreetly displayed in a library with no-one paying attention. Parked under some Greek temple-like stairs at the Giugiaro Design headquarters, the car sat on its period Borranis, painted in a yellow hue unseen this side of Ducati. No details, no background, but the story is simple: Fabrizio Giugiaro found some of his father's old sketches from the Bertone era (1960-1965).

Modified supercars at SEMA 2013 in pictures

The SEMA tuning and modified car show held in that centre of American excess, Las Vegas, is a melting pot for all things automotive. From trucks and busses to family saloons and hatchbacks, aftermarket tuning companies go to work making the wackiest modified versions of every type of vehicle around, showing off their wares at SEMA. Not even supercars are off limits.