Video shows Audi R18 'long tail' e-tron quattro's blistering Monza run

Audi has had a pretty solid run at the 24 Hours of Le Mans over the past decade, but we're glad they keep pushing the envelope. That's how they keep devising road-going spaceships like the staggeringly fast R18 e-tron quatto equipped with a “long tail” aerodynamic package. This quick video of the “long tail” hybrid testing at Monza gives us a preview of what we can expect at Spa next month -- and hints at what we'll see at Le Mans in June.

Lexus teases new design direction ahead of Detroit 2012

Lexus Concept Tease Detroit 2012 (click image for full size) Lexus has sent us a teaser photo of a new Lexus Concept heading for the Detroit Motor Show which is said to preview a new design direction. With the 2012 Detroit Motor Show just weeks away, we’re starting to get the big teases from car makers eager to ramp up interest in their offerings. This morning we learnt that Honda will take the new NSX to Detroit, and now we have arch-rivals Toyota teasing a new design direction for Lexus with a tease of a new concept, also Detroit-bound.

Inside MP4-12C's new McLaren Production Centre

McLaren today opened the doors to its new McLaren Production Centre which will build the MP4-12C and all future supercars from Ron Dennis's fledgling sports car brand. British prime minister David Cameron attended the event, hailing the economic benefits of manufacturing. He said the UK car industry was helping reshape the national economy from a service-based one enriching the minority to one which actually made things again - to the benefit of a wider slice of society.