BMW M3 coupe gets stripped down to go club racing

BMW's M division is back in the business of building specialty street-legal race cars with a new lightweight version of the M3 called the GTS. The lightweight coupe, set to go on sale in early 2010 at a yet-undisclosed price, was conceived as a limited-edition model primarily for club-based racing in much the same way that Porsche builds the 911 GT3 Clubsport. But in a clear effort to link its track-based activities with the production-car side of its business, BMW's M division is offering the new car with a homologation package that will allow customers to register the M3 GTS for street use.

Shoppers hit the mall, test-drive a Fiat

The showroom for Indiana's first Fiat dealership sits next to a Johnny Rockets restaurant and across from the children's play area in the Greenwood Park Mall in Reenwood, Ind. O'Brien Fiat's indoor Fiat Studio surprised passer-by Kyle Roberts of Franklin, Ind.: "I haven't really seen a car dealership in a mall before," says Roberts, who went into the store with his wife, Mandy, to look at the four Fiat 500s on display. Would Roberts consider buying one of the cars?

Susie Wolff ready to make F1 history

SUSIE WOLFF is ready to make Formula One history on Friday, although is eager to play down its apparent significance. It has been 22 years since a woman took part in a grand prix weekend, with Italian Giovanna Amati failing to qualify in the opening three races of the 1992 campaign in a woeful Brabham before being replaced by a promising young Briton at the time - Damon Hill. On Friday, in her role as Williams development driver, 31-year-old Wolff will compete in Friday's first practice session for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, taking over the wheel from Valtteri Bottas.