Articles by Karla Pincott

Following the recent reveals of the performance-focused BMW M3 sedan and M4 coupe, the German car brand has launched configurators so you can build your own, rotate it to get a look from all angles -- and then order it, if you're one of the lucky future buyers.The configurators will let you choose your car's alloy wheels, paint colour and then head into the cabin to customise the upholstery, interior trims and accent lines. Because we're a pretty restrained bunch at Carsguide, we've gone for the M3 in Yas Marina Blue body colour with M 19-inch double-spoke black wheels, Silverstone orange leather upholstery with gloss black trim and accent lines.Try the BMW M3 configuratorFor the M4 we decided on Austin Yellow paint, again the M 19-inch double-spoke black wheels (yes, we've got a bit of a thing for them), Black Merino leather with Blue Shadow trim and black chrome accent lines.Try the BMW M4 configuratorAnd in our Walter Mitty daydreams, we'll be imagining the shove from the twin-turbo 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder engines' boosted outputs of 317kW and 550Nm (up from 309kW and 400Nm) handled by the carryover choice of the either six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch DCT auto -- both now blipping the throttle on downshifts.Then there's the claimed  0-100km/h figure of 4.1 seconds for both cars, with top speeds limited to 250km/h, or 280km/h with the optional M Driver’s Package. And the cherry on top of our heavily frosted daydreams would have to be the 'smoky burnout' mode -- although keeping that in our imagination would also keep our licences intact.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

The first teaser showed the front wheel, three-quarter panel bearing an 'F' badge and a headlight cluster echoing the recently debuted RC coupe.

The 10-year-old Lamborghini Gallardo is about to be replaced, with the successor due to be revealed in just a few day's time. So naturally nearly everybody is hoping that a glimpse will leak early, but we're not sure this is it.These images have surfaced online over the past 24 hours, and are alleged to be Lamborghini renderings -- although usually the Italian brand produces something with a little more artistic flair.However the images do closely follow the lines of the camouflaged car we've seen testing in spy shots -- so if they're unofficial, somebody has at least made an effort to give their impression of what the finished car will look like. Echoing the lean lines of the Aventador, the new arrival -- tipped in these images to be christened the Huracan, although elsewhere also called the Cabrera -- sports a 'flying buttress' C-pillar, gaping hexagonal front intakes and similarly hungry ones at the rear of the side sills to channel air over the engine and brakes. Tail-end cues include quad exhaust tips and elongated rear light clusters, while the cabin also echoes the Aventador's digital jet-fighter cockpit feel.The new arrival is expected to carry an uprated version of the Gallardo's 5.2-litre V10 engine, but tweaked to squeeze out 447kW of power (about 40kW over the current base model and 28kW more than the top-spec). There's no chance of a manual transmission, but a new seven-speed dual clutch will replace the long-toothed e-gear automated manual, driving all four wheels as standard but with a rear-wheel drive version continuing as an option.Sharing its platform with the coming VW group stablemate Audi R8, weight-saving aluminium and carbon-fibre should help trim the scales down from the current Lambo's 1600kg for the all-wheel drive and 1470kg for the rear-wheel drive to about 1330kg and 1300kg respectively, while assisting the new car to a 0-100km/h time of around 3 seconds and a top speed of 320km/h.With an official reveal tipped as a Christmas present for fans, the car is likely to get a global debut at Geneva motor show in March and go on sale overseas in the middle of next year. 

Earlier this week, Jaguar released an ad that spoofed Mercedes-Benz's 'chicken' ad -- which used the gimbal-like qualities of a chook's head and body to highlight the high-tech suspension of the German brand's flagship S-Class.The Jaguar video ad pooh-poohed the idea of the Mercedes 'Magic Ride' system, with the British brand saying "we prefer cat-like reflexes" and introducing the fowl to the Jaguar -- with the expected results.Today Mercedes has fired a returning salvo, with the ad below, showing they're not averse to a bit of luxury brand banter.We're hoping this turns into a similar car ad war to the battles fought in the US by Audi and BMW with a series of ads, kicked off by a billboard in California, with a later skirmish in Hong Kong. That volley started on the theme of which brand had the best claim to being a luxury badge, and later moved to a comparison between beauty and performance -- with some other brands tipping in. The point and counterpoint kept us all amused, and social media aflame, for some time.In the end, nothing is decided by the exercise. But there are no losers when the major car brands show they have a sense of humour behind all the usual marketing spin.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincottWatch the Jaguar chicken ad on or desktop site.Watch the Mercedes-Benz chicken ad on or desktop site. 

The popular Gran Turismo 6 game is spawning some fantastic concept cars, after the game's creators threw out a challenge to the world's car designers. We saw the Mercedes-Benz AMG Vision Gran Turismo debut at Los Angeles motor show in the metal as a 1:1 scale model - complete with a front mid-mounted handcrafted AMG V8 biturbo engine delivering 430kW of power and 800Nm of torque.Toyota has teased its Vision car, which looks enticingly like it could be a possible concept successor for the much-loved Supra. And now Subaru has tipped in with its own Gran Turismo Vision concept, like Toyota only teasing it in a single image so far.The profile angle suggests the car owes at least some of its inspiration to the BRZ sports coupe developed in tandem with Toyota (who badge it as the 86) but as with the Merc, it's possible we'll see some hints of future Subaru styling when the car is fully revealed.The Toyota is rumoured to be headed for a real-life reveal at the Detroit motor show in January, but both it and the Subaru will be available as 2014 downloads for Gran Turismo 6 on the Sony Playstation.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Plenty of people build hot rods, and some with unlikely -- and very cool -- designs. But the world's never seen a hot rod quite as unlikely or as cool as this one: built from 500,000 pieces of Lego, life-sized and drivable, powered by four orbital engines with 256 pistons running on air. The brainchild of Melbourne man Steve Sammartino, created with Romanian tech genius Raul Oaida, it's driveable, but the pair admit it's not fast, with top speed of around 20-30km/h. "We were scared of a Lego explosion so we drove it slowly," they say. And why a hot rod design? "Mainly because hot rods are cool." Watch video of the Lego car below. However, before the car, they worked together on a Lego space shuttle that became a hit on both the internet and in mainstream media. The car project was then crowdfunded by 40 Australians after Sammartino tweeted it in March last year, built in Romania and then shipped to a secret location in Melbourne for final touches. Sammartino says the initial idea was sparked by his belief that views of what a car could be were too narrow. "(I wanted) to do something interesting that shows there are a myriad of possible innovations for cars. We wanted to be an example to open peoples minds... something the car industry needs," he says. While Lego blocks are designed to be easy for even young kids to use, that didn't mean the project was free of technical challlenges. "The biggest? Building the engine and getting the gearing right," Sammartino says. "It is very tough to hold the torque." The creators have no solid future plans for the Lego hot rod, although the twittersphere is suggesting it will end up in the garage of a car collector. "We are open to offers to display it at shows too." And while many people with an idea struggle to find funding, Sammartino says the crowdfunding for the car happened very swiftly. "The response was in mere days. I have a strong following on twitter and my blog which is were I promoted it. I did it independently rather than a traditional crowd funding site, as the was no real commercial output." Which means there could be another project on the way, he hints, although he will also be back in his regular marketing office. "It's mostly back to business for me, but I always like to have a side project on the go - they are a great way to push boundaries," he says. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

This isn't the first time we've seen a sports car concept from the Korean carmaker. They unveiled the GT Concept in 2011 at the Frankfurt motor show -- and while there have been rumours of a production version since then, nothing has appeared yet.So this new sports concept teased in a single birds-eye image ahead of a Detroit unveiling in January could be a later iteration of the GT. However there are some notable differences, mainly in that the GT was a four-door and this is a 2+2 coupe.And that's about all we know about the Detroit show car designed in Kia's California studio, with the brand having released no details except that they claim it is "stunning" and "aimed at delivering head-turning looks whilst providing superb driving enjoyment whether on the road or at the track".The track reference and the proportions of the overhead image suggest this could be a rear-wheel drive platform -- and possibly derived from Hyundai's Genesis coupe. If it heads into production, this could be a new halo car for the Korean manufacturer. Or it could also simply be a styling exercise testing response to some future design possibilities.Kia says they will release more images leading up the show and give us a better look, but are keeping further details of the car until the unveiling.  

Mitsubishi has issued a safety recall on their diesel ASX SUV for faulty piston rings that could become stuck while in operation, due to soot deposits collecting in the piston ring grooves because of a glitch in the software that is supposed to prevent deposits accumulating.The recall notice affects 1588 ASXs built in 2011 and 2012 powered by the 4N13 1.8-litre diesel engine. The defect could see the pistons overheat and melt, with affected vehicles stalling and becoming impossible to restart, Mitsubishi says.However the carmaker says there have been no reported incidents in Australia related to the fault, which will take about 20 minutes to rectify with a software update, spokesman John Taylor says.Owners who believe their vehicles may be affected by the recall are advised to drive gently until able to have their ASX inspected by their closest Mitsubishi dealer and fixed if needed.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Holden has issued a safety recall on the diesel CG Captiva for a production line fault that has seen vehicles built with their fuel feed hose touching the airconditioning suction pipe. The carmaker says that over time the fuel hose could rub against the pipe, creating a hole and the risk of a fuel leak that could catch fire.The recall notice affects 14,230 diesel Captiva 5 and Captiva 7 built February 5 2011 and November 2 2012, powered by the 2.2-litre diesel. The recall is a global one, with the two Captivas built in South Korea and sold in other markets as the Opel Antara and Chevrolet Captiva respectively.Over the recall period, Holden has sold about 20,000 Captiva 7 and 10,000 Captiva 5 models with both diesel and petrol engines.Holden says there have been some field reports related to the recall in Australia. "There have been four reported cases across Australia of a fuel smell related to the problem, but no fires or accidents," Holden spokesperson Kate Lonsdale told CarsGuide. "This is just a precautionary recall."Lonsdale said the fix would take about an hour. "We just recommend that at their earliest possible convenience owners have their vehicles inspected. The dealers are aware of the recall and will certainly prioritise those vehicles as they're brought in," she said.Holden is contacting customers, who can take their vehicles to their nearest dealer for inspection and replacement of the fuel hose if needed.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott

The gimbal-like qualities of chooks' bodies and heads were recently used by German carmaker Mercedes-Benz to highlight its flagship S-Class model's 'Magic Body Control' in a slightly bizarre but entertaining ad. The commercial aimed to show how the S-Class's high-tech arsenal of sensors and cameras monitored the road surface ahead and automatically adjusted the suspension to keep the ride smooth and silky. Watch the desktop version of the Jaguar chicken ad here. Jaguar found the chicken motif too good a target to resist, and have fired a returning salvo in their own ad wobbling a chicken around ... "see -- it's just like a Mercedes," the Jaguar boffin says. Then he pits the fowl against a jaguar. Things go exactly as you'd think, which is essentially not at all a happy ending for the poultry. Watch the Mercedes-Benz chicken ad here. "We prefer cat-like reflexes," Jaguar tells us -- hinting the luxury S-Class might be a bit short on sportiness, but without highlighting any particular car. Although the tagline 'Good to be bad' is one being used in the US for the new F-Type. We're hoping that over in Germany they're going to come up with an equally amusing response. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott