Articles by Karla Pincott

Last week Audi showed a single sketch of the four-door Q1 baby crossover. Now they've followed that with more drawings -- but of a different crossover. This one, scheduled for a debut at the Detroit show in January, is a two-door with none of the exaggerated aggressive styling seen in the Q1 teaser.That suggests either they haven't made up their minds on styling (unlikely this close to a debut) or the two-door is a completely different vehicle.Audi's accompanying statement doesn't give any suggestions about what's under the bonnet, and offers little in the way of other clues, saying only the styling combines visual cues from future models with the Allroad crossover and a coupe-like low-roofed 'shooting brake' 420cm body.There's mention of its shortoverhangs and high ground clearance 'for all roads and tracks' and aluminium underbody guards front and rear, reinforcing the offroad -- although more likely softroader -- potential.However Audi also points to e-tron electric concept car cues, including the grille ribs and air intakes, and a sprinkling of development from the latest Quattro concept unveiled at Frankfurt show in September.So ... more a multi-breed than a cross-breed. Larger than the A1, but about 18cm shorter than the Q3. Aiming to be sporty and sleek -- with a distinctly Range Rover Evoque-like low roof -- and yet have off-bitumen ability.A reasonably smart bet could be the previously rumoured Audi Q2, especially with Audi having already indicated the coming Q1 won't be the last to join their SUV line-up when it arrives in 2016. The press statement accompanying last week's tease of the four-door quoted Audi CEO Rupert Stadler as saying in the brand's push toward increasing its current line-up of 49 models to 60 over the next six years, the Q1 would round off the bottom end of the Q series. That still leaves some spaces between the Q1 and the Q3, Q5 and Q7.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott   

The equivalent of more than $1.5 million has crashed and burned on an expressway in Malaysia, where three Lamborghinis formed their own very expensive Italian supercar pile-up.The cars -- a black Aventador, green Gallardo and an orange Gallardo Superleggera with STS spoiler -- had been travelling from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur in a group of five Lambos on a charity event when one driver smashed into the guardrail. Another two failed to react quickly enough to avoid the crashed car, and ended up joining it, with all three catching fire.Later reports have since indicated the accident may have been caused by a local driver swerving towards the three Lamborghinis, with the first one crashing in an effort to avoid the swerving car and the others smashing in a chain reaction.Luckily the drivers escaped without injuries, according to Yahoo News Singapore, however there's no indication yet of what speed the cars were doing at the time, or how close they were to each other in the convoy.Emergency services crews extinguished the blaze, but by the looks of the photos posted on Twitter, the three Lamborghinis are likely all a write-off.The Aventador, which was pinned to the guardrail by the other two cars, sells in Australia from $761,500 while the Gallardo starts at $409,500 -- with both also incurring a hefty Luxury Car Tax whack. Insurance may well cover the cost of the cars in the crash, although the Gallardo owners might have trouble replacing them, as the model is about to reach the end of its life.Watch the desktop version of the three Lamborghinis crash and burn video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

Rumours are bubbling up again about a Toyota Supra successor to be unveiled as concept at Detroit, with US site Autoblog reporting they've heard from "a few very well-placed members of the Toyota team" that the concept will point to a production version. It's far from the first time we've heard about the Supra being raised from the grave, with the 2007 FT-HS concept looking a likely contender for the role at the time -- although any plans were sunk by the global financial crisis a year later. Still, even as recently as 2012, Toyota's local execs were expressing their belief that the FT-HS would seed a Supra successor. "(The FT-HS) definitely looks like a Supra replacement" Greg Gardner, product planning chief for Toyota Australia, told Carsguide in 2012. "And that's consistent with what we said four years ago. It's under study." Gardner said at the time that the development of any further sports cars would depend on reaction to the Toyota 86. And we all know how that went for them. He also indicated the FT-HS seeded car would sit above the 86, although there was no indication if the eventual production car plans included being powered by the 2007 concept's hybrid drivetrain. However, with the increasing move towards using hybrid power to add performance without weight and fuel penalties, it's likely a concept version at Detroit -- if more than just another rumour -- could carry a later development of the technology, wedding an electric motor to a 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder (or even V6) tipped to push out a total of more than 300kW. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott      

Land Rover's new generation Defender is expected to arrive in 2016, and it seems a trayback derivative will be not far behind it. The design director for Land Rover and sub-brand Range Rover, Gerry McGovern, has indicated a new pick-up/ute could appear in 2017, according to UK publication 'What Car?' McGovern reportedly said the Land Rover ute would be a premium vehicle, targeting the upmarket positioning of the Volkswagen Amarok rather than the base-model workhorse market. However it's already been suggested the ute will roll on a permanent four-wheel drive platform and draw on Land Rover's tough offroad ability -- which long made it a vehicle of choice for military and aid organisations entering conflict zones. In fact the reputation and the archaic design of the Defender are such that the vehicle almost stands as its own sub-brand -- albeit something of  a Jurassic marque -- in the Land Rover stable. There's no indication yet of the design for the new ute, and little for the next-gen Defender that will seed it. McGovern admitted at the launch of the DC100 concept that kickstarted the design process in 2011 that replacing the Defender was "one of the biggest challenges in the automotive design world". The Defender's main battle recently has been to add revisions and upgrades that allow it to meet tightening emissions regulations and growing consumer safety and technology feature expectations, while still retaining its tough, go-anywhere attitude. Purists mourned when the Defender's dashboard vents -- opening straight to the outside world -- were dropped in 2007, but took solace from the then upstart new-fangled model still being as slab-sided and largely as basic as the old-fangled one. They would have been relieved at McGovern's reassurance that the DC100 and the ute-like DC100 Sport were just design studies, and far from what would eventually go on sale. But we're still yet to see just how far the Defender has come, and with the ute, how far it can go. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

Ford may have unveiled the new Mustang in both coupe and convertible forms, but they're still keeping some information back for the car's official debut at Detroit motor show in January.And one of those details relates to a 'secret feature' that will be a first from a car company, according the Mustang's chief engineer Dave Pericak. "(The car has) a lot of new features and technology and I even have some that I’m not ready to tell you about, but we don’t forget how to play to the kid inside of us," Pericak told Fox News. "We’ve got another feature coming that will be an OEM first."Plenty of possibilities come to mind for this 'secret' feature, but Motor Authority is suggesting one that could make it a winner with the enthusiast fan base would be a system to help drivers execute the perfect burnout, in the same way as launch control systems help drivers get off the line perfectly.For now, we already know the Mustang has a host of new features -- detailed in the stories in our dedicated hub. We'll have to wait until Detroit to see what the secret goodie is.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

The mall scene from The Blues Brothers is one of the film's most memorable scenes -- no small statement about a movie that is one memorable scene after another, with set-ups, lines and even a fashion style that have been cemented in popular culture. So it's only surprising that it took this long for the sequence to be immortalised with an equally iconic medium: Lego animation. Brick by brick (and little yellow man), the police chase yellow plastic Jake (originally the late John Belushi) and yellow plastic Elwood (Dan Ackroyd) Blues -- in their Bluesmobile -- into and through the mall, creating plastic mayhem and devastation. And for those still waiting for the much discussed sequel TV series -- initially being touted by Ackroyd in 2011 -- this might keep us happy in the meantime. The Blues Brothers film grew out of a musical skit series on Saturday Night Live in 1978 and even then featured legendary musicians (some of whom appeared in the first movie, two years later). Among the famed names were Donald 'Duck' Dunn, 'Mighty Mack' McTeer, Steve 'The Colonel' Cropper, 'Blue' Lou Marini, Steve 'Getdwa' Jordan, Willie 'Too Big' Hall, Matt 'Guitar' Murphy Jr, Paul 'The Shiv' Shaffer Murphy Dunne and Tom 'Triple Scale' Scott. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott Watch the desktop version of the Lego Blues Brothers wreck Lego mall video here.  To compare the Lego action with the original, see the side by side comparison below.

A new Mitsubishi Triton is on the way to replace the current model which was launched in 2006 and is nearing the end of its life.

The horse has not only bolted, but is by now well down the track. Photos of the 2015 Ford Mustang leaked yesterday from Autoweek magazine just 36 hours ahead of the car's unveiling in a synchronised global debut in five countries around the world. And now Time magazine has gifted the internet with even clearer images showing the Mustang exterior and cabin, giving an even better look at the car we'll get here before the endo of 2015, to replace the Falcon as a hero for the local Ford line-up. The Autoweek spreads have text on the pages, but it's largely unreadable, except a small area that appears to confirm the coming Mustang is 90kg lighter than the current model. The engine line-up hasn't yet been confirmed but is expected to include a choice of V8, V6 and turbo four-cylinder units  -- although we won't know which of those we'll get in Australia until the official reveal on Thursday night. It's also too early to get confirmation of prices, although Ford is said to be aiming under the $50,000 level for the base model. Stay tuned for more details -- and possibly more leaks. And visit our dedicated Ford Mustang hub  for more information, background, fun Mustang ads from the past and the awesome Ford Mustang remote-controlled chase video. Watch the desktop version of the 2015 Ford Mustang video here.  This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott   _______________________________________  

The entry price to get into a Porsche is just about to drop, with the new Macan crossover SUV arriving in Australian showrooms next year priced from $84,900 for the diesel SD base model -- about $15,000 less than the currently lowest-priced Cayenne, and likely to overtake it as the sales hero.On sale from next June, the Macan will arrive with a three-model line-up, with the diesel sitting under the $87,200 twin-turbo V6 S and the range-topping $122,900 Turbo.All three get a a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission with paddle shifters on the steering wheel, all-wheel drive and a V6 under the bonnet. The Macan S carries a twin-turbo 3.0-litre developing 250kW of power and 460Nm of torque, delivering a 0-100km/h time of 5.2 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono pack, and a top speed of 254km/h with claimed fuel economy of 8.7L/100km.The Macan Turbo is powered by a twin-turbo 294kW/550Nm 3.6-litre that gets to 100km/h in 4.6 seconds and tops at 266km/h, with 8.9L/100km fuel economy. The 190kW/580Nm 3.0-litre turbodiesel in the Diesel S delivers 0-100km/h in 6.3 seconds and a top speed of 230km/h with frugal 6.1L/100km fuel economy. Later models will include a future base variant with a turbo 2.0-litre petrol four-cylinder and a fuel economy leader with a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbodiesel.Watch the 2014 Porsche Macan video here.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott    

If you're going to do a concept car, go all out for the spectacular. And that's just what Mercedes-Benz did with the AMG Vision Gran Turismo concept created for the Gran Turismo 6 game and unveiled 'in the metal' at Los Angeles motor show as a 1:1 scale model. Watch the desktop version of the Mercedes AMG Vision Gran Turismo design video here. The Vision was collaboratively created by Merc's best designers around the world after a global challenge was thrown down by Gran Turismo creator Kazunori Yamauchi. The AMG and several vehicles borne from the challenge will released as future online updates for the game. Also watch: Mercedes AMG Vision Gran Turismo revealed video But for now, Mercedes has filmied a video that lets us go into the studios where the stunning car was designed, and get some background on its creation. It combines both classic and futuristic Mercedes cues -- and has hints of the coming 2015 SLS AMG GT that will be the final of the SLS 'Gullwings' -- with a long nose and wide stance enhanced by exaggeratedly muscular contours. Also watch: Gran Turismo 6 latest trailer video  The concept car is powered by a front mid-mounted handcrafted AMG V8 biturbo engine delivering 430kW of power and 800Nm of torque and makes its voice heard through an eight-tailpipe exhaust system, with a special exhaust note created just for Gran Turismo 6. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott _______________________________________