BT Design's ETAPE Concept Converts Skoda Yeti to Pickup Truck

Making its world premiere at this week's 2012 Auto Mobil International Show (AMI) in Leipzig, Germany, is a new concept model for a small Skoda pickup truck from BT Design, a subsidiary of Benet Automotive (BA), a Czech company that works closely with Skoda Auto. The ETAPE Concept is based on the production Skoda Yeti, itself a compact crossover model. The Czech company says that the only part of the car that remained unchanged is the bonnet.
Aside from converting the Yeti into a two-door pickup truck, BT Design also added a wide body kit with flared wheel arches housing larger alloy wheels wrapped in low profile tires and also kitted out the interior.
The Czech company says that the purpose of the ETAPE is to showcase the endless possibilities of customization.
Josef Zajicek, BT Design managing director and mastermind of the project commented:
"We want to inspire individuals and the whole industry. Our aim is to provoke even greater demand for individualization of cars from both end user and manufacturers. At the same time we want to present the possibility of building a completely unique promotional vehicles to order to various companies"‘

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Toyota GT 86 Coupe New Design

"Thanks to its affordable price starting at €29,990 [roughly US$37,200], sports car fans have a lot of room left for customization," states Toyota's German arm in a release regarding the debut of a new range of accessories for the European twin of the Scion FR-S, the GT 86. Understandably, the automaker's claim is debatable, but getting to the point, the newly launched collection for the GT 86 rear-wheel drive sports coupe includes several styling and equipment options.
On the design front, Toyota offers decorative racing stripes in matte black or matte silver for the hood, roof, boot and on the sides, along with carbon fiber mirror caps and a choice of 18-inch alloy wheels in matte black (€389), Himalayan Grey (€399) and the graphite "Ultraleggera" (€529) rims.
A 30mm lowered sports suspension (€189) can further enhance the GT-86's stance as well as improve handling.
For the interior, the Japanese firm's current offerings include the 'Toyota Touch & Go' multimedia and navigation system with a touch-screen color screen for €695 and JBL sound system for €1,045.

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Pagani Huyara 730hp

It's one of the rarest and most expensive production supercars in the world with only about 40 examples, priced at €845,000 (US$1.04 million) excluding taxes a piece, to be built each year. The new Pagani Huayra might have come to life at last year's Geneva Motor Show, but to date, very few people have sat in it, let alone test drive it.
Britain's EVO claims to be the first magazine to get behind the wheel for a full test of the carbo-titanium tubed exotic that sports a mid-mounted, AMG-built 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine good for 730bhp.
Get a taste of the sights and sounds, which as you will soon find out, include some very annoying…squeaks and creaks, of the Huarya in the video that follows below.

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2012 Concorso d'Eleganza Through the Eyes of the BMW Group

You know the old adage you can never get enough of a good thing, right? Well, in the case of the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d’Este 2012, this definitely holds true. After bringing you photos and separate reports on the bespoke design studies that debuted at last weekend's vintage and concept car show in Italy, we now have a few videos to share with you.
Up first is a video tour of the event from the BMW Group, which is the official automotive sponsor of the event, followed by several clips on individual concept cars like the Ford Evos, Rimac Concept One and the BMW i8.
Sit back and enjoy all of them right after the break.

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Mazda MX-5 Yusho Prototype with 237hp at Leipzig Show [39 Photos]

The new MX-5 Senshu Edition wasn't the only Miata to debut at Mazda's stand at the 2012 Auto Mobil International Show (AMI) in Leipzig, Germany, on Friday. Mazda surprised show-goers with a far more intriguing proposal in the form of the MX-5 Yusho prototype, named after the Japanese word for "Victory".
The matte white paint together with the 17-inch anthracite gray alloy wheels wrapped around in semi-click Toyo Proxes R888 tires size 215/45 R17, lowered suspension, boot lid spoiler and the carbon-fiber rear diffuser housing the centrally mounted twin tailpipes tell only part of the story.
The real magic occurs under the bonnet with the heavily fettled 2.0-liter MZR four cylinder petrol engine gaining a supercharger system, an intercooler, special Cosworth pistons and connecting rods, a custom exhaust system and reprogrammed software.
Other upgrades include the new fuel injectors and metal sport catalysts along with a beefed up transmission with a sports clutch.
All these modifications bump the four-banger's output from 158hp (160PS) at 6,700rpm to 237hp (241PS) at 6,800 rpm and peak torque from 188Nm (138 lb-ft) at 5,000rpm to 274Nm (202 lb-ft) 5,400rpm.
Mazda did not provide any information on the car's weight or 0-100km/h (62mph) acceleration time but did say that the MX-5 Yusho can reach a top speed of 240km/h (149mph).
There are more changes to be found under the body including the uprated suspension with Bilstein absorbers, larger stabilizer bars and lowering springs from Eibach.
Inside, the MX-5 Yusho study is enhanced with a suede-trimmed steering wheel and Recaro sport seats in leather and Alcantara.
No word if the Japanese automaker plans to produce or at least offer these upgrades on the production model, but we wouldn't hold our breath…

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