Bugatti has created what is likely to be the ultimate version of its dominating hypercar: the Super Sports. Bugatti’s official test driver Pierre Henri Raphanel was deployed to Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessian high-speed oval with the first Super Sports to see what the new model would be capable of. With representatives from Guinness World Records and German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV) on hand, Raphanel made passes around the big oval in both directions. …click here to read more

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Tesla Motors Inc., raised $226 million selling shares above its forecast in the first IPO of a U.S. automaker in almost half a century.

The Palo Alto, California-based company will use proceeds to pay for new factories and acquisitions, the SEC filing showed. This is the first U.S. automaker IPO since 1956 when Ford Motor Co. joined the markets.

C.E.O. Elon Musk, put up his personal fortune for Tesla while making almost $300 million selling his shares in PayPal Inc. and Zip2 Corp., the funds will be used to fund a startup that expects to lose more money in the next two years as it tries to build a battery-powered sedan.

The sale came after at least 35 companies worldwide postponed or withdrew IPOs since the start of May as the European debt crisis sent the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index down as much as 14 percent from its 2010 high. Can this spark a new wave of innovation in the U.S. automotive sector?

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Donald N. Frey, the engineer who responsible for the design and development of the original Ford Mustang. The affordably priced “pony car” that the Ford Motor Company rolled out in the mid-1960s in one of the most successful car introductions in automotive history.

Mr Frey died March 5 in Evanston, Ill., where he lived. He was 86.

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Audi is aiming at selling its high-end sedans in the United States in hopes to move its brand further upscale. With the launch of the 2011 Audi A8, Audi of America’s President Johan de Nysschen said that he expects the A8 sedan, A6 sedan and the upcoming A7 four-door coupe to account for 25 percent of U.S. sales within 5 years.

In 2009, the A8 and A6 models only accounted for 10 percent of Audi’s volume last year.

The A4 is now our center of gravity and half of our sales,” said de Nysschen. “If you have a higher presence in the high end, your brand will be perceived as more powerful, and it drives your profile.

De Nysschen wants the compact A4 to represent about 40 percent of Audi’s sales. Last year, Audi sold 82,716 vehicles in the United States.

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Ford Motor Company is pushing in-car technology in a huge way at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics show. Announcing MyFord Touch, an electronic dashboard that brings the intuitive nature of MP3 players and mobile phones to Ford vehicles. Technology that will redefine driver connectivity and interaction with their car.

MyFord™ which will be branded as MyLincoln Touch and MyMercury Touch on respective Lincoln and Mercury brand products, redesigns the in-car interface, mirroring how consumers interact with most devices in their lives using touch-sensitive buttons, touch screens, thumb-wheel controls and voice recognition. …click here to read more

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General Motors confirmed today that the proposed sale of its Saab subsidiary to Koenigsegg Group AB was terminated at the discretion of the buyer.

“We’re obviously very disappointed with the decision to pull out of the Saab purchase,” said GM President and CEO, Fritz Henderson. “Many have worked tirelessly over the past several months to create a sustainable plan for the future of Saab by selling the brand and its manufacturing interests to Koenigsegg Group AB. Given the sudden change in direction, we will take the next several days to assess the situation and will advise on the next steps next week.”

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Lexus is trying to control the inflation that comes with launching a new exotic car, especially ones that are limited-production models. Exotic car speculators often drive up the price and usually end up destroying the marketplace. Lexus plans to only offer a two-year lease of the new supercar at a fixed price that has yet to be announced.

At the end of the term, leaseholders will have the opportunity to purchase the car outright, at that time the title would be released to the purchaser. As Lexus’ vice president of sales and dealer development Brian Smith tells it, his company wants “people out driving the car and not just parking it in a museum or selling it at an inflated price.”

Lexus will also train 15 LFA specialists that will be located at the company’s four regional outposts, and the automaker will also pay for dealers to receive the special tools and training that will service the vehicles. …click here to read more

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