Porsche stirred up some excitement this week when it released new photos of its 918 Spyder Prototype, which is now running through its testing stages in iconic Martini livery and adding a sense of history to the upcoming hybrid supercar.

Even those who aren’t Porsche freaks recognize the long relationship of the two brands, which a history that goes back to cars like the Porsche 917 Kurzheck from 1971.

From there, Martini would go on to become an official partner of the Porsche factory team in the mid 1970s.

The curves of the 918 look like they were practically designed for Martini colors, don’t they?

Fiat meanwhile has overhauled the UK’s Abarth lineup with two new models, the the 595 Turismo and the 595 Competizione. Both are powered by the same 160 horsepower turbocharged motor, but offer different cosmetic packaging. Here we see the Competizione…

…along with the Turismo in its distinct two-tone paintwork.

Lexus has unveiled the new LS this week, an evolution of its flasgship sedan that now includes the aggressive front fascia also seen on the new GS.

While not quite an M or AMG beater, the enthusiast’s choice will be the F-Sport version of the LS. The F-sport features more aggressive bodywork, upgraded suspension, an LSD, and larger wheels and tires among other things.

23,000 kilometers in a VW Touareg? That’s just what Rainer Zietlow and his team plan to do in their journey from Melbourne to St. Petersburg which kicked off last Thursday.

The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series made its annual stop at Indy for the Brickyard 400 over the weekend, which is where Ford Racing’s shooters captured this image of Greg Biffle’s car on the famous bricks.

Also caught at the Brickyard, the unmistakeable silhouette of King Richard Petty.

Lotus had a very good showing at the Formula One Hungarian Grand Prix over the weekend, with Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean taking the second and third spots on the podium behind race winner Lewis Hamilton.

Last Thursday the first Cadillac ATS for public sale left the assembly line in Michigan, and the GM released this image of an ATS going sideways to celebrate.

Meet the HR412E, Honda’s new competition engine for the WTCC Civic. Developed by Honda’s R&D facility in Tochigi, the 1.6 liter four cylinder has both direct injection and a turbocharger. Although designed specifically for race use, it does hint at a possible new direction for Honda’s production car motors.

Here we have the new Chevrolet Camaro stock car that will run in the NASCAR Nationwide Series in 2013.

The Camaro will join the Mustang and Challenger-styled cars that have already been competing in the series, rounding out the Muscle Car trio.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czFR4sNcNHg

Speaking of the Camaro, here’s some footage of the new 1LE lapping Virginia International Raceway.

Over on the other side of the pond we see MINI’s new John Cooper Works GP attacking the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Looks like fun…

At the Britcar 24 Hour Race in September, Toyota GB will campaign this GT86 in the Production Class.

The livery on the new car is inspired by the famous AE86 Corolla GT that ran in the British Touring Car Championship during the mid 1980s.

Finally, here’s some video of the incredible Ferrari F40 parade from the Silverstone Classic a couple weeks ago.

Always nice to dream, right?

-Mike

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