Bugatti Veyron easily wins a side by side race against the new Danish super car Zenvo ST1 by over 8 car lengths. It was a rolling start street race on a roadway in Abu Dhabi.

The deal for Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines Co. Ltd. to purchase Hummer from GM fell through on Wednesday and prompted the auto industry giant to announce it will be closing down the brand. The deal was halted after Tengzhong failed to acquire the correct permits from the Chinese government within the proposed timeframe.

Speculation is that either the Chinese government was resistant to the deal as a way for it to keep people from investing in the auto industry or due to environmental concerns with the brand or a combination of the two.

Hummer sold 71,524 units in 2006, its best year ever. After the gas hike in 2008 those numbers slowly dwindled to a pathetic 325 units in 2009. The only way Hummer would have survived would have been if it moved away from the same-old styling image; maybe even making civilian versions of the military’s future HMMWV replacement.

[via New York Times]

The Audi R8 is a machine that offers its occupants almost everything they could want out of a supercar: stellar handling, intuitive controls, and superb ergonomics. The one chink in the car’s armor is that it does not have outrageous power. That is where the Audi R8 5.2 FSI comes in; its 5.2-liter V-10 creates 105 more ponies than the base model’s 4.2-liter V-8. Since the V-10 has been receiving so much praise and automotive accolades, it was easy to see why Audi decided to make it the sole engine for the new R8 Spyder. Perfect package? Well, if you can afford it. Audi understands that the Audi R8 5.2 FSI Spyder with an estimated-but-not-confirmed price of $170,000 (it may be more) will be a bit much for some. So for 2011 Audi plans to introduce the R8 4.2 FSI Spyder, which will be propelled by the base V-8 engine and save its owner approximately $30,000.

[via Straightline]

As we peruse the duPont REGISTRY ads from time to time we come across a wide variety of vehicles. While we can normally anticipate finding some show cars, tricked-out imports, and plenty of luxury and exotic motor cars, we always find a few that cars that even shock us. Some are bizarre, some are extraordinary, and some are just plain old cool. Here are a few we came across today:

You know a list is going to be good when it starts out with a tank. The 1944 Sherman M4 Tank was the heart of the U.S. Armored Division during World War II and comes with a 450-hp diesel engine and wide rubber tracks. The highlight is, of course, the 76 mm cannon out front. We doubt you can drive this on public roads, but at $315,000 it is sure to be the future highlight of someone’s collection.

Our second find is a 1976 American Fire Pumper. The fire truck comes with full working lights and sirens, ladder, hose, generator, diesel engine, and automatic transmission. Decommissioned fire trucks can normally range anywhere from $10,000 to $150,000 in price depending on the model. This one might be a steal at $15,000.

If you would rather play cops and robbers than fire fighter, you may have just missed your chance. This 1949 Hudson Super 6 sedan police car recently sold for $14,300 at the Barrett-Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. It was an actual police car used in Johnston, Iowa, through the 1950s and 1960s.

At one point duPont REGISTRY had two Batmobiles on its site. One was a re-make of the one used in the original two movies of the early 90s, back when Michael Keaton was Bruce Wayne. This once is another replica but is based on the Batmobile used in the old television show featuring Adam West. The asking price of $200,000 will get you a Batmobile with the exact body dimensions as the original, functional flashing lights, drag chutes, machined turbine with operational flame throwing afterburner, cockpit domes, interior switches, gadget buttons, full gauges, wheel spinners, and Caped Crusader options such as bat phone, bat scanner, and bat ram.

For those that are more spiritual, we have a 1959 Cadillac that is made to look like the Ecto-1 from the Ghostbusters 2 movie. The car comes with working buttons, lights, sirens, computer-controlled LED signs, proton packs, ghost traps, accessories, spare parts, and other fun extras.

Found some of the first Rolls-Royce Ghosts for sale in duPont REGISTRY’s classified ads. The first dealer is ready to take orders and has some pictures of the demonstrator car that is sitting on its showroom. The other car has a Madiera Red exterior with a Crème Light interior and includes a laundry list of options. This is your first chance to get your hands on the exciting new Rolls-Royce Ghost. You can see the two Rolls-Royce Ghost ads here and here.

A Porsche spokesperson says the sport-car manufacturer may struggle to fulfill proposed U.S. gasoline-consumption laws despite filing a waiver to delay its meeting of those requirements until 2016 if the law is passed this May and goes into effect in 2012. The new rule would mean that Porsche new vehicles have to average 41.4 miles to the gallon; its range currently averages 27 mpg.

For years Porsche has paid fines for not reaching American fuel efficiency standards, but the cost to consumers has only been about $100 per car. The new law will raise the fines to approximately $37,500 per car.

“Economically this rule will restructure the entire industry,” said Walter Lewis, Porsche’s liaison to U.S. lawmakers. “It’s not the task of the government to decide on the winners and losers in the auto industry. This is not environmental policy, it’s industrial policy.”

Critics to Porsche’s claims say that most U.S. auto manufacturers will be able to meet the new regulations.

[via TheLocal.de]

**Update** Audi released all the details on the Audi RS5 soon after the brochure was leaked on the Internet. You can find our 2011 Audi RS5 Overview here.**Update**

Pictures of the RS5, a more potent version of the S5 coupe, lifted off a leaked brochure are making their rounds on the Internet. Reports of the RS5 being added to the Audi lineup started soon after the Audi S5 was first introduced in 2007 as a 2008. The RS5’s leaked brochure gives us a clear view of what the car will look like but it does not give us any insight into what will be under the RS5’s hood. Early estimates have the engine ranging anywhere from an uprated version of the 3.0-liter supercharged V-6 to the same 5.2-liter V-10 found in the R8 5.2 FSI. Depending on what Audi decides to use the RS5 is expected to make anywhere between 450–550 hp.

[via WorldCarFans]

One man has supposedly purchased ten of Aston Martin's latest supercar, the One-77. The buyer is from the Middle East and reportedly handed over £15 million, approximately $23 million, to make sure his order was filled by September. That leaves 67 cars left for the rest of the automotive world to enjoy.

[via CarsUK]

Audi has set up a new division with approximately 100 employees to work specifically on a range of electric e-Tron vehicles. The first car the team will produce will be the Audi R8 e-Tron, which we already confirmed was in the works. Production will began at a modest rate—approximately 100 units a year—but will ramp up to 1,000 units a year soon after that. In comparison, Audi built approximately 6,000 R8 coupes in 2009. The R8 e-Tron will be the most expensive model in the Audi line when it goes for sale in 2012, which means it will cost more than the $146,000 Audi R8 5.2 FSI. If the R8 e-Tron sells well, a full line of electric vehicles will see production.

"You can assume we'll have not just one but two or three or even more electric cars," said Filip Brabec, general manager of product planning for Audi of America.

[via AutoNews.com]

Winding Road has gotten its hands on some photos of the next generation Porsche 911 Cabriolet winter testing in Scandinavia. As with every other 911 since 1963 the styling is more evolutionary then revolutionary: The car does look at tad longer, which may help with rear leg room, and the headlights have been raised a bit. The revised engines and the new PDK transmission offering that Porsche unveiled in 2009 will likely stay the same for the new model.

[via Winding Road]