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If you’re into JDM legends, you’ve probably heard the Nissan Skyline GT-R R32 referred to as "Godzilla." But how did this nickname come about? Well, just like the monster itself, the R32 was a Japanese powerhouse that stormed onto the scene and completely dominated everything in its path.

A Beast Is Born (1989)

Back in the late ‘80s, Nissan had a mission: build a car that would destroy the competition on the track. What they created was the R32 Skyline GT-R, a high-tech beast packed with a 2.6L twin-turbo RB26DETT engine, a sophisticated ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system, and Super-HICAS four-wheel steering. Officially rated at 280 horsepower (but actually pushing much more), the R32 was ridiculously fast for its time.

Conquering the Track

From 1990 to 1993, the R32 entered 29 races in Japan’s Group A Touring Car Championship… and won every single one. Yeah, total domination. Then it went to Australia’s Bathurst 1000, where it crushed local V8-powered cars, leaving Aussie motorsport fans stunned. That’s when the Australian car magazine Wheels gave it the nickname “Godzilla”—a Japanese monster that came to destroy everything.

The Legend Lives On

The R32 didn’t just win races—it rewrote the rulebook on performance cars. It became the foundation for future GT-Rs (R33, R34, and R35), all carrying the Godzilla legacy. Even today, the R32 is one of the most iconic, tunable, and collectible JDM cars ever. It’s more than just a Skyline—it’s a legend that still rules the streets.

With the SEMA Show just around the corner, Kia is teasing its West Coast Customs-prepared Stinger GT show car. Judging from the lone teaser drawing, the Kia appears to have picked up a few visual enhancements like massive fender flares and an altitude adjustment. Aside from the widebody flares and lowering, Kia says there are other visual changes like a new front grille, a full carbon-fiber aero kit and a revised interior.

Kia didn’t mention any changes to the Stinger GT’s powertrain. We imagine there will be something done to the Stinger GT’s 3.3-liter twin-turbocharged V6, like a cold air intake or an exhaust system, to show what can be done to your personal Stinger GT when the time comes to start cutting it up. That said, with 365 hp on tap, the Stinger GT won’t need too much to turn it into a tire-roasting toy.

One week after revealing its SEMA 2018 Focus ST and RS lineup, Ford is now showing its Vegas-bound Mustangs. At the moment (and this likely won't change) none of the Mustangs you're about to see will be sold in dealerships, but all of their added-on parts and accessories will soon be readily available, if not already. SEMA is an annual tuning and accessories show that takes place in Las Vegas, but the show isn't open to the general public.Instead, it's more of a trade show, but mainstream automakers still bring some pretty interesting offers.

First up is the Mustang Fastback by Air Design, which features a full body kit, including a front bumper replacement, side skirts, a rear lower skirt, fender vents and an aggressive rear wing. Power comes from the familiar 2.3-liter turbocharged four-cylinder paired to the new 10-speed automatic. The body is covered in Sherwin Williams custom silver paint with black stripes, while the interior has Recaro leather seats.

Next up is the DRAGG Guardian-themed Mustang EcoBoost. Drag Racing Against Gangs and Graffiti (DRAGG) is a non-profit youth-oriented automotive after-school program. Equipped with a six-speed manual, Borla exhaust, Air Raid intake, and Ford Performance lowering springs, the exterior has 3D graphics, Petty’s Garage rear spoiler, and Federal Signal emergency lighting by West Coast Lights and Siren. The interior is covered in Katzkin leather.

MAD Industries’ 2018 Mustang convertible is also powered by the EcoBoost engine and six-speed combo, though the engine has been re-tuned with a Ford Performance intake and exhaust for added power. Outfitted with a set of massive 20-inch wheels, there’s also an APR Carbon Fiber Drag Wing for improved downforce and a more aggressive look. The interior has Braum Elite-X Series Racing bucket seats and, among other add-ons, 3M Crystalline automotive window films and a Classic Design Concepts light bar.

Of course Roush would bring a Mustang to SEMA. The longtime Mustang tuner created this custom-built wide-body Mustang featuring styling cues from the historic 1970 Boss 429. The exterior is finished in a commemorative hue of Ford’s Grabber Green. Equipped with various race-inspired carbon fiber parts and Vossen forged wheels, Roush also opted for the 5.0-liter V8, paired to that new 10-speed slushbox. The interior reveals Recaro Racing seats, Watson Racing roll cage, and SPARCO 4-point racing harnesses.

Tucci Hot Rods has opted to tackle the Mustang V8 fastback’s aerodynamics. Its goal was to reduce drag and increase power. Cool. It has a Hellion twin-turbo kit, DEI exhaust wrap, and Mishimoto radiator, transmission cooler and oil cooler. The exterior features an aluminum pro mod wing and rear diffuser, 3D-printed hood vents, and even a Stroud parachute.

Speedkore Performance Group opted to go with the Mustang GT Convertible, featuring many carbon fiber aero touches, upgraded suspension, and V8 engine enhancements. The exterior trim of brushed aluminum accents, is all handmade while the interior is covered in Bomber brown leather. Note the carbon fiber roll bar with aluminum trim, a deliberate retro touch. Ford Performance says “the tonneau cover is a modern throwback to classic speedsters and race cars from the 1930s.”

While we are waiting 1 November 2017, time when John Hennessey will unveil his Venom F5 - the Bugatti Chiron-baiting twin-turbo V8 hypercar. He hopes this car will beat last record.

Let's remember the fastest cars in the world right now and predict is Venom F5 going to be new leader?

Hennessey Venom GT (270 mph)

Hennessey recorded a 270.4-mph run at the Kennedy Space Center in 2014, but only in one direction. To be considered legitimate, record attempts usually require one run in each direction. An average is then taken to account for wind conditions.

Because of its hand-built nature, there’s also some debate about whether the Venom GT qualifies as a production car. While it can claim the highest recorded speed, Hennessey’s monster isn’t recognized as the world’s fastest car by the Guinness Book of World Records.

Bugatti Chiron (261+ mph)

The Bugatti Veyron was a monumental feat of engineering, a supercar whose performance was so marvelous, Top Gear presenter James May compared it to the automobile equivalent of the Concorde. After ten years of production, the Volkswagen Group has unveiled the Veyron’s successor, the Bugatti Chiron.

Named for a famous centaur in Greek mythology, the Chiron is intended to improve upon the Veyron in every way. Hitting 261 mph using street legal settings, the 1500 hp Chiron is like a beast in chains. On the racetrack, Bugatti aims to break those chains as well as the current speed record (271 mph) held by the Hennessey Venom GT. For now, its top speed remains a mystery to the public. Although the Chiron is built like a racecar, one needn’t be a professional to operate it; the car is engineered to automatically adjust its machinery as the speed increases or decreases, ensuring optimal performance.

The Chiron will not be a mere speedster, but a comprehensive luxury vehicle as well. Beyond a beautiful leather interior, the car also sports a decadent sound system, with a diamond diaphragm inside each speaker. The dashboard features high-resolution digital displays that will adjust as the car’s speed changes, showing only crucial information at higher speeds. The Chiron looks to be a king among supercars, which is fitting, as kings will be among the few to obtain one; only 500 will be released for the first generation, and they cost a staggering $2.6 million.

Bugatti Veyron Super Sport (268 mph)

When Volkswagen purchased the Bugatti brand, it had one goal: build the fastest production car in the world. The original Veyron achieved that goal, and with a price tag of $1.7 million and a quad-turbocharged W16 engine producing 1,000 hp, it also boasted the most superlatives of any production car.

Yet the Veyron was soon dethroned by the SSC Ultimate Aero, so Bugatti came back with the Veyron Super Sport. This Veyron-plus has 1,200 hp, and numerous aerodynamic changes meant to help gain a few extra miles per hour.

With a top speed of 268 mph recorded at Volkswagen’s Ehra-Lessein test track, the Veyron Super Sport is still recognized as the world’s fastest production car by Guinness. The related Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse is also the world’s fastest open-topped car, with a top speed of 254 mph.

SSC Ultimate Aero (256 mph)

Briefly, the might of the Volkswagen Group and the prestige of the Bugatti name were bested by a car company no one had ever heard of.

Shelby SuperCars (SSC) has nothing to do with Carroll Shelby of Cobra fame, but for a moment its Ultimate Aero was the fastest production car in the world. It hit 256 mph in 2007, beating the non-Super Sport version of the Veyron.

Helping it achieve that velocity is a 6.3-liter twin-turbocharged V8 with 1,287 hp. There are no electronic driver aids to help control that power either, creating a purer driving experience for those with talent, and a scenario for certain death for those without it.

Saleen S7 Twin Turbo (248mph)

Among performance addicts, the Saleen S7 is legend. There are several reasons for this — the exotic styling, insane performance, and incredible tuning potential to name a few — but much of the vehicle’s appeal is actually historical. Produced from 2000 to 2009, the S7 was America’s first mid-engined supercar.

It wasn’t just the first in the U.S. though; it’s one of the best supercars ever made. Built on a lightweight chassis crafted from aluminum and steel, the vehicle featured a hulking 7.0-liter V8 that produced 550 hp, allowing it to accelerate from 0 to 60 in 3.3 seconds. About halfway through its lifecycle, Saleen debuted the S7 Twin Turbo, which brought the car’s performance to near comical levels.

Now producing 750 hp, the vehicle could hit 60 mph in just 2.8 seconds before smashing the quarter-mile in 10.5 seconds. However, its most stunning statistic is its top speed of 248 mph, making it one of the fastest cars ever put to pavement.

Lamborghini has celebrated its 50th anniversary in Japan by staging the Asian debut of the Aventador S Roadster in the country and introducing a new limited edition model.

Called the "Aventador S Roadster 50th Anniversary Japan," the special edition will pay tribute to the five natural elements of Japanese culture including earth, wind, fire, sky, and water. Production will be limited to five units and each one is billed as a one-off model as it draws inspiration from one of the aforementioned elements.

The water version was displayed during Lamborghini Day in Tokyo and features a unique paint job that required ten people and 170 hours of labor to complete. The end result is pretty impressive as the black and blue combination blends perfectly with the exposed carbon fiber accents on the windscreen frame and hard top.

The unique styling continues in the cabin as designers installed Nero Ade black leather and Nero Cosmus black Alcantara upholstery. The black on black theme is broken up by blue stitching which "evokes the Japanese symbol for bamboo (Y)." Lastly, there's a carbon fiber plate which has the Japanese symbol of the car’s element.

Pencil November 1st in your diary, people. As that’s when John Hennessey will unveil his Venom F5 – the Bugatti Chiron-baiting twin-turbo V8 hypercar that he hopes will be the fastest car in the world.

Like the F5’s predecessor – the Venom GT – the Venom F5 has one overarching goal: going fast. Really bloody fast.

How fast? Well, given it’s named after the fastest and most powerful wind on earth, the F5 tornado – a gust capable of anything between 261 mph and 318 mph – it looks like the new F5 is set to have some big numbers on its speedo.

“I think something in the 290mph range will be possible,” boss John Hennessey told TG in an exclusive interview. Normally a claim so big from a manufacturer so small should be taken with a pretty hefty helping of scepticism. But don’t forget Hennessey has form. Could this be the first 300mph production car?

Unlike the Venom GT that was panned by naysayers as a mutated, boosted Lotus Exige, the F5 will have its own unique chassis, design and aerodynamic package formed around a carbonfibre tub housing a big ol’ American V8 with two big ol’ turbos attached for lots and lots of power.

As you can see from the video, John and his team have been very busy sculpting a car that pierces through the air yet conforms with Hennessey’s raison d’être of maximum power and minimal weight (nearly 500kg less than a Chiron) in a mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive package.

In this brief exclusive video, and the clearest image of the car yet, we see that the F5 has a low, mean outline designed purely around aerodynamics and CFD data. Both the front and rear has been opened up to allow gaping air vents to aid cooling but also channel air up and over the car to a spoiler suspended from two hydraulic struts that has potential to double up as an air brake a la Chiron and Ford GT. Handy when travelling at potentially twice the speed of a commercial airliner at takeoff. Apparently, this new design also gifts a roomier and comfier cabin than the previous-gen Venom. Out the back, there’s plenty of mesh for heat extraction, three triangulated bazooka exhaust pipes and a big diffuser to keep it planted at silly, silly miles an hour.

But before you spool up your thoughts and call poppycock on the claims, don’t forget Hennessey has been Bugatti’s dirty dancing partner for years. As you’ll likely be aware, Hennessey’s first hypercar, the 1,244bhp Venom, hit 270.49mph on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center runway: faster than the Veyron Super Sport’s 269.86mph recorded top speed (the Bugatti’s official 267.86mph figure, if you’re wondering, was the average of its upwind and downwind runs at Ehra-Lessien).

That run wasn’t enough to pinch the official Guinness top speed crown from Bugatti - the Venom’s run was only made in one direction, not back and forth, as required - but still emphatically proved the point. The Venom wasn’t slow. And is yet to be beaten by the as yet untested top speed of the Chiron.  

The upcoming Lamborghini Urus SUV is expected to double the Italian supercar maker's sales to roughly 7,000 vehicles per year - something that cannot be accomplished with the company's existing production facilities. Double the sales requires double the assembly line space.

That's why Lamborghini just put the finishing touches on a new state-of-the-art factory in Sant'Agata Bolognese, the same Italian village in which every Lamborghini has been produced since the 350 GT. The facility will be used to produce the Urus and also for finish work on the two other Lamborghini model lines currently in production: the Huracan and the Aventador. This carbon-neutral factory was built in just 18 months, and in addition to the assembly space, it includes a new test track with 13 different surfaces specific to SUVs.

“With our third model, we wanted to introduce the most innovative production technologies and smart factory concepts, supporting and complementing the activities of our workforce," said Ranieri Niccoli, chief manufacturing officer. Urus ushers in a new model of factory, which we call Manifattura Lamborghini, a new point of reference in the luxury automobile industry. The substantial resultant benefits include greater production flexibility, better information accessibility and the interconnection of systems: strengthening the professionalism of craftsmanship that has always distinguished us and supporting the doubling of our production volumes."

Taking production space from 80,000 to 160,000 square meters was not simply an expansion of floor space; Lamborghini aimed to give the factory a flexible layout to future-proof the facility and to create a space where robots and human workers work together.

The Urus is due on sale in 2018, but that's just the start of Lamborghini's expansion: By 2021, the company plans to launch a fourth model line. Recent comments by Lamborghini executives suggest that the fourth model line could be a front-engined four-door sedan in the spirit of the shelved Estoque concept or another supercar to fill out the supercoupe lineup.

The Dubai police force is already famous for its impressive collection of supercars, but where does one go from there? As cool as a Bugatti Veyron with a light bar may seem, the whole supercar thing is so last season. Supercars are out and hoverbikes are in, which is what Dubai showed off earlier this month at the GITEX technology exposition.

How would you like a speeder bike from "Star Wars: Return of the Jedi" but with the arguably higher stakes of four exposed propellers that can puree pedestrians into a soup, like in a late-night blender infomercial?

The speeder bike in question is a Hoversurf Scorpion 3, which is basically a scaled-up drone turned into a police motorcycle with four propellers at the four corners that allow it to hover at a preprogrammed height. Powered by batteries that can be swapped out to cut down on the three-hour recharge time, the bike can travel forward at speeds of up to 45 mph, with a maximum operating time of 25 minutes between recharges. The bike can also operate remotely without a pilot at speeds approaching 60 mph, but where's the fun in that?

As cool as this is, we have a feeling NHTSA certification in the U.S. could be hard to come by for a whole range of reasons, most of them having to do with the prospect of being completely ripped to shreds. But science demands sacrifices from time to time.

Don't book a flight to Dubai with the intention of spotting one of these in action: The bike is still a technology demonstrator, so evidently it's too dangerous even for Middle Eastern police forces. But the Dubai police are more open to using drones for surveillance purposes, so there's still the Orwellian route for these.

By now you know that Ferrari is celebrating its 70th birthday this year. By our estimate there have been approximately 4 million different celebrations of the Prancing Horse around the world – maybe five - and the year ain’t over yet. But 2017 also marks 70 years since the US Army Air Force became the United States Air Force, and 70 years to the day since then-captain Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier. Even Ferraris don’t go supersonic.

But how do you celebrate those three unique events together? You find a group like the Ferrari Club of America Southwest Region and a guy like Jim Bindman, vice president of the club. This is the same group that puts on the annual free Ferrari show in Pasadena called Concorso Ferrari, always a cool show. Three weeks before this latest event, Bindman, along with many generous volunteers and the cooperation of Vandenberg staff, put on a pretty impressive car show at Vandenberg Air Force Base, a couple hours north of Los Angeles, that included a real rocket launch that evening.

“Some car shows are larger and some may even shoot off some fireworks but I think our car show is the only one that launches an Atlas V,” Bindman said.

Three weeks later was the anniversary, and Bindman and the Air Force pulled out all the stops. The Air Force’s Ed “Disco” Buclatin of the 412 TW/PA at Edwards was event chairman for the commemoration of supersonic flight. That would include sub- and supersonic flights on Friday, Oct. 13 by a B1 bomber, F-15s, F-16s, F-18s, F-22s and F-35s. Some of these flights would circumnavigate Southern California so that much of the local population could see their tax dollars at work. Maybe you caught a glimpse of them. That night would be the Air Force Supersonic Birthday Ball in Edwards’ Hangar 1600. Guests of honor included 97-year-old General Bob Cardenas, who flew the B-29 that dropped Yeager and the X-1 into the history books and 94-year-old Yeager himself. The Ferrari Club group of 90 people were the only civilians. 

Then the car show was on Saturday, Oct. 14, the actual anniversary day of level supersonic flight. On the tarmac at Edwards 65 classic and modern supercars lined up around an F-16 and in front of a C-17, T-5 and within a couple hundred yards of some other pretty impressive modern and historic aircraft. Those included a: B-25 Mitchell bomber, B-52, Lockheed YF-117A Nighthawk, F-35, Spitfire Mk IX, P-40, F-4U Corsair and a TBM Avenger.

The cars on display were about half Ferraris and half other sports and supercars. The latter included no fewer than four Lamborghini Espadas, two Miuras, a Jalpa, and three Diablos; a Jaguar E-Type, six Lotus Elises, a McLaren P1, 650S and MP4-12C and an Aston Martin Virage, among others. The MP4-12C is for sale and I have the guy’s email if anybody wants it. The Ferraris included a 365 GTB4, 550, 360 and many others too numerous to name here, but check out the photos.

The entire Car Show weekend was coordinated by 412th FSS Director Janice Hollen. Thank you Janice!

Original Lexus IS looks quite boring; however, everything can change when team of professional starts to work. Eastside Motoring created Aggressive body kit, painted to the beautiful yellow colour and loaded 19 inch red Vossen alloy wheels.

Red wheels looks especially nice with Accuair Air Ride suspension system. Also, alloy wheels are same colour with the luxury interior, you can check it out in the image.

In the trunk you could find sound system and container with compressed air Accuair Airride and also beautiful LED lights.

We could very well spend all day listing all of the fantastic tuning companies. But to save some time, we’ve put together a few tuning companies that we believe have created some of the best available works of fine tuned art. Fell free to add more in companies at the comments bellow!

AC Schnitzer

Their slogan is “beyond the standard,” and their focus is BMW, including MINIs and motorcycles. The company has received a customer satisfaction rating of 4.85 out of 5 stars for reviews on their website and has certainly earned the reputation. They’ve been in operation for the past 25 years and “develops custom components which meet the highest standards of perfection.”

Their team of 55 employees has a key focus on the development of tuning accessories as well as complete vehicles to offer to world-wide sales networks. The team has exclusive importers and dealers in their area to allow for the best in BMW tuning for anybody around the world.

AMS Performance

AMS was founded in March 2001 with a commitment to developing the AMS 2.3 Turbo Ford Cam. However, as times changed for the company, they adapted to new dyno-systems, changing and improving with the times.

Today, they create some of the quickest, most respected high-tuned vehicles on the market with one goal: provide the highest quality, best performing vehicles available.

BRABUS

Listed as the “Best Brand 2013” by Auto Motor Sport, making this is the eighth time the company has taken the title. Founded in 1977, BRABUS began by building high-luxury, high-performance vehicles. The founders have been installing audio multimedia systems since 1982 and have more than mastered it since. They can modify and enhance just about any vehicle offered, or you can just buy a vehicle straight from their shop.

The company tests their work all throughout the year to ensure anything with the BRABUS badge is nothing but the best. Selecting your vehicle from a tuner has never been more engaging, as the company recently created a Car Configurator to allow you to create and modify your own car online. Choose anything, from the sound of your vehicle to the body kit and wheels, even the hand tailored interior, before you buy, then get your price. It’s outstanding.

Carlsson Tuning

When you want your Mercedes to not just be customized, but personalized, tuned and crafted for you, you go to Carlsson. The automotive tuner’s primary focus is to build individual cars for individualists. Carlsson tunes cars for Mercedes owners who want a luxury car that stands out as much as they do.

The company was founded in 1989 and has been hand-tailoring and crafting their very own interiors, aerodynamics and performance for Mercedes vehicles since. They are among the most respected and highest ranked aftermarket manufacturers today.

Hennessey

Hennessey Performance is a company that needs no introduction. They take your car, tune it their way and send it back to you with more power than you ever thought possible. They’ve recently begun distributing cars of their own, as well as shipping some to dealerships, such as Hendrick Cadillac in Kansas City, Miss. Hennessey is best recognized for their very own creation, a Veyron killing Venom GT, which was currently holding the world record for the quickest 0-300km/h time.

For a moment, that Venom was the fastest production car in the world, and, we believe, not far from taking that title once more. The Hennessey team is among the best of the best and offers nothing but the finest and quickest available today.

Kaizen Motorsports

Kaizen believes in offering the best in engine management systems for an affordable price. The word “kaizen” is actually the Japanese word for “improvement,” and is an appropriately fitting name. The company strives to improve Toyota and Lexus vehicles, and since 2004 they’ve managed to quickly become one of the best and most recognized tuners in the business.

They offer everything you may need to enhance your vehicle, from suspension to turbos, or you can simply take your car to their shop and tell them what you want it to do.

Lexani

As far as luxury goes, you have high-end, and then you have Lexani. The company offers their own forged wheels, as well as enhances the luxury accessories within your vehicle. They are the leader in luxury accessories and have been featured in publications such as the New York Times and Forbes. Based out of California, this world renowned company converts vehicles into the best Executive Vehicles in the industry.

They have only been in action since 2010, but since the launch they have grown beyond their wildest dreams. The quality and craftsmanship within the vehicles that leave Lexani’s garage are compared to levels of quality found in yachts and private jets. If you hunger for the best, and the true elements of royalty, then you need to call Lexani.

STARTECH

Since 1999, STARTECH has been enhancing Jaguars and Land Rovers to be more sophisticated than any owner could ever imagine. Beyond being improved, the owners have the opportunity to personalize their vehicles in innovative new ways.

Through their advanced abilities and ever growing customer satisfaction, STARTECH has grown to be one of the leading manufacturers in this industry. Their website boasts some fantastic vehicles for great bargains, and also displays some of their up and coming offers.

TECHART

TECHART is a tuning company that focuses on turning ordinary into extraordinary. They focus on creating enhanced Porsches through exterior designs crafted for aerodynamics and interiors made for the most appealing and luxurious comfort. All of their works of art have been catered toward the Porsche enthusiast that knows there is no such thing as perfection for any vehicle.

After decades of churning out updated versions of helicopters that first rolled out in the 1960s and 1970s, aerospace manufacturers are finally starting to look at new forms of small vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft as several companies try to pair electric energy sources with new propeller layouts. Airbus Helicopters is one such company, and this month it completed a full-scale test of the propulsion system for its CityAirbus concept -- a small eight-rotor VTOL craft designed for cities.

Still in engineering and prototype build stages, the CityAirbus envisions an electrically powered four-passenger craft meant for short flights -- from an airport on the outskirts of a major city to a city center, for instance -- powered by 100-kW Siemens electric motors for lift and for forward flight, drawing juice from a 140-kWh battery. The quad-fairing design uses a total of eight propellers and promises a much lower acoustic footprint, according to Airbus, in addition to greater safety and stability.

"We now have a better understanding of the performance of CityAirbus’ innovative electric propulsion system, which we will continue to mature through rigorous testing while beginning the assembly of the full-scale CityAirbus flight demonstrator," said Marius Bebesel, CityAirbus chief engineer.

What the CityAirbus does not promise, at least not right away, is autonomous operation which is what some competitors are currently aiming for; the VTOL craft will first be flown by a pilot for certification purposes, even though Airbus eventually wants the craft to be capable of autonomous flight.

Speaking of flight, the CityAirbus is expected to take to the air for the first time at the end of 2018, with the first test expected to be piloted by remote.

Range anxiety in cars is one thing, but when it comes to helicopter-like craft it's quite another, and the same thing goes for autonomous tech. The biggest question with this electric VTOL craft and others likely won't be airworthiness, but the capacities of their batteries, as well as their recharging time; the autonomous tech will come later.

To celebrate the release of Gran Turismo Sport for the PlayStation 4, Nissan built a car that perfectly blends video game driving and real-life racetrack antics.

The Nissan GT-R/C, as the name suggests, is a full size, remotely controllable Nissan GT-Rracecar. The car has four systems that control the steering, transmission, brakes and throttle, updating the controls up to 100 times per second. It is operated using an unmodified PlayStation DualShock 4 controller, and the system can operate the vehicle from up to 1 kilometer away.

Controlling the car from a helicopter flying above the Silverstone circuit in England, driver Jann Mardenborough achieved a top track speed of 131 mph. Mardenborough became a racecar driver after winning the GT Academy program, which gives virtual racers the chance to compete for a spot as a real-world racing driver.

Russia's new state limousine has recently been spotted undergoing winter testing in Scandinavia, shedding light on a mostly secret project that has been successfully kept under wraps for the past few years. Intended as a replacement to the long-serving ZiL 115 family of limousines and sedans, the new Porsche-engined limo is believed to make its debut during Vladimir Putin's expected inauguration next spring. But the best look at the upcoming limo came courtesy of patent filings disclosing the sedan's exterior design earlier this year.

First of all, you read that right: This thing is expected to be powered by a twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter Porsche V8 paired with a five-speed automatic, dialed down from 4.6 liters. This powerplant is expected to produce somewhere in the neighborhood of 600 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque. A second domestically developed V12 with a two-stage turbocharger is also expected in the lineup, producing around 860 hp and 737 lb-ft of torque. While the Porsche engine is pretty much confirmed -- this is the engine with which prototypes have been spotted testing -- the V12 is still in development.

What can we glean from the patent scans of Project Cortege, as it is currently known?

For starters, the resemblance to current Rolls-Royce models is mostly incidental, despite first impressions. The cars that Project Cortege is trying to mimic are vintage Packards and Soviet cars inspired by Packards such as the ZiS 110. The 110 was a World War II-era state car whose design and engineering was inspired by prewar Packards that were imported into the USSR and used by top party officials. In fact, if we look some of the later Packard concept cars such as the Packard Request, we can see the outlines of the grille that this sedan wears. Further nods to the Packards of the 1950s can be seen by the U-shaped inlets flanking the grille - once again prominently featured on the Packard Request concept.

The 1950s Packard themes are no accident, as a classic sedan called the GAZ 13 Chaika and one version of the ZiL 111 drew inspiration from Packard sedans of the 1950s. The Chaika remained in production until 1983.

Earlier versions of Project Cortege's design bore a much closer resemblance to 1940s Packards, but these designs were essentially diluted into what we see here. And what we see here, besides some vaguely Gothic themes, are long front and rear overhangs, a high ride height, thin C-pillars and a very slab-sided greenhouse. The result is a very top-heavy appearance with upright pillars and expansive windows - the opposite of a great place to start when it comes to armoring.

Second, these patent filings only reveal the exterior of the sedan; the project is expected to include a sedan, a six-person limousine, an SUV and even a luxury MPV. But it remains to be seen whether the manufacturer - the LiAZ bus plant 80 miles east of Moscow in the town of Likino-Dulevo - will actually get beyond the sedan and the limo. There is no doubt that there is enough will and money to batch-produce a few sedans and limos, but pushing even for Rolls-Royce-level production figures is not being seriously discussed. After all, there is only so much domestic demand for a handmade state sedan.

Third, there is the factor of the price, which is what doomed production of ZiL limousines back in the early 1990s. While the planned economy of the USSR could afford to build a couple of dozen money-no-object V8 limos per year, a spiritual successor to the ZiL limos still has to bear some connection to real-world economics (even though the vast majority of these are expected to be purchased by government agencies). But once again, there are only so many government agencies, and breaking even when it comes to a big, luxury limo with a Porsche V8 means a daunting unit cost.

Finally, there is the issue of the brand. No official name has been announced for the marque, which is unlikely to reuse the ZiL name as that car and truck factory no longer exists. The code-name Project Cortege and various related platform names such as EMP (no relation to electromagnetic pulse) give little hint of the direction that the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which is spearheading the project, will give this newly established marque.