Mitsubishi Debuting Lancer Evo ‘Final Concept’ At 2015 Tokyo Auto Salon

Above is what the final Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X will likely resemble when it hits showrooms in the coming year.

Per Indian Autos Blog, the last of the Japanese interceptors — dubbed the Lancer Evolution Final Concept — will begin life as a five-speed manual GSR before receiving upgrades through and through.

Under the bonnet, the drivetrain will gain an HKS turbocharger, new intake and exhaust plumbing, better cooling, and a high-performance ECU. The result: the Lancer’s 2-liter four will deliver a max 473 horsepower to all four corners via its five-speed manual.

Outside, HKS height-adjustable suspension, 19-inch RAYS forged aluminum wheels wearing Yokohama Advan Neovas, and matte paint all help pull the Final Concept’s look together, allowing you to admire its glory with a White Russian in your hand.

The Final Concept will turn up at the 2015 Tokyo Auto Salon in early January.

2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4 ice drive: Raging bull vs. frozen Swedish lake

THE ARCTIC CIRCLE IS THE PERFECT PLACE TO PONDER LAMBORGHINI PHILOSOPHY

It’s tough to think of a car less likely to see action when the snow flies than the 2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4. Permanent all-wheel drive and optional heated seats notwithstanding, you just don’t hear about many of these V10-powered super-sports cars doing ski chalet shuttle duty.

Yet there’s something noble about making the counterintuitive choice -- selecting, if not the wrong tool for the job, then at least the less obvious one. So it’s fortunate that, when we returned to Arjeplog, Sweden recently, there was a small fleet of 2015 Lamborghini Huracán LP 610-4s waiting for us. What a coincidence!

Unlike last year’s quest to a different frozen near-Arctic Swedish lake to test the Volkswagen Golf R, the weather was suboptimal this time around: Temps hovering just above freezing ensured that the super-slick lake surface was covered with ugly puddles of slush, creating a fairly reasonable facsimile of Detroit’s winter roads--though there were fewer potholes to contend with.

Lamborghini claimed it had no tricks up its sleeve. The Huracáns we were to test were retail-ready models, same as the ones produced at a rate of 12 per day at the company’s Sant’Agata Bolognese factory. (Traditional family values seem to prevail there: despite a lengthy wait list, workers take the weekend off.)

The testers came equipped with Pirelli Winter Sottozero 3 tires, not the ultra-aggressive studded snows that are fun on ice but illegal on nearly all U.S. roads. Also production-spec was the alphabet soup of onboard safety and performance systems: LDS, ESC, 4WD, ABS, and something called the LPI -- more on that in a moment. It’s all there to tame what might otherwise be an unwieldy beast, and give the 602-hp bull some of the sure-footed nimbleness of, say, a mountain goat.

Not that you’d ever know it from our first moments behind the wheel. Things got off to a slow, steady and slightly sideways start on the 1,000-foot circle track, until we tried driving with traction control off. We looped the car. We tried again. We looped again. It was more humiliating than anything else; there are few consequences to wiping out on an obstacle-free frozen lake.

But our lack of confidence was a killer. One of Lamborghini’s taglines for the Huracán is “instinctive technology,” and after some time in the car it actually seems like something more than a buzzy slogan: You get the impression that it can sense fear. Or more accurately in our case, embarrassment.

Test driver Marco Passerini, a roughly 20-year Lamborghini veteran, soothed us with his calm demeanor and sage advice, building back our confidence through a slalom course. Watching pro drivers spin out on the deteriorating track helped us loosen up, too. When you calm down and begin to enjoy yourself, the car seems to respond in kind and it becomes easy and rewarding to set up for effortless oversteer. Tap the brakes ahead of the corner, turn the wheel, wait for the predictable rotation -- then firmly, confidently give it throttle, throttle and more throttle. The engine roars. It’s a good, organic sound. You’ll like it.

At these speeds -- between, say, 25 mph and 55 mph -- shifting isn't much of a consideration; you'll spend most of your time in second or third gear. You can lazily, or not-so-lazily, slide through corners sideways in “sport” mode, or switch to “corsa” if you’re gunning for maximum speed -- this track-oriented drive mode sends more torque to the front wheels to help drag you out of corners. Switch ESC off if you desire, but leave the comfortable “strada” mode for highway driving; it’s not every day that you get to slide across a frozen lake.

Differences between modes, each selectable through the Huracán’s ANIMA system (that stands for "Adaptive Network Intelligent Management"), were readily apparent in these extreme low-traction conditions. Which is better is a matter of opinion. Passerini was said to prefer the feel of the rear-biased sport; Mario Fasanetto, another driver who began his Lamborghini career as a tech in the 1990s, leaned toward Corsa. That’s the joy of selectable drive modes. You can have it your way; both are Italian-test-driver-approved.

“I am very happy for you,” Passerini said sincerely (we think), shaking our hand after a fairly solid run on a 1.4-mile circuit. “This improvement was after a short time driving. Give it one, two more hours…” If only.

As we warmed up after the drive, we sat down with vehicle dynamics engineer Lorenzo Rinaldi. He’s been at Lamborghini for going on eight years -- not bad for a first gig straight out of Polytechnic University of Turin’s automotive program. Dressed head to toe in Lamborghini gear, including a pair of 50th anniversary pants (surprisingly tasteful), he was proud of what his team accomplished with the Huracán and eager to tell us anything and everything we wanted to know about its guts in terms we could mostly understand.

Take the Lamborghini Piattaforma Inerziale, or inertial platform, a little aerospace-derived box containing a set of accelerometers and gyroscopes. The tech behind the LPI isn’t exactly an industry first; similar systems are used by engineers in the development phase of nearly every car on the road, and aftermarket systems are available to track day enthusiasts, explains Rinaldi. (Incidentally, Honda’s early-1980s Electro Gyrocator pre-GPS navigation system, which may or may not have been installed a couple of Accords, operated on the same principles.)

The key difference here is that Lamborghini decided to keep the inertial platform for production. It’s mounted at the Huracán’s center of gravity, tucked just behind the seats. Think of it as a sort of mechanical vestibular center tasked with measuring the Huracán’s yaw, pitch and roll in real time -- then feeding that information to the aforementioned alphabet soup of onboard performance and safety systems.

Ideally, everything works in perfect harmony to deliver maximum performance, seamlessly and under any road and climatic conditions. It’s the kind of thing that you wouldn’t notice unless it was switched off, at which point the senses and reactions of the car’s many performance and safety systems would feel somewhat dulled.

Making it all play nicely together can be tricky. “Sometimes you control a movement of the body with the [incorrect] system,” Rinaldi says. “Maybe you try to control it with the damper, but it’s better to send torque to the front wheels -- or to one wheel. It depends.” These potential conflicts are hashed out in the development process; on production cars, the complex ESC system tends to take precedence.

Lamborghini likes to think all this added complexity is worth it. On a car like the Huracán, at least -- don’t expect to find it on your next crossover. First, it costs too much for the vast majority of production cars. Second, according to Rinaldi, “You need a car that can react.” The Huracán’s carbon fiber/aluminum composite chassis is stiff enough -- 50 percent stiffer than theGallardo, in fact -- to take full advantage of the roughly 10 millisecond input/response cycle achievable with the LPI.

Lamborghini’s engineers are “really satisfied” with the results of the Huracán program, Rinaldi tells us, and we’re inclined to echo the sentiment. “You’ve driven in these conditions, in which you cannot stand, cannot walk. And you can do it at 80 kph.” Indeed. You’ll have the time of your life doing it, too. That 600-plus hp could ever be controllable, much less enjoyable on ice is something we shouldn’t take for granted.

Yet there’s this nagging feeling that reliance on an always-active digital nervous system detracts from a sports car’s purity, however unquantifiable that factor might be. It feels philosophically wrong, somehow. Rinaldi seems to sympathize: “We talk about it a lot, because some of us, probably all of us, think that passive [systems] are more ‘pure.’” The reality is that Lamborghini dealerships sells cars to normal, if well-heeled, people -- not just the one-in-a-million pro-level drivers skilled enough to drive them flat-out.

The challenge is to find some sort of balance that lets the average buyer enjoy 90 percent of what the car has to offer -- and do it safely, whether on dry tarmac or icy pavement. The Huracán is, according to Rinaldi, “in the end, not so pure like a car from the 1980s. But it gives you the chance to be faster. We can stop everything and say we’d like to have everything passive, but the world is moving on -- and when you make a mistake, the car can help you.”

We’re part of the crowd that’d be lucky to get 90 percent out of a car like the Huracán. You’re very probably right there beside us, and if you think otherwise, well, we’re always thrilled to learn that there are professional drivers in our audience. Set machismo aside for a moment and recognize that, with its combination of excellent chassis design, naturally aspirated power and technological wizardry, the Huracán is almost certainly more capable than you are. Recognize that this fact enables you to do some truly ridiculous things with it.

That, more than anything else, is what we took away from the ice drive experience. Watching the small fleet of brightly colored cars kick up powder as they slipped sideways through icy corners, falling snow muffling screaming V10s in the early Scandinavian twilight -- the whole scene was so incongruous that it somehow felt right.

If one in 100 Huracán owners takes his car to the track regularly, then perhaps one in 1,000 contemplates using it as a $250,000 winter beater. That, in our mind, makes it the ideal car for cold-weather driving. It’s certainly, if improbably, up to the task -- provided you are. The roughly nine-month wait from when you place your order to when you take delivery should give you plenty of time to find a suitable ski rack.

2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 Road Test

Quick Summary
Wicked power. Endless grip. Fantastic brakes. Functional aerodynamics. If that were all the 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 offered it would still be a winner, but it also has the same superb ride quality as the normal Corvette, which makes it a class leader by a country mile. If the new Z06 was wearing anything other than a Chevy badge, it would be twice the price.

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What Is It?
The 2015 Z06 starts with the superlative platform of the new Corvette Stingray and turns every knob to 11. The normal Corvette has a 6.2-liter V8 that makes up to 460 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. For the Z06, Chevy added a supercharger to the 6.2-liter V8 that pushes output to 650 hp and 650 lb-ft of torque.

To help wrangle all that power, Chevy added ultra-fat (285/30ZR19 front, 335/25ZR20 rear) tires that required widening the fenders by more than 2 inches up front and more than 3 in back. Beyond the less-than-obvious width increase, the Z06 also gets additional external changes including a unique front splitter, spats by the front wheels that lead into black fender extenders, larger side vents, and a hood and rear spoiler made from carbon fiber. Interior changes are minimal, a flat-bottom steering wheel with a "Z06" logo being one of the only noticeable upgrades.

What Body Styles and Trim Levels Are Available?
The 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 is available as coupe (with removable roof) and, for the first time ever, as a convertible. Pricing for the coupe starts at $79,990, while the convertible starts at $84,990. A slick seven-speed manual transmission is standard, while the eight-speed automatic adds $1,725 to the price.

Like the Corvette Stingray on which it's based, the Z06 is available in three trim levels: 1LZ, 2LZ and 3LZ. The differences here are mostly to do with interior trim and options. The 3LZ trim comes with napa leather seating, navigation, Chevy's Performance Data Recorder and the highest price tag. More important and interesting, however, is one line-item on the options chart, the Z07 Performance package.

This $7,995 option transforms the already racy 2015 Z06 into a track-ready beast that will run with any street car in the world. At any price. From any manufacturer.

Additions include functional aerodynamic enhancements that produce downforce you can actually feel, a stiffer suspension and carbon-ceramic brakes the size of cymbals (15.5 inches up front). A set of ultra-stickyMichelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires are also part of the package. They're so close to slicks, a Michelin rep told us that they're counting on Chevy and dealers to warn people about using them around standing water.

How Does the Base Z06 Drive?
The base C7 Z06 with a manual transmission is remarkably civil. As with the Stingray, if you keep to a reasonable speed with the standard magnetorheological suspension in Comfort mode, the Z06 loafs along, barely above idle, cruising over road imperfections as if they're not even there. Road noise is minimal, wind noise nonexistent. It's not twitchy and on edge, goading you into driving like a lunatic the way a Porsche 911 GT3 or the last-generation Chevy Z06 does. The C7 Z06 is restrained until you want it not to be and then...whoa.

Engage Track mode, punch the gas and try to remember that a death grip on the wheel isn't doing anyone any good.

You hear the supercharger whine, the exhaust changes from a muted whoosh to an open-mouthed belch and the traction control light flashes what we can only assume is Morse Code for "650 horsepower through the rear wheels and you went full throttle?" With the manual, 1st gear is just a smokescreen generator. With a smart shift, 2nd hooks up and rockets you past 90 mph. Bang it into 3rd and hang on. With hot tires there's no wheelspin as you think about how decent a life you've lived as 120 mph rolls on by.

When it comes to cornering, like the Stingray, the Z06 is pointy. There's no steering delay and the nose goes where you point it the millisecond you ask it to. The difference is that with nearly 200 more horses, things happen faster. With Chevy's genius traction management turned off, the base Z06 takes a delicate right foot and quick hands to stay straight. Unsurprisingly, it can get a little loose. Keep the system on.

Adding to the trickiness, the Z06 comes with steel brakes that simply aren't up to the task of keeping the Z06 in check. On a short loop at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch that saw top speeds in the low 130s, we experienced brake fade on the first hot lap, which is a disappointment. The Z07's carbon-ceramic discs would make a great upgrade, but aren't available on the base car.

Though this isn't the fastest way around a racetrack, it's so much more exciting than anything else you can get for $80,000. Alive and responsive, frightening but controllable, this could be our favorite Corvette ever.

How Much Difference Does the Z07 Package Make? 
The Z07 package takes all of that speed potential and adds the brakes, aerodynamics and tires the Z06 so desperately wants. The result is a car with videogame-like manners. More speed means more downforce means more grip means better cornering. Couldn't get back on the power soon enough at exit? Who told you to slow down so much going in? Front end got squirrely at that corner entry? Go faster.

Every bit of the Z07 echoes this ethos. The giant carbon-ceramic brakes are unflappable. The liquid in your inner ears will fail before they do. The Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2s are racecar tires in disguise. The automatic transmission is an outstanding track-day secret weapon that should be banned by any sane regulating body. Yes, the automatic Z06 is the fastest Corvette you can buy.

On the road, the eight-speed is fine for cruising, but can be jerky at very low speeds, fails to respond to manual inputs well and times out of its more aggressive sport modes far too early. On the track, however, the 8AT is as close to perfect as we've experienced.

Ignore the paddles, stick the thing in Drive, turn the dial to Track and go set the fastest lap of your life. The transmission, talking to all of the other sensors in the car, knows what you're doing and predicts without fail when to hold gears, when to upshift and exactly how quickly it needs to downshift. Go boot up Forza, select your favorite high-dollar exotic and race in fully automatic mode. It's like that but better.

On the track we were some 20 mph faster through certain corners and on the road, there are no sacrifices beyond a lower top speed and the fuel efficiency hit that the aero and tires will ultimately cause. The only downside is the Z07 car makes it almost too easy: Endless grip, flawless brakes, predictable electronics. Who needs experience?

What Is the Interior Like?
The Z06's interior is exactly like that of the Corvette Stingray. The only difference is a small plaque that tells you how much horsepower and torque the Z06 makes, and a flat-bottomed steering wheel that says "Z06" on it.

Like the Stingray, the Z06 is available with either the touring seats or the more aggressive competition seats. We like the look of the Competition seats better, but found they can be a little tight in the shoulders and we're disappointed that they don't sit lower than the normal seats.

In a car like the Z06 where a driver has a high chance of wearing a helmet, we'd like to see more headroom available. We also noticed on Z07-equipped cars that both seats rocked forward slightly on hard deceleration.

What Kind of Unique Safety Features Does It Have?
The 2015 Z06 is a road car and has everything you'd expect like antilock brakes, a back-up camera, a host of airbags and GM's OnStar suite of emergency services. And with this motor, we're going to lump Chevy's magical Performance Traction Management (PTM) into the safety category.

PTM is what makes it possible for a mainstream company to sell a 650-hp rear-drive car to normal people. When fully engaged, PTM allows a whiff of wheelspin, even under full throttle. Even midcorner. As you get more comfortable with the way the car behaves, there are a handful of more advanced modes that require you to know what you're doing, but simply help the car put down the power. In the focused Track modes, it's clever enough for the driver to go full-throttle at the apex, steer toward the exit and let PTM figure out the traction. It's not as fun as sliding around like a lunatic, but it is way faster.

What Are Its Closest Competitors?
Dodge Viper: The bad boy among bad boys. The Dodge Viper was finally forced to add traction control, but it's still a beast. The 8.4-liter V10 now makes 645 hp and 600 lb-ft of torque. The only transmission is a six-speed manual, and the most advanced traction control available is the one that links your brain and right foot. In a comparison test against a Z51-equipped Corvette Stingray, the Viper barely eked out a victory on the track. After a massive price drop, the Viper now starts at $86,990.

Nissan GT-R Nismo: The Nismo might be the final iteration of this generation of Nissan GT-R, and, boy, is it a doozie. The Nissan's twin-turbo 3.8-liter V6 makes 600 hp and 481 lb-ft of torque, and that's delivered to the pavement through all four wheels. Add the upgraded suspension and aerodynamic tweaks and the $150,000 price doesn't seem so bad. Unless you compare it to the Z06.

Porsche 911 GT3: Call it the gentleman's racer if you must, but Porsche managed a real feat with the new GT3. Porsche squeezed 475 hp from a naturally aspirated 3.8-liter six-cylinder, and the GT3 does zero to 60 in 3.3 seconds. Not bad for a car that's made for racetracks, not straight lines. Prices start around $150,000.

Why Should You Consider This Car?
You want a car that'll get you to the track comfortably and then whoop everybody out there. Horsepower doesn't scare you, but being boring does.

Why Should You Think Twice?
The 2015 Chevy Corvette isn't subtle. It shouts its performance potential from the rooftops and looks every bit the part of almost-racecar. That's not everyone's bag.

Edmunds attended a manufacturer-sponsored event, to which selected members of the press were invited, to facilitate this report.

2015 Mini Cooper S Hardtop Four-Door Road Test

Quick Summary
With a revised Mini Clubman still in the concept stage, this 2015 Mini Cooper Hardtop Four-Door fills the somewhat confusing gap between the traditional two-door Cooper and the larger Countryman and Paceman crossovers. The four-door retains the Mini's lively spirit and improves on the formula with much more convenience.

What Is It?
Visually, the four-door Mini Hardtop is very similar to its two-door sibling. Bumper-to-bumper, the four-door is 6 inches longer, with 2.8 inches of that length added between the front and rear wheels. A longer rear overhang makes up the rest. While these measurements may not seem all that significant on paper, the advantages gained on the inside certainly are.

With more rear legroom, the four-door Mini can now easily accommodate child passengers and small adults. Cargo space increases a full 50 percent compared to the two-door hardtop. For those drawn to the Mini brand, the four-door may be more attractive than the ungainly Clubman. As importantly, it is just as fun to drive as the two-door model. When it comes to price, the four-door continues to score points, as there's only a $1,000 premium to get the two extra doors.

Prices start at $22,550 for the base model four-door hardtop that is powered by an adequate 134-horsepower 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine. The $25,950 Cooper S version gets a 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder that boosts output to 189 hp, along with a torque-vectoring limited-slip differential that allows it to corner with more aggression. Our Cooper S test vehicle came with almost every option available, including the six-speed automatic transmission and the aptly named Fully Loaded package, sending the price soaring to $35,900.

How Does It Drive?
With a flip of a flat toggle switch glowing red in the center stack, the engine rumbles to life with a pleasing low hum. At start-up, the Mini defaults to its Normal driving mode. A rotating collar switch around the gear selector activates the Sport and Green modes with a quick flick. Sport mode sharpens throttle response, holds gears at higher revs before shifting and increases steering effort. Green mode goes the opposite direction by dulling responses and upshifting earlier to maximize fuel efficiency. Had our test vehicle been equipped with the $500 Dynamic Damper Control option, the drive setting would also adjust the ride stiffness.

Not surprisingly, the Normal mode is a happy medium for daily driving. Green Mode makes the Mini feel as though it's trudging through a thick pool of molasses, but in heavy traffic it's not a problem. What is bothersome, however, is the automatic stop-start function that is engaged in Green mode. When the car is stopped, the engine automatically shuts off. When brake pressure is reduced, the engine restarts. The system is nothing new, but Mini's execution is significant because start-up sends a strong shudder through the vehicle. Fortunately, it can be disabled while retaining Green mode's other attributes.

Sport mode is likely of greater importance to drivers willing to step up to the Cooper S model, of course. In this setting there's more immediacy in the controls, bringing out the playful Mini personality and allowing drivers to extract the maximum performance from the drivetrain.

In Edmunds' testing, the Cooper S four-door reached 60 mph in 6.3 seconds, which is close to most competitors. There's good torque right off the line, and gearchanges are quick and smooth. There's also no sign of the torque steer that used to plague performance-focused hatchbacks. Selecting Sport mode further livens up things with quicker and more noticeable shifts. Steering-wheel-mounted shift paddles allow the driver to take full control of the transmission, and the reactions to inputs are immediate. Rev-matched downshifts are perfectly executed. Of course, you can do it yourself with the six-speed manual, which comes standard.

The brakes are also up to hot hatchback standards when you need to slow down in a hurry. From 60 mph, the four-door required 116 feet to come to a stop, which is a few feet longer than rivals, but still very acceptable. Even with a full stomp on the brake pedal, the Mini remains solidly composed, with very little nosedive and no squirm. After repeated panic stops, the pedal softened, but stopping power remained strong.

Is It Fun?
Despite the larger footprint, the four-door Mini Cooper S is just as fun to unleash on twisting mountain switchbacks as its smaller siblings. When driven with enthusiasm, the car responds with very predictable actions and even dares you to push harder. It instills trust very early on and in some ways it feels a bit more settled than the shorter-wheelbase two-door model. You won't be chasing down dedicated sports cars in a Mini, but it will deliver plenty of thrills and smiles.

If driven just past the handling limit, the stability control system does an excellent job of keeping you on your intended path. A subtle brake application on the appropriate wheel can be felt, and that's just enough to keep the car from pushing toward the outside of a turn. The fun is never interrupted by an overly intrusive system. Four doors, it seems, come with no downside.

Is It Comfortable?
The Mini Cooper S represents the middle ground of performance between the standard Cooper and the top-of-the-line John Cooper Works model. For the added handling ability, the Cooper S does sacrifice some compliance, but ride quality isn't objectionably stiff. Shoppers seeking a softer ride may want to forgo the larger wheel options.

Our test vehicle came equipped with the optional sport seats, which provide excellent lateral support when cornering and just enough adjustments to accommodate a variety of body types. Even so, the aggressive side bolstering may be constricting for wider passengers. Plush seat cushioning remained comfortable after several hundred miles of road tripping, but the thin armrest padding did create some elbow discomfort.

The rear seats are positively spacious compared to the two-door Cooper, but there are still some limitations. There's enough headroom in the rear seat for the average adult, but legroom is tight. The front seatbacks are scooped out enough to accommodate rear passenger legs, but there's no room to stretch out. Smaller passengers will fit fine.

How Is the Interior?
Thanks to the additional two doors, rear passengers no longer have to tunnel between the front seats and roof support. The doors are rather narrow, but access is significantly easier. Otherwise, the interior is just like other Mini models, with all the personality we've come to expect.

Outward visibility is as good as it gets for any vehicle. So good, in fact, that it renders the optional rearview camera unnecessary. Likewise, the gauges and infotainment screen are placed well within the driver's sight lines. With the optional head-up display, speed and navigation prompts are even easier to read.

Throughout the cabin, heavy toggle switches and unique trim elements add a lot of visual interest that is absent in other hatchbacks. Materials quality isn't much better than rivals, but the texturing and styling go a long way toward improving the overall feeling of quality. Surrounding the round infotainment panel in the middle of the dash is an array of accent lights that react to driving conditions as well as system commands. There's a certain cool factor to these lights at first, but at night they can be distracting. Once the novelty had worn off, we disabled them.

One of our main gripes with the current Mini interior is the placement of the infotainment controller. It's mounted too low in the center console to reach and operate comfortably and is further obstructed by the optional center armrest. And that's really a shame because the system, which is nearly identical to BMW's praiseworthy iDrive, is otherwise very easy to use and benefits from a wealth of features.

Interior storage also leaves a bit to be desired, as door pockets, cupholders and even the dual gloveboxes are on the small side. Cargo space does reap the rewards of the four-door's bigger profile, providing 13.1 cubic feet behind the rear seats compared to the two-door's meager 8.7 cubic feet. Folding the split rear seats increases capacity to 40.7 cubes. Underneath the raised trunk floor is an additional space for smaller items, and the panel can be lowered quickly to provide a flat load floor. Despite the cargo capacity increase over the two-door Cooper, the four-door still comes up short of both the VW GTI and Ford Focus ST.

What Kind of Fuel Economy Does It Get?
The EPA estimates fuel economy at 29 mpg combined (26 city/33 highway), which is slightly better than competing sporty hatchbacks. These estimates were confirmed by our overall average of 28.2 mpg, which included many miles of exuberant driving.

What Safety Features Are Available?
On top of the typical standard safety features found in all current vehicles, the 2015 Mini Cooper S Four-Door also includes front knee airbags and full-length side curtain airbags. Rear parking sensors and a rearview camera are optional.

What Are Its Closest Competitors?
Ford Focus ST: In terms of performance numbers, the similarly priced Focus ST outpaces the Mini Cooper S by a slim margin. Behind the wheel, however, the Focus feels more capable and even exhibits some tail-happy antics that are rare among front-wheel-drive cars. With a cargo capacity of 23.8 cubic feet behind the rear seats, the Focus handily defeats the Mini when it comes to utility. Of the few downsides, the MyFord Touch infotainment system can be frustrating to use and there is no option for an automatic transmission.

Volkswagen Golf R: Currently the top-dog hatchback, the 292-hp, all-wheel-drive Golf R takes GTI performance to all-new levels. All that power and handling comes at a cost, though, as it rings in about $11,000 more than the Focus, Mini and GTI.

Volkswagen GTI: As the originator of the sporty hatchback segment, the GTI is a solidly built performer with a more serious approach and design. It's not quite as engaging to drive hard as the Mini or Focus but it still posts performance numbers that keep it competitive. The VW's 22.8-cubic-foot cargo capacity also beats the Mini and it's available with a six-speed automated manual transmission.

Why Should You Consider This Car?
Charm has been one of Mini's strongest selling points, and the Cooper S has it in spades. With the addition of the four-door model, many of the space and cargo drawbacks are reduced without any appreciable influence on performance and entertainment. As an added incentive, Mini offers free scheduled maintenance for the first three years or 36,000 miles of ownership. VW offers one year of maintenance, but with Ford you're on your own.

Why Should You Think Twice About This Car?
Despite being larger than its two-door sibling, this Mini may still pose challenges to shoppers with an eye on practicality. If space, whether it's rear passenger or cargo-related, is a priority, the Mini Cooper S four-door trails its main rivals by a sizable margin.

The manufacturer provided Edmunds this vehicle for the purposes of evaluation.

2016 Audi R8: We Ride in and Detail the Next Four-Ringed Supercar

Almost 12 years ago, Audi unveiled the 2003 Le Mans Quattro concept, a supercar that signaled the brand's boundless ambition. Just three years later, it morphed into the production R8. Built on a platform shared with the Lamborghini Gallardo, the R8 married everyday usability with supercar performance. Now Audi is launching the second-generation R8—and we were invited to come along for a ride in a development mule being flogged on the Ascari racetrack in Spain. We sat in on some hot laps driven by race-car driver Frank Stippler and were able to talk in-depth with engineers about the new model.

EVOLUTION, NOT REVOLUTION

One thing is certain: Audi didn't reinvent the wheel. The new R8 stands on the thoroughly updated platform of the predecessor, now called MSS, or Modular Sports System. It is shared with the Lamborghini Huracán, but it doesn't bear any similarity to the Porsche 911. At some point down the road, corporate step-siblings Porsche and Audi will have to sit down together and figure out how to get synergies out of their next generation of sports cars. As it sits, the new R8 was conceived before Porsche became part of the Volkswagen Group.

Thanks to a clever materials mix, the new R8 was able to shed more than 100 pounds compared with the current car, and its center of gravity is even lower than before. The R8 is also more powerful than ever. The slightly modified, naturally aspirated 5.2-liter V-10 is a high-revving engine, with an 8850-rpm redline, and it cranks out a healthy 540 horsepower (up from 525). The V10 Plus model adds another 70 horsepower for a total of 610 (versus the previous 550). At its launch, the new R8 will have only the 10-cylinder—no V-8 will be offered initially.

With more power and less weight, the 2016 R8 V10 is, predictably, faster. The sprint from zero to 62 mph takes 3.5 seconds—or 3.2 seconds for the V10 Plus, according to Audi. Top speed is rated at an ungoverned 201 mph or 205 mph, depending on the model.

OUT GOES THE GATE

Despite the old-school powerplant, when it comes to the transmission, Audi turns its back on tradition. The wonderful manual transmission of its predecessor, with its metallic gated shifter, is gone. The new R8 comes only with a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. The console shifter looks futuristic, and shifting action is ultraquick, but we’re sorry to see the manual go.

As before, torque is transmitted to all four wheels via Audi’s Quattro four-wheel-drive setup. The default distribution is slightly rear-biased, although it is fully variable from 0 to 100 percent on each axle. Standard kit includes 19-inch wheels; 20-inch rolling stock is optional, as are carbon-ceramic brakes. Audi has fitted a water-cooled front differential and a passive limited-slip rear differential, as well as electromechanical power steering. The variable, magnetic-ride suspension again will be offered as an option. Audi’s Drive Select switch is on the steering wheel; Performance is the ultimate setting, and the stability control system can be switched off entirely.

SWITCHED BLADES

The styling of the new R8 is evolutionary, but it doesn't make its predecessor look dated. The R8’s new grille and the chiseled lines bring it closer to the rest of Audi's current portfolio. A defining visual element, the vertical blades behind the doors have been reinterpreted. They have been split into a smaller blade below the beltline as well as an extension behind the side windows. As before, the blades can be ordered in body color, in contrasting colors, or in carbon fiber. LED headlights are standard, and there are optional laser lights; the latter might even be offered in the U.S., if Audi wins its wrestling match with our government over its outdated lighting regulations.

Mirroring the TT sports car’s leap forward, the R8 charges ahead with a futuristic interior that includes Audi's "virtual cockpit" with a large TFT monitor placed directly in front of the driver. Besides the Drive Select function, buttons on the steering wheel are devoted to the exhaust settings and the ignition.

Down the road, we expect to see the topless R8 Spyder return, as well as an entry-level model with either a V-8 or possibly a turbo V-6. There likely will be another version designed for customer racing. Audi also will offer the fully electric, rear-wheel-drive R8 e-tron—which will make for a true exotic.

Polaris Slingshot Three-Wheeler

The Polaris Slingshot SL you see here is red, but base versions come in only one color: titanium metallic. One might call it gray, as in the gray area between cars and motorcycles, a regulatory DMZ where few dare to tread.

Yes, the Slingshot is a three-wheeler, a reverse trike, the ol’ tripod. Three points make a plane, but it’s not plain whether Polaris will be able to convince state bureaucrats that this contraption belongs to the motorcycle family. Freedom-loving Texas, for instance, will happily let you park your helmetless carcass on a Hayabusa, but it blocked sales of the Slingshot on the logic that it has bucket seats and is thus not a motorcycle. Go back to the drawing board and come back when it’s more dangerous.

Indeed, the Slingshot has waterproof seats, three-point belts, and forged aluminum roll hoops. It has a steering wheel and a five-speed manual transmission, with reverse. The view ahead is of two wheels sprouting from forged aluminum control arms, flanking a long hood that conceals a longitudinally mounted GM Ecotec 2.4-liter four-cylinder. A familiar piece from the Pontiac Solstice and Saturn Sky, here it makes 173 horsepower and 166 pound-feet of torque. From the front seats forward, it’s kind of as if you’re driving Mad Max’s Saturn Ion.

It’s behind the front seats where things get really weird. The steel space-frame chassis comes to an abrupt end, sprouting a gigantic swing arm that rides on a coil-over. The back half is propped up by a single wheel shod with a 265/35R-20 Kenda car tire (base models get an 18-inch rear wheel and tire). A driveshaft runs between the transmission and final-drive unit, which connects to the rear wheel via a carbon-fiber-reinforced belt. At 149.6 inches long and 77.2 inches wide at the front, the Slingshot has some singular proportions. It’s nearly eight inches shorter than a Mazda MX-5 Miata and a couple of inches wider than aLamborghini Huracán.

The base Slingshot has no windshield, but our SL had the optional medium-height screen, which is just about tall enough to keep the bugs out of your teeth but not from splattering against your forehead. Each seat has an integrated, molded headrest that’s defiantly convex and forces your head down when you’re wearing a helmet. The solution is either to recline the seat enough to get the headrest out of the way or just forgo the helmet. Sans lid, the Slingshot delivers the airy feeling of exposure you get in a vintage roadster, a sense that you could hang your left arm out and graze the pavement with your fingertips. In that way, this exercise in futurism is more like a Datsun 1600 roadster than any modern car.

The wide forward footprint means that the front end is stable, but the Slingshot doesn’t have a car’s commitment to a straight path. The rear end is a puppy, f­ollowing along wherever you go, but also stopping now and then to sniff the shrubbery. Even with stability control activated, you can get a wiggle from the tail on a strong 1-2 shift. The GM four-banger at first seems a disappointing choice for power, but it turns out that 173 horsepower is quite a bit for a vehicle that (a) weighs less than 1800 pounds and (b) has one drive wheel.

Large-radius corners require a lot of small steering corrections; tight stuff is more the Slingshot’s specialty. Turn-in from the electrically assisted steering is almost startlingly immediate, as there’s not much rear grip to resist a change in direction. A Slingshot would be a riot on the Tail of the Dragon and a drag on your highway drive to get there.

The Slingshot interior basically has only one button, there to turn off the stability control. Do so and you’ll soon find that the Slingshot can do Hellcat-quality burnouts through first and second gears, all while making a noise like someone mixing cake batter with a Bell Huey II helicopter. The exhaust system, muffler and all, is crammed into the space ahead of the passenger’s-side footwell, a design Polaris might want to rethink. For one thing, that’s a lot of heat trying to boil out toward the cockpit. And Polaris would have more leeway to tune the sound if the exhaust system were any longer than a flugelhorn.

Its maker claims no official zero-to-60 time, but the Slingshot probably does the sprint in less than five seconds. You can see why Polaris wants to downplay that number, because five seconds is woefully sluggish by motorcycle standards. It is indeed quick for a car, but the company prefers to distance the Slingshot from any mention of that C-word, lest more states join Texas in giving three-wheelers the hairy eyeball.

Besides, Polaris does have a point that this machine isn’t really about numbers. It’s about an experience that’s unlike any in a modern car or, indeed, on any bike. An Ariel Atom might come close in terms of low-slung, open-frame, bees-in-your-face excitement, but the Atom is much quicker and roughly three times the price

The Slingshot starts at $19,999, which is a whole lot of crazy for not much money. Based on the initial orders, it turns out that a goodly number of Americans have 20 grand available to look like Batman in his bathtub every time they hit a Starbucks. Of course, novelty only gets you so far. Once the early adopters are sated and Slingshots become a semi-normal sight, continued sales momentum will depend on the machine itself..

And the machine is interesting enough to outlive the momentary hype of a hot introduction. Forget what’s going on behind the seats and it’s easy to pretend that you’re piloting your own open-wheel Formula car since the Slingshot is so low, elemental, and raw. It feels as if you’re getting away with something. And who knows? Maybe you are.

2016 Mercedes-Benz C450 AMG 4MATIC

In the vast space that exists in the Mercedes-Benz C-class lineup between the entry C300 and the balls-to-the-wall 2015 Mercedes-AMG C63, Mercedes-Benz currently offers the C400. Nice as that car is, though, one jack-of-all-trades model isn’t really suitable for spanning the divide, so Mercedes is bringing in reinforcements. Luxury-leaning, green-minded customers, for example, soon will have the option of the C350e plug-in hybrid. And folks who might otherwise be attracted to the Audi S4 and the BMW 335i xDrive will be mightily tempted by the car here, the 2016 C450 AMG 4MATIC. (Once the C450 arrives, in fact, it will replace the C400 in the lineup.)

As the new kid on the sports-sedan block, the C450 AMG 4MATIC has a lot to prove, and while it may not be a full-on Mercedes-AMG product like the steroidal C63, it contains enough of its big brother’s goodies to earn the AMG badge. It starts with a power boost for Benz’s twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6, from 329 horsepower and 354 lb-ft of torque in the C400 to a solid 362 horses and 384 lb-ft in the C450. Torque distribution for the 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system is fixed at 33 percent front and 67 percent rear. As with its competitors, the C450 AMG offers multiple drive modes (Eco, Comfort, Sport, Sport+, and Individual) that tweak throttle, transmission, suspension, and steering-effort parameters, and the seven-speed automatic is capable of shifting twice as quickly as the similar unit in the C400.

SHOVIN’ IT

Acceleration is forceful, as the power is delivered in a rapid crescendo and with but a whiff of turbo lag. Mercedes conservatively pegs zero to 60 mph at 4.9 seconds—we achieved 4.7 in the C400—and with all four wheels doing the clawing, it stays more glued to the road than the tail-happy, rear-drive C63, especially when rocketing away from tight, bumpy corners at full tilt. As with the C63, Sport and Sport+ downshifts are served up just when you want them with a throttle-blipped exhaust bark once you go for the brakes. All the while, the V-6 sounds incredible, with a lighter, less restrictive exhaust system than the C400 and a delicious crackling pop-pop-pop on overrun that recalls that of the Jaguar F-type V-6. This is a powertrain that encourages you to wring it out. Like, all the time.

Equally impressive is the C450 AMG’s chassis, which received quite a workout on the lumpy, twisting ribbons of asphalt that snake through southern Portugal’s Algarve region. The car rides on a uniquely developed multilink suspension with three-stage electronically adjustable dampers that come straight out of the C63. Whether bombing down smooth, high-speed straights or making quick left-right-left transitions on broken asphalt, the chassis loyally transmits the road’s texture at all four contact patches. Steering response is immediate, with satisfyingly linear buildup of effort and copious feedback tickling the driver’s fingertips. Even on long, winding descents, the brakes (with rotors measuring a robust 14.2 inches up front and 12.5 inches out back) always seemed to have enough power in reserve, with excellent pedal feedback. If there’s a bone to pick, it’s that the stiffest of the three-stage adjustable shock settings can be too brittle.

ALMOST ALL THE AMG, ALL THE TIME

The C450 AMG looks almost exactly like the C63 and has a nearly identical interior, including the must-have optional one-piece racing-style seats. Indeed, from aesthetic and driving-comfort perspectives, at no point did we wish we were in the C63. Plus, as the C450 weighs some 200 pounds less than the C63, it drives smaller and feels nimbler, lending the midlevel car its own charm. One might see it as the spiritual successor to the 2002–2004 C32 AMG, which, when we last tested one, started at $52,120, or roughly where the C450 AMG 4MATIC is likely to fall without considering inflation. And the 349-hp C32 was slower, too.

So the eminently satisfying C450 AMG packs enough performance to be a full-blooded AMG model just a decade ago, and today it offers something like 75 to 80 percent of an Affalterbach special. Which is to say that it’s damn good.