When he's not driving a Renault Formula 1 car or a locally-made Chrysler Sebring, Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin test drives hybrid cars – or at least that's what he did on April 1 (no, really), when he got behind the wheel of the country’s first hybrid vehicle, the Yo-Mobile.

Built by Yo-Auto, a joint-venture between truck maker Yarovit Motors and Onexim Group, the company of Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov who also owns the New Jersey Nets, the car has an unusual hybrid setup. It uses a rotary vane engine (see video below) that works on petrol and natural gas and is linked to a pair of electric motors.

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A little while back we showed you some renderings of Met-R's BMW X6-based Interceptor. Now the kit is alive and kicking, having braved the transition from computer screen to garage. A Mr. Gomelchuk has been kind enough to throw us a bone and drop some live images, showing the Interceptor wearing a more tii-themed paint scheme.

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Dartz, the Russian tuner of all things obnoxious that recently dropped plans for trimming the interior of its Prombron armored SUV with whale-penis leather after drawing some heavy criticism from just about everyone, has returned with another proposal for the rich and tasteless. This one is based on the Bentley Continental GT coupe and it bears the "SS" logo.

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Here are some photos of a BMW X6 wide-body kit designed by Zaur Khalilov of Zaoor Design. Created for Met-R, a Moscow-based tuning shop, it's called the Interceptor. As with any X6-based work, the actual work has to be evaluated (not the car). The Interceptor's nose is nice and aggressive, and those vertical driving lights just add to it. Even the matte black helps, but that's about as far as it goes.

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It seems that obnoxious neo-rich "VIP" Russians are (illegally) using the same kind of flashing blue rooftop lights found on official government vehicles to cut through traffic, and this is starting to get on the nerves of everyday people.

One man in Moscow decided to take action by putting a bucket on his head and climbing over one of these cars as its driver was trying to use the blue light to bypass traffic. Watch what happened in the video after the break.

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The BMW Sequence GT is the brainchild of Seungmo Lim, a graduate student at Pforzheim University in Germany.

Lim explains that the "Electric Gran Turismo Sequence" project started out with two questions: 1) "How important is the appearance of green cars?", and 2) "What is 'Efficient dynamics'?"

"In other words these two questions mean, 'What kind of qualification does a blue or green car have to have in order to get a BMW badge in the future?'"

I've got no idea, so it's good that he came up with an answer: Combining "driving pleasure with blue architecture."

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Chevrolet's European sales figures are hoping to be 425,000 units in 2010; far from bad, but nowhere close to the million units GM is looking for over the next decade. For reference, Chevrolet Europe's sales dropped from an all-time high of 500,000 units in 2008.

A major problem in GM's planning is Russia, which was predicted to overtake Germany as the largest European market in the near future. Automotive sales in the Russian market plummeted by 50% last year to 1.45 million in 2009.

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Russia's newly formed high society will soon be able to turn to one of its own tuners to make their Porsche Panamera stand out from the crowd as TopCar has officially revealed its Stingray program for Stuttgart's four-door sports saloon.

Developed in cooperation with domestic tuner Cardi (bodykit design) and Germany's 9ff (performance upgrades and build), TopCar's Panamera Stingray comes with a full bodykit made from carboxylic fiber that includes newly designed front and rear bumpers, side skirts, rear diffuser, new bonnet and a twin rear spoiler.

The sport saloon's exterior looks are rounded off with a new set of 21-inch multispoke alloy wheels.

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Nissan has announced plans to build the Murano SUV at its St Petersburg factory in Russia. The start of production is planned for the beginning of 2011 and these models are for the Russian market only and not for export. Since the start of sales in Russia in November 2005, about 9,000 Muranos have been sold in the country.

The Japanese automaker also said that due to the slight recovery of the automotive market and growth in customer demand, it will increase the St Petersburg plant's staff from 850 to 1,450 employees adding a second shift this June

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We first told you about TopCar's performance program for the new Porsche Panamera way back in December 2008 when the Russian tuning house released an initial set of teaser sketches. Now, TopCar has published the first photos (though, keep in mind that the pics may be photoshoped) of its customized Porsche Panamera that is believed to make its first public outing at the forthcoming Essen Tuning show in Germany towards the end of November.

The tuning firm did not accompany the images with a press release, but from what we gather, the Panamera seen here is equipped with the basic bodykit dubbed 'Stingray' which has been designed by another Russian company called Cardi.

The carbon-fiber aerodynamics package includes redesigned front and rear bumpers, side skirts, a fixed rear wing and a new bonnet with air vents. The kit is rounded off by a new set of beefier alloy wheels.

According to a previous release, TopCar is also working on an even more aggressive bodykit that essentially replaces every external body panel of the Panamera aside from the rooftop.

It is also said that the Russians have joined forces with famed Porsche tuner 9ff which will handle all the performance upgrades as well as the production of both bodykits.

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A horrific accident involving a speeding Chrysler Crossfire coupe that seemingly violated a red light and collided with a mid-sized truck in Russia has been captured on a security camera. Our lack of knowledge of the Russian language doesn't help us get all the details (any assistance from our Russian readers would be highly appreciated) but from the news report in the video after the jump it looks like that -sadly- there were casualties.

Security Cam Video

Russian News Report

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Following the production of a pilot series in spring 2008, the GAZ Group today launched the serial production of its new Volga Siber that is based on the previous-generation Dodge Stratus / Chrysler Sebring sedan. The Russian company's production facilities are capable of manufacturing up to 100,000 cars per year. The Siber will be available from September 1, 2008 in 12 Russian regions through the company's 68 dealers.

GAZ had acquired the rights to use the previous generation Sebring from the former DaimlerChrysler Group in 2006. Compared to its American sibling, the Siber features a redesigned exterior by British studio UltraMotive along with a stiffer suspension and increased ground clearance adapted to Russia's roads and harsh winter conditions. Power will be provided by two Chrysler gasoline engines, a 141Hp 2.0 litre and a 143Hp 2.4 litre unit. -Continued

Interestingly, Russian Federation Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited the car plant on the eve of production and took the new sedan on a test drive. "It takes off fast and they've increased the clearance. It will be fine for our roads,” said Putin. Guess there’s no need for any car magazines to test drive the Siber after Putin’s professional assessment…

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Maybe these Russian cops had a serious reason to avoid the traffic jam by driving on the sidewalk or perhaps they did it just because they simply didn’t want to be stuck on the road for hours. Either way, it doesn't matter as justice was served the best possible way… -Click through for more images



Via: trinixy

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