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2013 Nissan GT-R and 2013 Alpina B6 mix it up on track and street

Here we have Autocar making an unforeseen comparison: the Nissan GT-R against the Alpina B6 at Brands Hatch and on public roads. Steve Sutcliffe clobbers the circuit in the 3,828-pound, all-wheel-drive sports car, then sees how well the 4,114-pound, rear-wheel drive grand tourer does against it.
Sutcliffe says there are quite a few similarities between the two cars, but that's really only on the spec sheet. The Nissan's got two turbos attached to its 3.8-liter V6, 542 horsepower and 465 pound-feet of torque. The Alpina's got two turbos attached to its 4.4-liter V8, 532 hp and 528 lb-ft. But one's brief is to be a monster on the track, the other on the boulevard, and if there's anything the video demonstrates, it's each car's focus.

Rolls-Royce sketching out SUV for possible 'late 2017' release

With each new story on the Rolls-Royce SUV, the Goodwood automaker comes off as more at ease with their reluctantly birthed yet necessary sport ute. Company design chief Giles Taylor told Autocar that his team is still "sketching to assess the viability of the concept," which to ours ears means they're trying to figure out if such a beast is even possible within the confines of the brand. If it is, Taylor says it will be "a shooting brake, not a crossover with a sloping roof. A proper SUV."
A different company source, unnamed, seems confident that Taylor's team will figure it out, telling the magazine it would start at 200,000 pounds ($335K US). However, that same source said the vehicle will be "a kind of Mercedes-GLK-plus-plus," which is a baffling description in several ways. More reasonable is the speculation that it will ride on Ghost, not Phantom, architecture and make its debut sometime around late 2017.
That Ghost platform is expected to take cues from the carbon, aluminum and steel bones that supported the BMW Vision Future Luxury concept shown at the Beijing Motor Show and destined for the 9 Series. Some of those tricks will also go into the next-generation Phantom, which Autocar says will come in 2017 and not 2020.

2014 BMW 328d ready to burn oil in just four cylinders

Despite showing off the new 328d sedan in New Jersey yesterday, BMW though it only fair to bring the first four-cylinder diesel it will ever sell in the US to the New York Auto Show today as well. Unfortunately, the company remains vague about pertinent details like fuel economy and price, but we did hear again that the oil-burner will be capable of getting 45 miles per gallon on the highway. BMW's Oliver Ganser told AutoblogGreen, "We do not want to give out" the city or combined mpg ratings quite yet, but The New York Times got someone to estimate a fuel economy of mid-30s in the city.
The two-liter TwinPower turbocharged and direct injected engine and eight-speed automatic transmission (sorry, no manual will be available) put out 180 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque and should get the 328d up to 60 miles per hour in just over seven seconds. As we noted earlier, the 328d will be available with every option and trim level - like all-wheel drive - that other 3 Series models have in the US (transmission excepted) and should start at under $40,000 when it goes on sale this fall.
Officially, the 328b will be able to accept biodiesel blends up to B5 (or, just maybe B7), which is standard diesel with five (seven) percent biofuel. Read more about that and other aspects of the 328d here.