VIDEO: Fisker's All-Electric Karma Sports Sedan Makes Driving Debut at Monterey

*Updated With Video

One of the most anticipated newcomers of the year, Fisker's Karma plug-in hybrid electric vehicle or PHEV for short, made its public driving debut over the weekend at the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the Rolex Monterey Historic Automobile Races. Behind the wheel of the 403-horsepower sports saloon was Fisker Automotive co-founder and COO Bernhard Koehler who drove the Karma up to a top speed of 100mph or 160 km/h.

"This demonstration represents a significant milestone for Fisker Automotive and PHEV technology," said CEO Henrik Fisker. "The future of clean cars is bright."

The Karma can drive up to 50 miles or 80 km on a full-charge of the lithium ion battery pack and has a total range of 300 miles or around 480 km when employing the on-board generator that is powered by a 260HP four-cylinder gasoline engine sourced from General Motors. The two electric motors that drive the rear wheels develop a combined output of 403-horsepower allowing the Karma to reach 60mph (96 km/h) in under 6.0 seconds and a top speed of 125 mph or 201 km/h.

Sales of the Karma will begin towards the end of the year with pricing in the U.S. set at $87,900.

Kia to Build 2011 Sorento at its first U.S. Plant in Georgia

The all-new 2011 Sorento CUV will be produced at Kia's first U.S. plant in West Point, Georgia, making it the company's first domestically built vehicle, the Korean automaker announced today. The first examples of the new Sorento that has already been unveiled in its home market are scheduled to begin rolling off the assembly line before the end of the year.

"It will be a historic milestone when the first Sorento rolls off the assembly line at our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in West Point, Georgia later this year," said Michael Sprague, vice president, marketing, KMA. "Our first domestically built vehicle, the all-new Sorento will be built by team members who have undergone rigorous training and who have great pride in their newly learned skills."

The 2011 Sorento gets seating for seven while it also features a unibody design rather than the previous model's body-on-frame setup.

Gemballa Mistrale: Teaser Shots of Spiced Up Porsche Panamera

These teaser photos of the Gemballa-prepped Mistrale appeared on the internet today providing us with our first glimpse of the German tuning firm's take on the Panamera sports sedan. The company has not published any official information on the Mistrale but it's almost certain that aside from the exterior appointments, Gemballa's sport package will also comprise of chassis and engine upgrades.

From what we can tell, the Mistrale's bodykit consists of a new front bumper that includes a carbon fiber lip, air vents on the hood, a new rear skirt with integral diffuser, additional air vents and larger tail pipes plus a carbon fiber rear wing and a decorative reflector strip with firm's name between the tail lights. The beefier 22-inch alloy wheels finished in black complete the exterior styling changes.

Via: Autoblog.nl

VIDEO: 2011 Bentley Mulsanne No1 Auctioned for $500,000

As well as performing the world premiere of the brand-new 2011 Mulsanne at this weekend's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in Monterey, California, Bentley also auctioned the first example of its 'uber' (let's not forget the car's VW Group roots...) luxurious flagship sedan at the Gooding & Company auction with chassis No1 being sold to an unnamed buyer for $500,000. The Mulsanne will replace the Arnage in Bentley's automobile range with sales set to begin in the summer of 2010.

Thanks for the tip Ecneli!

VIDEO: Watch the Virtual Presentation of the 2011 Infiniti M

In addition to the first photos and details on the all-new 2011 Infiniti M, the Japanese automaker has now released a video from the official presentation of its BMW 5-Series rival that took place at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Infiniti's flagship sedan model, which is scheduled to go on sale across the world starting from spring 2010, wasn't actually there as the Japanese automaker used virtual technology mapping to project the car on a full-size clay model. Click through to check out the video.

2010 Acura ZDX Crossover Photo Galore

Following the initial announcement on the production version of the ZDX in late July, Acura has now released a comprehensive photo album of its new sporty crossover that is scheduled to hit U.S. showrooms before the end of the year. The Japanese automaker's BMW X6-esque crossover will come with a 300-horsepower 3.7-liter V6 engine coupled to a six-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters and the firm's Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD) system. Hit the jump for our high-res image gallery or click here for more detailed information on the ZDX.