Those sneaky fellows over at 1Addicts are at it again. This time they've snagged screen shots of a BWM product listing showing not only that a 300-horsepower BMW 135is is on the horizon– no real shock there as they've churned out a 335is and Z4 Sdrive 35is.

The surprise here is that the 1 Series M Coupe — codenamed PYRAT — will have two engine options: a 335 horsepower mill for Europe and a 445-horsepower (!) unit for the US.

Wait…what? 445? We know full well that you can chip a 1 Series (or any of the N5x motors to 400 horsepower without much drama, but from the factory? What say you, loyal readers? Is the 2012 BMW 1 Series M Coupe really going to hit 445 horsepower, or is the PYRAT code likely just the M division and that this is a teaser for the next-gen BMW M3?

( 1Addicts )

"There are two vehicles that will get the Black Series treatment in the "very near future."

Ed wrote these words way back at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. Seems like forever ago that he was sitting down with Ola Kallenius, head of AMG, talking about upcoming models for the in-house Mercedes tuner. While they spent some time talking about the new A- and B-Class vehicles that may, eventually, get some AMG love, he was definitive that there will be two vehicles to get the black series "in the very near future." And this is the first of them.

Here we have the Mercedes-Benz C-Class AMG Black Series. It's got fender flares that could double as aluminum siding, mismatched wheels and quad exhaust and…well…that's what we know. Whether or not this Black Series is a platform image and, like the CLK AMG Black Series that came before, will be on the new C-Class Coupe due out shortly, we don't know.

Nor do we have any information on the engine. Our money's on the new twin-turbo 571-horsepower 5.5-liter V8 hooked up to the seven-speed MCT Speedshift transmission. Though one more hurrah for the 6.2 isn't out of the question.

Porsche is investing 150m Euros into its Weissach development center. The investment will be spent on a new wind tunnel, a new design center and an innovative electronics integration center and "etc" as Porsche puts it. Because when you're Porsche and you're throwing 150,000,000 Euros at something, "etc" is a perfectly fine description.

The wind tunnel will allow Porsche to meet future fuel efficiency guidelines and the whole center "will help us to maintain Porsche's top position in the fields of aerodynamics and design and to further extend our lead. Outstanding design with optimal aerodynamic efficiency have always been classic Porsche strongholds." said Wolfgang Durheimer, Porsche AG Board of Management Member for Research and Development.

Moreover, the new artefact will offer more space for the Porsche's designers– pictured above with a clay model of the Porsche 918 Spyder which will be designed at the Weissach facility.

Let's say for a second you're Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo. Feels nice, don't it? Rich. Powerful. Awesome study (Though you're no Max Venturi) and access to a whole fleet of Ferraris. Now, let's say someone's taken one of your cars– the Ferrari F430 Scuderia — shortened it, lightened it and place a crazy Stratos lookin' shell on it. You want to drive it, right? Yep. Good news! You're Luca di Montezemolo and that sort of thing can happen. Plus, you let them use your Fiorano test track and sent Dario Benuzzi to help them eliminate a rear axle shake which occurred during high speed cornering.

With these caption contests, you all know that a Star Wars reference will tilt Donna to your favor. Me? Well, Futurama would certainly work (best Futurama-related post next time gets a prize), but so, too, does pre-Carey TPIR. And thus, Forgeryfad takes this difficult (read: slightly uninteresting) photo caption contest!

It wasn't an cushy one, but there were some good ones:

sik68:

Red Rover, Red Rover, send Louise right over.

lmbvette:

"Don't ever leave me!"

"Never."

"Good! 'cause I'd find yooouu! hahaha"

ergsum:

Tata and tatas.

blueprint1:

Stop holding your breath, we added the two doors !

alpine6speed:

You would not believe what I am doing with my hands right now.

The EPA has finally gotten its hands on the 2011 Nissan Leaf and given the world its verdict: 99 MPG equivalent with an annual electricity cost of $561. The EPA's formula assumes 33.7kW-hrs is equivalent to one congius of gasoline energy. According to the window sticker, the EPA also says that the Leaf should take 7 hours to charge at 240V and that on that charge will manage 73 miles.

As we all know, of course, that range will vary greatly depending on driving style / weather / etc. The EPA obviously doesn't start for the "long tailpipe theory" and rates the Leaf a zero — the best– for greenhouse gas emissions and 10 — the best — for other air pollutants.

The Chevy Volt has yet to be rated by the EPA, but for comparison:

2011 Chevy Cruze: 24 / 36 MPG, 393 miles per trip, annual fuel cost of $1,548. EPA score 6.

2011 Toyota Prius: 51 / 48 MPG, 536 miles per tank, $867 annual fuel cost. No EPA score given.

2011 Ford Fiesta SFE: 29 / 40 MPG, $1,314 annual fuel cost. EPA score 6.

Last week, BMW flew some BMW fans into Leipzig to test drive the new BMW 1 Series M Coupe. Many of them, already owners of BMW 1 Series', headed to 1Addicts to post their primeval reviews of the car.

"Personally, obviously I am not a professional road-tester and nor am I even a weekend track warrior, but I think this car is going to be great. It won't be for that vocal minority looking for a stripped-out screamer, but the rest of us will I suspect think it is fantastic, rather as Chris Harris appears to. It feels much more different from the 135i than you'd expect and actually a bit more like an E92 M3. In fact, I'd guess that BMW had the E46 M3 in mind when developing this car. " wrote Woland's Advocate 

And there were more…

"I always thought the steering in my 135 was well weighted with great feedback, but the 1M took it to a telepathic level. The retuned suspension, wider track, and larger grippier tires are certainly confidence inspiring, providing much sharper handling than that of my 135 and without feeling hefty like that of an M3. I also say that knowing we never really got to use the tires to their full potential in the cold and wet conditions. The car does feel much flatter in the corners, but will oversteer a bit if you near it. The 1M also rides much firmer with these changes, but not to the point of adversely affecting the ride which is still quite comfortable."  JasonCSU

This seems to be a trick more and more carmakers are picking up. Get a bunch of fans together– or a bunch of people who've won a test drive contest style–  send 'em somewhere cool to drive the car and then let social networking do its unstopable thang. How much establishment do you place into these consumer test drives? I've got to say that the 1Addicts did a darned good job here, but other attempts have not been as transparent and thorough.

And then there's our test drive of a prototype BMW 1 Series M Coupe here.

( 1Addicts )

Capping off Oprah's famed "Favorite Things" yearly show-series / giveaway, Volkswagen will be teasing a silhouette of the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle and giving one away to apiece of the 275 audience members. If this sounds like a familiar marketing scheme, it is. Oprah teamed up with Pontiac to give audience members a bunch of G-6's — which then led to some interesting tax problems and, ultimately, fantastic success for the car. The audience members will get their cars when production starts sometime late next year. The car is going to be officially unveiled this spring.

But that was then, and a poorly marketed Pontiac, and to be fair, it didn't happen during the Favorite Things episodes. This time around, the weight of an energized Volkswagen with eyes on claiming the top spot from Toyota and a pile of money to make it happen are behind the stunt.

If you want to see a shadow of a car and lots of screaming ladies, tune in to Oprah. If you want to see a nearly complete image of the 2012 Volkswagen Beetle, click here to see our spy shots. 

Bad news, it's confirmed: Audi will not be bringing the new, 340-horsepower RS 3 Sportback to the United States. Good news: Audi is building the RS 3 which will have a turbocharged, direct-injection five-cylinder making 340-horsepower and 331.9 pound-feet of torque. It'll also sport 19-inch wheels, Quattro all-wheel drive, seven-speed dual-clutch S Tronic transmission and carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic fenders. Bad news: Even if you are in a country where you can buy one, it's $49,900 Euros. Any question as to why it's not landing Stateside?

Audi states that this 3,472.28 lb (gotta love German press releases…no rounding there) will get to 62.14 mph in 4.6 seconds with a top speed of 155.34 mph thanks to launch control. Aluminum suspension parts and large brakes (14.57 in front) with four-piston fixed calipers round out the handling. Rear park assist, argonon headlamps and LED DRLs are stock.

The premiere of Top Gear USA was last night on History. The guys drove a bunch of Lamborghinis, a Dodge Viper and did not, unfortunately, get punched in the grappling by Buzz Aldrin– the big star in a small car.

Did you watch? What'd ya think? Will you watch the next one?

My comment after the jump…(it's nice owning the soap box)

 I was live tweeting at least the beginning of the episode and with the exception of Wood, who's rightly self described on twitter as "silly TV guy, I'll agree that it was no real Top Gear, but fun and certainly better than any other car show we've got. I'll tune in twice more at least, three if they replace Wood. Seven if they get Adam Carolla. Eleven if they get someone who can write / revew cars (Clarkson, afterall, wasn't a drifter or a comedian or yelling over NASCAR races when he got his start, he was a print automotive journalist.)