The Mitsubishi Triton is getting a boost from Down Under. Team Mitsubishi Ralliart or TMR unveils a Triton packed not only with mutton on the loadbox, but plenty of horses up front as well at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. The concept car, which essentially will look the way we see it here, is a study into the ever-increasing need to marry utility with power and drivability. Using its usual 3.2-litre turbo diesel mill, TMR has prepared this Triton to force out 132kW (177hp) at some 3800rpm. Torque has gone up to 450Nm (332 ft-lb) from a relatively low 2000rpm.

Suspension has been uprated in order to cope with the extra power, brakes get stronger (Ferodo pads fitted), ABS and EBD are standard. It goes fast and stops fast, that’s the message. Those Pirelli Scorpion ATR 255/55R18 tyres on Dakar allow wheels also prove a point as far as the fast farmer is concerned. Interior is improved as well, with leather seats braided with TMR logos, a USB input, integrated Bluetooth and hands-free iPod control. Looks the part, seems to deliver too. Hope they build it for the public.

Miniaturised motorhome specialist Romahome will unveil next week at the International Caravan and Motorhome Show at the NEC its R10 Solo conversion based on the Citroen Nemo. The single camper measuring 12-ft 7-inches long and 6-ft 3-inches tall (with the roof down) is slated as the smallest micro camper on the market. Equipment includes a single 6-ft bed, galley with sink and 2 burner hobs, solar panel powered LED rear lighting system, cool box and 3 traveling seats.

The R10 is available in either 1.4 petrol or 1.4 HDi diesel with optional Sensodrive automatic and has a list price of £18,995.

Word has it there is an eight-month waiting list for the Audi R8 in the car’s home market of Germany. Here in the good ol’ U.S. of A., the 50 units we get per month are not nearly enough for all of the interested buyers. Well, with V10, convertible and possibly diesel versions in the works, we can’t imagine that demand will subside anytime soon. You might think that Audi would be smart to amp up production to handle the high demand, especially with those new versions coming soon, but that isn’t gonna happen according to Audi. Seems they can only make 27 R8s a month day and no more. That should keep the R8 variations very scarce and very dear.

For those lucky enough to have the coinage and a place in line, there is more news. Car and Driver talked to Michael Dick, Audi’s member of the board of management for technical development, who told them the company expects to sell around 80% with V10 flavor. That version goes on sale next year, with drop-tops following soon after in Europe. Yanks will have to wait another year with 2011 models showing up in ‘10.

Other tidbits gleaned from the interview: Pricing hasn’t been set, the diesel might be Euro-only if it even makes it to production, and a little brother R4 was never in the cards with the TT-RS and possible Audi R3 version of the VW roadster filling out the dance card well enough. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that there are enough V10s available so we can get one in our garage at least.

Our heads are still reeling from one of the most tumultuous financial weeks on record, and the auto industry was far from immune. But despite our best efforts to drown our concerns in Racer5 IPA, the hits keep coming, and this time it’s courtesy of the New York Times.

The Gray Lady is reporting that General Motors and Chrysler have been in talks about a possible merger for the past month, that “negotiations are not certain to produce a deal,” “would most likely still take weeks to work out” and that two unnamed sources say that the chances of the merger going through are “50-50.” Obfuscate much?

With GM’s stock prices ending the week below $5 a share and Cerberus – the private equity firm that owns Chrysler – grasping at the flimsiest of straws, including continued talks with Nissan/Renault, a merger of unequals is two parts disturbing and one part intriguing.

Cerberus’ people haven’t been returning phone calls and the only comment offered to the NYT from the General’s spokesperson, Tony Cervone, was, “Without referencing that specific rumor, as we’ve often said at GM officials routinely discuss issues of mutual interest with other automakers.” Broad, unclear and exactly what we’d expect.

The merger of GM and Chrysler would put Cerberus in charge of an “unspecified equity stake” in the corporation, making the two-headed General-Chrysler (or Chrysler Motors?) the world’s largest automaker, controlling over 35 percent of the U.S. vehicle market, causing rifts among brand faithful and offering more potential (vehicle) cannibalization than the Donner Party. Not to mention both automakers’ labor contracts, supplier dealers and slipping market share. Shocked? Don’t be. We give it a snowball’s chance on the Sun. Thanks to ALL who tipped in.

UPDATE: Official statement from Lori McTavish, Executive Director, Communications, Chrysler LLC:

Chrysler LLC as a matter of policy does not confirm or disclose the nature of its private business meetings. As we have said, the Company is looking at a number of potential global partnerships as it explores growth opportunities around the world. Beyond those partnerships already announced however, Chrysler has not formed any new agreements and has no further announcements to make at this time.

You never what you’re going to spot when you go for a little joy ride across America. Just moments ago as we crossed from Missouri into Arkansas on Interstate 55, a low slung black car with a big wing rolled by. After a quick double take I grabbed my camera and snapped off a few pics of the first Porsche Carrera GT I’ve ever seen on the street. If I was going to see one of these I certainly wouldn’t have expected it in eastern Arkansas.

For as clean and green and Earth-loving as the Europeans are, they sure do some dirty things… like throw a sooty-exhaust-belching racing semi around hairpin turns with loads of opposite lock – up an impossibly green mountain – just for a hillclimb. But hey, trucks and racing aren’t illegal yet, so we say flog ‘em while ya got ‘em. Check out the video of Markus Boesiger, 2007’s Truck Racing Champion, and his dashing diesel after the jump.

Race truck pushing it on hillclimb

It’s incredible that there can be so many goings on around a little car show. There was a spot of turmoil in the last shortened season of Top Gear, a few grumblings of unhappy presenters, and then the hallowed BBC couldn’t figure out when the next season was going to begin. But here we are, the date has arrived: Top Gear version 12 will commence on November 2nd, 2008, A.D. I guess then we’ll start to find out what they’re doing in Vietnam…

Fans of the original Lotus 7 will undoubtedly be familiar with Elfin. Others who, like Lotus itself, have come to realize that automotive development has advanced in the past few decades, may be less so. The Australian sportscar-maker is right up there with the likes of Caterham and Westfield, only from the land of reverse-flushing toilettes and leaf-eating marsupials. The company is under the care of Tom Walkinshaw, a legend in the motorsports and tuning communities who has leveraged his close ties with GM’s Holden subsidiary for the vehicle you see here, called the Type 5 Clubman. Replacing the discontinued Type 3, the new Type 5 joins the line-up alongside the MS8 Streamliner and was recently unveiled at the ongoing Sydney Motor Show.

The new roadster features the same 260-hp turbo four from the Pontiac Solstice GXP and Saturn Sky Redline, only in a much lighter frame of just 750kg (about 1,650 lbs). The combination of generous power and low weight means the Type 5 is pegged to hit 100 km/h (62mph) in a rapid 3.7 seconds while commanding a sticker price comparable Down Under to a Nissan 350Z or Mazda RX-8, only without frivolities like a roof or doors.

Gallery: Elfin Type 5 Clubman

Britain’s history is punctuated in no small part by the proliferation of its cottage industry. And while the industrial revolution may have taken care of that to a large degree, it’s still alive and thriving in the realm of the supercar. Small independent exotic automakers abound, including names like Ascari, Ultima, Noble, Farboud, Farbio and Arash, to name just a few. Trying to keep track of them all is enough to make your head spin, especially when the same guy is behind the latter three. After selling off Farboud, the new owners changed the name to Farbio and founder Arash Farboud started a new outfit under his first name. What you see here are the first proper images of his latest creation, the Arash AF10.

The carbon-fiber body, which (aside from the adjustable front wing) bears a startling resemblance to the Ferrari Enzo, is laid over a carbon fiber chassis for a sprightly low curb weight of 1,200kg (about 2,600 lbs). Power is provided by the 7-liter pushrod V8 out of the Corvette Z06, tuned from the stock 498 hp up to 530 thanks to new intake and exhaust systems, driving the rear wheels through a manual Graziano gearbox and kept in check by AP Racing brakes. The supercar is expected to sell for about 170k pounds sterling – a fair bit less than the £220k a Lamborghini Murcielago will cost a British customer – and begin delivery sometime next year. A sequential gearbox is expected to join the catalog, as well as the potential for dropping in the supercharged V8 from the Corvette ZR1 a year and a half down the line.

For most of us, once we’re able to sweet talk our way into Lamborghini Gallardo, going 192 mph isn’t that difficult. But Luc Costermans has at least one more major obstacle to overcome: he’s been blind for four years.

Despite that, he managed to borrow an orange Gallardo for an attempt on the Blind Speed Record. Congratulations are in order for both Luc and the Gallardo’s owner, as the record was broken and the Gallardo apparently wasn’t. Luc set the Blind Speed Record at 192 mph, Saturday, at an airstrip in Istres, France.

“I’m very, very happy. It’s a team effort,” Luc said after the run. His co-pilot, Guillaume Roman, wasn’t quoted in any of the stories we read, but we assume he breathed a deep sigh of relief. Seriously, who volunteers to ride shotgun with a blind driver in a Gallardo doing almost 200 mph?

Luc can’t rest on his laurels. Previous record-holder Mike Newman is hoping to hit 200 mph in a
Keating TKR. Anyone got a Veyron Luc borrow? Anyone?