One more 'Official' rendering for your perusal: Audi A7

CAR has been releasing what it's called "official sketches" from Audi execs privy to the future of the four-ringed automaker. This latest drawing shows what Ingolstadt plans to pit against the Mercedes CLS in the burgeoning sports sedan segment, likely to be dubbed the A7. Built off the next generation A6 platform, the shapely sedan will get similar styling cues as its cross-town rival, with a steeply raked roof flowing into what looks like a low-slung hatch.

Power is expected to come from either a three-liter V6 or a 4.8-liter V8, with the RS model fitted with a Lamborghini-sourced V10 in either naturally aspirated or twin-turbo'd trim. Expect a 4.2-liter TDI unit to be available in Europe as well.

Pricing will land squarely between the A6 and A8, so its safe to assume that prices abroad will be in the £35,000-£50,000 range, with the possibility of a soft-top model also being offered further down the road.

According to CAR, the A7 will make its debut at the 2008 New York Auto Show, with sales beginning in September 2009.

[Source: CAR]

Reader Ride: 1992 Infiniti G20

Our obsession of all things automotive extends far beyond the latest and greatest that comprises the majority of what you read. That's one of the reasons we've brought back the Reader Ride, so we can showcase what the majority of us roll on a daily basis. Today's ride is exactly the kind of thing we're into; a rather staid means of transport that is well loved by its owner. Flickr member thefultonhow through up three shots of his '92 Infiniti G20, along with a detailed description of life with his 'G,' and after reading his story, we couldn't help but feature it.

Purchased new by his mother back in 1992, the G20 survived the rigors of daily driving at the hands his mom, and also provided of means of learning for both his brother and Mr. Fultonhow. After 169,000 miles of dutiful service, the stock mill decided to liberate a rod while his brother was behind the wheel, and after a series of attempts at selling the G20, he decided to perform a heart transplant in his grandfather's garage. The only catch: he'd never done anything like it before.

Armed with a factory shop manual, endless patience and nearly a month of his life, he replaced the spent motor with a JDM SR20DE, mated to the stock five-speed manual. After a series of fits and starts, the SR finally came to life and after 4,000 miles everything seems to be going strong.

He's kept the upgrades to a minimum in an effort to stay within the bounds of the H-stock autocross class, with plans to install an aftermarket stereo, some new wheels and some R-compound tires mounted on the stock rollers for competition.

We're love this kind of stuff, so make the jump to see a few more pics and learn how to submit your own ride to our Flickr pool.

FULL GALLERY: 2008 MINI Clubman

click above image for 21 high-res pics of the 2008 MINI Clubman

The trail of embargo breaking is long, but apparently the first images of the 2008 MINI Clubman were published by AutoWeek in their actual weekly magazine, which began arriving on some doorsteps yesterday. Since then, more and more pictures have appeared online, to the point that Autocar just let loose with the whole kit and kaboodle. Hence, we've added the rest of the pictures to our own gallery, and unlike most other sites, ours are high-res at 1,280 pixels wide so you can examine closely how odd those rear doors really are.

The actual embargo on the photos was supposed to be lifted this Sunday, so if that holds true, we should expect the official press release from MINI with more details then, and maybe even more pictures. That is, unless the brand realizes it's futile at this point to hold out on us.

Thanks for the massive debt, here's a Jeep: Buy a log cabin, get a Wrangler

Just as the Prius is an essential piece of kit if you desire to wrap yourself in the color green, if being ever-ready is what you'd like to exude, buy a house. Not just any house, mind you - that'd be like a Greenie stripped of their Starbucks intravenous drip, Livestrong bracelet, and Macintosh laptop. If it's backwood rancher/Eagle Scout that you're looking to portray, no domicile will do better than a log cabin. Of course, while the outside says 1885, modern log cabins are a luxury item commonly purchased as a weekend home for the well-heeled, or as a retirement home. Canada-based Pioneer Log Homes has just launched a UK branch, and customers that purchase a model called "The Anchorage" will be rewarded with a Jeep Wrangler Unlimited left in the drive when construction's done.

The two products definitely go together. Both the home and the 4-wheeler look like they could've been hewn with the same axe, offering a certain rugged charm. We like the idea, mainly because a vacation home is a delightful aspiration, as is a Wrangler. Pioneer says you don't have to be a millionaire to afford one of their homes, with a starting point of £650 per square meter. Let's see, multiply by two, divide by nine, hot damn - that's actually not terrible! At today's exchange rate, that square meter cost works out to about $150 per square foot. You could always turn around and sell the Jeep to pay down the mortgage.

press release after the jump

[Source: Pioneer Log Homes]

Chevy HHR SS will have available automatic transmission

Click image for a gallery of leaked HHR SS info

A member of ChevyHHR.net dropped us a line to let us know that his local Chevy dealer had gotten some 2008 Chevy HHRs yesterday. One of his first orders of business was to grab the new owners manual and start flipping through the pages. His perusal bore fruit, as on page 2-47, he found the following passage in the "Cupholder(s)" section (shown at right):

"If your vehicle is an SS model, the automatic transmission vehicles have a cupholder in front of the shifter."

This serves as the first official-ish confirmation (Chevy has not yet made any formal announcements related to the HHR SS) that the 2008 HHR SS will be offered with an automatic in addition to the 5-speed manual that's referenced in the brochure that was leaked earlier in the month. The next question, of course, is which automatic will be offered?

Thanks, Ryan!

[Source: ChevyHHR.net (registration req'd)]