This is not the new XK, nor is it a normal hybrid. This is the C-X16 concept. A hybrid Jaguar that’s a little different in every way. Lets take a look at the power plant first.

The C-X16 is powered by a supercharged 3.0 liter V6 producing 376 HP and 332 Lb-Ft of torque, and that’s before you press the “Push to Pass” button on the steering wheel. Hitting that button enables the electric motor, which is integrated into the the eight speed gearbox, to produce an extra 92 HP and 173 Lb-Ft of torque. Put all those numbers together and you get the resulting performance of 0-60 in 4.3 seconds and a 186 MPH top speed. Just as impressive, it goes 50-75 MPH in just 2.1 seconds. Oh and it does all this while maintaining 165 g/km CO2 emissions and can travel up to 50 MPH on the electric engine alone.

This Jaguar was designed by Ian Callum, the same man that designed the new XJ, XF, and XK. You can definitely tell that he wanted to do something different with this one, he wanted it to stand out from the pack. With all the new technology and sexy new look, I think this new Jag will be a big hit at next weeks Frankfurt Motor Show.

This news comes from Lexus (via Twitter) and EVO Magazine’s Chris Harris. The Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition, piloted by Akira Iida, lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife 4 seconds faster then the previous production-car champion, the Porsche 911 GT2 RS. That puts it in the top five fastest vehicles to ever run the track.

The FIA has released a confirmed calendar for the 2012 season following a fax vote by members of the World Motor Sport Council. The addition of the United States round makes for a 20-race season, which will get underway in Australia on March 18. The season finale will take place in Brazil on November 25.

2012 FIA Formula One World Championship calendar:
18/03 Australia
25/03 Malaysia
15/04 China
22/04 Bahrain
13/05 Spain
27/05 Monaco
10/06 Canada
24/06 Europe
08/07 Great Britain
22/07 Germany
29/07 Hungary
02/09 Belgium
09/09 Italy
23/09 Singapore
07/10 Japan
14/10 Korea
28/10 India
04/11 Abu Dhabi
18/11 United States
25/11 Brazil

Ever want to hear Jeremy Clarkson review a M12 FAV Warthog? Yeah I never thought about it either. The Warthog will be in Forza 4, but you can’t drive it, and Tog Gear will be everywhere in Forza. So why not have them review the Warthog when Forza 4 and Halo 4 are coming out. Click past the jump to see the video.

Nissan released this single picture of the GT-3 spec GT-R, jointly developed by NISMO and JRM. This car is much closer to a standard road car then the Super GT or the FIA GT1 World Championship cars. Those are powered by a V8, while the GT-3 is powered by the turbo V6, tuned to GT-3 spec of course.

The GT-R made its debut at the the Magny-Cours circuit in France this weekend where it finished 8th out of 35. Thats pretty good for a debut.

Here is the all new, redesigned Porsche 911. So far all we have seen is still photos and spec sheets. We all know that it will have the first 7 speed manual transmission and a mean engine in the rear. The rest will have to wait until the Frankfurt Motor Show. Click past the jump to see the video.

AMG has a reasonably affordable solution for that. For anywhere between $1595 and $3695, you can take out virtually all the AMG models and with a professional driver, learn how to drive like one.

AMG also put up a 10 video mini series of the essentials of driving. They go through everything from seat position to drifting. AMG is also giving away a free day at the academy for you and three friends on its Facebook page.

The 458 Italia is one of the best cars Ferrari has put out in recent years. Even Jeremy Clarkson was blown away by it when he reviewed it on Top Gear. Actually, read any article on it and you, also, will be stunned by the beauty, performance and technological advancements that the 458 has. But that wasn’t good enough for Ferrari.

Just like the F430, the 458 is getting the spider treatment, but this time around it’s much different. For the first time in history, Ferrari is equipping a mid-rear car with a retractable hard top. Yeah, you heard me right, a retractable hard top in a Ferrari. If that doesn’t make you happy, well, you might be dead inside.

The 458 Spider has the same 4.5 liter V8 engine and dual-clutch 7 speed F1 transmission as the Italia. Actually, pretty much everything is the same, and that’s a good thing. They did change a few bits and pieces to make it handle just like the Italia with the top down, like accelerator pedal mapping and the damping of the multilink suspension. Head over to the official Ferrari 458 Spider site to see the press release and some videos.