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The Viper GTS-R continues its march to a motorsports debut later this year in the GT class of the American Le Mans Series. Following its surprise debut alongside the new production SRT Viper at the 2012 New York Auto Show, the GTS-R underwent its first on-track test at Carolina Motorsports Park earlier this month. This time, however, the SRT crew took the GTS-R to Virginia International Raceway, an important track because it's actually on the ALMS schedule.

In fact, while we don't know the exact race at which the GTS-R will makes its competitive debut, we have been told it will race before the end of the 2012 season. The race at VIR occurs on September 15 and is the second-to-last race of the season, so the SRT Motorsports team could be getting some precious practice time in on the track at which they intend to unleash the new Viper GTS-R. All we know is that we're glad they brought their Go Pros along.

See the video yourself below.

A Saudi man in his thirties, identified by the name Mutannish in reports, has been sentenced to death for causing two onlookers to die during a driving demonstration of Hagwalah – one of the wild displays of drifting we're used to seeing from that part of the world. During the show, two were killed when a person in the audience was hit and fell onto another. The driver then sped off, failing to provide any assistance. His sentence was likely influenced by the fact that he went into hiding and that he was wanted for the same crime, the death of an onlooker, at previous event.

The specific charge wasn't disclosed, but a report says the Kingdom treats such incidents as criminally negligent homicide. In the U.S., depending on the state, a driver in the same situation could be charged with anything from vehicular manslaughter to first-degree vehicular homicide, the primary charge aggravated by fleeing the scene. As one might expect, our sentencing doesn't come anywhere close to the death penalty, though: a maximum of thirty years in prison for vehicular homicide is the penalty in Minnesota but only in cases of DUI, whereas in Alabama the same charge only merits a maximum of five years in prison. In Florida, vehicular homicide and leaving the scene is a first-degree felony with a maximum 30-year prison term, before the additional charges and the previous offense are factored in.

The sentence will be carried out by sword, but the Gazette didn't indicate when the defendant will receive it. Nor did it give any indication as to whether the verdict can be appealed, as in the case of another Saudi man first sentenced to death for a similar crime. The other man's death sentence was 'reduced' to 3,000 lashes, 20 years in prison and a lifetime driving ban.

Every once in a long spell, we get an email asking how an ambitious young writer can work his or her way into the automotive sphere. The answer is always the same: work harder. Work harder than you ever have in your entire life. Work harder than anyone else around you. Sacrifice your time, your happiness and monetary gain just to work harder. Abandon your notions of fairness. They will only slow you down. Never fool yourself into thinking your hard work entitles you to anything. It does not. It only prepares you to work harder.

Of course, these lessons apply to more than just babbling about cars day in and day out. Just ask the guys of Formula Drift. We're not talking about big names like Tanner Foust, Vaughn Gittin Jr. or Sam Hubinette. No, those guys have made it. They're living or have lived the life of sponsorship deals and rampant success. For the rest of the field, making it to the next event means scraping pennies, taking crap jobs and yes, lots of hard work. Check out the awesome video below by 1Kind Studio to see what we mean.

Ford has been ahead of the curve when it comes to driver distraction – in both inviting potential sources of distraction into the car and then offering technological solutions to help keep drivers focused on the road. Ford's Sync and MyFord Touch systems are happy to make phone calls, play music from your phone, run smartphone apps, read text messages aloud, and allows you to manage almost all of it via voice activation.

However, as industry-leading as Sync's functionality may be, it's come under scrutiny from some safety researchers who insist that all such technology, even when it's voice-activated, is distracting. Ford certainly doesn't want its competitive advantage undermined, and with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration kicking around recommendations to combat distracted driving, proposed rules that could render navigation systems useless, the topic is certainly a hot one.

So that brings us to today's press release, in which Ford touts its research into what it's calling a "driver workload estimator." That five-dollar phrase is a convoluted way of saying the automaker is trying to figure out how to make its cars automatically block some of the functionality of Sync and MyFord Touch, especially incoming phone calls or text messages. Of course, Ford does not want this automatic activation of the do-not-disturb feature that's already part of MyFord Touch to make customers any more frustrated with the system than they already are. Thus the desire to incorporate biometric feedback into the system.

Ford says it can gather temperature, heart rate, and respiration through a special experimental steering wheel and seat belt. The car's computer could then use this information to augment data already coming from the rest of the vehicle to determine if it's not a good time to notify the driver that, say, her sister just accidentally butt-called her from the bar. While you could make the case that it's really never a good time for such a call, Ford is more concerned with keeping the phone from ringing when you're trying to merge into heavy freeway traffic.

And when might you be able to purchase such electronic wizardry? No time soon. We talked to Jeff Greenberg, Senior Technical Leader at Ford Research, and he told us that the company has no current production plans for the technology, as it's concerned about how customers will react to it. "We do have a lot to learn about what customers will accept," he said. Scroll down to read the full press release.

When BMW acquired Mg Rover in 1994, the focus of the deal was the Rover and Land Rover brands. Eighteen years later, and ten years in the U.S., Mini, for now, is the only piece left from that deal and the only piece some key executives at BMW wanted in the first place.

The idea was for the storied Munich-based automaker to acquire Rover and turn it into a stronger mass-market brand in Europe, and introduce it to the U.S. This would allow BMW to concentrate in the luxe end of the business. Land Rover was to be BMW's foray into SUVs because the thinking then was that BMW could not spawn SUVs under its own brand. That was before the X5 was on the road and proving those naysayers wrong.

Mini was garnish in the deal. There were a few BMW execs who believed it could be revived under BMW's crack product development team. "Really, all I wanted out of that deal was Mini, because I thought it was a perfect compliment to BMW," said Wolfgang Reitzle, Technical Director at BMW when the deal was done. "But there was no way we could get Mini without taking the other big problems," Reitzle said in interviews for AOL Autos editor-in-chief David Kiley's 2004 book: Driven: Inside BMW, The Most Admired Car Company in the World.

Mini remains a fixture at BMW, selling in excess of 57,000 vehicles last year in the U.S. and many more worldwide.

BMW lost billions trying to fix Rover and Land Rover before jettisoning them in 1999. The ill-conceived acquisition roiled the culture of BMW and eventually cost chairman Bernd Pischetsrieder and Reitzle their jobs.

Rover was given away to a British private equity firm to wind down. Land Rover was eventually sold to Ford, and is now owned by Indian automaker Tata. Mini remains a fixture at BMW, selling in excess of 57,000 vehicles last year in the U.S. and many more worldwide. Mini (It's actually MINI officially, having gone to all capitol letters under BMW), has pretty much maxed out its Oxford, England capacity for now, and builds the Countryman crossover in Austria.

BMW also acquired the rights to the Riley, Triumph and Austin-Healey brands in the deal. There is chatter that BMW may do something with the Triumph name and maybe even Riley. When then-chairman Pischetsrieder asked then-Ford Europe chief Sir Nick Scheele what he thought of the potential of those three brands before inking the deal, the former Ford exec responded, "Frankly, I would give a tuppance for the lot of them." BMW proved them wrong on Mini, so maybe there is life in Triumph and Riley too.

This month AOL Autos, our sister website, is giving away a 2012 MINI Countryman. All you need to do is "Like" AOL Autos on Facebook and fill out a quick questionnaire (click here to enter). Jeff Sabatini assembled a gallery to take you through Mini's beginnings some fifty years ago to the lineup the company presents today, which you can check out here if you need more motivation to enter.

Jaguar has announced a few updates for the 2013 XJ, the most significant of which is the availability of an all-new supercharged 3.0-liter V6 engine. The six-cylinder is good for 335 horsepower and 331 pound-feet of torque and is bolted to a new eight-speed automatic gearbox with a start-stop function. All told, the changes should help the big four-door yield a 14 percent improvement in fuel economy over the old naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 and its six-speed transmission.

While no Environmental Protection Agency numbers have been released as of yet, our quick math indicates the 2013 XJ could crank out 18 miles per gallon city, 26 mpg highway and 21 mpg combined. That fuel economy does come with a price, however. The delicious 5.0-liter V8 currently serves up 50 more horsepower and 49 more lb-ft of torque compared to the new force-fed six.

In addition to the drivetrain changes, Jaguar reworked the spring and damper rates for better on-road comfort, and a new 825 Meridian sound system is also part of the mix. Check out the full press blast below.

Bowler has built a name for itself by constructing some very impressive rally bruisers built on Land Rover platforms. Now the company wants to take to the street with the new EXR-S. The road-legal version is currently undergoing testing, and Chris Harris managed to get his hands on the 550-horsepower creation for a little preview.

A supercharged V8 propels the 3,814-pound, full-time four-wheel-drive SUV with ease thanks to its 700 pound-feet of torque, and engineers have set up the suspension to handle more like a modern rally car than a planted high-performance bruiser like the BMW X6 M.

While the race version splits power 60/40 between the rear and front axles respectively, the EXR-S serves up a 50/50 split. Even so, Harris says the machine is happy to oversteer once the driver overcomes the considerable grip on hand. He has no problem getting the high-rider to do his bidding.

At the end of the day, Harris calls the EXR-S "the most niche vehicles of all niche vehicles," and we have to agree. Check out the video below to see what he means.

eBay Motors and AutoNation are quickly establishing a reputation for finding new ways to sell cars online. They teamed up for the first time back in March when they tried selling vehicles for half price on the popular auction site. This weekend they're back with another unique promotion that will see the price for certain vehicles drop every hour until they're sold.

The reverse auctions began at 12:00 PM EST today and will run through 8:00 PM EST on Monday, July 2. Each day about 10 vehicles will be posted for sale with an initial Buy it Now price that matches their MSRP. Every hour their prices will drop according to a list of prices that accompanies each auction. A 2012 Nissan Rogue that kicks off the promotion, for instance, is dropping by $500 per hour. The good news is that there is no limit to how far prices can drop, nor a reserve they need to stay above. The only limiting factor is the other person out there who's willing to pay $500 more than you.

As for what sort of vehicles will be sold via this promotion, the list includes vehicles from Chevy, Dodge, Ford, Jeep, Nissan and Toyota, and includes popular models like the Camaro, Mustang, F-150, Fusion, Challenger, Charger, Wrangler, Prius C, Camry and more. And in case you're worried about getting the Mechanic's Special, all of the 50-some vehicles being sold this way are still under factory warranty.

Get your wallets ready and head on over to the special landing page to watch the prices drop.

Carroll Shelby may have passed away last month, but that doesn't mean his company has stopped producing new vehicles. Today, Shelby American announced that it has updated the GT350 for 2013 with new options and an expanded range of color options. Customers can now choose from any of the Ford factory hues, meaning that everything from Gotta Have It Green to Candy Red can be applied to the GT350's exterior. The new colors can also be paired with new stripe colors – black, white or metallic blue – as well as black or silver wheels. Also new for 2013 are options for a glass roof and Recaro seats, and an updated rear valence.

What hasn't changed are the GT350's performance credentials. A 430-horsepower version of the 5.0-liter V8 comes standard, although we're guessing many customers will opt for the supercharger system with an output of either 525 or 624 horsepower.

Shelby says that it will produce just 350 GT350s for 2013 with the post-title package (not including the base car) starting at $26,995 or $33,995 with the supercharger system. You can read the official press from Shelby below.

Volkswagen is excellent at coming up with loopy, memorable commercials, especially the kind that are best described with the phrase, "You'll just have to see it." Looking in that direction is a set of four ads called Fast vs. Fast, in which the some of the family wares need to prove their speed by lapping a track faster than some unconventional competition.

What's that mean? It means the Golf R needs to beat the one-handed Rubik's cube solver, the GTI needs to outrun a speed beat-boxer doing his song, "Lickety Split," and the 200-horsepower Jetta GLI needs to distance a speed guitarist doing Flight of the Bumblebee and a speed reader reciting the Gettysburg Address.

Does that make sense when you read it? Of course not. So you'll just have to see it, in the videos below.

McLaren has announced that it will debut the 2013 MP4-12C at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this year. Jenson Button will whip a production prototype version of the machine up Goodwood Hill on June 30. McLaren has nudged final output from 593 horsepower to 616, and revised the throttle and shift mechanisms for better response. Designers have also thrown in a few more color and interior options. Buyers may now slather their MP4-12C in Volcano Yellow, and the cabin can be trimmed in perforated leather and Alcantara. The 2013 model will also be available with a new diamond cut wheel finish.

In addition to pitting the new model against the hill, McLaren will display the 2013 MP4-12C in the Goodwood Supercar Paddock so fans can get a closer look.

The company will also show off its new 12C GT3 race car, complete with a Union Jack livery, as seen in the image gallery above. Check out the full press release below.

Don't be surprised. This isn't the first time we've heard talk of Cadillac looking to expand its ATS lineup beyond the new-for-2013 sedan. Earlier this year, we reported that the automaker may be looking to move its CTS Coupe and Sport Wagon models down to the ATS line, and before that, our intrepid spy photographers had caught what appears to be a high-power ATS-V out testing.

TheDetroitBureau.com points out that the biggest challenge Cadillac faces in coming up with an ATS coupe is how to create something that doesn't just resemble a smaller version of the larger CTS two-door. Of course, the larger model could just be ditched altogether in favor of a rakish new ATS variant, and while Cadillac (as usual) cannot confirm future product plans, spokespeople within the automaker were a bit ruffled when rumors of the ATS coupe's demise were greatly exaggerated.

An ATS-V is indeed more likely to show up first, though at this point, there's still apparently some back-and-forth about whether or not to throw a big V8 or turbocharged V6 under the hood. We've heard rumors of everything from a 380-horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.0-liter V6 to a 470-horsepower 6.2-liter V8, so at this point, your guess is as good as ours.

Finally, TheDetroitBureau.com reports that future ATS models aren't the only thing spinning through the Cadillac rumormill right now. Apparently, several sources within the automaker have discussed the possibility of adding a convertible to the lineup – something that has been absent since the XLR was killed off a few years ago. Something giant and grandiose like the Ciel concept is certainly an option, but who knows, maybe there's a droptop ATS variant in the works, too.

It's easy to forget just how dangerous fueling your vehicle can be. Drivers visit gas stations hundreds of times a year, and topping off the tank is as second nature as tying your shoelaces.

However, that doesn't mean gasoline has suddenly turned less flammable. Just ask one absent-minded guy in Australia. While waiting for the pump to shut off, the gentleman checked to see if his cigarette lighter was in working order. Sure enough, a small flame popped up with the first flick of the flint, and the fumes from the gushing gas pump quickly followed suit.

Our wicked fire-starter took the time to hop his open car door instead of simply closing it, and sprinted right past a clearly visible fire extinguisher in an attempt to save his own skin. Fortunately, the station operator had the presence of mind to shut down the pump, and a bystander took it upon himself to douse the flames with water. Authorities say everyone involved was only seconds from going extra crispy. Check out the video below.

Learning The Delicate Balance Between Living Life And Cheating Death

"Don't lose the taillamps in front of you."

Those were the only words on my mind as our rolling convoy plowed its way over hill and dale on the Isle of Man, up Snaefell Mountain and back down again. Thing is, those taillamps were little more than faint twinkling halos shrouded in obscurity, nodding up and down obeisantly to the undulating road famously known by locals as the Mountain Course.

Those taillamps were the only sign that, up ahead, our procession of 2013 Subaru BRZ coupes was being led by one Mark Higgins, he who currently owns the four-wheeled lap record at the 37.8-mile-long loop of asphalt we're traversing. He who has taken home five British Rally Championship trophies, was born right here on the Isle of Man and is the odds-on favorite to win his home Manx Rally year after year. Put another way, we're following a seasoned professional who knows this track better than he knows the wrinkles, pores and follicles gracing the back of his own hand. And, while we're well shy of the 115 mile-per-hour average that constitutes his record-setting lap, to say we're driving gingerly is to say it takes a bit of arithmetic to land on the moon. As for us? This is the first time we've ever put rubber to the ground on the Isle.

Making matters a wee bit more interesting is the steady downpour of rain we've come to know and loathe on the Isle – enough of it, in fact, that the Senior TT motorcycle race, the most sought-after win of the entire Isle of Man race schedule, was canceled for the first time for any reason other than a World War – not to mention a layer of fog so thick in patches that we couldn't tell if it were a fellow BRZ pilot we were following on the Mountain Course or Charon's ferry over the River Styx.

Once more, with feeling: "Do NOT lose the taillamps in front of you!"