Gear Patrol

The wraps just came off the Corvette Stingray Convertible, which will be sold alongside the hardtop in the fourth quarter of 2013. Powered by the same potent 6.2-liter LT1 V8 engine with 450 hp, the convertible sheds the metal for a fully electronic top that can be deployed or retracted at speeds of up to 30 mph. It’s the perfect new recipe for fast, top-down driving, American style.

Just introduced at the Geneva Motor Show, the Spyker B6 Venator Concept should prove to be a step in the right direction for the Dutch exotic car maker. With more pronounced design features than the C8 Aileron, the Venator houses a powerful 385+ hp V6 engine that’s positioned behind the cabin for optimal performance and balance. It also may possess the most beautiful interior this side of a Bentley.

Ferrari’s supercar legacy is not only alive and well, it’s now hooked up to hybrid power for the first time. Making use of a HY-KERS system that generates 160 hp on top of the V12′s already crazy 780 hp, the all-new Ferrari LaFerrari should get to 60 in less than three seconds and top out at 217 mph. But it’s not all go and no show. The beautifully designed supercar is both fluid and muscular, making use of more organic design elements than the car it replaces. The sum of these parts? A supercar easily worthy of the Ferrari name.

We expect that buyers of the new Rolls-Royce Wraith (~$325,960) will be equal parts man of mystery and crazy affluent. Just unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, the Wraith maintains the brand’s upper-crust heritage while delving into a level of visible aggression that’s new and refreshing.

If the 991 isn’t enough for you, look to the all-new 2014 Porsche 911 GT3 to satisfy your greedy longings. The GT3 delivers some serious firepower in the form of a 3.8-liter flat six engine that puts 475 hp to the rear wheels, giving the GT3 a 0-60 time of 3.3 seconds and a top speed of 195 mph. The question isn’t whether the GT3 is right for you, but are you man enough for it?

On the verge of being released for the drooling public in Geneva tomorrow, the Lamborghini Veneno has enough hard edges, wings and vents to make the prospect of a carnauba wax a serious headache. That in-your-face exterior should be well partnered with a purported 6.5-liter V12, snorting out 740 horsepower to rocket the Veneno to 60 in under three seconds and providing a top speed of 220 mph.

If military-grade Humvees or the “run-of-the-mill” bores you to tears and you simply can’t afford an M1 Abrams tank for your off-pavement adventures, look to Mercedes-Benz and their perfectly over-the-top G63 AMG 6×6. Yes folks, that’s six-wheel-drive, with enough torque to warp the earth’s crust (if that’s your thing). The limited-production beast is the result of a partnership with Austria’s Magna Steyr and is based on the military version of the Mercedes-Benz G320 CDI — and it’s positively bonkers.

Aston Martin recently decided that being one of the most prestigious and sexiest car makers on the planet wasn’t enough. They needed to be audacious. Their execution of this? Surgically transplanting the 6.0-liter 510 hp V12 from the DBS into their smallest and lightest offering, the Vantage. The Carbon Black edition adds carbon-fiber side strakes, lightweight carbon fiber and Kevlar seats, piano black accents and gloss black painted wheels, which convey the same kind of ballsy aggression as the drivetrain underneath that extruded aluminum body. Read on for a video and photo essay of this Brit stunner.

If ever there was a hot-hatch-segment-defining car, the VW GTI would most likely be it. And perhaps aside from the heavy and globule-like Mk4, each one has been coveted in its field. The 2015 Volkswagen GTI, the seventh generation of the German pocket rocket, will ratchet things up once more.

Better than your run-of-the-mill car cover, the Hail Protector inflates in minutes to provide your car with the ultimate protection from hail — even stuff the size of softballs. It’s powered by AC outlet, AA batteries or via the cigarette lighter in your car. Plus, you can activate it with a remote control from the comfort of your home, after which you can watch the seventh plague drop from the skies with peace of mind.

Based on the 400cc Honda Bros, the Bandit9 Hephaestus (~$13,635) is truly impressive — forged from all stainless steel, including the tank, cowl and fender. The custom frame is also accentuated by side covers, exhaust, muffler and turn signals that have been designed and fabricated by the Bandit9 shop, so you know the Hephaestus isn’t some Frankensteined job created by a crazed creator screaming behind closed doors.

Puerto Rico is a peculiar place. It’s not an American state but is under US law. It’s only 100 miles by 35 miles but has a thriving car culture. Though it feels a world away, it’s only three and a half hours from JFK. This land of contradiction was the perfect place to experience the new Mini Paceman ($24,000 Base), which at first glance appears to be a small version of Mini’s largest offering.

Aston Martin and Bertone have partnered up once again to bring you automotive nirvana, this time in the form of the one-off Aston Martin Jet 2+2. The rakish shooting brake (station wagon) is based on the beautiful Rapide S four door coupe and will be unveiled at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. We’d say the result is nothing less than stunning.

One of my favorite things to do on a Saturday is roll out of bed at 5:30 a.m., grab a camera and my jacket and drive 48 miles from LA to a business park in Irvine. There, on any given Saturday, hundreds of cars worth millions of dollars gather for Cars and Coffee, a special event where two common denominators create a mood of friendship, relaxation and shared passion.

The Volkswagen XL1 shows making a hybrid doesn’t mean its design has to be inspired by a bar of soap. Largely unchanged from the 2011 concept car, the XL1 will show up again in Geneva this March. And yes, this is coming to production .

Nothing gets the 1% excited like the unveiling of a new Bentley (okay, except for really great stock market news). The 2014 Bentley Continental Flying Spur should certainly illict the best kind of kerfuffle amongst the bluebloods and new money, alike.

Aether shook up the outerwear market by blending the technical chops of today’s most advanced outerwear with the clean lines and styles of the city. The newly revealed Aether Skyline Motorcycle Jacket ($650) looks poised to do the same thing for a niche most fashion brands ignore.

GM’s excitement dry spell (besides the Stingray) ends with the arrival of the 2014 Chevrolet SS, an American-made sports sedan that should expel the melatonin right from your pineal gland (thanks, high school bio class).

We’re all familiar with the iconic design of Airstream trailers. But what about the name Hawley Bowlus? He was the designer and builder of the Spirit of St. Louis — the record-breaking plane used by Lindberg to fly non-stop across Atlantic Ocean. But a few years later in 1934, he also created the forebear of the AirStream trailer, a stunning piece of technically advanced machinery dubbed the Hawley Bowlus Road Chief. Today, the classic Road Chief is reborn as a stunner with all the modern trappings.

VW’s 2014 Beetle GSR is a resurrection of a badder bug — and proudly sports a 210 horsepower 2.0-liter 4-cylinder turbo. This isn’t the chick car of past years.

For most of us the world of powerboats is a bit on the abstract side — we simply imagine loud, fast and ridiculously expensive, but on water instead of pavement. The Cigarette AMG Electric Drive Concept boat is a spectacular example of at least the last two qualities.

My winter BMW driving history is a sad one, littered with shattered taillights, bent frames and too many loaner cars. After one too many calls to my insurance agent, I finally gave up on the Bayerische Motoren Werke for good, moving on to more sensible Scandinavian cars that understood what winter is all about. Given my less-than-stellar driving past, the prospect of piloting a 2013 BMW 650i Gran Coupe, in Germany — in winter — both thrilled and mortified me. On the one hand, the opportunity to put the whip to 445 twin-turbocharged horses on the very roads for which they were bred was a once in a lifetime opportunity. But it was December, and my PTSD flared up, with visions of mid-Autobahn donuts making my palms sweat.

Small car. Big engine. The 2014 A45 AMG is a guaranteed recipe for ear-to-ear grins and a way for Mercedes-Benz to prove they still know the magic elixir well. This beast of a hatchback, debuting early next month, gets a whole range of the badass treatment from our favorite German mad scientists (AMG): a new look and a big upgrade under the hood.

The folks at KTM are on a roll, and not just with their X-Bow track monster. Their motorcycles are just as impressive (with an excellent color scheme, we might add), including the brand new, limited edition KTM 990 Adventure Baja Edition ($14,899). Designed specifically for North America, the 990 Adventure Baja makes the world of enduro riding even more sexy.

Most drivers with sport-tuned cars like BMW’s Ms and Audi’s S line are relegated to red light straightaways, only partially exploiting the true potential of their steeds. The pathway to higher speeds lies elsewhere. Mercedes recognized this problem and invited us to Rosamond, CA., a quiet farming town with long, unpatrolled stretches of road, to play with all their AMG toys offerings for 2013 and to use the track at Willow Springs Raceway for their brand new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT ($200,000 Base Coupe).

Some claim the Nissan GT-R is a tad too clinical, born from a generation of Gran Turismo video game junkies who are better on a game console than behind a real wheel. But no one will dispute the fact that the GT-R is a bonkers supercar for a non-supercar price, and it makes just about every other competitor sweaty in the nether regions. The 2014 Nissan GT-R Track Edition should add an even heftier dose of fear into the hearts of performance cars with twice the price tag.

The last time we mentioned Ural, they were introducing a bike with an integrated paddle; the time before that, we drove a beautiful sidecar bike through the snow of Seattle. This time, they’ve teamed up with Icon 1000, a company renowned for its armored motorcycle gear, and the resulting one-off Quartermaster is just as spectacular as past fare.

We’re always huge advocates of motorcycle riding safety, and you can’t scrimp when it comes to protection on the mean streets or on the tarmac. The Alpinestars Atem Leather Jacket ($700) boasts the kind of materials and design that make it one of the most complete riding jackets available today.

In the pick-up wars, a new contender has stepped up. The 2014 Toyota Tundra just showed up at the Chicago Auto Show, and it looks like it’s pretty serious about going tire-to-tire with the other big boys from Ram Trucks, GMC and Chevy.

If the white stuff comes down in droves where you live and laws allow for tire chains in your state, the only thing stopping you from procuring a set is the pain installation can cause. Thule Easy-fit CU-9 ($450) tire chains can easily change all that (of course, you should always be prepared for the worst during winter weather driving).