German Tuner Thinks Louis Vuitton-esque MINI JCW with up to 252HP Looks Kewl

We're no luxury handbag experts, but the first thought that comes to mind upon seeing CoverEFX's MINI John Cooper Works [JCW] tuning proposal is a....Louis Vuitton bag on wheels. For obvious reasons, the monogram canvas is different than the one found on the products of the famous French design house, but its styling as well as the colors and the leathery texture of the special foil wrap all point to an inspiration that come from Louis Vuitton.

The new look is complemented by a set of matching matte black and matte gold metallic 17-inch OZ LM alloy wheels surrounded by Toyo R888 205/40 R17 84W tires.

In the performance department, CoverEFX says it offers two stages of tune for the 1.6-liter twin-scroll turbo engine. The first adds an ECU upgrade along with a 2.5-inch exhaust system with Milltek downpipe, sports catalyst and extra large sports air filter to lift output from 211HP and 280Nm to 236HP and 350Nm. The second stage includes a more aggressive software tune pushing output to 252HP and a maximum torque of 382 Nm.

A short shift kit for the gearbox and a stainless steel KW Variant 3 suspension round off the performance upgrades.

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Brabus: New Hot Wheels for 2012 Mercedes-Benz CLS Sports Sedan

As sure as the sun rises tomorrow, Brabus will present some horsepower crazy version of the new Mercedes-Benz CLS in the likes of the insane, first-generation CLS-based Rocket V12 that packed 730 twin-turbocharged horses under its bonnet. But for now, the German tuning firm is taking it easy simply releasing its alloy wheel and tire options for Merc's banana-shaped luxury sports sedan. You can check the available designs in sizes 19- and 20-inches in our gallery after the jump.

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Porsche Tuning Specialist TECHART Opens U.S. Subsidiary in California [Mega Gallery Alert]

Good news for Porsche owners in America who'd like to have their sports cars and SUV models tuned by Techart as the German company has finally opened a US headquarters in Irvine California. "The new subsidiary ensures a faster product supply to all its customers and sales partners," Techart said in a statement.

The company said that it its US subsidiary has been staffed with specially trained sales and engineering employees, some of which have been sourced from the company's central headquarters in Leonberg, Germany. Techart will offer American clients its full range of products from light alloy wheels and sport exhaust systems to full blown performance and styling kits as well as individual interior treatments.

"The North American automobile market is one of our most important sales markets in the world," said Techart CEO Thomas Behringer. "The foundation of TECHART USA, our own US-subsidiary, underlines the central significance of this market," he added/

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