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A fun palate-cleanser for a chilly Friday: Ford’s new “customizer” website for their 2012 Mustang.

Beyond how much fun it is to play with and think that the automaker could actually deliver the combination of options selected, it’s refreshing to see Ford replicating a big part of what made the Mustang a runaway success in the ’60s: The ability to customize the car any way you want. I mean, how cool is it that the factory gives you 8 different air dams and 22 different wheel options to choose from? And they let you select the under-window trim strip color and headlight design, among other things? Amazing. Forget 2 or 3 pre-bundled “option packages;” this is how car buffs want to buy their cars. Provided you’re willing to wait for the factory to assemble “your” Mustang, it seems like it would boost new car sales significantly too, as chances are slim a second-hand pony car is going to have exactly the collection of features you want. It’s genius.

Between the essential goodness of the car and ability to tailor one precisely to your tastes, Ford really is firing on all cylinders.

Motor Trend relays a bit of sleuthing by Bimmerfest involving recent patent filings by BMW. As it turns out, the Bavarian automaker has just applied for patents on a pair of upcoming engines: Two turbocharged V8s and, more significantly, a couple of twin-turbo V6s.

If you know anything about BMW’s relationship with the inline-6 engine configuration, you’ll know the adoption of a V6 would represent a fairly significant lurch away from their legacy. Virtually every other automaker has abandoned the I6 in favor of the more compact V layout for their 6-cylindered powerplants. Mercedes, Nissan, Toyota—you name it; they’ve ditched the I6. Why, then, has BMW persisted with the configuration for so long? In contrast to the more common V6, arranging the cylinders in a row does have some important advantages: Intake and exhaust plumbing is more simple, the valvetrain is much less complex, and perhaps most significantly: The engine is capable of achieving perfect harmonic balance, meaning it runs very smoothly. This puts less stress on its internals and gives the inline-6 a refined feel, an important quality for the engine of a luxury performance car.

And now BMW may be, at long last, introducing a V6. Somehow I doubt it will entirely replace their iconic I6 across the model range, as it did with the other automakers, but it muddies the waters; it dilutes what was previously an uncompromising devotion to the inherent qualities of a technically elegant engine configuration. That said, as with the introduction of FWD cars branded as BMWs, I don’t know if I can blame this entirely on some cynical quest for profit at the expense of the automaker’s legacy. The new EU regulations for cars include rather draconian specifications for pedestrian safety, regulations the European auto industry is striving to adhere to mainly by integrating larger crumple zones into the noses of their designs. The additional “give” needed by the bodywork means the “hard” engine must be pushed back farther in the chassis, putting the comparatively long inline-6 at a major disadvantage. So an attempt to conform to some arbitrary set of top-down restrictions may bear at least some of the blame for the shift. Whatever the reasons, it’ll be a sad day for classic Bimmer-philes when the first V6-engined BMW rolls off the assembly line.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Sebastian Vettel ran away with another Grand Prix today, notching his eighth win of the season at Monza. Except for a a half-dozen breakdowns and a first-lap misstep by Tonio Liuzzi in his HRT car that saw him lose control and take out three other drivers in addition to himself, the race was a largely uneventful speedfest in the classic Italian tradition.

With Vettel’s Red Bull and Alonso’s Ferrari firmly ensconced in first and second until lap 36, when Button’s McLaren finally squeezed by the Ferrari, the main excitement of the day belonged to the battle between Hamilton’s McLaren and Schumacher’s Mercedes, who finished the race in fourth and fifth places, respectively. Hamilton, driving the clearly superior car, made multiple attempts to get around Schumacher, who for his part displayed, depending on your perspective, either masterful defensive driving, or a stubborn refusal to let the faster car by. After a good dozen laps of the McLaren nipping at the Mercedes’ heels, Schumacher’s boss, Ross Brawn, got on the radio and instructed him to let Hamilton by, strongly hinting that the German was at risk of being penalized for his antics in holding up the McLaren.

It was the first I’d heard that F1 drivers are allowed “one defensive movement” as a faster car attempts to overtake. And I’m sorry, but if that isn’t a crystal-clear example of the micromanagement that passes for regulation of the sport these days, I don’t know what is. I mean, how can we praise, for example, Senna’s tenacity in holding up his rival Mansell at the end of the ’92 Monaco Grand Prix, but penalize present-day drivers for doing what they’re supposed to do out there on the track, namely, be competitive. It’s just humiliating to have to be told over the radio to essentially “give up” and let the other guy through. I felt bad for Schumi.

Let me just say this up front: The new Jaguar C-X16 concept is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. The proportions are beautiful, the details are well done, and the whole car is a magnificently tasteful expression of everything we love in a classic British GT—even if the name does succumb to a touch of McLaren-like weirdness.

Let’s get this out of the way, too: The powertrain—incidental as it is to a car whose appeal is 95% predicated on its looks—is a new type of hybrid system. When a The Fast and the Furious-style steering wheel button is pressed, the supercharged, 376 hp 3.0l V6 is augmented by the extra 92 hp of an electric motor grafted onto the gearbox. Cute. But only marginally relevant.

Now, to the issue at hand. When I first laid eyes on the concept last night, my gut reaction was “BUILD IT!” Since, however, I’ve come to appreciate Autoblog‘s critique:

[I]t’s as good as anything from Ian Callum, Jag’s Director of Design, but we’d be remiss not to say that it looks a little dated. Gorgeous, no doubt, but in the same way the XK is a stunner, but fails to quicken our pulse when we see one on the road.

Therein lies the rub, and Jaguar’s quandary as originators and Lord Protectors of the classic British GT faith: How to keep pace with evolving styling trends, offer something fresh-looking and maintain a connection to a uniquely rich heritage—a heritage distinctly dependent on looks rooted in classic proportions, stance and tastefulness.

Sadly, the C-X16 isn’t the solution. I honestly expected more from Callum, the force behind Jaguar’s wildly successful stylistic reinvention. With the latest XJ and XF, he accomplished the herculean task of prying the automaker away from 40-year-old design cues. But with the C-X16, in spite of the updated grille shape and other details, he falls back into old habits. The man who penned such classics as the brand-reviving Aston Martin DB7 and even the latest GT from Jaguar (the XK) doesn’t seem to have a vision for the body style’s aesthetic future as he serves up a collage of other cars’ design elements, from the Aston One-77‘s finned fascia and hips to the BMW Z4 M Coupe‘s greenhouse and rear deck treatment.

Concept cars offer a vision of a brand’s stylistic future, and range-topping GTs like Jaguar’s XK set the aesthetic tone for the rest of the brand. The automaker had the chance to unveil something really daring (like their showstopping XK120 and E-Type of the late ’40s and early ’60s, respectively), but as seductive as the C-X16 is, it’s a missed opportunity.

New photos surfaced today showing a heavily-camouflaged prototype of Subaru’s upcoming RWD, flat-4 sports car, the BRZ.

The diversification of the automotive landscape (SUVs, hybrids, crossovers, etc) means sports cars have become something of a riskier venture than they used to be, so the BRZ is a joint venture with Toyota, who will release a badge-engineered version under their Scion brand.

Toyota, at least, provides the car with at least a little pedigree: Their mid-’80s, 4-cylinder, RWD AE86 Corolla has a cult following among the Japanese tuner crowd, and the upcoming offering looks to be in the same vein, even if the engine supplied by Subaru has a different cylinder configuration. For Subaru itself, though, there’s no clear precedent. The two pillars of their claim to uniqueness have always been their boxer engines and AWD architecture, even in their performance cars like the WRX. The BRZ will be powered by one of their classic flat-4s, but its placement in the chassis makes an AWD version all but impossible. And they’ve made 2-door sports coupes before (the late-’90s Impreza 2.5RS was the best we ever got), but nothing that wasn’t based on sedan underpinnings. The BRZ is a dedicated, fresh design.

Maybe it’s a little much to hope for, but if the teamed-up automakers get this one right, might we be witnessing the birth of a new sports car dynasty?

Left Lane reports French automaker Renault is mulling over a reintroduction of their performance Alpine brand.

Best known for their pint-size, rally-winning A110, I was introduced to Alpine by their later A310, shown above. An awkwardly-proportioned, rear-engined wedge of a car, the A310 was more rare than a Porsche or Ferrari even in its native France. During our time in Europe, I remember more than one car ride sighting, excitedly telling my brothers “Look! An Alpine!” Much like the SVX, the car emitted a distinctive sci-fi vibe, and had major “baby Countach” overtones. Low and angular, it pushed all the right buttons for a 9-year-old car nut.

Powered by either an indifferent Renault 4-cylinder or the ho-hum PRV V6, the ~8 second 0-60 time was on the weak side but reasonably competent for the era, even if it didn’t really live up to the promise of the car’s looks. And the rear-engined handling was tricky, but no more so than that of the average 911.

Unfortunately, Renault could never really figure out what they wanted to do with the marque. They vacillated between calling the cars “Renault Alpines” or just “Alpines,” and failed to really harmonize them with the rest of their model line. So the cars never really became their parent company’s performance flagship, as was intended, and enthusiasts always considered them more “standalone” Alpines rather than proper Renaults. Severed from their lineage as the defunct subsidiary is at present, it’ll be interesting to see which direction Renault takes the brand. Will the new Alpines be tarted-up performance versions of existing Renaults, or will they be all-new, clean-sheet designs? Here’s hoping the latter.

The only thing not to like is the price. Otherwise, the Lexus LFA is a tour de force, as both Top Gear and Car and Driver have attested to. Yes, there’s the whole image thing, but I have a hunch that’s less of an obstacle on this side of the pond than it is for TG’s Richard Hammond, speaking from a place where Lexus has made fewer inroads on the established luxury marques. Here in the US, Lexus commands if not the same, than very close to the same level of prestige as BMW or Mercedes-Benz, so their output is judged more on the actual merits of the cars and less on brand perception.

In any case, a slightly modified version of the car lapped the Nürburgring in 7:14 recently, placing itself atop the production car leaderboard, except for specialized track-only toys. It’s a remarkable achievement, and I sincerely hope it boosts the car and its manufacturer’s performance image.

Goodness knows the boost is deserved. When compared with other Japanese heavy-hitters like the Nissan GT-R, the clean-sheet LFA, with its bespoke, naturally-aspirated 552 hp V10 and passion-infused road manners, is in a class by itself. And topping it off, in my mind, is the styling, which is the only example of the new “techno-brutal” Japanese design philosophy to be actually beautiful. Well done indeed. If a new Lexus SC coupe shares some of the LFA’s attributes, I’ll be very pleased.

Mazda’s all-new entry in the saturated small SUV class, the CX-5 bows next year as a welcome vanguard of the automaker’s new styling direction. Car and Driver reports:

The previous Nagare (“wind-driven flow”) theme that gave us more ear-to-ear grins than we really needed is heretofore supplanted by Kodo—a less flamboyant, more tasteful “soul of motion” appearance. Where the CX-5 goes stylistically, other Mazdas will follow.

As odd as it seems for a small SUV to be leading its company’s design direction, at this point, those of us battle-weary from the aesthetic jarring of seeing the Mazda 3 schnoz on the commute home will take visual relief any way we can get it. I actually think Mazda went above the call of duty and penned a very shapely and distinctive little car, one that will stand out in a forest of antiseptic Honda Pilots, Kia Sportages and Ford Escapes.

While the styling is sure to be well-received, as will be the handling (Mazda’s forte), the new powertrain philosophy the automaker is introducing with the CX-5 is a less sure bet. Instead of releasing a fashionable hybrid or turbo-diesel, Mazda has opted to focus on refining their traditional engines to remarkable levels of efficiency, with carefully optimized internals and peripherals that wring maximum mileage out of conventional processes. While it’s an admirable goal, I do wonder whether Mazda is either:

1. Making the best of a bad situation, not having the resources or capital to develop either a hybrid or diesel powertrain, or
2. Somehow betting that the current phase of alternative propulsion is just a fad, and hoping to jump on the train at the next station, so to speak, by anticipating whatever will come next.

I’ll be keeping an eye on the response to both Mazda’s styling and propulsion choices. I hope for their sake—and for the prospects of any future rotary-powered Mazda sports car—that their gambles pay off.

Update (3:24 p.m.): Automotive News reports that a diesel engine option will be added to the lineup for the 2014 model year. Still no word of a hybrid, though…

Germany’s Sebastian Vettel continued his relentless march toward a second consecutive Formula 1 driver’s championship with a win today at the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix.

Held at the storied Spa-Francorchamps circuit, the race was eventful, full of overtaking and great drives by some of the top drivers, notably two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who held on to fourth place driving an inferior Ferrari and recently un-retired seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher, who worked his way up from the very back of the grid (24th) to finish in the points in eighth place.

On a personal note, it was the first Formula 1 race I’d watched on TV since I can remember, and although I only caught a dozen or so laps before church this morning, the experience reminded me a lot of my time in Europe. There, the sport is as big as, say, NBA basketball over here, and watching a whole race every other Sunday afternoon was a must-see event. I have to confess that as easy as it is for me to rant against the seemingly arbitrary micromanaging of the participants by its regulatory organizations, and the death of technical leadership by the sport, it remains a thrilling spectacle, a fitting showcase for what are still the highest-performance racing cars in the world. You can bet I’ll catch the next race at Monza in two weeks.