Honda has announced that it will take part in the 2013 Dakar Rally next January with a special motorcycle works team. It’s been 23 years since Honda last took part in the rally, back when it took place in Europe and Africa and sailed under the Paris-Dakar banner. Between 1981 and 1989, Honda walked away with the gold five times, but hasn’t so much as touched a grain of sand on the new course that spans from Peru through Chile and into Argentina. Team HRC is out to change that with its new four-rider team. Funk Flex
Auto Talk: Acura confirms refresh for 2013 ZDX
The ZDX hasn’t exactly been a sales superstar for Acura. Only 1,564 examples of the oddball crossover were sold last year, making it the fourth-worst-selling new vehicle in the United States in 2011. But nevertheless, Acura is committed to offering its most-expensive crossover for at least another year, as we’ve now learned that a refresh is on deck for 2013. Funk Flex
Auto Talk: McLaren debuts topless MP4-12C Spider
There are certain elements the world can always use more of. Chief among those is, of course, beer, although convertible supercars capable of cresting 200 mph certainly make our list as well. Fortunately, McLaren has scratched that itch with its brand-new MP4-12C Spider. Like its hardtop cousin, the machine can climb to 62 mph from a stand still in just 3.1 seconds, though the drophead boasts a slightly lower top end of 204 mph compared to the 207 mph of the coupe. Power still comes from a 616-horsepower 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8 engine. Funk Flex
(Video) Auto Talk: Ford shows off Mustang Shelby GT500’s new launch control
Listen to the sage words of the late Carroll Shelby: “650 horsepower? Nobody else has it.” We’re guessing this footage was recorded a little while back, before the final certified rating of the 5.8-liter supercharged engine in the 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 came in at 662 horsepower and 631 pound-feet of torque. Funk Flex
(Video) Auto Talk: Here’s the Hot Wheels Double Loop Dare stunt from X Games
Yesterday, Team Hot Wheels drivers Tanner Foust and Greg Tracy suited up and executed the Double Loop Dare stunt at the X Games. The pair went through the 66-foot-tall loops, which replicate a similar Hot Wheels toy track set, hitting 52 miles per hour and pulling 7Gs in the process. Nifty. Funk Flex
