According to reports, Toyota’s chief test driver, 67-year-old Hiromu Naruse, has died in a crash on highway 410 near the famed Nürburgring race track in Germany. He was driving the recently spied Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition (above) at the time of the accident, and reports say he veered into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with two others test drivers in a BMW. The two BMW test drivers survived the crash, though one is reportedly still in critical condition. German video of the crash scene after the accident took place can be viewed below. Police are investigating the crash and have yet to determine its cause.

Hiromu Naruse was heavily involved with the development of the Lexus LFA he was driving, along with many other past sports cars from Toyota’s history since he joined the company in 1963. Enthusiasts today call him the “Godfather of the LFA,” though he was involved in the development of sports cars for Toyota going as far back as the storied 2000GT from the late 1960s. The prototype of a special edition version of the LFA that he was driving when the accident occurred was reportedly worth 1.5 million euro.

WaterCar Inc develops high-performance amphibious cars that can reach freeway speeds [0-60 mph in 4.5 seconds] in the water.

Custom designed doors are built to keep water out and allow easy access from the water. The interior is based on a boat design with captain chairs in the front and wrapping bench in the back.

Starting at $200,000, WaterCar Python is definitely not for everyone. For more information about this amphibious vehicle, visit watercar.com

The center of Moscow was closed for Formula One roadshow. Also there were Vladimir Chagin (Dakar multi-winner on KamAZ-Master), drifters, bikers, oldtimers, convertibles, supercars. Formula One was presented by Heikki Kovalainen (Vodadfone McLaren Mercedes), Kazuki Nakajima (AT&T Williams) and David Coulthard (Red Bull Renault).

An expensive accident happened in the supercars’ heat: driver crashed Bugatti EB110. Although the driver was not hurt, eyewitnesses said the $500,000 car had been damaged beyond repair.

Heikki Kovalainen from the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team driving his formula car along Kremlyovskaya Naberezhnaya (Kremlin Embankment) during Formula One Bavaria Moscow City Racing 2009 event.

Kazuki Nakajima from the AT&T Williams team driving his formula car along the Kremlin Embankment during Formula One Bavaria Moscow City Racing 2009 event.

Earlier this week, we showed you the first live shots of Chinese automaker Geely’s new GE model, a three-seat luxury sedan unveiled at the Shanghai Motor Show. With its gigantic, upright waterfall grille, boxy proportions, Spirit of Ecstasy hood ornament, and LED starlight headliner, it didn’t take an enthusiast’s eye to see that Geely is openly aping the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

Understandably, that development hasn’t been sitting well with Rolls-Royce officials, who promptly got on the horn to their lawyers after clapping their eyes on the GE. While the British luxury firm has stopped short of saying they intend to sue, according to an article in the U.K. Telegraph, a Rolls-Royce spokesman admits “Rolls-Royce is currently keeping its options open and is in consultation with its legal advisers.“

At an estimated £30,000 – around $44k USD – for the GE (versus £250,000/$365k for the Phantom), it could be argued that few are likely to confuse the two vehicles, but even still, critics argue that Roller would appear to have a compelling case that cars like the GE are not only intellectual property theft, but that they could also serve to erode brand equity of the genuine article.