The Mini Cooper is an iconic British sports car, born out of an oil crisis in 1956; more than 50 years later, the brand is building one of the most affordable ways to have fun on four wheels.

Audi's new R8 sets the pace with its modern, sleek style and high-tech advancements, which are reshaping the automotive industry; now, the brand has a second generation R8 waiting in the wings.

In order to adapt in the face of fuel economy concerns, Porsche's answer is to alter its famous flat six-cylinder engine; the new, turbo-charged flat six-cylinder engine helps the 911 create 260 horsepower and a top speed of 152 miles per hour.

Fifty years after being introduced for the first time, Chevrolet reinvents the iconic Camaro as a full-blown sports car.

The Jaguar F-Type SVR is a powerful and agile two-seat sports car that can go from zero to 60 miles per hour in just 3.7 seconds with a top speed of 186 miles per hour.

Rolls Royce makes a bold wager on the next generation of ultra-wealthy drivers with the $273,000 Wraith, which takes 1,500 workers and 450 hours to craft.

Alfa Romeo bets its future on a lightweight, exhilarating, and surprisingly affordable new supercar.

Mercedes' division, AMG, builds a lighter, faster, smaller super car by hand, the Mercedes AMG GT; this car is designed to beat the venerable Porsche 911.

To stay relevant in the automotive world, Maserati takes on the challenge of growing their business by shrinking the supercar.

The history of the Bentley and its mission to build a faster, lighter, more fuel-efficient machine.

Car enthusiast Mike Brewer and internationally renowned car designer Ant Anstead work together to give new life to run-down, classic automobiles in order to resell at a profit. Working with a limited budget, Mike's job is to find and purchase a vehicle before presenting it to Ant, who makes the necessary repairs -- and there usually are plenty of them -- giving tips along the way about electrical and structural issues, mechanics, cosmetic touches and finishing work. Once complete, the restored car is taken for a test drive, and then Mike negotiates the purchase price with a new owner. The series, a British import, began airing on Discovery Channel in the U.K. in 2003. Its first 13 seasons featured master mechanic Edd China as Brewer's sidekick.

Discovery's popular "Mighty" franchise ("Mighty Ships") continues with "Mighty Planes," which takes to the skies and explores the most impressive aircraft in the world. Each episode highlights one incredible plane, from the world's only flying eye hospital to the largest passenger jet ever built, as it takes on a high-stakes mission from beginning to end. "Mighty Planes" brings viewers unprecedented access to the planet's most impressive aircraft with in-depth looks at the science of aviation and the lives of the people responsible for making it all happen.

Alongside popular shows like "Detroit Muscle," "Engine Power," and "Truck Tech," the how-to television brand "PowerNation" offers "Xtreme Off Road" in its series of syndicated automotive programs. With hosts Jeremy Weckman and Eliza Leon leading builds, "XOR" specializes in showing viewers how to fabricate and weld custom crawlers, buggies, diesels, and 4x4s before testing them out on off-road courses.

Billion-dollar cruise ships, secret submarines, high-tech ocean dredgers, floating state-of-the-art hospitals -- all are part of the cutting-edge vessels featured in this series, which reveals everything from the mechanics of modern sea-going to the human drama seafarers face.

Viewers get the key to enter some of the world's greatest one-of-a-kind factories for an insider's perspective on what it takes to produce brand-name wonders such as Ferrari, BMW, Harley-Davidson, John Deere and the M1 tank.