Saturday, November 29, 2008

Bentley Continental Drift


We'd love to tell you that we're showing you this photo of a Bentley Conti GT getting sideways on the Finnish ice because it illustrates some Important New Car News: a new lightweight front splitter, or some innovative tires made from bin bags and bad thoughts, or something like that.

But we're not. We're showing it to you because it looks awesome. Big British super-coupes powersliding on frozen Arctic lakes is something we should see more of.

It's part of Bentley's 'Power on Ice' driving experience, where owners (or 'Premiership footballers', as they're better known) get to learn the grip and handling capabilities of their Bentley... by hooning it around the frozen lakes of Finland. Which definitely beats looping around traffic cones in a dingy parking lot.

Actually, maybe there is some useful consumer advice here. If you get snowed in this winter, don't go thinking you need a super-safe 4x4 will hill descent control and a low ratio box.

No, what you need is a 600 hp rear-drive supercar and a heavy right foot. Glad to be of help.

Euro Tunes The Dodge Challenger by Eibach

The Dodge Challenger made its way to Europe and the Essen Motorshow thanks to suspension manufacturer, Eibach which readied a mildly tuned version of the American muscle car. The SRT8 was imported for Eibach by USCars24.de and converted according to the applicable German lighting and licensing regulations. While retaining the SRT8's stock 6.1-liter Hemi V8 that produces 425HP, Eibach equipped the Challenger with the Coil-Over Suspension System Multi-Pro-R2 from its US product portfolio as well as a set of Botticelli III 22-inch alloy wheels from O.Z. wrapped around in Toyo Proxes T1R tires for improved handling.
The The Eibach Challenger is also equipped with a multimedia unit from Alpine Electronics, which has been installed by the specialists of XTON from Dortmund, Germany.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Porsche Gives Us First Official Images


Porsche to us new images of its first sedan, the Panamera. Although the car won’t be seen in the flesh until January in the Detroit Auto Show, from these photos it seems Porsche is pushing the room inside of the car more than the performance. We’ll have a chance to see how well this car handles the corners while carrying a full suitcase when the car hits the showrooms by the end of 2009.

Panamera will be offered in two trims, 4S and Turbo, and unlike the 911 and Boxster/Cayman, the Panamera will not have a boxer engine. Instead the lineup will take its cues from the Cayenne and have engines in the more traditional V6 and V8 arrangements. Power will range from 300 to 500 bhp depending on trim level and will come with either a manual six-speed gearbox or seven-speed Double-Clutch Gearbox.

eBay Rolls Royce RR4


That treasure trove of appalling autodom described in the most gnarled English imaginable, otherwise known as eBay Motors, serves up today's flavorful morsel of weird and wonderful. Why wait for the upcoming Rolls-Royce RR4 when you can just throw $50K at this heavily customized Chrysler 300C. It's got the ostentatious grille, the suicide doors, the RR embroidered headrests, but most importantly, a HEMI V8 underhood. HEMI, apparently now transmuted to mean "multi-displacement system," will save you fuel as you rent the car out for the dreamy rate of $750 per day as the seller suggests. At least with a Chrysler lurking underneath all that nasty, you can be assured that repair costs will be nominal compared to the real thing.

Monday, November 24, 2008

VW Scirocco by Prior-Desig


The latest addition from the German tuner Prior-Design is the new body kit for the Vw Scirocco. Although the car didn’t reach yet the U.S. market, although Vw assures us it will, we can still get a preview of the tuning programs for the stylish coupe.

The new kit includes a re-designed front bumper, new side sills, a new rear roof spoiler, a new rear bumper with integrated air diffuser as well as a new exhaust system. The new kit is completed by the new multi-spoke alloy wheels painted in black in order to give the vehicle a new look.

Hamann Volcano Mercedes-Benz SLR


The serial Mercedes-Benz SLR is already one of the most impressive cars on our roads – but compared to the HAMANN VOLCANO it still looks rather harmless. Once again, HAMANN-Motorsport proves its cutting edge when it comes to refining superb sports cars. From a lift-reducing body design to a powerful performance enhancement to a lavishly styled interior, HAMANN focuses on all components of this luxury car and makes the automobile dreams of its exclusive clientele come true.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Porsche Panamera Leaked Photos

It seems that some people got a little trigger-happy and released the pics and info about the Porsche Panamera before the Monday’s press embargo expired. That just means some early fun and speculation for us about Porsche’s first sedan.
The car sits on a 9.6 foot long wheelbase, and the total dimensions should be 16.3 feet long, 6.3 feet wide and 4.6 feet tall. The sedan should have optional PDK dual-clutch transmission as well as all-wheel drive. Although engine specifications have not yet been confirmed, what we do know is the front-engine Panamera will likely start out with a power range of about 300 to 500 hp through a range of V6 and V8 engines. A hybrid powertrain and diesel version may also be in the works.

The car will be seen in the flesh in January at the Detroit Auto Show. We will have plenty of updates until then, but for now enjoy some closure from all the speculation and renderings with some official pics.

2010 Ford Mustang: New Interior & Exterior


Muscle goes modern for 2010 as the Ford Mustang – America’s favorite muscle car for 45 years straight – hits the streets with a new exterior design; new world-class interior featuring well-crafted materials and updated technology; and a V-8 with even more horsepower and an even throatier signature Mustang exhaust sound.

PGO Hemera - Because Classic Looks Never Go Out of Style


PGO, a French automaker that many have likely never heard of, has spilled the beans on its latest new car, which actually looks a lot like an old car. In this case, though, we'll forgive PGO for copying another automaker's styling, as the Porsche Speedster that the Hemera gets its good looks from happens to be one of the most classic and perfect designs ever. To our eyes, the Hemera looks more like a modernized 356 than any current Porsche does, and that's not a bad thing. The \Hemera has another thing in common with the classic Porsche: light weight. Coming in at just 2,160 pounds, the Hemera achieves its sporty performance in much the same way that Lotus does, meaning that the Hemera's natural gas-fed, Peugeot-sourced, mid-mounted powerplant that makes all of 140 horsepower is sufficient to accelerate the car to 60 in under 7 seconds and up to a top speed of 124 miles per hour. Sure, it's not going to break any records, but that's plenty to have some fun with. Pity us here in the States - this one's a Euro-market car only and will go on sale early next year.

Audi R8 Mercury Cougar Replica


The thing about replicas is that most of the times you're impressed with the effort that went into building one rather than the overall result. But in the case of the Audi R8 replica that was made out of a European 2001 Ford Cougar 2.5 V6 by Alberto Gavach Fuertes from Zaragoza, Spain, we must admit that we're also amazed from the outcome. For those that are swift to criticize, bear in mind that Alberto managed to approximate the looks and proportions of a mid-engined sportscar using a front-engined, front-wheel drive coupe.

Sure many will find that some exterior details are either wrongly presented (front spoiler) or missing (tailpipes), or even that the interior of the car, with the exception of the unnecessary 'R8' badge on the steering wheel, is all stock, but you have to hand it to this guy for doing a spectacular job.