eBay find of the day: n2a Motors 789 serial #001

The n2a Motors 789 is perhaps the ultimate automotive expression of retro styling. Based on a C6 Corvette chassis and using hand-crafted carbon composite body panels, the 789 features styling cues from 1957, '58, and '59 Chevrolets. Just over 20 of these unique cars have been built over the past few years, the first of which n2a Motors is putting up for auction on eBay. Featuring an LS2 V8, custom Budnik wheels, and a Borla exhaust system, chassis #001 was used as the promotional car at the Los Angeles and New York auto shows and still has the remainder of GM's five-year/100,000 warranty. Best of all, the winning bidder gets to take delivery of the car immediately and doesn't have endure the typical 12-week wait for a brand new 789.

More Pictures at AutoBlog

Happy Mothers Day from Zsports Cars

What better way to get your feelings across than to say it with flowers? A beautiful wish for Mother's Day! Wishing you a day just as special as you are.

from Fedor, Zsports Cars Blog Leader

Ferrari 612 Scaglietti by Imola Racing

To mess around with perfection should be a sin. So the moment "Imola Racing" even began to mess with the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti, the heavens should've opened and swallowed whole the German Tuner.

At least it seems Imola was smart enough to not touch the engine. Instead this is likely just body enhancements. I don’t have much info on the kit. I do know its being considered a widebody because of the enlarged fenders and wider tires. There are also new front and rear spoilers as well as a two-tone paint job that is reminiscent of the first generation Corvette.

Reiter Engineers Gallardo GT3 Strada

So who turns road cars into race cars and then back into a road car? Well thats Reiter Engineering for you, who recently built a street-legal variant of their Murcielago R-GT that competes in the FIA GT1 and European Le Mans Series, is now offering a road version of their Gallardo GT3 racecar.

Based on the standard Gallardo this one features carbon fiber body work wich widens the car by 60 mm. A single large center-mounted exhaust system reduces weight by nine kg and added an extra ten horsepower, while new three-piece alloy wheels are wrapped with ultra sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 2 rubber. The interior stays relatively stock, although the stock seats have been replaced with leather-covered racing units. I can't say more about this car but that it is one of the cleanest/sickest Lambo's I've ever seen.

Surface: Original 1965 Lamborghini Miura Turin

A one of a kind 1965 Turin Salon Lamborghini Miura chassis has surfaced equipped with the companies very first rear mounted 12 cylinder engine. The historic chassis that was designed by Gian Paolo Dallara, represents the very first mid-engined supercar theme for all very favirote supercars. The show chassis had been stored for the past 30 years in Cyprus by the country's original Lamborghini concessionaire, Marios Kritikos, who had acquired the historic unit in April 1978.

A month after its discovery and it was sold to LA collectors, the one of a kind chassis has been imported to the US and now resides in a restoration facility in Miura where specialist Gary Bobileff, will restore it to bring it to its former show glory. According to Lamborghini, the chassis will make its USA debut in the summer of 2009.

The Detroit Ballout is Not Over

All of Detroit is safe until after the auto show in January, sorta. The government approved $13.4 billion in loans for General Motors and Chrysler for immediate consumption (Ford said “no thanks” for now.) This will take them until February when another $4 billion may be available, but they will also have to show that their operations are able to show "positive net present value" – a tough goal I’ll get to in a moment.

This means at least when the North American International Auto Show hits Detroit in January, at least the Big Three won’t have to ring the Salvation Army bell, and instead they will be able to somewhat focus on products. But this isn’t the end of the fight, the big picture has four elements still to come:

There will be more layoffs

There will be more money needed pumped into the industry

It’s the end of fun new cars

The winner will be the one who returns to big cars first

So for this week, after the just I present a little accounting, a healthy dose of skepticism, and just enough optimism to keep fans of American cars from jumping out the window.

Cayman vs. 911

I’ve just been driving the new Porsche Cayman S - the one with the new direct-injection engine and the limited-slip diff, the one that’ll now hit 60mph in just 4.9 seconds - out in Spain.

We’ll have a proper in-depth review soon, but for now, here’s what you need to know: it’s unbelievably, unbelievably good - brutally quick, completely useable and just a tiny bit unhinged.

No, the Cayman isn’t a friendly point-and-go sort of car: it makes you drive it properly. Stand on the brakes mid-corner and it’ll happily deposit you into a hedge, but take some time to get to grips with the mid-engined manners and it’s just magically, stunningly good to drive. One of the best ever, I reckon, especially if you get the manual rather than the double-clutch PDK gearbox.

In fact, the Cayman S is so savagely quick - the direct injection gives astonishingly sharp throttle response - and so pure in its handling that I’d take one over a 911 Carrera. No question.

But here’s where I need your help. The guys at Porsche are saying that - despite the general consensus that the Cayman S is now as quick as the Carrera over just about any sort of road - they’re not worried that potential customers might choose it over a 911. Different markets, different people, they say - while they admit the gap between the two ranges has tightened, people considering a 911 won’t look twice at a Cayman.

So what do you think - is Porsche right? Is the 911 just too iconic to make you ever think about a Cayman, no matter how fast? Or would you stoop just a little for a car as good as this?

By Sam Philip from ---> Top Gear