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Intermeccanica may be best known today for producing its Roadster, a Porsche 356 replica. Years ago, however, the company built a handful of uniquely styled automobiles for a variety of customers. One of those customers was the W.J. Thompson Advertising Agency, which commissioned a Ford Mustang station wagon to be shown off to Blue Oval brass. The Ford execs never went forward creating a Mustang wagon of their own, but a few other folks did. The one you see here was built by Joe Ramp, and you can put it in your garage because it’s for sale.

Starting with a 1965 Mustang hardtop coupe, Ramp stretched out the roof and created custom rear side glass along with the fabricated D-pillars. The builder tried to retain as much as the stock body as possible, so the rest of the car is all Ford-built Mustang.

Builder Joe Ramp decided to upgrade the powertrain in order to better haul around the extra bit of weight. A 5.0-liter V8 sits underhood and is paired with a T5 five-speed manual gearbox. The power is routed to an eight-inch Ford rear-end and 3.00 gears. Custom control arms and upgraded shocks help the Mustang handle any cargo placed out back.

The car appears to be a clean example of what could have been. RK Motors of Charlotte, North Carolina has listed the car for sale on eBay, with a Buy It Now price of $59,990. Currently, the bidding sits at $15,100, with an unmet reserve. Take a look at the car in the gallery below, and click past the jump if you want to hear it running.

Continue reading eBay Find of the Day: 1965 Ford Mustang shooting brake is a family pony [w/video]

eBay Find of the Day: 1965 Ford Mustang shooting brake is a family pony [w/video]

You’ve got the house and the yard, all you need now is a nice pool to enjoy. Time to put an above-ground unit back there? No way. You’ve worked hard and you want something to impress your friends and family, but also something you could use to get a great workout. A continuous-current pool with a hot tub fits the bill perfectly. The space has been cleared, a hole has been dug and now it’s time for the crane operator to show off his skills.

Wow, that’s a pretty extreme angle for all that weight, we hope nothing goes wrong.

Click past the jump to see how installing a relaxing pool can turn into a massive headache. Here’s a hint, start watching around the 1:45 mark.

Continue reading Crane moving pool becomes unwitting wrecking ball

Crane moving pool becomes unwitting wrecking ball

Germany’s Lumma Design has shown a knack for modifying and reskinning German performance sedans, but has this time turned its attention to the Porsche Cayenne with a custom body kit.

Called the CLR 558 GT, the kit’s questionable aesthetics pack a new front end with spoiler, bigger air intakes and integrated LED running lights, a rear diffuser, flared wheel arches and side sills. The hood has also been replaced with a vented carbon-Kevlar piece, the exhaust has been replaced with a triple-tipped stainless system and the stock wheels have been ditched in favor of 22-inch modulars with colored rims.

The interior has been upgraded with such special touches as rubber-studded milled aluminum pedals, custom door sills, leather-trimmed floor and cargo mats. The result may not be the most comprehensive modification of the Cayenne to date, but it does give the SUV a… different look. See for yourself in the high-res image gallery and the (somewhat awkwardly translated) press release after the jump.

Continue reading Lumma Design strikes again with Porsche Cayenne rebody

Lumma Design strikes again with Porsche Cayenne rebody

If you’ve ever wanted to purchase a Nissan Altima Hybrid, now’s the time. The 2011 model-year Altima Hybrid marks the vehicles last hurrah. According to Kicking Tires, the Altima Hybrid suffered dismal sales in its lifespan, mostly due to the fact that the vehicle was only sold in a handful of states (those that stuck to California’s stricter emissions standards), unlike its main competitors.

Originally launched in 2007, the Altima Hybrid was Nissan’s first foray into the gas-electric arena, using a Toyota-derived hybrid drive system. According to the EPA, the Altima Hybrid is rated to achieve 33 miles per gallon in combined driving. Not bad, but quite weak when you consider that 40 mpg is the new benchmark.

Nissan Altima Hybrid axed for 2012 model year

Start naming Korean automakers. Ready? Go! Okay, there’s Hyundai, of course. And its sister company Kia. Daewoo’s been taken over entirely by GM. That’s it, right? Almost. Don’t forget Renault Samsung.

The French automaker produces its own line of vehicles in South Korea in partnership with electronics giant Samsung. The lineup includes the QM5 (also known as the Renault Koleos), the small SM3 and SM3 CE, the slightly larger SM5 and this, the new SM7.

The new top-of-the-line Samsung was previewed in concept form earlier this year, and is now ready for its production roll-out. The model it replaces offered 2.3-liter and 3.5-liter versions of Nissan’s ubiquitous VQ engine, and the new model is likely to follow a similar path. The sedan is based on the Nissan Maxima, and may very well be exported outside of its Korean market as a proper Renault. Check out the images in the high-res gallery below and the video after the jump for a closer look.

Continue reading Renault Samsung previews new SM7 [w/video]

Renault Samsung previews new SM7 [w/video]

Honda debuted its 2012 Civic at this year’s New York Auto Show, bringing the full suite of models to the Big Apple. But what about a five-door hatch? It’s not quite ready, and not exactly confirmed for consumption the United States.

This Honda Civic five-door hatchback is wearing a hefty dose of camouflage, but black tape can’t hide everything. No word yet on when we can expect the compact cruiser to ditch the camo, but we assume it won’t be too far along, considering the rest of the American Civic family is already out in full unmasked force.

Currently, Honda has expressed no plans to bring the five-door hatch to the States. Would you jump at the offering of a Civic hatch here in the U.S.? Let us know in the Comments.

Honda Civic five-door continues to shed camo

A Volkswagen Polo is a small car. Queen’s epic “Bohemian Rhapsody,” by contrast, is a huge song. Finnish musicians the Porkka Playboys inexplicably and delightfully decided to combine the two. The Playboys crammed their bodies and instruments into the old hatchback and promptly proceeded to rock out (apparently a Wayne’s World-spec AMC Pacer was unavailable).

Who knew that the German subcompact was such an acoustical delight? Apparently these Finnish lads did, because their music sounds pretty awesome coming out of the rusty heap. Click past the jump to watch them make Freddie Mercury proud.

Also, if you wander over to their YouTube page, you’ll find an excellent rendition of Motörhead’s “Ace of Spades.” Sadly, that song was not performed inside of a automobile. Either way, Volkswagen needs to hire these guys for its next Polo commercial.

Continue reading Watch Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” performed entirely inside a VW Polo

Watch Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” performed entirely inside a VW Polo

Fastest Factory Mini Ever Built

This was, at the very least, a perfect matchup of car and track. We’ve just returned from enjoying a day-trip drive in a pre-production 2012 Mini Coupe, the very two-door that is due for worldwide deliveries at the start of October. Not only that, the only model available to drive was the 208-horsepower John Cooper Works edition. You can imagine our sad frowns with curled lower lips.

Twisting the dagger so good this day were the peerless conditions at the very tightly wound seven-tenths of a mile Wachauring, a track located in Melk, Austria, about an hour from Vienna. The combo of a demanding circuit and great weather really gave us the chance to work the Mini Coupe hard.

Continue reading 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Coupe [w/video]

2012 Mini John Cooper Works Coupe [w/video]

Fastest Factory Mini Ever Built

This was, at the very least, a perfect matchup of car and track. We’ve just returned from enjoying a day-trip drive in a pre-production 2012 Mini Coupe, the very two-door that is due for worldwide deliveries at the start of October. Not only that, the only model available to drive was the 208-horsepower John Cooper Works edition. You can imagine our sad frowns with curled lower lips.

Twisting the dagger so good this day were the peerless conditions at the very tightly wound seven-tenths of a mile Wachauring, a track located in Melk, Austria, about an hour from Vienna. The combo of a demanding circuit and great weather really gave us the chance to work the Mini Coupe hard.

Continue reading 2012 Mini John Cooper Works Coupe

2012 Mini John Cooper Works Coupe

Chevrolet Corvette sales haven’t exactly been rocking the charts lately. Last year, the mighty sports car saw its sales drop to a 50-year low thanks to a stagnant chassis, global recession and the arrival of the Chevrolet Camaro. Despite all this, General Motors is set to hike the vehicle’s price by anywhere from $480 to $1,150 depending on the model, according to Corvette Blogger. The site points out that the only Corvette in the armada to see a price decrease is the supercharged ZR1. Don’t think you’ll be getting a steal, though, the Blue Devil saw its price drop by just $75.

In addition, Corvette Blogger reports that the individual equipment packages have also gotten more expensive with the 2012 model. Models like the 2LT Coupe will see package prices increase from $1,195 to $2,095 while 3LT Coupe variants jump from $4,205 to $5,995. Step up to the 4LT trim level and you’ll see an increase from $7,705 to $9,495. Things get more expensive for the Corvette Convertible, too. Head over to Corvette Blogger for the full rundown.

2012 Corvette gets across-the-board price increase

While Mercedes-Benz has been steadily re-integrating its four-seat coupes and cabrios into their corresponding sedan ranges, BMW is reportedly preparing to go the other way. Word from Car Magazine has it that the Bavarian automaker is preparing to launch the next-generation versions of its 1 Series and 3 Series coupes and convertibles as the 2 Series and 4 Series, respectively.

The move would correspond well to the 6 Series, the coupe and convertible that sits between the 5 Series and 7 Series sedans. It’s not the first time BMW has considered such a move, having come close to spinning the two-door 3 Series into a 4 Series about a decade ago.

Audi recently completed a similar shift, replacing the A4 convertible with the A5. That model has since spawned a five-door Sportback, in whose company BMW may soon find itself with the 3 Series GT that may likewise be badged as a 4 Series.

BMW to rename 1 and 3 Series coupes as 2 and 4 Series

Porsche offers no lack of choices for the purist, but the Panamera isn’t one of ‘em. Despite being ridiculously capable, the company’s four-door coupe is more for spirited cruising than track attack. Little wonder, then, that Porsche is reportedly likely to abandon the availability of a manual transmission on the next-generation Panamera.

The decision reportedly comes, naturally enough, from lack of demand for three pedals on the current sedan. Which makes enough sense, we suppose – while we’d take a GT3, for example, with a clutch pedal, when it comes to the Panamera, we can see most customers preferring to let the robot do the work.

The report comes from the German correspondent at Car and Driver, who just a couple of weeks ago brought better news for the enthusiast side of Stuttgart’s fan base: namely, that the next-gen 911 will offer a seven-speed manual. That in addition to the seven-cog, dual-clutch PDK that will apparently be the sole choice on the next Panamera.

In other news, C/D also suggests that the next Panamera will receive electric power steering, an energy-saving technology whose main drawback has been that such systems are tough to tune while preserving steering feel, an essential Porsche ingredient.

So, assuming word of no manual Panamera is true, has Porsche made the right decision? Cast your vote in the poll below.

View Poll

Porsche to nix manual option for next-gen Panamera? [w/poll]

This may not come as a shock, but as kids, we desperately wanted to become a stunt driver. Maybe it was one too many McQueen movies or a few too many hours soaking up Knight Rider reruns, but we were always smitten with the no-consequences glory of a good fender-to-fender bust up. That’s exactly why we have the utmost respect for the man in the video after the jump.

Josh Beckel has earned a reputation for himself as a guy who’s willing to do anything behind the wheel in and around Washington state, and he recently attempted to set a world record by crashing a car into not one, not two, not three, but four buses standing like dominoes.

Beckel is known as The Crusher for obvious reasons, and he more than lived up to his namesake at the Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington. How’d he do? You’ll have to hit the jump to see for yourself.

Continue reading Stunt driver attempts to play dominoes with row of busses

Stunt driver attempts to play dominoes with row of busses

When we think Reliant Robin, we reminisce of Jeremy Clarkson dedicating an entire segment on Top Gear to rolling one as many times as possible in under eight minutes. But while Clarkson made rolling the Robin look about as easy as drinking a glass of water, it turns out that actual owners of the three-wheeled Reliant are far less likely to wreck their rides.

The Mirror reports that only 11 out of 1,174 Reliant owners have submitted a claim to their insurance company. That’s just .9 percent of owners, which compares very favorably to the 7.3 percent average in the UK. Of course, this statistic doesn’t make the Robin the poster child for safe motoring. On the contrary, many Robin owners drive their motorized trikes with the utmost care because they can flip so readily. And many others treat their vehicle as a classic car, which is a good idea considering that there aren’t many left on the road. Similar findings were uncovered when the seven million insurance claims revealed that Italian exotics, Bentleys and Aston Martins were also very short on claims.

Hit the jump to watch Clarkson roll the Robin one more time. We can never get enough of this bit.

Continue reading Reliant Robin trike drivers safest on the road [w/video]

Reliant Robin trike drivers safest on the road [w/video]

If this year’s intense 24 Hours of Le Mans hasn’t satiated your thirst for the French race, SPEED has something special for you. The show ‘Dave Despain on Assignment’ is taking the time to get up close with one of the living legends of the great Ford versus Ferrari battles of yore: Carol Shelby.

The show details exactly how Shelby came to be in Ford’s employ, the Blue Oval’s motivation to put Ferrari in its place and how the mighty Ford GT40 eventually went on to Le Mans glory. The show first airs on June 24, but you can check out behind-the-scenes photography and video at the ‘Dave Despain on Assignment’ site.

SPEED discusses Ford GT40 Le Mans victories with Carroll Shelby

While Ford is busy busting its you-know-what to prep its next-gen CD4 vehicles – the Ford Fusion and Lincoln MKZ here in the States and the Ford Mondeo in other markets – for launch, the team of Blue Oval engineers assigned to development of the updated Fusion Hybrid is reportedly hard at work reducing the gas-electric’s fuel consumption.

A report from Ford Inside News suggests that the Fusion Hybrid’s revised powertrain, which will most likely feature Ford’s fuel-saving e-CVT trans, will bump the vehicle’s fuel economy rating all the way up to 47 or 48 miles per gallon highway. If true, that would be a healthy increase over the 2011 Fusion Hybrid’s 41 mpg highway rating, which is already class leading. Since the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid will make use of the same hardware, this means that the gas-electric MKZ is almost sure to have an identical mpg rating.

The next-gen Ford Fusion Hybrid should be launched in early 2012, with the debut of the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid likely pushed back a bit further.

2012 Ford Fusion Hybrid to get up to 48 mpg highway?

In the summer of 2009, a British team journeyed to the U.S. with its steam-powered streamliner in an effort to break the land speed record for a steam vehicle, which had previously been set at 127 miles per hour back in 1906 by Fred Marriot in a Stanley Steamer. Long story short, the team crushed the record with a 139.843-mile-per-hour run.

Apparently, steam vehicle aficionado Chuk Williams wants the U.S. to reclaim that record. According to Gas 2.0, Williams has secured a powerplant from Cyclone Power Technologies that he hopes will propel his 21-foot-long, 1,600-pound streamlined vehicle to a top speed of more than 160 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in August of 2011.

That Cyclone Power engine is a unique piece of engineering. According to Gas 2.0, it’s a “Rankine Cycle heat regenerative external (yes, external) combustion engine” that weighs in at just 200 pounds, cranks out 180 horsepower and boasts a maximum starting torque of 850 foot-pounds. Sure sounds impressive. We wish Williams the best of luck in his endeavor to secure the record. Check out a video of Chuck and his steamer at this link.

U.S. team looks to shatter steam-powered land speed record

There’s something fishy about the video you’ll see after the break. No, it’s not that we think it was staged, and it doesn’t really have a whole lot to do with the car, either… though you could make an argument that the Infiniti FX does have a sort of streamlined Seadoo-ish shape to it.

No, we’re referring to the fact that the car ends up sleeping with the fishes after some apparently drunk drivers probe the limits of its off-road adhesion just a wee bit too deeply. As you’ll see, the Infiniti manages to extract itself from its saltwater clutches several times before finally succumbing to its watery resting place. At least it makes for a pretty good sandbar.

Watch the results of a beach party gone wrong in the video after the break.

Continue reading Drunk driving on the beach in your Infiniti FX probably not such a good idea after all

Drunk driving on the beach in your Infiniti FX probably not such a good idea after all

If you belong to the camp that believes there’s nothing wrong with the Honda CR-Z hybrid hatch that couldn’t be cured with an extra few doses of power, Mugen is cooking up something special that may be just what your tastebuds ordered.

If current speculation holds true, the Mugen-modified CR-Z will put out around 200 horsepower, drop 110 pounds of pudge from its standard curb weight and see improvements made to the base car’s brakes, wheels and tires. Sounds tasty, no?

Naturally, there’s a body kit bolted in place that includes a new fascia, rocker panels, rear wing and what appears to be a carbon fiber hood. Inside are Recaro seats and plenty of white-faced gauges. Finally, as you’ll see – or rather hear – in the video after the break, it also boasts some aural improvements courtesy of what we’re guessing are substantial changes to the exhaust system along with the welcome addition of a supercharger.

We’ll have to wait until Goodwood before we get all the details sorted out, but in the meantime, go ahead and get a sneak peek in the video after the break.

Continue reading Mugen CR-Z sounds nice as it zooms toward Goodwood

Mugen CR-Z sounds nice as it zooms toward Goodwood

First Drive: 2012 Volkswagen Tiguan

At first blush, Munich seems like an awfully long way to travel for the chance to drive a mid-cycle refresh. But Volkswagen has good reason to ask us to schlep across the Atlantic to drive its updated-for-2012 Tiguan: Momentum.

Official: Volkswagen rolls out new Beetle with Black Turbo Launch Edition [UPDATE]

Called the Black Turbo Launch Edition, this limited-run Volkswagen will represent the first 600 examples of the new Beetle to hit American dealerships.

Video: Goodyear “Spirit of Safety” blimp crash claims pilot’s life in Germany

The Goodyear blimp “Spirit of Safety” erupted into flames and crashed on Sunday, claiming the life of pilot Michael Nerandzic.

Also of interest:

• Confirmed: Camaro ZL1 will have automatic option, offer ZR1 traction system
• Video: Subaru driver Mark Higgins has “the moment of his life” at Isle of Man
• Official: Saab signs second partnership with China’s Youngman
• Report: Toyota says there is “no meaning” in being No. 1
• Report: Ford requiring Lincoln dealers to spend $1 million each to renovate showrooms

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