With a gazillion color options for every little part of the , there’s no reason why any two examples should be alike. (Except for maybe an inverse correlation between wealth and imagination.) So it would stand to reason that every should be considered a special edition of one. And that certainly appears to be the case, as the French marque seems to bring out another special edition at every possible opportunity.
That opportunity last arose at the Dubai Motor Show, where Bugatti presented of the Veyron Grand Sport, the vehicle that holds the title of “world’s fastest convertible.” Now the elite marque is returning to the Persian Gulf for the Qatar Motor Show with what appears (to our eyes, at least) to be one of the same examples, decked out in yellow and black – said to be founder Ettore Bugatti’s favorite color combination. Thoughtfully, however, they’ve provided a brace of new real-world photos.
The lower part of the body has been done up in lacquered carbon fiber, the upper part in bright yellow and the wheels in black along. Inside, the center console has likewise been finished in black, with seats clad in yellow leather with black stitching and the inverse for the dashboard, wheel and shifter.
While Molsheim apparently didn’t feel the need to give this particular example a unique name, they might as well have. And for a few euros extra, we’re sure they’d be glad to. As it stands, Bumblebee’s aristocratic Alsatian cousin is available for a princely 1.58 million euros – a little over two million in dead presidents. But if this particular color combination isn’t to your liking, 45 out of the original allotment of 150 units are still available to order, with prices starting at 1.4 million euros. Check out more details in the official press release .
What would a be without the racing pedigree that’s helped make it what it is today? The truth is that we don’t even want to know. But we don’t have to, because the car known as Godzilla is as devastating on the race track as it is on the street.
Very different racing versions have been made to challenge the FIA GT1 World Championship and for Japan’s own Super GT series, the latter powered by a naturally aspirated V8 to satisfy regulations instead of the twin-turbo V6 in the production model. Getting your hands on either of these, however, could prove a bigger challenge than passing one in a race. Fortunately, Nissan has just released a competition-spec GT-R you can buy.
Co-developed by Nismo (Nissan’s in-house tuning department) and JR Motorsports (which campaigns a pair of GT-Rs in the aforementioned GT1 series), the GT3-spec model first at the Magny-Cours circuit in France back in August, but is now available for order by privateer teams and gentlemen racers alike. It packs the same 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 as the production model, tuned to deliver 523 horsepower.
That may be slightly less than the current production model (due to the constrictions of GT3 regs) but the Nismo GT3 model also offers a fully adjustable suspension, stripped-out interior with roll cage and all the trimmings, extra cooling ducts and an aggressive aero package. The extra grip is where the extra speed comes from, and it can all be yours for a hair under 300,000 euros, or about $390k at today’s rates.
Elevating The Muscle Car Rivalry To A Whole New Level
versus . It’s one of the greatest rivalries in the world, joining the likes of Coke versus Pepsi and Michigan versus Ohio State. While the and can’t be credited as the first two vehicles to start the Blue Oval and Golden Bowtie wars, it’s fair to say the two muscle cars kicked the battle into high gear in the 1960s.
Wherever there are rivals, you can be sure there will also be healthy levels of both respect and distaste for one another. In fact, emotions from Ford fans following the debut of both the and culminated in Camaro lead engineer Al Oppenheiser being unwittingly cast in the lead role of another . Perhaps it was …
Of course, none of this ZL1 versus GT500 smack-talk will amount to anything if either car isn’t up to snuff. With that in mind, At Chevrolet’s behest, we traveled to the Bondurant Road Course just south of Phoenix, Arizona to put the 2012 Camaro ZL1 through its paces.
Well, that didn’t take long. The First Toyota FT-86 (a.k.a. ) has made its way to the dyno courtesy of the good people at HKS. How’d it do? The vehicle managed to spin the rollers at 170 rear-wheel horsepower, which dovetails with the 200 crank horsepower announced by and after calculating a 15-percent driveline loss. Of course, whenever HKS gets involved, you can feel safe betting your lunch money that forced induction won’t be far behind. True to form, HKS showed off its handiwork on a drift car version of the new sports coupe from Toyota.
The FT-86 looks more than happy to dance through a few chicanes sideways, and we can’t wait to see the vehicle go fender-to-fender with the best of them. to check out the dyno video for yourself.
Recognize that tag line? It was used for the 2011 , a 90-second spot devoted to resetting our image of and, subtly, America itself. parent evidently thinks so much of the tagline that they’ve taken it to Italy for use in the ad campaign for the 2012 Fiat Panda.
Italy’s had a tough time of late: just as it was trying to get Berlusconi and his “bunga bunga” in the rearview, its debt crisis went from ‘critical’ to ‘euro-zone threatening,’ austerity measures led to social and labor unrest, and now comes the capsized Costa Concordia and an Italian captain with the unique ability to trip and fall into a lifeboat before his passengers.
The Panda doesn’t softly beat the drum of national spirit, it instead presents the Panda as just one symbol of what Italy can be if it is dedicated to working its way out of its funk. The Panda is so symbolic that, unlike in the commercial, the narrator never mentions the car. It’s airing on Italian television now, and you can see it .
Torrance, CA is going to the front of the line. has delivered its first EV to the city government Friday as part of an EV demonstration program that will include an unspecified number of the little electric vehicles in tests before the consumer launch in limited markets (read: California and Oregon) happens this summer. Torrance will also get a Honda plug-inhybrid in the future.
From the sound of Honda’s language, it appears that Torrance – as well as Google Inc. and Stanford University, the other test partners – will only get one Fit EV. Honda’s press release (available after the jump) says:
Each program participant will provide Honda with real-world feedback on the Fit EV. Individually, each participant will use the Fit EV to further initiatives such as research into human behavior and various usages like personal, fleet and car-sharing.
However many Fits are tested, what’s more important is how real-world drivers will be able to make use of this car when it becomes available. With an expected lease price of $399 and a range of 123 miles in the city (76 miles city/highway combined) from a 20-kWh lithium-ion battery, the Fit does offer up some good numbers. Throw in a three-hour recharge time (from a 240V, Level 2 charger) and you’ve got a potential winner. In limited markets, anyway. Get more details on the Fit EV .
We’re almost ready to record Episode #266 of the Autoblog Podcast. Check out the topics below and you can join us live via , as well, and we’ve embedded our UStream player Thanks for listening!
Discussion Topics for Autoblog Podcast Episode #266
The stands as an enduring icon in the hot hatch genre. But as the gets bigger, so does the GTI, and when it comes to hot hatches, bigger is not always better. That’s where the Polo GTI comes in, but if even that’s too big for minimalists, Volkswagen is reportedly set on putting the Up! GT into production.
Unveiled as a show car alongside the production Up! at the last year, the pictured above incorporated 17-inch alloys to fill those little wheel wells, a new front end with wider grille, bigger brake ducts and integrated LED accents, as well as a diffuser, spoiler and twin exhaust pipes installed around back.
According to PistonHeads, the production Up! GT is tipped to get a three-cylinder turbo driving around 110 horsepower through a six-speed gearbox to the front wheels. That may be less than the 133 hp packaged by the , but could prove a feisty pocket rocket in its own right.
Last we heard, was planning to bring its new A-Class to North America, a market where the current model has never been sold. But whether it makes the trek or not, there’s little question that the new premium hatchback will be a vital product for Daimler.
While the current A-Class hasn’t been a smashing success, the segment has grown into an important one for luxury automakers like with its and with its . The new model, however, aims to take a slice of that particular pie once it debuts as anticipated in production form at the upcoming in a couple of months from now.
We’ve already , and even in . Now Mercedes has released a video clip showing a prototype strutting its stuff on the open road, but instead of the usual body-cladding or shape-disguising camouflage, the German automaker has covered the mule in QR codes to enable the legions of smartphone-toting fans the opportunity to peer into the future of the premium hatchback. Check out the video clip for a closer look.
Law enforcement agencies are now required to obtain a warrant before attaching a GPS device to a vehicle. The Detroit News reports the Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that the Justice Department was wrong when it argued that its agents didn’t need permission to track private citizens without their knowledge.
The centered around Antoine Jones, a Washington, D.C. nightclub owner and suspected drug dealer. Police installed a GPS device on Jones’ wife’s , which eventually led them to a substantial amount of cocaine. Jones was then sentenced to life in prison.
But Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that installing the device constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. Specifically, Justice Scalia said, “The government physically occupied private property for the purpose of obtaining information.”
In the Jones case, law enforcement agents had obtained the proper warrants to attach the device, but didn’t manage to attach it within the 10 days specified in the warrant. The FBI accumulated 2,000 pages of data over four weeks by tracking the vehicle.
The (we’ll spare you the Elton John lyrics) was one of our favorite concepts from the . Sure, the name is silly, but this pint-sized concept showed what could be in store for an even more mini . A smarter , if you will. However, a new report from CAR states that the entry-level Mini project has allegedly been canned. The Rocketman as we know it has been grounded.
The reason? CAR reports that it would be a costly endeavor to develop the Rocketman to meet street-legal specifications; specifically, handling, stability and crash standards. The concept only measures in at 134.6 inches long – a full 12 inches shorter than a standard hatchback, and while Mini insiders said that a production version could come as early as 2016, there are now no plans to offer a vehicle smaller than the current Cooper.
Long before the first U.S. soldier laid a boot on Iraq soil in the first Gulf War, General Motors planned to build a manufacturing facility in the country. According to The Detroit News, the years since haven’t been entirely kind to the automaker’s sales efforts in Iraq. That’s no shock given America’s reputation in the Middle East nation, but its prospects are beginning to look up. Whereas GM once trailed even Renault in sales, the company managed to move 35,000 vehicles last year. Not bad considering the entire new vehicle market in Iraq totaled just 115,000 in 2011.
GM’s sales largely consisted of SUVs and pickup trucks (like the locally available version of the Colorado seen above), though The Detroit News notes that some and sedans have sold as well, too. That’s particularly impressive given that Iraqi drivers aren’t required to have insurance and kidnappers in the country have been known to favor those who drive high-dollar luxury vehicles.
General Motors is having a hard time with the . First, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened a probe into the vehicle over the possibility of , and now some of its dealers are refusing to take their allocations of the extended-range plug-inhybrid. For example, according to Automotive News, GM set aside 104 Volt models for 14 dealerships across the greater New York City market. Of those vehicles, dealers took just 31. The problem isn’t just out East, either. The report claims one California dealer turned down all six Volt models allocated to him despite the fact that his franchise sold 10 of the vehicles last year.
GM, meanwhile, admits that ordering on the vehicle is down. The automaker attributes the slump to the fact that most dealers were awaiting resolution on the NHTSA investigation (the Volt has since been given a clean bill of health), though GM has announced a to prevent the fires in the future. Even so, public opinion on the vehicle has taken a ding, and many dealers may simply be waiting for the dust to settle before recommitting to the model.
This electric DeLorean is just a prototype, but our sister publication, got to take it for a spin and found that a 260-horsepower electric motor finally makes the DMC-12 the sports car everyone has always wanted it to be. While we get to see plenty of footage of , this episode also includes an interview with DeLorean Motor Company CEO Stephen Wynne.
While we don’t want to give too much away, Wynne discusses future plans for the Texas-based DeLorean restorer and remanufacturer, which include . Wynne tells Translogic that the car is expected to sell for between $95,000-$100,000. The car is said to have a 100-mile range, which would make it roughly equivalent to the , but with far more performance - not to mention its iconic time machine looks.
With all the as of late, we wonder if perhaps this is the car to change their minds about EVs? See Translogic’s full experience with the electric DeLorean in the video .
Last Summer showed off its technology created in partnership with the Copenhagen Institute of Interaction Design. It turned a rear window into an augmented-reality screen that would keep kids interested in something other than asking “Are we there yet?” Now has showed off a similar bit of kit called Windows of Opportunity, developed with the Bezalel School of Art and Design in Israel.
GM’s Windows concept is aimed just as much at kids as adults. The team came up with four different apps that provided interactivity ranging from a virtual take on drawing on foggy windows to checking what was on other augmented windows on cars around the world. We’re probably a long way from seeing something like this in production, but you know you can look forward to the day when your kid monitors your driving style from his child seat. for the full press release and a short video on GM’s new tech.
has announced that it will give both bonuses and merit-based raises to the company’s salaried workers in the United States and Canada for the first time since 2008, according to Reuters. On average, the manufacturer will offer a 2.7 percent salary increase based on individual performance. The company stopped offering the bonuses after the financial crisis of 2009 sent automotive sales into a plunge. Ford paid neither bonuses nor merit raises that year, but offered merit raises in 2010. In 2011, the company’s workers received bonuses only.
Of course, this decision has sent all eyes toward General Motors and and their plans for their own workers. According to The Detroit News, both GM and Chrysler have said raises and bonuses will be determined by their own performance, not their rival’s actions. GM has announced the company will make a final decision after it analyzes its financial results for 2011. Chrysler, meanwhile, intends to announce its fourth-quarter 2011 results on February 1, after which it will determine whether its workers will be eligible for their yearly awards.
The next chapter in the opera has a new protagonist called Brightwell Holdings, a Turkish private equity firm. Brightwell is is perhaps the unknown Turkish entity as having an interest in bankrupt Saab, along with India’s Mahindra & Mahindra. A board member at Brightwell said the company will spend two weeks evaluating Saab’s assets and then will make a bid, “there’s no question.”
Turkey doesn’t have a national car company, but it does have plenty of automotive manufacturing expertise since , and Renault have factories there. Brightwell has said it would keep Saab production in Trollhätten, but (and this is only conjecture) along with a decades-old push for , the , and Turkey’s desire to join the European Union, the bid could have motivating factors beyond the financial.
Regardless, that means we now have two players in the Saab story, with expected to result in a bid as soon as next week that could exceed a billion euros. It’s difficult to imagine that Saab will somehow be rescued, but the ball is still in play.
What price would you pay to own a piece of history? We’re thinking that might depend on what sort of historic significance we’re talking about… or, in the case of this 1964 Hearse, how morbid that history may be.
As you may remember, in 2011 that some thought carried John F. Kennedy’s body to the hospital after his fatal shooting. Turns out the provenance of that machine was , and bidding stalled at just $120,000.
Following up that unimpressive sale a year prior, Barrett-Jackson decided to bring out : the car that carried the casket containing JFK, along with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, from Parkland Memorial Hospital to the airport at Love Field.
Regardless of the fact that it is known to have carried JFK’s body, it only garnered a high bid of $160,000. After fees, the new buyer will pay $176,000.00 to own this 1964 Cadillac Hearse. Check out our live images of the car at Barrett-Jackson above, and read more about it .
What’s “the most famous television car in the world”? We suppose that depends on who you ask, but to many, nothing but the could possibly hold the title. Of course, there wasn’t just one General Lee. In fact, scores of orange were filmed for “The Dukes of Hazzard,” and most of them never survived their first televised escapade.
Not so , so named because it was the car that famously jumped over a Hazzard County police cruiser in the very first episode of the hit series. If you’ve ever seen the opening credits, you know the car we’re talking about… it flew 16 feet in the air over a distance of 82 feet. And, as you may have guessed, it didn’t exactly stick the landing.
No matter. Because of its notoriety, Lee 1 was saved from destruction and restored over a period of 16 months. And, due to that same famous history, we thought it might draw plenty of attention from the crowds at the 2012 Barrett-Jackson auction. In reality, bidding ended at just $110,000. That makes the final sale price a seemingly paltry $121,000.
Read more about Lee 1 and watch a video of it’s auction , and check out our live image gallery above.
What’s “the most famous television car in the world”? We suppose that depends on who you ask, but to many, nothing but the could possibly hold the title. Of course, there wasn’t just one General Lee. In fact, scores of orange were filmed for “The Dukes of Hazzard,” and most of them never survived their first televised escapade.
Not so , so named because it was the car that famously jumped over a Hazzard County police cruiser in the very first episode of the hit series. If you’ve ever seen the opening credits, you know the car we’re talking about… it flew 16 feet in the air over a distance of 82 feet. And, as you may have guessed, it didn’t exactly stick the landing.
No matter. Because of its notoriety, Lee 1 was saved from destruction and restored over a period of 16 months. And, due to that same famous history, we thought it might draw plenty of attention from the crowds at the 2012 Barrett-Jackson auction. In reality, bidding ended at just $110,000. That makes the final sale price a seemingly paltry $121,000.
Read more about Lee 1 , and check out our live image gallery above.
