If you want to get your hands on the Ultimate version of the , you’d better act fast, and come with cash in hand.
The , as you may recall, is Gaydon’s way of saying goodbye to what has been (notwithstanding the comings and goings of the One-77 and V12 Zagato) its mainstay flagship model for five years now. It’s distinguished by such special touches as a painted rear decklid spoiler, carbon-fiber wing mirror caps, darkened grille, smoked taillamps, Zircotec-coated tail pipes, special badging, and a choice of yellow, black or red brake calipers.
Its interior has likewise been upgraded with red or silver diamond-quilted stitching on the leather seats and Alcantara headliner, and can be ordered in manual or automatic, coupe or Volante convertible, and in one of three colors: Carbon Black II, Quantum Silver or Silver Fox.
Aston has now confirmed that only 100 examples will be offered globally, on a purely first come, first served basis, with no specific allotments for individual markets. The order books are open now with production slated for early June, with American pricing pegged at $287,576 for the coupe and $302,576 for the Volante. Aston also released a fresh batch of images, which you can browse above.
The wagon is not dead! BMW has unveiled the latest 3 Series Sports Wagon and announced that it will again be available to U.S. customers. The new long-roof 3 goes on sale in Europe later this year as the 328i, 330d, and 320d Touring. U.S. customers need to wait until Spring 2013 for the 3 Series Sports Wagon to arrive in showrooms, and powertrain details for our market have not yet been announced. The current 3 Series wagon is only offered as the 328i here in the U.S. (with and without xDrive).
The new car is larger than the current model, and boasts 10 percent more cargo volume according to BMW. As with the 3 Series sedan, the wagon will be available in Sport, Luxury, and Modern lines, as well as an M Sport Line, each with a unique approach to their interior and exterior trim.
Inside, the back seats have a 40:20:40 split and the cargo space offers plenty of room (as you can see in the photos). There’s also hidden storage, a standard partition net, and if the cargo cover isn’t in use, it can be stowed under the cargo floor for added convenience.
Amenities include an available power tailgate that, with the optional Comfort Access package, becomes a hands-free power tailgate; you just wave your foot under the bumper à la . Naturally, BMW will offer its full complement of tech and driver aids, like BMW Apps, a color HUD, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Detection, BMW Parking Assistant, Rear-view Camera with Top View, and the BMW Assist telematics service.
So, the good news: There’s a new 3 Series wagon. The bad news: You need to wait a year. But that’s better than no wagon at all, right?
The wagon is not dead! BMW has unveiled the latest 3 Series Sports Wagon and announced that it will again be available to U.S. customers. The new long-roof 3 goes on sale in Europe later this year as the 328i, 330d, and 320d Touring. U.S. customers need to wait until Spring 2013 for the 3 Series Sports Wagon to arrive in showrooms, and powertrain details for our market have not yet been announced. The current 3 Series wagon is only offered as the 328i here in the U.S. (with and without xDrive).
The new car is larger than the current model, and boasts 10 percent more cargo volume according to BMW. As with the 3 Series sedan, the wagon will be available in Sport, Luxury, and Modern lines, as well as an M Sport Line, each with a unique approach to their interior and exterior trim.
Inside, the back seats have a 40:20:40 split, and the cargo space offers plenty of room (as you can see in the photos). There’s also hidden storage, a standard partition net, and if the cargo cover isn’t in use, it can be stowed under the cargo floor for added convenience.
Amenities include an available power tailgate that, with the optional Comfort Access package, becomes a hands-free power tailgate; you just wave your foot under the bumper a la the . Naturally, BMW will offer its full complement of tech and driver aids, like BMW Apps, a color HUD, Lane Departure Warning, Blind Spot Detection, BMW Parking Assistant, Rear-view Camera with Top View, and the BMW Assist telematics service.
So, the good news: new 3 Series wagon. The bad news: you need to wait a year. But that’s better than no wagon at all, right.
Depth of Speed is Josh Clason’s video series that cosses the country looking for cool automotive stories to tell. He found another one in Utah at . They let Clason take one of their vintage Skyline GT-R projects out on track for some sunset lens time, and the result is nothing less than you’d expect from Clason.
On a side note, while the current is totally awesome, we wish it had a bit more of this car’s cool vibe. for the video.
worked with Fender, its stereo partner, to put together the concept shown at last year’s . The concept had an iPod dock set into amp-like mesh, a tube amp, sunburst-patterened wood trim and a trunk-mounted sub you could plug your guitar into.
Car and Driver reports that a production version is coming, perhaps before the end of the year, but it will be missing several of the components that made the concept that much cooler, like the mesh-decorated dock, the tube amp and the port in the sub. Oh, and the sunburst-pattern trim might not be made of wood.
There’s plenty that could remain, though. The black concept featured special red and chrome trim, a leather roof, and sat on a lowered suspension with 19-inch wheels. Those could make it through the production transition, as well as the high-end Fender stereo system, naturally.
Kei cars may be small in size, but they’re big business in Japan. The latest arrival to the category is the little hatch you see above, the Pixis Epoch.
It’s the fourth vehicle produced by the Daihatsu division but sold under the Toyota brand. As with other keis, power comes from a 660cc engine. It’s mated to a continuously variable transmission driving either just the front wheels or all four. In both configurations, the Pixis Epoch features a stop-start system that helps its emissions and fuel efficiency figures come in well below even the Japanese government’s stringent standards.
The whole package measures just 3,395 mm (133 inches) long, 1,475 mm (58 inches) wide and 1,500 mm (59 inches) tall, but offers a relatively spacious and utile interior, plus a tight turning radius of just 4.4 meters. Pricing ranges from 795,000 to 1.2 million yen – that’s less than $10,000 (and no more than $15k). Further details in the press release after the jump.
Kei cars may be small in size, but they’re big business in Japan. The latest arrival to the category is the little hatch you see above, the Pixis Epoch.
It’s the fourth vehicle produced by the Daihatsu division but sold under the Toyota brand. As with other keis, power comes from a 660cc engine. It’s mated to a continuously variable transmission driving either just the front wheels or all four. In both configurations, the Pixis Epoch features a stop-start system that helps its emissions and fuel efficiency figures come in well below even the Japanese government’s stringent standards.
The whole package measures just 3,395 mm (133 inches) long, 1,475 mm (58 inches) wide and 1,500 mm (59 inches) tall, but offers a relatively spacious and utile interior, plus a tight turning radius of just 4.4 meters. Pricing ranges from 795,000 to 1.2 million yen – that’s less than $10,000 (and no more than $15k). Further details in the press release after the jump.
pretty much said it’s coming, and here it is: the new Mini John Cooper Works GP. It’s making an appearance at the Mini United Festival in France this weekend, and while Mini has yet to detail specific power numbers or show off the car’s interior, it has produced a Nurburgring time: 8 minutes, 23 seconds, which, , betters the last Mini GP (circa 2006) by 19 seconds.
Like its predecessor, the GP-spec hardtop loses its back seat for weight reduction, gets a full complement of power and suspension upgrades, including a race-spec suspension and brakes, and sports exclusive aero tweaks, wheels and graphics to differentiate itself from “regular” JCW models. Figure on a power figure north of the 214 horses the last GP produced (standard JCW Minis make 208 hp right now). Only 2,000 of the new Mini JCW GPs will be built and sold globally.
Given that the regular John Cooper Works models are fairly marvelous as is, the GP should be deliriously fun. No pricing yet, but since a loaded-up John Cooper Works easily runs into the high-$30K range now, we’d expect the limited-production GP to skip right past the $40,000 mark.
Thankfully, Truck Nuts have proven to be more fad than fashion, but that hasn’t stopped a few truck owners from donning the hitch-mounted clock weights. Those who continue to hold their Truck Nuts near and dear should keep in mind that South Carolina law enforcement is having none of it.
The Smoking Gun reports that one Joe Cervantes-Rodriquez recently spent a night in jail thanks to his flesh-colored pickup balls. A Spartanburg County Sherrif’s Office deputy spotted the Truck Nuts during a patrol and decided to pull over the driver.
For the Truck Nuts, Cervantes-Rodriquez was given a warning citation; for not having a driver’s license he spent the night in jail-an experience that would likely have been avoided were it not for the “obscene object” that triggered the traffic stop, which was described as being the size of a softball and anatomically correct.
Cervantes-Rodriquez was released from jail after posting a $237.50 bond. We’d guess that he’s since removed the Truck Nuts.
It’s darn near impossible to overemphasize the impact that has had on the automotive world as we know it today. Born in 1923, Shelby took part in his very first race, a quarter-mile drag, in 1952. Later that year, he’d go on to win his first road race in an MG-TC. By 1956, Shelby had garnered enough race wins to earn the title “Driver of the Year” from Sports Illustrated. He would win that award again in 1957.
Carroll Shelby was nothing if not a keen businessman. In early 1957, Shelby opened his first car dealership in Dallas, Texas. Bolstered by his success behind the wheel – Carroll won the 24 Hours of in 1969, driving an – Shelby went on to build the iconic using a chassis built by in England and powered by a V8 engine. Officially homologated in 1962, the Cobra Roadster won its first race in January of 1963.
Driven by legendary drivers like Phil Hill, A.J. Foyt and Dan Gurney, the Shelby Cobra and its aerodynamic Daytona Coupe sibling won the Sports Car Club of America’s A-production title and the United States Road Racing Championship in ‘63. The following year brought with it the big-block 427 Cobra, and the machine went on to deal serious blows to , the dominant sports car manufacturer of the time.
Shelby began his long-running relationship with the Ford factory in 1965, as the Shelby GT350 hit both the street and the race track. That year, Shelby secured the FIA World Championship of GT cars. In 1966, a Shelby-backed Ford team finished in first, second and third place at Le Mans; this was the first time an American team claimed victory in the historic race, but it would not be the last – Shelby’s team would go on to win Le Mans again in 1967. The Ford GT40 ended up in first place four straight years from 1966-1969.
The Shelby GT350 claimed the Trans Am racing title in 1967, and in that year, the very last 427 Shelby Cobra was built. In 1970, Ford ended its partnership with Shelby, and the man would remain mostly quiet in the automotive industry until the 1980s, when approached Carroll about building high-performance versions of products. The Omni and would Go Like Hell for several years, embarrassing V8-powered Mustangs and Camaros along the way.
Carroll Shelby received a heart transplant in 1990 and would go on to reintroduce Cobra 427 S/C continuation cars and 4000-series cars throughout the 1990s. Shelby was also involved heavily with both the and programs. No wonder why Carroll Shelby was inducted into the International Motor Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
Today, the name Shelby may be most often tied to the latest and greatest models from Ford, but it’s clear that the man has impacted the performance world for decades. While he may no longer be alive, there can be little doubt that Carroll Shelby’s influence will be felt by enthusiasts for as long as cars move us from one place to another.
We’ve collected a couple of videos that we thought were a fitting tribute to Shelby’s unending legacy. Join us in watching them by .
The crew from Cool Hunting finally got around to stopping by the Icon headquarters for a little chat with founder Jonathan Ward. The man has made a name for himself by crafting some of the most detail-oriented interpretations of classic cars on the planet.
The Icon Bronco features all of the vintage style of a late ’60s SUV with a hand-built frame, modern running gear and electronics underneath. We are, needless to say, smitten with the creation. Ward gave Cool Hunting the complete tour, including showing off a number of Icon Bronco models in various stages of completion.
Ward brings up an interesting point about modern vehicles about halfway through the clip. He says that with manufacturers continuing to pile on unnecessary technology, today’s machines are almost guaranteed to be obsolete in five years or so. In contrast, Ward says he builds each Icon to be durable enough to last decades without needing serious revision. We like his style. to watch the video.
There are a handful of countries where you’d expect most any supercar to come from. Italy, Germany, England… and even these United States have produced their fare share, and there’ve been a handful from Japan. Even France and Sweden have produced some notables. But Poland?
Hardly the first country that would come to mind, but the folks behind Arrinera Automotive aim to fix that. We first reported last year on the supercar the Polish outfit has been developing, and now they’ve released a whole slew of details – including specifications and pricing.
The as-yet unnamed vehicle (aside from the Arrinera marque, anyway) is powered by a 6.2-liter V8 that’s been supercharged up to 650 metric horsepower (641 by our measures) and 605 pound-feet of torque, driving through a Graziano gearbox for a 3.2-second sprint to 100 kilometers per hour (62 miles per hour) and a claimed 340 km/h (211 mph) top end.
Lee Noble – the talented engineer behind supercars marketed under the Ultima, Ascari, Rossion, Fenix and Noble names – has set up the suspension, with 380-millimeter brakes providing the stopping power up front and 350-millimeter discs in the back. The 1300-kilogram (2866-pound) package is made up of a high-strength steel frame with bodywork that’s carbon-intensive and similar in appearance to a Lamborghini, but that’s no bad thing.
Production is slated to begin later this year, with pricing starting at £100,000 (about $160,000 at current exchange rates). Scope it out in the extensive and fresh gallery of high-resolution images above.
How much is a Pebble Beach ‘Best in Show’ car worth? We’re about to find out. A 1938 Horch 853A Erdmann & Rossi Sport Cabriolet (that’s quite a mouthful) is looking for a new home and is headed to auction at RM’s Monterey sale in August. The car underwent an extensive restoration in 2001 and debuted at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance where it took home first prize. Since then, the Horch has gone on to win many other accolades including the Best in Show at the New York City Concours (2005), the Meadow Brook Concours d’Elegance (2006), the Glenmoor Gathering (2008), and the Ault Park Concours (2009).
So what makes this particular car so special? Horch, one of the original four German automakers of the Auto Union that lives on today as , produced some of the most luxurious vehicles in the early part of the century. The 853A Cabriolet, one of the company’s last efforts, is widely considered one of the most beautiful cars of its era and came with many modern features including vacuum-boosted hydraulic brakes, overdrive in all four gears, and a unique hydraulic jacking system. This particular example features unique coachwork by Erdmann & Rossi and is one of just three known to currently exist.
You can read more about the 1938 Horch 853A Erdmann & Rossi Sport Cabriolet and the auction in RM’s press release , and you can see our photos of the car at the 2004 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in the gallery above.
When it comes to supercars, the sky is the proverbial limit. You can literally spend millions. And with vehicles like the , and , you can spend hundreds of thousands on a top-of-the-line luxury sedan, too. But when it comes to SUVs, prices seldom if ever breach the $100K mark fetched by the likes of the and the .
There are a handful of automakers aiming to break that barrier though. Like the upcoming SUVs from and , the on-again, off-again Spyker D12, and this, the FX Sebastian Vettel Version.
Based on the , the Vettel edition has had the output from its 5.0-liter V8 upped to from 390 horsepower to 414 for a 5.6-second sprint to 60 and a 186 mph top speed. The suspension is said to have been set up by the reigning two-time world champion himself, with the carbon fiber aero kit developed by his Red Bull Racing team. The only change we’ve heard of from the concept car pictured above to the production version will be a more conventional pearl white paint job instead of the matte white of the show car.
Only 200 examples will be produced, with 50 earmarked for continental Europe, and most of the rest likely heading to the Middle East. The price for such a high-end performance crossover? 120,000 euros, or about $155,000 in American greenbacks (if it were actually offered here). Of course if that still seems too slow and too cheap, you could always order a custom Juke-R from Infiniti’s parent company and smoke some supercars in the process.
You might say the same for any number of automakers, but in this case it rings particularly true: wouldn’t be Lotus without racing. It’s what forged the company at its outset, and that hasn’t eluded the management team lead by Dany Behar. Say what you will about his overly ambitious plans to expand the company’s product portfolio – he’s also lead the company (or at least the brand) into a variety of racing series, and this is its latest product.
A further evolution of the GT4 Enduro, the new Evora GTC packs carbon-fiber body panels in place of fiberglass and plexi windows to help trim 30 kilograms (66 pounds) off its the GT4’s curb weight that’s now down to 1,130 kilograms (less than 2,500 pounds, depending on customer specification).
The 4.0-liter V6 carries over with 450 horsepower and an Xtrac six-speed sequential gearbox, both of which are further enhanced by new traction control and Bosch ABS, with eighteen-inch competition alloys packed into flared fenders.
Having already undergone exhausting testing at the company’s Hethel test track, the Evora GTC has already found its first customers that will be fielding theirs in the Grand-Am series and Britcar MSA Endurance Championship. for the full press release.
Here’s one from the unsurprising file: The Consumer Electronics Association has written the National Traffic Safety Board in opposition to the .
According to The Detroit News, CEA is all for efforts to create technological solutions to the distracted driving problem, which makes perfect sense, as those products or features would be one more thing for its member firms to sell. To its credit, CEA did write that it supports banning texting and restricting phone use by young drivers.
But the organization insists that there is no “real-world evidence” to support prohibiting all phone use in vehicles, according to the report. In support of its position, it played the makeup card, saying that other distractions like “eating, drinking, applying makeup and engaging with children” would also need to be banned.
The to ban hands-free calling is somewhat peculiar in that it would ban calls through a paired cell phone, but not calls through a phone built into the vehicle, like the OnStar system from General Motors. The recommendation has been controversial, with even Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood with the idea.
Business has been good for . Thanks in no small part to expanding its activities in developing markets, the racing team turned automaker raked in 556 million euros in revenues to generate 42.1 million euros in profit in the first quarter of this year alone – an increase of 13.2 and 17.2 percent, respectively. Those figures are driven by increased sales that amounted to 1,733 units produced and delivered in the first quarter out of an exciting model range that includes the and , the recently revised , the innovative and the brand-new F12 Berlinetta. But the House that Enzo built is not about to stop there.
Buried deep within the company’s financial report (which you can delve into after below the fold should you be so inclined) comes confirmation direct from the company’s affable chairman (and possible next Italian prime minister) Luca di Montezemolo: “At the end of the year, we’ll also be unveiling the new , a limited series model and our first ever hybrid car.”
So there we have it, straight from the proverbial lion’s mouth and in no uncertain terms. Before we flip the calendar to 2013, we’ll have the latest in the long line of earth-shattering supercars that started with the 288 GTO, continued with the legendary F40, through the open-top F50 and on to the radical Enzo. And yes, it will be a hybrid, coupling an electric motor to a revised version of the V12 in the new F12 Berlinetta, as Ferrari at the .
has passed away at the age of 89. The legendary tuner and proprietor of the famous marque that bears his name had been in the hospital for several weeks, suffering from pneumonia. Shelby fourteen days before his death, saying that he was resting comfortably and being taken care of by his children.
Anyone familiar in the least with automotive history is well aware of Shelby’s vast vehicular exploits, so we’ll just touch on them here. Carroll was a successful race car driver in the 1950s before creating his own racing team to take on the likes of , using -powered sportscar called the . Suffice it to say, Shelby and his Cobra were extremely successful. Later, Shelby’s name would become synonymous with the fastest and most powerful models ever created.
Shelby is survived by his three children Patrick, Michael and Sharon, his sister Anne Shelby Ellison of Fort Worth and his wife Cleo. An official press release can be found .
has passed away at the age of 89. The legendary tuner and proprietor of the famous marque that bears his name had been in the hospital for several weeks, suffering from pneumonia. Shelby fourteen days before his death, saying that he was resting comfortably and being taken care of by his children.
Anyone familiar in the least with automotive history is well aware of Shelby’s vast vehicular exploits, so we’ll just touch on them here. Carroll was a successful race car driver in the 1950s before creating his own racing team to take on the likes of , using -powered sportscar called the . Suffice it to say, Shelby and his Cobra were extremely successful. Later, Shelby’s name would become synonymous with the fastest and most powerful models ever created.
Shelby is survived by his three children Patrick, Michael and Sharon, his sister Anne Shelby Ellison of Fort Worth and his wife Cleo. An official press release can be found .
April showers may result in May’s flowers, but it didn’t result in great car sales numbers.
Overall, only climbed 2.3 percent compared to April 2011, leaving some carmakers and observers scratching their head. Of course, the raw numbers, as provided by AutoData Corp., also note that there were three fewer selling days due to that occasional month with five Sundays in it. Imagine the pain people paid on the 1st and 15th had to endure?
So the numbers may not be as bad as a first glance might suggest, and in my opinion, the slow pace of growth is better for automakers. Rather than big ups and downs that leave dealerships empty of popular vehicles and overstocked with others, a steady mild increase means it’s easier to match production to demand.
But there are plenty of outliers in the pages of spreadsheets when you look inside the numbers. So here are the 10 things I think I know about the auto industry based on April’s sales.
