Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans – Click above for high-res image gallery
As Le Mans week has begun in France, ALMS founder Don Panoz has revealed the new limited production Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans road car. From a design perspective, the Abruzzi clearly draws on the GTR-1 “Batmobile” racer of the late-1990s, Like the GTR-1, the Abruzzi is a front mid-engine design with an unspecified engine providing 600+ horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque mounted low and behind the front axle. Also following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Abruzzi has its radiators mounted in the rear with cooling air being drawn from a duct in the roof and along the rear side windows.
Uniquely, only 81 cars will be built over three years, each corresponding to a Le Mans race up until 2013, and all of the cars will be delivered at Le Mans. Each buyer will be given a driving course with the car on the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans and invited to the next race as a guest of Panoz and race organizer Automobile Club de l’Ouest where they will have the opportunity to drive their cars on the full circuit prior to the race. For the moment, at least, the Abruzzi is only being homologated to European road regulations. No pricing has been announced yet, but we’re pretty confident it won’t fit into most bloggers’ budgets.
Panoz Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans – Click above for high-res image gallery
As Le Mans week has begun in France, ALMS founder Don Panoz has revealed the new limited production Abruzzi Spirit of Le Mans road car. From a design perspective, the Abruzzi clearly draws on the GTR-1 “Batmobile” racer of the late-1990s, Like the GTR-1, the Abruzzi is a front mid-engine design with an unspecified engine providing 600+ horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque mounted low and behind the front axle. Also following in the footsteps of its predecessor, the Abruzzi has its radiators mounted in the rear with cooling air being drawn from a duct in the roof and along the rear side windows.
Uniquely, only 81 cars will be built over three years, each corresponding to a Le Mans race up until 2013, and all of the cars will be delivered at Le Mans. Each buyer will be given a driving course with the car on the Bugatti circuit at Le Mans and invited to the next race as a guest of Panoz and race organizer Automobile Club de l’Ouest where they will have the opportunity to drive their cars on the full circuit prior to the race. For the moment, at least, the Abruzzi is only being homologated to European road regulations. No pricing has been announced yet, but we’re pretty confident it won’t fit into most bloggers’ budgets.
Lamborghini Navarra concept by Adam Denning – Click above for high-res image gallery
Has ’s current styling direction run its course? Those enamored by the Raging Bulls’ sharp creases and intersecting lines would surely protest, but sooner or later, like any other automaker, Sant’Agata will need to look for a new direction. And given that the company’s current design language – first seen on the Reventon supercar and inspired by the F-22 Raptor fighter jet – where better to turn for the next step than back to the designers at Lockheed Martin, the aerospace concern that lead its development?
In penning the Navarra concept depicted here, Adam Denning – an American designer with Lockheed Martin who earned his masters in automotive design at Milan’s Scuola Politecnica di Design – took into account Lamborghini’s succession of V12 supercars from the Miura to the , taking the company’s current sharp-edged language one step further by blending it with organic shapes inspired by classical Renaissance sculpture. The Navarro’s packaging is a touch shorter than the Murcielago’s but rides on a slightly longer wheelbase, envisioned to be built largely out of carbon fiber.
With already speeding , Lamborghini has likely already signed off on its design. But just the same, is this the direction the tentatively-dubbed “Jota” should be taking? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
First generation Ford Bronco – Click above for high-res image gallery
Imagine your disappointment when you find what looks like a great deal on a on , only to realize the body is 90 percent . You could head back to the listings, or you could hit the catalog for a brand new body shell. Ford is now offering up over 9,000 officially licensed parts for cars and trucks going back to 1909 Model Ts, and the catalog includes complete shells for 1967, 68, 69 and 1970 Mustang coupes as well as all manner of other parts to fix up old Fords, Mercurys and Lincolns.
Finding good parts for restorations is always a challenge. Restorers often have to go scrounging through scrap yards to find parts in decent condition or roll the dice with unauthorized reproductions that may or may not fit. Ford has sold some of the old tooling to specialty fabricators that continue to produce parts in small batches for those models that people want to keep on the road well past their expiration date. Of course, crate motors are old hat in the racing catalog, with classics like the “351 Cleveland V8″, 302 cubic inch V8 and the more recent 5.0-liter “Cammer” readily available.
Off-road junkies will also be pleased to learn that the next addition to the body shell lineup will be the first generation Bronco. Complete bodies for the little Broncos will be available in the fall.
6th Annual “Vanishing Point” gathering of Pagani Zondas – Click above to watch the video
How much is too much? When it comes to Paganis, we doubt such a point exists – at least not in the company’s limited production run so far – but in any event, we’ve yet to find it.
Every year the company’s president, founder and namesake Horacio Pagani invites owners and friends to an annual gathering called “The Vanishing Point”, in apparent homage to the cult classic 1971 car flick. This year’s brought out an impressive array, including examples of the Zonda S, Zonda F and the ultra-exclusive edition, along with a handful of other supercars like a Enzo and 599 GTB Fiorano, the new and a Gulf-liveried GT… plus a of , a and, picking up the rear, a van with a Zonda exhaust decal slapped on the back.
Unfortunately, the day was mired by rainy weather, but that didn’t stop the convoy from rumbling through the sleepy medieval town of Cividale del Friuli, where a handy-cam from Italansupercar.net was on hand to take in the sights. to check it out.
Since early 2008, ALMS has been touting itself as the “Leader in green racing.” We decided to take a look at the biggest series in North America and compare the efforts of each when it comes to alternative fuels and drivetrains. In many respects, NASCAR is actually the most alternative series around right now – but hardly forward-looking. After all, NASCAR still uses carburetors and just switched from leaded to unleaded gasoline a couple of years ago.
Similarly, while IndyCars switched from methanol to ethanol a few years back, there isn’t much else about open wheel race cars that can be called relevant to manufacturers. ALMS GT class cars on the other hand are actually derived from production models. The combination of GT and LMP cars are now or have recently been running on five different fuel/drive combinations including , E10, , biobutanol, and . Later this season, the hybrid that nearly won the recent 24 hours of Nurburgring is expected to join the ALMS ranks and ALMS communications director Bob Dickinson told us that he hopes to see diesel-hybrid, perhaps as soon the next Sebring race in March 2011. Check out the full chart after the jump.
Palatov DP4 hits the track – Click above to watch video
Whatever you’ve spent your motoring money on, whatever car you hold in high regard as the ultimate track machine, prepare to forget about it. The Palatov DP4 is officially on sale, and to celebrate the occasion and demonstrate the go-kart/car/motorcycle half-breed’s prowess, Dennis Palatov and his crew of similarly mad scientists decided to show off just what the creation could do. They turned the thing loose on Oregon Raceway Park for a couple of hot laps as a demonstration for potential buyers, and the DP4 consumed all in its path.
Think the is a pretty quick little piece of kit? Think again, cowboy. We don’t know exactly which drivetrain layout this particular car is rocking, but we wouldn’t be surprised if it was packing the top of the line turbocharged 1.4-liter engine and Palatov’s unique chain-driven all-wheel drive system. What’s the price tag for such a beast? Build-it-yourself kits start at $25,910 for a lesser-engined, two-wheel drive variant, but if you want the big guns, get ready to shell out $50,610. to see the devastation for yourself.
[Source: via Image: ]
Go-Kart makes first track run, impresses the locals
Tramontana R – Click above for high-res image gallery
It’s a precarious game making a racing car for the road. The Caparo T1 never seemed to have gotten off the ground, close as it was to a road-going F1 racer. The Tramontana is just about as close, but at half a million euros, the niche automaker is reportedly having trouble finding buyers.
The solution? Tap into the racing market. According to emerging reports from across the pond, Tramontana is considering replacing the twin-turbo V12 sourced from with a Cosworth V10 for the competition model. The British engineering firm is known to many for its Formula One engine program: While it currently supplies 2.4-liter V8s to Williams, Lotus, HRT and Virgin, as recently 2006 it was still building 3.0-liter V10s for Scuderia Toro Rosso.
Cosworth also has plenty of expertise building engines for other racing series as well as roadcars, so there’s plenty to tap into to transform the Tramontana from a road-garbling beast to a curb-chomping racer.
1974 De Tomaso Pantera L – Click above for image gallery
It’s hard to imagine the automotive landscape without the wonder that is . Yes, we would probably be a little more productive without the ever-present temptation of thousands of rare and unique listings leading our web browsers astray, but we’d also never hear about cars like the 1974 Pantera L you see above. While any car with a 351 Cleveland V8 mounted amidships is usually enough to get our blood pumping, this particular example is something truly special. Why? It has a mere 135 miles on the clock.
Now, usually, a car that’s traveled less than four miles a year since it was built would have all sorts of issues to contend with, but the seller claims to have taken care of most of those. The wheel bearings have all been broken down and repacked with new grease, the brake lines have been replaced, the carburetor has been rebuilt and the oil-pan gasket has been swapped for a new piece, and a slew of other services have been performed. There’s no word on whether or not the fuel tank was dropped and cleaned, though.
Sound good? The ‘Buy It Now’ price is a lofty $139,500, and the car is located in Scotts Valley, California. We’re not entirely sure we’d personally pony up that kind of cash (if we had it), but it’s likely the best original Pantera that will ever be seen again. Check the auction .
Lola-Aston Martin LMP1 – Click above for high-res image gallery
Since returning to the sportscar racing scene in 2005, Racing has expanded its scope to cover every category of GT racing from the GT4-spec Vantage to the GT1-spec DBR9. But few were prepared for the full-on assault the British outfit launched last year in the top-tier, winner-takes-all LMP1 category.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the last Aston Martin overall victory at Le Mans, the team shoehorned the V12 engine from the victorious DBR9 into an existing Lola chassis with support from veteran LMP1 campaigners Charouz Racing System. The Aston-powered Lolas emerged among the most successful gasoline-powered entries (behind the diesel-powered and Peugeots). But that was only a stop-gap measure. This year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans – set to kick off next weekend – is slated to be the last time Aston uses the Lola chassis before it launches its own.
Developed by Aston’s racing partner Prodrive – directed by Aston chairman David Richards – the ground-up Le Mans prototype is set to take to the track next year. But Aston won’t be keeping the fun all to itself. According to the latest reports, the factory works team will field two cars of its own, and sell an additional two cars to a privateer team next year and then another two in 2012. If Aston can find an edge against the longer-running diesels – this is an endurance race, after all – or if the series organizers find an effective way of equalizing the performance between the fuel types, a field of six Aston prototypes stand a good chance of topping the podium within the next couple of years.
There’s been a long tradition of automakers giving cars to the police departments in whatever municipalities they have facilities in and is no different. Now that Volkswagen of America has moved its headquarters from Michigan to Virginia, the Herndon police department has received a pair of new Passats – a modified sedan and wagon for use by the local constabulary.
The standard 2.0-liter TSI (turbocharged and direct injected) inline-four has been beefed up for its new role, raising output from 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet to 250 hp and 299 lb-ft. The four-cylinder police vehicles get the larger brakes from the 3.6-liter V6 versions, as well as 18-inch wheels with Pirelli performance tires. FMS Automotive built special enclosures for the communications equipment to make it look like a standard Passat. Volkswagen has not given any indication whether it plans to get into the regular police vehicle market when the new U.S.-built Passat arrives next year, but we’re guessing that it’s going to take a pass on trying to corner the cop-car market.
The on-again, off-again talks between and Proton about a potential partnership seem to be off-again, and this time it’s likely for good. The German and Malaysian automakers first began talking back in 2007 before breaking things off. Recently, however, some high-level discussions have occurred that included the possibility of Proton doing final assembly of complete-knock-down (CKD) kits in Malaysia.
Volkswagen has not made an official announcement, but Proton has issued a media release in Malaysia. It’s not clear at this time if Volkswagen still plans to produce cars from CKDs in Malaysia or it will set up its own facility.
Proton will apparently move forward on its own with engineering help from its wholly owned subsidiary at Lotus in the UK.
2010 Huntington Beach Concours – Click above for high-res gallery
Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year was one of our favorite smaller concours, the in Southern California. Not quite as prestigious as some of the other concours we cover – like Greenwich, happening on the opposite coast on the very same weekend – it’s always an eclectic show, featuring everything ranging from hot rods to supercars, pre-war classics and motorcycles. One of the things that makes this show extra special is what makes some real estate worth a lot more than others – location, location, location. Within spitting distance of some of the biggest and best automotive collections in the world, this laid-back exhibition always manages to bring out some huge surprises.
Split over two days, the Saturday show is billed as Hot Rods in the Park, and focuses mainly on American iron, while Sunday is the Concours d’Elegance proper, with more European makes represented. Sunday was the day to see , , , , and if you’re into those kinds of things. We stopped in for a spell on both days, fully prepared to be wowed, and the entrants still blew us away. Sure the and were cool as usual, but check out the , and that turned out this year! Highlights included the , , and a . As nice as those were, the standout vehicles of the weekend were even more impressive.
Randy Simmons brought a powered by a 7.3-liter Power Stroke turbodiesel. It’s an A/DT class SCTA land speed record truck that has run over 135 miles per hour and looks like it could hold a place of honor in just about any museum in the world. Ducati got our attention when we noticed an aluminum paint job on the tank of one of its display bikes. Yep, it was the new limited-edition – the updated-for-2010 1098R replacement. And then there was a streamlined red motorcycle that stopped us in our tracks. Have you seen The World’s Fastest Indian yet? If not, go rent now. The late Burt Munro’s highly-modified has been resurrected and brought to a level of finish that would have left him dumbfounded. The bike just emerged from a massive restoration project and was being shown in anticipation of its official coming-out party at Pebble Beach in August. That’s when the engine will be re-fired for the first time in 21 years. Even standing still, it’s a mighty impressive bike, as well as a bit of motoring and movie history.
Car movies have been big business of late – Transformers, Death Race, The A-Team – which makes it unsurprising that the business of getting cars prepped for movies is becoming even bigger business. The upcoming Green Hornet will use 29 classic Imperials; the third film in The Fast & the Furious series needed 200 cars built and modified; and the fourth installment required 240 rebuilt rides.
The New York Times has a look at the outfit that builds the cars that make us go, “Awesome!” Run by Dennis McCarthy in a shop in Sun Valley, California, his crew of 40 teamsters will grab tens of vehicles from eBay and Craigslist and then work 17-hour days to get them ready to jump, fly, flip, explode, and engage in general badassery. For Fast & Furious, they put that Regal GNX body on its frame backwards so it would look like a high-speed chase in reverse.
And yes, they’re already at work on the fifth episode in the F&F franchise. Head on over to The New York Times for the rest of the story – it’s one of the few chop shops we’re glad to have around.
2010 Firestone 550 at Texas Motor Speedway – Click above for high-res image gallery
The IndyCar Series didn’t take much of a break after the 94th running of the Indianapolis 500. Before the celebratory milk even had a chance to curdle at the corners of 500-champ Dario Franchitti’s mouth, the whole Series was already headed to Texas Motor Speedway for the 2010 Firestone 550.
Dario was looking to become the third Indy 500 winner in a row to claim victory in Texas as well, although the flying Scot had never mounted the top step of the podium in the Lone Star state. In his favor was the fact that his Chip Ganassi team, along with Team Penske and Andretti Autosport had won every single one of the last 50 oval races in the series amongst themselves.
Qualifying was held on Friday afternoon, with 4-lap averages looking to be in the 212-215 mile per hour range. The race was going down on Saturday afternoon, but before that could happen, 26 cars needed to make it through qualifying. Follow the jump to see how it played out.
Gallery:
[Image Sources: Donald Miralle, Tom Pennington, Jonathan Ferrey and Robert Laberge (Getty Images)]
Tupolev 007 aerosled at the Greenwich Concours d’Elegance- Click above for high res gallery
We’ll provide a full recap of the 2010 Greenwich Concours d’Elegance later, but this morning, we wanted to share one of the cooler vehicles on display with you – and while it has gullwing doors and is as exotic as it gets, it’s not even a car. While Cold War-era American astronauts were fished out of the drink by the U.S. Navy after splashdown, Soviet cosmonauts at the time faced a different set of risks when their spacecraft returned to Earth – namely, the possibility of landing in the Siberian wilderness. As such, a recovery vehicle was needed that could traverse varied terrain, operate in sub-zero temperatures, and move fast. Enter Russian aviation legend Aleksei Tupolev. His solution is seen here: the Tupolev 007 aerosled.
The shallow-draft craft is powered by a 9-cylinder radial aircraft engine generating 365 horsepower. Its interesting double-propeller is actually fixed, with the rear prop drafting the front blades to increase efficiency and make operation quieter. At speeds above 50 mph, the driver can engage an airfoil to lift the nose, allowing the 007 to skim the surface, meaning it can race across lakes, marshes, and snow with equal aplomb. The design reportedly won Tupolev the Diploma of Finest Engineer in the USSR (give the Soviets this: they had a flair for super-impressive-sounding awards), and you can go see it yourself if you’re within easy travel distance of Greenwich, CT.
Day 2 of the runs today from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM EDT, with foreign cars the featured element. Admission at the door is $25 (proceeds help benefit AmeriCares), and believe us, it’s money well spent. We’ll be there later today as well, and you can from the show by searching on the hashtag .
Gallery:
Additional info on the Tupolev aerosled sourced from , .
2010 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG in Alubeam silver – Click above for high-res image gallery
If you’re shopping for a finished in Alubeam silver here in the United States, you’re in luck, but you’ll have to be patient. A reader dropped us a note to let us know that a Dallas, Texas dealer apparently informed a friend of his that Alubeam had not been released for the American market yet.
We checked with spokesman Rob Moran, who tells us that the special finish is indeed available. Alubeam first appeared on the several years ago. If you haven’t seen it, Alubeam is a stunning metallic finish that looks like molten silver.
According to Moran, the Alubeam bodies are hand-painted at Mercedes-Benz’s Sindelfingen factory, while other colors are applied at a Magna Steyr body shop. The more labor intensive process means that only about 2-3 cars a week are available for U.S. market allocation. Hopefully the customer and dealer are just having a miscommunication about the longer wait time, because the special paint is definitely available. A tip of the hat to Ross!
If your aim in choosing a new car is to get noticed, there’s no shortage of attention-grabbing wheels to pick from, but few cars get noticed as quickly as a police cruiser. Sure, the flashing lights and blaring sirens might help, but not as much as the looming threat of being ticketed. Still, Australia’s New South Wales police department seems to think it needs some help getting noticed.
That’s precisely why Sydney-area law enforcement has taken delivery of an Alfa Romeo MiTo. Noticeably bereft of emergency lighting, the MiTo will be used for community outreach and safety awareness programs. Whether the wee Alfa will prove more effective in its assignment than a or remains to be seen, but it might help the authorities catch up with the next F1 champion who tries on city streets.
