The English are mad. And we know this for two reasons: one, they admit it; two, it’s true. If more proof is needed, a video of Evo magazine’s features editor, Henry Catchpole, sliding a up a French mountain in the snow should be enough. And the spindly car is missing its top. And he’s missing his hat.
The Supersport is Caterham’s street-legal version of the racing Seven used in the one-make racing series. It’s got short gearing, a lightweight flywheel and LSD, a race-tuned suspension, and its 1.6-liter engine has 140 horsepower to motivate a 1,146-pound car.
So, obviously, where else would you drive it? for the memorable action.
The , the project of a series of university students in Delft, Holland, is so gloriously absurd it’s surreal. It’s a 49-foot-long public bus that’s 5.6 feet high, runs on electricity, seats 23 passengers in individual captain’s chairs, has 16 gullwing doors, is intended to go 155 miles per hour and, while it doesn’t follow routes, will receive smartphone texts and pick you up at your location.
Most important: it’s been in development for five years and, yes, it’s real. The student engineers took it out after a snowfall in the Netherlands for some ABS testing and not only did they get it up to a claimed 85 kilometers per hour (about 53 mph), it looks pretty composed. to watch how it handles emergency maneuvers.
What’s better than supercars? Supercars getting together for charity. To raise money for the Red Cross after Typhoon Sendong hit the Philippines, a group of enthusiasts who dub themselves “Track Hos” rented an airstrip at Subic Bay, where they assembled a large collection of supercars and got down to the business making smoke and high-speed runs.
The action was captured by Sid Maderazo and cut into four minutes of exotic sights and sounds called The Mile. If we ever make it to the Philippines we know whose car club we’re asking to join. for the video.
That isn’t double vision you’re experiencing, it’s the Gigahorse. Said to be the “hero car” in Mad Max: Fury Road, the ride, , is a double-bodied ‘59 Cadillac with two supercharged V8s connected by a planetary gear, sitting on a monster-truck chassis and sporting a four-bladed cow catcher. With Charlize Theron as Furiosa alongside Tom Hardy as Mad Max, it’s unknown which hero the Gigahorse might serve but it’s certainly bat**** crazy enough for The Mad One.
Production is setting up in Namibia (because the Aussie outback has gotten too green, according the director), and peeks at have shown at least one other car as big as a semi, a couple of buggies and, of course, enough tractor-trailers to remake Convoy. A stuntman said the movie would have “.”
Speaking of Theron, last November George Miller said he’d (Mad Maxes 4 and 5, essentially) back-to-back and that production could take 2.5 years, so it might be some time before we see the Gigahorse in the local multiplex.
The blokes at “Top Gear” love their Facebook friends so much, that when they got 10 million fans, Jeremy Clarkson . Well, as personal as Clarkson can get anyway. And the Stig showed his appreciation by exploding a caravan (video ).
But the batty Brits are now challenged with celebrating their next Facebook milestone of achieving 15 million fans. They’re hoping those very fans can help them with a stunt that tops caravan carnage. The “Top Gear” team is willing to do anything, no matter how crazy, to say thanks.
Suggestions so far include drifting 15 $1 million cars in sync, a trip from Scotland to London on lawnmowers, fabricate a V8-powered Robin, and a road trip across Germany in VW Beetles.
The AB team brainstormed a bit and came up with the idea of rewarding a fan (hopefully one of us) with a brand new ! But for only 24 hours. After which the “lucky” guy (or gal, of course) would be obligated to obliterate the supercar in a depressing display of overwhelming pyrotechnics.
So what would you do to mark the occasion of gaining 15 million Facebook fans? Share them with “Top Gear” and with us in the comments.
Every form of motorsport requires a certain level of integration between man and machine. Drivers need to be able to quickly and accurately interpret what’s going on with their vehicle and react accordingly, but superbike racing pushes that requirement to new bounds. Overshoot a corner, get too close to a competitor or simply get too greedy and riders can find themselves personally acquainted with the track surface.
Taro Russel recently took the time to attempt to capture the kind of partnership that grows between rider and bike in a new promo for superbike racing. Set to some solid Killers tunes, sketches of bone, muscle and organ grow before our very eyes. The ad is properly innovative, and the clips lifted from various races all but ensure an uptick in pulse by the time the screen goes black. Too cool. so you can check it out for yourself.
For sure, the is a striking machine, and even after five years on the market it continues to look sexy in all of its forms. Audi has pushed out several variants as well, including the V10-packing , the topless and track-focused .
To commemorate five years of the R8, Audi put together a short video, if only to remind us how the range-topping Audi looks even better in motion. And just to keep us thinking about its supercar, Audi finished the video with a sneak peak of the new R8, which bows later this year.
When Audi says “new,” it really means freshened, though, with rumors of a bump in power and a few design tweaks. The may not arrive until 2015, when the R8 is rumored to receive a more thorough makeover. for the video.
We don’t typically lose control of our faculties at the sight of the latest supercar. In most cases, the vehicles are slightly different shades of the same theme: high horsepower, low slung, two seats and a super-exclusive price tag to match.
While the certainly fulfills all of those criteria, the roofless wonder also boasts the sort of brash ostentatiousness that’s been missing from the upper echelon of automotive engineering recently. The roadster design is so perfectly over the top, we can’t help but love it. has crafted a quick montage depicting the vehicle’s development, from lowly CAD design to the untold multitude of parts and pieces that go into assembling the final product.
This clip is too brief to satiate our manufacturing geekery, but it’s better than nothing. to check out the video for yourself. It may be the closest any of us actually get to glimpsing the 700-horsepower behemoth.
If ever a car made us think of mullets, Cragars, racing suits and Natty Light, this is it. And we don’t mean that in a bad way. The COPO Camaroconcept that Chevrolet last year is officially becoming a production reality for everyone; however, only 69 people will be able to own it. In celebration of the built in 1969, is building just that many of its modern drag-strip-only racer.
Two engine choices have been mentioned previously: a 427-cubic-inch V8 for AA Stock racing and a 327-cubic-inch V8 with a 4.0-liter supercharger for A Stock racing. Now, a third engine choice has been added: another 327-cubic-inch engine but with a 2.9-liter supercharger for B Stock. If you want all three engines Chevy will install one and provide the other two, all with matching numbers. Shifting is handled with a Powerglide automatic, and color schemes include Metallic White, Semi-Gloss Black, Inferno Orange Metallic and Chevy Racing Blue.
The price of entry is $89,000. How can you be one of the lucky? Chevrolet isn’t saying. An “independent third party” chose the initial buyers, but it isn’t clear how many slots are left or how they’ll be distributed. for a press release with more info.
has officially served up the details on the upcoming . Buyers will be able to snap up the latest work rig with in a new Platinum trim level that throws in niceties like SYNC, MyFord Touch, navigation and a rear-view camera as standard equipment. Power telescoping mirrors are also part of the package.
Unfortunately, the Platinum trim will only be available in Super Duty Crew Cab configuration. Even so, the cabin is swaddled in high-quality wood grain trim and premium leather seating. The leather-wrapped steering wheel is also heated for those really frosty mornings.
Outside, a smattering of chrome trim work sets the 2013 F-Series Super Duty Platinum apart from the rest of the trucks on the job site. Chrome door handles, mirror caps and running boards all add a bit of splash, as do the sizable 20-inch wheels that are newly designed for 2013.
Ford says the MyFord Touch at work in the new Super Duty is truck specific with features like a massive eight-inch touch screen display which has been optimized to function even when users are wearing thick work gloves. for the full press release as well as a brief video.
plans on moving its ferocious exhaust note into other market segments, which we know so far include an SUV perhaps called the (nee Kubang) and a sport sedan to slot under the larger, next-generation . Internally it is said that the new sport sedan is called “Maseratina,” but an Italian publication has discovered a recent Maseratitrademark for the name “Levante.”
The Levante, if that is its name, is aimed at the thick end of the mid-level executive sedan market, meaning the and , and could be . By the way, Levante has a few meanings, the one probably meant here is “rising,” as in what the sun does. But it’s also British slang for “leave secretly or hurriedly to avoid paying debts,” which is a humorous coincidence in light of .
Italy is dealing with a financial crisis that placed it just behind Greece on the list of dangers to the stability of the euro, and with €1.9 trillion in public debt the country hasn’t hesitated to turn over its couch pillows searching for every contribution. It started a couple of years ago with the Guardia di Finanza targeting superyacht owners, and it has continued with the financial police going after supercar owners.
In December 2011, the police noted the license plates of roughly 150 Lamborghinis, Ferraris and other high-dollar cars at the Cortina d’Ampezzo ski resort and gave the registration info to the tax office. The tax office checked on the declared incomes, and in nearly 60 cases found owners that claimed to be making less than €40,000 per year – this in a country where the base price of a is €70,700. In an especially bad case, one business owner owned a but had no tax records and a wife on public assistance.
The focus on owners of expensive cars has since spread to other hotspots for the rich like Rome, Milan, Portofino and Florence, and owners have responded by selling their cars at massive discounts. There have been reports of owners so worried about getting stopped by the police that they won’t even drive them to the dealer to be traded in, but want the dealer to come pick them up. Entrepreneurs in Eastern Europe and South America are taking advantage of the clearance sales.
Tax cheats are estimated to cost Italy €120 billion per year, and the new efforts along with huge new taxes are expected to reap more than €160 billion annually.
When we say we’re obsessive, we mean it. The list below of 90 vehicles that Autoblog covered at the 2 is proof positive that we stand behind our tagline.
The Geneva Motor Show is always the biggest international auto show of the year in terms of vehicle debuts, whether they’re production cars, forward-thinking concepts or outrageous tuner vehicles. This year we got super-sized helpings of all three.
Special thanks go to our crew of five who were on the ground in Geneva, as well as the large support staff here at home who backed them up. We love covering auto shows, and after so many years doing it, we think we’ve gotten pretty darn good. Look below and you’ll see why.
If on the McLaren MP4-12C was a fiery sunrise, then this is the other side of dawn: the Gemballa GT. Gemballa is campaigning a McLaren in this year’s GT3 series, and the company’s motorsport experience has been “distilled into a state-of-the art super sports car.”
That means new front and rear clips, side skirts and rear wing, plus Gemballa wheels that go an inch bigger than standard – 20 inches up front and 21 in back. Inside, there’s white leather trimming and a reworked steering wheel. No engine upgrades have been applied to the GT, but Gemballa says its’ working on a power program. Check out all of its angles in the gallery of high-res photos.
In the stratospheric zone of the automotive atmosphere, being unique is every bit as important as going blindingly fast or bathing oneself in luxury. To address the need, has introduced Q, a service that goes far beyond standard paint palettes, leather finishes and wood trims. In the automaker’s own words, Q is defined as “a team that brings Aston Martin’s designers together with the company’s engineers and highly experienced craftspeople, allowing customers to enhance and personalize their Aston Martin with meticulous attention to detail.”
The automaker recently sent Q a for the full treatment (a blank check was apparently stuffed in the glove box). What emerged is emphatically unique, but it is also fascinating and rather odd at the same time. Nevertheless, we found it on display at the .
The show car is a Virage Volante sporting a Mariana Blue satin paint finish. The interior is configured with blue carbon-fiber, saddle leather floor mats, and yellow detailing. Other components include lightweight forged diamond-turned wheels, a track-day HD video camera mounted on the header (looking much sleeker than any GoPro) and a completely silly rear luggage rack.
Check out our from the floor, read through the and then take a look at some of the including a Cherry Tree Cygnet, a bespoke city car.
With all the exciting news coming out of , you’ll have to excuse us for snickering just a little bit when we saw this press release. Yes, the is as deserving of a mid-cycle refresh as any other vehicle, though it appears from this teaser that whatever tinkering has done will prove itself superficial at best.
As is typical these days, this crossover-ized is getting some revised front and rear lighting, and what we would guess will be minor modifications to the front fascia. We can see from the picture that the grille looks to be a bit smaller and those are surely LED’s in the new headlights.
New 19-inch wheels and three new colors are probably going to matter less to buyers than the fact that “value has been enhanced” by making more features standard. This might help address our biggest complaint when – that’s it’s just too darn expensive for what you get.
Click to read the full press release, and stay tuned for our .
Following in the footsteps of the U.S.-bound , Audi has unveiled its bigger, stouter brother here at the .
The takes the same proven formula of past rough-and-tumble models and applies it to the Avant version of the latest , raising the ride height by around 2.5 inches, slapping some plastic cladding around the wheel arches and fascias, flaring the fenders, tucking a few stainless steel trays to the underbody and topping it all off with a pair off roof rails.
Three diesel powerplants will be available ranging from 204 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque to 313 hp and 479 lb-ft of twist. The lone gasoline engine – the supercharged 3.0-liter V6 from the – puts out 310 hp and some 324 lb-ft though a seven-speed dual-clutch ‘box to all four wheels.
However, unlike the A4 Allroad, we likely won’t be seeing the A6 in the U.S., so only one beefed up Audi wagon will have to suffice.
The Spanish automaker GTA has returned to the Geneva Motor Show, this time with a production version of the company’s Spano supercar. The coupe boasts a laundry list of exotic materials on hand, including a unibody shell constructed of titanium, kevlar and carbon fiber. All told, the package tips the scales at a scant 2,970 pounds.
A total of 840 horsepower comes courtesy of an 8.3-liter V10, all of which is dumped on the rear tires through a seven-speed transmission. According to GTA, the Spano can hit 62 mph from a dead standstill in just 2.9 seconds. If you’re keeping track, that’s faster than the just-unveiled .
As impressive as the go specs are, the vehicle has some stout stop-ware to match. AP supplied a set of front discs that are nearly 15 inches in diameter squeezed by mighty six-piston calipers. Too cool.
Of course, you’ll pay for the privilege of being faster than the new Prancing Horse. No list price has been announced just yet, but with the stack of wild materials and heady horsepower on hand, you can bet your last penny this thing won’t come cheap. GTA expects to deliver the first models by late 2012.
Sure, you could likely with any number of mind-blowing and reality-bending supercars… but if you really want to break away from the pack with something that’s as fast as it is different, we direct your attention to the matte blue machine above.
For 2013, has updated the with more power – a staggering 1,140 when the tank is filled with E85 – one-piece hollow carbon fiber wheels, nano-surfaced cylinder sleeves, a so-called Triplex suspension setup co-developed with Öhlins Racing, standard stability control (which certainly sounds like a good idea considering the number of horses at its disposal…), a new exhaust system and downforce-adding front winglets.
We’d say that counts for a pretty thorough refresh of the Agera R for 2013. Have a look at our high-res image gallery of live photographs from the floor at the to take in the 273-mile-per-hour goodness, and then for the full rundown from Koenigsegg.
So, you find the a bit too demure for your tastes. You’re either high enough to play hopscotch in the clouds or suffering from some sort of psychosis. Maybe both. You’re likely also the target demographic for the red sled you see above.
Hamann has given the convertible supercar a little more of everything at the Geneva Motor Show. Wild bodywork, heaps of carbon fiber, massive 21-inch wheels and a peak output of 636 horsepower are all part of the Hamann Hawk package.
The vehicle is more than just a body kit and a little extra horsepower, however. The droptop has received a few suspension tweaks in the form of a new set of coilovers complete with progressively wound springs. All told, the car can sit as much as 1.18 inches lower than stock.
Jump inside, and you’ll enjoy a full custom interior swaddled in plenty of suede, leather and other rich materials. Hey, it’s not our cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be yours. for the press release.
