I will probably never afford such a beautiful matte black on a Ferrari F430 or actually any other super car, but this lucky bastard in Geneva does. Spied on the streets this is a Ferrari F430 Scuderia that wears the color, but wait, here is the interesting part. This isn’t a paint job, but an extremely well vinyl wrap. Does the ‘paint treatment’ increase the badass factor? I would say it does, how about you?
via Autogespot
The official pics of the California GT have been released and soon enough it will be launched at the Paris Motor Show in October. This mid-sized roadster will only be built as a convertible with Ferrari’s first folding hardtop.
Ferrari always being renowned for its power and performance does not disappoint with the California GT with its 4,3 litre direct injection V8 engine producing 460bhp, mounted in the mid-front. This prancing horse can reach 0-100km/h in less than 4 seconds.
Its gearshifts are via a seven speed dual clutch transmission with F1-Trac traction control. It also houses Brembo carbon ceramic brakes which should help to bring this speedy horse to a sudden stop. Also in keeping with the rest of the new generation Ferrari’s, it will be built on an aluminium chassis as well as aluminium body panels.
More details about this car is expected to be releases prior to the Paris Motor Show. In the meantime join in on the Ferrari California GT countdown at www.ferraricalifornia.com
Rumors say that Bugatti is going to come with a special edition of the Veyron at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show. They’ve teamed up with the French saddle maker Hermès to bring back the relationship between Emile Hermès and Ettore Bugatti from the `20s. Considering all these I’d bet my horses that it’s going to be come with a modified interior designed by the Paris based company and some minor exterior mods.
I expect it to sell out in days if not hours after they announce it, just like the Pur Sang.
Where are my pills? I definitely need to take some hear pills right away after seeing the new BMW M3 Race Edition. This Le Mans series eight cylinder baby (can’t call it BMW or car) looks great and I’m drooling already. Built with the help of BMW’s racing division and Rahal Letterman Racing, the M3 Race Editions was presented yesterday in Chicago during the Auto Show.
If the picture is not enough, and if you really wanna cry how about some specs. It’s much more powerful, adding 65 hp getting to a total of 485 hp from the 4 liter aluminum DOHC V8 engine with four valves per cylinder and 368 lb-ft/500 Nm torque.
Here is a full list of the new BMW M3 Race Edition specs, but before that, see the two other images above.
BMW P65 Engine
Type: Eight cylinder, V-configuration
Capacity: 3999 cc
Bore x stroke: 92 x 75.2 mm/3.62 x 2.96 in.
Max. output: approx. 485 bhp
Max. torque: approx. 368 lb-ft/500 Nm
Cylinder block: Aluminum cylinder block construction with bed plate lower section
Crankshaft: Steel crankshaft
Pistons: Forged skirt pistons
Conrods: High-performance steel
Cylinder head: Aluminum DOHC (Double Over Head Camshaft); four valves per cylinder
Valve train: Four overhead chain-driven camshafts, valve actuation via rocker arms
Intake system: Eight throttle valves, made of CRP with load-charge optimized ram tubes
Exhaust system: Headers, mufflers
Fuel system: Single cylinder multi-point injection
Lubrication: Dry sump lubrication
Cooling: Water/air cooler and oil/water heat exchangerElectrics/Electronics
Engine management: BMW Motorsport ECU 408 with two high-performance micro-processors; Individual cylinder injection and ignition; BMW Motorsport Lambda Controller Pit speed limiter, Quick Shift function; Engine data memory system
Energy management: Electric energy management and monitoring with BMW Motorsport POWER400 control unit, networking of all sensors and actuators through bus system
Wiring harness: Weight optimized
Ignition coil: Eight high-performance pencil coils with integrated ignition drivers
Spark plugs: High-performance spark plugs
Cockpit: Free programmable LCD Display with integrated shift indicators
Steering wheel: Quick release multi-function steering wheel w/ integrated display unit
America has a SuperCar, or at least this is what Chevrolet general manager Ed Peper is saying (thinking) after showing to the public the new Corvette ZR1 at the Detroit Auto Show. Corvette is deep inside he blood of every American that needs speed and looks, but the we ZR1 is really business. It comes with a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 engine that sports 620 hp and a 823 NM (595 lb/ft) torque, being able to hit the 200mph speed, while the speedometer has a 220 mph on it.
Corvette’s ZR1 basic stats include a manual six-speed gearbox (race hardened), a high capacity dual-disc clutch or larger brake calipers. The design is great, with a raised carbon-fiber hood and carbon fiber panels prominent inside on the fenders, the roof and front splitter. Consider 19-inch or 20-inch chrome wheels and a dark color for the American SuperCar and it’s looking furious.
via WordCarFans
Supercars never cease to amaze me when released. But what about future supercars? Our sources from Automotive News Europe announced that Maserati is going to offer a convertible version of the GranTurismo coupe, for a whopping price of course, in March 2009.
The Italian manufacturer planned to sell 12,000 pieces yearly by 2011 so you can be sure that the new convertible GranTurismo is going to help them. Though it’s expected to hit roads in March 2009, we may get to see it before, maybe in Paris?
One last thing, if you were hoping for a folding hardtop, you may be disappointed, because the new Maserati convertible will use a soft canvas top.
via WindingRoad
The current world record speed for the fastest production car was set by the SSC Ultimate Aero that topped at 255.83 mph which is 411.71 km/h. Recently the 9FF engineers tried to beat that with their modified GT9 but couldn’t do it. They only managed to make it run at 409 km/h at a track in Papenburg on 10th April.
9FF’s GT9 was based on the Porsche 911 GT3, but lower and longer. The interesting part is that the car has the engine in the middle (not the rear) for better weight distribution. Now that I mentioned the engine, the beast outputs 987 bhp from a 4L flax six twin turbo and a six-speed transmission.
Though they couldn’t beat the world record, 9FF guys can stand proud because they managed to take on the Bugatti Veyron which topped at 407 km/h. The GT9 however, is not as fast as the Veyron : 0 - 60 mph in 4.2 seconds.
via WCF
This past Saturday, Renault took the occasion of the 61st international film festival in
The French carmaker came out today with pictures from the presentation at the Cannes Film Festival along with several images that were shot at the track of the 66th Monaco Grand Prix. In particular, two Laguna Coupes completed several laps of
Chief designer, Ian Cameron, said, “Effortless performance and standard-setting levels of comfort and efficiency, executed with the utmost care and attention, remain fundamentals of Rolls-Royce design. The RR4 has a more informal presence than the Phantom models with a greater emphasis on driving. In design terms this is expressed through its slightly smaller dimensions and more organic form, yet with powerful, purposeful proportions. It is a true and uncompromising Rolls-Royce in every sense.” 
These are the first official sketches of Roll Royce’s new entry-level model, the RR4 luxury sedan that will sit right below the Phantom in the British marque’s range. Due to be launched in 2010, the RR4 will be smaller than Phantom and powered by a new engine, that will be unique to Rolls-Royce. The RR4 is believed to share many common components –including the platform- with the next generation BMW 7-Series. According to Rolls Royce, further design and engineering details will be announced during the course of 2009. 
“RR4 will mark a milestone in the history of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars,” Chairman, Ian Robertson added. “The business continues to go from strength to strength and the introduction of this new model will expand the appeal of the brand. We look forward to this next chapter with anticipation and confidence.”
Following its introduction in the
On the outside, the MX-5 Niseko has been enhanced with new 17-inch alloy wheels, unique body-color finish for the style bar trims, front fog lamps, Chrome Pack (door handles and headlamp bezels, and surrounds for the side-repeaters, front grille and fog lamps) along with ‘Niseko’ badging on both front wings, plus a unique dark brown premium cloth for the fabric roof for the soft-top version.
Passengers are treated with unique dark brown heated leather seats with coordinated door trim and blue stitching, plus dark brown leather steering wheel, gearknob and handbrake. Moreover, the Niseko editions feature a dark-silver dash panel, stainless-steel scuff plates and Niseko-branded interior mats along with a high-end BOSE sound system with seven speakers and a 6-pack CD changer.
Prices in
The Citroen C-Triomphe (sedan version of the C4 hatchback) pictured above was one of the less significant causalities of the devastating 7.8-magnitude earthquake that hit central 
Pics: XKB , Via: CCT
Since Mazda has yet to come out with an official press release, we’re obliged to leave a question mark on whether these sketches of the Mazda1 Concept that appeared on UK website “Autoexpress” are official or not. We don’t know if it means something, but on the left-hand corner, right under the British magazine’s logo there’s another logo (something "-CAR") that has been cropped, but anyways.
The Mazda1 Concept is set to make its first public appearance at the Paris Show this fall and it will give us a preview of Mazda’s all-new mini car that will fit right under the Mazda2 in the Japanese carmaker’s range. The concept mini depicted in these drawings seems to bear many similarities with the Hakaze compact crossover concept that was first shown at last year’s Geneva Auto Salon.
According to Autoexpress, Peter Birthwhistle, chief designer at Mazda’s European Research and Development Centre, said: “The finished article will be even more radical than the car seen here. It will be aimed at young people and feature the likes of iPod connectivity, sat-nav and Blue- tooth. It will be environmentally friendly, and weigh as little as possible.”
Via: Autoexpress
With so many people interested in the new Tata Nano (Rs 1-lakh) car, I’ve seen that most of them want to know where can they find a dealer or how to import it in their country. The price is good, car looks pretty much ok, but there are regulations and tests that the Nano won’t pass. Take Europe for example, they have crash tests, where a Nano would be wrecked, so don’t expect it to be imported there any time soon.
If you would like to buy one, just for fun, you should seek a Tata Motors dealership to sell your Nano. I assume the dealer is going to be in India (about 170 dealers countrywide) and you’ll have to pay for the whole shipment.
Do you still want one?
