News
2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 First Drive: 202 mph? 662 Horses? The Superfluous Is a Very Necessary Thing
Voltaire once wrote, “The superfluous, a very necessary thing.” What, then, should we make of a warranty-equipped Ford Mustang with 662 hp and a claimed 200-mph top speed? Is there a deeper philosophical argument to be made about the necessity of a live-axle production car with more power than an overclocked supercollider? Does the vehicle in question—the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500—teach us about the nature of right and wrong, indulgence and restraint? (more…) Read More
Exclusive: Hennessey Venom GT Spyder pops in at Cars & Coffee
Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Misc. Auto Shows, Specialty, MISC Our own lensman Drew Phillips caught sight of this at Cars & Coffee in Irvine, California: the 2013 Hennessey Venom GT Spyder. This is the first time it’s been seen on our shores. The targa version of the Venom GT packs the same 1,200 horsepower as the coupe – which also debuted at C&C, one year ago – but adds $150,000 to the price.That means you’ll need $1.1 million for... Read More
Motorsports: James Glickenhaus claims fastest lap by a Ferrari ever on the ‘Ring
Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Ferrari, Specialty, Racing According to the timing sheets for the Nürburgring 24-Hour race, the now-hybridized P4/5 Competizione set a lap time of 6:51 during qualifying. That would make it faster than the “Production-Derived Sports Car” record of 6:58.16 set by the Ferrari 599XX in 2010, and the fastest Ferrari-powered vehicle to ever run the ‘Ring. In case you don’t remember, the 700-horsepower 599XX was also a purpose-built,... Read More
Official: Ferrari marks 60th anniversary of 250 GT
Filed under: Classics, Ferrari, Racing Surely the most important of the classic Ferraris is the 250 series. Over its decade of production, the 250 series gave us some of the most recognizable models of the marque’s history, including the GTO, the Testa Rossa, the Lusso and the original California Spyder. This year Ferrari is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the series that was built around Giachino Colombo’s enduring 3.0-liter V12. To mark the occasion, the Ferrari... Read More
Official: Armortech and Atelier Valdeig outfit the Audi Q7 to Bentley standards
Filed under: Aftermarket, SUV, Audi, Luxury Can’t wait for Bentley to start producing the EXP 9 F? Sold on the idea but not on the execution? Armortech may be able to help you out. They’ve teamed up with Atelier Valdeig to turn the Audi Q7 into something of a Bentley SUV, only without the Bentley badge. Called the Tresor (from the French word for “treasure”), the custom Q7 igets fully restyled, and boasts an interior that has been (or will be, from the... Read More
Video: Disney launches Cars Land microsite ahead of June 15 opening [w/video]
Filed under: Etc., Videos, Toys/Games The curtain is rolling back on Cars Land, which opens at Disney’s California Adventure next month. Mater himself makes appearances in a network commercial and the new microsite, and on the latter he’ll be happy to take you on a tour of some of the attractions at the live-action Radiator Springs, including a Racer’s test drive and Luigi’s Flying Tires. You can watch the commercial below and click here to check out the... Read More
Motorsports: Record number of Shelby Cobras to take part in Monterey Motorsports Reunion
Filed under: Motorsports, Classics Last year, the Monterey Motorsports Reunion announced that the Shelby Cobra would be the featured marque for 2012 in honor of the company’s 50th anniversary. It’s shaping up to be quite the celebration. Earlier this month it was announced that no fewer than 45 competition Cobras will be racing on the track come August, with owners from across the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Canada in attendance. In fact, demand... Read More
Official: New pics show 2013 Nissan Altima from all the angles
Filed under: Sedan, Nissan Nissan has released a passel of official photosd of the 2013 Nissan Altima, the sedan it “would like to make #1 if customers agree.” While the new styling might take getting used to, the other changes are all welcomed: it’s lighter, has a revised transmission, will return 38 miles per gallon if equipped with the four-cylinder, and starts at $21,500 before the $760 destination charge. Now that the Altima and Toyota Camry are known quantities,... Read More
Official: BMW rolls out new M6 safety car for MotoGP
Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, BMW, Motorcycle, Racing It takes a fast and agile car to keep pace with MotoGP racing bikes. Fortunately the BMW M division is up to the task, providing safety cars (or what we’d call pace cars on this side of the Atlantic) to the race organizers of the top-level motorcycle racing series. The most recent vehicles to perform the duties have been the 1 Series M Coupe and the X6 M crossover, but now BMW is introducing a the new... Read More
Official: Toyota boosting V6 production in Alabama, adding 125 jobs
Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, Toyota Toyota’s Huntsville, Alabama production facility, which makes the company’s four-cylinder, V6 and V8 engines, is getting a couple of big boosts: $80 million and roughly 125 new jobs. When the spending and hiring is complete, the enlarged factory and the plant’s 1,150 workers will raise engine-production capacity to more than 700,000 units, with V6 production more than doubled from 146,000 engines per year to 362,000. Toyota’s... Read More
Official: Edo Competition squeezes 600 HP into Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate
Filed under: Aftermarket, Performance, Wagon, Mercedes-Benz If you need to haul some stuff in a big hurry, you could do a lot worse than the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Estate wagon. It offers all the power of its coupe and sedan siblings, only with the added cargo space that so many European customers prefer over the betrunked versions. But if the stock 457 horsepower isn’t enough, the good folks over at Edo Competition are glad to help out with an upgrade of their own. That... Read More
Report: McLaren dispersing top-secret Unit 2 collection to showrooms
If you’ve got the cash to place on the hood (or nose cone, as it were), most any Formula One team will sell you one of their old race cars. After all, they’re not using them anymore, and it’s a good way to raise funds to develop next year’s car. But not McLaren. The team from Woking – one of the most successful in the series – doesn’t sell its old cars, though with 176 grand prix victories, twelve drivers’ championships and eight... Read More
Official: New Fuso Canter can canter in selectable 4×4 mode
Filed under: Truck, Work, Off-Road, MISC If you’re in the market and mood for a 6.5-ton cab-over truck that also offers power to all its wheels, Fuso would like you to have a look at its new Canter 4×4. With the addition of selectable four-wheel drive, Fuso is hoping to expand the 4×2 Canter’s traditional market into unpaved uses like construction and municipal services. Power comes from a 3.0-liter, four-cylinder turbodiesel with 175 horsepower and 317... Read More
Damon Hill returns to Racing – in a VW Scirocco
It’s been 13 years since Ex-Formula One World Champion Damon Hill retired from racing. Tomorrow, though, he returns to the track at Brands Hatch, one the UK’s best race tracks, where he’ll be competing in the Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup race. The eco friendly CNG-powered Sciroccos appear in a support race for the DTM event which is the first ever appearance of DTM cars in the UK. Hill is racing against his fellow 1980s racing ‘rat pack’ gang Martin Donnelly, Julian Bailey... Read More
Rookie Josef Newgarden Has Our Attention – Trackside at Indy 2012
Photos courtesy of IMS Josef Newgarden crossing the bricks at Indy Josef Newgarden has been a revelation in his first week of practice for the Indianapolis 500, posting the fastest lap in three of the six sessions through Thursday. He was out of the top three only one day. It would have been an impressively consistent show of speed for Helio Castroneves, Dario Franchitti or Scott Dixon or any of the veterans, but what do you say about a rookie doing it? Wow. Wow. Wow. IndyCar... Read More