We've been keeping tabs on Rhys Millen Racing and their construction of a V8-powered, mid-engine Hyundai Genesis Coupe for the last few weeks. Called the RM460 Genesis Coupe, this car will make its official debut at SEMA in early November, but we've got the first rendering of the exterior right here for ya.
As we've mentioned before, the engine is the 4.6-liter Tau V8 normally found under the hood of a Hyunda Genesis sedan. The Gen Coupe's rear seat has been tossed to make room, and the V8 has been upgraded with eight individual throttle bodies, a set of JE pistons and an AEM engine management system that all work in concert to bump power to 500 horsepower. In order to make the engine accessible back there, RMR also replaced the trunk lid with a carbon fiber rear hatch that's vented and hinges near the roof line.
Being a SEMA car, there's hardly a bolt or nut on this car that hasn't been modified. The stock transmission was swapped out for a Mendeola five-speed sequential gearbox and the stock suspension augmented by a set of KW coilovers. HRE 560 Series 20-inch wheels, Toyo T1R tires and a StopTech braking system round out the hardware upgrades. The exterior, meanwhile, features an RMR Signature Edition kit with carbon fiber spoilers and custom RM ONYX HD paint job by BASF. The interior sports seats plus alcantara and carbon fiber trim panels from Sparco, and there's a boomin' sound system by Infinity as well.
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The Spada is coming! The Spada is coming! Along with this promotional video put together to get you ready for it. A combination of The Dark Knight, Speed Racer, and The Car, the Codatronca's still an oddball looker, but with that Z06 running gear underneath it should at least be fun to drive. The vid was directed by a Mr. Kobayashi, which makes us think that Keyser Soze must be doing the driving. Follow the jump to watch the vid.
Honda fans of all sorts have cause to celebrate today with the reveal of the 2009 iteration of the CR-Z coupe. In typical Honda fashion, this CR-Z remains a concept in name and detail only. What you see here is essentially the production coupe that will go on sale in Japan next February and then arrive in North America in the Fall.
The cool scoop-like grille from the original 2007 concept has been largely carried over, with the biggest changes being a somewhat taller roof and a more upright windshield with blacked out A-pillars – concessions to the fact that real people will have to fit into the production car. On the exterior, the only elements likely to change once it hits the assembly line are the side mirrors, which will probably be a bit larger, along with the internals of the light clusters.
The good news for fans of the much-loved 1983-1991 Civic CR-X is that the CR-Z should have significantly better performance than the disappointing new Insight, a car that is geared more toward fuel economy than performance. In any case, the CR-Z coupe gets a bump in displacement up to 1.5-liter and – wait for it – a six-speed manual gearbox! This will be the first hybrid with a row-it-yourself six-speed.
Considering that Seat is supposed to be Volkswagen's sporty cousin, the Spanish motor division's range is conspicuously bereft of two-door models. Oh, they've got plenty of hatchbacks and MPVs, but the company only has two models with less than five doors. One's a rebadged previous-gen Audi A4, and the other's a Volkswagen Polo with a black mouth.
Building on the strength of their hot-hatch reputation, Seat unveiled the new Leon Cupra R in Frankfurt, packing the VW Scirocco R's 265-horsepower, 2.0-liter turbo four to make it the most powerful road-going Seat ever made, and even matching the world-beating, competition-spec Leon touring car for output. Not too shabby, but still five doors, even if it looks more like two or three. But the latest reports from across the pond indicate that the company is planning a new coupe based on the Leon to serve as something of a halo car for the brand in the same way the Scirocco (also based on the same platform) does for its sister brand.
Of course Seat isn't about to abandon its core market, and is planning a new Alhambra to challenge the Ford Galaxy in the European MPV market. A crossoverhatch based on the Tribu concept to rival the Nissan Qashqai is also in the works, as is a Seat version of the Volkswagen Up! But despite Spain's famously sunny weather, the company isn't planning any convertibles, citing the conspicuously poor market performance drop-tops carry in its domestic market.
In a video that should be titled "Things You Can't Do in a Corolla," the FT-86 has been caught in motion and sound at the Nürburgring in Germany. Of course, the pictures posted last week gave no indication of how it ran, but we can tell you – and so can the video – that it is, as they say in the business, "Hot."
We know what the Toyota concept looks like, but we're not exactly sure which version we see on the 'Ring in the video. It could be the FT-86 from Toyota or Subaru's version. However, if Toyota's version goes like the car in the video, when it finally does arrive, Toyota will truly be able to say it is back in the business of fun. At least a little. Follow the jump to see the vid.
We're not really fans of yellow cars, but every once in a while we come upon a butter-colored coupe and think, "Oh, that's not bad..." The Mégane Renaultsport 250 is just one of those cars, and makes us say again – in case we haven't said it enough – why can't we Americans have one of these?
The next evolution in the Mégane Renaultsport line, the 250 has been relentlessly fettled to provide a driver with more thrills. It comes in two versions: a race-ified Cup model, and regular. The former gets just about all the mod-cons as well as the Cup Suspension Pack with a limited slip differential, stiffer springs, dampers and anti-roll bar, grooved discs, red Brembo calipers, and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tires on 18-inch wheels.
If you must have everything, don't check the "Cup" box and you'll get heated leather seats, electrically adjustable driver's seat, Renault Hands Free card, dual-zone climate control, auto lights and wipers, and 18-inch wheels on Dunlop Sport Maxx TT tires, among other things. Best of all, you can get the Cup suspension with this model if you so choose.
Both cars get 250 hp and 250 lb-ft. The Cup runs £21,995 ($35,968 U.S.) on-the-road, the non-Cup goes for £22,995 ($37,604 U.S.).
The man you see above is Thomas Bangma. Described as a Dutch automotive journalist, and noted on his LinkedIn page as an "Independent Automotive Professional," we can't find much dirt on him -- but if he's getting invited to press events for the Lexus LF-A, he must know a bit about something.
During that aforementioned event, Mr. Bangma gave his opinion on Lexus' glacially developing supercar, and he adds no sugar to the medicine: "The car is the best car I have ever driven in my whole life as an automotive journalist." Well then. What we can definitely say is that as it flies by behind him, it sounds positively murderous. In a good way. Follow the jump for the rest of Bangma's thoughts.
Despite dropping all the information about its Tokyo-bound concepts, Subaru hasn't hinted at when we'll be seeing its version of the Toyota FT-86 coupe. Thankfully, Japan's Holiday Auto has stepped up to the plate to throw more fuel onto the fire with a subtly modified sketch of the FT-86 and some possible powertrain information of Subaru's first rear-wheel drive coupe.
According to the report (and a heaping helping of common sense), the Japanese rumormongers expect the STI version of the coupe to debut at the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show (after the standard model is revealed next year), complete with Subaru's 250-hp EJ25 2.5-liter boxer. Similar to the dual-injected, 200-hp EJ20 fitted to its Toyota brethren, the engine will remain naturally aspirated, but a turbocharged version hasn't been ruled out.
In addition to a wider track and upgraded tires, wheels and brakes, expect the STI version to don a gaping front fascia and a sizeable rear wing, similar to the camo-covered mule we saw in the latest round of spy shots. If Subaru wants to compete with the rest of the high-horsepower sports cars in the U.S. and Japan, it better get cracking, because competition is fierce, and the only way it can compete is to keep the price down and the weight in check.
As much as we enjoy piloting modern machinery, there's something special about vintage vehicles, and that something is the pure, unvarnished connection between man and machine. But it's not always good. Things get dicey when the driving experience is a little too vintage. Despite our supreme adoration of the racing greats of yesteryear, clawing at the wheel, pulverizing the brake pedal, dumping buckets of sweat onto the leather seat and having our sphincter perform kegels isn't always our preferred flavor of fun. Some days, we're just not that hardcore. So the vintage vehicles we've come to love most aren't genuinely vintage at all – they're classic bodies wrapped around modern mechanicals. The Rizk RA is a prime example, and now there's this: the Superformance GT40 MkI, a car so raw that if it were edible, they'd slap "organic" on it and sell it at Whole Foods.
Toyota's FT-86 concept, which will be officially unveiled at next week's Tokyo Motor Show, combines attractive, aggressive aesthetics, rear-wheel drive and a Subaru-sourced boxer engine with the hopes of injecting a bit of passion into the Japanese automaker's admittedly sterile lineup. And since the vehicle has reportedly been a collaboration between Toyota and Subaru all along, we've been anxiously awaiting the Subaru-branded coupe that is sure to follow.
Last week, we gave you an update regarding Subaru's progress with its half of the Toyobaru project, complete with a sketch-tastic rendering from the UK's Autocar. Fast forward to today, and although we can't be sure if this Nürburgring-circling, cobbled-together prototype is a Subaru effort or a Toyota joint, it appears to be a development of the FT-86 that we know is headed for production.
As shot here by our friends at KGP Photography, the little coupe is well disguised, but it looks like a Fuji Heavy project to us, as it shares some Subaru design hallmarks. Up front, the masked prototype takes on the basic shape of the WRX, with bold, bulging curves and a snub nose. There is no trademark Subaru hood scoop, but the big hood has a very aggressive appearance. Out back, the car's rump is also Impreza hatch-like, with a massive rear wing disguised by some heavy camo. It isn't at all clear that what's seen here is in any way, shape or form production bodywork, but we wouldn't be surprised to see the Scooby crew adopt a chunkier aesthetic than their compatriots at Toyota.
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