Following our time visiting this week's Tokyo Motor Show, we had the opportunity to sit down for a small group interview at Honda's world headquarters with freshly-minted CEO Takanobu Ito, who took over the reigns at Honda from Takeo Fukui just this past June. Among the questions posed to Ito-san was "When will Americans see another performance car from Honda?" Honda has a tradition of performance vehicles and motorsports participation that goes back to the earliest days of the company. Ito himself was the chief body engineer on the original NSX and was pivotal in the development of its lightweight aluminum structure and body.
Given his role in one of the more unique aspects of the NSX, it was interesting that Ito acknowledged that he personally made the decision to pull the plug last year on the new car that was being developed as a successor to the NSX. Ito actually sounded as though he was channeling Colin Chapman in explaining the philosophy of using low mass to achieve a good power to weight ratio on the NSX. That approach allowed Honda to create a car that was "easy to drive, good performance and at the same time it enjoyed very good fuel economy."
Question: What's hotter than a Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG? Well, that would be the new C63 AMG with Performance Package Plus, of course. The new super sedan from Daimler gets a 30-horsepower injection over the standard AMG model, pushing the pony count all the way to 487 – just a baker's dozen shy of the race-spec C-Class DTM model. Watch out, Caddy.
Modifications to the 6.3-liter V8 engine include new forged alloy pistons borrowed from the SLS AMG supercar and a new set of crank rods coupled with a lightweight crankshaft. A titanium-colored intake manifold and recalibrated computer module complete the package. Performance? How about zero to 62 in just 4.4 seconds and naught to 125 in under 14? Yeah, that'll do nicely.
An upgraded brake package with composite rotors is included to help the driver reign in all that speed, and Mercedes says the new PPP will be available on both the sedan and – get this – wagon bodystyles. Exterior modifications are limited to a carbon fiber spoiler for the sedan, and the interior is upgraded with an AMG steering wheel in nappa leather and seats swathed in Alcantara. No word yet on whether this beast is headed Stateside, but sales are scheduled to start in Europe before the end of the year.
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.
The Alpina B7 Bi-Turbo long wheelbase revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show today doesn't add anything to the less well-endowed Alpina B7 we saw at Geneva except length, but isn't that enough? The double-turbo'd 4.4-liter V8 brings 507 romping horsepower and 516 lb-ft. of torque – all of which is enough to get the white whale to sixty in 4.8 seconds.
Alpina's custom 21-inchers support an interior package touched up with the tuner's logo throughout. Our only cause for pause: the much larger steering wheel; the smaller diameter unit in the regular BMW helps to make the execu-barge a hoot to throw around a track.
Most people we talked with don't seem to understand the point of the Subaru WRX STi Carbon unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show – but it's a JDM-only car, and frankly, there are a lot of things that outsiders don't understand about the Japanese market.
The carbon-roofed A-Line will come with two choices of engine, but since the model isn't earmarked for America, we probably don't need to worry about it. That said, the powerplants are as intriguing as the car: a 2.5-liter turbo with 296 horsepower, and a more powerful 2.0-liter turbo with 305 hp. Both will operate through the only tranny on offer: a five-speed automatic. If you got past that last sentence, there's also suede inside. So you'll be more comfortable shifting... your automatic.
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.).
It's no secret that the Texas Auto Writer's Association loves Ford trucks: The Blue Oval's F-Series pickups have won the Truck of Texas award six straight times. Actually, you can make that seven straight times now, with the F-150 SVT Raptor taking the top honor this year in the Lone Star State.
We didn't go through the precise reasoning of the F-150's dominance in previous years, but the arrival of the Raptor probably made the choice just too easy this time around. After having driven the Raptor ourselves we knew that there is simply nothing like it, and nothing anywhere near as good as it is, to be found in the OEM pickup truck world. When you throw in the purchase price of $39K for the 5.4-liter, you're going to look hard to find a similarly priced competitor in the OEM or aftermarket. The press is after the jump, and to Ford, congratulations are well deserved.
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.
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.
