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Spy Shots: Porsche GT3 RSComing to the meaty part of the 911 model line revamp, the 2010 GT3 RS has been spotted after some time in wardrobe wearing slightly different clothes. These are subtle alterations, with LED daytime running lights, bigger intakes, a new air dam lip up front and revised taillights out back. The bigger news is that the GT3 RS will get more power with the addition of direct injection, and even faster gear changes when equipped with the PDK gearbox. And that means even faster acceleration, because you can never get enough of that. The car should start making its rounds around the auto show circuit next year.
posted : 10/27/2008 @4:14:25 PM
Aston Martin to move further upmarket?

Such is the logic of luxury economics: charge tens of thousands of dollars more for the same product, sell fewer of them and boost the balance sheet and your brand's long-term viability. That is what Aston Martin's considering for the next phase of its business plan, which runs from roughly 2011 to 2019 and will see the launch of DB9 and Vantage successors, the Rapide, and the renewed Lagonda brand. The Vantage and DB9 are big sellers for Aston, but the company might be unsure of how to sustain the momentum. One option is to move the price of the $113,000 Vantage closer to the $171,000 DB9, and move that latter car closer to the $265,000 DBS, sell fewer of them but make more money. The DB9 does strike us as a (relative) bargain – it's cheaper than a Bentley GT -- but pricing the Vantage closer to the DB9 would seem to wreck its business case as a 911 fighter. Another option could be to replace the Vantage or DB9 with a mid-engined sports car, which could be drool-worthy and well worth the price bump... but perhaps un-Aston-like. AutoWeek also appears to report that the One-77 isn't sold out, writing "Although Aston has said that it would make a maximum of 77 cars, insiders privately say the market is closer to 25." We don't know how that could be, unless a bunch of the 100 people who applied to buy the car were just kidding...
posted : 10/22/2008 @10:43:19 PM
Aston Martin One-77 already sold out and then some

If you're looking to be one of the lucky (and rich) buyers of the Aston Martin One-77, you may already be too late. Aston claims that over 100 wealthy buyers have signed up for the One-77 supercar, though it plans to build only enough to satisfy the car's label: 77. Amazingly, those customers have dropped a £200,000 deposit without ever having so much as seen a totally uncovered photo of the British supercar. But hey, it's an Aston, so how ugly can it be? If you've got money to burn, we can think of few ways to better spend over £1 million on an automobile, especially considering that it's rare enough to actually increase in value over time. It would help, too, if you could park and store a vehicle with a carbon fiber chassis, aluminum body, and 700-hp V12 engine, but that doesn't sound like much fun at all. From what we've seen of the car so far, it wouldn't be fair to force the museum life on the One-77.
posted : 10/16/2008 @4:46:59 PM
duPont Registry's 11 "Best of" cars set horsepower, price records

The duPont Registry has listed the best cars in eleven categories, and taking the cake for 2009 Car of the Year is the Bugatti Veyron Gran Sport. Other winners, like the ZR1 for Bang for the Buck and Continental Flying Spur Speed for Performance Sedan, make up the usual murderers' row of marques and models. What isn't usual is that in just one year, the total price of all the cars jumped 200% to $4.5 million because of a certain Bug and a Koenigsegg, and that the total horsepower climbed 57%, from 4,276 to 6,723. Oddly, though, duPont says that the era of hi-po supercars may have peaked, and things could be going green – but neither the list nor the facts on the ground bear it out. Of the eleven cars, only the Tesla and the Ronn Motors Scorpion could be considered green, and one of them doesn't even exist yet. As for the rest, we don't know what the opposite of green is, but none of the nine other cars are expected to have less horsepower in their follow-up guises. Which means there's still time to get some thrills in, as long as you've got at least $110,000 to spend...
posted : 10/15/2008 @7:12:32 PM
No future for the mid-engine Corvette

With GM facing well-publicized challenges -- along with just about everyone else who needs a little thing called money -- certain high-profile and expensive programs are crowding up on the back burner. Even America's sports car, the Corvette, is not exempt, with CAFE regulations clouding the view inside the 'Vette Nation's crystal ball. Motor Trend, commenting on the C7 Corvette's delayed arrival, has said that the new coupe won't appear until the 2014 model year at the earliest. The mid-engined route has also been scrapped, since it would simply cost too much to re-engineer the entire car for the purpose of easier integration of fuel saving tech like cylinder deactivation. That means a six-cylinder is still being talked about -- by GM outsiders only, at this point -- as an option for the C7. If we take the Camaro as an example, that 2014 introduction date could mean late 2012, but that still only gives you four years to mentally prepare for a budget- and economy-minded V6 Corvette. Get cracking.
posted : 10/13/2008 @10:41:06 PM
MG planning supercar SV-S WRC convertible

Following all the plot twists in the ongoing saga of what's become of MG Rover in recent years is more difficult than unravelling the Harry Potter series in a half hour. Looking like something distinctly last century, the MG XPower SV started life as a derivate of the Qvale Mangusta. Ex-racer William Riley, a member of the famed English automotive clan, managed to wheel and deal for the rights to the MG X-Power name, as well as the flared and gilled V8-powered supercar intender. What better thing to do with a kevlar-bodied piece of automotive bombast but cut the top off? That's exactly the thinking that's led to the prototype MG X-Power SV-S WRC. WRC stands for William Riley Convertible, and the car sports a supercharged V8 and is claimed to be capable of hitting 62 mph in 3.8 seconds on its way to a top speed of 195 mph. It will cost Anglophiles £87,000 to support their local supercar bakery, though there will be lower achievers that cost less but still deliver the same jagged-glass eye pain. Still, considering that this mobile cheese grater is about half the cost when powered by a 3.5 liter Ford V6, it's a bargain for such an exclusive car.
posted : 10/13/2008 @8:47:36 PM
Top Gear Magazine (sorta) reveals Aston Martin One-77

The Paris Motor Show has given up its secrets, but that doesn't mean the teasing is over. Top Gear magazine has the story on the Aston Martin One-77, joined by what will probably be more tease-tastic renders. One thing that can be gleaned from the rendering on the TG microsite is the headlight layout, with an inner row of LEDs leading back to an array that includes at least one additional cluster of LEDs. The front end still looks a tad overwrought to us – and a little reminiscent of the GTbyCitroen – but we suppose we'll just have to get a copy of Top Gear before we vote with our thumbs.
posted : 10/13/2008 @8:46:44 PM
Paris 2008: Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster

Certain cars encourage a response that is as routine and predictable as the reaction to a stoplight, and the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster is one of those cars. This is what happens every time someone gets in one, irrespective of their age, sex, or nationality: she snuggles into the seat, looks into the footwell to make sure her feet are placed just so on the pedals, slides her hands around the steering wheel for a couple of seconds to find just the right position, snuggles into the seat again... and then she just sits there, staring off into the distance. She might flip the paddles once or twice, or check out the center console. Then it's back to the thousand yard stare at the wall in front of her. She gets her picture taken, notices the line of people waiting to do the same thing, and it's all repeated again and again. And for good reason – the SLR McLaren 722 S Roadster is topless testosterone-topped terrificality. 650 horsepower from a supercharged 5.5L V8 and a convertible soft top that'll stay put above 208 mph deserves the attention.
posted : 10/5/2008 @6:13:01 PM
SMS releases new images, price range for 570 and 570X Challenger

Steve Saleen's fledgling new company, SMS Supercars, is getting ready to officially debut its first production car and has released a few more photos and information regarding the 570 and 570X Challenger. According to the new press release, the two models are targeted to start at $60,000 and $70,000, respectively. Yes, that's quite a chunk of change, but SMS is making it worthwhile with an extensive list of upgrades. Starting with the powertrain, the SMS 296 supercharger pushes massive amounts of air to the 5.7L HEMI, and true enthusiasts will be glad to know that a proper 6-speed manual transmission will be doing the shifting. Both models also get a high performance suspension, exhaust, 20-inch wheels, and 14-inch front and 12-inch rear brakes. For the exterior, SMS replaces the front and rear bumpers, side skirts, and hood, and adds a rear spoiler. The 570X model also receives carbon fiber front and rear splitters, a carbon fiber diffuser, and a rear wing that replaces the spoiler. The interior receives upgrades as well, including two-tone leather sport seats, leather door inserts, a leather grip shifter, 200-mph gauge cluster, and auxiliary gauges for the supercharger. Each vehicle will also be personally signed by Steve Saleen.
posted : 10/5/2008 @3:10:17 PM
Corvette ZR1 to cost £109,000 in UK

The car that Top Gear liked to drive, if not exactly to look at, has a price they definitely won't want to pay. At an on-the-road price of £109,000, the ZR1 costs nearly £48,000 pounds more than a Z06 in the UK. As if that weren't problematic enough, that price puts the left-hand-drive-only ZR1 £8,000 past the 911 Turbo and a colossal £55,000 beyond the GT-R Premium Edition. True, that's still the base GT-R, but Nissan has a whole lot of room to play with when it prices the V-Spec. True as well, the price of the ZR1 also includes a driver training course and a 3-year / 60,000-mile warranty, which should count for something. Perhaps not £55,000, though. Luckily for Chevrolet UK, it will only have to sell two of them this year, and single digits in the years to come. You can read the full press release after the jump, and then decide if you'd rather have one lump of incredible American metal or a GT-R and a Swiss bank account.
posted : 10/3/2008 @8:28:09 PM
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