Nismo Releases their GT-R Performance Package

Nismo has finally released their tuning package for the GT-R! It’s available for purchase in parts or as a whole package, but unfortunately you have to be a Japanese GT-R owner to buy them. Reportedly people are working on getting these parts to the states, but don’t hold your breath. Even if importers can work out a deal, the cost for the whole kit is $50,000. Even though that price includes installation by a master Nismo technician, you could almost buy another GT-R for that price…so what do you get for all that cash?

How about an all titanium cat-back exhaust system that shaves 11 pounds off the GT-R’s curb weight and a carbon fiber under body panel that gives you better aerodynamics. Not enough? There’s also a pair of Nismo racing seats: carbon fiber shells wrapped in leather that will save you another 12 lbs. per seat. Still want more? Then lets work on the suspension a bit: 20″ Rays rims wrapped up in Bridgestone’s RE070R run flats (rumored to be OE on the upcoming Spec V) along with a set of revised Bilstein dampers and rock-hard coil springs to get you through the corners even faster.

There’s no word on how much faster this will make your GT-R, but it doesn’t sound like these performance mods are worth $50,000. I still can’t wait to see what happens when a tuner gets a hold of one, throws on some bigger turbo’s and cranks up the boost! More on this Nismo package as the information becomes available.

Source: JPCN.com

100% Carbon Fiber Wheel

A Japanese firm by the name of Weds Sports has released their prototype carbon fiber wheel. The wheel in the photo below weights a hair over 6 pounds (2.76 kg)… no idea what the diameter is, but 6 lbs is damn light! At $12,000 for a set of 4, their not cheap either, but what they loose in extreme cost they gain back in ultra light-weight bling factor.

I wish their was more information available, like how much curb weight they can support and how resistant they are to shattering when you hit a pothole, but unfortunately most of the data on these puppies is written in Japanese…any translators out there wanna help out, leave a note in the comments!

Source: CarbonFiberGear.com

RIP Andrea Pininfarina, You Will Be Missed

Andrea Pininfarina was the chairman and CEO of Pininfarina S.p.A., an Italian car design and coach building company. He started working with his family after he graduated college in 1983 and is responsible for many of the worlds most beautiful cars. Some of his most notable work was done with Ferrari designing the F40, the Enzo, the 599 GTB, the 612 Scaglietti, and the concept Ferrari P4/5. In 2004, Businessweek named Andrea as one of the “25 stars of Europe” in the category dedicated to innovators.

Andrea past away at the age of 51 on the morning of August 7, 2008. It was a foggy morning and Pininfarina was riding his Vespa when a 78 year old man pull around a blind corner and hit Andrea head-on. Pininfarina did not survive the crash.

You may be gone Andrea, but you are not forgotten!

Source: CarBodyDesign.com

Artega: 99 Special Edition GT’s for 2008

The Artega GT is breath-taking. Henrik Fisker, the man behind the design cues over at Aston Martin, has simply outdone himself. From the extraordinary body lines to the incredibly fresh interior, this car is straight-up HOT! Using a rear mounted 3.6-liter V6 pushing out 300hp to the wheels, this 2,400 pound car will do 0-60 in less than 5 seconds.

Artega is a newly formed German car company. The GT is their first release, and limited it will be. Only 99 GT’s will be sold in the first year and every one of them will be special edition’s. The “Intro 2008″ GT’s will have all standard features plus new options for paint, rims, and numerous interior customizations. After this batch is sold, expect only 500 to be available on the market next year. Priced at $110,000 means you won’t find too many of these GT’s up for sale in the used car market. Now stop reading and go look at the gallery, just make sure to not drool on your keyboard!

Source: Artega.de

We got a New King of the ‘Ring!

The Dodge Viper has always been one of my favorite super cars. I had a poster of it on my wall as a kid, right next to the Lamborghini Diablo and Ferrari F40. My-o-my how the Viper has changed! The original styling was timeless and down right sexy. But the new body style is an evolution of the original and it never had a place in my heart like the first one did. But now that Dodge has released the 2008 version of the Viper ACR, I’m starting to warm up to it…

Powered by an 8-liter V10 producing 600hp and 560 ft-lbs of torque, the Viper ACR screams from 0-60 in a brief 3.5 seconds, running the quarter mile in 11.5 seconds. While it’s straight-line performance figures are quite impressive, whats important is how it puts all that power to the ground. Dodge engineers must have been burning the midnight oil because the ACR fast…really, really fast!

Motor Trend brings us the video to prove it: The ‘08 Dodge Viper ACR ran the Nurburgring in 7:22.1. Thats 4 seconds faster than the Corvette ZR1 and 7 seconds faster than the Nissan GT-R!

Thanks to ViperAlley for the tip!

Volkswagen’s Transparent Factory

Zee German’s have always done things a little differently than everyone else. Their precision and attention to detail is top notch, which is what makes German engineering have that special stigma when talking about cars.

One of the finest feats of German engineering has to be Volkswagen’s Transparent Factory. This is where Volkswagen produces the Phaeton, their 4-door luxury saloon car that is powered by several different engines, most notably the 450hp W12. Surrounded by nothing but glass and state-of-the-art equipment, VW technicians get to work in an immaculately clean, sunny place; not the stereotypical factory from the 1930’s. Oh how far we’ve come…scope the images and enjoy the precision of zee German’s.

Get all the details at Volkswagen.com

Segway Killer? Meet the Easy Glider

I guess this is one way you could try to get around paying high gas prices. This all electric, 10 MPH people-mover might not have the geeky-allure that the segway had, but the Easy Glider sure does look like a lot more fun! Especially since they are building one that has a bigger motor with off-road tires. Strangely enough, they are also working on an amphibious one for using in pools and lakes. Last I knew, electricity and water didn’t mix well, but I’ll let them figure that one out. I wonder if the Chinese government will adopt the Easy Glider like they did the segway…

Would you buy an Easy Glider for your main source of transportation? It wouldn’t leak oil onto your garage floor mats and you wouldn’t need a car canopy to protect it from the elements as you could just bring it inside. But the lack of storage space might be a problem. Most cars allow you to put on roof racks or bike racks to haul around your extra gear, but that would be impossible with the easy glider. What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comments.

Picture that Porsche of your Dreams in Your Driveway: Brought to You by Porsche

You might have always wondered what your house would look like having a legendary sports car parked in the driveway. Well Porsche thought you should stop dreaming and start seeing the reality, which is why they’ve installed a web application call “I Can” that lets you photoshop one of four Porsche models into a picture of your house…well, actually any picture will work. Check out the gallery to see my convertable Boxster exploring a coral reef, my Cayenne roaming the moon, and my Cayman off-roading in Windows XP.

Check it out at Porsche.com

Buy this House and You Can Keep the Ferrari

A home owner in Thousand Oaks, California has dropped the asking price on his house by $400,000 in an attempt to sell it in a dismal housing market. He must be getting hard pressed because he is now throwing in his ‘04 Ferrari 360 Modena to any buyer who offers him a fair price.

So what is a fair price, you ask? Well, the original asking price was $1,589,000 for this 4,000 square foot, 4-bedroom 4-bath house which is located in a nice part of town. He’s dropped the price to $1,125,000 in an attempt to sell it quickly, but he’s asking $1.36 million if you want that Ferrari too. It’s not a bad proposition, save over $300,000 on a house and get a Ferrari to rock the streets with.

The only problem is that unless his Ferrari is something special, that 360 Modena isn’t worth the $235,000 dollar price difference. The smart thing to do would be to negotiate him down a little more if you want his used Ferrari, or buy the house at the lower price and put the extra loot towards something else. Below are a few pics of a 360 Modena, note that it’s not the same one that is for sale with this guys house.

Source: LA Times

Photos: Commons.Wikimedia.org

Bugatti Veyron Pur Sang Spotted in Abu Dhabi

The video isn’t exactly new, but the Pur Sang is my favorite Veyron. What can I say, I’m a sucker for shiny stuff.

Danica Patrick to Tryout for Honda’s F1 Team

Danica Patrick started racing in the Indy Racing League in 2005 and she has quickly risen as a star.  She is ultra-competitive in a league that is predominantly male, which has attracted a lot of new attention from females to the sport.  Danica drives for Honda, but after she took 1st place in the Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 race, Honda thinks she may be on track for the Formula 1 series.  Honda will put Danica to the test later this year to see if she is ready for it.  Time will tell, more on this story as information develops.

Source: Yahoo! Sport

Indy to Make the Switch to Turbos

The Indy Racing League has used their 650hp, naturally-aspirated 2.4 liter V8’s since 1997, but drivers and manufacturers alike have been pushing for the ability to use turbos. That call has been heard and answered by the IRL who now plans to make the switch by 2011. The new engine will either be a 4 or 6-cylinder engine producing between 650-750 horsepower, offering up to 100 more horsepower than what is currently used; this will be a big boost for Indy cars power-to-weight ratios.

While Honda is the only manufacturer that currently competes in the IRL, 2-3 more manufacturers may enter the race series if the new engine guidelines are enforced. If more car manufacturers sign on, this could really help the IRL become an even bigger part of the racing world by attracting more fans and more sponsors. The Junkyard will follow this story and keep you updated on any news, so stay tuned!

Photos: IndyCar.com

Gas Prices on the Up, Motorcycle Sales on the Up & Up

Everyone has been feeling the pinch from sky-high gas prices and many people want to do something about it.  Hybrid cars are a great option for some, but the overall cost of switching to a hybrid can be impossible to justify for some people.  I mean, not everyone can afford a new car and with a primary motivation of cutting down fuel consumption, it can be a hard jump to make.  That’s why many are now looking a motorcycles to reduce their monthly fuel expenses.  With most bikes get 45+ miles per gallon, why not?

Consumer reports did a study and with the recent hike in gas prices, what they “found is that 26 percent have considered this significant change [switching to a motorcycle], with 18 percent looking at a motorcycle and 14 percent drawn to a scooter.”  I must admit that I too have considered making the switch, but it’s a lot of work getting a license and a loan, but I’m also torn between what I would buy: a 600cc crotch rocket or a sweet road cruiser.  Since I’m a first time rider, I should probably go with the chopper.

Source: Consumer Reports

Photos: Yamaha.com

The Most Fun You Can Have for Under $25K

This video is from Car & Driver. They took a look at the most fun cars you could buy used for under $25,000.  I don’t want to spoil the video so I’m not gonna list’em out for you, but if I had some extra scratch laying around, I’d have my eyes set on cars from BMW and Toyota.

GM’s Employee Pricing is Back, Daddy Needs a New Z06

General Motors has been in a lot of financial trouble lately. Well, actually all three American auto makers have been feeling the economic pinch, and with inflating gas prices sport cars, SUV’s and trucks just haven’t been selling so well. So GM has decided to bring back their “Employee Pricing for Everyone” deal, which means you can save a bundle if you’re looking for a new ride. Save $10K on a new Corvette Z06, $15K on a Cadillac XLR-V, and $5K off the Saturn Aura XR. There’s even more savings to be had, so if your on the edge of buying a new car get down to the local Chevy dealership, go on some test drives and cut yourself a sweet deal!

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