Which Is Hotter: The Lambo or the Model?

If haven’t been keeping up with your telenovelas on Televisa, you may have missed this classic pre-owned car commercial for a gently used Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder.

Although I can’t decipher what the announcer is saying, I believe it roughly translates to:

Cowboys, how can you pass up such a deal? This ride doesn’t just have a big pair of eggs, it’s got 520 horsepower. Plus, the fiery orange paint is sure to complement your freshly sprayed-on tan, and the aerodynamics of the Spyder top are such that your toupee will not fly off into the wind, cowboys. Did I mention that paint has been freshly buffed by the ample curves of this chicka?

The Revenge Verde: 400hp, 100mpg, Kermit Colored

Detroit might be decaying faster than a hobo’s un-brushed molar, but the annual North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) always brings a few minty fresh new cars to the abscessed city. From the latest models to futuristic concept cars, auto manufacturers from around the globe use this show to show off the crème de la crème of their stable. Read more

This wooden supercar gives us wood

I once had a car, or should I say, she once had me…

She showed me her cockpit, isn’t it good, Japanese wood?

 

In the land of the rising sun, an intrepid furniture-building concern crafted a radical supercar with an all-wood frame. According to Japan Probe, the hand-crafted car maxes out at 80 kilometers-per-hour. But what it lacks in gusto, it certainly makes up for in originality. This fusion of engineering and cabinetry looks like a cross between the Pikes Peak Edition Escudo from Gran Turismo and an old-school ofuro. And it’ll only set you back around 2.83 million yen (calm down—that’s only around $32,000 American). That’s a small price to pay to feel like you’re driving around inside of a Haruki Murakami style alternate universe where Johnny Walker is making flutes out of cats’ souls.

 Check it out (and if you can translate it for us, we’d say arigatou gozaimasu):

This is what happens when…

Don’t you wish this kinda thing happened in your life? Showering regularly and splashing on some Brut could get you pretty far in the 50’s, but that doesn’t cut it anymore.  In the third millennium, you’re going to have to do better; getting some fresh threads, a stylish haircut and reading Neil Strauss’s The Game is a great start.  But what if you don’t have enough time for those things… well, if you have a boat load of cash laying around, then consider this.

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Bugatti Veyron Gets Sideways in the Tundra of Sweden

Who does this?  I mean really, taking your $1.8 million dollar supercar out to test on a snow covered track!  So jealous right now…

Truly a testament to how well the Bugatti’s all wheel drive system works, this three part video should inspire you to become this reckless wealthy.  The only thing I wish was that we could hear the engine better and not have to listen to the dubbed-soundtrack. Make sure to watch part one and three, but part two is where the fun really starts. Hit the jump to scope the vids.

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360 Forged Makes a Carbon Fiber Wheel, Ferrari Owners Rejoice

We’ve seen carbon fiber wheels before, but never on a car that looks as stunning as the Ferrari F430.  The classic 5-spoke design has been reworked and modernized in this hand-made edition from Forged 360.  Here’s the quick specs on the Straight 5ive:

• Carbon fiber center disc mated to a forged aluminum 3-piece wheel
• Securely fastened with Reverse Titanium Bolts
• Available in sizes ranging from 19-22″
• Width’s from 7.5″ up to 14.5″
• Lips as small as 1.5″, but up to 7″ tall!
• Clear coated 4 times for that ultra high gloss shine
• Balance tolerance down to .001
• Handmade to order and machined to be hubcentric
• Wide variety of custom finishes available
• No word yet on weight or pricing.

In the pictures below you’re looking at a set of 20″ Straight 5ive’s.  This set is 8.5″ wide in the front and 13″ in rear and the lip has been painted red to accent the rim and match the rear lights.

Carbon fiber has never looked so good.

Manufacturer Site: 360Forged.com

The Ferrari California: Pure Sex

I’m poor, so I couldn’t make it to the Paris Auto Show this year, but Edmund’s reporters were able to make the trip. As shown in the video below, they got a close up look at the new Ferrari California. The CA costs as much as the F430 and they even share the same 4.3-liter engine, but that’s where the similarities end.

Where the F430 is a mid-engined pure-bred sports car, the California is a front-engined convertible hardtop with a pretty big trunk. This makes the Cali much more of a daily driver car. Tuned down from 490 horsepower to 460 for better emissions ratings and fuel economy, the California is not as blistering fast as the F430, but I’m sure it’s still a heck of a lot of fun to drive.

Nissan GT-R vs. a Rented Hertz Corvette…with Nitrous.

Garage 419 pitted these two cars against each other. One is driving a stock GT-R, a formidable opponent to say the least. 480+ horsepower, all wheel drive and launch control mean that this car can rocket to 60 MPH in just 3.5 seconds. The corvette, on the other hand, only has 400 horsepower and an automatic transmission, but the nitrous might be able to get the Vette moving fast enough to keep up with the GT-R on this 1/8 mile track. Before you watch, take a good guess at which car is going to win this battle.

Worlds Fastest Car’s Duke it Out in a Drag Race

Well, maybe they aren’t the worlds fastest cars, but they sure are quick!  Chevy ZR1 vs. Ferrari 599 GTB vs. Porsche 911 GT2 vs. Godzilla.  I’m not sure how long of a runway these guys had, but I think it was close to the mile mark. Check it out as these drivers smash the pedal to the floor and take these four super cars up to top speed. 

Ferrari 599 GTB: Top Speed Run

Ferrari’s 599 is a fast car. With nearly 600 horsepower on tap, it can rocket to 60 miles per hour in just 3.2 seconds. That’s fast enough to spin anyone’s head. But where does the madness stop? I’ll give you a hint: it’s faster than the GT-R…

Nissan GT-R: Top Speed Run

What is the top speed of the Nissan GT-R? According to MotorTrend, it’s very close to 200mph…

Jay Leno Talks about his Corvette ZR1

Even though the man has a huge car collection, he made sure Chevrolet knew he wanted a ZR1.  But not just any ZR1, he wanted the first one to ever roll off the production line; serial 001.

I won’t spoil the rest of the video for you, but it seems like he really likes it.

Nissan GT-R Loses Launch Control in 2010

The GT-R, the performance king in the bang-for-the-buck department, is losing it’s launch control in the 2010 model year, and likely all subsequent models after that.  The launch control is an important feature that helps the GT-R accelerate to 60MPH in 3.5 seconds, so what could the reasoning behind Nissan’s decision?

The Warranty.  Apparently Nissan thought they could make a 480HP super car, give it lots of fancy features from the factory like launch control and then not cover the transmission when it breaks due to using the factory installed features.  Unfortunately for the consumer, this has been a real issue for a number of people.

The procedure to activate the launch control requires that you temporarily turn off the VDC (Vehicle Dynamics Control).  Nissan snuck in a warranty disclaimer which states they are not covering parts that break if it can be proved that the problem was caused by the owner turning off the VDC.  The cost to repair a broken GT-R’s transmission is $20,000, so who would be that upset anyway…

“We just don’t want to deal with the warranty nightmare anymore. It’ll make the 2009 GT-R really special. It’ll be the only R35 with launch control” said a Nissan executive.  Brilliant statement: it’s the only GT-R to have a factory-installed mechanism that breaks itself.  Come Nissan, you’re better than that.

Source: Edmunds

Who Will Make the Next Fastest Car in the World?

There are lots of fast cars in this world. McLaren set the world speed record for a production car back in the ’90s with the F1 model, topping out at 240MPH. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that another manufacturer was able to step up and beat it. That was Bugatti with they’re EB Veyron 16/4, the quad-turbo 16 cylinder 1001 horsepower monster that could reach 253MPH. Saleen reworked the S7 in 2006 to include a twin turbo kit, boosting the sleek exotic up to 248MPH. It was close, but not fast enough. Koenigsegg claims that their CCX can top 254MPH, but this remains to be proven and verified at official speed record sessions.

On September 13, 2007, the Shelby Super Car Ultimate Aero Twin-Turbo averaged 255.83MPH on two separate top speed runs, beating the Veyron by 3.11MPH on its fastest recorded run of 257.11MPH. This was a big triumph for SSC and they’ve enjoyed the top spot for over a year now, but the real question is how much longer can they hold that podium position?

It’s only a matter of time before Koenigsegg puts up their bio-fuel powered CCXR which is even faster and more powerful than their CCX. It’s also been rumored that Bugatti will release a Super Veyron that will be 25% more powerful and able to hit 264MPH. Then there’s the Porsche 9ff GT9-R. It’s hardly a production car, more of a mad-tuner’s creation of a highly modified Porsche GT3. Pushing out 1,120 horsepower, there’s no doubt that the GT9-R will be able to top the (unofficial) 254MPH limit that the standard GT9 was able to achieve.

Who will be next to make the claim that they have the worlds fastest car? My money is on Bugatti, but there are a lot of wild cards out there. In the mean time, enjoy this gallery of super cars images.

Novitec Tweaks the Ferrari 599, Adds 188 HP & 159 TQ

Novitec Rosso is an exclusive Ferrari tuner. They take the extraordinary and try to make it even more incredible. Case in point is their latest work on the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. The 599 already had a 6-liter V12 outputting 611 horsepower and 448 ft-lbs of torque. Ferrari stated it could leap to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, but independent tests showed times as low as 3.2 seconds. Sprinting to 200kmh (124 mph) is done in 11 seconds flat.

So how could Novitec Rosso improve upon something that Ferrari already spent so much time perfecting.
Their first thought was to boost it with a supercharger. Their second thought was to boost it again with another supercharger. The effect was astonishing: 808 horsepower and 607 ft-lbs of torque!

Performance improvements seem to be nominal with a quoted 0-60 time of 3.5 seconds, but since independent tests have already proven the 599 to be faster than Ferrari had quoted, I have no doubt that the Novitec 599 will also be a sleeper.

Cost for Novitec to build a 599’s engine is 47,000 euros, or about $61,300. The tuner also has brake, wheel and aero upgrades available, hit the jump to read the complete press release.

Source: Novitec via AutoBlog

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