Porsche Accuses Nissan of Cheating the GT-R Ring Record

Various sources are reporting that Porsche is accusing Nissan of cheating the Nissan GT-R Nurburgring record of 7:29. To test the claim made by Nissan, Porsche engineers say they bought a GT-R and put it against the Porsche 911 Turbo and the GT2. What they have discovered is that the GT-R was constantly getting lap times of 25 seconds slower than the claimed record.

Porsche believes that the GT-R used for the Ring record was not a series production car and that maybe, it was equipped with different tires that offered better grip.

The company also said the 911 Turbo and the GT2 used for comparison achieved better times than the Japanese sportscar. Porsche initiated this test of Nissan's claim because the 911 is heavier than the GT-R and has similar power, but did not get such a good lap time of the Nurburgring.

VW Golf IV by JMS

Now that the Volkswagen Golf is on it's VI generation, that means that it's prices go down on all previous generations, leaving more room in the budget for performance parts. This may be why JMS revealed today it's new tuning parts for the Golf IV. The new kit includes a front bumper with 3 big cutouts, the customer can choose black or silver vents, new side skirts, a new roof spoiler and a new rear bumper featuring 3 big cutouts with integrated exhaust cutters.

Also, a new coilover system from H&R was installed as well as a new set of Eta Beta 19 inch alloy wheels fitted with 225/35R19 tires. At the customer’s request, the tuner can install 18 inch ASA wheels fitted with 225/40R18 tires. Price of the kit: $6,600.

Lamborghini Paris Show Teaser No. 4

Here we go again… Lamborghini has just released the fourth consecutive teaser photo of its surprise Paris Show debut. The new photo reveals the mystery vehicle’s front headlamp and well, that’s about it. Makes you wonder how many other pictures will the Italian sports carmaker release before it actually shows us the whole car, because to be totally honest, we're getting a bit tired of the constant teasing. Which kind of spoils the whole surprise.

First Official Pictures of BMW X1

The Bavarian automaker’s X1 Concept will make its formal world premier at the Paris Motor Show in a few days time, but as often is the case the first official photos hit the web a bit earlier. Strip away those aluminum inserts on the X1 Concept and you can easily tell that what you see here is what you’ll get in late 2009 when BMW releases the production version of its baby SUV –slash- Crossover that will sit right under the X3 competing against the likes of the Toyota RAV-4 and VW Tiguan.

Citroen GT Concept in Gran Turismo Prologue

Citroen is really dragging its feet with the reveal of its GT concept.

Here's the latest photos that we've got our hands on, and it's still all looking pretty damn good.
The front wing we already know is going to be very aggressive, but what the hell is going on with that rear end?

The drawn out wing/table thing looks nuts. As does the lower carbon fibre splitter.
It's all for PS3's Gran Turismo Prologue game, which you'll be able to drive the GT concept in (hence the name).

But as that's it, we've no idea about the power train. Honestly though, with these looks and no chance of it ever really being made, who actually cares?

All we do care about is getting to the Paris motor show on Thursday so we can head straight do Citroen's stand.

Not Lambo or Ferrari, but Citroen! Who'd have thought?

2012 ASTON MARTIN LAGONDA

Super Car: 2011 Honda NSX super Car

story source: Goauto

This is tipped to be the next-generation Honda NSX.

The show-stopping Acura Advanced Sports Car Concept, which debuted at this week’s Detroit motor show, is designed to incorporate a powerful front-mounted, rear-drive V10 engine with Honda’s super handling all-wheel drive (SH-AWD), which also underpins the Honda Legend.

Visually, the concept’s exterior demonstrates a dynamic fusion of advanced technology and emotion.

The long, pronounced bonnet features deeply sculpted lines and embossed air vents while the exterior lines run the length of the body, creating a ribbon-like effect from the headlights to the rear wheel arches.

Although modern in its appearance, the car retains the subtle cues associated with its predecessor, the NSX.

The concept’s slim, LED headlights arepushed wide and designed to mimic the pop-up headlights found on the first generation NSX. Other styling hints include a modern take on wraparound rear tail-lights and the all black cockpit.

"Our intention was to design an exotic sports car that gracefully combines advanced technology and strong emotion," according to Jon Ikeda, principal designer of the Acura Design Center.

"The technical, machined surfaces and keen-edge design are balanced with sweeping curves and dramatic lines, all of which results in the ultimate exotic sports car."

Wide and low to the ground with a 2763mm wheelbase, the concept is anchored by grippe 19-inch front and 20-inch rear performance tires mounted to custom billet-machined, polished aluminum wheels.

Braking is via powerful, ventilated carbon ceramic brakes with eight-piston calipers. Bold wheel arches and flares add to the concept’s aggressive appearance.

The low slung cabin is constructed entirely of tinted glass and sits flush against the body. Door handles are also flush mounted, allowing the sports car to retain a clean and aerodynamic appearance.

The car has a carbon fiber under body and the rear is finished with aggressive quad exhausts and integrated rear diffusers.

A Ferrari That Won't Hit the Streets

Ever wondered how Ferrari may do a competitor for the Rapide and Panamera? Well, that’s a question very few have asked, but its still fun to see what Russian designer Krasnov Igor thinks how a Ferrari sedan may look.

Although an official four-door Ferrari has never existed, the supercar firm has come close. Both today’s Maserati Quattroporte and the Lancia Thema 8.32 of the 80s and 90s have their engines and other components sourced from Ferrari. Pininfarina made a few speciality sedans for wealthy customers (like the 456 for the Sultan of Brunei.) There have also been a few official design studies of prancing horse sedans, but Ferrari has been smart enough to stay out of the family car market, so far.

Mercedes-Benz Reveals SLR McLaren Roadster 722 S

As the era of the Mercedes McLaren SLR winds down to its conclusion sometime in 2009, Mercedes-Benz is releasing what may be the ultimate example of the breed. The SLR 722 S Roadster picks up where the 722 coupe left off dropping the 650-hp supercharged 5.5L V8 into the open top body shell. With a top speed of 220.6 mph, this may be the fastest open top production car ever built. And unlike the first generation Dodge Viper, Mercedes has devised a soft top that can withstand sustained 200 mph+ top speeds. Mercedes has tapped into McLaren's F1 experience to create the fully carbon-fiber body that can provide the structural integrity needed at those speeds. The semi-automatic top just needs to be unlatched from the windshield header manually before the rest of the process is handled by the electrical actuators. The vehicle dynamics are also aided by dropping the suspension by 10 mm at each end of the car and recalibrating the spring and damper rates. Only 150 examples of the 722 S Roadster will be made available starting Jan. 1 2009.

Source: Auto Blog

2010 VW TOUAREG

Lamborghini concept may be named Estoque, not Urus

While we've pretty much had it up to our Hans device with the speculation surrounding Lamborghini's Paris surprise, another salient detail has emerged about the rumored front-engined, four-door sedan due to be unveiled on Thursday at the Paris Motor Show.Previous reports about the Lamborghini concept wearing a Urus badge are thankfully bunk (who wants to drive a supercar named after a large bovine?) and World Car Fans has dropped the name Estoque (without citing any sources), which according to Encyclopedia Brittanica is a small blade that delivers the death blow to a bull at the end of a stadium fight. We're still more than a few days away from the official reveal, but in the meantime, enjoy the gallery of teasers below, along with the image above created by LamboPower member a007api.

3D Car Model - Hot Rod

C4D, MAX, 3DS | 5,64 Mb

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Wallpapers - Hot Rods

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3D Car Model - Smart Roadster

C4D & MAX | 5,64 Mb

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Wallpapers - Rolls Royce Collection

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2011 PORSCHE 914 / 356

Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback and Ralliart

Less than a week before the new Lancer Sportback and its 240HP Ralliart sibling make their world debut at the Mondial De L’Automobile in Paris, Mitsubishi released a full set of images of both versions of the 5door Lancer hatchback or as we prefer to call it for apparent aesthetic reasons, hunchback. 

More Pictures here ---> Car Scoop

2009 Acura TL AWD Get 6-Speed Manual Gearbox

It looks as though Acura’s trying to reach out to those that actually enjoy driving a car. Starting from next fall, the Japanese automaker will offer a new 6-speed manual gearbox on the 2010 TL SH-AWD model. Aside from the fact that it’s the first time that Acura has ever paired its all-wheel-drive system with a stick-shift, the new close-ratio 6-speed manual is approximately 110 lbs lighter than the Sequential SportShift 5-speed automatic transmission currently offered in the top-spec TL.

Furthermore, the 2010 TL SH-AWD 6MT models also benefit from suspension upgrades that include special coil spring and shock absorber rates tuned for flatter cornering with reduced pitching motions under acceleration and braking. The manual models also employ firmer engine and transmission bushings along with a sportier tuning for the steering wheel system.

According to Acura, the addition of a manual transmission, an all-new clutch system and suspension changes yield an 88 lb. reduction in overall vehicle weight and at the same time, improves weight distribution by 1-percent compared to the automatic model generating a 58/42 ratio versus the 5AT's 59/41 ratio.

Source: Car Scoop

3D Car Model - Lamborghini Gallardo

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Wallpapers - Ferrari Collection

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Super Car: Off the chain Trident Iceni

story source: Super Cars

This is the new Trident Iceni. The makers claim that this thing will go beyond 200mph, but even better it will get to an amazing 70 miles per gallon. Do you believe it? No, I’m not so sure that I do either actually.

Unlike almost every other super car built, this one is running on diesel. While many will draw comparisons to the Audi R8 diesel, the Iceni uses a 6.6 liter V8 turbo diesel engine that produces 550bhp and an insane amount of torque – 950lbs per foot. This should be enough to snap your neck, uproot trees or pull ocean liners to shore – whatever your weekend preference is.

Perhaps putting the figures in another way is more meaningful. All that power allows the car to zoom to 60 in just 3.7 seconds, which is as quick as a Ferrari F40. Even better, take it on a long, straight road and you can push it to the 200+ mile per hour top speed.

I’ve no idea if this is true as you’d think that they would then sell it to every diesel manufacturer in the world, but there we are. Amazingly though, it looks as though the claim is true. A recent test at the Mill brook proving ground showed the car returning 69mpg. Even better than this, at town speeds there’s talk of having a range of 2,000 miles on a single tank of diesel.

The body is also pretty impressive. It is made from stainless steel and is guaranteed against corrosion for 100 years. So, what’s not to like? I’ve no idea really. Apparently, the icing on the cake is the price. It weighs in at a not wallet unfriendly £75,000. Well, it’s a good alternative to an Aston Martin right?

2009 BMW Z4 & Z4 COUPÉ

Florida Man Cancels Nissan GT-R Order Due to "Black Box"

A Florida man named Scott Weires has canceled the order for his long-awaited Nissan GT-R. Why? It's not that he was disappointed in the car's performance credentials, far from it. The problem is that the GT-R is equipped with a 'black box', similar in theory to the kind found on airplanes to help determine what went wrong in case of an accident or breakdown. By the end of 2012, car buyers won't have a choice as to whether their new car is equipped with a 'black box,' or Electronic Data Recorder -- they will be federally mandated to carry one. These devices track information that could be useful to the manufacturer in determining exactly what is, or has been, going on with a car. There are a few worries, though, that warranty claims could be denied if the automaker, Nissan in this case, deems that the car was being raced or abused in some way or by police or lawyers to determine culpability. Nissan's GT-R carries an on-board recorder that keeps track of the past few day's worth of driving and cannot be disabled. In the case of Scott Weires, an attorney no less, that was enough to look elsewhere. Would it be for you?

Lamborghini Paris Show Concept Teaser: Number Three

Just like Ford is constantly teasing us with cryptic pictures of its new Mustang, Lamborghini is revealing piece by piece its mysterious Paris Show car that is rumored to be a 4-door sports sedan concept. This time, the third teaser image gives us glimps of the vehicle's taillight. According to a credible source of ours that works over at Tony’s cappuccino shop behind Lamborghini’s head offices in Sant’Agata Bolognese, the next teaser shots will depict the yet to be named vehicle’s roof lining and license plate holders.

3D Model of Car - BMW M3 GTR (Need for Speed: Most Wanted)

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Super Car: 2008 Bentley Continental GT Speed

Source: Super Car

The 2008 Bentley Continental GT Speed adds more onto the genuine appeal of Bentley’s symbolic GT coupe line, as the car is allowed to reach higher and purer speeds. It was first launched on the 1st of August 2007, and is the most powerful production car Bentley has ever created to achieve optimum speeds with high-end performance. Bentley was inspired to create the car from the ultimate success of the Continental GT coupe, and the renowned Speed models from the iconic era of the 1920s. The result is a beast full of powerful response and handling that keeps the Bentley name in spite of its edgier, hardcore look and feel. It is a complete piece of the Continental series, and a potent piece of machinery.

The Continental GT Speed’s objective was to communicate all the possibilities of its design but still holding firm with everything that made the Continental GT coupe model successful. The exterior design of the new Speed is similar to its predecessor, but has a few subtle variations to it, as it is defined by a chrome matrix grille to assist in the airflow to the more powerful engine. It also has wider and lowly positioned air intakes as well, as the engine needs excellent ventilation. The very vertical grille also helps in intensifying the unique Continental look with a more prominent square edge, plus the new lower bumper positioning that has a wider air intake centrally located to create a very sporting look and hold of the Speed. There are also chromed bezels situated around the headlamps to complete the sporty design. The customer can specify the interiors from a wide range of veneers including Piano Black, and Burr Walnut with diamond quilted hide seats along with embroidered Bentley logo, three spoke multi purpose sports steering wheel, Speed logos on the tread-plates, proposed hide headlining, drilled alloy foot pedals, and a sports alloy gear lever.

The Continental GT Speed carries an impressive 6.0 liter W12 engine that has been improved substantially from its predecessors in the Continental line with aspiration consisting of twin turbochargers. The engine outputs a horsepower of 600bhp (610PS or 449kW), which is a 9% increase from the Continental GT coupe, and a torque of 750Nm (553ft-lb) at 1750rpm, a 15% increase from the coupe. The engine itself is crafted out of light weight components combined with lower friction and a new engine management system, therefore the car optimized its potential and achieved a top speed of 202mph (326km/h). It also achieved acceleration of 0-60mph in 4.3 seconds and 0-100mph in and astounding 10.3 seconds with seamless overtaking performance with 50-70mph in an eye blink of 2.3 seconds.

The car weighed in at 5180lbs with a stiffer, enhanced chassis to make the drive sportier, as the stance of the car became lower with upgraded spring and damper framework, anti roll bars for tauter body control, handling and agility. The alloy wheels that measure 9.5J x 20 is bespoke Pirelli P-Zero high performance tires as standard. The braking system consists of fade resistant carbon ceramic brakes, with modified steering response through revamped speed sensitive Servotronic system on a solid front positioned sub frame and harder rears bushings. The car is also outfitted with extended rifled sports exhaust pipes.

The Raging Bull: Underground Racing Gallardo

Underground Racing are a North Carolina-based tuning company specialising in twin-turbo conversions. This is their 1025bhp Gallardo.

Yep. That's 1025 brake horsepowers.

We're not quite sure what to say, if we're honest. The sheer insanity of the concept and the brilliance of the execution has rendered us pretty much speechless.

Sure, it runs on race fuel but from what we understand the Gallardo keeps its 4wd and stability systems - although we'd imagine the ESP is a little overworked. The car runs a standard 6-speed gearbox.

We'd run the car without the rear bodywork, if the law allowed. It's the ultimate in automotive mooning.

Nissan GT-R Tuned by PowerHouse Amuse

A few months ago I was told that the Japanese tuner Amuse, broke the 600 hp barrier with the Nissan GT-R but without any extra information. Today, the technical information was revealed by Amus themselves. With a new name, called the GT-R Phantom, the upgrade includes a new ECU software boosting the engine to incredibly satisfying yet ratifying number of 611 hp at 6560 rpm and 775 Nm of torque.

Due to the light materials used, the vehicle also lost some weight, now it is only 1674 kg! The tuner also added a new exhaust system as well as a new adjustable suspension and standard brakes. For the exterior, the GT-R Phantom received a carbon fiber front lip spoiler, new side skirts and a carbon fiber rear wing spoiler. In the interior, everything remains the same, com except the addition of the stylish Recaro sport seats. No info for the price yet.

Dodge EV: All-Electric 268HP Coupe

At its World Headquarters in Auburn Hills today, Chrysler LLC revealed three all-electric prototype vehicles, the Dodge EV, Jeep EV and Chrysler EV, promising to have one of them available in the North American markets as soon as 2010 followed shortly after by Europe. Speaking at the presentation, Chrysler LLC’s CEO Bob Nardelli said: “The introduction of the Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge electric vehicles provide a glimpse of the very near future, and demonstrates that we are serious and well along in the development of bringing EVs to market.”

US electricar-makers Tesla and Fisker on target to build luxury sedans by late 2010

by: GoAuto

GENERAL MOTORS may have put on the table its plans, pending “satisfactory government incentives”, to produce the world’s first mass-produced electric family sedan in the Chevrolet Volt by late 2010, but some unlikely US rivals have stepped up their campaign to deliver luxury electric sedans in the US before then.

Last week luxury electric car-maker Tesla Motors announced plans to build a $US250 million production facility in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley at San Jose, to manufacture its zero-emissions five-seater luxury sedan, the Model S.

Formerly known as the WhiteStar, the Model S is expected to start being shipped out of the 89-acre site, to where Tesla’s corporate headquarters and research and development centre will be relocated, in late 2010 – when the facility is expected to employ about 1000 workers. Factory construction is due to commence in mid-2009.

Left: Tesla Roadster and Fisker Karma.

President and CEO Ze'ev Drori said Tesla selected the San Jose site, 32km from Tesla’s current HQ in San Carlos, because of its high concentration of skilled engineers and support infrastructure, and to minimise the inconvenience for more than 250 of its current staff.

“Big deals like this happen when both parties have something significant to gain,” said Mr Drori in reference to San Jose mayor Chuck Reed’s 15-year job-creation initiative dubbed ‘Green Vision’.

“Locating Tesla’s headquarters, manufacturing and R&D in San Jose will allow us to proceed with minimum disruptions and virtually no dislocations.

“Clearly, no one would argue that Silicon Valley is the center for electronics and electrical engineering. The heart and soul of the electric car is the electric drivetrain, and for that, we need the type of skills available here.”

Assembly of the current $US109,000 ($A131,000) Tesla Roadster two-seater, 27 of which have so far been delivered in the US and Europe, will remain at the Lotus factory in Hethel, UK and is scheduled to increase to 40 per week by early 2009.

Some 1200 deposits have been taken for the Tesla Roadster, which commenced production in March, while the Model S sedan, which will be powered by a lithium-ion battery pack, is expected to cost about $US60,000 ($A72,000).

Central to the production of both the two-door Tesla Roadster and four-door Model S will be a “final powertrain solution” from US transmission specialist BorgWarner, which was announced two weeks ago.

The new single-speed transmission, which will be retro-fitted to the 27 Tesla Roadsters sold to date free of charge, is claimed to deliver 30 per cent more torque as well as a 10 per cent better travelling range of 355km.

“Last December, when the two-speed transmission designed by a previous supplier proved not to be durable, we announced we would modify our approach,” explained JB Straubel, Tesla’s chief technology officer.

“By using a more powerful inverter and an enhanced motor design, we were able to implement a single-speed gearbox and still achieve our original performance goals. In fact, the new set-up is superior in almost every way.”

The new BorgWarner gearbox is designed to cope with the Roadster’s increased performance, which now includes 380Nm of torque (up from 286Nm with the “interim” transmission). The Tesla Roadster is claimed to accelerate to 100km/h in less than four seconds.

“Successfully implementing the new gearbox in less than a year was an incredible technical challenge and huge accomplishment for Tesla’s engineers,” said Mr Drori.

“Now that we have a final powertrain design, in a matter of months there will be hundreds of Tesla Roadsters across the country. We’re heralding nothing less than a new era of the automobile.”

Meantime, an even newer US-based plug-in hybrid vehicle maker, Fisker Automotive, also announced two weeks ago that it has secured a further $US65 million ($A78 million) in funding, from the Middle East's Qatar Investment Authority.

The Irvine, California-based start-up car-maker, headed by former BMW and Aston Martin designer Henrik Fisker, says it is now on target to produce its Karma EV by the fourth quarter of 2009, with peak production volume of some 1250 vehicles per month due to occur by late 2010.

The 15,000 Karmas Fisker plans to have built annually by Norwegian contractor Valmet will also be bankrolled by Palo Alto investors and Kleiner Perkins, while their electric powertrain was developed by Quantum Fuel Systems Technologies Worldwide, which co-founder Fisker Automotive with Fisker Coachbuild LLC in 2007.

Dubbed Q Drive, the Karma’s drive system is claimed to offer 80 miles of emissions-free motoring if it is charged overnight. Fisker claims to have taken more than 500 deposits since the Karma made is global debut at the 2008 Detroit motor show in January.

“We are extremely pleased to have closed our financing round at this time, particularly in light of the current market conditions,” said Mr Fisker on September 10. “This shows that Fisker Automotive has a solid business plan and a globally experienced automotive team with very strong investors behind the company.”

Volkswagen Pickup Concept Revealed

After many speculations and rumors, VW finally lifted the wraps of its forthcoming 1-tonne pickup truck in the form of a pre-production model simply called ‘Pickup’ at the International Automobile Exhibition in Hanover (September 26 to October 02). The concept gives us a taste of the production model that we’ve become accustomed to knowing it as Robust. Production of the new Pickup will begin in fall 2009 at Volkswagen’s “Pacheco” plant in Argentina. According to VW, the production model will be initially introduced at the end of 2009 to South America, South Africa, Australia and Europe with other markets following shortly after.

Aprilia RSV4 Superbike

After numerous spy shots and leaked details, Aprilia has finally pulled the wraps off its upcoming RSV4 superbike. This is the machine that the Italian company will use to contest the Superbike World Championship in 2009 against the Ducati 1098 and the Japanese literbikes. To properly do battle, the RSV4 will make some 210-horsepower -- fully competitive with the best the series currently has to offer. While the race-going RSV4 is an amazing piece of kit, it's the street-bred RSV4, which will come in both normal and factory guises, that's of the most interest... since you'll actually be able to purchase one sometime next year.

Powered by a 999cc V-Four engine mated to a six-speed gearbox with slipper clutch, we expect the Factory to be on par power-wise with the Ducati 1098R, meaning about 180 horses or more. Coupled to a wet weight of 418 pounds the RSV4 will be one seriously fast machine. A ride-by-wire system will likely allow Aprilia to offer more than one engine map to adjust power for specific conditions. One of the more interesting bits of kit that will be standard across the line are the numerous chassis adjustments, including the ability to alter the swingarm position and the headstock angle. Styling-wise, the new RSV4 tips its hat to the RSV 1000 R that we tested earlier this year with its third eye headlight that mimics the shape of the old ram-air duct from the twin. The rest of the bike looks thoroughly new and appropriately awesome. We're not sure how much it'll cost, but we know we want one regardless.

Source: Auto Blog

2010 MERCEDES SLC GULLWING

Lorinser's Kit for the Mercedes-Benz SL

With the arrival of the new Mercedes-Benz SL, the usual suspects will update their body and tuning packages accordingly. Observers familiar with Lorinser's stuff know what to expect here, and in typical fashion, there's enough mesh grillework to allow for every conceivable cooling need, real or imagined. A large vertical vent replaces the "gills" that are standard on the current SL's front fender. There's also an opening in the side skirts ahead of the rear wheel, and a wide grille spanning the area between the exhausts, too. The whole affair sits on a lowered suspension, and big Lorinser alloys fill up the wheel wells. Power upgrades aren't ready yet, so for the time being, the kit's an all-show, same-go proposition. Image-conscious buyers will want to keep their original tri-star grille emblem handy, as that much plainer Lorinder badge isn't going to impress the neighbors nearly as much.