It was clear after the sales drop of the 1967 Charger that a restyle was in order. Dodge was going to restyle their entire B-body lineup for 1968 and decided that it was time to separate the Coronet and Charger models even further. What designer Richard Sias came up with was a double-diamond design that would later be referred to as "coke-bottle" styling. From the side profile the curves around the front fenders and rear quarter panels look almost like a Coke bottle. On the roof a "flying buttress" was added to give the rear window area a look similar to that of the 1966 Pontiac GTO.
The 1970 Plymouth Barracuda was an instant classic. The design was muscular with its long hood and short rear deck. The new Barracuda was larger and wider than the previous model and best of all it could hold all the big block engines in Plymouth’s inventory. The Hemi and the 440ci big block could easily fit between the fender wells.
General Motors lifted its 400-cid limit on its intermediate cars in 1970. That unleashed some of the quickest automobiles ever to come out of Detroit and helped make this the pinnacle year for American muscle. At the forefront to the rush to power was Buick. Its performance offering was again based on the midsize Skylark which got fresh styling that added two inches of body length on an unchanged wheelbase for 1970.
No pain, no gain. The Caparo T1 hurts. It's a bruising process just clambering over the sides and squeezing into the carbon tub, grazing yourself on all the hard edges that crowd in, pulling muscles as you reach for the harness. And the noise, even at idle! If you don't have earplugs or ideally a full helmet, it shoots an agony into your auditory canals.
"C16 Speedster" seems a wholly inadequate moniker for this latest Corvette-based creation from Scuderia Reeves Callaway. "Millennium Falcon" is closer to the mark. Or maybe "Atomic Rooster." We need one of the ballyhoo artists from Jerry Bruckheimer Films to give this topless, windowless, two-seat UFO a proper name.
With an all-new exterior design-by far, the most dramatic visual change to the Miata/MX-5 in its history-highly revised structure, engine, suspension, and platform-we leapt at the opportunity to drive the third generation of the iconic two-seater. After all, it had charmed judges at Car of the Year with its fantastic handling, excellent balance, and purity of design. But would the new MX-5 thrill in the long run?
Perhaps Mark Gerisch had an affinity for saws or guillotines while growing up because as an adult, Gerisch, the man behind Genaddi Design Group of Green Bay, Wisconsin, likes ripping off the roofs of expensive American musclecars. Two years ago, he scalped a Ford GT and came away with a GTX1, a roadster version of the hardtop-only supercar, not to mention a nicely done, modern interpretation of the 1966 Le Mans race car. We drove one and were impressed by the ingenuity and execution of its design (April 2006).
In 1965, Carroll Shelby and the Ford Motor Company teamed up to build and sell hotted-up Mustangs. Ford constructed the cars to a certain spec, delivered them to Shelby's assembly facility, and various components were changed to make the cars faster and more exclusive. The original GT350s that rolled out of Shelby American's back door were highly sought then, and are highly sought now.
Watch the Honda S2000 CR lap the Streets of Willow circuit HERE With its hardtop removed and yellow stitched seats fully exposed, the light-blue S2000 CR appears particularly flamboyant. Though the CR stands for Club Racer, it looks more ripped from the pages of Import Racer, Super Street, or some other tuner 'zine.
Porsche has let fly the details regarding its revamped Porsche Boxster and Cayman, both mid-engine sports cars to receive the primary benefits of the revamped 2009 Porsche 911, including Zuffenhausen's latest trick dual-clutch gearbox and direct-injection flat-six engines in the 'S' top-shelf models.
It’s encouraging to see car manufacturers look for alternative fuel sources to power their vehicles. This particular concept by Saab comes equipped with an ethanol guzzling 2.8L twin-turbocharged V6 that can get you from 0 to 100kph/60mph in 4.2 seconds. Even cooler, the car has no doors, rather, the entire top canopy section of the car opens up, making it one of the most unique designs out there. Sadly, the car is still on concept stage. But one can still dream.
Looking like something out of a spy movie, the Venturi Fetish is the world’s only in production electric sports car. While its top speed is only 100mph, it’ll give you plenty of power in the initial acceleration as it does a good 0-100kph/60mph in about 5 seconds. sadly, only 25 cars are being produced a year. But this list wouldn’t be complete without it.
Now when talking about power, you can’t help but wish that you had access to a FT-HS. So far, most of these have been concept cars. Not this one though, as this vehicle is scheduled to go into production in 2009. Soon we can all be salivating at the beauty of its advanced hybrid - gasoline system, capable of moving you from 0 to 100kph/60mph in an astonishing four seconds flat. Now that’s what we call power!
Unveiled at the Paris show last year, the Citroen C-Metisse Concept is another attempt to create a diesel hybrid car. What’s so exciting about that? well this particular vehicle can operate in a Zero Emission mode, an all electric mode perfect for city cruising, while giving you access to the power of the diesel engine when needed in the motorway.
The Hyundai Neos introduced at the 2000 Paris Motor Show was a stunning and dynamic concept designed to show the world that Hyundai could produce interesting and technically advanced cars.
Puegeot is pulling out of the WRC because of lack of money.. and they go around make this expensive beast?? Ughh.. Well interesting... Center driving position.. and with a BACK seat!! whoa.. Alot like the McLaren F1... but the rear seats are pushed back much further.. unfortunatly it will never make it do to the HUGE windows, they would have to raise the door height and shorten the windows for safety... but yeh.. cool CONCEPT
One look at this baby and I am sold! Red never looked hotter and greener! The Tesla Roadster is an all sleek, all American, 100% electric car that does 0 to 60 mph in less than 6 sec! Needless to say, it has won every award since its debut including the cleanest startup award for 2007 from TechCrunch !
The Lamborghini Murciélago is a high performance sports car produced by Italian automaker Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and designed by Luc Donckerwolke. It was introduced in 2001 as the successor to the Diablo.
When people start paying more than $100,000 for 30- to 40-year-old Plymouths, Pontiacs and Chevrolets, some classic car collectors start to worry. These days, in fact, a bolted-together clone of a 30-year-old Plymouth can go for six figures -- the real thing having gotten far too expensive.
At the Paris Motor Show in October, Renault has unveiled its new concept car, the Renault Ondelios. This concept car is Renault’s vision of a high-end Cross-Over. The Renault Ondelios is designed to combine a comfortable ride with respect for the environment.
Higgins-Aubé Inc, a young Canadian company, is proud to show early images of its latest creation, the Energya, a three-wheeled vehicle. The Energya™ three-wheeled vehicle, also now know as a motomobile, is designed as a light, high performance vehicle. Similar to a sports car where the driver and the passenger are seated side-by-side, the Energya™ motomobile has a rear engine that drives the single wheel at the back. The vehicle feels, drives and behaves mostly like an open wheels racecar. The vehicle features a distinctive, cutting-edge aggressive design that reflects its level of performance.
This is it. The 2010 Chevy Camaro, revealed in all its glory. According to details we've been told by the folks breaking the embargo, the new Chevy Camaro will come in LS, LT and SS (yes, we know there's a badge there that says "RS")— and be available in either 6-speed manual or auto flavors. Under the hood, a 296 HP 3.6-liter V6 or a 416 HP 6.2-liter V8 with cylinder deactivation. And check out that interior — looks very muscular to us. Weight? How about 3,747 lb — lighter than the Challenger.
The Lamborghini was revealed at the Frankfurt auto show in Geneva not long ago. Lamborghini will be producing only 20 of these supercars and they were exclusively offered to “friends and collectors” at a price of $1.4 to $1.6 million dollars. So what makes this supercar so special? Well, the Reventon was inspired by the F-22 Raptor fighter jet and the exterior is made entirely of carbon fiber laid over a carbon fiber and steel frame.
With last week's reveal of the production version of the Chevy Volt comes a rumor GM will sell the Volt across the pond as an Opel. No, we're not talking about a Segway-pooping Opel Flextreme, we're actually talking about an Opel Volt. Our sources tell us to expect the 2011 Opel Volt to be mechanically identical to its Chevy sibling and share much of the overall exterior and interior styling.
Acura Sports Car Concept at Detroit auto show in January was initially thought as next generation Acura NSX. Well, it was not true as now we know that 2009 Acura NSX is going to be heavily modified S2000 sheet metal with an extended wheelbase and wider track. Honda is trying to restyle its supercar. The exterior for earlier/present Acura NSX is not quite famous with Sports Car lovers due to which Honda has planned to redesign the car completely.
To the surprise of no one, Porsche has confirmed that it will build a four-door sedan, called the Panamera. It will be the fourth full model line from Zuffenhausen-joining the 911, the Boxster/Cayman, and the Cayenne. Porsche is referring to it as a four-door coupe, as Mercedes-Benz does with its CLS.
Keep this quiet, but we reckon a Ferrari 250 GTO has just been sold for $28.5 million. Which would make it one of the most expensive cars in the world, ever, in the history of selling cars and stuff. But it's all a bit hush-hush at the mo. Probably because its new owner doesn't want any pesky criminals knowing what he's just parked up in his humidity-controlled secret layer.
You would never have thought a cupholder would have much significance, especially in a Lotus story, but the new Elise SC has been given one and, in a single, neat, lightweight aluminium package, it sums up all of Lotus' problems... and its brilliance. It's been put there for the Americans, even though there's no way it would take even a big bottle of Volvic, let alone a super-sized soft drink. Mad perhaps, but Lotus needs details like this to tempt Americans and others into its cars, safe in the knowledge that they don't have to forego every luxury.
The duel that saw the Eurofighter, piloted by the Italian astronaut Maurizio Cheli, racing against the Ferrari F2003-GA piloted by Michael Schumacher. Indeed, the 4th Gruppo is the Wing whose 9th Gruppo (Squadron) and 20th OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) are going to be the first within the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force, ItAF) to start the conversion from the F-104. Both the 4th Stormo (and also the 9th Stormo) and the Ferrari share the same worldwide known “Prancing Horse” symbol inherited from the Italian World War One ace Francesco Baracca.
The camera situation is a tunnel in Russia. You are about to see some bad driving. Cars and buses veer all over the road in this tunnel. Check out our car crash video clip and see what really happened. You will be amazed at the bad driving.
The single biggest problem with GT cars is that they may be 'Grand' but they're often not much cop at 'Touring'. They occupy the ground towards the top end of the dream list, which tends to induce manufacturers to spend all their time making them 'really handle'. Consequently, you get a car that goes sweetly and handles like a kart, but which has no room inside and a ride that feels like someone forgot to take the transport blocks out of the suspension.
This is a fully NISMO-kitted Nissan GT-R and lord, do we want one. Bad. Called the Club Sport, the NISMO (Nissan Motorsport International) GT-R comes with Bilstein Damptronic adjustable dampers, stiffer Nismo springs and 20-inch Rays forged aluminium wheels fitted with Bridgestone RE070R run-flats (255/40 front and 285/35 rear).
An early test mule for the next-generation 2009 Nissan 350Z recently arrived at the Nürburgring test track in Germany. It wore what looked like sheet metal from the current-generation Z-car, but a closer inspection makes it clear that this car has been substantially modified. Various cutlines indicate a reworked chassis with a shorter wheelbase. This observation has ignited rumors of a new Nissan sports car smaller than the 350Z, but we think something else is going on.
This is the Chevrolet Orlando, the second in an extensive line of Chevys named after matinee film idols. Following the Chevrolet Cruise (OK, it's actually the Cruze, but don't let that spoil a tenuous joke), the Orlando is, we think, named in honour of Mr Bloom, of Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings fame.
The exterior is custom-painted a flaming mother-of-pearl/orange color, the interior is upholstered in black BRABUS leather and Alcantara with orange seams, and it has lots of power under the hood: BRABUS (www.brabus.com) presents the limited-edition special model BRABUS ULTIMATE 112 at the Frankfurt International Auto Show IAA 2007. The ULTIMATE 112 is based on the smart fortwo and is a true city sports car. And as such it represents a unique combination of extravagant equipment, sporty performance and agile handling.
The C3 Pluriel has never been a bastion of understated decorum, and now Citroen has gone the whole hog and raided the cupboard of retro-chintz to create this, the C3 Pluriel Charleston. Somewhere in a dusty paint booth in deepest France, the Citroen boys obviously found a job-lot of black and burgundy paint left over from the original 2CV Charleston (shown in the bottom picture) and decided it couldn't go to waste.
