Porsche's RS 60s, Mitsubishi's new Performance Diesel
1960 Sebring: Hans Herrmann drives the RS 60 to victory
In 1960, Porsche nearly won the Manufacturer's Championship with the Type 718 RS 60. To commemorate this purpose-built race car they released the Boxtser RS 60 earlier today at the Bologna Motor Show.
Built in a limited edition of 1960 examples, the new Boxster gets special wheels, a new exhaust and 303 horsepower. This is quite unlike the car which shares the same name.
The original 1960 RS 60 nearly diminished class division by beating much larger Ferraris at their favorite game. These little Spyders won both Sebring, as well as the Targa, and they did it outright. Only a handful were made and they are much better than the coveted 550 RS.
Next up, we have Mitsubishi's Detroit Auto Show offering - a dramatic and stylish concept that centers around a diesel engine. Like Peugeot and Audi, Misubishi are trying to bridge the gap between diesel fuel and performance.
Special Edition Koenigsegg CCXR, Brabus-tuned Maybach reaches 205
CCXR gets a bigger Top Gear wing
Koenigsegg have released an upgraded version of their fastest car called the CCXR Special Edition.
The standard model debuted earlier this year at the Geneva Auto Show and this new Special Edition improves upon the theme. It has the same 1018 horsepower engine, but with an upgraded body and interior.
The most obvious change is a contoured rear wing which is permanently fixed by long stantions. Beyond it, only a few detail changes are new such as uncovered headlights, color-coded carbon fiber and suede seats.
Last week, Brabus proved they hold no reservations in tuning anything from Daimler. Their latest project involved fitting the 730 horsepower, SV12S engine into a Maybach 57S and the results were incredible.
Tested on the Nardo track, the Brabus-Maybach achieved 205.2 mph. This is well below the similarly-engined Rocket and CLS, but remarkable for a car of this class and size.
LA Auto Show Gallery + Dodge's Detroit-Bound E-Concept
LA's fastest. Is it good for 270mph?
Last week the LA Auto Show opened its doors and revealed notable cars such as the Mustang Bullitt, Viper ACR and Honda Clarity.
The big surprise was a visit by Vector with their upcoming WX-3 'hypercar'. Today we have updated shots of this outrageous car that show it's incomplete and an early prototype.
Along with the Vector, we have a complete LA gallery from Spyder Dobrofsky of car-parazzi.com. Everything that isn't in our feature can be seen on his recently renovated site.
The next major autoshows will be Essen and Detroit, the later of which will have the Dodge Zeo Concept. Like many recent prototypes, it's electric-only, but uses smarter lithium-ion batteries.
Hennessey debuts new Viper V10 Supercar
0 to 100 km/h times in less than 2.5 sec
At SEMA we discovered that John Hennessey was planning an all new car and today we have the first official details of the newly named Venom GT.
John Hennessey is going to take his company to the next level by releasing his very own Viper-powered supercar. Landing somewhere between the Lotus Elise and Dodge Viper, the new Hennessey Venom GT could set the next performance benchmarks. It has the same engine as the Viper Venom which beats the Veyron, but mounts it in the center of the chassis.
What we have available today is the first image complements of Steve Everitt who has designed VenomAero kits for Hennessey dating back to 1996. His sketch shows a low-slung coupe which has a retractable rear wing, low frontal area and deep air intakes on the side as well as the roof.
The concept will take some considerable time to complete, and we anxiously await the next chapter in this car's history. When we do see the first Venom GT, it will likely smash the records set by the Veyron.
LA Show: New Vector! Honda goes Fuel Cell, RWD Hyundai
Hyundai Unveils RWD Gensis Concept in LA
On its opening day, the LA Auto Show exhibited remarkable growth compared to previous years. With larger and more impressive debuts, it might just take over Detroit's job one day.
There were many huge North American premiers, including Nissan's GTR, but our immediate attention focuses on Gerald Wiegert who brought a new Vector Avtech prototype. With this WX-8, he hopes to separate supercars from hypercars. The final details have yet to be worked out, but figures such as 1850 bhp and 270 mph have been dropped.
On the complete opposite scale, Honda debuted the worlds first production fuel cell vehicle. Called the FCX Clarity, it will be leased much like GM'S EV1 - most likely due to the potential rising costs of maintenance.
Hyundai took a step in the right direction with the Concept Gensis Coupe. This 300 horsepower, RWD Coupe will likely set a benchmark for future models.
We finish with Saleen which might have made it to the show. Their new 302cu.in packages are the most powerful ever offered by the company. Hopefully before the week is over, we will have 'live' shots from the show floor.
Big Auction $, LA Show
8 Million for 1937 Mercedes-benz 540K
The biggest public sale of the year will likely be Bernie Ecclestone's Mercedes Benz 540K. His old car is one of the coveted Special Roadsters which is apparently worth 3 905 000 GPB or $8,096,755 USD-that's the equivalent of 25 Carrera GTs.
RM Auctions was responsible for overlooking the transaction at their London Automobile Auction. Along with it, they sold a huge portion of the Ecclestone Collection which had even more top flight Mercedes.
Other notable lots included a very original GT40 that sold for 968 000GBP and the gorgeous Nembo Spyder. This custom Ferrari is one of the few which can fetch top dollar despite having a non-factory body.
In just a few days the LA Auto Show will open its doors, so Porsche is making major stink about their hybrid Cayenne. To celebrate the event they will bring one of the few surviving Lohner-Porsches. This particular example is famous for being the first hybrid in the world.
Other cars to watch out for in LA will be Ford's near-badgeless Bullitt Mustang and the Dodge Viper ACR.
Rennsport
917 and 956/962 Racecars
If your are into Porsche then your are into the Rennsport Reunion. This triennial event celebrates everything to do with the marque and it was held for the third time last weekend at the Daytona Speedway in Florida.
Porsche's own support of Rennsport help to make it world class and this year they brought out 917s which won Lemans and the CanAm championship.
Among them was this 16-Cylinder prototype which has been little seen outside the factory, and never before in America. Built as a possible contender for the CanAm series, the 16 cylinder engine was never raced - only two engines were made which are now irreplaceable.
Everything, from the 5 classes of racing to the concours and scale model competition, can be found in this week's feature gallery. We thank both RPP as well as Alex Marks for these shots and wonder why everyone wasn't in Florida last weekend.
As a footnote, we also feature the Dodge Viper ACR which will be unveiled for the first time at the LA Auto Show. This 'American Club Racer' is lighter, provides more down force, better braking and better handling that the standard production model. With a price tag under $100 000 USD, it should make the competition pay attention.
Custom Supercars
2008 Kleeman GTK Concept
Shows like SEMA and the upcoming ESSEN motorshow are increasing the accessibility and popularity of customization.
Kleeman have embraced this philosophy for a long time, but have just recently offered details on their GTK Concept. Likely to be shown at Essen for the first time, this SLK-based showcar signals how far the company has come.
Maybach is also influenced by their rich history in custom-coachwork. Their new Landaulet Study is reminiscent of the drop-top designs which adorned their most celebrated chassis. Thus the new Landaulet is based off the flagship 62 S.
Resto-mod hotrods were a common theme at SEMA. This was evident in both Chevrolet's Coupe E85 and the SR 392 Roadster by Chrysler which were striking, powerful and paid close attention to detail.
We end with the Fisker's Four-Door Plug-In Hybrid. It is the first hybrid car to come from the custom car market and will make a debut at Detroit. Now who said the era of custom coachwork ended in the fifties? Oh yeah, here's the Mustang Bullit.
SEMA Part 1
2002 Lamborghini Murcielago
You would think 3.2 million square feet would be sufficient for any car show - but that's not enough for SEMA. Huge exhibitor numbers have forced the Las Vegas Convention Center to erect tents and fill every space in between the halls.
What this means is no one website or reporter could ever cover it all. Our best attempt has been this ongoing gallery which is now over 700 images strong.
During our rounds we ran into some exceptional supercars not previously reported on. First was this Concept 'Cuda sitting in Mopar's section. Its retro styling was a hit. Other impressive cars included Roush's 510 horsepower P51a Mustang and Jay Leno's Corvette C6RS.
Throughout the show, we ran into teams from Fast Lane Daily and Streetfire.net who relentlessly captured video from the floor. We encourage you to check out their fantastic coverage.
Once the show ends we plan to comprehensively review most of the production releases from SEMA.
