RENNtech over the decades has become synonymous with serious, hardcore Mercedes-Benz performance. And in 2008, to show off their customization prowess and vision towards performance, RENNtech built a one-of-a-kind GLK350 Hybrid Pikes Peak Rally Car. The concept vehicle had won the 2008 SEMA Show Mercedes-Benz tuner build-off competition, and RENNtech is freshening up for 2011 and its ultimate retirement.

RENNtech made the announcement that the GLK350 will retire to a place of honor in Mercedes-Benz’s Classic Vehicle Museum in Irvine, CA. This isn’t the first RENNtech vehicle that has found its way in there, with their first being the E60 RS project car built for Jerry Seinfeld.

To bring it up to 2011 acceptable standards, RENNtech had the entire exterior of the vehicle rewrapped with 3M’s Commercial Graphics Division black carbon fiber that also features a subtle red pin striping. This was the perfect match to RENNtech’s aggressively revised exterior modifications.

Keep your eyes out at the GLK350 will be toured for its last year prior to taking its rightful spot in Mercedes-Benz’s Classic Vehicle Museum.

Official press release and video available after the break.

GALLERY: RENNtech GLK350 Hybrid Pikes Peak Rally Car

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Normally we have huge gripes about an awesome concept with poor execution, but this time we can’t bring ourselves to complain. OK, sure it’s not exactly at the top of our list of things to do – nor would we be the ones forking out the cash for it – but we can’t say it’s the most horrible idea in the world. Is it bad? Sure. Is it awful? Maybe. Is the finished product really that bad? Not really.

Starting with a 1999-2002 Mercury Cougar, some aspiring entrepreneur came up with a Bugatti Veyron kit car. It’s clearly a whole lot of fibreglass work to do the conversion, and at the end of the day you’re still missing all the performance the Veyron has to offer, and we’re not even getting into the interior amenities. But hey, if you’ve got $89,000 lying around and you live to fake the funk this kit car may be for you.

Or if you just live in some real rural area where no one would be the wiser, this may be the best investment you’ve ever done.

[Source: eBay via Autoblog]

GALLERY: Bugatti Veyron Kit Car

Wald International has continued their rapid development and release of Black Bison tuning packages with the Maserati Quattroporte being their latest subject. And while there aren’t any real significant surprises in terms of the body kit and wheels Wald International outfitted on the Maserati Quattroporte, we’re a little more excited at the fact that the Japanese tuner is focusing more on Italian offerings as well.

Like all the other Black Bison packages we’ve already visited before, the Quattroporte sports an all new front bumper, side skirts and rear bumper. In addition, the front bumper sports a carbon fiber front lip while the rear is also equipped with a carbon fiber diffuser. The trunk spoiler is a subtle lip that fits its new home quite nicely.

And no modified luxury sedan would be complete without a new exhaust system, suspension upgrades to lower the vehicle and a set of fitting wheels.

[Source: Wald International]

GALLERY: Wald International Black Bison Maserati Quattroporte

The Cadillac ATS is a crucial product for GM’s luxury division, a car aimed squarely at the BMW 3-Series, and Cadillac is hoping to come out with a full line of models to give buyers an alternative to the German compact luxury cars.

One noticeable difference will be among the convertibles, as the ATS will not offer a folding hardtop like the 3-Series, but a less expensive soft top. Also being discussed is a turbocharged V6 in place of the familiar GM 6.2L Supercharged V8. The V6 was originally developed jointly with Fiat for use in Alfa Romeo cars and would have to be re-oriented to be used with a rear-drive application.

[Source: Motor Trend]

The production version of the Chevrolet Cruze hatchback has broken cover ahead of its debut at the Geneva Auto Show, and interestingly has less cargo room than its sedan counterparty. While the Cruze sedan has 450 liters of cargo space, the hatchback has 50 fewer liters on account of the shorter rear overhang.

Nevertheless, 65 percent of vehicles sold in Europe are hatchbacks, and a Cruze hatch is a necessity to compete on the world stage. The same 1.6L and 1.8L gas engines and 2.0L turbodiesels wil be available, but there’s no word on whether the Cruze hatch will be available on this side of the pond.

[Source: Carscoop]

After the United States legislated mandatory pedestrian warning systems for hybrid and plug-in vehicles, Hyundai was forced to go back to the drawing board, and modify their Sonata Hybrid sedan to comply with the new legislation.

The Sonata Hybrid was originally equipped to give drivers the ability to turn off the “chirping” sound emitted at low speeds to let pedestrians know that a car was approaching (at low speeds, hybrid and electric vehicles are virtually silent), but with Congress legally mandating the systems, Hyundai had to make changes to the Sonata Hybrid, with the wiring harness, driver interface and owners manual all had to be changed to ensure compliance.

The first Sonata Hybrid was delivered in January, 2011, a couple weeks behind schedule.

[Source: Green Car Reports]

To celebrate its 10 year presence in Singapore, Lamborghini has unleashed a limited edition Gallardo exclusive to Singapore. Only 10 of the Gallardos are available, and apparently all of them already have new owners. Delivery of all 10 took place at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in Singapore with $15,000 of each Gallardo sold going to The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund, benefiting underprivileged students.

Available in white or black, the limited edition Gallardo is the result of a partnership between Lamborghini and its Singapore importer. The subtle giveaway is a pair of red stripes on each side of the Gallardo accented with a Merlion logo, which is a lion-headed fish created by the Singapore Tourism Board in 1964.

GALLERY: Special Edition Shanghai Lamborghini Gallardos

[Source: SGCarMart via Autoblog]

A natural transition for the B5 Bi-Turbo tuning program for the new BMW 5-Series, Alpina is now offering its upgrades to the touring (wagon) model as well. We suppose if you’re absolutely stuck having to commute in a wagon, there’s probably no better way to do it than with 500-hp and 516 lb-ft of torque out of a 4.4L V8 twin-turbocharged powerplant.

Getting the power to the ground is an eight-speed Sport Automatic transmission, allowing the wagon to hit 0-62 mph in a mere 4.7 seconds. The B5 BiTurbo Touring can also be outfitted with a set of 20-inch Alpina Classic wheels matched with Michelin Pilot Sport tires. The recommended wheel sizes are 20×8.5-inch in the front and 20×9.5-inch in the rear.

The B5 BiTurbo isn’t cheap though, with a starting MSRP of around $135,000. We’ll have to check it out at the Geneva Auto Show to determine if it’s worth its steep price tag.

GALLERY: Alpina BMW B5 BiTurbo Touring

There wouldn’t be much of a Geneva Motor Show if AC Schnitzer didn’t have a thing or two up its sleeves to announce. For this year’s show, we now know they’ll at least be debuting a new ACS 5 Sport S and 99d vehicles, based on the BMW 550i and Z4 respectively. With both priced at the same amount, approximately $205,785, it probably comes down to if you want a nice sports car or a sedan.

Not exactly falling in the category of cheap, let’s take a look at what you get for your money from AC Schnitzer. The ACS5 Sport S, based on the BMW 550i, has its performance enhanced to 540-hp and 553 lb-ft of torque. A limited slip differential upgrade also comes with the engine modifications. No more details are given on the ACS5 Sport S, but clearly AC Schnitzer will also outfit the vehicle’s exterior with its traditional body kit, trunk and roof spoiler, suspension modifications and a set of fashionable AC Schnitzer fashionable wheels.

The same probably goes with the 99d, based off of BMW’s Z4. For its performance, AC Schnitzer sent the unconventional route and based it off of BMW’s 320d Efficient Dynamics Edition powerplant. The result is 190-hp with 310 ft-lbs of torque. The aesthetics feature much flashier graphics than the 5-Series counterpart does and we’re better ACS has an announcement to make about having your sports car and being green.

Set to debut in Geneva, we’ll be on hand to bring you more on these cars with show coverage starting March 1st.

GALLERY: AC Schnitzer ACS5 Sport S and 99d

In a strange (and kind of funny) twist, the FBI and Justice department are being sued for crashing a $750,000 Ferrari F50. But how did they come in possession of a car like this? That’s were the story gets interesting.

Back in 2003 the Ferrari F50 had been reported stolen from a dealership in Pennsylvania, which was then paid out by Motors Insurance Corp., making the insurance company the new owner of the missing car. To everyone’s surprise, the car was actually recovered in August 2008 by the FBI, and they subsequently stored it to use to prosecute the thief.

Unfortunately, in May 2009, FBI Special Agent Frederick C. Kingston was transporting the pricey Italian exotic and crashed it into a tree and when Motors Insurance Corp. found out, they sent the FBI and Justice Department a bill for $750,000. The bill was rejected by the agencies – they claimed the damage happened while the car was being detained by the FBI in the course of an investigation. Another claim that was filed in September of 2010 was also rejected.

Trying to get a handle on the accident, the insurance company filed to receive information regarding the crash through the Freedom of Information Act. Unfortunately, it seems like the FBI really doesn’t want to pay for the car, because that request was denied (“federal exemptions” being given as the reason).

The insurance company did receive an email from Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Hamilton Thompson on the day of the crash, which stated that the FBI agent took the F50 for a “short ride” in which he lost control and “fishtailed and slid sideways” only seconds after leaving the warehouse.

Do you think the FBI has a responsibility to pay the $750,000 bill or should the insurance company just forget about ever seeing any kind of compensation for the Justice Department? Let us know in the comment section below.

[Source: The Detroit News]