There once was a time when the British cottage-car industry was flourishing and they made many unique and interesting cars like TVR, Marcos and Healey. However bad business planning, reliability woes and ever toughening safety and emission regulations have killed off many such niche-market car companies.

One of the few survivors is Ginetta. First started in 1958 by the Walklett brothers, the company is now owned by Lawrence Tomlinson, who in the last six years has been working on a full revision for the brand. First came the G40, which uses mechanical components taken from the Mazda MX-5, and now comes what you see here today, the new G60.

Those who follow the British motor industry might recognize this car as the Farbio GTS. Tomlinson bought the rights to produce that car under the Ginetta banner in 2010, and initially called it the F400.

However, the car has changed quite a bit over the last year, so hence it warrants a name change. It has new headlights and tail lights, revised cooling vents, and many new carbon-fiber bits on its body. Inside it sports a new dashboard, a new pedal box, and a new touch screen infotainment system. The biggest change however is found under the hatch. This is where you’ll find its new engine, a 3.7-liter, V6 taken from the Ford Mustang. In this application, this engine produces a respectable 310 hp and 288 lb/ft of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels through a six-speed gearbox, via an automatic torque biasing rear differential.

Launch this 1080 kg, mid-engined sports car properly, and you’ll sail past 60-mph from a standstill in 4.9 seconds, and onto a top speed of 165 mph.

Impressive performance then, and since it has no power steering, no ABS brakes, and no traction control, it will be a sportscar for purists who prefer doing the work themselves, rather than some computer.

It will also appeal to those who want something rare. Ginetta plans to produce only 50 examples of the G60 for its Global distribution network, so if you have one, chances of you running into another will be rare. At $105,000 it’s not cheap, but then exclusivity always has its price. Unfortunately, since the car is not crash test approved for North America, you won’t be able to buy one here. Such a shame.

The G60 will have its first public unveiling at the Silverstone circuit next week.

[Source: Pistonheads]

Another year, another auto show and another special edition exotic sports car is to be unveiled. At the 64th Frankfurt International Auto Show, Aston Martin is to introduce the Vantage 4.7 Special Edition.

This model, which features the firms V8 motor, produces 426-hp (6-hp more than usual). That power is sent to the rear-wheels via a six-speed manual or Sportshift automated manual gearbox.

This model, according to its maker, is capable of accelerating from 0-62 mph in just 4.9 seconds and onto a top speed of 180-mph.

From the exterior, there is not much difference. Apart from the silver grille surround, it looks just like any other V8 Vantage.

It is the same story inside, with changes limited to a gunmetal alloy instrument binnacle and graphite finish on the center console. However, this special edition model does come with such goodies such as satellite navigation and park distance control as standard.

This special edition is only on sale in Europe and for a very limited time. Orders will be taken from 13th September to 30th September only. The number made will depend on how many orders got taken in these 17-days. These special edition cars will be delivered by the end of this year.

[Source: GT Spirit]

It’s not outrageous enough! That’s apparently the line from Bugatti‘s CEO Wolfgang Durheimer in reference to the Galibier sedan. He says that the 800 horsepower four-door needs more power and even more interior space and luxury appointments in order to make it viable for production.

Considering how outlandish the current concept already is, it begs the question just how much further Bugatti can go with a four-door sedan based on its Veyron hyper car.

We’re likely to find out more in the coming months, since Bugatti management is expected to make a decision on the Galibier’s future later this year. The question is, what can we expect? Six turbos? Interior crystal chandeliers? For an elite few, the possibilities are endless.

[Source: Inside Line]

While some may accuse Porsche for having the most lazy designers who rather than invent something completely different, just softly modify their cars year after year, the same cannot be said of its e ngineers.

Its engineers are constantly trying to improve the cars dynamics, making it faster and handle better. Those in the market for the 911 GT3 R customer race car will see a host of new changes that will make it an even more competitive weekend racer.

First of all, the 2012 version benefits from more power. The 4.0-liter, flat-six will now produce 500-hp, that is 20-hp more than before. Customers now also get the steering-wheel mounted pedal-shifters for faster gear changes. This gearbox also features an automatic throttle blip for those perfect downshifts.

To help keep the car on the racing line, it also has traction control and racing spec ABS brakes. Softer anti-roll bars on the front axle help reduce understeer. This race car might just make you look like a better driver than you really are.

This new and improved race car will go on sale in November, 2011 with prices starting at $434,500. If you still plan on keeping your old 2010 or 2011 model GT3 R, no worries, for $61,500 you can buy an upgrade kit for your existing race car to turn it into the new racer.

Just remember, this latest upgrade is based on the outgoing 997 platform and not the new 991, so expect another new racing car from Porsche in about a years time.

Gallery: Porsche 911 GT3R

If Porsche and Ferrari are ever caught sitting in a tree, you can bet they would probably be arm wrestling each other rather than kissing.

Their rivalry has been non-stop for over 50-years now and its showing no signs of slowing down.

This week, Porsche’s CEO Mathhias Müller said he was “irritated” that his company does not have a direct rival for the 8-cylinder Ferrari’s. Sure the flat-six turbocharged motors can put up numbers to match anything from Maranello, but the luxury sportscar buyers seem to prefer larger displacement, naturally aspirated engines, and Porsche does not offer that at the moment.

But just because they don’t have one now, does not mean they won’t ever have them. It is no secret that Porsche is looking to develop a supercar that will be placed above the current 911-range. That means they want to butt heads with the 458 Italia.

Rumor has it that Porsche is developing a modular engine that can be configured to run either as a flat-four, flat-six or even a flat-eight cylinder unit.

This engine will make its way into their new supercar, which some are dubbing as the spiritual successor to the legendary 959 (above.) Unfortunately, no timeline has been announced.

[Source: Autocar]

If you are among those who feel that your upcoming McLaren MP4-12C is not special enough, then the new catalog from McLaren Special Operations would be of interest to you.

As part of this program, you can have your new supercar painted in any hue you want, and garnish it with add-ons like a gloss black roof, diamond cut wheels, MP4-12C branded carbon door sills, carbon steering wheel and plenty of other carbon bits to have your car stand out from the crowd.

McLaren launched this program at the recent Pebble Beach Concours event, where a Volcano Orange example was on display.

Paul Mackenzie, Programme Director at McLaren Automotive, with responsibility for McLaren Special Operations said: “It was a pleasure to meet some of the first 12C customers in North America at Pebble Beach.  For nearly twenty years we have been closely managing relationships with owners of the McLaren F1, and understanding their needs is a great foundation on which to launch a service that will now include 12C customers. McLaren Automotive already offers 12C customers extensive options to personalise their car.  However we recognise some owners have specific tastes and we have the knowledge and capability to design, engineer and produce almost anything a customer may desire for their 12C.”

Gallery: McLaren Special Operations

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The Williams Formula 1 team has a long and somewhat checkered history at the pinnacle of motor sports, and like some of its competitors, have delved into the business of sports cars. Williams was full at hand with the development of the Renault Clio Williams from the early to mid ’90s, and had even developed a concept van called the Renault Espace F1, which was a minivan with a Renault engine taken from an F1 race car.

While on the motor sport side, Williams is still doing business with Renault (with whom they have just signed on with again for the 2012 season), however it is also working with Jaguar on a very special road car.

The car in question is the C-X75 supercar that Jaguar has decided to put into production. This hybrid supercar will use kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) similar to the ones used in Formula 1 racers, and Williams is responsible for perfecting this technology for use in this super Jaguar.

Williams chairman Adam Parr wants to take thing even further, saying; “We would like to become the competition and sporting side of Jaguar.” In other words, Williams could become the AMG of Jaguar road cars.

Williams has been on hand with the C-X75 from the very beginning. Parr said; “When the C-X75 was first envisaged it was powered by two turbines manufactured by Bladed Jets, which is part owned by Jaguar owner Tata Motors. But we have concentrated on adopting a path that will make the C-X75 the cleanest and more environmentally friendly supercar of all time. “So at the moment we are concentrating on a downsized internal combustion engine combined with some pretty amazing kinetic energy recovery systems.”

This partnership could lead to this technology trickling down to more Jaguar road cars, and could also spawn the return of Jaguar in competitive racing.

Time will tell what more this partnership will bring. For now, expect to see the production C-X75 to hit the showrooms in about two-years time.

GALLERY: Jaguar C-X75

[Source: Autocar]

The $1.6-million Aston Martin One-77 is the fastest and the most powerful production car ever made by the luxury sportscar brand. With just 77 units planned to be produced (hence the name, One-77), it is also quite rare.

So imagine our surprise when we stumbled upon the website for Alain Class Motors, an exotic car dealership in Dubai, U.A.E., who has not one, but two brand new examples of the One-77.

The ad is not a hoax either. This is not some dealer using file photos from the manufacturer to lure people and collect deposits for the possibility of ordering the car. No, this dealer has both of these cars (and plenty of other exotic machinery) sitting in the showroom.

Have your pick from either the white example with the red interior, or the more James Bond-esque gun metal grey with a white interior. Both examples have just delivery miles on them.

The One-77 uses a 7.3-liter, V12 motor that produces 750-hp. Power is sent to the rear-wheels via a six-speed sequential gearbox with paddle shifters. It can cover the sprint from 0-60 mph in just 3.5 seconds and will keep going all the way to 225 mph.

So if you haven’t been hurt by the world’s financial meltdown and you don’t want to order and wait for your car to get built, these two can be had right away. We surely would, if only we could.

[Source: Alain Class Motors]

Some believe that if you are a true petrol-head, you have to have owned an Alfa Romeo at least once in your life. Taking a look at their history, its easy to see why. This Italian brand has produced some of the most gorgeous automotive designs ever, like the Montreal, GTV6 coupe and the 8C Competizione.

Now Alfa fans will soon have another model to lust after, the 4C. Previewed at the Geneva Motor Show in concept form, now it seems that Alfa Romeo will be unveiling a near production model at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show.

To start us drooling, Alfa Romeo has released a teaser picture of the new 4c. The head-on shot reveals that it’ll look very much like the concept version, which is no bad thing.

Mechanically, it will use a 1.75-liter, turbo-charged, four-cylinder motor that is capable of producing 230-hp. Since the car is expected to weight just over 1,900 lbs., it should be a rapid car.

European sales for the 4C are expected to start next near, although US-sales will like commence in 2013, along with a full range of other Alfa Romeos. We cant wait.

GALLERY: Alfa Romeo 4C Concept

It has been two-years since Bugatti pulled the covers off their Galibier super-sedan concept, and while they had made much noise about the concept when it was revealed, not much has been said about this car since.

With Veyron production coming to a close in the near future, speculation has been endless regarding Bugatti’s next move.

Apparently, Bugatti has been working secretly on the Galibier, and according to Wolfgang Dürheimer, the man in-charge of running both Bentley and Bugatti, the production version would hit the market sometime next year.

The Galibier is expected to use a detuned version of the Veyron’s W16 motor. Rumors suggest it’ll have 800-hp, which should be adequate to propel this luxury limo.

Bugatti hopes to produce between 1000 – 1500 Galibier’s, so it won’t be as rare as the Veyron, but don’t expect it to be any cheaper, as the starting price is said to be $1.45 million.

[Source: Autoblog]