It’s not every day that AutoGuide launches a new weekly feature. Today, however, is not just any day; it’s first installment of an interactive segment we call ‘Commute, Toy or Destroy’.
Few car companies are committed to all-out performance quite like McLaren. The boutique British brand is probably best known for its outrageous F1 supercar that set speed records in the 1990s. But the company is far from a one-hit wonder. Over the last decade and a half they’ve been active in racing, worked with other automakers like Mercedes-Benz to deliver some awe-inspiring vehicles and have even developed a successor to the F1 – the elegant looking but awkwardly named MP4-12C.
SEE ALSO: 2013 Geneva Motor Show Coverage
Pushing into the future, McLaren is set to reveal a new supercar at the Geneva Motor Show in just a few days, and believe it or not the P1 as it’s known is actually a hybrid. But don’t worry; it’ll still deliver absolutely crushing performance. Here are the Top 10 things you must know about this exciting new McLaren before it takes the stage next week.
Nissan just cut ties with the DeltaWing race car project, which was never Nissan’s despite the car wearing its logo.
The 2014 BMW Gran Coupe just made its world premier during the 2013 Detroit Auto Show and AutoGuide.com spent a few minutes taking a closer look.
Mercedes-Benz chose the hallowed ground of the Detroit Auto Show to unveil its redesigned 2014 E-Class, which is the brand’s second-most-popular nameplate in the U.S. The lineup includes sedan, wagon, coupe and convertible models, but that’s not all! The high-powered AMG version also got reworked, and was just revealed in Motown.
Is it April Fools’ Day or late October? Allegedly the folks at Aston Martin have figured out how to cram a V12 into a Cygnet city car.
Underground Racing is notorious for building some of the world’s fastest and craziest twin-turbo exotics. Now they have the world’s first twin-turbo Lamborghini Aventador boasting over 1200-hp.
In the latest update of what has already been a two-year class action lawsuit against BMW, the law office carrying out the suit is insisting that victory is not enough.
The dispute, which centered around faulty high-pressure fuel pumps and waste gates in an estimated 200,000 BMWs with twin turbos, came to an unsuccessful settlement. BMW offered to pay between $50 and $400 or to offer up to $800 in BMW vouchers to each customer and to fix the defect free of charge, a paltry sum that failed to satisfy the Law Offices of Hovanes Margarian, which said the offer asks class members to waive their legal rights without being properly informed.
Instead Margarian is insisting on increasing the penalty paid out by BMW to $1.14 billion, a $72 million increase. The firm is also insisting that the case be reviewed and sub-divided so that affected parties in states with lemon laws call for significant if not total remuneration may enjoy the benefits those laws entail, as well as class members who qualify for larger compensation and those who qualify for smaller awards.
The objection to BMW’s offer is scheduled for March 16.
Click back to AutoGuide for ongoing coverage.
Flashy, fast or luxurious cars tend to be expensive. It should come as no surprise then that they’re also among the most expensive cars to insure.
This list, provided by Insure.com shows us the most expensive cars to insure. Whether they’re more likely to get into an accident because of their high-powered engines, more likely to be stolen, or they’re just expensive to make and maintain, these cars cost quite a lot to insure.
How can a hybrid cost so much to insure? When it’s aBMW 750Li Active Hybrid, which has a twin-turbo V8 and starts at $101,000 it’s easy to see why this big BMW lands in 10th place on the list.
Hennessey, the famous Texas tuner of Corvettes has just created the Frankenstein of Cadillacs. It’s called the V1000, and the 1000 stands for 1000-hp.
The twin-turbo CTS-V Coupe is fitted with a 427 cubic-inch LS V8 featuring upgraded internals like forged low compression pistons, forged steel connecting rods, forged steel crank and ARP main studs and head bolts. The Cadillac is also fitted with a set of dual ball bearing turbochargers packs compressed atmosphere into the combustion chambers, assissted by high-flow cylinder heads.
Additional goodies include 15-inch carbon ceramic brakes, a fortified transmission, lowered suspension and Hennessey’s CarbonAero widebody kit. The turbos will boost torque to 950 lb-ft of torque at 4,000 rpm. Hennessey has stated the V1000 can accelerate from 0-62 mph in 3.5 seconds, with a top speed of 230 mph. It will run an outrageously impressive quarter mile time of 10.9 at 136 mph.
Only 12 of these cars will be built and the lucky buyers will also receive a one day track experience with retired General Motors test driver supreme John Heinricy.
[Source: Autoblog]
First, the bad news; Mercedes-Benz is phasing out their awesome 6.2L naturally aspirated V8 in the CL63 and S63. The good news is that the replacement is a 5.5L twin turbo V8 engine making even more power – 536 horsepower and 590 lb-ft to be exact.
The S63 will start at $138,875 while the CL63 will retail for $151, 125, a funny notion considering you’re essentially just paying about $12,000 for two less doors. The new 5.5L engine sees a 20 percent improvement in mileage thanks to direct injection and start/stop technology.
Hit the jump to read the official press release
[Source: Mercedes-Benz]
Ford‘s 3.5L V6 Ecoboost engine, a twin-turbo 6-cylinder engine that will go into the upcoming F-150 pickup, will put out 365 horsepower and a whopping 420 lb-ft of torque at 2500 rpm.
The 3.5L V6 may lack the outright grunt of Ford’s 6.2L V8, 90 percent of the power is available from 1,750 to 5,000 rpm, while being able to tow 11,300 pounds or carrying a payload of 3,060 pounds.
While Ford says that the Ecoboost will offer class leading fuel economy, mpg figures haven’t been released yet. We’ll keep you posted when they’re finally made public.
Hit the jump to read the official press release
[Source: Ford]
We’re not quite sure what to make of this ‘coachbuilt’ Aston Martin Super Sport; especially its $9.6 million price tag. So what exactly does $9.6 million USD buy you? Read on!
This limited edition vehicle is apparently being built by Star Electric Cars based out of France. Until now Star Electric Cars was better known for making electric golf carts that resemble Hummers, Cadillacs and Bentleys. The exterior of the car is clearly Aston Martin-inspired, but we need to stress that this isn’t an Aston Martin at all. It’ll consist of plenty of lightweight carbon fiber bodywork and scissor doors. Inside the race-inspired vehicle receives Recaro seats, custom leather and Alcantara upholstery and carbon fiber trim. And for those that actually believe they’ll drive this thing more than a couple of times a year, there’s a built-in navigation system and iPod adapter.
And as for performance? Well for that price tag, we’d hope it would blow us away – and we guess it does. A 5.4L V- powerplant is mid-mounted, mated to a twin-turbo setup that helps put down an astonishing 800- to 950-hp. Clearly it’ll be rear wheel drive and will come with a six-speed manual transmission with an optional F1 paddle shift. We won’t even take a guess at what that option will cost.
Is this a new competitor to Pagani’s Zonda? We highly doubt it, since Zonda’s are the quintessential vehicles for a true driving experience. But hey, variety is the spice of life, no?
GALLERY: Coachbuilt Aston Martin
Back in 2006, Provo, UT resident Richard Lossee crashed his Ferrari Enzo at over 100 mph during a sanctioned road rally. Rather than let the car go to waste, he opted to re-build it. But with its prospective resale value shot, what could really be done with it? Richard, a.k.a. “Our Idol” decided to build a twin-turbo monster with the express purpose of assaulting the Bonneville Salt Flats. Skinny tires? Check. Parachute? Check. Lexan windows? Check. Aerodynamic nose-cone? Check.
At 11-12 lbs of boost, the Enzo is putting down 850 wheel horsepower, but the expected boost pressure will be raised to 18-19 lbs for the Bonneville Run, which should put it well into triple digits. Odds are, the original, 226 mph top speed will be absolutely decimated.
The kicker? The replacement body for Lossee’s Enzo was supplied by none other than Tifosi Extraordinaire Jim Glickenhaus. That’s right, this body was the original, unused Enzo body for the P 4/5. How cool is that?
[Source: Daily Derbi]
In March of 2009, we reported several exotics that broke the 200-mph barrier out in Florida. Underground Racing was one of those exotic tuners that were on hand including several of their twin-turbo Lamborghini Gallardos. A little over a year later, Underground Racing has surprised the world in a story that makes everyone just a little bit jealous.
Underground Racing has built a huge reputation of applying twin-turbo kits to many of the world’s fanciest exotics including Lamborghini’s Murciélago and Gallardo, Ferrari’s F430, Dodge’s Viper, Ford’s GT and Audi’s R8. Much of its goal is to break the 1,000-hp mark on certain applications, meanwhile being notorious for tackling the mile-straightaway at blistering speeds.
Earlier in March, they took a Lamborghini Gallardo Superlegerra, tossed on their trademark twin-turbo kit and proceeded to blast away at 250.1-mph at The Texas Mile after rigorous tuning and testing of turbo and suspension configurations. Your eyes do not deceive you, this exotic bull flew past the competition in attack mode while still enjoying air conditioning and the stereo blasting while waiting at the line. Owner and driver Richard Holt could never be happier.
Make sure to check out the video that just surfaced this week, sporting three different views, after the jump.
[Source: Underground Racing]
GALLERY: Underground Racing Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera
