The Japanese market received yet another special edition from BMW: a 7 Series V12 Bi-Turbo. The model will be limited to only 52 units and can be ordered starting today (May 23rd) through the end of August. Customers will start receiving their cars in October 2013. Pricing for the special 7 Series V12 Bi-Turbo starts at ¥22,600,000 (about $223,000).
The model is powered by a 6.0-liter twin-turbo V-12 engine equipped with VANOS technology and features twin turbochargers, high-precision direct injection, and intake and exhaust variable valve timing. This engine delivers a total of 544 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque.
For the exterior, customer can choose between Silverstone II and Singapore Gray paints combined with dark chrome on the kidney grille and the exhaust pipes. The model is also equipped with an M aerodynamic package and will be offered with standard 21-inch alloy wheels in a V-spoke design.
On the inside, the only addition is a 16-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system that delivers 1,200 watts.
Click past the jump to read more about the BMW 7 Series.
Earlier this week, we brought you the first spy shots of a seven-seat version of the upcoming BMW 1 Series GT and today, the car was caught again, but this time it’s on public roads.
In the last images, we only caught profile shots of the seven-seat 1 Series GT, but this time our spy photographers managed to catch it from multiple angles. From these new angles, we can see - as far as the camouflage allows - that the seven-seat version will look nearly identical to the standard 1 Series GT version, except the longer rear doors, the overhang and upright rear.
The two versions will share the same BMW UKL1 platform and both will be offered with a front-wheel-drive setup. The engine lineup will include a new three-cylinder engine, a hybrid three-cylinder drivetrain and four-cylinder engine.
We expect the seven-seat 1 Series GT to arrive about a half-year after the standard version hits the market.
Click past the jump to read more about the BMW 1 Series GT with seating for seven.
The current lap record for a road-legal car around the famous Nürburgring track is held by the Radical SR8 LM with a time of 6:48. The record was established on August 19, 2009 with Michael Vergers behind the wheel. However, it looks like things might be changing.
When McLaren designed the new P1 supercar the company announced it focused on making the car racetrack fast and not a top-speed monster.
Well, an image that just surfaced on the internet (above) makes it look like McLaren has accomplished this goal, and then some. This image alludes to the fact that the P1 circled the ’Ring in just 6:33, which would make it the fastest street-legal car to perform said task. In fact, this result would make it even faster than the non-street-legal Zonda R, which lapped the same track in 6:47.
Until McLaren officially confirms this result, we’ll just have to hope it’s for real! We do have serious doubts on its legitimacy, however…
UPDATE 5/23/2013 @ 2:07 p.m.: Thanks to Jalopnik for digging up more info from McLaren on this topic. It turns out that this slide is an official one from McLaren, but it is not an official time. Rather, it is part of a "mood board" as inspiration to the design team. Engineers are working on getting the P1 around the `Ring under 7 minutes, though, so this still may be a reality some day.
Click past the jump to read more about the McLaren P1 and learn which are the fastest cars around Nürburgring.
This year’s Mille Miglia tour brought together more than 400 classic race and road cars of unique heritage, like a bunch of unique Mercedes classic cars. Alongside the Benz’s, were plenty of Jaguars, including: three C-Type models, three XK120s and five new F-Type sports roadsters. This video gives you the opportunity to watch all of them in action at the race.
The Jaguar XK120s were driven by three teams, which were made up of: Sir Chris Hoy and Andy Wallace; Daniel Day Lewis and Jim Gianopulos; and David Gandy and Yasmin Le Bon. Behind the wheel of the three C-Type models were: Jaguar Regional Director for Europe Bernard Kuhnt and actress Hannah Herzsprung; Alex Buncombe with Chris Harris; and Salvatore Ferragamo Jr. alongside Michael Quinn – the grandson of Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons.
Mille Miglia was also another opportunity to show off the new F-Type sports roadster and it looks like the Italian countryside was the perfect location to do so.
Back in January, Chrysler announced that the new-generation SRT Viper would not be offered in Europe. However, this doesn’t mean the European customers won’t be able to drive one! The problem is that they will need to opt for an unofficially imported Viper.
U.S. car specialist, GeigerCars, announced recently it will import the new Viper and will put it on sale at a price of €139,900 (around $180,500).
Yes, you read it right: that’s almost double an American customer has to pay for a standard Viper, which is priced at $97,395. We are not sure how many units GeigerCars will import, but there will certainly be plenty of Viper-hungry Europeans standing in line to pick one up.
After all, who would turn down the opportunity to be one of the few people in your region to own one of the best sports cars launched in the past year?
Click past the jump to read more about the SRT Viper.
Stick a fork in `em, because Fisker’s about as cooked as it can get. As much as it saddens us, we have to admit that the once promising brand is set to be sold or head into bankruptcy. So far, Fisker has two interested parties, per a report from Reuters, that are looking to buy it out.
The most aggressive team is headed up by Bob Lutz’s VL Automotive and China’s Wanxiang Group, as they reportedly put in a bid of $20 million for the spiraling company. $20 million may sound like a big number for a nearly bankrupt company, but it is a far cry from the $2.2 billion valuation given to Fisker in the spring of 2012.
Of course, no one involved in the process is confirming the report of this super-low bid, but folks close to the situation are claiming that it is true and that Fisker is considering the offer.
There is one other team that is interested in purchasing the company outright, but there aren’t any reports of them bidding. However, there are reports that a third investment group is interested in buying out DOE’s $171 million interest in the company, which came as a result of the loan Fisker received in its infancy that was later frozen.
This is all we have for now, but we’ll keep an eye out for more reports as time goes on.
Click past the jump to read more about VL Automotive’s interest in Fisker
If you’ve been visiting these pages for the past couple of years, you might remember Holger Schubert. If you have a hard time recalling the man, he was the one who decided to build a state-of-the-art garage in his Los Angeles home for his beloved Ferrari 512 BBi.
That was back in 2010. Recently, the boys over at Petrolicious were able to pay a visit to Schubert’s remarkable garage and see for themselves exactly what makes this supposedly simple room such a technological wonder.
We’re not going to spoil a whole lot of the details because the video above does a remarkable job of showing you the garage in all its glory. But to give you an idea, the whole setup comes with a ten-foot-long, fifteen-foot-high bridge that has a hydraulic ramp on one end installed where the 512 BBi can go in and about its business.
And if you’re thinking this was a project everyone can partake in, Schubert actually spent $1.5 million to build the entire thing.
Click past the jump to read about the Ferrari 512 BBi
The 2014 CTS Sedan has definitely grown on a lot of people. Actually, it’s become quite popular in the years that it’s been around, so much so that Cadillac has decided to send the first performance version of the new CTS, dubbed the CTS VSport, to the auction block.
The car will be donated by General Motors to the Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) Foundation where it will then be auctioned off at a Barrett-Jackson auction later this year.
The proceeds of the auction, which we expect to be quite significant for a CTS VSport, will then head to the foundation’s outreach programs.
GM and Cadillac decided to donate the car after its own senior VP for product development, Mary Barra, was bestowed with the prestigious Industry Leadership Award, becoming the first woman in the SAE’s history to be given such an honor.
Click past the jump to read about the Cadillac CTS VSport
Until Porsche finally decides to officially add the 918 Spyder to its lineup, we continue to look back and remember what a great car the Carrera GT was. Unveiled back in 2004, the supercar was limited to only 1,270 units and the guys over at Carlex Design had the chance to update unit No. 1,035.
If you have followed the automotive industry in the past few years, you know that Carlex Design is a tuner known for upgrading the interiors and this is exactly what it has done for the Carrera GT.
For the Carrera GT, Carlex paid close attention to the smallest details when restyling the supercar’s interior. It includes yellow-contrast-stitched black Carbon Optic leather combined with Alcantara. The yellow stitching also helps tie the inside to the outside, as it perfectly matches the yellow brake calipers.
The tuner also offers lots of luxury extras and add-ons, like the Alcantara floor mats in rhombus stitching; rearview mirror in Alcantara; and trunk lining decorated with a nice stitching.
Click past the jump to read more about the standard Porsche Carrera GT.
The British market received yet another special edition; this time it comes from the Italian automaker, Alfa Romeo, and it is called the Giulietta Collezione Limited Edition. The easiest way to distinguish it from the rest of the lineup is by its exclusive contrasting roof offered as a standard feature. The roof is painted matte Magnesio Grey on models donning a black body, whereas Alfa Red and Ghiaccio White models receive a black roof.
Along with the roof, Alfa Romeo offers special 17-inch titanium-finish alloy wheels, titanium-effect wing mirrors, darkened headlight surrounds and chrome door handles. For the interior, the Collezione Limited Edition adds black and red competizione cloth upholstery, and titanium-finish inserts on the doors, central console and dashboard.
The new Giulietta Collezione Edition can be ordered in four different engine configurations: 1.4 TB with 120 horsepower, 1.4 TB MultiAir with 170 horsepower, 1.6 JTDM-2 with 105 horsepower or 2.0 JTDM-2 with 140 horsepower.
On the British market, the model is priced at £18,265 (roughly $27,500 at the current exchange rates).
Click past the jump to read more about the standard Alfa Romeo Giulietta.
