Last year towards the end of the NASCAR season we had the opportunity to talk with three time Daytona 500 winner and South Florida native Bobby Allison about his life in the stock car circuit. One of his more memorable machines was a red and gold Coca-cola sponsored 1970 Dodge ChargerDaytona, that oddly enough never even turned a wheel in competition, recently went up for auction at the 2010 Mecum Auto Auctions in Kissimmee, FL.
What makes this car so special, aside from the over sized wing towering over the rear end that was designed to provide down force and stability at over 200 MPH on the high banks of super speedways like Talladega and the track the car was named after, Daytona. For the 1970 season, the man in charge of NASCAR, Bill France, handicapped the big winged race cars by limiting their displacement forcing racers to choose between sheer power and aerodynamic optimization. Never being one to back down from a challenge, Allison and car builder Mario Rossi decided to try their luck with a destroked version of the 426 Hemi that only displaced 305 cubic inches.
Any enthusiast knows that there is no replacement for displacement, but any engine builder will tell you that for every 0.1 Liters you lose, the motor gains about 2,000 RPM. While the new combination looked promising for the 1970 NASCAR season, Mr. France flexed his muscle once again and banned the car from competition, so the world was never able to see what a big winged high revving Hemi could have done on track. Unfortunately the one of a kind test mule didn’t sell at auction despite registering a high bid of $210,000.
With Toyota embroiled in the biggest crisis in company history, you’d figure that there’s no way to go but up for the embattled auto giant. Unfortunately, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Toyota’s problems are far from over.
After already recalling an estimated 8 million vehicles over sticky accelerator, a new problem has arisen from a number of Toyota units, forcing the Japanese-based automaker to recall about 437,000 more units of the Toyota Prius, the Lexus HS 250h, and the Toyota Sai.
What makes is worse for Toyota is that the recall of these units is completely different from the over 9 million vehicles that Toyota has previously recalled. While those cars suffered from sticky accelerators pedals, this latest batch consisting mostly of Prius and Lexus HS 250h models involve “inconsistent braking during slow and steady application of brakes on rough or slick road surfaces when the ABS is activated in an effort to maintain traction.”
It may sound a little too complicated at first but the bottom line is that these cars have a very serious braking problem, which could end up leading to fatal accidents down the road. While accidents stemming from this problem have been minimal, Toyota isn’t taking any more chances in making irreparable damage to its already hard-hit reputation.
We’ve gotten so tired of the continuous delays with regards to the release of Gran Turismo 5 that any other news regarding the highly-anticipated racing game is becoming a welcome relief for all of us. It should become clear to us that with all these delays, when the time comes that we finally get to play GT5, it better blow our socks off. Anything less would be a major disappointment.
That being said, we’re comforted in knowing that Sony is still hard at work in incorporating some pretty nifty features, one of which is the Data Logger Visualization. If you’ve never heard of DLV, it allows gamers to personally head out to a track, shoot an in-car video of their exploits, and then upload it to the PS3 where they can compare their real-world run to a virtual run in Gran Turismo 5.
If you’re having a hard time visualizing the whole process, this video featuring the developers from Polyphony Digital should give you a clearer understanding of what the DLV feature is all about. It’s a pretty cool feature to play around with and it shows just how remarkably realistic Gran Turismo 5 really is.
The fun loving youth oriented Japanese automaker Scion likes to release limited edition versions of their compact vehicles, like the Scion tC Release Series 6.0 that will be unveiled at the 2010 Chicago Auto Show. The special edition Scion tC features a vivid Speedway Blue paint scheme complete with a unique matte black vinyl graphic running the length of the car that features the RS 6.0 logo pasted to the rear quarter panel with the same blue motif continuing on the compact’s interior, dressing up the seat inserts and color matched accent stitching on the leather wrapped steering wheel.
Standard equipment for all 1100 Release Series 6.0 tC’s includes a 4.3 inch touch screen Navigation display, iPod/USB connectivity, 200 Watt sound system with HD Radio and individualized identification plaques mounted at the top of the center stack to let owners know that they are behind the wheel of something special. Prices for the tC Release Series 6.0 will start at $18,620 for a manual version and climb all the way up to $19,420 for an automatic equipped limited edition Speedway Blue Scion tC.
The French automaker Renault is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their popular compact Clio with two new special edition models, the Clio RS 20th and the Clio 20th. Both models are distinguished by bespoke 20th badging on the B pillars and a gloss black finish on the front bumper, side mirrors; meanwhile the high output Clio RS benefits from a special white and black two tone color scheme up front.
On the interior the special edition Clio gets anthracite gray air vents, specific ’20th’ badging on the front door sills, optional automatic climate control, cruise control with speed limiter and an 80W Radiosat-CD player with MP3 playback capabilities as well as Bluetooth wireless connectivity. Prices start at €14,350 for the standard anniversary edition of the Clio 20th and climbs all the way up to €24,700 for the Clio RS when it goes on sale in the French market.
The premium compact car builder Smart has added a new special edition version of the ForTwo called the Edition Greystyle. Specially designed for the spring to allow owners to enjoy the sun on their skin and the smell of fresh flowers after the long cold winter, it will be available in both coupe and cabrio variants and features an exclusive matte dark gray finish with bright yellow mirror caps to break up the monochromatic paint scheme that continues onto the six spoke alloys. The accent theme continues on the inside with trim pieces finished in gleaming yellow and matte chrome to highlight the leather wrapped surfaces like the seats and steering wheel, while the first are covered in top quality Nappa leather, just like on upscale Mercedes Benz models.
As far as power is concerned, the Smart Fortwo Edition Greystyle can be ordered with either a small displacement three cylinder with micro hybrid drive technology producing a total of 71 HP or a slightly more powerful 84 HP version. Adding a bit of speed and style to the traditional Smart car offering, the ForTwo Edition Greystyle will go on sale in the European market starting at €16,135.
With the world going green and the automotive marketplace folloing suit, the Los Angeles based car builder Velozzi has big plans for the future when they announced their intentions to market their first electric super car as well as an all electric crossover catering to upscale environmentally conscious clientele. "The first electric super car with a 65-kilowatt microturbine will be available in late 2010. The SOLO crossover, featuring a 30-kilowatt Capstone microturbine, will be available in 2011,...The selling price for both vehicles is to be determined," according to the automaker’s CEO, Roberto Velozzi.
Just because the Velozzi Supercar will be green, don’t count out its performance potential, powered by a AC induction electric motor that is charged by an on board Capstone C65 microturbine, the gas/electric super car power train combination is good for a total of 700 HP which will allow it to accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in just three seconds and reach a top speed of over 200 MPH, guaranteeing its place among super car competitors.
The Japanese luxury automaker Infiniti will bring a drop top version of the popular G37 coupe to market in 2010. The G37 Convertible is powered by a 3.7 Liter VQ V6 with Nissan’s Variable Valve Event and Lift (VVEL) to produce a maximum output of 325 HP. The G37 Convertible Sport with a six speed manual transmission includes sport tuned steering and larger sport brakes, along with a set of 19 inch aluminum alloys wrapped in W rated performance rubber.
The 2010 G37 Convertible comes complete with standard features like a RearView Monitor and safety features like available automatic rain sensing flat blade wipers, Pre-Crash Seat Belts and Intelligent Cruise Control with Preview Braking. The new G37 Convretible is already on sale and starts at $44,350 for the seven speed automatic version and goes up to $46,950 for the six speed sport version, allowing owners to enjoy the thrill of open air motoring in a premium Japanese sport coupe.
Hennessey Performance never seems to run out of cars that it modifies to become faster and even more powerful than its standard type. For this occasion, HP decided to feast on a 2011 Cadillac CTS-V, a car that is already powered by a Corvette ZR1 derivative 6-2-liter V8 engine, and try to make it even more powerful than it already is.
The result, as you can expect, is staggering. In tuning the CTS-V, Hennessey decided to add a few instruments to the coupe, including a cold air induction system, a smaller supercharger pulley, ling tube headers, a three-inch exhaust system, an improved intercooler, and a new engine management system, among others.
After finishing up on their new work of art, the completely souped-up CTS-V now throttles with up to 700 horsepower with 70 lb-ft of torque, giving it a more than impressive top speed of 211 mph and a 0-60mph time of 3.3 seconds.
Check out the video of the CTS-V doing some test work and see for yourself how Hennessey Performance was able to turn an already powerful coupe into something that can fluster even the most expensive of supercars.
The 2011 Kia Sorento made its North American debut at the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show. The new Sorento will be the first vehicle to roll off the new assembly line at Kia Motors’ state of the art manufacturing facility in West Point, Georgia and will start to arrive in dealer’s showrooms starting in January of 2010.
For 2011, the Sorento CUV will be offered with a choice of two power plants, the first is a 2.4 Liter four cylinder that delivers 175 HP and 169 lb-ft of torque while a more powerful 3.5 Liter V6 making 276 HP and 248 lb-ft of torque, both coupled to Kia’s new six speed automatic transmission that provide the driver with effortless shifts.
The new car will be both longer and roomier than the previous generation Sorento, with an overall length of 184.4 inches and overall width of 74.2 inches.
A first for Kia, the 2011 Sorento comes with a panoramic sunroof. While standard equipment includes an AM/FM/CD/MP3/SIRIUS Satellite Radio capabilities complete with three months of complimentary service. Your iPod can be hooked up via auxiliary and USB inputs and Bluetooth connectivity with steering wheel mounted voice activation controls that allow you to safely communicate with loved ones while driving down the road.
At the 2009 Los Angeles Auto Show Kia revealed the 2011 Sorento SUV. Now the Korean maker announced sales will begin in early next year, with prices starting from $19,995 for the entry level version which is powered by a 175-hp 2.4L 4-cylinder engine. Prices will go up to $27,195 for the top of the line V6 version.
Customers will be able to chose between three additional packages: Limited Package, priced at $2000 (navigation system with real-time traffic, Infinity sound system, 18-inch chrome wheels, interior accent lighting and high-style interior color theme), Premium Package priced at $1500 (roof-rails, leather-seats, heated front seats and a rear-view backup camera) and Third Row Package priced at $700.
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