Things went pretty great for Aston Martin during this weekend: next to unveiling the CC100 Speedster, the company also obtained a record auction price for a unique DB4GT. The car was part of the Aston Martin Centenary Sale at Aston Martin Works on 18 May 2013, which totaled a record total of over £10 million (more than $15 million), with every lot sold.
The DB4GT was auctioned for an impressive amount of £3,249,500 (a little over $4,9 million) - the highest ever price paid for an Aston Martin at auction.
However, this is not a regular DB4GT: it is nicknamed "The Jet" and was the last DB4GT to be built. The model is a one-off edition and has been designed by the Italian design house Bertone. The model was unveiled at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show.
This unique DB4GT won a total of 12 awards, including first in class at Pebble Beach and the Hurlingham Club, and best in show at Villa d’Este.
Click past the jump to read more about the Aston Martin DB4GT.
If our love affair with the Ford Raptor isn’t quite clear, please allow us to let you know that we think it is one of the most bad-ass trucks ever built. It not only has a 6.2-liter V-8 engine with a mean 411 horsepower and 434 pound-feet of torque that gets it to 60 mph in 7.1 seconds, but it is also built to handle some of the meanest terrain you could imagine driving a street-legal truck on.
Well, we apparently aren’t the only ones that fell in love with it, as a one was displayed at the Cipate Police Equipment Exhibition in Beijing, China. And this is no normal Raptor, as Haiqiao Industry removed the bed and put a massive RV-like cab on the backside.
So, why would a police vehicle need a cab? Well, this particular model is designed for long-distance border patrol in China. Inside this massive cab is a bed, so the officer can take a much-needed break after a long shift; a cooking set, so the patrolling officer is properly fed; and a set of red seats for taking a load of comfortably.
This Raptor isn’t all comfort either, as it comes with the standard police equipment, including: search lights, a light bar and a speaker.
What makes this even more interesting is that the Raptor isn’t even available in China. Nope, Haiqiao gets them shipped in on the “grey market” from California and dresses them up for the government. It seems odd for a Government to purchase grey market vehicles, but so be it.
This particular model runs 1.3 million Chinese Yuan ($211,500) and only the Chinese government can purchase them for now, but the company is debating opening up to the civilian market.
Click past the jump to read about the 2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
The Geneva Motor Show is obviously a place where automakers converge to present their latest offerings to the auto world. But the event also serves as a venue for these same automakers to announce future plans for their respective brands.
One automaker that dropped quite the news at Geneva was Aston Martin. As part of the company’s 100th anniversary, Aston Martin chief, Ulrich Bez, told Autocar that the brand will be debuting a pair of V12 Vantage-based two-seat, open-top sports cars at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring in May.
One of these models has been dubbed the CC100. According to Bez, the CC100 will be part of Aston Martin’s 100th anniversary and will feature a Vantage-based styling that would also be heavily influenced by its own DBR1 race car.
Apparently, the CC100 will come with a dramatic look, too, particularly the absence of doors and a roof, thus exhibiting an entirely exposed cabin. Only two models of the limited edition supercar will be built, one of which will be used to celebrate Aston’s centenary with the other commemorating Stirling Moss’ iconic triumph during the 1959 Nürburgring 1000-kilometer race.
Technical details of the CC100 have yet to be revealed but Bez did say that the CC100 will be priced somewhere between the V12 Zagato and the brand’s crown jewel, the One-77., which gives it a wide range of £330,000 to £1.4 million (roughly $498,000 to $2.1 million at the current exchange rates) to play with.
Update 5/17/2013: Aston Martin has released a teaser video (above) for the CC100 - the CC100 is the yellow silhouette at the end of the video, Aston Martin even has an official web page that previews the official debut of the CC100 Concept, so be sure you check it on May 19th, 2013. Just click here: www.astonmartin.com/n24/reveal.
Stay tuned for more details.
click past the jump to read more about the car that inspired the CC100, the DBR1.
After being caught testing in many times, the revised BMW 5-Series lineup made its world debut today before being put on sale later in July. As no surprise, BMW is offering no major updates on the car’s exterior and look, but it did added a new model to the lineup: the 518d, plus a more powerful V-8 powertrain.
In terms of design the 5-Series sedan received different structured lower air intakes, a modified front apron and more sharply contoured taillights. For the first time the 5-Series is being offered with two new package: BMW Luxury Line and BMW Modern Line packages, both adding exclusive design and equipment features.
For the interior BMW is offering additional chrome trim, more room on the storage compartments, and of course new upholstery colors and interior trim elements.
Updated 05/19/2013: This review has been updated with the official details, images and specs.
Click past the jump to read more about the BMW 5-Series.
Along with the new 2014 BMW M5 Competition Package, the M6 is also going to receive a Competition Package for 2014. With the new package, the output for the BMW M6 will be increased from the current 560 horsepower to 575 ponies. Additionally, the speed limiter will be removed, allowing the coupe to hit a top speed of 189 mph.
The new Competition Package will also add new suspension that will lower the car’s ride by 10 mm (0.39 inches), a new M steering wheel, tailored MDM application, a set of exclusive 20-inch wheels and a new sport exhaust system with Black Chrome tailpipes. Thanks to the new package, the M6 will also receive a more direct steering ratio.
In fact, BMW’s decision to offer a new Competition Package for the M6 shouldn’t be such a big surprise for you considering Mercedes did the same with the unveiling of the 2014 CLS 63 AMG S-Model.
Expect the new BMW M6 with Competition Package to arrive later this summer.
Jaguar F-Type arrives in U.S. showrooms this month and, in order to promote the sports car the company launched a global advertising and marketing campaign called "Your Turn." It will include span across TV, cinema, print, digital, mobile and tablet, as well as experiential and social media. The first commercial aired a few days ago during the season finale of ABC’s ’Once Upon A Time’.
Jaguar is also offering you the possibility to test drive the new F-Type sports roadster, so if you want to be among the winners, go on Jaguar USA’s Facebook page and let them know why you should be one of the first to win a test drive in the all-new Jaguar F-Type!
Four winners will be selected based on their submission and the test drives will be held in different regions of the country: New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. The drives will be filmed and shared across Jaguar USA’s social channels.
BMW’s decision to offer a revision for the M5 is a little bit surprising for us, considering the new generation was just unveiled at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show. Still, it looks like the company wants to keep the M5 as fresh as all the other models in the 5 Series lineup, as it looks like revised version is just around the corner.
At least this is what the latest spy shots reveal. Our spy photographers caught this revised M5 parked at the Nürburgring while the test drivers watched tourists driving on the famed raceway. The presence of the mighty M5 at the `Ring likely means we’ll see it on the track for some extreme testing as early as tomorrow.
Just like in the standard version, the M5 is going to receive only minor revisions on the front and rear. BMW will add in updated headlights and a new kidney grille, a new rear bumper and new graphics for the taillights.
We expect the M5 to retain the 4.4-liter V-8 that is under the 20013 model’s hood. This means the revised sports sedan will carry with it 560 horsepower and 501 pound-feet of twist. This will launch the sedan to 60 mph in as little as 4.3 seconds. However, don’t be too shocked to see some mild tweaks to the powertrain, just to keep things fresh.
Expect the revised BMW M5 to arrive sometime in the fall of 2013.
Updated 05/13/2013: BMW.de "accidentally" placed a configurator for the revised version of the M5. It has been taken off, of course, but a vigilant person over at bimmertoday.de managed to take some shots of the revised M5 along with some more details on the sports sedan. As expected, changes include a redesigned kidney grille to go along with new headlights and taillights. The interior will get a new M Sport Steering Wheel and the new iDrive Touch. You can see the images in the Gallery.
Click past the jump to read more about the revised M5
Imagine the Lamborghini Aventador, Ferrari FF, Aston Martin One-77 and Chevrolet Camaro SS all in one place. No, we are not talking about the cars that would occupy our dream garage; we are just talking about the cars from the insane Dubai Police fleet. To make it even crazier, another supercar has just joined the lineup: the Bugatti Veyron.
So, let’s figure out how many horsepower the fleet now has at its disposal to catch bad guys. there’s 700 from the Aventador; 660 from the FF; 750 from the One-77; 426 from the Camaro SS; and 1,001 from the Veyron. That gives the Dubai police force a total of more than 3,500 horsepower! Hopefully it has a very large stable and a stacked bank account to go along with it.
The problem with the Veyron is that the police officers could be forced to end a chase early, considering the huge gasoline appetite the Veyron has.
We’re just wondering what’s next on the force’s list; can you guess?
Click past the jump to read more about the Bugatti Veyron.
Hot Wheels, the company that specializes on building miniature toy cars, has been regarded as a company that loves to think outside the box.
Whether its commissioning world-record stunts, or building tracks with double loops, the toy manufacturer has proven time and again that it can think of just about anything to promote and market itself to its demographic of choice.
This time, it’s done it again, except in a totally different way.
It made a movie - a 22-minute short film, to be exact - to find out the World’s Best Driver. In what can be best described as a novel approach in its goal, Hot Wheels commissioned different teams - aptly named Red Outrageous, Yellow Powerful, Blue High Tech and Green Superfast - to compete in a series of challenges at the Hot Wheels test facility in an undisclosed location.
We’re not going to keep you waiting any longer because the movie definitely warrants your time. Be advised, though, the kind of racing you see in it isn’t exactly the kind you’d want to do on any normal race track.
Just sayin’.
Click past the jump to watch more of Hot Wheels’ stunts over the years
The 2013 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S was unveiled with a series of updates that made it even better than the previous generation. Even so, when a tuner comes with some updates we can be nothing but happy.
German suspension expert, Eibach, is offering its Pro-Kit Performance Springs that lower the new 911 Carrera’s center of gravity, offers improved handling and gives it a more balanced appearance. With the new springs, the car’s ride was lower by 40 mm (1.57 inches), giving the Porsche a more aggressive stance.
The tuner is also offering a pro-spacer kit made from high-tensile-strength aluminum alloy that widens the car’s stance for added stability and a more aggressive appearance. These new wheel spacers also weigh significantly less than steel wheel spacers.
Eibach’s offerings for the 911 end there, but the new suspension kit may just be the perfect addition for the Carrera 4.
Click past the jump to read more about the standard Porsche 911 Carrera 4S.
