A short while back the Japanese automaker Honda announced that they would be making a
Dog Friendly Element for fans of man’s four legged best friend, and it was on display at the Las Vegas convention Center amongst all the other Honda offerings. Knowing how much consumers are already spending on their pets, Honda modified a
2010 Honda Element transforming it into a pooch’s traveling palace. Starting at only $20,525 and just like the name suggests, this new Element is full of dog friendly features that are aimed at making everything from getting in and out of the Element, to riding in refreshed and relaxed comfort for that extra special furry member of the family.
The
Devon Motorworks GTX is the latest and greatest American made super car. So far we have seen the car debut at
Pebble Beach and even set a
lap record at Laguna Seca, however we still haven’t seen the new super car from racing driver Justin Bell. The Devon GTX is a pure driving machine; with an inherent beauty that comes from a simplistic and functional design. The GTX’s body features bold wheel arches that house some seriously wide rubber and steel while Devon’s first interior is filled with retro touches like the cueball looking shift knob that looks like it came right out of a classic muscle car. We think that Mr. Bell and his team of automotive craftsmen at Devon Motorworks are taking a step in the right direction with the GTX and will definitely be giving more exotic super cars from around the world a run for their money.
If you can remember just how excited we were just to get close to an official
Formula One race car wheel from Enkie, then you can imagine how tickled we were to be in the presence of a bona fide
F1 racing engine from the English racing engineers at Cosworth. However this isn’t just any old exotic high revving open wheel motor, the "CA" is a 2.4 Liter V8 that was introduced back in 2006 when the FIA mandated the switch from the more expensive ten cylinder power plants to an octet of pistons working in harmony on the Grand Prix circuit. This version of the 750 HP racing V8 was originally equipped on the Williams F1 machines and when it made its debut at the 2006 Bahrain GP and during qualifying spun to the tune of 20,000 RPM; a feat that still impresses to today. The F1 V8 wasn’t the only piece of machining art, Cosworth also had a massaged 4B11 from the
EVO X complete with cutaways to let us in on what the new turbocharged four cylinder from Mitsubishi looks like on the inside.
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Another four wheeled wonder that we encountered outside of the Las Vegas Convention Center was one time drag racer turned road course warrior Chris Rado’s time attack
Scion TC. While Mr. Rado is better known for his straight line accomplishments and a pair of sideburns that would even make Sir Jackie Stewart jealous, when he decided to give a go at turning the wheel in between the long stretches of tarmac in the Redline Time Attack racing series, he and his crew at World Racing put together this interesting little black and white Scion TC. Now the first thing that should strike you as odd about this sport compact from Japan is the extremely large front wing that has been mounted to the race ready TC’s hood and front bumper, while this isn’t the first attempt by man to manipulate every stream of air flowing around a moving body, it is one of the more memorable ones.
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The sights at SEMA expand well beyond the air conditioned exhibit halls of the Las Vegas Convention Center and manage to s----onto the sidewalks and driveways surrounding the enclosed building. One such example of automotive excellence that just didn’t quite make it indoors is this wide body Nissan 350Z. It only takes a quick glance to see what makes this Japanese sports car so special, and as you slowly make your way around the vehicle you can see the color shifting Kameleon paint in action as it changes from an aqua green to a deep purple depending on how the light is reflecting off the Z’s aftermarket bodywork and onto your optic receptors.
While this custom House of Kolor paint is more than enough to make any automobile stand out from the crowd, this 350Z’s owner went a step further with a winged wide body kit and a set of 20 inch Speed Star Rims to fill the now oversized wheel wells. Hidden away inside the multi spoke rollers is a big brake kit from Stoptech, which will come in handy, especially because of the Stillen supercharger bolted to the top of the VQ35.
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The
Mustang RTR-C is the second customized Mustang to come from the imagination of World Champion drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr. Much like the original
Mustang RTR that will come at a premium of almost $8,000 over the standard version and adds an aggressive exterior with a wide assortment of interior accessories. However the biggest difference between the regular RTR and this version is the healthy heap of lightweight wavy black stuff that went into the
Mustang’s construction. Everything from the roof to the HRE wheels are made out of carbon fiber and when you factor in the weight savings over stamped sheets of steel with the 550 HP supercharged V8 under the hood, the $135,000 asking price somehow doesn’t seem like that much for each of the 10 limited edition units that are going to be built.
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There were a bevy of
Chevrolet Camaros at the 2009 SEMA Show, however there was one particular pony car in the GM display that caught our eye, perhaps because of the lovely lady in the little black dress spread out on the black Camaro’s carbon fiber hood. Aside from the glamorous automotive accessory, the award winning Chevy makes the most of the lightweight wavy stuff for not only the hood, but for the trunk, fenders and ground effects as well. On the inside the front seat passengers sit snugly in a pair of carbon fiber backed racing buckets and get a little bit of visual variety thanks to the recovered door panels. Rounding out the modified black on black Camaro SS with a hint of carbon are a set of 20 inch BBS rims wrapped in sticky Hankook tires with a set of cross drilled Brembo big brakes hidden away inside. However the best part of this pony car is the Paxton supercharger under the hood, the only hint to the boosted V8 power plant is the oversized intercooler that smiles through the front bumper.
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Cadillac prepared the VSR Sports Rod Concept specifically for the 2009 SEMA Show and anyone who might have overlooked this retro hot rod really missed out. Just like any proper hot rod the VSR is powered by a roaring V8, in this case a 6.0 Liter GM version pumping out a total of 400 HP. The modern day street rod is a one off custom creation that combines meticulous metal work with hand laid carbon fiber to create a true 21st century stylish speed machine. At all four corners are custom oversized five spoke rims from Alcoa wrapped in sticky Toyo rubber. From any angle the exposed rollers give the VSR a unique appearance and when combined with the rear diffuser and laser cut Cadillac emblem give the Sports Rod Concept a look that is all its own.
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The
Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving is located in sunny Phoenix, Arizona; however the team has picked up shop and moved to Las Vegas last week to give visitor to the SEMA Show a chance to experience what a skilled professional can do behind the wheel of a proper sports car, in this case a Z51 Chevrolet Corvette. While the Bondurant instructors traditionally hone their skills at the Firebird International Raceway, the back lot at the Las Vegas Convention center was more than sufficient for the teachers to show their passengers the finer points of car control with maneuvers like the Scandinavian flick and tire squealing tail slides.
One sport compact that was well represented at the 2009 SEMA Show was the
Hyundai Genesis Coupe, and sitting pretty in the Rotora booth was this version from AQ Motorsports. This Genesis Coupe was wearing little more than a few well appointed upgrades to the body including a vented carbon fiber hood and trunk from Carbon Creations as well as a stylish ground effects package that incorporates a pronounced wind molded into the front bumper, a set of lower hanging side skirts and a rear diffuser. The AQ Motorsports Hyundai rides on a set of 19 inch forged rims from Rays Engineering with the obligatory Rotora big brake upgrade underneath.
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