While the U.S. version of the 2011 Ford Fiesta just made its debut in Los Angeles, aftermarket tuners have been getting their hands dirty customizing the new compact for quite some time now in order to make it to the show. It only makes sense that the first group to offer an upgrade package for the new party car is the blue oval’s in house tuner Ford Racing in cooperation with the Mustang tuners from Steeda Autosports.
First Ford Racing and Steeda wanted to uncork the little 1.6 Liter Ti-VCT four cylinder and let it breathe a little easier with a cold air intake from Steeda and a cat-back system that was made by Borla in cooperation with Ford Racing. In order to keep the Fiesta firmly planted at all four corners, Steeda and Ford Racing upgraded the factory suspension to give the compact track inspired handling. Hiding behind the Ford Racing multi spoke Euro wheels is one off Brembo big brake kit mounted front and rear to keep the driver in full control when tackling chicanes and tight hairpin turns. Ford Racing and Steeda Autosports have truly created a high performance hatchback using a few straightforward simple upgrades that when put together go a long way towards enhancing the Fiesta.
This has truly been a year of ups and downs for Dodge Viper fans. Starting off with the proposed liquidation of the brand and more recently setting the single lap record at Laguna Seca, but the ultimate blow for any Viper enthusiast is that 2010 will be the last year that Chrysler will produce the V10 powered American super car. However even if the Viper is coming to an end, Dodge decided to go out in style; and in doing so they have promised that 2010 will be the best year in Viper history.
Even if there will only be 500 units produced in 2010, Dodge has announced that there will be more special and limited edition models than ever in next year’s lineup. There will also be two new colors added to the Viper’s color chart including a sparkling Toxic Orange Pearl and a glossy Bright Silver Metallic paint options. The 2010 snake will also be available with a wider dual racing stripe pattern and more than 7,600 possible variations concerning appearance alone.
The 2010 Viper SRT10 will be powered by an enormous 8.4 Liter V10 power plant that produces 600 HP and 560 lb-ft of torque that rocket the engine with wheels from 0 to 60 MPH in less than 4 seconds, run the quarter mile in the mid 11 second range before hitting a top speed of 202 MPH. However showing that the Viper is an all around performance machine it can complete the coveted 0-100-0 MPH run in 11 seconds flat.
The now Indian owned Land Rover group will debut the new 2010 Range Rover Sport Autobiography Limited Edition at the Los Angels Auto Show, the go anywhere all terrain luxury vehicle will be a special edition model with only 250 units built, each priced at $88,545.
The special edition Range Rover is powered by a 5.0 Liter V8 that puts down 510 HP and 461 lb-ft of torque and is mated to a six speed automatic transmission. The exterior features color matched lower door panels, front and rear bumpers with titanium accents and a bold rear roof spoiler. The Range’s sporty look is accentuated by a Titan mesh grille as well as side vents and a set of 20 inch 10 spoke Diamond Turned alloy wheels. Fellow motorists will be able to tell exactly what it is you’re driving due to the distinctive Autobiography Sport badge mounted on the Rover’s tailgate.
On the inside, the Range Rover Sport Autobiography Limited Edition features a new two tone leather treatment, that is available in three color combinations and embroidered with the Autobiography Sport logo. The limited edition Land Rover also comes complete with rear seat entertainment system and HD radio as well as a few other creature comforts that are guaranteed to make any owner feel more than at home inside of the Range Rover Sport Autobiography.
The great American automaker Ford unveiled their latest attempt at turing the U.S. Market towards more compact value minded driving at the Los Angeles Auto Show when they unveiled the domestic version of the Fiesta. When it goes n sale next year, the 2011 Fiesta will be offered in both four and five door body styles with Ford expecting the stylish hatchback to be the big seller.
The 2011 Fiesta is characterized by Ford’s successful kinetic design consisting of a Blue Oval badge framed by a trapezoid grille, headlamps that stretch back into the fenders and accentuate the muscular hood, sculpted front fenders, low roofline and tapering body lines, rear spoiler and dramatic taillamps with honeycomb detailing.
For the U.S. market, the new Fiesta will be offered with a 1.6 Liter DOHC four cylinder engine that delivers an estimated 119 HP and 109 lb-ft of torque that is connected to either a five speed manual or Ford’s latest gas sipping six speed automatic transmission that allows the compact Fiesta to get as much as 40 MPG.
Prices will start at $13,995 for the four door Fiesta S sedan and goes all the way up to $17,795 for the five door Fiesta SES hatchback.
UPDATE 06/03/2010: Check out our review of the 2011 Ford Fiesta by clicking here!
Just yesterday we brought you the official details on the Japanese tuners Wald International and their latest member of the Black Bison lineup, the 2010 Mercedes Benz E Class. The unique body kit manufacturer was well represented at this year’s SEMA Show in Las Vegas with one such modified Mercedes as well as a Black Bison EditionNissan GT-R. The Black Bison kit is characterized by a large mouth front bumper complete with projector style driving lights underlined by a bold front lip and lots of carbon fiber. The fenders are always bulged out to accommodate additional rubber leading into bolder side skirts and finishing off with some aerodynamic aids out back. Although you may have never heard of the Japanese tuner before, once you see one in real life they are unforgettable.
Scion will reveal at the Los Angeles Auto Show the 2010 xB Release Series 7.0. Sales will begin in December 2009 at a price of $18,320 for the manual transmission version and $19,270 for the automatic one. A color-matched rear spoiler will be available at a price of $320. Scion will only build 2,000 units of this special edition.
The new xB RS 7.0 comes fitted with a four-piece DAMD body kit including front, rear lower lips along with side skirts and a TRD sport muffler on the center of DAMD rear lip.
On the interior the xB RS 7.0 will feature exclusive black fabric seats with color-tuned highlights, the RS logo and a leather-wrapped RAZO GT Formula Spec shift knob that delivers a sporty feel.
With green vehicles becoming quite the rage these days and Los Angeles being at the epicenter of trend setting environmentally friendly car consumers the 2009 L.A. Auto Show is the perfect place for the Capstone Turbine Corporation to unveil the CMT-380 which is a high performance hybrid electric super car powered in the more traditional sense by batteries that work in conjunction with an ultra low emission range extending micro turbine.
If the shape of the CMT-380 looks familiar, that is because it is. Based around a Factory Five Ford GT replica, the futuristic super car packages the very unconventional automotive power train in a classic American sports car chassis and is able to accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in just 3.9 seconds, reach a top speed of 150 MPH all with an unprecedented 500 mile range. The Capstone C30 micro turbine runs on either diesel or biodiesel and requires no exhaust treatments in order to meet the stringent CARB approval. The CMT-380 is able to run for up to 80 miles as a zero emission vehicle thanks to the lithium polymer battery cells before the 30 Kw turbine kicks in to recharge the batteries and give the CMT its incredible range. Just like traditional BEVs, the lithium ion units can be recharged at home or any public station.
Spike TV’s annual Video Game Awards is set to take place on December 12 and as you can expect, one of the most hotly-contested categories is that of the year’s best driving game.
After what we could imagine as months of deliberation and thousands of hours playing these games, Spike has whittled the contenders down to four games: Gran Turismo PSP, Forza 3, Need for Speed: Shift, and DiRT 2.
We have to admit that it’s a little tough to pick out a winner especially since we’ve spent an inordinate amount of time playing – and enjoying – all of these games so deciding on the best one is like choosing who your favorite kid is. Not easy, right?
Fortunately – or unfortunately, depending on your perspective – the notable absence of Gran Turismo 5 has made the inevitable choice a tad less difficult. But then again, we really wouldn’t know because GT5, for all of the hype and posturing, hasn’t been released yet.
At the end of the day, we’re going to have to come up with our own vote, but suffice to say, we probably wouldn’t cast it until a few hours before the deadline passes.
The boys from Bonurant had to share the back lot of the Las Vegas Convention Center with the blue oval because as part of Ford’s Fiesta Movement, visitors to the 2009 SEMA Show had a chance to wait in line to take the all new premium compact for a spin. The Fiesta Movement is a grassroots marketing campaign set forth by the American automaker to promote their new product that will be unveiled a week from now in Los Angeles. The movement has generated millions of hits on youtube and registered 60,000 hand raisers while Ford lets its agents speak freely about the not even released vehicle; these are a few things that have certainly made the Fiesta’s Brand Manager Sam De La Garza awful proud. However the little ride and drive that Ford set up is sure to have converted a few more Americans into small car fans.
Speaking of tire smoking drift cars and Porsches, another familiar face at the 2009 SEMA Show was Falken with a pair of very different blue and green high performance machines to show off what Team Falken is all about. It is nice to see that one manufacturer can be so successful in two completely different disciplines of motor sport.
Representing the world of drifting where goal is to get sideways, light up the tires and hope for an outstanding crowd reaction in a matter of corners was Formula D driver and recent Japanese export Vaughn Gittin Jr.’s competition drift car, a 2010 Ford Mustang with enough supercharged Detroit iron under the hood to go through a set of Falkens in a matter of minutes. On the other hand, the Falken Porsche that races in the American Le Mans Series is about getting as much grip as possible from the sticky Falken slicks, keeping wheel spin to a minimum and hoping not to get the crowd on its feet until the end of the lengthy endurance race. If they got excited any sooner, it would probably signal the end of the car’s day. However as different as the setup on each of these cars is, they are both able to excel at their particular brand of motor sport.
