While the wait for the Mercedes SLS AMG roadster version continues on, Mercedes is making the wait a little more bearable by surprising us with another SLS AMG: the GT3 version. The sports car will compete in the 2011 racing season.
The SLS AMG GT3 features a new new front apron with a splitter, the bonnet with central cooling air vent, wider front and rear wings, sideskirts with cooling ducts for the rear brakes, a rear diffuser and the adjustable rear aerofoil.
The race car will be powered by the same 6.3-liter V8 engine, but has been tuned to deliver an impressive +600 hp, a pretty significant spike from the road-going version of the SLS AMG which comes with a "standard" 571 hp.
Also on the interior, the SLS AMG GT3 version will drop all of its luxury amenities, including the air conditioning, navigation and upholstery. Instead, the car’s interior will be stripped down to only include a steel rollover cage, a racing bucket seat with a six-point seat belt and HANS system.
UPDATE 09/22/2011: Tobias Moers, Member of the Board of Directors and Head of Vehicle Development for AMG has confirmed that the SLS GT3 would not be racing in the US market because the company did not want to go through the added expense of re-certifying it for use on US soil.
UPDATE 02/03/12: Mercedes is continuing its series on the SLS AMG GT3’s production with a new video on assembling the body of the car. Enjoy!
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Remember Porsche announced a few days ago it will bring a new mid-engined sports car in LA? Here it is! It is called Cayman R, and not CS as we expected; with R standing for responsive and refined, and of course racing. The name pays tribute to the first Porsche with the "R" designation, the 911 R of 1967. It will go on sale in February 2011, at a price of $66,300.
What makes the difference between a standard Cayman and the R version? First the engine. The Cayman R is powered by a tuned-up 3.4-liter six-cylinder engine that develops an impressive 330 HP. The the sprint from 0 to 60 mph, now made in 4.9 seconds (or 4,7 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono packages) and the top speed of 175 mph with manual gearbox, or 174 mph with PDK.
But that’s not all. With the new Cayman R, Porsche also focused on reducing the car’s weight. For that the company used only lightweight components and renounced to any convenience equipment. There is also a new set 19 inch light wheels. The result is a total weight of 2855 lb and a power-to-weight ration of 8.6 lb per horsepower.
Also for the exterior the Cayman R gets distinctive fixed rear spoiler, high-quality silver-painted wheels and numerous sporting highlights, black-framed headlights, black exterior mirrors and the "PORSCHE" lettering on the side – in contrasting black or silver, depending on the body color.
UPDATE 12/23/2011: It’s been a while since Porsche revealed any details on the spicy Cayman R, but they have now unveiled a new video in which Porsche’s Chief Driving Consultant Gordon Robertson explains the benefits of the Porsche Cayman’s layout as he explores the nuances of the car’s handling and balance. Hit the jump for the video!
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The legend is back! Lotus has unveiled today the new Esprit sports car. Described as the "ultimate Lotus," the new Esprit will go into production at the end of 2012, with first deliveries beginning in late 2013, early 2014. Lotus announced an estimated price of £110,000 ($175,000 at the current rates).
At the unveiling of the Evora S model in San Jose in June 2011, Lotus Cars USA PR boss, Kevin Smith, confirmed that the Esprit supercar would be getting Lotus’ in-house V8 engine and both a manual and a dual-clutch transmission. This V8 engine was originally said to deliver between 550 - 570 HP, but actually achieved 570 HP at around 9000rpm and 398 lb-ft of torque at a bit higher than 3000rpm. Lotus Chief Technical Officer, Wolf Zimmermann, says this engine can reach up to 630 HP at 9,400 rpm and 424 lb-ft of torque between 5,500 and 6,000rpm. The V8 weighs in at about 375 lbs, which is about 176 lbs lighter than the original 5.0L V8 Lotus was going to borrow from Lexus. It will be used for both the Esprit and, as confirmed by Smith, an even more exotic Elite.
"One has to be very careful when taking on the challenge of reinventing such an iconic classic as the Esprit – everyone has an opinion. There’s a fine balance between acknowledging the greatness of the past whilst at the same time rapidly leaping forward to the future and ensuring that this car not only does the name Esprit justice but also the Lotus brand. I think we’ve managed to find the balance and in doing so created a new icon, a car people will find hard to resist."
UPDATE 11/21/2011: Lotus officials has confirmed that the next generation Esprit will be powered by a 4.8 liter V8 engine. This new engine will deliver a total of 570 HP in standard version, but the company will be also offering a higher-tuned variant with an output of 620 HP. (Autoblog)
UPDATE 12/12/2011:New details about the future supercar revealed that the Esprit will, in fact, be offered in two versions. A base model will combine a 100 HP electric motor to a normally aspirated V8 engine and a more powerful version will drop the hybrid system and focus on weight-saving measures. (AutoCar)
Press release after the jump.
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Next to the Quattro concept, Audi has also unveiled at the Paris Auto Show the e-tron Spyder, a concept rumored to preview the future R4 sports car. But compared to the previous E-tron concept, this one is powered by a turbochargers 3,0 Liter TDI engine with an output of 300 HP, combined with two asynchronous electric motors with a total output of 88 HP. The result is a sprint from 0 to 60 mph in 4,4 seconds and a top speed limited to 155 mph. All this while delivering a fuel economy of 106.92 US mpg.
The E-tron Spyder measures 1.81 meters (5.94 ft) wide, just 4.06 meters (13.32 ft) long and only 1.11 meters (3.64 ft) in height. It features a wide central air inlet, single-frame grille, adaptive matrix beam headlight modules with three-dimensional clear glass covers carbon inserts in the front and side windows and of course 20-inch wheels.
The interior gets a large, display with integrated MMI functions and flanked by two round dials; racing-inspired lightweight bucket seats, contrasting colors and high-quality materials.
UPDATE 10/18/11: The Audi E-Tron Spyder was recently spotted at Mulholland Drive in California doing some test work. And today Audi has unveiled a new video showing the concept in action in Malibu. Also, we have added new photos of the car, which you can check out by heading to the gallery.
Press release after the jump.
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After showing the world what a CTS Coupe could look like, the next logical step for the Cadillac family was to add a factory tuned V-Series version of the new Coupe to the American luxury automaker’s range. The CTS-V Coupe will be the last version in the CTS lineup with no convertible model currently scheduled for production.
Just like the award winning Cadillac CTS-V, the Coupe is powered by an LSA 6.2 Liter supercharged Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 V8 that makes a maximum output of 556 HP and 551 lb-ft of torque and is mated to either a Tremec TR6060 six speed manual with a twin plate clutch to handle the extra horse power or a Hydra-Matic 6L90 six speed automatic complete with paddle shifters on the steering wheel that allow you to push button your way from 0 to 60 MPH in only 3.9 seconds.
The exterior of this sporty coupe features a modified front grill that essentially doubles the CTS’s air intake volume as well as a raised center section in the hood to provide room for the blower that eventually spits spent gasses out of a unique twin tipped center exit exhaust. However the CTS-V Coupe is capped off by the 19 inch cast aluminum alloys that are available in either painted or polished finishes and wrapped with a set of sticky Michelin Pilot Sport 2 performance tires, all housing a monstrous set of Brembo brake calipers. We just hope they have enough spare parts left over to make a couple CTS-V Sport Wagons.
Updated 01/13/10: Three new videos added, including the Detroit revealing and the presentation video. Check them out!
UPDATE 01/03/2011: Cadillac has just revealed two new commercials for the CTS-V Coupe featuring Lawrence Fishburne. The commercials are called "Red Blooded Luxury" and "Arrows" and both feature the same tagline: "We don’t just make luxury cars, we make Cadillacs." Check them out by clicking on the picture above.
UPDATE 08/29/11: According to Cadillac, the breadth of technology that was used on the CTS-V represents a significant breakthrough in the industry, especially their so-called "Magnetic Ride Control Technology." Exactly how much of an innovation is it? Apparently, enough to even make Ferrari borrow it. Check out the new Cadillac commercial explaining how it all happened.
Press release after the jump.
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