When Ferrari launches a new-generation sports car on the market, everyone is well aware that they should expect at least three versions: a coupe, a spyder, and a Scuderia. We’ve already had our fill of the Ferrari 458 Italia Coupe and Spyder, but this new rendering of a Scuderia model got us thinking. What should we expect from Ferrari’s most fiery version of this aging model?
If this rendering from Milanno ArtWorks is any indication as to the design of the Scuderia, then we can expect a much more aggressive design illustrated by the sharp edges of the bumper followed by the sharp edge design of the front lights. Since the Scuderia name is synonymous with weight reduction, expect a weight loss similar to that of the 430 Scuderia, which lost about 220 pounds compared to the standard model. This will be done with a mostly aluminum body, since Ferrari has already made it clear that it would stick to this material rather than using carbon fiber, like the competition.
Power for the newest Scuderia monster may come from a turbocharged V-8 that will push out anywhere from 590 to 700 horsepower. At one point, Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo said that a 458 Scuderia would not be produced because the 458 Italia was just so advanced, so if rumors are circulating that a Scuderia will follow, then we expect to see a power output that will blow our minds. The only problem is, we won’t see it until at least the end of 2013.
Update 5/21/2013: According to Car and Driver, the long-awaited 458 Scuderia could finally show its face in Frankfurt, rounding out the 458 family. Sources also told Car and Driver that the 458 Scuderia could be inspired by the 458 Challenge race cars, which run around the track with smaller waist lines than the standard 458 Italia.
As far as power goes, the direct-injected V-8 that will power the 458 Scuderia is expected to reach an output of about 600 horsepower, significantly more than the 562-horsepower output of the standard model. Tweaks to the engine, including recalibrated ECUs could be partly responsible for the performance spike. (Car and Driver)
Click past the jump to read about the Ferrari 458 Italia
The Porsche 911 started its run back in 1963 - and oh what a run it is -, but it wasn’t until 1999 that a GT3 version was offered up for our ravenous consumption. It came to complete the series of performance vehicles that started back in 1973 with the 911 RS, a model that was capable of sprinting from 0 to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds and to 100 mph in 13 seconds.
Why the short history lesson? Well, the new generation GT3 has just made its world debut at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show and would be nice to make a comparison between the things that were and the things to come.
The new GT3 is lighter and more powerful than the model it replaces, and it brings innovative features like the first active rear wheel steering in a production Porsche. There is a bad news too unfortunately: the new GT3 will only be offered with a PDK transmission - at least for now!
UPDATE 05/20/2013: Porsche has unveiled a new video further detailing the GT3’s technical highlights. Enjoy!
Hit the jump to read more about the next generation Porsche GT3.
The Gumball 3000 Rally is an event that brings some pretty interesting project cars out of the woodwork. This year, we’re already seeing a whole lot of them with the latest one coming from Nissan and French publishing house L’Ecurie and INTERSECTION Magazine.
The two will actually be part of the pan-European parade and for this trip, they decided to deck out a unique Nissan 370Z Nismo. In what could very well be an attempt to showcase the 370Z Nismo on the streets of Europe, the Japanese automaker and the French publication house entered the 370Z Nismo as "Car 56" for the parade as an ode to the garage number (56) the Nissan DeltaWing occupied at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
As far as aesthetics go, INTERSECTION Magazine gave it a pretty unique camouflage livery that it designed specifically for the event. That livery and all the added goodies Nismo added to the Z ensures that this special-edition model is different from the rest of the 370Zs out there.
Best watch out for this unique iteration of the Japanese sports car at the 2013 Gumball 3000 rally. It will be piloted by INTERSECTION Magazine contributors Patrice Meignan and Jeremy ‘Jey’ Taltaud.
Click past the jump to read about the Nissan 370Z Nismo
At the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, TECHART unveiled cool aerodynamic kit based on the diesel version of the new Porsche Cayenne S. The model displayed in Geneva featured a deep-black metallic paint combined with a black leather interior and a new set of wheels, sized 23 inches with light-green applications. However, each customer can opt from a wide selection of colors and materials.
The aerodynamic kit includes a three-part front spoiler with integrated air outlets for a better cooling, a new carbon-fiber aero hood with integrated double-sided air outlets, a new front apron and side skirts, a roof spoiler and a rear apron with integrated diffuser and two reflectors. TECHART is also offering a Lighting Package that includes twin headlights with LED or halogen lights.
When it comes to wheel choices, customers will have a wide selection to choose from: Formula 5-spoke light-alloy wheels ranging from 20 to 23 inches or Formula III 5-spoke forged light-alloy wheels sized 21 or 22 inches. The tuner is also offering a new sport exhaust system that will further improve the diesel engine’s sound.
For the interior, the tuner is offers high-quality materials, exotic woods or carbon and lots of individual colors.
Just months after unveiling the base kit, Porsche has added in an engine tune that includes the tuner’s TA 058/SD1 powerkit. When you press the “Sport” button in the center console, this powerkit bumps the Diesel S’s power by 38 horsepower to a full 420 ponies and 73 pound-feet of torque to 700 pound-feet. This helps drop the SUV’s 0-to-100 km/h (62 mph) time to 5.2 seconds – 0.5 seconds faster than the stock time – and increase top speed by 4 km /h (2.48 mph) to 256 km/h (159.07 mph).
Also added in is TECHART’s TECHTRONIC system that improves acceleration and driving dynamics without interfering with the standard control software.
Submit an inquiry to TECHART for pricing and delivery times.
UPDATE 5/12/2013: TECHART has released a new engine tune for the Cayenne Diesel S
Every year, German automaker Volkswagen goes to the Wörthersee festival in Reifnitz, Austria to show us a concept that blows us away.
It’s no different this year because after much hype and buzz, VW is ready to unleash the Design Vision GTI Concept.
In a word: wow.
In two words: production, please?
We can go on and on about what we think of the concept, but that space is provided after the jump. Here, it’s all about trying not to trip over ourselves in throwing as many superlatives as our brains can come up with.
In any case, Volkswagen designed the concept as a way to show us what the future of its GTI line could look like. It didn’t say that a production version of this car is on the horizon, which is a bummer, but if this does give us a hint of what we can expect for future GTI models, then Volkswagen did a masterful job of getting our attention.
Updated 05/10/2013: After the new Design Vision GTI Concept made its world debut at the Wörthersee meeting the other days, today it unveiled a first promo video that makes our imagination go wild: how will it be if VW will really create a GTI that can transform?
As promised, click past the jump to read more about the Volkswagen Design Vision GTI Concept
Volkswagen came to this year’s Wörthersee meeting with the Vision GTI Concept - a preview of a more powerful GTI. Next to it, Volkswagen, in collaboration with the junior talents from Wolfsburg and Osnabrück, developed a Golf GTI Cabrio Austria Special Edition.
The model is painted in an Oryx White combined with Flash Red stripes on the bonnet and the vehicle’s side. Also painted in red are the exterior mirrors and the brake calipers. The interior continues the same white and red scheme, but it has also been combined with black for an even more extreme look.
The model gets Recaro sports seats wrapped in black-red-white leather with red "Austria" logo embroidering. Volkswagen also offers a red-white decorative trim, and white GTI lettering on the doors. Red accents are also placed on the honeycomb mesh and air vent frames, the leather steering wheel, the DSG gearbox and the seat belts.
Additionally, the rear seats were removed to help make room for an 11-speaker, 2,250-watt stereo system.
The 2.0-liter engine was also tricked to deliver a total of 333 horsepower.
Click past the jump to read more about the standard Volkswagen Golf GTI.
It looks like Volkswagen was pretty busy this year developing its lineup for the annual Wörthersee Tour in Austria. Alongside a special Golf GTI variant set to finally be uncovered tomorrow when the show begins, the company will also unveil a concept version of the Amarok pickup truck.
Called R-Style, the concept features a pretty aggressive aerodynamic kit, with carbon-fiber front and rear aprons, side skirts, bespoke bumpers and a rear diffuser with dual pipes. Volkswagen has also decided to make the pickup look wider thanks to 60 mm (2.36-inch) wider fenders that hide the new 22-inch wheels painted in a gunmetal shade. The interior received sports seats, dashboard and door panels made of carbon fiber, and a sports steering wheel.
Under the hood, the Amarok features a 3.0-liter turbocharged V-6 diesel engine that delivers a total of 268 horsepower and a peak torque of 442 pound-feet. The engine is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission and sends the power to the all four wheels via a permanent all-wheel-drive system.
Click past the jump to read more about the standard Volkswagen Amarok.
The Qoros 3 made its debut at the Shanghai Motor Show. The sedan is a Chinese car that looks to crack the western market.
The new Qoros automotive brand is looking to go International with their cars. Chinese cars do not have a great sales history in Europe or the United States, but the new brand is trying to change all of that.
The first car that will be available for sale is the Qoros 3 Sedan. The compact sedan was designed with marketing to China and Europe in mind. Unlike other cars to have come out of China that have a reputation of being knockoffs, the new car has styling all its own. Beyond what looks like good styling, the company is promising to build a quality car. If the quality can match the styling of the car then Qoros could do for the Chinese car market what Honda did for the Japanese market.
Beyond the compact sedan that is close to production, a 3 hybrid hatchback concept was also presented in Shanghai. A 3 Estate concept was also unveiled at the show, which showed the direction that the young company wants to take their cars.
Hit the jump to read more details about the Qoros 3.
Automakers are known to come up with contests for their fans that are launched to get the latter more involved in the inner workings of the industry. We’ve seen it before and we’ll see it again.
This time around, it’s Chrysler that has taken that role, opening up a new online contest to encourage its fans to show their customized Chrysler vehicles.
To drive up the interest in the contest, which has been dubbed the Chrysler Custom Challenge, the automaker decided to roll out a number of prizes that are too cool to pass up, including attending the 2013 SEMA Auto Show with their customized Chryslers, as well as a trip to the 2014 NAIAS and a lease of a Chrysler vehicle.
That last part alone would’ve gotten us interested.
As far as entering the competition is concerned, interested participants are invited to visit Chrysler’s Facebook page and submit an image of their customized Chrysler brand vehicle to go with a brief description of the customizations.
All entries will then be subjected to public voting until July 1st at which time three finalists and ten runner-up winners will be selected by a combination of judges’ scores and public votes.
So if any of you have any Chrysler-modded vehicles in your garage, stand proud and show them off. Who knows, you might be rewarded with a trip to SEMA with your baby for your efforts.
Click past the jump to see some of the past Chrysler aftermarket programs that would make for good contenders in this contest
In the past few years Wörthersee expo-show brought us some of the coolest concepts from both Audi and Volkswagen. This year’s show seems to be no exception, as Audi has already announced the TT Ultra Quattro Concept and Volkswagen has just announced that it will unveil a hot concept that will preview a new Golf GTI.
Talking about the new concept, Volkswagen boss Dr Ulrich Hackenberg said that it won’t be as powerful as the Golf GTI W12 Concept we saw at the same show back in 2007, but it will be more realistic.
While he declined to offer any other details on the new concept, it is rumored that it will preview an extreme version of the GTI built to celebrate the model’s 40th anniversary, maybe called Edition 40 GTI? That name holds some water because when the model celebrated its 35th anniversary, VW unveiled the Golf GTI Edition 35.
If the new model will follow the tradition of the previous model; it will be carry about 25 to 30 more horsepower and will feature a more aggressive body language.
Click past the jump to read more about the Golf GTI W12 Concept.
