At one point in every automotive buff’s life, he has a dream about driving a supercar down a racetrack. Then he wakes up, looks out the window and his 1993 Metro is staring him in the face. Well, you can hop into that Metro, drive to New York and live your dream for $99. Yup, an exotic car rental company that typically rents Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Mercedes, and other high-end cars for thousands of dollars per day is allowing people to take these monsters around a racetrack.
Gotham Dream Cars has taken its Dream Car Sprint program to the New York Auto Show, which opened up to the public today. The Dream Car Sprint program typically charges $249 for three laps around their parking lot-based racetrack, but at the New York International Auto Show they have brought along a Ferrari F430 and a Lamborghini Gallardo], and have discounted the three-lap price to just $99 + tax.
The track is roughly one-mile long and you have to drag an instructor along with you. This pretty much means that you can’t really have any fun in these supercars, but just to be behind the wheel is enough to make us happy.
As the auto show progresses, the Gotham Dream cars might add other vehicles to this program, but for now we only know of the Ferrari and Lamborghini. So, if you are over 21, have a valid driver’s license and car insurance, plus a spare $105.93, you can hop in one of these and see just how far the push these cars until the ride-along instructor stops you. We bet one of us could end that drive in about 15 seconds…
Every year, the Tuning World Bodensee plays hosts to a tuning-club-scene exhibition. But more than just the aftermarket programs in attendance in Germany, the event is also notable for staging the annual Miss Tuning competition.
This year, 20 drop-dead gorgeous contestants vying for the title of Miss Tuning 2012 have been named finalists where they will move on to the official pageant event. Last year, 23-year old Mandy Lange beat out 17 other finalists to take home the crown as Miss Tuning 2011.
So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, although we think its mostly the latter that will enjoy this, we’ve compiled a photo gallery of some of the finalists that are in the running to succeed Mandy Lange as the 2012 winner of Tuning World Bodensee’s Miss Tuning pageant.
You can check out all the hotness in the photo gallery. Pick out your favorites too and let us know which of these gorgeous ladies are on the top of your list.
The anticipated reveal of the replacement for the Acura RL has finally made its debut at the 2012 New York International Auto Show. The all-new Acura RLX will make its production debut in early-2013, as a 2014 model year, giving Honda’s luxury lineup a head start for 2014.
We were all starting to wonder exactly what was in store for the RLX, since Acura announced its debut. Some of the questions that arose were around its power plant and whether or not this would simply be a restyled RL with an “X” on the end of its nameplate.
Acura answered all of those pertinent questions and then some at the auto show, as it pulled the sheet off of the new RLX and surprised everyone with a vehicle that bears little to no resemblance to its predecessor, something Honda Motor Company does not typically do. For the most part, Hondas tend to evolve rather slowly, with the exception of the latest Civic model, and rarely do we see big-time changes.
This all-new sedan is set to do battle with two newly redesigned imports, both of which debuted at the same auto show. On one side, you have the completely refreshed Toyota Avalon and on the other side, you have the redesigned Lexus ES 300h.
Can the RLX possibly fend off these two sister vehicles?
Hit the jump to find out.
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Just hours ago, we reported the somber news that the Porsche 911’s designer passed away, but this time we have some good news to pass along. This news continues to add to the legend that is F.A. Porsche, as his creation has been announced the 2012 World Performance Car.
The 911 S Coupe made it through a three-stage voting process, beating out some of the best vehicles in the world. In the final stage, the 911 faced off against two greats, the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 and the McLaren MP4-12C.
The WPC judges specifically pointed out that the 911 combines pleasant driving, raw performance, and even fuel efficiency. Let’s crunch the numbers here. The 911 S Coupe pushes out 385 horsepower and 310 pound-feet of torque from a 3.8-liter flat-6, while getting 18 mpg city and 25 mpg highway. The Lamborghini has a 700-horsepower, 509 foot-pound producing V-12 engine that squeaks out 11 mpg city and 17 mpg highway. The McLaren gets 15 mpg city and 22 mpg highway – close to the Porsche – and pumps 592 horsepower along with 443 pound-feet from its 3.8-liter V-8.
There are two other factors that would make us put the Porsche on top of the Lamborghini and McLaren. One is the fact that the Aventador is notoriously impossible to drive on even a freshly paved highway – yeah, it’s a little rough. The McLaren, on the other hand, has received some complaints that it tends to over-correct itself via its traction control system.
Add in the fact that the Porsche 911 S Coupe is only one-third of the Aventador’s price and just about half the price of McLaren, you have one impressive hunk of machinery there.
Hit the jump for the official press release.
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In November 2011, Volkswagen displayed a concept called the Passat Alltrack at the Tokyo Motor Show with no plans of it coming to the U.S. In the auto industry, things tend to change quickly, as now Volkswagen has decided to display a concept car bearing just the Alltrack name at the 2012 New York Auto Show.
At this point, the Alltrack is strictly considered to be a concept, but it wouldn’t be completely outlandish to see it hit the market here soon, especially given the fact that VW no longer offers a wagon model in the U.S. The closest to a wagon that VW offers is the Tiguan, a crossover SUV, and the Routan, a minivan.
The Alltrack is reported to arrive with a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel engine that cranks out a respectable 140 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque. Along with the TDI engine, the Alltrack will feature a six-speed, dual clutch automatic transmission and 4Motion AWD.
The Jetta Alltrack is a really good looking car, for a station wagon that is. The question that really arises is can a traditional station wagon not named “Volvo,” roam the streets of America anymore? Lately automakers are starting to move back into the wagon market, but most are “sport wagons,” including: Acura TSX Sport Wagon, Audi A3 Wagon, Cadillac CTS-V Wagon, and so on. Its most likely competition would be the BMW 3-Series Wagon and the upcoming Volvo V40.
The determining factor will be the response it gets at the auto show. If potential buyers start clamoring for it, you can expect VW to release it almost as quickly as they can produce them. We will continue to provide details on this potential new model, as VW releases them. One thing is for sure, we can all appreciate VW spelling “Track” the right way. Not “Trac,” “Trak,” “Trax,” or any other odd variation.
Make sure you are sitting down for this one… We all now know that Datsun is making a comeback in coming years, but Ford now plans to resurrect an old timer too. Ford just announced that the once maligned Merkur nameplate will return for the 2013 model year.
For those of you that are too young or just don’t remember it, there were two Merkur models built from 1985 through 1989: the XR4TI and Scorpio. The former was the maker’s coupe and the latter was the sedan. The XR4TI was actually a relatively fast car, bearing a 175-horsepower, 2.3-liter turbocharged engine. Unfortunately, Merkur failed due to terrible build quality which caused them to be on the side of the road more often than they were on the road – I know, I owned an ’86 XR4TI.
Ford has already procured a facility in Germany to manufacture these cars and they will not be rebadged versions of European Fords. The XR4TI will hit the market around Christmas time bearing the ECOboost 2.0-liter engine, which will pump out a massive 286 horsepower and 300 pound-feet of torque, after some minor upgrades that Ford is staying quiet on. It will be mated to a six-speed transmission and Ford is exploring the possibility of all-wheel drive, but nothing is in the works for it yet.
The Scorpio will follow a few months later, as it hits showrooms in early-2013, bearing a slightly less impressive 3.5-liter V-6 – the same engine that the base 2013 Taurus will have – that cranks out 288 horsepower.
Both vehicles are still in development, but Ford plans to unveil them at the New York Auto Show on April 5th. Ford also made it quite clear that its intentions with these vehicles are to compete with fellow German automakers BMW and Mercedes, so expect these models to bear very advanced features. Quite a lofty goal for a once failed car company.
Hit the Jump for the Press Release.
UPDATE 04/02/2012: In case you hadn’t realized it yet, April Fool’s!! This information is 100% false and was created for our amusement on this wonderful day!
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Mercedes-Benz is due to release likely one of the most impressive vehicles that it has in many years at the upcoming New York Auto Show. This 2013 SL65 AMG has been at the forefront of automotive news lately, so its details have been pretty well documented.
We all know that it will feature a 6.0-liter V-12 engine with twin turbochargers, which will pummel concrete with its hefty 621 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque. This impressive power plant will link to a seven-speed transmission, which Mercedes has dubbed the SpeedShift Plus. This drivetrain combination launches the SL65 AMG to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds. The SL65 AMG wouldn’t be complete without at least a little driver input and Mercedes solves this, from the looks of it on the video, by fitting the SL65 AMG with paddle shift controls on the steering wheel.
Just a few days ago, we released a video of the SL65 AMG cruising down a desert road and it turns out that was actually the filming for a complete teaser video, which Mercedes-Benz just officially released. By the looks of it, this is going to be one mean, nasty, yet sexy machine that would entice anyone with the means to lay out $300K to put one in his driveway. We know if we had the means to buy it, this impressive luxury machine would be in our driveways the day it’s released. We do know that its European release is coming in September 2012, but its U.S release is still uncertain.
Take a look at the video for yourself and see if you don’t suddenly find yourself looking at your budget and trying to see if you can squeeze the 2013 SL65 AMG into it.
The New York Auto Show is quickly approaching and details are still rolling in on vehicle reveals and concept showings. One concept that will be making an appearance in New York is an all-electric Infiniti vehicle, not to be confused with the hybrid ENERG-E (pictured above). Nissan Motor Co., Infiniti’s parent company, is holding its cards very close with this one, so the details are a little sketchy.
This new EV concept it is reportedly going to borrow the Nissan Leaf’s powertrain – including its 80 kW engine – but the Infiniti will likely sport a larger battery. Experts are claiming that this EV will be a ‘performance’ focused vehicle, despite the use of the Leaf’s drivetrain. To help add to the confused look on your face as you attempt to view the Leaf’s motor as anything near ‘performance,’ a sub-nine-second 0-to-60 time has been rumored – at least two seconds faster than the Leaf. How Infiniti plans to do that baffles even us.
Also rumored is that the Infiniti is going to feature high-end luxury items, as expected of a typical Infiniti. According to Nissan Motor Co., this new EV will borrow styling cues from both the G sedan and the JX crossover, which certainly adds up to a very stylish vehicle.
One thing is certain; Infiniti has slated an electric vehicle to be released in 2014. Whether it’ll be this EV or another future concept is still uncertain. As of now, this is all there is to share about this upcoming electric vehicle, but if more details roll out between now and the April 4th New York Auto Show, we will pass them on.
While we were polishing our photography skills at the 2012 Fort-Lauderdale Auto Show, we had our first contact with the new 2013 Subaru BRZ. The Subaru/Toyota love child exceeded our expectations in all aspects. At first glimpse it looks very low to the ground, which is a good thing considering both manufacturer wanted this vehicle to have the lowest center of gravity in this market segment, even lower than the Porsche Cayman. All exterior design elements such as headlights, tail lights, wings and bumper look very high quality and all body panel fit nice and tight. After waiting our turn behind a long line of enthusiasts, we jumped inside and again bulls eye. The seating position is sporty and low to the ground as we hoped. Knobs and other controls are made out of high quality material and you would not think the car will cost in the mid to high $20k.
The overall feel is very close to the mazda miata, a little tight but exactly what we needed to go to the track on the cheap.
Keep in mind the Subaru BRZ is the high end model and the Toyota GT86 or Scion FR-S will be a little cheaper.
We overheard that the production will be limited, sales pitch or not, and the delivery will take approximately 10 weeks, if you act fast. The convertible versionS should reach our shore in the fall of 2012.
Check out the video and the picture gallery but if you remotely want to buy one, you better hurry to place your order because it was definitely the star of the show. So many people wanted to sit in it, the Subaru people had to lock it up after only 2 hours of public display!
Every auto show needs more than just the fancy debuts and out-of-this-world concepts. Sure, those cars pretty much make up the entire essence of the event, but no auto show is complete without the presence of the lovely ladies.
Just like all the major auto events in the calendar, the female delegation at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show certainly didn’t disappoint. We certainly love how their presence in events like this can divert our attention from some of the finest pieces of metal that are on display to just look at and be smitten with these beautiful ladies.
Geneva offered a fine mix of gorgeous women that certainly caught our attention. It wasn’t enough to keep us away from the cars, but the eye candy definitely served as a nice compliment to all the cars that were on display.
And no, we didn’t get phone numbers, nor did we ask for them. We did take some photos, though, which you can check out in the gallery!
