If there’s one thing that being a car enthusiast has taught us, it’s that we should expect just about anything, even if that ‘something’ is as unlikely as Brittney Spears deciding to become a nun.
That being said, we rarely put a Ford Mustang and a Lamborghini Gallardo in the same sentence. It’s not that one doesn’t deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as the other, it’s just that they belong on two entirely different car segments, rendering any sort of comparison as moot.
While comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges, a man by the name of John Haugh from Cleveland, Ohio, decided that instead of racking his brains to figure out which is better, he just took both cars and made it into one.
At first glance, Haugh’s creation seems to have minimal to no trace of the Gallardo but according to Haugh, the Gallardo’s contribution to his creation lies underneath the hood in the form of the 5.0-liter V10 engine that produces up to 520 hp. In addition to that, Haugh’s “Tractorri” – that’s what he calls his brainchild – also comes with the Gallardo’s E-gear sequential automatic transmission and its all-wheel drive system. As far as the Mustang is concerned, well, isn’t it any more obvious.
In the event that you fancy yourself driving this car, Haugh has listed it up on Jameslist at a price that is available upon request.
Back in the early 1960’s Bill Ford wanted to go racing at Le Mans to settle a score with Enzo Ferrari after the Italian racer suddenly backed out of a deal where the FoMoCo would absorb the Scuderia, and with it all of their competition cars. Thus is the story if the legendary Ford GT-40, which eventually won the historic race twice around the clock four times in a row from 1966 to 1969, dethroning the Italian stallion and making names for driving greats like Dan Gurney, A.J. Foyt, Pedro Rodríguez and Jacky Ickx.
A modern day interpretation of the iconic Ford GT will once again represent the Blue Oval at 2010 running of the 24 hours of Le Mans thanks to the Matech Competition team. "This is great recognition for the whole team who have worked very hard on this Ford GT1 project. That our car has been considered for this 78th edition exceeds our wildest dreams. The 24 Hours of Le Mans are as much a legend as Ford’s adventure at Le Mans. Now we need to prove that both the team and the car are ready for the unique challenge that is Le Mans. We are equally pleased that our customer team, MarcVDS Racing, has also received an invitation to the race, and we look forward to providing them with our support as we do in the GT1 World Championship." While a four-peat may be difficult to do in the 21st century, the Matech Ford GT will definitely have history on its side when the green flag drops at the Circuit de la Sarthe this June.
The Mercedes Benz tuner Carlsson has unveiled the RS Design Package for the S Class luxury limousine, giving the full sized sedan a sportier look while allowing it to shine though above and beyond the competition. Offering their customers quite a bit of versatility, the Carlsson RS package is made up of high quality components consisting of lightweight carbon fiber or the more economical polyurethane as an option. The RS Design Package transforms the S Class into a sporty four door worthy of a gentleman, with a well toned body complete with bolder arches and a more aggressive exterior providing Mercedes Benz owners with the highest degree of exclusivity and uniqueness.
The German tuning firm that specializes in all things VW, JE Design, has just unveiled a new body kit for the compact Volkswagen Polo. The exterior upgrades consist of a bolder front spoiler complete with a carbon fiber front lip and LED driving lights, lower hanging side skirts with vents in the back and a carbon fiber rear diffuser that frames the stainless steel twin tip exhaust on the outside. While the interior features a host of leather wrapped items like the steering wheel, gear shifter and emergency brake boot while adding creature comforts like two stage seat warmers and quilted suede inserts as well as color matching accent stitching.
As far as performance is concerned, JE starts out by dropping the Polo by 35 mm with a set of sport springs, but tuning enthusaists looking for more versatility will be happy to know that they also offer a set of KW coilovers for the little Polo which allow the chassis to go up to 65 mm lower than standard. The JE Design Polo rolls around on a set of either 17 inch rims that measure seven inches across or a set of 18x7.5 inch wheels finished in shadow silver or matte black with a color matched lip to create one very unique Polo.
After 20,000 kilometers worth of testing, the crew at Pogea Racing has finally signed off on their latest customization program for the factory tuned turbocharged five cylinder, Quattro all wheel drive Audi TT-RS. The German tuning firm is offering a couple of different performance upgrades that take the 335 HP TT-RS up to a 367 HP and 383 lb-ft of torque starting point all the way up to an R8 super car rivaling 420 HP and 443 lb-ft of twist with everything from a simple engine computer reflash all the way up to entire larger diameter free flowing exhaust systems complete with sport catalytic converters, double flap mufflers to keep things quiet when not running flat out and if those aren’t enough for you, Pogea Racing is also offering performance turbochargers all starting at 1099.00 euros.
It’s not every day that you see an alcohol manufacturer getting involved with four wheeled projects. However the Australian brewery VB Raw has taken on a rather unique approach to tuning with designer, Paul Begg, by stripping a classic 1978 Porsche 911 down to bare sheet metal before rebuilding it into a one of a kind rolling masterpiece that they are calling the ’Rawsche’.
The Rawsche was rebuilt via a live webcam on vbraw.com.au at the end of 2009, and was recently given away to one lucky viewer who best displayed their allegiance to the Raw cause by throwing one heck of a kegger. Everything from the modern headlamps sourced from a 993 to the classic grill over the flat six from an old 356 is pure Porsche.
In today’s day and age of sophisticated car tuning, there aren’t a lot of tuners that can proudly say that they were able to turn a Hummer H2 into a high-tech, horse-drawn carriage.
For the record, Jeremy Dean prefers to be called an ‘artist’ rather than a ‘car tuner’. But whatever title he wants to take, there’s no denying the painstaking labor he and a group of his buddies went through to make this highly unusual ride.
For starters, Dean bought a second-hand H2 for a relatively cheap tag of $15,000. Then, he decided to use up all of his life savings to convert the H2 – which he describes as a ‘monument to America’s consumption, greed, and arrogance’ – into, of all things, a horse cart.
To fully understand the rationale behind Dean’s thinking, he explains that there will come a time when the world’s resources will all but dry up rendering all the extravagant and gas-guzzling vehicles roaming the world today useless - unless it is being pulled by a horse. To illustrate his point, he went ahead and converted the H2 into what can only be described as the glitziest and most glamorous horse-drawn cart in the history of the world.
Check out the video and watch how a full-fledged Hummer H2 ended up becoming a pretty razzle-dazzle of a horse cart.
Wald International are very well known for their tuning program for Lexus models. Their latest addition is a tuning customization program for Lexus LS460. The kit will be available starting March.
The appearance of the LS is much more aggressive, thanks to a very large set of rims called "isabel" and a dark exterior color.
You’re going to have to excuse those people who think that the sounds of revving engines are nothing more than just noise. It’s not their fault that they can’t appreciate what we consider as music to our ears. After all, musical taste is subjective and for us car enthusiasts, the sound of a roaring engine is enough to put us on a catatonic state of euphoria.
Take these two videos for example. The folks over at iCar decided to take two pretty powerful cars for a nice and friendly revving duel. On one video, we have a Heffner Performance-powered Ford GT and on the other corner...err...video...we have a Ferrari F430 Spider.
Check both videos out and see which machine gives you more goosebumps.
The Blue Oval is celebrating 40 years of their Rally Sport lineage with a special edition version of Europe’s hottest hatch, the Ford Focus RS. Known as the Focus RS WRC Edition, this special edition turbocharged sport compact will be limited to only 50 units and will only be sold in Switzerland.
The Focus RS WRC Edition will be powered by the same boosted inline five cylinder engine cranking out a total of 305 HP, with the only changes being made to the car’s exterior. As part of a design contest that took place in the neutral European nation, the winner saw their graphics package applied to a Frozen White Focus RS that rolls around on a set of OZ Superturismo GT wheels measuring 19 inches in diameter, while the interior of the limited edition rally inspired Focus gets autographed by the factory Ford driver and flying Finn Mikko Hirvonen as well as his co-driver Jarmo Lehtinen to complete the authentic World Rally Championship experience.