Who is Tyler Witte? Just like you, we have never heard of the guy before watching this video. In short, he is a 25-year-old driver from Cincinnati, Ohio. “Okay, why is he featured on Top Speed” may be your next question. It’s because he is our kind of guy: he has an incredible passion for cars and most importantly, he developed the car of his dreams from the ground up.
His car is not the best car we’ve seen, as it’s just a Subaru Impreza that he "bought from a friend," but the fact that he invested tons of his own money into transforming that car into an amazing rally racer makes him a man cut from the TopSpeed cloth. Yeah, there are better cars out there that teams with millions of dollars have built, but to see a man without a silver spoon in his mouth pull this off is inspiring.
Everything he did on the car, he did by himself; from bending, cutting, notching and welding the roll cage to assembling the transmission’s guts.
You can see the results of his hard work by watching the above video that includes some fun obstacles and stunts at a private rally facility. We wish Mr. Witte the best of luck!
The Audi A1 is all set to get a much needed facelift for the 2014 model year, but that’s not all that will be happening with Audi at that time. According to a report from “sources within Audi,” the A1 facelift will also bring about the introduction of the S1 – a higher-performance variant of the compact hatch.
We expect this hot hatchback to come equipped with a 2.0-liter TSFI engine that is tuned to pump out 220 to 240 horsepower, but nothing is confirmed just yet. We also assume that the S1 will feature Audi’s famed quattro all-wheel-drive system. This would likely translate out to a 5-second run to 60 mph and a top speed nearing 155 mph.
Now it’s time for the bad news. Also reported by these supposed “insiders” is that the Audi RS1 is officially off the table. This 300-plus-horsepower hatchback is said to be a no go because officials think it would be too expensive to market in the compact hatchback realm. We can certainly see where this could be an issue with the Focus ST dominating the class at just over $20K, but there is definitely a market for a $30K-plus high-performance hatchback in our opinion. We’re willing to bet that the S1 will test the market and if it performs well, the RS1 will launch.
Oh boy, Fisker has been run through the ringer in the past year, or so, but Henrik Fisker remains optimistic that everything’s going to be all right. During the Chicago Auto Show, Mr. Fisker was heard saying that he anticipates the Karma’s production to restart “fairly soon” after its recent halt.
To recap the recent struggles: Fisker first had tons of cars destroyed by Hurricane Sandy; their insurance company denied the claim for said damaged vehicles; A123 – their battery supplier – went belly up; and the aforementioned temporary cessation of the Karma’s production. We’re not even going to get into the fire issues that marred the company’s image for a period of time.
With the approval of the sale of A123 to Wanxiang Group – a Chinese firm – one step in the restart process for the Karma is nearly complete. Fisker is still relying on an outside consultant to straighten out its business practices to save it a little cash and for an investor or strategic partner to bring in a little extra operating capital.
We are thoroughly convinced that the Karma is a quality luxury sedan, despite its earlier issues, so we are hoping that its production will restart without a hitch and that it will ultimately succeed. We’ll continue following the Karma saga and update you as more details emerge.
Today, Volkswagen has dropped a first teaser image of the seventh-generation Golf R concept. Volkswagen took the creative route with this teaser and, instead of showing an indistinguishable close up of some random part of the hot hatchback, it placed the concept in a virtual block of ice to disguise its features.
Even though this teaser reveals nearly nothing, you can still make out larger air intakes in the front bumper and the overall “R” persona. Under the hood, the new Golf R will get a 2.0-liter TFSI engine with an output in the range of 290 horsepower. The engine will be connected to a six-speed manual or a six-speed DSG and will send power to all four wheels via a Haldex all-wheel-drive system. Of course, top speed will be limited to only 155 mph, but we expect a little improvement on its 0 to 60 mph time.
Thawing will begin 14 days from now and the official unveiling will be made at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show.
Volvo unveiled the S60 Polestar Concept at the 2012 Los Angeles Auto Show and it caught everyone’s attention, thanks to its impressive 508-horsepower output and its announced top speed of more than 186 mph. So it’s no surprise that Jay Leno decided to review the concept.
In the latest episode of Jay Leno’s Garage, he had invited Hans Baathm, Managing Director at PoleStar Performance, who explains the idea and the technology behind the S60 Polestar Concept.
The S60 Polestar is powered by an inline six-cylinder engine that is tuned to deliver an un-Volvo-like 508 horsepower and 424 pound-feet of torque. With the extra 208 horsepower, the S60 Polestar will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.9 seconds and hit a top speed of 186 mph.
Watch the video to see if Jay Leno will take the S60 Polestar over the BMW M3.
So we’ve already seen the new Corvette Stingray and we have already given you our take on what we think the Corvette Stingray Convertible will offer, so what’s left? Well, we still have yet to see or hear anything about the Corvette Stingray Z06. As we told you before, we highly doubt that GM would simply skip the Z06 this year. Rather, it is holding this release as its “Ace in the hole.”
We honestly think we’re in for something big and we’ve released a rendering of what we think it’ll look like. As for styling, we’ll see the usual additions, including staggered wheels to allow for more meat on the back end, front lower-lip spoiler, a set of ground effects down the side and brake-cooling ducts just aft of the rear wheels. On top of that, we’re willing to bet that GM chooses to black out the silver strikethrough in front grille, giving the front end a sportier look and less of a Jan-Brady-headgear look.
All of the aesthetics are well and good, but what’s under that hood? To be perfectly honest, we really have no idea. GM could totally ruin our Corvette high by dropping the same old 7.0-liter V-8 with 505 horsepower on tap. Sure, that is still a stout engine, but the C7 generation is all about change, right?
We’re leaning toward seeing the long-rumored 5.5-liter V-8 engine with a touch of boost via a supercharger or a pair of turbochargers. We would expect to see somewhere in the neighborhood of 525 to 550 horsepower from this type of engine.
Delivering the power to the rear wheel – car gods forbid Chevy from slapping AWD on a `Vette – will likely be a retuned version of the six-speed automated manual transmission found in the base model. Given the 2012 Z06 hits 60 mph in 3.9 seconds, GM is likely shooting for the 3.5-second mark with the Z06.
For now, however, this is all speculation, and we’ll bring you more official info as it is released. Stay tuned!
Image Note: The above image is a TopSpeed rendering of the Corvette Stingray Z06, not an official image
The upcoming Mercedes C63 AMG sedan has been caught testing many times, but the prototypes were heavily camouflaged and it was pretty difficult to imagine how the real car will look.
Today, based on those spy shots and with design elements inspired by the new E63 AMG, we have created a rendering that will help you get a pretty good idea of the C63 AMG’s final look.
The AMG version will be distinguished by bigger brakes, wider fenders, and a front bumper with bigger air intakes and, of course, the AMG quad exhaust pipes.
The future C63 AMG will be powered by the same engine as the previously announced AMG models. This engine will deliver a total of 550 horsepower at 5,500 rpm and a peak torque of 531 pound-feet delivered between 1,750 and 5,250 rpm. The engine will be mated to an AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT seven-speed sports transmission and we expect to see the same high-performance 4MATIC all-wheel-drive system as seen in the previous AMG models.
When Shelby announced that they were bringing two models to the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, a lot of us already penciled in that one of those models would be a custom-tuned Ford Mustang. The other one, however, was still subject to speculation with the front runner being some sort of derivative for Ford’s mighty sports hatch, the Focus ST.
True enough, those who thought it was the Focus ST were proven right when Shelby unveiled the Shelby Focus ST, a "budget-minded" performance vehicle for those who can’t afford the bigger and meaner Shelby Mustang.
Limited to only 500 units, the Shelby Focus ST is, as its name suggests, a souped-up Ford Focus ST that comes with a plethora of aesthetic and performance upgrades that’ll turn your already awesome sports hatch into one that has the stamp of approval from Shelby themselves.
Is the Shelby Focus ST all that it’s hyped up to be? Find out if it is - or isn’t - after the jump.
Okay, folks, the C7 Corvette is out and we have all had a good chance to see what it is all about. With its launch, the Corvette takes yet another turn in its iconic lifetime. This makes two significant shifts in its lifespan in just two generations, as the C6 generation brought about the first time the Corvette donned fixed headlights since the C1 generation, and now the C7 generation is arguably the first time the Corvette actually looks the part of a supercar.
Regardless of how cool a car is – trust us, the Corvette Stingray is dang cool – they all have their peaks and valleys, and since the Corvette Stingray is so important, its highs and lows can be rather dramatic. Well, we are going to have a quick look at our favorite and least favorite parts of the C7 Corvette in a pair of Top-5 lists.
What would land on your Top-5 favorite and least favorite on the Corvette Stingray?
So, we have seen the 2014 Corvette Stingray in all of its glory and learned all about how freaking awesome it’s going to be. One thing that Chevy is still keeping under wraps is a higher-performance variant of the `Vette Stingray, sans the Z51 Performance Package. What we’re talking about is the Z06 variant.
We all know that GM isn’t going to roll out the most powerful standard Corvette ever without rolling out a Z06 model. The silence, however, is rather eerie. GM made not even a mention of this model in any of its press releases or at the official debut. We are optimistic that this silence means that big things are in store for the Z06 package.
There is still one previously rumored engine that was that was originally pegged as the new Corvette engine, and that is the 5.5-liter V-8 engine. Chances are that this, plus a supercharger, could be the eventual engine to grace the engine compartment of the Corvette Stingray Z06. This is, of course, just us thinking and hoping out loud.
We’ll keep a close eye on everything Corvette related to see if any new leaks come out regarding a potential Z06 model. For now we can only speculate…
