With the release of the first Dark Knight Rises trailer, it seemed appropriate to commemorate the occasion by showing you Batman’s original cinematic vehicle. Of course, this one has been pumped up to turbocharged levels.
Yes, we’re talking about the original Batmobile that appeared in Tim Burton’s Batman movies; the very same one that inspired modern-day iterations of the Caped Crusader’s all-purpose vehicle. Only this time, it doesn’t come with a prop engine like so many others. This one comes with something pretty bad ass: a turboshaft turbine engine that was sourced from a naval drone helicopter and produces an output of 385 horsepower. Pretty impressive, right?
The work comes courtesy of Casey Putsch and Putsch Racing. And in addition to adding a legitimate turbo engine, the team also dressed up the interior from its spartan-like set-up to something a little more appropriate for a car of this stature, including an Apple iPad set-up right in the middle of the car’s center console.
Needless to say, this Batmobile doesn’t come with all the heavy artillery that the Caped Crusader used Gotham City. Lack of firepower notwithstanding, the tuned-up engine still makes it one of the most formidable Batmobiles we’ve seen patrolling the streets of the world.
It was only a matter of time before the blue-jeaned wonder that is Jay Leno would get the chance to drive the fastest production car on the planet. Frankly, we’re surprised it took him so long to get a Bugatti Veyron Super Sport into his famous garage, but considering this is a special Veyron, donned in an exposed blue carbon fiber, it was probably worth the wait. For Leno, of course.
Short reminder: The Bugatti Veyron Super Sport is powered by a 16-cylinder engine with four enlarged turbochargers and bigger intercoolers that have been used to boost the power to a total of 1200 HP. Just after its official launch, the car was entered into the Guinness Book of Records with an average top speed of 431 km/h (267 mph), making it the fastest car in the world.
Make sure you check out the video to see what Leno thinks of the Bugatti Veyron SuperSport. Pay special attention to the end, where Leno drives the vehicle to determine if it is really worth the crazy price tag it comes with.
Star Wars is one of those movie franchises that draw a following that lasts for generations and quite frankly, we don’t think that its popularity will wane anytime soon.
Some people are just fanatics about the movie, so much so that they try to incorporate their fanaticism into their real lives, say like the owner of this Lamborghini Gallardo LP640. It’s not the 2012 Volkswagen Passat that Li’l Darth Vader started with the Force, but its theme sure does make you question just how big of a fan the owner is. Removingthe original paint finish for the vehicle, the owner had it wrapped in a vinyl that incorporates elements from, you guessed it, Star Wars.
There’s a Jedi Order crest on the passenger side door with a corresponding Galactic Empire on the other side. The overall look of the car resembles a carrier ship with matching machine guns to add to the bad-assery. Then there’s our favorite robot, R2D2, on the roof, which should make for a great companion on the car - if he was real.
Other details you’ll notice include plenty of machine gun details all over the car, as well as an inscription on the side of the door that says: "Co-pilot: Golden Puss."
We can tell that there has been a lot of work done to make this Gallardo look like Han Solo’s supercar. It’s also worth noting that despite all the Star Wars references, the owner was smart enough to leave the engine alone. We don’t know how it can run on Star Wars technology, but we’re perfectly happy seeing the Gallardo’s 6.5-liter V12 engine that produces 640 horsepower and 486 lb/ft of torque under its hood.
BMW’s M division has always been known for consistently pushing the envelope in performance and engineering. For example, the E30 M3 had a ferocious 192 horsepower inline-4 that had thrust comparable to a Jupiter missile and could still go around a corner properly. The next generation E36 M3 was powered by a brand new six cylinder engine with 240 horsepower. M’s desire to be the automotive equivalent of Magellan didn’t start or end with the M3 - the e60 M5 set the bar high with its revolutionary V10 which revved to over 7000 rpm! - but BMW keeps excelling at taking the sports car to the next level.
Proof of this comes in the latest details for the future M3. According to AutoExpress, the new M3 (due out in 2014) will revert back to a six cylinder motor as opposed to the current V8. But just because it has lost two cylinders to the relentless push for greater fuel economy, don’t think that the innovation has stopped. The newest engineering masterpiece from BMW is the tri-turbo engine. That’s right, an engine with three turbos. How does this work? Well, the first two will be rather conventional since they will run off exhaust gasses, but the third will be an electric turbo. This new engine will reportedly push out around 450 horsepower and, in addition to this inventive engine, AutoExpress reports that BMW will add more carbon fiber parts to help lower the weight.
If this M3 does come into production, BMW will set an engineering benchmark that few can hope to surpass and a performance threshold that will set them atop the heap.
The open-top sports car segment has seen a lot of pretenders recently, cars that attempt to hang with the big boys only to be reminded that it takes another level of power and fast to be able to belong in elite group of open top sports cars. While other brands have had a problem designating which car belongs in what group, Lamborghini has had no problem doing so.
The Sant’Agata Bolognese-based automaker has finally released their latest exotic, the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Spyder Performante. Based on the Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder, the Gallardo Spyder Performante is what happens when Lamborghini engineers go the extra mile in further reducing the weight of an already lightweight supercar. While some may shun at the attempt, thinking that chopping off more weight would be next to impossible, the folks at Lamborghini set out to prove the naysayers wrong, reducing the car’s weight by 143 lbs, leaving it with a dry weight of just 3,274 lbs, which, in case you’re keeping score, makes this the lightest Lamborghini to be released in the open-top sports car segment.
This is the Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Spyder Performante.
UPDATE 07/11/2011: In the latest episode of Fifth Gear, the team wasted no time testing the latest Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante, a car that has been built as a response to models like the Ferrari 458 Italia and the McLaren MP4-12C. In this video, Tiff Needell drives the car around the south of France and lets us know what he thinks about the supercar, as well as how it fares against its competitors. Check out the video after the jump!
Details on the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 570-4 Spyder Performante after the jump.
