The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes MP4-24 Formula One car wears a set of very special wheels from the Japanese rim manufacturer Enkei. By the very nature of the sport, components must be extremely lightweight and resilient in order to give the teams every competitive edge possible while standing up to spinning at 200 MPH and hitting FIA curbs at triple digit speeds. The wonderful thing about the SEMA show in Las Vegas is that you have a chance to get up close and personal with these types of items, as well as the wide assortment of their everyday offerings. As the Enkei representatives turned their backs, we took the opportunity to lift the wheel from its stand, and because of its size and shape considered playing a game of football with it. The wheel was so surprisingly light, and being significantly wider than it is tall makes for a rare sight to see. To get this kind of contact with a piece of a Formula One race car you would have to risk being shot in the paddock by a mechanic, however in SEMA up close and friendly atmosphere, anything goes.
Now that McLaren has revealed the MP4-12C supercar, its greatest competitor has also leaked on the internet, even if Mercedes announced the SLS AMG supercar will make its world debut tomorrow. Sales will begin in early 2010, with prices starting from €177,310.
The SLS AMG will be powered by a 6.3-liter V8 engine located front-mid that will develop 571 hp and up to 650 Nm of torque. The engine will be mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission, and will sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, while top speed will go up to 197 mph.
As previously reported the SLS AMG will feature an aluminum, double-wishbone suspension, and will have a 47/53 weight distribution, with a low center of gravity. It will be offered in either Alanite Grey, Alubeam Silver, Syvanite Grey, and a shade of red for the exterior colors, with leather and alcantara on the interior.
This is incredible video shows off a super car lineup that any automotive enthusiast would feel privilege to witness first hand, leading up to one of the most expensive sidewalk displays of all time. The list includes an Aston Martin, Ferrari 612, Ferrari 430, a trio of Mercedes SLR super cars, a Pagani Zonda, a Ferrari 360 and a gold Bentley Continental GT.
We recently found ourselves in the paddock at the Homestead Miami Speedway Speedjam, and like almost all racing events, there were plenty of high performance machines running laps on the track and there were some pretty high dollar exotics sitting in the infield. This particular quartet of super cars must have either been the property of a few of the Rolex Grand Am and IRL drivers or some other big ballers that were in attendance.
Well Bob Lutz laid down his V-Series Challenge and Cadillac seems to have retained their title of the world’s fastest sport sedan, with a little help from their friends of course. Owners of factory tuned fast four doors were invited to the Monticello Motor Club just outside of New York City and take on the CTS-V in a fast lap competition against the General Motors Vice Chairman, Bob Lutz, as well as a few seasoned racers and friends of GM like Brian Redman, Aaron Link and John Heinricy. Throwing a wrench into Cadillac’s plans was Skip Barber graduate Michael Cooper and his four door BMW M3, although the New York native is no professional, he did manage to finish right behind GM’s trio of road course ringers. Either way Cadillac did prove that the CTS-V can go fast, even with Bob Lutz behind the wheel, and everyone in attendance had more than they can seem to remember. In a time where consumers are more concerned with efficiency than outright lap times, it is nice to see that there are still automaker’s that are giving high performance driving enthusiasts exactly what they are asking for. Even more importantly, it shows that they still know how to have fun.
The skies opened up and the sun shone down upon us here at Top Speed recently when we received a call from our test car supplier letting us know that they had something special in store for this weekend. What showed up later on that afternoon was a Viper Red 2009 SRT-10, never before had any shade of red been so adequately named. This is was not our first time getting behind the wheel of the 8.4 Liter ten cylinder convertible, but there is just something about this shade of red that pops along and when combined with our car’s optional lightweight forged rims, showing off those bright red brake calipers, that makes this venomous vehicle something special.
Anyone familiar with the interior of a Dodge Viper will tell you just how minimalist the cockpit of these cars can be, with a few select white face gauges in front of the driver and a few auxiliary dials stacked just off to the side, even the an AM/FM/CD player radio is nothing to write home about. However creature comforts are not what this car is about, even though the interior does looks nicer than we remember, perhaps due to an improvement in materials. One thing that was very familiar was the smell of the V10, the radiating heat it emitted and the feel of that six speed manual shifter vibrating in your right hand, that is because Team Viper set out to make the most visceral performance machine ever built in the U.S.; and they have succeeded. Unfortunately Dodge needed their car back so our pleasant surprise was untimely cut short, but any time spent behind the wheel is well worth it.
With the increase in displacement to a full 8.4 Liters, the maximum output of the V10 has gone up to an even 600 HP and 560 lb-ft of torque. The 2009 SRT-10 can accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in just 3.5 seconds, run the standing quarter mile in 10.9 seconds @128 MPH and reach a top speed of 202 MPH; all while averaging and estimated 12 MPG in the city and a rather impressive 22 MPG when cruising at highway speeds. The only option that our 2009 Viper Red Dodge came with were a set of optional forged rims which brought the modern American muscle car’s rice tag up to $93,000; not too bad for the closest thing you can get to a 1968 Corvette.
While European drivers have been scooting around in the latest generation Volkswagen Golf GTI for a while, we here in the U.S. will have to wait until next year to drive the sleeker sixth generation hot hatch with its slick 17 inch rims and swept back headlamps. The 2010 VW GTI is powered by a 2.0 Liter 16 Valve DOHC TSI gas sipping four banger that makes an even 200 HP and 207 lb-ft of torque that is shifted with a six speed manual transmission. The GTI offers the traditional Rabbit like handling and can accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in 6.8 seconds and reach an electronically limited 130 MPH top speed all for under $24,000.
The classic English automaker Mini had a plethora of Coopers on display at the 2009 Miami Auto Show, in a setup that resembled a bag of Skittles, there was something to satisfy every new car buyer’s taste. Ranging from a gleaming white Camden model to a black rag top and a British Racing Green John Cooper Works complete with Union Jacks on the mirror covers; there was literally a Mini for every flavor. Mini also showed off a bit of their fun side reminiscing about a lighter side in America’s history filled with beach bums and go go girls with a pair of surfboards on top of a woodie wagon inspired Clubman.
The lightweight English sports car manufacturer Lotus had two very special models on display at the 2009 Miami Auto Show. Sitting front and center is the all new Evora model that combines a carbon fiber closed cockpit two seater configuration with a transversely mounted 3.5 Liter Toyota VVT-i V6 that makes about 270 HP and is more than enough to give the new Lotus plenty of get up and go accelerating from 0 to 60 MPH in under 5 seconds. The other Lotus in the Collection’s booth is of the open air variety, the 60th anniversary Elise model comes complete with a pair of stripes running down the middle that match the color accented interior complete with 60th Anniversary embroidery
The exotic Italian automaker Maserati was well represented in the Collection’s corner of the 2009 Miami Auto Show. Offering up high performance transportation solutions in both two and four door variants. Starting off with a beautiful white Quattroporte sport sedan powered by a 400 HP V8 that accelerates the luxury sedan from 0 to 60 MPH in just 5.5 seconds. The high end luxury car retailers also had a pair of sporty Gran Turismo coupes flanking the more accommodating Maserati. Not only was there the standard version of the sharp nosed sports car, but also a high performance Gran Turismo S that makes use of a 440 HP 4.7 Liter screaming V8 to go along with the Italian sports car’s sleek body style.
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