A coupe is a car body style with a close-coupled interior offering either two seats or 2+2 seating (space for two passengers up front and for two occasional passengers in the rear). Through the 1950s convertible models were sometimes called convertible coupes, but since the 1960s the term "coupe" has generally been applied exclusively to fixed-roof models. Coupes generally, but not necessarily, have two doors, although automobile makers have offered four-door coupes and three- and five-door hatchback coupes, as well.
At the 2011 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, Zagato teamed up with Aston Martin and to come with a very impressive V12 Zagato supercar. But this year, the Italian design company changed its course and teamed with BMW to provide an equally fabulous Zagato Coupe.
The first collaboration between the two companies was in 1939 with the creation of the first BMWs sporting tailormade Italian metalwork: a coupe based on the BMW 328 for the upcoming race season. Zagato was responsible for designing impressive cars like the BMW 3200 Michelotti Vignale (1959), the BMW 700 (1959), the BMW 3200 CS Bertone (1962), and the BMW M1 (1978). The new Zagato Coupe continues this impressive tradition.
The BMW Zagato Coupe combines design cues from both companies and has been entirely hand built. You will notice that the car’s extremely long bonnet is definitely a BMW element, but the radiator grille and the headlamps have definitely received the Zagato treatment. The car features a very cool Rosso Vivace paint that ranges from something close to black all the way to a brilliant red, depending on the light.
Hit the jump to read more about the new BMW Zagato Coupe.
Plans to revive the Alpine name have gone back and forth like a tennis match for years, but Renault may finally be giving the project a green light, for a concept version at least. A few days ago, we reported that the first concept version for the Alpine line would be unveiled at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix, and now we have the first image of the upcoming Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept.
The Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept was named as such because it pays tribute to the 50th anniversary of the Alpine A110. Its exterior design was inspired by the Renault DeZir concept unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show and its technical side was borrowed from the Renault Megane Trophy, meaning we will see a V6 engine with an impressive output of 400 HP and 315 lb-ft. of torque.
The original Alpine A110 debuted in 1961 and lasted through the 1977 model year. It had a rather Porsche-like design and had a number of engines ranging from a 66-horsepower 1,108 cc engine to an impressive 140-horsepower 1,605 cc engine.
If the Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept sees the light of production day, we’re guessing it will be sometime in 2014. For now, we’ll wait for the concept to be unveiled on Friday, May 25, 2012 to get a better idea of the Alpine’s future.
UPDATE 05/24/12: A new teaser video of the Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept has made its way online, courtesy of a joint collaboration between the French automaker and Yahoo! Check out the video after the jump! Motorsport magazine is also offering new images of the concept before the car’s official debut tomorrow.
The 2012 SEMA Auto Show is still months away, but there’s already plenty of details about a certain model to be displayed at the show. Ford will be donating a 2013 Mustang GT designed and built by the SEMA Businesswomen’s Network (SBN). The car will be auctioned off with all the proceeds going to the SEMA Memorial Scholarship Fund.
SBN will develop three design renderings for the build, but only one will be chosen for the final model. Fans will have the duty of choosing this final design between May 23 - June 3, 2012, with the winning design being announced on June 5. The car will be built in July and August at the SIM Headquarters in El Segundo, CA, with several of SIM’s female employees participating on the build. Important modifications will be made to the engine, undercarriage, drive train, interior, sound system, exterior, and paint.
"When JoAnn approached me with the idea of a project vehicle built by women, I immediately thought it was a great way to underscore how passionate and involved women are in the automotive industry," said Marla Moore, SBN Chairperson. "Others (Ford, Source Interlink Media and the SEMA Scholarship Committee) immediately agreed and quickly joined forces to launch the first-ever SEMA project vehicle build powered by women."
"Ford Motor Co. is enthusiastic about sponsoring the SEMA Mustang Build," said Sherry Kollien, SBN Project Vehicle Coordinator for Ford. "The Mustang is the ideal vehicle for the project given its broad demographic appeal and its ability to be customized to fit the unique needs of all consumers, enthusiasts and women across multiple life stages. We have long known that women have more than 50 percent decision-making power in vehicle purchase decisions, but increasingly they are customizing to match their own unique personalities."
A few days ago, there was a pretty cool picture gallery released featuring the Ferrari 599XX Evo at the opening round to the European Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli at Monza. Today, Youtube user Shmee150 is offering up an equally cool video shot at the same event.
The stars of his video are a series of 599XX, 599XX Evo, and FXX models presented at the event. It shows behind the scenes shots and shots in and around the paddock before the cars headed out and blasted away. These are coupled with numerous clips of flybys, epic downshifts, the glowing brakes, and plenty of eye candy!
Their next stop was at California’s Laguna Seca circuit, a few miles from the attractions of Monterey, which hosted the third Ferrari Racing Days of the season on May 20, 2012.
RK Motors Charlotte is becoming rather famous for their “Pro Touring” lineup of vehicles. The latest rendition we came across was the 1970 Plymouth Hemi `Cuda, which was featured at SEMA in 2008.
For those that aren’t familiar with RKM’s “Pro Touring” cars, we’ll let you in on the secret. RKM takes a decent looking muscle car – so far we’ve seen a 1967 Sting Ray Corvette and a 1955 Ford Thunderbird – completely guts it, then restores it with mild modernization. So far, RKM has really impressed us with its perfect mixture of classic muscle with modern technology.
Some of the modern touches we have seen included are an LCD touch screen stereo and navigation system on the `55 T-bird, and an LS2 V-8 in the `67 Sting Ray, all while retaining the vehicle’s original character. This specimen appears to be much of the same perfection on the surface, but what does it look like as we pull back the layers?
Click past the jump to find out if the 1970 Plymouth Hemi `Cuda Pro Touring matches the blueprints of the two before it.
Back in April 2012, Jaguar officially confirmed that the F-Type sports car wold be coming, except they only confirmed it in a coupe version and a roadster version. Now, recent spy shots have revealed that an R version is also under development. Come on, anyone knows that all Jaguars come with their own R version, so this little development shouldn’t have taken anybody off-guard.
The future Jaguar F-Type R will be powered by the usual supercharged 5.0-liter V8 engine used in almost all the other R models, but detuned to around 450 HP, which is still pretty impressive for such a tiny sports car.
Compared to the standard F-Type, the R version will get a set of quad exhausts, more prominent front and rear bumpers, a new set of wheels, and a sportier interior.
It is believed that the R version will be launched at the same time as the standard version, so expect to see the new F-Type in all its glory later in September 2012.
Now all we need to complete the lineup is for the Jaguar F-Type RS to get picked.
Lamborghini’s have long been the favorites of tuning companies from all over the world. Whether it’s the exotic Italian heritage or the imposing power at its heart, Lamborghini’s are the equivalent to tuners as flames are to moths.
Calling it the Invidia 540, Amari Design took the task of building a comprehensive aerodynamic body kit that has been constructed from carbon fiber, fiber glass, and lightweight ABS plastic. The objective at hand? Turn the Gallardo into something akin to the LP 570-4 Super Trofeo Stradale.
The task is easier said than done, but Amari Design’s new aero body kit is determined to give the Gallardo that oh-so desirable Super Trofeo look. The body kit comprises of a number of new components, including a wider and deeper front front fender and rear arch extensions with vented bumper pieces. It also has wider wings and arches on both the front and rear, a wider rear bumper, a custom rear diffuser, and, need we explain any further, a large carbon effect, a Performante-inspired rear wing, and a new set of 20" alloy wheels finished in matte black.
Inside, the modifications include plenty of soft leather and Alcantara trim on the seats to go with the Invidia logo embroidered on the headrests. There are also custom carbon fiber panels, custom mats, and an modified hi-fi and sat nav system.
Last but certainly not least is the addition of a new high-performance Tubi exhaust system that helps increase the car’s output from 520 horsepower to 540 horsepower. It’s not a huge boost, but a boost nonetheless.
The last time we saw or heard from IFR Automotive was back in 2008 when they introduced the Aspid sports car at the 2009 London Auto Show. If you recall, the Aspid was presented as a 700 kg/1543 lbs sports car that was designed like a futuristic Morgan and packed a walloping 400 horsepower, good enough to produce a 0-60 mph time of just 2.8 seconds.
That was four years ago.
This year, the Spanish automaker is returning with a new version of the Aspid sports car, one that has come with a new teaser and a rather intriguing tag of "Keep watching your mirrors, a new Aspid is coming."
Details are scarce at this point, but we do expect the car to look like a bigger version of the 2008 Aspid to go with a more powerful and technologically advanced engine than the 2-liter engine its predecessor came with.
More details are sure to follow when they become available.
Back in 2008, Mercedes was looking to expand its market to include the younger population and they decided that the best way to do that was to offer a C-Class Coupe alternative. That project led to the birth of the CLC whose success in the market was more lackluster than bedazzled. Now, Mercedes is at it again with a much more simple approach to meeting the needs of the younger generation. This simple - in the best sense of the word - vehicle is the C-Class Coupe, and Mercedes is even taking a stab at an AMG version. This is certainly a good thing because, well, the BMW M3 Coupe needs a real competitor, right?
The new C63 AMG Coupe will join the current AMG Coupe and will be put on sale this July in Europe, while on the US market sales will begin in September 2011. The first units will be sold as the "Edition 1" and will be offered with exclusive equipments.
UPDATE 05/24/2012: Mercedes’ "Thank You - 2 Million Times" video generated some positive feedback and many people have requested to see the uninterrupted drift footage. Questions were even asked as to if the C 63 AMG Coupe actually drifted the corkscrew or if it was creative editing. Mercedes is offering the answer to this question with a new video. Enjoy!
Aston Martin is intensely preparing their new DBS for its official launch and in the past few days, the future DBS was spotted running a very quick lap around the Nürburgring with its sticky Pirelli tires.
According to our spy photographers, the sports car was very fast! That speed comes from its previously used 6.0-liter V-12 engine delivering somewhere between 550-600 HP. Add that to the fact that it was built on a lighter chassis and extensive use of lightweight materials, and you have the recipe for a very successful - and fast - sports car!
As for the design of the DBS, Aston Martin clearly took inspiration from its One-77, visible on the front of the vehicle with its reshaped headlights. The rest of the design seems to be a direct evolution of the current DBS with sportier touches here and there. The rear of the vehicle was more refined with adjustments made to the rear bumper and exhaust.
Expect to see the new Aston Martin DBS launched at the 2012 Paris Auto Show this September.
