Automotive industry news, it feels like nothing of what they say is really important but put it together and you will get the big picture before the others.
Nothing surprises us anymore when it comes to Ferrari. Its relentless pursuit of building some of the world’s most extreme supercars knows no bounds.
And after Autocar reported that there are plans to build an extreme version of its newest hypercar, the LaFerrari, it all seemed par for the course for the Italian automaker.
With the LaFerrari limited to just 499 units, Ferrari wants to build an even more exclusive version of the 963-horsepower hypercar. That’s what Flavio Manzoni, the LaFerrari’s chief designer, told Autocar. Could this possibly be the LaFerrari EVOXX that we spoke of back in March?
“When we were producing the original design proposals for LaFerrari,” said Manzoni, “there was one proposal that I thought was especially beautiful. So we decided to keep that one back for something truly special in the future.”
That "something truly special" appears to be this mystery hypercar that could pack well north of 1,000 horsepower. Talk about its exclusivity should be one of the most important details of this vehicle; Manzoni estimates that no more than 10 could be built with an estimated price tag of anywhere between £3 million ($4.67 million) and £5 million ($7.78 million).
Click past the jump to read about the Ferrari LaFerrari
Automakers are known to come up with contests for their fans that are launched to get the latter more involved in the inner workings of the industry. We’ve seen it before and we’ll see it again.
This time around, it’s Chrysler that has taken that role, opening up a new online contest to encourage its fans to show their customized Chrysler vehicles.
To drive up the interest in the contest, which has been dubbed the Chrysler Custom Challenge, the automaker decided to roll out a number of prizes that are too cool to pass up, including attending the 2013 SEMA Auto Show with their customized Chryslers, as well as a trip to the 2014 NAIAS and a lease of a Chrysler vehicle.
That last part alone would’ve gotten us interested.
As far as entering the competition is concerned, interested participants are invited to visit Chrysler’s Facebook page and submit an image of their customized Chrysler brand vehicle to go with a brief description of the customizations.
All entries will then be subjected to public voting until July 1st at which time three finalists and ten runner-up winners will be selected by a combination of judges’ scores and public votes.
So if any of you have any Chrysler-modded vehicles in your garage, stand proud and show them off. Who knows, you might be rewarded with a trip to SEMA with your baby for your efforts.
Click past the jump to see some of the past Chrysler aftermarket programs that would make for good contenders in this contest
Infiniti’s strong sales performance in recent years has given the automaker reason to look forward to bigger things. And apparently, those bigger things equate to a pair of new vehicles added to its lineup.
Talking to Car and Driver, Infiniti’s new president Johan de Nysschen is looking at the possibility of strengthening its lineup with the addition of a new flagship sedan that de Nysschen describes as an "upscale, very emotional, high-performance luxury sedan." Basically, he’s looking at the possibility of developing a flagship sedan that will follow a different formula and not march to the beat of the industry.
So what does that mean, exactly? That’s the question on everyone’s mind, and understandably so because not a lot of people seem to have a clear grasp on what Infiniti is planning to do. The most ideal comparison as far as a unique flagship sedan that didn’t follow a certain design script is the Porsche Panamera. A fastback model has been thrown around, according to Car and Driver, which seems to lend to the suggestion that if and when Infiniti decides to introduce a new flagship sedan to the world, it’s going to take a different approach on its design.
Equally compelling news is consideration being put on also building a high-performance coupe based on the platform of the aforementioned flagship sedan. That’s a pretty exciting development, considering Infiniti is lacking that kind of poster-worthy sports car that other automakers have.
If there’s a chance to introduce a pair of new and exciting models that will take the Japanese automaker to another level, Infiniti should jump at the chance of building on its sales momentum.
Click past the jump to see a couple of Infiniti concepts that have been introduced in recent years
Dr. Ulrich Bez, the man largely responsible for the modern range of Aston Martin vehicles, is expected to step down from his post as CEO, Autocar UK reports.
Bez’s departure as CEO will leave a huge hole in the Aston Martin’s management, ending a 13-year run that began when he assumed the job as chief executive and chairman back in July 2000.
As soon as he vacates his CEO seat, Bez is expected to remain with the company and serve more of an ambassadorial role in the company. That’s a good thing for Aston Martin because Bez’s imprint in the British automaker is unmistakable.
In addition to being the driving force behind the recent range of Aston Martin models, Bez also led the company’s move to build a world-class manufacturing facility in Gaydon, among his many accomplishments.
Aston Martin has yet to confirm Bez’s departure, but according to Autocar, a new CEO will be named later this year.
We’ll keep you updated on any new information surrounding this development.
Click past the jump to see a few cars Aston Martin built under Dr. Ulrich Bez’s watch
The Alfa Romeo 4C sports car is drawing attention from all corners of the auto industry. According to AutoExpress, it’s even piqued the interest of its sister company, Maserati.
Following on its plans to sell 50,000 vehicles a year by 2015, the Italian automaker, or at least its boss Harald Wester, also said that a variant to the 4C sports car could very well be in the cards too.
"It’s a nice idea," Wester said when asked by AutoExpress about Maserati’s plans.
With the new Ghibli joining the ranks of the Quattroporte, the GranTurismo and the GranCabrio in Maserati’s ranks, questions on whether the automaker spreading itself a little too thin aren’t unjustified. And don’t forget the Levante SUV, which is scheduled to be unveiled next year.
But if there’s an entry level in Maserati’s future, it couldn’t have picked a better one than the Alfa Romeo 4C.
Click past the jump to read more about the Alfa Romeo 4C
The Renault Alpine 110 sports car has been churning out quite a bit of buzz in the past few months.
Recently, Renault chief Carlos Tavares added some more details in the basket, saying that the car will be catered to the younger market with hopes of competing against the Alfa Romeo 4C.
Tavares also gave updates on how far along the car is, explaining that styling is about 70-percent done, a pretty surprising percentage, given that it hasn’t been that long since the announcement was made that Renault Alpine and Caterham were collaborating on the development of the sports car.
Design details involving the Alpine A110 appear to indicate that the car will have a few retro details added to it, including the distinctive round headlights of the original Alpine. It’ll also carry an "arrowhead nose" and some side scoops, giving it a retro modern look that we’re pretty excited to see.
There’s also growing speculation that the sports car will carry a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that will produce about 280 horsepower and mate to either a six-speed manual transmission or a dual-clutch EDC automatic.
Finally, the car is expected to hit dealerships sometime in 2016 with only 1,000, or so, models scheduled to be built at a price of about £50,000 ($76,000) per unit.
Click past the jump to read more about the new Renault Alpine A110-50 Concept
The Guinness Book of World Records has done an about-face and has reinstated the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport’s top speed time as the official world record.
Wait, what?
In an embarrassing reversal that no one saw coming, Guinness decided to reinstate the Veyron Super Sport’s 267.8 mph top speed record after further investigation revealed that the deactivated speed limiter, the apparent reason for all this trouble, did not fundamentally alter the design and engine of the Veyron Super Sport.
This after it announced that the deactivated speed limited was against official guidelines, which did not qualify the supercar as a "production car.”
Well, make up your mind, Guinness...
There’s apparently a lack of understanding of what constitutes the rules over at Guinness. That, or they have a pretty trigger-happy decision-making board that did not err on the side of meticulous investigation before they stripped the Veyron Super Sport of the top speed record.
But we don’t think Bugatti is fretting this a little bit. It’s been an eventful week for them and they’ve accrued enough media mileage to last them a while.
From the record stripping, to the release of the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport WRC, to the reinstatement of the aforementioned record, you can’t say that Bugatti didn’t earn the media attention it’s received in the past week.
And at the end of the day, it still owns the top speed record. All’s well that ends well, apparently.
Click past the jump to read about the Guinness World Record’s official statement regarding the reinstatement of the Veyron Super Sport’s top speed record.
The widely anticipated convertible version of the Toyota GT 86 has become a real conversation piece for a lot of folks in the industry. It’s not so much the expectations of following up the popularity of the coupe model as it is the prospective look of the convertible when it has all of its faculties in order.
Recently, Toyota Europe filed renderings of the GT-86 Open Top Concept for patent application and the fine folks over at Car and Driver managed to dig up black and white renderings of the car.
For one, the cloth-top roof is fully closed, revealing what the car would look like in that particular guise. We gotta say, it looks similar, but there’s a noticeable difference to the coupe, particularly on how the cloth roof looks a little more flat than the hard roof of the coupe model.
Perhaps the difference is in the eye of the beholder, something that we freely admit could be the case. But as far as we’re concerned, the convertible looks sexier than the coupe, if these filings do in fact point to the production version of the former.
In any case, separating the two is a matter of aesthetics, considering that the convertible is expected to receive the same 200-horsepower 2.0-liter in-line-four engine that the coupe model already has.
Click past the jump to read more about the Toyota GT 86 Open Top Concept
Some pretty shocking news came out recently involving the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport. According to Driving.co.uk, the Guinness Book of World Records has stripped the Veyron Super Sport of its "fastest production car" record on grounds that it had breached the rules in its record-setting attempt.
The record, which has stood for three years, was re-investigated after an enquiry by Driving.co.uk regarding a speed restrictor that Bugatti deactivated to achieve its top speed. After an investigation by the Guinness World Records, the 267.8 mph the Veyron Super Sport was nixed from the record books because the deactivated speed restrictor did not qualify the supercar as a production model.
“It has come to the attention of Guinness World Records that there was an oversight in its adjudication of the ‘Fastest production car’ which was set in 2010 by the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport,” said Jaime Strang, PR Director of the Guinness World Records.
“As the car’s speed limiter was deactivated, this modification was against the official guidelines. Consequently, the vehicle’s record set at 431.072 km/h is no longer valid. Following this, Guinness World Records is reviewing this category with expert external consultants to ensure our records fairly reflect achievements in this field.”
Click past the jump to read more about this story, including Bugatti’s response to having its holy grail record wiped off the record books.
SRT chief, Ralph Giles, isn’t the type to back down from a challenge. So when Chevrolet unveiled the track-focused Chevrolet Camaro Z/28, nobody was surprised when Giles told Motor Trend that his brand "was preparing for an answer" to the Z/28.
So the onus now turns to Dodge’s resident muscle car, the Challenger, to pick up and answer the call. Giles didn’t go into specific details regarding what that "answer" was going to be, but there’s already speculation that a Challenger will be that steed and it will come with what folks expect to be a doozy of a powertrain.
As far as expectations are concerned, ours is that SRT will fit a modified version of its 6.4-liter Hemi V-8. You know, the one that currently produces 470 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. Add a couple of tweaks here and there and that output can easily be bumped up to around 500 horsepower, right around the same figure the Camaro Z/28 currently provides.
In addition to the more powerful engine, SRT could also make the Challenger lighter with the use of carbon-fiber parts to go with lighter suspension, bigger brakes and new track-focused wheels.
All this, of course, is a matter of conjecture. Yet we do know that SRT has something planned up its sleeve. Ralph Giles isn’t the type to double-talk, so when he says that an answer is coming, you can pretty much take that to the bank.
