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.
Unlike the One Lap of America race, which recently ended, the Houston Half Mile Shootout is a brand new race for 2012. This year it was run in conjunction with the 4th annual Aeros & Autos event at Ellington Airport in Houston, TX.
This race is much like the Texas Mile, as it is purely a top speed-style of race, where your goal is to reach the highest speed within the half-mile-long track. Simple enough, right? Well, driving in excess of 200 mph is never simple, but rules sure are.
This inaugural run includes cars and motorcycles, both street legal and off-road only, which makes for some really intense speeds, but also some utter disappointment. The biggest disappointment that we see is Mario Williams, an NFL Linebacker, running his Aventador down the half-mile track and only hitting 167 mph in the above video. C’mon, man, open her up a little. That’s just getting that $400,000 supercar warmed up.
On top of that, event organizer John Hennessey shows that he is not a football guy, as he calls Mario Williams an “All Pro defensive player from the Houston Texans,” but Williams signed with the Buffalo Bills in March, oops. We have to give Hennessey a pass though, as the video was taken on March 5th and Williams was still a free agent at the time, but he certainly was not a Texan at the time.
Fortunately that was just a warm-up lap, as we saw much more speed as the event went on.
Click past the jump to read more about the event, cool cars and highlights.
In 1963, Chevrolet released an all-new Corvette to replace the C1 generation. This Corvette featured a high beltline and the body featured more chiseled lines. The C2 Generation `Vette was nicknamed the “Sting Ray” by its designers, Bill Mitchell and Larry Shinoda, and that eventually became adopted as part of the name and the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray was born.
The 1967 model year was the final one for the Sting Ray, but it was also its peak year, as its top level L88 427 cubic-inch power plant produced upwards of 500 horsepower, even though Chevy claimed it only produced 430 horsepower. The lower engines, the L68 427 and L71 427, were no chumps either, pumping out 400 horsepower and 435 horsepower, respectively.
Classic car specialists, RK Motors Charlotte, decided that the stock Sting Ray was just not enough and decided to heavily modify this classic muscle car. The resulting vehicle is the sexy and ultra-desirable 1967 Corvette Sting Rat Pro Touring, a one-off special edition designed by the folks at RKM.
Typically, we are totally against the hacking up of a classic muscle sports car like the Sting Ray, but RKM has a habit of improving these cars without ruining the original look and feel of them.
Click past the jump to read our full review and see if RKM hit a homerun, or struck out, with this Pro Touring Sting Ray.
China is becoming a key market for a lot of automotive companies, including Ferrari and, as a thank you gift, the company has opened a new Myth exhibition at the Italian Center in Shanghai Expo Park. The inauguration ceremony was attended by the company’s Deputy Chairman Piero Ferrari, as well as representatives of both the Chinese and Italian governments.
The new exhibition center covers an area of 900 square meters and will be open to the public for three years. Its aim is to introduce the Chinese to Ferrari and allow them to experience the history, cars, technologies, and passion of the Prancing Horse first-hand, thereby further consolidating the already strong links between the Italian marque and this nation.
The models displayed are the 348 TS as the first Ferrari to enter the Chinese mainland market, a 275 GTB4, a 365 GTB4 Daytona, the 750 Monza sports prototype, and the FF.
"For millions of people around the world, Ferrari represents the pinnacle of Italian culture," declared Piero Ferrari. "It is a symbol of passion, success and the constant pursuit of excellence. It has always been our wish to share Ferrari’s unique history and culture with the people of China who have shown great affection for the Prancing Horse and with whom we share core values such as respect for tradition and a tenacious spirit of innovation."
Richard Childress Racing Street Performance partnered with General Motors to create RC1 Camaros to pay homage to legendary racer, Dale Earnhardt. The latest rendition of the RC1 series came just one model year after the Camaro beat all odds and made a successful comeback following its deletion in 2002.
This 2011 Camaro SS/RC1 is based on the 2011 Camaro SS, but features much more than any normal SS on the market. It not only features a stylish design, but it also packs a mean bite under the hood. This particular 2011 Camaro SS/RC1 was not offered to the public, but instead Richard Childress Racing (RCR) built several of the RC1 Camaros and shipped them straight to RK Motors Charlotte.
The RC1 is the first of the series and the least powerful of the three. Of course, being the least powerful of the RC-series is not saying much, as the top-end RC3 pumps out a concrete pummeling 750 horsepower. The best thing is that this special edition Chevy Camaro is in a price range that a working class Joe can actually afford. You may be wondering how much it actually is and what you get for your money.
Click past the jump to read our full review and answer all of your questions.
The 1967 model year was the debut year for the Plymouth Belvedere GTX, which most enthusiasts simply know as the Plymouth GTX. The GTX was always one of the top performers in the 1960s, but was also a refined muscle car, receiving the nickname “The Gentleman’s Muscle Car” in its early years. Unfortunately, the GTX was a late arrival to the muscle car area and only lasted five model years.
In its debut year, there were 12,115 models built, which makes it a rather rare car in itself. Options were not scarce for the 1967 GTX, as it had two engines available, a 425-horsepower, 426 cubic-inch V-8 Hemi or a 375-horsepower, 440 cubic-inch V-8. It also had two transmission options, a three-speed automatic and a four-speed manual.
In addition to the engine and transmission options, there was also coupe or convertible options available. One would assume that the convertible four-speed manual option with a Hemi would be a popular option combination, due to its raw power and ability to shift with the wind in you hair, but that’s not the case. Only seven of these convertible models with four-speeds and a Hemi engine rolled off of the assembly line in the 1967 model year.
That makes this one of the rarest vehicles on the planet, let alone one of the rarest muscle cars ever built. To boot, it is a natural rarity, as opposed to a planned one, like a special edition. It just so happened that dealers ordered so few of this option combination that the factory only produced a few.
If you want to own one of the most rare mass produced automobiles on the planet, now is your chance, as RK Motors Charlotte has just placed a convertible 1967 GTX with a Hemi and a four-speed up for auction on Ebay.
Now we know that it’s rare, but how has this vehicle held up over the course of the past 45 years?
Click past the jump to read our full review on this rare vehicle.
Rumors have been swirling since 2011 regarding the Chevrolet SS and we were amongst the first to start discussing it. The rumors cooled off up until a few weeks ago when after 40 years of using the “SS” logo, GM finally decided to trademark it. Later the rumors became even more certain, as OnStar, GM’s in-vehicle communication system, mistakenly put the 2014 model lineup on its site. Within that lineup was a model dubbed the SS Performance.
This all adds up to a solid case that the Chevrolet SS Performance is on its way to the U.S. According to the rumormill, this would also result in the Holden Commodore SS, which was once used as the Pontiac G8, becoming the vehicle that dons the 2014 SS Perfomance badges.
With this release, Chevy would finally have a performance sedan to stack up against the likes of the Charger R/T and the Ford Taurus SHO.
UPDATE 05/17/2012: Chevrolet has officially confirmed that their new SS Performance Sedan will be a 2014 model and will arrive in dealer showrooms in late 2013. A racing version will compete at the 2013 Daytona 500. The model will be built in limited edition and will carry a derivative of the award-winning global rear-wheel-drive architecture that spawns performance vehicles like the Chevrolet Camaro.
"As a passionate race fan and performance enthusiast, I am thrilled that Chevrolet will deliver a true rear-wheel-drive NASCAR racecar in the SS that is closely linked to the performance sedan that will be available for sale," said Mark Reuss, president of GM North America. "The Chevrolet SS is a great example of how GM is able to leverage its global product portfolio to deliver a unique performance experience that extends beyond the track. I am personally looking forward to driving it."
Click past the jump to read our full review of the anticipated SS Performance and how it stacks up against the competition.
Technically, Ferrari debuted in 1929, but its official debut is recognized as 1947, the year that Ferrari began manufacturing street-legal vehicles. The 2007 model year marked the 60th anniversary of Ferrari’s street machine building life and the automaker wanted to make it a special one.
Instead of doing what many automakers do (see: Ford) by slapping “60th Anniversary” badges on every car that year, Ferrari chose to build 60 completely unique cars for the 2007 model year. To accomplish this, Ferrari took its existing 612 Scaglietti and modified it to create the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti Sessanta.
As we said, only 60 of these cars were ever built, so they are rather rare. Add in the fact that this bad boy was a whopping $424,480 in 2007 and you can tell that these cars were built for the true collector. If you are a true collector of Ferrari’s and would like to own one that very well may be the Ferrari to own in the next 20 to 30 years, this Sessanta is a safe bet.
F.C. Kerbeck, a dealer of luxury vehicles, is now offering you the opportunity to own one of these rare machines, as they have one up for sale in their showroom and on Ebay.
Click past the jump to read our full review on this vehicle.
The Ferrari Enzo’s successor has been in the pipeworks for upwards of five years now and with its launch creeping closer and closer every day, additional details are being released frequently. The latest information to be released is in regards to sales of the car codenamed the ‘F70’ and just which markets Ferrari plans to targets with its latest halo car.
The U.S. has always been one of, if not the largest sales market for Ferrari. Ever since the brand’s inception in 1929, Americans have enveloped the Italian marque and as a result of this long history between duo, Ferrari aims to target the U.S. significantly. It also hopes it will be the car’s largest market when it goes on sale next year.
A company insider who was speaking to Bloomberg released the information as well as a few other juicy details including the new car’s rumored price of $850,000 in the U.S., which will put it right in the same realm as the incredible Porsche 918 Spyder. Even though the U.S. is said to be the F70’s largest market when deliveries begin in mid or late 2013, less than 100 units are expected to make their way here if the 399 units of the Enzo which were produced are a guide as to how many of its successor will be produced.
Ferrari expects the F70 to completely reshape the automotive industry as it should pave the way for other supercars to follow and if the rumors are to be believed, it’ll feature an incredible V12 engine pumping out 800HP by itself or 920HP when combined with the advanced KERS system.
Lexus is already preparing the next generation IS and with the standard version will come a new IS-F model. The first details we have on the upcoming IS-F suggest that it will be offered with a 5.0 liter V8 engine that will deliver a total of 470 HP, making it a serious competitor for the BMW M3.
The Lexus IS-F will measure 4,680 millimeters in length, 1,820 millimeters in width, and 1,400 millimeters in height. The new 5.0 liter V8 engine will deliver a total of 470 HP at 7,000 rpm and a fuel economy of 23.5mpg. It has been rumored that the IS-F will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in about 4.5 seconds and will hit a top speed of about 170 mph.
Rumors are also floating around that the future IS-F will be offered for the first time in coupe and convertible versions, but we’ll have to get more than a whiff of that rumor to believe it. Stay tuned!
It seems like it was just last week that we were reporting that Porsche was officially announcing the Pajun. Oh, that’s because it was just last week, but now Porsche is reneging on its upcoming plans to add in an entry-level performance sedan. In an interview with Stuttgarter Zeitung, Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller made it quite clear that the Pajun is not a certainty, yet.
Per Automotive News, Mueller stated that the Pajun is in no way a done deal and might arrive in five to six years. The words “might arrive” are dripping with uncertainty and leave all of us pretty much standing around wondering what’s going on. Being car folks, we understand that Porsche needs to be very careful with its fan base, so we get it that they are a little secretive at this time.
Many enthusiasts did not take to well to the Panamera’s release a few years ago and they certainly had their voices heard. Placing a vehicle below it may cause a complete uproar in the Porsche world, so it is best for Mueller to be as indecisive as possible with this potential launch.
One car that was undeniably axed in the same interview was a smaller entry-level roadster. This sub-Boxster, or baby Boxster as many were calling it, was completely eliminated, as Mueller stated "We would do no good to the brand if we were to lose traditional Porsche customers" when he was asked by Stuttgarter Zeitung about the baby Boxster project.
So for all of you fresh grads dreaming of a smaller and cheaper version of the Boxster as a graduation present, you can forget about it. For those that were hoping for a sports sedan under the Panamera, we’ll just have to take the old wait-and-see approach.
